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.

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!

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Ahead of the 2021 season, we spoke with Bodø/Glimt and Norway midfielder Patrick Berg.

Now, having inspired his side to a second consecutive league title, progression to the knock-out stages of the Europa Conference League and being recognised as the Eliteserien’s player of the year, Berg is set to join one of Europe’s big five leagues with a deal to French club Lens already agreed. Anyone who watched Glimt take Roma apart with ease in the Conference League will know that move is well deserved.

Some of Berg’s quotes are quite telling now that we know Glimt managed to defend their title. With that in mind, we’ve left this story in its original context.

Located within the Arctic Circle, Bodø/Glimt is no ordinary football club, and Patrick Berg is no ordinary Glimt player. The midfielder is the third-generation Berg to play for the club, but the first to win a league title (make that two league titles!).

“I personally have a long history with the club, and my family does as well, so I feel like I have it in my veins, the Glimt blood.

“My grandad and his teammates had to go through a lot to get the club into the Norwegian league. Before the early 70s it was only the northern Norwegian teams playing together and the south of Norway playing together.

“The way they brought pride to people in the northern region when they won the cup in 1975 I think stands as the most important time in our history as a club. But, of course last season as well, me and my teammates did something really important in terms of the club’s history.”

Bodø/Glimt didn’t just win the Norwegian league last year (and notably, the first title in the club’s history). They dominated it. Breaking just about every record you can think of along the way: most goals scored in a season, most points, biggest title winning margin — statistically, no other club in Norway has done anything like it. But as their captain, Berg says they’re not finished yet.

“I think if you start focusing on results and titles, you’d be quite happy when you win the Norwegian league, and you might think, ‘Okay, what else can we do?’ When we’re focused on performance instead of results, we never want to stop.” 

Glimt’s innovative approach to mental training and mindfulness, led by former fighter pilot turned mental coach Bjørn Mannsverk, does away with the results-based mentality and usual goal-setting for the season, focusing instead on the quality of performances alone. The approach includes meditation before training, group meetings, and one-on-one sessions focusing on techniques to improve performance and development.

And as they embark on their biggest challenge yet: a title defence and Champions League qualification campaign, it’s this training regime which Berg credits for keeping pressure off of the players.

“We are really, really precise about what our focus should be. And when you have that focus, you don’t think about consequences and what could happen. You actually focus on your tasks as a football player — and that personally for me takes away a lot of the pressure that is coming from the outside.”

As is typical in leagues the size of the Eliteserien, Glimt had their best players snapped up by teams abroad as Jens Petter Hauge, Philip Zinckernagel, and Kasper Junker all left (to AC Milan, Watford, and Urawa Red Diamonds, respectively) after scoring a combined 60 goals in 2020. That means Glimt will be taking on Champions League competition with a new attack. But, Berg isn’t worried about embedding new players.

“I think every new guy who is coming in is probably a little bit nervous and anxious about where they fit in in the group, that’s just how we are as human beings. I think my role, as well as the other players who are more established, is that we have to take care of every single person who comes into our group.

“We all want the same thing — we want to be the best possible version of ourselves, and I don’t think that’s possible if people are scared of being themselves. That’s the message we give to every new guy that comes in, just be yourself.

“Our mindset has helped us a lot, and I feel that the new players coming in adapt really quickly. They feel safe in our environment. We just want to push each other forward, and if someone makes a mistake or does something stupid, it’s okay, it’s acceptable in this club. I think the way we go about things in our club is really healthy.”

The new additions will need to be firing early, as Glimt’s Champions League campaign begins in June, something which Berg has dared to dream of for years.

“Back in 2016 I said to the club’s homepage that my dream one day was to play in the Champions League with Bodø/Glimt. That was actually right after we got relegated, so I don’t think anybody believed me that it would be possible, and only four years later.

“Personally, my hope is that we dare to be ourselves, and we dare to play our football. Even if we meet teams that are supposed to be better than us, I think going into Europe and suddenly starting to play in a different way, that’s not us. And I don’t think that’s the way to go about it. I would be extremely disappointed if we go out in the qualifying stages feeling that we could have done more. My hopes are just that we give it our all and see how far it takes us.”

And at home in the Eliteserien, no one is expecting Glimt’s title-defence to be straightforward, with an incredibly deep Molde side, a reinvigorated Rosenborg, and an ascending Vålerenga.

