Here we go. The weekend is here and once again, the fixture generator hasn’t disappointed with some big games drawn up for the next couple of days.
This is our preview of the best FotMob has to offer, including a competition you might want to enter on Sunday. ⬇️
? Friday Night
??????? We still haven’t quite got used to this yet but there are not one, but two Premier League games on this evening. Brighton vs. Burnley is the early kick-off before a meeting between the in-form Southampton and Newcastle United takes place at St. Marys. The Saints could temporarily find themselves top of the table with a win!
??????????????? Down in the EFL Championship, we have a localised battle for supremacy between Wales’ capital city club and their rivals from the English side of the Severn Bridge – Cardiff City against Bristol City.
? And staying in England, the world’s oldest knockout competition, the FA Cup reaches the 1st Round Proper – something we’re a little bit excited about. As are Skelmersdale United, a side from the ninth tier of English football that have made it this far for the first time since 1971. They face League Two side Harrogate Town this evening.
? There are of course games taking place in all of Europe’s top leagues as well, with perhaps the pick of the bunch being Sassuolo’s game against Udinese. Like Southampton, one of the smallest clubs in Serie A have a chance to top the table going into the weekend.
? Saturday
?? Six games take place in Germany’s top flight on Saturday, but only one is Der Klassiker! Yep, in a week where both of Germany’s big two notched big wins in the Champions League they now have to face each other with Bayern München travelling to Dortmund. The sides have identical W5, L1 records this season, with Bayern only leading the league on goal difference.
?? In La Liga, Barcelona face Real Betis looking for what would be their first win in 5 league games. Betis’ form has also been a little patchy so far this season but they did pick up a win against Elche last time out, with Cristian Tello producing our best rated performance of the round.
Elsewhere, 4th placed Atlético Madrid take on the league’s surprise package, Cadíz who sit just below them in 5th – as things stand.
??????? The Premier League schedule looks as exciting as ever with four games to take your through the day. Manchester United kick things off with their trip to Everton in a game where both sides will be looking to stem the tide of recent poor form. Crystal Palace play Leeds United whilst Frank Lampard’s newly improved defence at Chelsea take on Sheffield United and Fulham head East across London where they meet West Ham.
?? In France, Rennes – the side beaten by Chelsea in the week go up against PSG, who themselves faced Champions League disappointment in a meeting between the sides sitting first and third in Ligue 1.
? Sunday
??????? There’s no rest for the wicked on Sunday as again, the Premier League gives us another four games to look forward to. The heavyweight clash between Manchester City and Liverpool will be the highlight for many, considering the importance that particular fixture has had on the title race in recent years.
Pep Guardiola’s City side are still playing catch-up this season and they go into the weekend in 10th whilst Liverpool have seemingly recovered from their supposed mini-crisis to sit top of the pile once again!
? Back to the FA Cup and Sunday is a very special occasion for the Non-League side we sponsor with Hampton & Richmond Borough, of the National League South taking on EFL side Oldham Athletic. This is only the fourth time the club have made it this far in their history – coincidently, they also faced Oldham on the previous occasion two seasons ago.
And with the game being broadcast live in the UK – on the BBC iPlayer and Red Button plus BT Sport 4 Extra, and in the US on ESPN+, we hope some of you will be able to join us in watching the game from afar. If you do tune in, feel free to enter our competition to win yourself some FotMob swag!
?? La Liga provides at least two key match-ups to round off the weekend. Real Sociedad currently lead Real Madrid by a single point at the top of the table, albeit – Madrid do have a game in hand. So the results of Sociedad’s game against Granada and Real Madrid’s away trip to Valencia look crucial.
?? Sunday is also a busy day in Serie A where three fixtures in particular catch the eye. Current leaders Milan play Hellas Verona whilst last season’s top 4 all meet each other: Lazio, who eventually finished 4th after challenging all season host Champions Juventus and Inter, who finished as runners-up go to Atalanta.
?? In the US, we’ve reached the final match-day in the regular MLS season and with the league’s shift to PPG (points per game) to determine play-off positions and who gets a home draw in said play-offs, there’s still a lot to play for.
?? And finally, the shortened, centralised Super League season in China brings us a final between unfancied Jiangsu Suning and Guangzhou Evergrande, who’ve won 8 of the last 9 titles! Judging by Jiangsu’s performance in the last round though, we wouldn’t write them off just yet.
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