Lewandowski cannot be stopped
Star Man: Robert Lewandowski bagged a 9.57, thanks to his 22 minute hat-trick against Stuttgart. In German terms, that’s the only kind of hat-trick that counts – with all goals coming in one half.
Who caught your eye this week? Who was unlucky to miss out? Let us know in the replies on Twitter.
Whether you’re looking for a tasty looking tie to watch in one of Europe’s top leagues or fancy following something more obscure, we’re here every Friday, selecting the best games FotMob has to offer over the weekend.
??????? Europe’s big five once again provide us with some early action to start the weekend. And from the Premier League we get the fixture between two of the divisions more unpredictable sides; Fulham and Leeds United.
?? In Germany, we’ll see how struggling Armenia hold up against second placed RB Leipzig. The Red Bull side sit six points clear of Wolfsburg below them but four points down on leaders Bayern so a win on the road would keep their slim hopes of a first ever Bundesliga title alive for a while longer.
?? To wrap up proceedings elsewhere – Real Betis host Levante in La Liga and Serie A offers up relegation-threatened Parma and their game against Genoa. And in Ligue 1, Niko Kovač’s Monaco will be looking for a win at Saint Etienne that would take them within a point of the two sides directly above them – Lyon and PSG as they look to make the title battle a four-horse race.
??????? Just one game to tell you about in the Premier League tomorrow and that’s a relegation six-pointer; Brighton vs. Newcastle. The gap in the schedule is because it’s FA Cup weekend, a competition where we’ve reached the quarter-finals stage.
Two of the four games take place on Saturday with Bournemouth, the last remaining team from outside the top flight playing regional rivals Southampton and Pep Guardiola’s quadruple chasing City go to Everton.
?? The Bundesliga looks a little busier, with five fixtures due to take place. Bayern, fresh from their safe passage through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League feature against Stuttgart. Third placed Wolfsburg are at Werder Bremen and Dortmund are also on the road, at FC Köln.
? And just because everybody loves a game with a bit of edge, here’s a selection of three derby, or national level rivalries taking place tomorrow:
?? Banfield play Lanús in Argentina’s Clásico del Sur, a battle between two suburbs south of Buenos Aires.
??????? Swansea City clash with Cardiff City as the two biggest Welsh sides fight for position in the EFL Championship.
?? And the A League provides ‘the Big Blue’ between Sydney and Melbourne Victory. The name stems from the clubs representing Australia’s largest two cities both wearing blue with their respective state colours also including the colour and in Australian English, blue can be used to describe a fight!
? Sunday
?? Going back to that exciting title race in Ligue 1, PSG and Lyon – the two sides locked together level on points behind Lille in the table go head-to-head. You could bill this game as the first of two successive title deciders for PSG as straight after they deal with the challenge of Lyon, they go on to face Lille in next weekend’s round of games.
??????? The FA Cup continues on Sunday with two all-Premier League affairs – Europa League quarter-finalists Manchester United take on Leicester City whilst Chelsea go up against Sheffield United, who are one of only two sides to have scored against the Londoners since Thomas Tuchel took over back in January.
Not to be outdone, England’s two other representatives in Europa League Thursday both play in the Premier League. Arsenal make the short trip east to face West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur will need to pick themselves up after the shock of defeat in Zagreb with a game at Aston Villa.
?? In Spain, the top two are in action with Atlético Madrid hosting Deportivo Alavés and Barcelona facing a tough trip to Real Sociedad. Barça may have slipped to third by the time the game is played, what with Real Madrid playing on Saturday but you can rest assured that if either Madrid club slip up, the Catalans will be looking to capitalise.
?? As is tradition, Sunday is the busy day in Serie A – especially with the news that league leaders Inter have postponed their Saturday fixture with Sassuolo due to positive coronavirus tests in their camp. Their nearest rivals, Milan face Fiorentina and Juventus will be in action against Filippo Inzaghi’s Benevento.
The game of the day though, comes slightly further down the table as 5th plays 6th – Napoli vs. Roma.
? And trialing our rivalries section once more – Sunday offers these big games:
?? The Soweto Derby takes place in the South African Premier League, with Kaizer Chiefs hosting Orlando Pirates. The Chiefs are well off the pace in the league, whilst the Pirates sit five points behind current leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.
