Page 2 – The Pulse of Football

Nov

2025

Why Europe’s elite all want Joaquin Panichelli

It’s been roughly five months since the 23-year-old joined BlueCo’s Strasbourg from LaLiga’s Deportivo Alavés, via a season-long loan in the Spanish second flight with CD Mirandés. Now, he’s got some of Europe’s biggest clubs all in a tizzy.

By Alex Roberts

All of this is in stark contrast to Panichelli’s time back in his native land of Argentina. Following a short trial with Boca Juniors, the club were left unimpressed, and let him go, with arch-rivals River Plate picking the striker up and giving him a second chance in Buenos Aires.

Panichelli never made a first-team appearance for River Plate, although he was named in the squad on several occasions. His most notable contribution came with the reserves, where he decided to step in as a goalkeeper when the number one was sent off and his side were out of substitutions. Turns out he’s not too bad at that either, keeping a clean sheet.

When January 2023 rolled around, Alavés took a chance on a striker that had no first-team or even international youth caps under his belt, offering Panichelli a three-and-a-half-year contract. So, he packed his bags and flew across the Atlantic to pursue a dream.

During his first season, 2022/23, he made just four appearances for Alavés, then in LaLiga 2, scoring zero goals. He got more experience in 2023/24, but an ACL injury in a 1-1 draw with Las Palmas ended his campaign, and the club’s faith in him.

The striker, who had no first team goals or assists to his name, was shipped off on loan to CD Mirandés, out of sight and out of mind. Perhaps he needs that fire under his belly, because he went on to have a stormer of a season.

Panichelli chipped in with 21 goals and eight assists in his 44 games across all competitions, as Mirandés narrowly missed out on promotion, losing out to Santi Cazorla’s Real Oviedo in the play-off final. Now they’re without him, the club are in serious danger of getting relegated just 12 games into the season.

Strasbourg swooped, and the rest, as they say, is history. Under Liam Rosenior, Panichelli is showing signs of a top striker; an impressive finisher, he’s got nine Ligue 1 goals from 17 shots on target in his ten games, overperforming his xG by just 0.57, so it’s not like his form is a fluke.

*Panichelli’s shot map in Ligue 1 this season*

It’s not just goals he’s contributing; his defensive output makes him a manager’s dream. Panichelli presses constantly, having won the ball in the final third 12 times, winning nine tackles, and 29 recoveries, the most among his Strasbourg teammates.

He also has what every good striker needs, a nasty streak. Ligue 1 defenders have found out the hard way just how much of a handful Panichelli is, with the Argentinian striker committing 18 fouls, receiving just one booking, however.

The recent 3-3 draw with PSG was probably Panichelli’s best game in a Strasbourg shirt. Lining up against Luis Enrique’s Champions League winning superstars, he didn’t look out of place at all, scoring a brace as Strasbourg went 3-1 up before throwing it all away.

*Panichelli’s player traits comparison – vs. strikers in top five leagues*

Speaking to L’Équipe after the game, Rosenior was in awe: “The header is one of the best that I have seen live,” he said in reference to his first goal where he outjumped Ilia Zabarnyi and thundered his header past Lucas Chevalier.

“The performance was one of the best centre-forward performances I have seen live, and it doesn’t surprise me, because he maximises himself in training every day. He works so hard.

“He has an unbelievable mentality, and he has brought a winning mentality to this group. His goals, the way he took them, was incredible, but he led the line incredibly today, and I was very proud of him.”

Panichelli does love a header. Three of his nine Ligue 1 goals have come off his noggin, standing at a healthy 6’2”, it hard for players that can cross a ball like Diego Moreira and Guéla Doué to miss him.

All of this rolled into one big striker shaped package is what’s keeping Chelsea-bound club captain Emanuel Emegha out of the squad. Funnily enough, Panichelli has also been linked with a move to West London so it may not be for the last time.