“I think our way is to just focus on ourselves and try to develop our play even more. But, the other teams have really strengthened their squads. I think it’s going to be a really, really fun season for everyone who follows Norwegian football.” says Berg.

The new season sees the return of an Arctic Circle rivalry as Glimt host their closest neighbours, Tromsø, on Sunday.

“Probably the best way to start a new season is at home against Tromsø,” says Berg. “I think they have been looking really good in preseason. Hopefully for them and for us we can both have good seasons and really put northern Norway on the map.”

You can follow every Eliteserien match live with FotMob — with goal alerts, in-depth match stats (including xG), Eliteserien Fantasy points, official highlights, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

The best action to follow this weekend

Saturday

??????? There’s five Premier League games tomorrow, with all four of England’s representatives involved in next Monday’s draw for the Champions League Round of 16 playing across the afternoon.

The day’s main draw will of course be Steven Gerrard’s return to Anfield as manager of Liverpool’s opponents Aston Villa. Elsewhere, reigning European champions Chelsea play old foes Leeds United, a rivalry born on the terraces in the 70s and 80s.

After their midweek setback at Leipzig, current leaders Manchester City face Wolves and we’ll have to see whether new interim manager Ralf Rangnick will make another 11 changes to his Manchester United line-up for the trip to Norwich City.

?? The delayed MLS season finally got underway on 16 April this year, and now eight months later it draws to a close with the MLS Cup Final. Having finished the regular campaign fourth in the Western Conference, three time finalists Portland Timbers are back at this stage for the first time since 2018 where they face New York City (4th in the Eastern Conference), who have never previously made it past the quarter-finals in the play-offs.

NYCFC will be boosted by the return of the league’s top scorer, Taty Castellanos (19 goals in 32 games) after he served a one-game suspension in the previous round.

?? The Bundesliga is as busy as ever on Saturday afternoon and after their big midweek wins in the Champions League both Bayern and Dortmund return to the nit and gritty of the league. Bayern play Mainz, a side who’ve lost just one of their last seven whilst Dortmund go to Bochum who are more than holding their own after promotion to the top flight this season.

And new Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco will be in the dugout to try and arrest their poor league form at home to Gladbach.

?? In Italy, an improving Juventus side go to Venezia on the back of three wins and three clean sheets plus the boost of finishing top of their group in the Champions League.

Milan though, must put their midweek disappointment at having crashed out of Europe to one side as they look to consolidate their position at the top of the Serie A table with a positive result at Udinese.

?? Of the current top six in La Liga, only Sevilla play tomorrow. They travel to Athletic Club knowing a win would temporarily cut the gap to leaders Real Madrid down to five points.

Their Basque opponents have drawn more games this season (nine) than any team in any of Europe’s top five leagues.

Sunday

?? Sticking with La Liga we start our look at Sunday’s biggest games with the Madrid Derby. And they don’t come much bigger than that. Atlético travel across town to face Real Madrid as defending champions but trailing them by a full ten points in the league. Ominously, Madrid come in to the game on a run of nine straight wins in all competitions with Atleti winning just four across the same period.

Also tomorrow, 3rd play 5th as Real Betis host Real Sociedad and Europa-bound Barcelona play at Osasuna.

?? There’s more top level action in Serie A with Inter, Napoli and Atalanta all involved.

Inter have perhaps the easiest task of the three as they welcome Cagliari to the San Siro, the side with the worst away record in the division. Napoli play mid-table Empoli and Atalanta go to Verona, where they’ll have to look out for 11-goal striker Giovanni Simeone (son of Diego), who is averaging a goal every 88 minutes.

??????? We’re down a game in England as the COVID outbreak at Spurs has put paid to their clash with Brighton. From the matches that are going head, West Ham are the highest ranked side involved as they go to Burnley.

Elsewhere, Leicester City face Newcastle United with the Magpies looking up after finally getting off the foot of the table last weekend. And Everton visit Crystal Palace, a side they’ve not lost against in 13 meetings.

?? Ligue 1 provides some high profile fixtures on Sunday with Kylian Mbappé’s PSG facing his former side Monaco and last year’s champions Lille hosting Lyon.

But perhaps the most intriguing fixture is that between two of this season’s success stories – Rennes (2nd) vs. Nice (4th). Can either side maintain a significant challenge for the second Champions League spot, behind the frontrunners from Paris?

