The best action to follow this weekend

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Saturday

??????? The headline games mostly fall on Sunday this time around but as far as the FA Cup is concerned, that’s all about your personal allegiances.

The quarter-finals in the World’s oldest Cup competition begin with Championship side Middlesbrough up against World Club Champions, Chelsea – who famously will be slumming it on the coach to the game rather than enjoying the usual luxury of their private jet.

Boro have already knocked out Manchester United and Spurs (and Mansfield!) in previous rounds so the home side will be confident of causing another giant-killing.

There’s just one game in the Premier League to take note of and that comes between Aston Villa and Arsenal, with the Gunners looking to consolidate their hold on fourth place in the table.

?? The top three in Serie A are all in action on Saturday and leaders Milan are the only ones on their travels. They’ve been somewhat goal-shy of late but a trip to struggling Cagliari might be just the tonic.

Napoli face Udinese who are unbeaten in four and proving themselves to be capable of taking points off the big sides. Inter meanwhile, play Fiorentina, a side they’ve not lost to in their last 11 meetings.

?? Atlético Madrid, riding the high of their Champions League win at Manchester United will be back in their home city on Saturday but playing away to Rayo, situated in the proudly working class district of Vallecas. Here, Diego Simeone’s side will look to extend their four-match winning run in La Liga.

?? The biggest game in the Bundesliga sees Bayern München host Union Berlin, a side they put five past earlier on in the season. With Dortmund winning their game in hand during the week, Bayern could extend their lead at the top of the table back out to seven points – at least until Dortmund play again on Sunday.

?? The Brazilian state championships provide us with just a taste of what’s to come on Sunday, serving up the classic Gre-nal rivalry between Internacional and Grêmio. The two Porto Alegre giants meet in the semi-finals of the Gaucho championship.

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Sunday

?? We’re in for some real treats on Sunday as a selection of the world’s biggest club games all take place on the same day. And obviously, they don’t get much bigger than El Clásico, the eternal battle for supremacy between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Madrid come in to the game with a 15 point advantage in the standings and have beaten their rivals in each of their last five meetings across all competitions. Barca though, are unbeaten in 11 and probably in their best form all season.

?? In Italy, there’s also the Rome Derby between Roma (7th) and Lazio (5th) to look forward to. José Mourinho was up to his old tricks in the week claiming Lazio were just sat around smoking cigarettes whilst his side were busy competing in European competition but we’ll see whether those mind games have any bearing on proceedings at the Stadio Olimpico.

?? De Klassieker, the biggest game in Dutch football is another top class fixture on the schedule – Ajax (1st) vs. Feyenoord (3rd). Both sides have been relatively free-scoring in the Eredivisie this season but it’s been Ajax’s defence that has been the stand-out factor. Will their old rivals from Rotterdam be able break down a team that’s conceded just 11 goals in 26 games?

??????? The three remaining FA Cup quarter-finals dominate the day in England with the all-Premier League clashes between Crystal Palace and Everton, and Southampton and Manchester City taking us through the afternoon. That’s before another clash between a Championship side who’ve sprung a few upsets (Arsenal, Leicester) and Premier League royalty – Nottingham Forest vs. Liverpool.

Back in the Premier League itself, there’s the fixture between London neighbours Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham – important not only for local pride but also because these sides are locked together on 48 points just outside the European qualification places.

?? Ligue 1 provides a couple of high level games as the out-of-form but still 15 points clear in the table PSG visit Monaco and second meets third as Marseille play fellow Mediterraneans Nice.

?? We’ve spoken a lot about big derbies and old classic match-ups in this preview but if that’s your thing, you’ll be interested to here that this weekend is a special one in Argentina.

EVERY fixture in the Copa de la Liga Profesional pits one fierce rival against another, or in the absence of a historic foe – a designated opponent deemed local enough to provoke animosity! That means we get the big daddy of them all – River Plate vs. Boca Juniors as a headliner on Sunday night.

Before that we will already have had San Lorenzo vs. Huracán (Saturday), Independiente vs. Racing (Saturday), who’s grounds almost back on to each other AND perhaps the most heated – Rosario Central vs. Newell’s Old Boys, a game where there’s definitely no love lost (Sunday).

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If you want to follow any of the games mentioned above, click on the relevant link and tap the bell icon to receive all the key match updates.

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Cover Image from IMAGO

The best action to follow this weekend

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Saturday

?? We start this week with two Bundesliga games that should guarantee plenty of goals. The leaders, and top scorers Bayern take on third placed Leverkusen whilst Leipzig (4th) face Freiburg (5th) in a clash between two sides who won their respective DFB Pokal quarter-finals on Wednesday night.

Second only to Bayern in terms of away form, Leverkusen also have the third highest number of goals to their name and boast exciting talents to watch out for like Moussa Diaby (12 goals, 7 assists) and Florian Wirtz (7 goals, 10 assists).