Strasbourg fans nearly burned their beautiful city to the ground when Emegha announced he was joining the Premier League side next summer, frustrated with being a ‘feeder club’, so it’s unlikely the same move for Panichelli would go down too well, regardless of what happens on the pitch.

Then there’s Barcelona. In search of a successor to the great Robert Lewandowski, reports out of Spain have linked Hansi Flick’s side with a move for Panichelli as a cheaper alternative to the likes of Harry Kane and Julián Alvarez.

Panichelli, of course, has experience playing in LaLiga, albeit not much. Under Flick, Barcelona could stick a scarecrow up front and he’d still get three goals a season, so he wouldn’t have to worry too much.

*Panichelli’s defensive numbers in Ligue 1 showcase his work rate*

Finally, AC Milan are said to be interested following the disappointment of Santiago Giménez. The Mexican was prolific at Feyenoord but has been unable to translate his fine form to the Serie A, and now Max Allegri is on the lookout for a replacement.

He certainly has the physicality to be a big hit in a league that is infamously more defensive. All those giant centre backs won’t intimidate him one bit but playing for a manager as conservative as Allegri would isolate him and probably hinder more than help.

Strikers like Panichelli are hard to come by in the modern era, if we were to compare him to anyone, it would be Edinson Cavani. Tall, deceptively fast and a lethal finisher. It’s clear that he won’t be at Strasbourg for much longer, unfortunately for them.

One of the continent’s big boys will snap him up, probably at the end of the season, it’s not up to him to prove them right for doing so.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow Ligue 1 on FotMob during the 2025/26 season – with in-depth stat coverage, xG, and player ratings, where available. Download the free app here.

Nov

2025

Preview: Haaland’s former club Dortmund visit Manchester City

It’s second in the Premier League against third in the Bundesliga, as Manchester City welcome Borussia Dortmund to the Etihad in the Champions League on Wednesday.

By Ian King

Manchester City have found their gear-shift, but how one-dimensional is it?

A win against Bournemouth on Saturday put Manchester City second in the Premier League, albeit six points behind Arsenal. They’ve won four of their last five in the England’s top flight, but that nagging question remains; are they over-reliant on Erling Haaland’s goals now, and what happens to their form, should anything happen to him?

Borussia Dortmund have only been beaten once in their nine Bundesliga matches so far, but still sit third, behind Bayern Munich – who were, of course, the only team to beat them so far – and second-placed RB Leipzig.

Both teams have taken seven points from their first three matches of the Megagroup league phase, with Dortmund having scored four goals in each of their first three games and Manchester City having scored two in each of theirs.

City have only lost one in six against Dortmund

There have been six previous meetings between these two sides, all in the Champions League, with three wins for Manchester City, two draws, and just the one win for Dortmund. Neither side has beaten the other by more than a single goal, and all three of City’s wins were by a 2-1 scoreline. The last time they met came in December 2022, when they played out a goalless draw at Signal Iduna Park.

Dortmund’s goal frenzy in the Champions League is in sharp contrast to their Bundesliga record

The last time that Manchester City beat Borussia Dortmund in October 2022, City won 2-1 and Erling Haaland, who’d made his move to Manchester the previous summer, scored a goal against his former team which was later voted UEFA’s Goal of the Tournament. But in the return match, Haaland was subbed out at half-time and the match ended in a goalless draw. He’s scored 13 of their 20 league goals so far this season, and their second-highest goalscorer is Own Goals, on two.

Dortmund’s main goal threat comes from Serhou Guirassy, who scored the winning goals in their last two Bundesliga triumphs, against Augsburg and 1.FC Köln. Curiously, Dortmund’s goal frenzy in the Champions League has been in contrast to their start to their domestic season. They scored three in each of their first two league matches, but have failed to do so since. They’ve only scored three more goals in their nine league matches than they have in their three Champions League matches so far.