?? In Brazil, where the final round of the league season took place on Thursday it’s now time for the first leg of the Copo do Brasil final. And we’ll see whether Hulk’s Atlético Mineiro, who have just won their first title since 1971 can go on to complete a historic double.

They face Athletico Paranaense, who are gunning for a double of their own. They finished their league campaign with a 14th place finish but did win the Copa Sudamericana, South America’s second biggest club tournament back in November.

?? Finally, spare a thought for the Brann fans in the FotMob office as Norway’s Eliteserien comes to a dramatic close on Sunday. Our home town team go in to the final round with a chance of avoiding automatic relegation and instead qualifying for a relegation play-off against a team from the second tier.

Brann need a win, at home to Sarpsborg combined with dropped points for relegation rivals Stabæk, who play at Odd. Odd last won a game in September but there’s always hope, right!?

Perhaps of more interest to the outside world is the battle at the top of the table where defending champions Bodø/Glimt are looking for the point they need to confirm back-to-back titles. Glimt play bottom side Mjøndalen where any slips ups could allow Molde to steal the championship, should they win their own fixture.

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

Saturday

?? We’ll start today’s preview with one of Europe’s biggest games, Der Klassiker – Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern München. The game which so often sets the course for how each Bundesliga season is going to play out.

Dortmund are the hosts this time around, and they go in to the game just a point behind the reigning champions. A positive COVID test looks to have denied us the chance to see all three of the league’s hottest marksmen though – at least in terms of minutes per goal, so we’ll have to make do with the battle between Haaland and Lewandowski.

?? As it stands, all of the clubs currently sitting in the top five of La Liga play today. Sevilla (4th) kick proceedings off with a home game against Villarreal before their cross city Real Betis (5th) play at Barcelona.

Later, there’s the clash between Atlético (2nd), the unpredictable reigning champions and Mallorca. And then the day’s headliner, Real Sociedad (3rd) vs. Real Madrid (1st), two sides given the Royal prefix.

With La Real having kept the most clean sheets this season – 9 in 15 league games and Madrid scoring the most goals – at a rate of 2.3 per game, this should be an intriguing contest.

??????? Similarly, the Premier League’s three runaway leaders feature in today’s fixtures. Leaders Chelsea perhaps have the toughest assignment, a trip across London to Champions League-challenging West Ham United.

Free-scoring Liverpool (averaging over 3 goals a game!) go to Wolves, who drew a blank against Burnley in the week. And Manchester City are also on the road, away at Watford, a side playing with a new found confidence under Claudio Ranieri. That is particular the case for striker Emmanuel Dennis, a goalscorer in each of his last 3 matches.

?? And apologies if you’ve heard this one before – but the top five also play in Italy today. Current leaders Napoli play the ever-entertaining Atalanta (4th) in the evening kick-off.

Before that, Milan (2nd) play bottom side Salernitana and Inter (3rd) face Roma (5th) led, of course by their Champions League winning former manager, José Mourinho.

?? As if all that wasn’t enough, you might also be interested in some final day drama in Sweden where the Allsvenskan title is still up for grabs.

Leaders, and current champions Malmö hold a two point advantage and a superior goal difference, meaning a point for them at home to Halmstads should be enough.

Should they slip up however, AIK will be waiting in the wings. They play at home vs. Sirius knowing that nothing but a win will do.

Sunday

?? The MLS Play-offs have reached the Conference Finals stage and after the West gets settled between Portland and Real Salt Lake tonight, there’s the Eastern showdown to look forward to tomorrow.

This one pits two sides making their debut at this stage of the competition having put together some impressive post-season results. Philadelphia Union have beaten NYRBs and Nashville to make it this far whilst New York City saw off Atlanta AND New England Revolution, the side who broke the all-time points record during the regular season.

??????? There’s four fixtures in the Premier League tomorrow. Manchester United, now able to have new interim coach Ralf Rangnick sit in the dugout play Crystal Palace and there’s more managerial intrigue as Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa side host his former manager, Brendan Rodgers and Leicester City.

And staying in England, tomorrow is FA Cup Final day in the women’s game. In fact, the much delayed Final for the 2020/21 season is being played at Wembley Stadium between record winners Arsenal, and current league champions Chelsea.

? With the week ahead full to the brim with the final group games in Europe’s top club competitions – the Champions League et al, tomorrow’s fixture list does in truth, look a little sparse. But there’s still intrigue, if you know where to look!