?? Africa’s biggest club derby does however take place elsewhere on Sunday, with Wydad and Raja going at it in Casablanca. We’re only 10 games in to the new season in Morocco but these two are locked together at the top of the table, with Raja unbeaten so far.
??????? Celtic may have already conceded the Scottish title to Rangers but that probably only intensifies the rivalry going in to Sunday’s game between the two Glasgow giants, with Celtic looking to restore some pride on their own ground.
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!
We’re still thinking about that Dwight McNeil hit.
Leicester City’s in-form Nigerian hitman Kelechi Iheanacho has scored 5 in his last 3 and the hat-trick he bagged in the Foxes demolition of Sheffield United was well worth the top rating this week.
Who caught your eye this week? Who was unlucky to miss out? Let us know in the replies on Twitter.
We’re still thinking about that Dwight McNeil hit.
Leicester City’s in-form Nigerian hitman Kelechi Iheanacho has scored 5 in his last 3 and the hat-trick he bagged in the Foxes demolition of Sheffield United was well worth the top rating this week.
Who caught your eye this week? Who was unlucky to miss out? Let us know in the replies on Twitter.
Whether you’re looking for a tasty looking tie to watch in one of Europe’s top leagues or fancy following something more obscure, we’re here every Friday, selecting the best games FotMob has to offer over the weekend.
??????? There are games in all the big five European leagues today – in fact, Lazio will have already played their Serie A fixture against Crotone by the time you read this. In England though, the Premier League gives us the battle between Steve Bruce’s Newcastle United and one of his former clubs, Aston Villa. The Magpies have been dragged right into the relegation battle by the form of the sides around them so they’ll be desperate for at least a share of the spoils whilst Villa, with two games in hand are still aiming for a top six finish.
?? La Liga gives us a nice route in to the weekend with the Valencian Derby, Levante against Valencia, their historically more illustrious city neighbours. Just two points separate them going into this one, with Levante 11th to Valencia’s 12th.
?? In Turkey, last year’s champions Basaksehir have endured a terrible campaign and they go in to today’s game against current league leaders Beşiktaş just 3 points above the relegation zone. The fall from grace has seen the natural order of the Süper Lig restored with the big three – Besiktas, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe all fighting for the title.
?? We start tomorrow’s round-up with a look at the pick of the games from Spain, where in midweek Atlético Madrid extended their lead at the top to six points over Barcelona. Real Madrid sit two points further back in 3rd so they can ill afford any more slip-ups as they face Elche at home. For their part, Atlético go to Getafe, a team they’ve beaten in each of their last seven meetings.
??????? There are four offerings from the Premier League on Saturday – which among them feature Leeds United renewing hostilities with Chelsea, an unusual rivalry that stems from a shared hard team image in the 1970s and the leaders Manchester City trip to in-form Fulham.
?? In the Bundesliga, after a dramatic Klasskiker between them last weekend, Bayern and Dortmund must pick up their respective seasons. The leaders, and victors in that game – Bayern head north to Werder Bremen who have lost just one of their last eight. Dortmund meanwhile, are home to Hertha in need of taking their Champions League performances, albeit as shaky as they are in defence back in to their domestic form.
?? Outside of the usual transfer window and due to the reforms of Chinese football causing havoc for the leagues overseas players – one player move has created more buzz than most of late. And that’s the seemingly unlikely signing of Slovakian and Serie A legend, Marek Hamšík’s by IFK Göteborg. The Swedish club continue their pre-season preparations with a game against Sirius tomorrow afternoon – we’ll wager more people will be watching than they would have been otherwise.
??????? There’s no rest for the wicked on the final day of the weekend as once again, there’s a real Derby Day feel to proceedings. In the Premier League, there’s the North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. Both victorious in the Europa League in Thursday night, we’ll see who recovers fastest. And whether Spurs can maintain their current run of good form against their most hated rivals – having not lost to them since December 2018.
?? From La Liga, we get El Gran Derbi: Sevilla vs. Real Betis. These two city rivals have been going at it since 1915 when elements within the original Sevilla club split away to form their own club, with Betis being the modern day result of that.
?? And after both those big games have played out, Argentina provides perhaps the biggest club rivalry of them all – the Superclásico, with Boca Juniors hosting River Plate at La Bombonera. With the new league season again delayed in the country due to the impact of the pandemic and reorganisation within the governing body, this game takes place in the interim Copa de la Liga Profesional. The build-up for both sides has been contrasting with Boca recording a 7-1 win at Vélez whilst River suffered a surprise defeat to Argentinos Juniors.