Rumours of Mateo Kovačić’s return from injury turned out to have been greatly exaggerated

It’s all clear on the injuries front for Manchester City, with one significant exception. Mateo Kovačić has only played 45 minutes for City so far this season following an achilles tendon injury during the summer. He was subbed on for the closing minutes of their recent win against Everton, following that up with 33 minutes against Villarreal in this competition. But Pep Guardiola has now confirmed that his injury has flared up again and he’ll be out until the latter stages of the season.

Nico Schlotterbeck and Niklas Süle should both return for Dortmund after missing their 1-0 win at Augsburg on Friday night. Schlotterbeck had a cold, while Süle had an issue with one of his toes, but head coach Niko Kovač should be able to welcome him back for this match.

Dortmund know what threat awaits them, but whether they can do anything about it is another question

There seems to be a viewpoint that Arsenal have already won the Premier League, but whether that turns out to be true or not, Manchester City have a potential issue in chasing them. With 17 goals in 13 games in all competitions, Erling Haaland has become their most important player this season by such a distance that it’s reasonable to ask what might happen should they lose him.

Against his former club, the expectation that he’ll turn up will be greater than ever. Good job he never seems that bothered by nerves or self-doubt, then. But City’s recent 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa demonstrated that he can be kept at bay, and if Dortmund can find a way of keeping him quiet, they have a chance.

But the harsh reality of Dortmund’s position going into this match is that precious few other teams have found a way of keeping him quiet, so the home win feels more likely on this occasion. I’ll go for the teams to reverse their goalscoring tallies in this tournament so far, City to win 4-2, and yet more superlatives to be thrown in the direction of Norway’s favourite son.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2025

Preview: Barcelona go to Club Brugge in the Champions League

One of the competition favourites should take another step towards the last 16 this week with Barcelona aiming to make it three wins from four when they head to Belgian side Club Brugge on Wednesday.

By Karl Matchett

Cruising mode

One of the big talking points around this still-new Champions League format last term was that it allowed some of the bigger teams to essentially get the job done in half the matches: if they weren’t too fussed about final position and only top eight mattered to avoid the playoffs, then five wins was always expected to be about enough. Barcelona managed six and finished second, scoring 28 times along the way – more than anyone else in the league phase. While they’ve not been quite so free-scoring yet, they look well on track for at least that five-win initial benchmark and, with Slavia Prague and FC København still to come, if they win this one they are already all-but-there – despite that defeat to PSG.

Hansi Flick and his squad might want to win the competition, but you don’t do that in the first half of the season. As PSG showed last year, all you need to do at this stage is make sure you remain in the competition. As such, the manager might be tempted to tweak a little, but a strong lineup here goes a long way to ensuring you can rotate more frequently later on – as well as skip those two extra encounters.

Playing for the playoffs

Club Brugge might have looked a little stronger in previous seasons, but they can’t be discounted entirely at home. After all, they thumped Monaco 4-1 and that was after humiliating Rangers in the qualifiers 9-1 on aggregate. But even so, years of selling their stars might be taking a toll. Last season they finished 24th, nicking the final playoff spot with 11 points but a better goal difference than Dinamo Zagreb. It looks a stretch to achieve that again this term – unless they pull off a massive shock in a game like this.

Form

Brugge have won their last five domestically, but chopping up that streak are two defeats in Europe following their opening round win over Monaco. Three wins and three defeats in the last six for the visitors, but they won their only Champions League away game so far at Newcastle.

Team news

The hosts will be without a host of players to make things worse. Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet is out, while so too are left-back Bjorn Meijer, holding midfielder Raphael Onyedika and the versatile Ludovit Reis.

Hans Vanaken has to pull the strings for counter-attacks, with Christos Tzolis Brugges’ best outlet to trouble the visitors.

Barcelona are missing even more players, particularly in attack with Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo all out. Joan García is missing in goal, with both Pedri and Gavi missing from midfield.

Key player

It’s a toss up between Fermín López and Marcus Rashford but we’ll opt for the latter – he has four assists and two goals from 2.3 xG in LaLiga, but also four goals and one assist in three matches in Europe. If he can keep producing those numbers the Catalan side will take the points.