In Serie A, Juventus won’t want to suffer another slip-up when they play struggling Genoa and in the Bundesliga, early season surprise package Freiburg go to Gladbach, a side that haven’t hit the heights they did last year.

And in Austria, there’s the always heated Vienna Derby between Rapid and Austria Wien.

?? One of tomorrow’s lesser talked about games is the finale of the Premier League season in Canada. This is one of our favourite fledgling leagues and one we’ve been following since it’s inaugural season in 2019. Forge FC, the side who’ve won the two previous Championships are once again in the post-season final – this time going up against Pacific FC, who finished the regular season down in third but with the best goal scoring record.

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!

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The best action to follow this weekend

Saturday

? Today will see Brazilian sides Palmeiras and Flamengo go head-to-head in South America’s most important game – the final of the Copa Libertadores.

And for the first time in the 61 year history of the tournament, the final is being played by the last two clubs to win the trophy – 2019 champions Flamengo and current holders Palmeiras, who overcame another Brazilian side Santos at this stage 12 months ago.

That was the São Paulo club’s second Libertadores titles, which is incidentally the same amount as their rivals from Rio de Janeiro.

??????? In the Northern Hemisphere, today is a regular day of league action in Europe’s biggest leagues. That means we get five fixtures to look forward to in the Premier League, including Liverpool vs. Southampton and matches for some of the league’s newest managers.

Eddie Howe takes Newcastle to Arsenal looking for his first win, Dean Smith will oversee Norwich’s home game against Wolves and Steven Gerrard goes up against Patrick Vieira as Palace entertain Aston Villa.

?? Two of the top four in Italy’s top flight play later. Fourth placed Atalanta go to Juventus, currently languishing down in eighth whilst defending champions Inter could end the day one point off the league’s joint leaders, if they win away at Venezia.

?? It’s a relatively quiet day in La Liga but we will get to see if Barcelona can kick-start the so far, so familiar tenure of new manager Xavi. Following last weekend’s win over Derby rivals Espanyol, they stuttered to a goalless draw against Benfica in the Champions League and now, they face a road trip to Villarreal.

?? The big game in the Bundesliga comes at the Volkswagen Arena as Wolfsburg welcome Borussia Dortmund, with both sides looking to recover from midweek setbacks in Europe.

Elsewhere Bayern go up against struggling Arminia Bielefeld. League top scorer Robert Lewandowski has five league goals more than the whole Arminia team have managed collectively so far this season.

Sunday

??????? There’s another five games lined up in the Premier League for tomorrow, including two that feature teams who enjoyed a successful week in their respective continental competitions.

Manchester City, who confirmed top spot in their Champions League group with a win over PSG play West Ham, who did the same in the Europa League.

And in the day’s late kick-off league leaders Chelsea, handsome victors over Juventus in midweek take on Manchester United, who’ll be hoping to continue the interim manager bump under the tutelage of Michael Carrick.

?? Its top versus third in La Liga’s headline game of the weekend, with Real Madrid testing their 8 game unbeaten run against Sevilla, who themselves have only lost one league game all season.

That game could become second versus third should Real Sociedad leapfrog Madrid with a win away to Espanyol earlier in the day.

?? Serie A’s joint leaders, Milan and Napoli will both be looking to get back to winning ways after finally losing their unbeaten league records last weekend.

Milan did of course have that late Champions League win at Atlético Madrid in midweek but they’ll want to follow that up at home to Sassuolo. For Napoli though, who paired defeat to Inter with further disappointment at Spartak Moscow in the Europa League – nothing but a win will do against tomorrow’s opponents Lazio.

?? Post-season continues in MLS with two Conference Semi-Finals taking place on Sunday. In the West, Sporting Kansas City take on surprise package Real Salt Lake. The latter got past regular favourites Seattle Sounders in the last round despite not taking a single shot on goal in 120 minutes of football – instead relying on the lottery of penalty kicks to see them through!

And in the East, the game between second and third seeds, Philadelphia Union and Nashville SC looks too close to call.

?? Similarly, the Swedish title race is a particularly tight affair going in to the penultimate round, with games being played tomorrow and Monday. In fact, top four are separated by just three points!

Current leaders and defending champions Malmö go to Kalmar (6th) whilst Djurgården have a home game against Varbergs (11th). And then, if we look slightly further ahead that the usual remit of this article – 4th placed Elfsborg play 3rd placed AIK tomorrow evening.