?? There’s a top of the table clash in France too where Nice (3rd) welcome PSG (1st) to the Mediterranean coast. In truth, PSG are coasting to the title in Ligue 1 and sit 16 points above Nice but with Christophe Galtier at the helm, the man who beat the Parisians to top spot with Lille last season they’re a strong proposition. The sides have met twice already during the campaign with both games ending goalless – Nice going on to knock PSG out of the Coupe de France on penalties in the latter.

??????? In England, a busy Saturday schedule sees a total of seven games lined up for us. Among them, Chelsea visit a Burnley side who were seemingly on the up until a midweek setback against Leicester City saw their three game unbeaten run come to an end. The Club World Cup champions survived a scare of their own at Championship side Luton Town in the week and are facing a particularly turbulent time off the field with owner Roman Abramovich set to sell the club.

Elsewhere, Liverpool can halve the six point gap to leaders Manchester City with a win over Champions League chasing West Ham and watch out for Jesse Marsch as the US coach takes charge of his first Premier League game when Leeds United visit Leicester.

?? Real Sociedad, the early season pacesetters in La Liga travel to Real Madrid on Saturday, the side who took over from them at the top in Round 14 and haven’t looked back since. The Basque club now sit down in sixth but with just two points separating them and Betis in third, a top level European birth looks achievable for them come the end of the campaign.

The league’s form side Villarreal (nine goals in their last two) go to Osasuna where a win would add their name to the increasingly intense battle for position in the top six.

?? The big game in Serie A comes as sixth play fifth, with Roma welcoming Atalanta to the Olimpico. Fresh from a 4-0 win over Sampdoria on Monday night, Atalanta look to be playing themselves in to form just at the right time whilst José Mourinho’s side have lost only one of their last eight games, in all competitions.

?? The new MLS season kicked off in style last weekend so we’re looking forward to the second round of games coming up over the next few days. Last season’s MLS Cup winners New York City go to Vancouver Whitecaps, who suffered a heavy defeat at Columbus in their first game and reigning Supporter’s Shield holders New England Revolution host Dallas.

All eyes though, will be on new expansion side Charlotte who play their first ever home game, against LA Galaxy in front of what will be a MLS-record crowd of over 73,500 fans.

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Sunday

??????? Sunday is Derby Day in Manchester as the blue and red halves of the city meet at the Etihad. The home side do, of course sit top of the table, 22 points better off than United and with the best defensive record in the Premier League. But looking at the last five meetings between the two sides, the results have been a lot more even with United winning two, City winning two and the other game ending in a goalless draw. All four of those games with goals have ended in a 2-0 scoreline so if you’re looking for a prediction, there’s your starting point!

?? There’s yet more top of the table action to come in La Liga on Sunday with Atlético Madrid (5th) due to visit Real Betis (3rd). The home side were celebrating long in to the night on Thursday after securing their place in the final of the Copa del Rey so we’ll have to see how well they’ve recovered for this one!

Fourth placed Barcelona are also on their travels as they go to Elche. The reverse fixture was an exciting one with Barça amazingly conceding twice in the space of a minute to let slip a two goal lead before 17-year-old Gavi spared their blushes with a late winner.

?? With Borussia Dortmund’s game against Mainz postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak in the Mainz camp, there’s just one Bundesliga fixture to look forward to as FC Köln (8th) play in-form Hoffenheim (6th). The visitors have a particularly strong record against Köln and are unbeaten in their last nine meetings.

?? This weekend’s headline game in Serie A couldn’t get much bigger as Napoli and Milan, the two sides level on points at the top of the standings go head-to-head on Sunday evening. The only difference between them is Napoli’s superior goal difference, and the fact they won at the San Siro back in December.

Milan drew a blank with rivals Inter in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final during the week, their third draw on the trot but that did extend their unbeaten run to seven games. For their part, Napoli haven’t lost a league game since December with defeat to Fiorentina in the Coppa and Barcelona in the Europa League the only blots on their copy book so far in 2022.

? Lastly, we’ll round off with two more derby games from world football as we know you always enjoy these. In Europe, Slavia and Sparta Prague meet in the Czech Republic’s most historic rivalry – a game that’s been played since 1896. And in Chile, where we’re just four games in to the current season, Santiago giants Colo-Colo and Universidad de Chile will be looking to kickstart their campaign with a win in the country’s fierce Superclásico.

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If you want to follow any of the games mentioned above, click on the relevant link and tap the bell icon to receive all the key match updates.

Or join us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to discuss all the important football going on this weekend!

Cover Image from IMAGO

The best action to follow this weekend

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Saturday

??????? We start with the mammoth slate of games due to take place in the Premier League. There’s eight on the card, but with storms currently battering the UK and half the population watching a live stream of planes trying to land at Heathrow Airport, we might have to wait and see which games actually get played.