Prediction

It might not be such a steamrollering, but if Bayern can beat Brugge by four then it’s likely Barcelona can get the job done too: Club Brugge 1-3 Barcelona.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2025

Preview: Chelsea rack up the air miles with long trip to Qarabag

Chelsea will make the 2979-mile journey from London to Azerbaijani capital Baku to face Qarabağ in the Champions League on Wednesday, hoping to win their third consecutive game in Europe’s elite club competition.

By Alex Roberts

A 5-1 win over a truly awful Ajax side in their previous fixture saw Chelsea become the first side in the competition’s history to have three teenagers score in the same game, morale is high among Enzo Maresca’s kids.

Qarabağ aren’t far off them in the league phase, sitting three places off them in 13^th with two wins, coming against Benfica and FC København, a 3-1 defeat to Athletic Club last time out will leave a nasty taste in their mouths.

Qarabağ’s biggest threat

Qurban Qurbanov’s side aren’t the Champions League whipping boys many had expected them to be, they have some genuinely talented players that can do serious damage to Europe’s biggest teams, most notably Leandro Andrade.

Playing as a number ten or a right winger, the Cape Verdean in their best performer in the competition so far, scoring two goals in his three games, overperforming his xG by an impressive 1.42.

Andrade was the one good thing that came out of the 3-1 defeat to Athletic Club in the previous round of fixtures, giving his side the lead in the opening minute. Unfortunately for him, his teammates couldn’t match his level of performance.

Tyrique George’s redemption arc

The 19-year-old looked like he was on the way out in the summer when Fulham sent in a £22 million offer as he searched for more consistent first-team football, but it didn’t happen, and George has gotten back to work at Chelsea.

Enzo Maresca has used him to fill in the gap left by an injured Liam Delap at times, but George’s best position remains out on the left. He came off the bench to score Chelsea’s fifth and final goal in the win over Ajax.

*Tyrique George’s season summary to date*

George popped up with a goal in Chelsea’s ridiculous 4-3 League Cup win over Wolves too. Maresca will likely rest several of his side’s big names for this one, especially with a Premier League clash with Wolves (again) on Saturday, so this is the perfect opportunity for young George to impress yet again.

Team news

Levi Colwill has been ruled out for the remainder of the season and will play no part for Chelsea on Wednesday barring a genuine miracle. Fellow defender Benoît Badiashile also remains sidelined with a muscle injury.

Talismanic playmaker Cole Palmer has not featured since September 20 as he continues his recovery from a groin issue, with the England international expected to remain out for a few more weeks. Dário Essugo is also still out.

As for Qarabağ, Jonathan Montiel, who missed the recent defeat to Bilbao, made his return over the weekend, though he is unlikely to be named in the starting lineup for this match.

Prediction

The travel will certainly take a lot out of Chelsea, so we’re not expecting many goals. 2-0 to the Premier League side, but it won’t be pretty.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2025

The underlying numbers are turning for Thomas Frank’s stuttering Spurs

When Thomas Frank was hired as Tottenham Hotspur manager, his challenge was pretty straightforward.

By Sam McGuire

Following Ange Postecoglou’s disastrous second season in charge, the bar for Frank was low. The main objectives for the former Brentford boss were the following; Improve on the team’s 17th place finish from last season and work on their defensive deficiencies. For context, they had the fourth worst defensive record in the Premier League last season when looking at Expected Goals Against.

A bright start for Frank’s Tottenham quickly fizzled out. Despite being fifth in the Premier League table, Spurs were booed off on Saturday evening following a 1-0 loss to Chelsea.

Speaking afterwards, the Danish tactician sympathised with the fans, saying: “We all sense the frustration and the emotions. That is part of football.

“It is extremely painful and of course that is part of the job to face you guys now and answer the very good questions when you just are burning inside. And you like to find solutions, watch the game back and see what went wrong, but I think it’s about trying to stay calm. In general, I think Chelsea were good and we were definitely second best.