Expect drama.

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

Saturday

??????? The Premier League hits the post-International Break ground running with eight games lined up for today. And for every heavyweight clash – Leicester vs. leaders Chelsea, or the day’s late kick-off Liverpool vs. Arsenal, there will be lots to look out for in the other fixtures.

Dean Smith takes charge of his first game for struggling Norwich City, against Southampton – the side he faced in his final match as manager of Aston Villa.

And Steven Gerrard, one of the most famous players of his generation makes his managerial debut in the league as his replacement in the Villa Park dugout, as they go up against Brighton.

?? Today is Derby Day for Barcelona as Espanyol make their first trip across town since their rivals consigned them to relegation from La Liga with a 1-0 win at Camp Nou in 2020.

Famously, this is one of the most one-sided rivalries in world football (124 wins to 44) but following their promotion back to the top flight at the first time of asking, Espanyol go in to the game level on points with Barcelona and optimistic of ending their 12-year wait for an away win in this fixture.

Earlier in the day, Sevilla could go top of the league with a win over Alavés whilst defending champions Atlético Madrid can close the gap on the top three by beating Osasuna at home.

?? In Italy, Milan will test one of only two unbeaten records across Europe’s top five leagues when they visit Fiorentina.

And in the day’s biggest game, Juventus look to snap their three game winless run at high-scoring Lazio.

?? For those of you who enjoy the cut and thrust of Derby Day, the Bundesliga fixtures include the battle between Union and Hertha Berlin. The first chance fans will have had to attend this game since before the start of the pandemic.

Borussia Dortmund are also in action, at home to Stuttgart and RB Leipzig face a road trip to mid-table Hoffenheim.

? Two continental finals shape the next week in South American football and for the first time, all four finalists in today’s Copa Sudamericana and next weekend’s Copa Libertadores showpiece come from Brazil.

First up, in what is the equivalent of the Europa League, Athletico Paranaense who won this tournament as recently as 2018 face relative minnows, Red Bull Bragantino. This is the club’s biggest ever game, either in their previous guise or during their rapid rise to Brazil’s top table since the involvement of a certain energy drinks company.

?? It’s also an important day in the US, with post-season now in full swing – not least for Washington Spirit and Chicago Red Stars, who meet to decide the 9th NWSL Championship.

The MLS play-offs begin with the tie between Philadelphia Union and NY Red Bulls and it is Conference Finals day in the second tier, USL Championship.

And finally, there’s also the Championship game in the third tier, USL League One – a game between Union Omaha and Greenville Triumph.

Sunday

?? Tomorrow, Serie A leads the way in headline entertainment with the only other unbeaten record in Europe’s big five leagues on the line as Napoli go to defending champions Inter Milan.

Both sides went in to the international break having won three and drawn two of their last five games, across all competitions but with Inter perhaps having the tougher run having played both their major rivals – Milan and Juve during that time.

?? Ahead of any changes caused by today’s results, Real Sociedad went in to the weekend top of La Liga, one point clear of Madrid having also played one game more. And tomorrow, we’ll see if either side can increase that slender gap.

Madrid visit Granada, who sit outside of the relegation zone on goal difference alone and Real Sociedad close the weekend action with an evening kick-off at home to Valencia.

??????? Two games wrap-up the full round in the Premier League as England’s top flight looks to give it’s sides as long as possible to recover going in a busy week of continental competition in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.

Tottenham Hotspur play host to Leeds United and Manchester City look to extend their 9-game unbeaten run against an Everton side who’ve not won a match in five attempts.

?? Turkish football should provide tomorrow’s quota of big Derby action with Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe meeting in one of football’s more exotic sounding rivalries, the Intercontinental Derby – named as such due to the two sides being based and most widely supported on either side of the Bosphorus Straight in Istanbul.

So far this season, it’s the ‘Europeans’ of Galatasaray who have fared slightly better than ‘Asian’ side Fenerbahçe but both trail league leaders Trabzonspor by nine and ten points respectively.

?? Lastly, two intriguing games in the MLS play-offs to look forward to. In the East, NYCFC and the league’s top regular season scorer Valentín Castellanos (19 goals) take on Atlanta United with the sides otherwise equally matched heading in to post-season having collected 51 points and finishing fourth and fifth in the table.