?? Away from all the derbies taking place, Sunday is also big in terms of the Serie A title race with all three main contenders in action. Inter are on the road at Torino, as are Juventus who travel to Cagliari. Then, in probably the highlight of the schedule, Milan take on Napoli at the San Siro.
?? Lastly, don’t miss out of the meeting between the sides currently sat second and fourth in the Bundesliga – RB Leipzig vs. Eintracht Frankfurt.
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!
Whether you’re looking for a tasty looking tie to watch in one of Europe’s top leagues or fancy following something more obscure, we’re here every Friday, selecting the best games FotMob has to offer over the weekend.
?? Tonight starts with a sense of calm ahead of a weekend full of big derby energy. In La Liga, we get the meeting between Valencia (14th) and Villarreal (7th).
This should be a run-of-the-mill mid-table clash but there is little love between the clubs following Villarreal’s signing of Valencia’s long-term captain, Dani Parejo at the start of the season. Parejo spent nearly a decade at the Mestalla and was one of the highest performing players in the league last season. And we’re rating him even higher so far this season – 7.28 FotMob rating compared to 7.19 in 2019/20.
??????? Moving to the EFL Championship, in-form Cardiff City are on the road at Huddersfield Town. Since the appointment of veteran coach Mick McCarthy in January, the Welsh club have gone 10 games unbeaten and look a good outside bet to be in the play-off picture come the end of the season.
?? It’s always strangelyly captivating when a big side struggles so hard and there can be no better example than Schalke in the Bundesliga. With just one league win under their belts this season, the club appointed Dimitrios Grammozis, their 5th coach of the campaign earlier in the week and tonight they face Mainz 05, their nearest rivals in what already looks a doomed fight against relegation.
?? We’ll start our round-up of tomorrow’s action with a banger in the Bundesliga: Der Klassiker – Bayern München against Borussia Dortmund!
Now Dortmund may be a little inconsistent this season and they do go in to this one sitting fifth in the table but they are capable of beating anyone on their day. And they would love to land a blow on old rivals Bayern, who may well have lost top spot after RB Leipzig play earlier in the day.
?? Barcelona managed to claw their way to the final of the Copa del Rey with an extra-time victory over Sevilla during the week and after beating the same opposition in the league last weekend, they’ll be looking to keep the energy up as they hunt down La Liga leaders Atlético. To do that, Barcelona need a win at Osasuna.
?? The biggest game in Serie A tomorrow sees Juventus take on Lazio. Any lingering thoughts the away side may have had about a title shot have fallen by the wayside in recent weeks but Juventus are still very much in with a shout of retaining their crowd. Yes, they sit 10 points down on current leaders Inter but they do have a game in hand and they are set to face each other in the penultimate round of the season.
??????? The Premier League offers up four games on Saturday with perhaps the pick of the ties being Arsenal’s trip to Burnley, and what could be a vital result for both the luckless Brighton and a seemingly fading Leicester City.
?? Not to be outdone by all the big European derbies taking place over the next few days, the first clásico of the new league cup tournament in Argentina sees one of the country’s ‘cinco grades’ San Lorenzo play their nearest and not so dearest rivals Huracán.
??????? Moving on to another of the weekend’s biggest matches – the Premier League brings us the Manchester Derby between City and United on Sunday.
Anyone with a brain in their head will probably tell you that a win – which would be their 22nd in a row would seal the title for City. And anything less than a win for second placed United – who currently trail their rivals by 14 points also ends the title race. But with United on a club-record run without defeat away from Old Trafford, we perhaps shouldn’t discount them just yet.
Here’s what else is on in England’s top flight on Sunday:
?? Not to be outdone, La Liga brings us another potential title decider between two big city rivals. In this one we’ll see Atlético Madrid battle it out against Real Madrid.
Diego Simeone’s side have not looked as fluent in recent games but importantly, they picked up a win last weekend whilst Real could only draw. That has left them five points clear of both Barcelona and Real with a game in hand on both. But in the league at least, Atlético have failed to win a derby in nine attempts. Can they really afford to make that 10?