“We performed badly. I think we lacked energy and intensity and that freshness, we didn’t have. Then I think the high pressure they came with, I don’t think we solved it well enough even though we worked on it, so that we need to keep working on. I think our high pressure, we lacked a little bit in the beginning until we got on top of it and then they went up 1-0 and we are chasing. Then it’s a bad circle where we are chasing, lacking intensity and energy and bad decisions.”

Tottenham had started well. They romped to a 3-0 win over Burnley on matchday one and then beat Manchester City in the Premier League. Spurs had three wins, a draw from their opening five in the Premier League. They also kicked off their Champions League campaign with a win over Villarreal.

Things have gone awry since then though. Frank’s side have won just three of their last 10 and have three defeats in their last five. During this run, they have been held to draws in Europe by Bodø/Glimt and Monaco. A 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United also brought their Carabao Cup run to a premature end.

If performances were positive, results could be overlooked. But performances have been just as dire as the results.

In a home game against Chelsea, a match in which a win would’ve moved them up into second, Spurs racked up an xG of just 0.10 from their three shots. By comparison, the visitors ran riot in arguably the most one-sided 1-0 win of recent memory. Enzo Maresca’s side finished with an xG of 3.68. With better finishing, 6-0 would not have flattered the Blues.

While the headline numbers look ok, there are issues with Spurs right now. Yes, only Arsenal (seven) and Newcastle (five) have kept more clean sheets than Tottenham (four) and, yes, Frank’s side rank fifth for goals (1.7), the underlying numbers aren’t as positive.

They rank 15th for Expected Goals with 10.1. Last season, they ranked ninth for this metric. They’re 15th for shots, 12th for big chances and sixth for possession. They’re having a lot of the ball but doing nothing with it. In terms of xG Conceded, they rank sixth, so there’s a slight improvement on last season but only Everton, West Ham, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Burnley have given up higher value chances and three of those make up the bottom four.

Overall, things are probably just as worrying as they were under their former manager.

They’re not as much of a threat as they were under Postecoglou and they’re only marginally better defensively. It’s why they’re down to 15th when looking at the Expected Points table, just two points outside of the relegation zone.

Spurs have no threat in the final third. Micky Van de Ven is the club’s joint-top scorer in the Premier League with three while summer signings Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani have struggled to make an impression at all. Mohammed Kudus has four assists, though two of those arrived in the season opener against Burnley. Richarlison (three) is the only forward with more than one goal this term.

It is unlikely Tottenham do anything drastic in the near future but they are up against Copenhagen, Manchester United, Arsenal and PSG in their next four. If this winless run extends to six during this period, and performances remain the same, there’s going to be an uncomfortable conversation to be had, especially if fans turn on the manager during this period.

After heavy investment in the summer, people expected performances to be better. If Frank can’t get a tune out of this talented squad, someone else might be able to.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every Spurs game with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2025

Preview: Spurs looking for home comforts against Danish champions

Tottenham host FC København at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday evening as Thomas Frank’s side look to continue their unbeaten start in the Champions League.

By Matt Smith

København are winless in the competition so far, and this is the first time these two sides have met before, with Frank facing a side from his home country.

The last time Frank faced a Danish opponent was back in March 2016, 3-1 defeat while in charge of København’s city rivals Brøndby.

Team news

Frank has confirmed that Lucas Bergvall will be unavailable for this one after getting a concussion against Chelsea last time out. Djed Spence and Mohammed Kudus have picked up knocks, but they should be available for this one. Other than that, there should be no fresh injury concerns for the home side.

København have a host of injury problems heading into this game. Thomas Delaney, Oliver Højer, Magnus Mattsson, Rodrigo Huescas and Birger Meling are all on the treatment table for the Danish side. Marcos López was substituted last time out due to injury, so there’s a chance he’s unavailable for this one too.

Is the table telling a lie on Tottenham?

Spurs currently sit in fifth position in the Premier League table, but their performances have been far from convincing so far this season. Frank’s side have created just 10.1 xG in the Premier League this term, ranking them 15th in the table, while they’ve also conceded 14.6 xG, the fifth highest.