And in the West, Portland Timbers play Minnesota United. Again, these sides finished the regular season fourth and fifth in their conference, albeit with Minnesota only scrapping through to this stage thanks to avoiding defeat against LA Galaxy on the final day.

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

Saturday

??????? The very first game of the weekend in the Premier League is undoubtably the biggest of the round as the two Manchester clubs meet at Old Trafford.

United come in to the game off the back of their last gasp draw at Atalanta during the week, a result that came after the morale boosting win over Spurs on Sunday – can Solskjær keep his hands on the wheel with another three points against Pep Guardiola? He’s the only long-standing Premier League manager to have more wins than losses against his opposite number across the city.

There are four other matches in England’s top flight today, including a home game for Chelsea versus Burnley – a contest the European Champions have only dropped points in once since 2017 and Newcastle’s trip to Brighton, where they’ve not won in the same time period (4 attempts).

?? In the Bundesliga, Freiburg have been defying all expectations this season with the club from the Black Forest yet to have lost 10 games in to the season. With six wins and four draws to their name they sit three points behind leaders Bayern München, the side where they’ll be putting their unbeaten record on the line today.

Elsewhere, usual there or thereabouts title challengers Leipzig and Dortmund clash in the day’s late kick-off.

?? Spain’s biggest clubs are also in action later. Barcelona go to Celta Vigo perhaps under the tutelage of interim coach Sergi Barjuan for the last time as they await the return of club legend and likely new manager Xavi Hernández.

And Real Madrid take on the third largest club in their home city, Rayo Vallecano who are currently being inspired by the goals of former Atlético Madrid hero Radamel Falcao.

Not to be outdone, the big boys of Serie A and Ligue 1 play today. Juventus, dominant in Europe but indifferent at home in Italy play Fiorentina whilst PSG travel south west to face Bordeaux.

? Following the big Cairo Derby on Friday night (won by Al Ahly), two more of Africa’s biggest club games are lined up for today.

In South Africa, Kaizer Chiefs play Orlando Pirates in the Soweto Derby and further north, Moroccan giants Wydad and Raja clash in Casablanca.

There’s also a massive game between rivals in Brazil where Internacional go up against fellow Porto Alegre club Grêmio in a game known as the Grenal. This one has some added spice as defeat for Grêmio would keep them in the relegation zone and at least seven points adrift of safety, with eight games to play.

Sunday

?? The Derby day feel to the weekend continues unabated tomorrow, not least at the San Siro.

Unbeaten Milan sit second in Serie A, five points above reigning champions Inter and with both sides on form, this edition of the Derby della Madonnina could be a hot one!

Napoli, the only side matching and indeed bettering Milan (in terms of goal difference) this season play Hellas Verona earlier in the day. Verona will be looking for more from their loan striker and famous footballing son, Giovanni Simeone.

The Argentine scored both in their shock win at Juve last time out, taking him to eight league goals in 10 appearances this season.

??????? With this weekend falling after a midway round in all of UEFA’s continental competitions, there are four Premier League games held over for tomorrow.

Arsenal go up against their training ground neighbours Watford (literally, look it up!), Rafa Benítez’s Everton play Antonio Conte’s Tottenham, Leeds entertain Leicester and the league’s top scorers Liverpool go to West Ham.

?? La Liga is similarly busy tomorrow with five of the current top seven sides all featuring. Real Sociedad (1st) play Osasuna (7th), Atlético Madrid (4th) look to snap back in to gear away at Valencia and the weekend is rounded off nicely by the most competitive looking Grand Derbi for years, Betis vs. Sevilla.

?? Amazingly, progression to the knockout stages in this years’ MLS season is still up in the air with only tomorrow’s final round of regular season games to play.

In the Eastern Conference six sides are fighting over three remaining slots whilst in the West, it’s a similar tale with five sides competing for the last three on their side of the league.

To try and make sense of it all, please give this article a read ahead of tomorrow’s Decision Day.

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

Saturday

??????? There will be plenty of intrigue around the seven games scheduled in the Premier League this afternoon with the media having us believe that at least one managerial job is on the line in the late fixture between Spurs and Manchester United.

Earlier in the day, Arsenal go to Leicester City for the early kick-off before a run of games involving sides towards the top of the table. Liverpool (2nd) host Brighton (5th), Manchester City (3rd) take on Crystal Palace and leaders Chelsea go to newly-minted but winless Newcastle United.

