The best action to follow this weekend
Saturday
?? There are some big games lined up in La Liga, with three of the top six involved. The headliner is undoubtably the clash between reigning champions Atlético Madrid and Sevilla, who currently sit second behind Real.
Real Sociedad play earlier in the day, at home to Villarreal and could therefore leapfrog Atlético in to fourth.
And Barcelona might just break into the aforementioned top six if other results go their way, and they can beat Elche at Camp Nou.
??????? With coronavirus cases rising rapidly around England and the UK, and the Premier League reporting the highest number of positive tests since the beginning of the pandemic, predicting how many of the weekend’s scheduled games actually take place is a tricky one. At the time of writing there’s just two going ahead on Saturday.
Leeds need to shake off the 7-0 thrashing they suffered at the hands of Man City during the week when they host Arsenal. And Aston Villa, who’ve won four out of six under the tutelage of Steven Gerrard face Burnley at Villa Park.
? The Arab Cup, being played for the first time under the FIFA’s officialdom has been enjoyable so far, especially considering a lot of the nations sent squads that were missing their star names based overseas.
And it all comes to a head on Saturday as Tunisia take on Algeria in the Final. Both enjoyed late winners in their respective semi-finals in midweek – Tunisia beating Egypt by a single goal scored in the 5th minute of added time.
But that’s nothing compared what happened in Algeria’s encounter with Qatar. Leading 1-0, Algeria conceded an 97th minute equaliser before going on to find a winner in the SEVENTEENTH additional minute! And that was scored on the rebound after a penalty save.
?? In Germany, leaders Bayern München play on Friday night so the weekend focus will be on the chasing pack in this, the final round of matches before the Bundesliga goes into hibernation for the winter break.
For Borussia Dortmund, that means a trip to Hertha. The struggling Berlin side looked like they were on the up after going three games without defeat but that all came to a halt with a 4-0 defeat at Mainz in the week.
?? Serie A’s game of the day pits third against sixth (as it stands), with Atalanta entertaining Roma. Despite their disappointment at being knocked out of the Champions League, the hosts are on a run of six straight wins in the league whilst Roma remain surprisingly unpredictable under José Mourinho, picking up three wins and three defeats during the same period.
Also in action, Juventus go to Bologna hoping for a result that will keep them in touch of the Champions League places ahead of the busy festive period.
Sunday
??????? Again, Sunday’s Premier League fixtures are decimated by the number of positive coronavirus cases amongst the squads. But, all being well we should still get to see leaders Manchester City play at Newcastle United.
And there’s games for the rest of the top three as Chelsea go to Wolves and Liverpool travel south to face Spurs in what will be a welcome return to action for the London club.
?? Milan vs. Napoli should be one of the most interesting games of the weekend, with both sides starting the Serie A season unbeaten in the first 12 rounds. Since then, Milan have picked up two wins and Napoli just one, form that has allowed Inter to move above them in the table. The pressure is therefore on both sides to get a result.
?? La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who are in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak are still, apparently going ahead with their fixture scheduled for Sunday night – against relegation threatened Cadiz.
The legendary Luka Modrić is the most high profile of Madrid’s absentees to be reported so far.
?? Just a point separates the big three at the top of the Dutch Eredivisie, with PSV holding a slender advantage over the combined might of Ajax and Feyenoord.
The latter two play each other on Sunday and despite Ajax’s daunting record of scoring 49 goals whilst conceding just four in 16 games so far this season – their rivals will be looking to expose the same cracks that AZ Alkmaar did in their surprise win at the Johan Cruyff Arena last weekend.
??????? There’s silverware on offer in Scotland as Hibernian meet Celtic in the 76th final of the long running League Cup. The two sides have met just once in the league so far this season, with Celtic winning at the home of their Edinburgh rivals for the first time since 2014 but Hibs will remain confident having already seen off Rangers en route to the final.
?? In France, we’ve reached the always crazy Round of 64 in the Coupe de France. Where else in the world will you find the likes of PSG and Marseille up against fifth tier amateur sides – or in the case of Clermont Foot, who play on Saturday, a top flight team facing someone from the seventh and very much regional tier of French football. The intricacies of the competition even allow for sides from the country’s many overseas territories and departments to qualify for this stage.
And on Sunday, that means Bordeaux of Ligue 1 host Jumeaux M’Zouasia, a side from the archipelago of Mayotte which is off the coast of South East Africa. As a French department, the island’s official currency is the Euro despite its geographical location just north of Madagascar.
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Cover Image from IMAGO