Despite conceding that, they’ve actually conceded just eight goals, while they’ve found the back of the net on 17 occasions, despite their 10.1 xG. That suggests Spurs are perhaps getting a little lucky and falling on the right side of variance in games, with the data hinting that they’ve not been as good as their results look on paper.

København need to show more

It’s been a fairly disappointing campaign by København’s standards. They won the league’s Championship playoffs last season, but they currently find themselves sitting in fourth position in the Superliga.

They’ve looked strong going forward, enjoying the most possession in the league while scoring 29 goals, but they’ve looked leaky at the back. Brøndby, FC Midtjylland, and AGF, are in a three-way race for the title as it stands, with the distraction of the Champions League clearly not helping København.

Moukoko finally finding form

Youssoufa Moukoko was widely regarded as one of the most exciting young talents in world football when he broke through at Borussia Dortmund, but it’s not quite worked out for him so far. He made the move to København earlier this year, and after a slow start, he might be finally starting to build some confidence.

Moukoko has struck four times in his last four games, and he could be one to watch in this game, as he’s expected to play from the start.

Prediction

We’re not expecting a thriller in terms of goals, but Tottenham should have a little too much quality for København. We’re going for a 2-0 home win.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, physical metrics, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2025

Preview: Xabi Alonso’s Los Blancos on revenge mission to Anfield

Liverpool host Real Madrid in a high-octane Champions League clash on Tuesday night.

By Filip Mishov

The Reds ease their crisis with the in-form Spaniards coming next

Liverpool’s win against Aston Villa relieved some pressure on Arne Slot, as the reigning champions ended their four-match losing run in the Premier League ahead of an important week with a couple of blockbuster matches before November’s international break. Even though the Reds did not really shine at Anfield, with the Villans enjoying a lot of possession (47%) or the most by any opponent over their past five matches, it was still an encouraging performance and much-needed confidence booster in the build-up to Real Madrid’s visit.

The leaders of LaLiga travel to Merseyside full of confidence after Xabi Alonso‘s in-form squad saw off Valencia at the Bernabéu over the weekend and in the aftermath of that Clásico win over Barcelona. Also, the 15-time European champions are one of only five clubs with a flawless record in the Champions League so far and have lost only once this season across all competitions, recording 13 wins in the process.

However, the Spanish coach did not enjoy his Anfield homecoming last season, as the popular Xabi was on the losing side with Bayer Leverkusen, and additionally, Real Madrid were also defeated without scoring in last year’s league phase, which speaks volumes about Anfield evolving into a different beast on big European nights.

Key players

Ryan Gravenberch started and starred in the victory against Villa after the tenacious midfielder recovered from injury. The Dutch international was instrumental in the middle of the pitch, both in protecting the defence and in the build-up play, with the 23-year-old capping off his Player of the Match performance with a goal, earning him a FotMob rating of 8.5. Also, it is not a coincidence that the Reds’ three clean sheets this season have all come with Gravenberch in their starting XI.

Another unsung hero is shining brightly in Madrid, as Alvaro Carreras scored his debut goal over the weekend with a scorcher from the edge of the box, and the Spaniard’s stock is rising with each passing week. The tireless full-back has played more minutes than any other outfield player for Madrid during this campaign, starting all but one match and quickly establishing himself as one of the first names on the team sheet. With the former Manchester United left-back being in impressive form and averaging a FotMob rating of 7.52 in LaLiga, a debut call-up to the national team is a matter of when and not if, but first, the 22-year-old awaits his most difficult test to date: Man marking Mohamed Salah.

Team news

Arne Slot welcomed Curtis Jones back to first-team training, but Alexander Isak missed out and the most expensive signing in Liverpool’s history remains on the sidelines, with Alisson Becker and Jeremie Frimpong also out.