?? In La Liga, where the top seven are currently separated by five points there’s a chance for two of those to join leaders Real Sociedad on 24 from their first 11 games.

Real Madrid kick-off first, away to an Elche side who are unbeaten in seven home games before Sevilla go on to play Osasuna, who it might surprise you to learn have the best away record of anyone in the league this season.

Meanwhile at Barcelona, new interim coach Sergi Barjuán faces his first test at home to Alavés.

?? There are just three games in Serie A today but at least two of them should be worth a watch. Juventus, who suffered that late defeat to Sassuolo in midweek visit the high scoring but unpredictable Hellas Verona. The Verona front-line includes Giovanni Simeone, son of Diego who scored all four goals in their win over Lazio last weekend.

Two of the leagues other in-form strikers, Duván Zapata and Ciro Immobile should also be on display as Atalanta go up against the aforementioned Lazio.

?? The MLS season is coming to a head nicely, with some sides playing their final games of the regular season later tonight. Across the two conferences there are still nine play-off places up for grabs and three seeded spots available.

Check out the remaining games and have some fun plotting out the various post-season connotations via our profile for the league – found here.

?? Lastly for today, the Bundesliga should provide some interesting storylines with six games on offer. Bayern will be looking to bounce back from their heaviest ever defeat in the DFB Pokal (suffered against Gladbach on Wednesday) when they get back to the nitty gritty of the league with a road trip to Union Berlin.

Elsewhere, Dortmund take on FC Köln and this season’s surprise package, Freiburg will want to extend the unbeaten start to their season in to double figures against Greuther Fürth, one of two sides still to pick up a win.

Sunday

In truth, with the Champions League and other UEFA competitions coming up in the week, tomorrow’s fixture highlights are a little harder to come by but we think there’s still enough out there to keep you going.

? In Spain, or more specifically the Basque country there will be a massive derby taking place as Real Sociedad meet historic rivals Athletic Club at the Anoeta. And the extra significance this time around is that La Real go in to the weekend top of a very congested La Liga table.

Their three point lead could be cut by the time they take the field but the fact that a win against the old enemy would ensure they go straight back to the summit should give them that extra motivation, should any be necessary. For their part, Athletic are unbeaten in seven away from Bilbao and have only lost one league game this season despite sitting well off the pace set by their rivals.

Also in La Liga, watch out for Atlético Madrid‘s game against fellow high flyers Real Betis as a win for the defending champions could take them in to the top four. But they’ll probably have to do without Diego Simeone in the dugout after his sending off during their disappointing midweek draw at Levante.

?? With the two Milan clubs not in Champions League action until Wednesday, their respective weekend fixtures remain in their traditional Sunday slots. Inter at home to Udinese at lunchtime whilst Milan face a tough trip to the slightly unpredictable Roma.

Milan are neck and neck with Napoli at the head of the division, level on points with identical won 9, drawn 1, lost 0 records. And of the two, Napoli will probably think they have the easier away fixture of the two, visiting promoted side Salernitana.

??????? Back in the Premier League, only two games are on the slate for tomorrow with Norwich City facing fellow strugglers Leeds United and Aston Villa lining up for the kit clash derby against another claret and blue side West Ham United.

Staying in England, it’s Semi-Final day in the Women’s FA Cup. Manchester City, who have been plagued by injury and a lack of form in the league will hope to park that for the day as they go up against Chelsea and current league leaders Arsenal play a Brighton side who have reached this stage of the competition for the first time since 1976.

? To round off the weekend, we’ve picked out two of South America’s biggest derbies to tempt you down a rabbit hole of league tables, wikipedia and historical stats! Cerro Porteño clash with Olimpia in Paraguay’s Superclasico, a game that looks particularly critical for Olimpia with one of the country’s giant sides currently languishing at the foot of the table.

And there’s also the equivalent clash between Uruguay’s two main sides, Peñarol and Nacional. The most widely known fact about this contest is that it’s the first cross-city derby game to develop anywhere in the world outside the UK, with the first match between the two sides taking place way back in 1900.

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 most difficult challenge in English Football

FotMob has teamed up with our mates COPA90 to send Eugene Noble to every single EFL ground this season. That’s 25,000 miles, 92 grounds, in just 9 months. This is the holy grail of English football.

See what he thought about Arsenal’s home, The Emirates.

You can find all the episodes on COPA90’s Instagram and TikTok pages.