Manchester City, fresh from that record breaking win at Sporting in the Champions League Round of 16 now face the prospect of Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur in the late kick-off.

Earlier games to look out for include Liverpool against Norwich, a side they’ve beaten in 10 of their last 12 meetings and Chelsea’s trip across London to Crystal Palace. Staying in the capital, Arsenal will be out for revenge against Brentford – with the Bees inflicting that famous upset versus the Gunners in their very first Premier League game back in August.

?? The Serie A weekend follows on from Friday night’s Turin Derby with a couple of interesting matches on Saturday. One pits the leaders, Milan against the side currently sitting bottom of the pile, Salernitana and the other sees Roma entertain the unpredictable Hellas Verona.

The Gialloblu have the third best record in terms of goals scored per match (1.9) but have also conceded 40, the worst record of anyone in the top half of the table.

?? The top side are also in action in La Liga with Real Madrid playing relegation threatened Alavés. That defeat at PSG during the week means that Madrid have won one of their last five games in all competitions, a record that has a section of the fanbase grumbling – but at home, you’d fully expect them to maintain their four point lead in the table.

Things aren’t looking too rosy on the other side of the capital either – Atlético lost to the league’s bottom side on Wednesday, a result that saw the defending champions slip out of the top four. Under pressure Diego Simeone and their fans will be hoping for more from a trip to Osasuna.

?? As we’ve mentioned that important win for PSG, we should reference what they’re up to back on the domestic front this weekend. Well, the Parisians will be on the road to face a Nantes side unbeaten in seven home games.

The only other game in Ligue 1 comes as seventh placed Lyon visit eighth placed Lens.

?? One of the more intriguing stories in the Bundesliga season appears to be the battle for fourth place. Four teams are currently locked together on 34 points, from Leipzig in fourth down to Union Berlin in seventh. Three of the four play on Saturday, with Hoffenheim the best placed of them set to visit Wolfsburg.

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Sunday

?? La Liga delivers further interest on Sunday with match-ups including a lot of the top teams. Sevilla (2nd) play Espanyol whilst city rivals Betis (3rd) host Mallorca and Barcelona (4th) go to Valencia.

And if that wasn’t enough, there’s the Basque Derby between in-form Athletic Club and arch-rivals Real Sociedad to round off the day’s action.

?? Back in the Bundesliga, its top vs. bottom as Bayern welcome Greuther Fürth to the Allianz Arena for the first time since 2013. Greuther are actually on their best run of the form this season with two wins in their last three but surely the good ship Bayern will get back to an even keel after their shock defeat to Bochum and stuttering display at Salzburg in the Champions League.

Elsewhere there’s another derby, albeit for the name only as the two Borussia – Dortmund and Mönchengladbach battle it out.

??????? Rivalries will be renewed in the Premier League on Sunday with Yorkshire side Leeds United facing Lancashire ‘neighbours’ Manchester United in the first game between the two, with fans at Elland Road for over a decade.

?? In Serie A, the side with the best away record in the league, Atalanta go to Fiorentina just 10 days after the two met in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia. La Viola came back from 2-1 down in that one, winning the game in the 93rd minute thanks to Nikola Milenković.

Inter, whose season has taken a couple of blows recently – losing their hold on top spot plus defeat to Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League tie need to lift themselves for a home game vs. Sassuolo.

?? After it’s long sabbatical over the winter months, the Danish Superliga returns to action on Sunday. Midtjylland hold a two point advantage at the top and they’ll be looking to carry on where they left off against fourth placed Aalborg.

?? And finally, we’re in the midst of the various State Championships in Brazilian football but there’s still time to break off for the Supercopa. Atlético Mineiro, who broke a 50 year curse to lift the league title last season also won the main cup competition meaning that for this game, they face league runners up Flamengo who themselves won the title in both 2019 and 2020. This should therefore be a great advert for all that Brazil has to offer!

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If you want to follow any of the games mentioned above, click on the relevant link and tap the bell icon to receive all the key match updates.

Or join us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to discuss all the important football going on this weekend!

Cover Image from IMAGO

The best action to follow this weekend

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If you would like to receive this weekly preview direct to your inbox, sign up to our FREE mailing list by clicking here.

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Friday

The weekend starts early with some big games set to get you going this evening!

Before they face Bayern München in the Champions League, Salzburg must face Rapid – their main rivals back home in the Austrian Bundesliga. There’s also a top of the table clash in Portugal where unbeaten FC Porto take on chasers Sporting whilst in La Liga, second placed Sevilla play in-form Elche.

PSG fill the Friday night slot in Ligue 1, as they host Rennes and its sixth vs. seventh in the German Bundesliga as FC Köln go to Leipzig.

Meanwhile, there’s potentially a title-defining game in the English WSL. Current champions Chelsea sit two points below leaders Arsenal and will be desperate to overhaul their rivals in a lively London Derby.