Arda Güler came off at half-time against Valencia as a precaution, but made the trip to England, unlike Franco Mastantuono who is not part of the travelling squad. The captain, Daniel Carvajal is set to be out for a number of weeks, which opens the door for Trent Alexander-Arnold to get some minutes on his Anfield homecoming, while Antonio Rüdiger and David Alaba are on the sidelines.

Prediction

Undoubtedly, the momentum is on Real Madrid’s side and with Xabi Alonso being a quick learner who boasts the free-firing Kylian Mbappé in the squad, I expect the visitors to come out victorious on Merseyside.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2025

Preview: Arsenal take their defensive record to Prague

Mikel Arteta’s Premier League leaders are in Czechia to face Slavia Prague in the Champions League on Tuesday.

By Graham Ruthven

Mismatch

You have to scroll through a lot of the current Champions League standings to get to Slavia Prague from Arsenal. Indeed, 24 places separate the two sides ahead of Tuesday’s meeting.

Arsenal’s perfect start to the continental campaign has marked them out as one of Europe’s strongest teams right now while Slavia have just two points from their opening three fixtures.

The omens are good for the Gunners ahead of Tuesday’s match. Arsenal have won each of their last seven League Phase matches and have never lost to Czech opposition in a UEFA competition.

These two teams are fighting for different things this season. While Arsenal want to win the Champions League for the first time in their history, Slavia Prague are merely targeting a place in the knockout rounds.

A Slavia win would be among the biggest shocks produced in this season’s Champions League. Mikel Arteta’s team are firm favourites.

Key players

Arteta could rotate his lineup ahead of a potentially tricky trip to Sunderland in the Premier League this weekend, making it challenging to predict how Arsenal will shape up in Prague on Tuesday.

Bukayo Saka is expected to start on the right wing. The English winger remains the Gunners’ most reliable creative presence, averaging 0.9 shots on target per 90 minutes this season.

Christian Nørgaard could be in line to start in the Champions League for the first time with the Danish midfielder a potential replacement for Martin Zubimendi who suffered an injury against Burnley.

At the back, Piero Hincapié might be given the nod to start in central defence after overcoming an injury which impacted his first two months as an Arsenal player after joining from Bayer Leverkusen.

Slavia Prague have kept five clean sheets in their last five games in all competitions and so Arsenal could find the Czech opponents difficult to break down.

A back three of Jan Bořil, Tomáš Vlček and David Zima will aim to limit Arsenal’s scoring opportunities with goalkeeper Jakub Markovič the last line of defence. Slavia must be sharp.

Youssoupha Mbodji bagged a brace against Bodø/Glimt earlier in the competition and could be a threat down the left side for Slavia on Tuesday night.

Team news

Saturday’s comfortable 2-0 win over Burnley came at a cost as Viktor Gyökeres and Zubimendi both sustained injuries, although the extent of their knocks are not fully known yet.

Gabriel Martinelli is also expected to sit out the trip to Czechia with Martin Ødegaard, Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus all currently sidelined for the North London club.

Slavia Prague will be without a number of players for the visit of the Premier League leaders, limiting Jindřich Trpišovský’s options.

Ivan Schranz, Filip Horsky, Petr Ševčík, Dominik Javorček, Tomáš Holeš, Igoh Ogbu and Jan Bořil (unspecified) are all sidelined and will be unavailable to face Arsenal.

Prediction

The Gunners don’t often come up against a side with a defensive record similar to theirs, but as their results have shown in the Champions League, perhaps the gulf between the Czech 1. Liga leaders and the Premier League leaders will be evident: Slavia Prague 0-2 Arsenal.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2025

Erling Haaland is producing numbers beyond all expectations

Erling Haaland must’ve been given a hard reset during the summer.

By Sam McGuire

The two-time Golden Boot winner finished last season with just the 22 Premier League goals. By his standards, he had a bit of a down year. He missed out on a third successive Golden Boot, losing out to Mohamed Salah with the Liverpool striker netting 29 as the Reds clinched the title.

