The best matches to follow this weekend
Friday
🇮🇹 It’s fair to say that Milan don’t go in to tonight’s game against Torino in the best of form. Winless in seven – across all competitions – and with a record of scored two, conceded 13 in their last four. That run also includes what was then seen as a shock home defeat against tonight’s opponents in the Coppa Italia. The reasons why the defending champions find themselves in such a mess since the turn of the year is a topic discussed regularly in our weekly Serie A column and you can dive in to that by clicking here.
Stefano Pioli will be looking for something, anything, from his side to give them encouragement ahead of the Champions League knockout stages which begin on Tuesday with Milan hosting Tottenham Hotspur in the opening fixture.
Saturday
🏆 The headline game in tomorrow’s schedule comes in what FIFA would like to be the biggest club tournament in the calendar, the Club World Cup, currently being played in Morocco. European champions Real Madrid meet Saudi side Al Hilal in the final of the 2022 edition, supposedly the last in the competition’s current format.
Al Hilal are only present as representatives of the AFC with last year’s Asian Champions League yet to be completed so perhaps it is time for a rethink and a look at where the Club World Cup falls in to FIFA’s wider plans? Anyway, the Saudi giants have impressed; coming from behind to beat African champions Wydad, and then knocking out Copa Libertadores holders Flamengo in the semi-finals. Madrid came to Morocco missing a number of key players but shook off their recent poor form to put four past Egypt’s Al Ahly in their semi-final on Wednesday night.
🏴 Back to domestic action and it’s shaping up to be another busy day in the Premier League. Ahead of next week’s showdown with Manchester City (due Wednesday), Arsenal host in-form Brentford at the Emirates. The Bees are unbeaten in nine league games and up to seventh while the Gunners will no doubt want to prove last weekend’s defeat at Everton was just a blip. With both Manchester clubs playing on Sunday, a win would increase their lead at the top of the table to eight points.
There’s another all-London tie in the lunchtime kick-off with Graham Potter’s Chelsea heading to West Ham United. The hosts might be thinking they’ve turned the corner with just one defeat in their last five but they still find themselves one place and one point outside the relegation zone. For their part, Chelsea sit ninth, unbeaten in three. But with a record of three goals scored in seven games since the turn of the year, their fans will be looking for more, especially after their recent exploits in the transfer market.
With that Champions League game against Milan coming up fast, Tottenham Hotspur may be without their manager Antonio Conte in the dugout for their fixture at Leicester City. The Italian coach returned to the training ground following surgery on his gallbladder this week but perhaps the rigours of the touchline will come too soon?
In the late kick-off, Eddie Howe returns to Bournemouth with Newcastle United. The Cherries are another side seriously lacking in goals and their former manager could leave them further in the relegation mire should the Magpies come away with the win that current form suggests.
🇫🇷 PSG will still be smarting from Wednesday’s defeat to Classique-rivals Marseille in the Coupe de France and they face a tough looking fixture at the weekend too, with a trip to fourth placed Monaco. The reigning champions boast a eight point lead in Ligue 1 but probably can’t afford to rest any of their superstars with Tuesday night’s all-important Champions League clash with Bayern Münich also on the mind of coach Christophe Galtier.
Second placed Marseille have been in good form of late – last weekend’s defeat to Nice was their only setback in 12 games since their own Champions League campaign came to an end back in November. Mid-table Clermont Foot are their weekend opponents, a side with something of a reputation for punching above their weight – they’ve beaten Lyon and Rennes and drawn with Lille and Nantes in 2023 alone.
🇩🇪 The Bundesliga provides six fixtures for our entertainment on Saturday and with a compact top six separated by just six points, none of the top sides will want to slip up now.
Last weekend, Bayern played last and needed a 4-2 win at Wolfsburg to re-take top spot from Union Berlin, who’d beaten Mainz on Saturday. Now, Bayern face relegation threatened Bochum, a side who enjoyed their biggest win of the season in their last league fixture (5-2 vs. Hoffenheim) but were brought back down to earth by a midweek defeat in the DFB Pokal (2-1 vs. Dortmund).
Union feature in the day’s headliner, against fourth placed RB Leipzig. Three points divide the two and after wins in their last two meetings, perhaps Union are better placed than most to upset Leipzig, who boast the best home record in the division.
Third placed Dortmund also feature, with Edin Terzić’s in-form side going to Werder Bremen, where they’ll need to be wary of the league’s top scorer, Niclas Füllkrug.
Sunday
🏴 Leeds and Manchester United renew hostilities on Sunday with a quirk in the Premier League calendar meaning these two cross-Pennine rivals play each other for the second time this week.
Having removed coach Jesse Marsch from his position on Monday, the Yorkshire United impressed on Wednesday, and were two goals up shortly after half-time thanks to Wilfried Gnonto and an OG from Raphaël Varane. But facing embarrassment on home soil, Manchester United rallied to earn a share of the spoils – levelling the game with goals from Marcus Rashford and a seemingly rejuvenated Jadon Sancho.
With Leeds hovering one point outside of the drop zone and Erik ten Hag’s side looking up the table from third, neither will want to lose out in this one.
The day’s other game features Manchester City, against Unai Emery’s Aston Villa. City created chances but didn’t look like ending their recent hoodoo, going down to another defeat at Spurs last weekend, so they’ll be hoping Erling Haaland can get back to doing what he does best against a side that they haven’t lost to since 2013.
🇪🇸 While Madrid are distracted by the pursuit of another trophy in Morocco, Barcelona have another opportunity to stretch their already sizeable lead at the top of LaLiga. Thanks to last Sunday’s win against Sevilla combined with Madrid’s slip-up at Mallorca, that lead currently stands at eight points.
But Barça will have to overcome sixth placed Villarreal to do that. The Yellow Submarine started 2023 in impressive form but after back-to-back defeats to Rayo Vallecano and Elche, who hadn’t won any of their previous 19 games prior to that, this could be a good time to visit.
Elsewhere, Atlético Madrid face a tricky trip to Celta Vigo. The Galicians have struggled this season but are on the rise after beating top half stalwarts Athletic Club and Real Betis in their last two fixtures.
🇮🇹 Serie A’s main action takes place on Sunday, as is traditional. And we’ll get the spectacle of top vs. bottom as Napoli play Cremonese. The latter are the only side remaining in Europe’s top five leagues without a league win to their name but this will be a revenge mission of sorts for the leaders. Just last month, Napoli suffered a penalty shoot out defeat to Cremonese in the Coppa Italia having lead the game 2-1 until the dying minutes.
Juventus, who remain in lodged in eleventh pending appeal against their 15 point deduction, face thirteenth placed Fiorentina. Typically, Dušan Vlahović was finally back in the goals in Juve’s win at Salernitana on Tuesday so the visitors may be dreading the prospect of coming up against their former star striker.
🇧🇪 We’re still a couple of months away from the all-important split in the Belgian Pro League season that’ll see the top four play-off for the Championship but this weekend will give us another indication of just how well placed Genk, the runaway leaders, are in terms of the wider campaign.
Reigning champions Club Brugge currently hold fourth place and they feature in the Friday night against Union St. Gilloise, who sit second. After that, all attention will be on Sunday’s game between Genk, who have a seven point lead on Union, and Royal Antwerp, who sit third, a further seven points back.
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Cover Image from IMAGO