And if that wasn’t enough, there’s also the start of the CAF Champions League group stages.

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Saturday

? The Club World Cup isn’t always a competition that grabs European football fans but that certainly can’t be said for South America where the tournament, and its predecessor – the Intercontinental Cup are revered by the clubs and fans alike.

Therefore, the pressure is on Chelsea to deliver a result when they meet Brazilian side Palmeiras in Saturday’s final, especially considering that the UEFA representatives have won in 13 of the previous 14 years. In fact, the only side in that run to lose a final was Chelsea back in 2012 when they went down 1-0 to Palmerias’ big São Paulo rivals Corinthians. The Verdão will be desperate to emulate that achievement.

?? Following last weekend’s Milan Derby, there’s another top of the table clash in Serie A as Inter travel to Napoli.

Napoli capitalised on Inter’s defeat to Milan in that game by beating Spezia to climb within a point of the summit. Another win here would see the first change in leadership since Napoli themselves were knocked off the top back in early December.

??????? There’s five fixtures scheduled in the Premier League with Manchester United starting proceedings at home against Southampton in the early kick-off. With the Saints winning at Spurs in midweek whilst United stumbled at Burnley it will be interesting to see how this one plays out.

Elsewhere, Everton meet Leeds United in a battle between two struggling teams looking to change the course of their season and later in the day, relegation threatened Norwich City host leaders Manchester City, who are unbeaten in 14 league games.

?? The new football season in Japan kicks off with the Super Cup, which is being held for the 37th time and features back-to-back J.League champions Kawasaki Frontale against Urawa Red Diamonds, who won last season’s Emperor’s Cup.

?? In La Liga, the big game of the day sees Real Madrid travel to sixth place Villarreal. Despite their cushion, in terms of points at the top of the table Madrid could be venerable to the Europa League holders who are on a fine run of form at home.

Madrid haven’t been at their fluent best in recent weeks – drawing with Elche at home, losing in the Copa del Rey and only narrowly beating Granada last weekend, thanks to a wonder strike from Marco Asensio.

?? Bayern München will be on the road on Saturday, visiting a Bochum side that they beat 7-0 in the early stages of this season. Bochum aren’t as bad as that result suggests and they’ve done well to consolidate in mid-table following their promotion as champions of the 2.Bundesliga.

Third placed Bayer Leverkusen also feature, at home to struggling Stuttgart. Always entertaining to watch, Leverkusen have smashed five goals in each of their last two fixtures – first beating Augsburg before the big win at Dortmund that narrowed the gap on the side directly above them in the table.

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Sunday

??????? On Sunday, Premier League draw specialists Burnley will be hoping for another positive display as they host Liverpool, a second club from the ‘Big Six’ to visit Turf Moor this week. Burnley’s midweek 1-1 draw with United was their seventh in their last 10 league games!

Newcastle United are another side towards the bottom of the table with reasons to be cheerful but they face a stiff test on Sunday, with Steven Gerrard’s new-look Aston Villa the visitors to St. James’ Park.

Spurs (7th) will also be in action, taking on Wolves (8th) as both clubs look for a run of results that will break them in to the top six.

?? Its Derby Day in Barcelona as Espanyol host their more illustrious rivals from across Spain’s second city. Earlier in the season, the reverse fixture marked Xavi’s first game in charge of Barça and resulted in a narrow 1-0 win thanks to a penalty from Memphis Depay.

Since then, Barcelona have lost just once in the league and they’ll have been massively encouraged by last week’s 4-2 victory over Atlético Madrid, a performance seen by many as their best under the new manager.

?? In Germany, two sides at the top of the table and smarting from recent defeats will be out to prove a point against each other. Dortmund (2nd), who were on the wrong end of that 5-2 defeat to Leverkusen last weekend visit the capital to face Union Berlin (4th) who for their part, lost at lowly Augsburg.

?? We haven’t spoken about the Swiss Super League enough this season, which is an oversight when you consider that we could have our first title winners to break the Basel/Young Boys duopoly since 2009!

FC Zürich were the last side other than the big two to win the league and they currently sit top of the pile. Zürich play fourth placed Lugano on Sunday, with Young Boys clashing with Basel in the country’s most high profile fixture earlier in the day.

?? Lastly, we head back to Serie A where Sunday traditionally provides the best action of the weekend. Milan, who boast an in-form Olivier Giroud (4 goals in 2 games this week!) entertain Sampdoria in the early kick-off. And to close off proceedings, watch out for Atalanta as they welcome Juventus, seemingly their direct rivals for the fourth Champions League qualification spot this season.

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If you want to follow any of the games mentioned above, click on the relevant link and tap the bell icon to receive all the key match updates.

Or join us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to discuss all the important football going on this weekend!

Cover Image from IMAGO