?? There is a real derby-day feel elsewhere in Europe on Sunday – Hammarby play AIK in Sweden, Brøndby and København go head-to-head in Denmark and Greece’s second city, Thessaloniki hosts the game between PAOK and Aris. But the game we’ve chosen to focus on is from Vienna in Austria, where our friends at The Other Bundesliga will no doubt be providing expert analysis on twitter. This one pits Austria Wien against Rapid, which is apparently the 3rd most played City derby in all of Europe.
We are teaming up with the guys behind The Other Bundesliga to bring a new project to the airwaves later this year, a podcast entitled, The Sweeper. The pod will focus on European football outside of the top five leagues, providing you with more stories that you need to know about from the lesser known footballing countries. For more info, please watch the video below and give The Sweeper a follow on social media.
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!
Whether you’re looking for a tasty looking tie to watch in one of Europe’s top leagues or fancy following something more obscure, we’re here every Friday, selecting the best games FotMob has to offer over the weekend.
??????? You know we love a derby so there’s no better place to start than err… Derby where Wayne Rooney’s side take on local rivals Nottingham Forest. Both sides might be in the midst of an indifferent season – Derby sit in 18th, with Forest two points above them but surely they’ll both raise their game for the big one?
?? The form side in the Bundesliga – Eintracht Frankfurt go to Werder Bremen looking to extend their run of five consecutive wins, a run that included that 2-1 victory over Bayern last weekend. Another three points tonight would take them 3rd in the table just four points behind the reigning champions.
?? And in Spain, Levante meet Athletic Club in a warm-up for what is surely a much more important fixture between the same sides coming up on Wednesday. This game is their second meeting of the season in La Liga whilst next week, they play again in the return leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final. That tie stands at 1-1 as Levante look to reach what would be their first major final – albeit they still claim a cup won during the dark days of the Spanish Civil War.
?? Staying in Spain, it’s a massive weekend for the sides at the top of La Liga as including Monday’s meeting between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad, all of the current top six play another side in the top six. Tomorrow, it’s Sevilla vs. Barcelona, with Barcelona having just leapfrogged Sevilla into third following their midweek win over Elche.
??????? Perhaps the key fixture in the Premier League also comes on Saturday as Manchester City face Champions League challenging West Ham United. There’s a sentence it still feels a little strange to write.
?? In the Bundesliga, there’s a chance for Bayern to get back to winning ways against FC Köln. That will be especially important as RB Leipzig are waiting in the wings to take over at the top of the table, should the Bavarians suffer another unlikely slip-up. Leipzig host Gladbach in the day’s headline match in Germany.
?? Now, it’s probably too early to call this – particularly because of FC Porto and Benfica’s monopoly on the Primeira but the meeting between Porto and runaway leaders Sporting could define the season in Portugal. Win and Sporting will extend their lead, over Porto to 13 points as they look to become the first side to wrestle the title away from the big two since they themselves last triumphed 19 years ago.
? And there’s good news for fans of Asian football this weekend as both the J League and K League return to the app with the advent of the new seasons in Japan and South Korea respectively.
??????? There’s a Premier League bonanza on Sunday, with five top flight games on offer. Chelsea vs. Manchester United is the obvious stand-out but there’s something for everyone in the other games as well.
?? After last weekend’s emphatic derby win that saw Inter overtake Milan at the top of the table in Italy, Sunday will see them looking to consolidate their position with a win over Genoa. For their part, Milan probably have the bigger game as they go to fourth placed Roma.
?? The Eredivisie gives us something to look forward to with De Topper, the rivalry between PSV Eindhoven and Ajax set to be top of the agenda on Sunday afternoon. As you may imagine, these two giants of Dutch football sit 2nd and 1st in the table, with Ajax having the potential to open up a nine point gap with a victory in this one.
??????? In Scotland, Sunday sees the League Cup Final played at Hampden Park. Two of the countries less familiar sides are competing for the honours – Livingston, who did win this competition back in 2004 and St. Johnstone who’s only major honour to date came in the Scottish FA Cup as recently as 2014.
?? The schedule for the football season in Brazil is mad at the best of times but during the pandemic, that’s increasingly been the case. The overrunning league championship only ended on Thursday night and a lot of the State Championships – usually played ahead of the next league season are now underway. And for Grêmio and Palmeiras, there’s also the added pressure of the two-legged 2020 Copa do Brasil Final – the first leg of which is being held in Porto Alegre on Sunday evening.
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!
Whether you’re looking for a tasty looking tie to watch in one of Europe’s top leagues or fancy following something more obscure, we’re here every Friday, selecting the best games FotMob has to offer over the weekend.
