‘Twos the weekend before Christmas and all was well… as hectic as ever in the football calendar! There’s big Continental Finals in Asia, Continental Semi-Finals in the CONCACAF region and schedules as long as your arm in Europe’s big leagues. The games detailed below are just our selection of highlights from what’s coming up but whatever you’re in to, you should be able to follow it on FotMob. We’ve got you covered.
? Friday Night
?? Tonight, your fix of La Liga action comes from the Basque Country where, still smarting from a midweek defeat at Real Madrid, the team their fans love to hate most – Athletic Club take on struggling Huesca. A win would take them in to the top half of the table.
?? In the Bundesliga, Union Berlin once again take centre-stage as they kick the weekend off against Borussia Dortmund. As you’ll know, Dortmund sacked coach Lucien Favre after their shocking 5-1 defeat to Stuttgart last weekend but new caretaker manager, Edin Terzić did start with a win in midweek. Union will be a far tougher proposition though, as their recent draw with Bayern suggests.
?? Before those games in the top leagues, you might want to check in on the biggest game in Bulgarian football as arch-rivals, CSKA Sofia and Levski Sofia meet in the capital. The game was originally postponed due to yep, you guessed it, positive coronavirus tests in one of the squads but should go ahead today.
? Saturday
?? Tomorrow looks pretty busy in La Liga with a (possibly) revitalised Barcelona side at home to Valencia whilst the team they dethroned from the top of the table in midweek – Real Sociedad aim to bounce back at Levante.
??????? The Premier League weekend starts with a bang as Champions, and now freshly reinstalled as leaders Liverpool head to Crystal Palace in the lunchtime kick-off.
That’s followed by Southampton versus Man City, a test for Arsenal as Mikel Arteta goes back to former club Everton and Newcastle United’s home game against Fulham.
?? There’s a massive match in the Bundesliga where surprise table toppers Bayer Leverkusen take on Bayern München and the newly crowned FIFA Best player in the world, Robert Lewandowski.
? After a particularly difficult year in Asian football, the AFC have managed to successfully get the Champions League to the Final after playing both the Western and Eastern knockout stage of the tournament at a central base in Qatar. Now, Iran’s biggest club Persepolis play Ulsan Hyundai to determine this year’s Asian Champions. And with Ulsan having recently been pipped to the post in both the Korean league and cup, you can bet they’ll be aiming to end 2020 on a more positive note.
? Speaking of centralised continental tournaments, CONCACAF have also been wrapping up the Champions League for their region with all games taking place in Orlando, Florida. And on Saturday night, we’ll see both semi-finals take place over 10 months after the start of the last round way back in March.
Sole MLS survivors, LAFC will meet the record tournament winners, Club América. And another Liga MX side, Tigres will go up against Honduran club, Olimpia.
? Sunday
??????? Christmas is usually a time for family but this being 2020 the Premier League have lined up Manchester United’s first meeting with fierce rivals Leeds United since the latter were promoted back to the top flight. This one has come to represent one of the deepest divides in English folklore, with United defending the honour of Lancashire’s red rose whilst Leeds stand behind the white rose of Yorkshire!
Here’s the rest of the EPL line-up for Sunday, including another derby between new appointed – Sam Allardyce’s West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa.
??????? Sunday sees the Scottish Cup Final take place at Hampden Park as Celtic face Championship side Hearts. And it’s a bit of strange one as this is technically the final for the 2019/20 season, going on whilst the 2020/21 edition is already underway.
Talk of a 10-in-a-row weighs heavy on Celtic fans as hopes of 10th straight league title look slimmer so the Cup Final will be a nice distraction, although there is the small matter of their former keeper, Craig Gordon now in goal for the opposition. He’s gunning for his own 10-in-a-row having never lost a competitive final at Hampden Park!
?? With Juve the only big side from Serie A playing on Saturday, Sunday will see a feast of activity in Italy. Unbeaten league leaders Milan face the impressive Sassuolo, a side who themselves have lost just once whilst second placed Inter host Spezia back at the San Siro.
Elsewhere, 5th placed Napoli travel to the capital, where they’ll face a Lazio side looking for their first win in 3 league games.
?? For once, Ligue 1 is looking tight at the top so Sunday’s clash between Lille and PSG, first vs. second should go some way to telling us whether the table is a true reflection of the state of play.
??????? And a special preview to close, from our friends at award-winning podcast, Two Girls Talk Balls:
Here we are: the last weekend of the WSL in 2020! This Sunday is jam-packed with action with the early kick-off at Leigh Sports Village, where a struggling Bristol play Manchester United, who will hope to end the year in the top spot. In the middle slot Chelsea play host to Tottenham Hotspur, which could be a ferocious clash now that Spurs have found some form under their new manager. A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone at TGTB.
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