??????? On what looks like a busy evening around Europe’s top leagues, there’s even a Premier League game to enjoy as the ever entertaining Leeds United go to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Only four teams have scored more than the Yorkshire club this season, and only one side has conceded as many so either way, you should be guaranteed some goals.
?? In La Liga, Real Betis have a similarly poor defensive record – in fact, they have the worst in the division yet currently sit 7th in the table. So again, tonight’s home tie with Getafe promises goalmouth action!
?? Elsewhere, there are two games in Serie A; Spezia, who beat Milan last weekend go to Fiorentina and there’s a six pointer as Cagliari, who sit in the relegation zone host Torino, the team just above them.
?? And in France, where the table is getting very congested – Lyon travel to Brest. A win will take them top on goal difference, at least until Lille play on Sunday, when PSG, fresh from their heroics at Camp Nou also feature with a game against Monaco – the side currently trying to make the Ligue 1 title race a four-way battle.
??????? Tomorrow, the weekend’s derby day theme really kicks in – not least in the Premier League where Everton take a stroll across Stanley Park to face Liverpool. Now, the Toffees may not have won at their neighbours since 1999 – one of the more famous aspects of what is seen as something of a one-sided rivalry but surely this season they stand a chance!? Just three points separate the two going into this one.
Amongst the other games tomorrow – Chelsea, unbeaten under Thomas Tuchel face Southampton and there’s another six pointer as Fulham and Sheffield United meet at Craven Cottage.
?? One of the Bundesliga’s biggest derbies also takes place on Saturday – the Revierderby between Schalke 04 and arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund. The home side’s difficulties this season have been well documented (they have just one win to their name) but where there’s hope, there’s a way. And that hope will be that the Dortmund side who’ve been struggling in the league over recent weeks is the side that turns up – and not the Dortmund side who really turned up to win at Sevilla in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Leaders Bayern München also have a big game as they visit in-form Eintracht Frankfurt. Sitting 10 points back but third in the table, Frankfurt are unbeaten in 10 league games and in André Silva, they boast arguably the league’s most in-from striker. He has 9 goals in his last 8 games, a record even better than Robert Lewandowski, who has only scored 7 over the same period!
?? Back to La Liga and it’ll be a case of Déjà vu for leaders Atlético Madrid. They face Levante at home, just 4 days after playing them away in what was a rearranged game from earlier in the season. That one finished 1-1, so Atleti won’t want to drop points again. Especially with Madrid also in action at Valladolid.
?? In terms of world football, it doesn’t get much bigger than the Derby della Madonnina. But this meeting between Milan and Inter has extra significance, especially just a few weeks after that clash between Romelu Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimović. And especially because, for the first time in a while – the two Milan clubs are directly competitors for the title, separated by just a point at the top.
??????? The Premier League fixtures for Sunday look pretty good as well, with all four games having some impact on proceedings at the business end of the table. The headliner is perhaps Manchester City’s away game at Arsenal and the latest meeting between Pep Guardiola and apprentice, Mikel Arteta.
But there’s also the heated London Derby between West Ham and Spurs, Leicester’s trip to Villa and the day ends with Manchester United against Newcastle United at Old Trafford. Where the question will be, can anyone stop Bruno Fernandes?
?? Lastly, we wanted to point you in the direction of the potential title decider in Brazil’s Serie A. In the penultimate round of games, leaders Internacional go to last season’s defending champions Flamengo, the only side who can stop them from winning what would be their first title since way back in 1979.
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!
Kylian’s legendary performance leads the way
Two stars signaled they’re ready to take the throne this week, and it’s no surprise that Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland were our two top-rated players.
There are also three spots for Liverpool representatives from their cathartic 2-0 victory over RB Leipzig.
Who caught your eye this week? Who was unlucky to miss out? Let us know in the replies on Twitter.
Aubameyang’s first Arsenal hat-trick earns him a 9.7
Somehow, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s hat-trick against Leeds on Sunday was his first for Arsenal — a quiz question we definitely would have gotten wrong.
Otherwise, we have three places for Man City players as Ilkay Gündogan continued his scintillating form against Spurs. He picked up an injury in the second half, but will hopefully only miss tonight’s match versus Everton.
Who caught your eye this week? Who was unlucky to miss out? Let us know in the comments on Instagram.