Haaland posted career-low numbers last season at the Etihad. His career-low numbers would be career-high numbers for 99% of the other forwards in the Premier League. But when you’re a goal machine like the City No. 9 is, you are held to different standards.

*Haaland’s player traits comparison (vs. strikers in top five leagues)*

Some pondered whether or not the 25-year-old had been figured out. Others wondered if his injury issues had finally caught up to him. The Norway international had a lot of ankle worries over the previous two campaigns. He’d also played a lot of football from a young age, and at a high level. Sometimes, it all just gets a bit too much for the human body.

The former BVB forward isn’t human though. He’s a machine. Haaland, jokingly, confirmed this over the weekend by celebrating his opener against Bournemouth with a robot celebration. He then took to social media afterwards, captioning the photo of his celebration with: “Guess I couldn’t hide it any longer…”

Haaland has bounced back from his disappointing 2024/25 campaign by posting career-best numbers for Pep Guardiola’s side. Yes, he’s better than ever before. Better than the season he scored a Premier League record 36 goals.

It shows his mental resilience to be registering the best numbers of his Manchester City spell, one season after posting the worst. Across the Premier League and Champions League, Haaland has been responsible for 65% of the goals scored by the Citizens.

He has a Non-Penalty Expected Goals per 90 average of 1.07 and his NPxG+xA average is 1.2 per 90. His previous best for City was the 2022/23 campaign when he finished with 0.96. Now, the sample size isn’t the largest but we are almost a third of the way into the season. This isn’t just a purple patch.

*Haaland’s shooting numbers per 90, Premier League 2025/26*

Haaland’s entire game appears to have been slightly tweaked. For example, he’s averaging 4.5 shots on a per 90 basis, the highest of his career. He’s also hitting the target with a career-high 58%. His shots are, on average, closer to the goal than ever before too. The focus appears to be firmly fixed on ensuring he’s in high value situations. It’s why he’s now attempting fewer passes on a per 90 basis than ever before and he’s also creating fewer chances than he ever has during his time at the Etihad.

This isn’t a player wasting time on anything other than putting the ball into the back of the net.

Haaland blanked against Aston Villa last weekend, a game City lost 1-0, and it’s something he’s not forgotten about, despite his goalscoring exploits this season.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the win over Bournemouth, he said: “I didn’t score last game. I try to help the team to win – that’s my goal. Even by scoring, helping or winning duels, it doesn’t matter as long as we are winning games. I want to help the team become a better football team, that’s my job.”

Perhaps the change in personnel for City has helped free Haaland once again. Jérémy Doku is in the form of his life and looks dangerous every single time he’s in possession while the addition of Rayan Cherki this summer adds an element of unpredictability to the XI. The Frenchman has three assists and a goal in his last two starts. He assisted both of the Haaland goals against the Cherries on Sunday with one touch passes.

Whereas they’d previously been accused of trying to walk the ball into the net, Cherki takes risks and this gets Haaland into possession a lot quicker. It makes him an even greater threat and it’s possibly why he’s on this current goalscoring run of form.

*Haaland’s shot map, Premier League 2025/26*

After the game, his manager likened him to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Guardiola said: “The numbers from Cristiano and Messi have been for 15 years, Messi is still scoring two, three goals every game and Cristiano in Saudi Arabia, the same. This is that level.

“The first goal, the way he shoots the ball, going down on the grass saying, ‘I am going to score this’. I have said many times, he is incredibly coachable and I am tough with him sometimes. I always try to be open-minded with him and there are players who say, ‘what are you talking about?’ He is completely down to earth, he wants to do it and he lives for the goals. Without him, it would be tough to be honest.”

At his current rate, Haaland is on course to finish the season with 52 Premier League goals. He’ll slow down, he has to, but the record he set is in danger of being broken. The scary thing is everything seems sustainable right now. His Non-Penalty xG rate would see him finish on 41 in the Premier League – if he played every game. His numbers are extraordinary.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every Manchester City game with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2025

Preview: Barcelona look to get back on track vs. Elche

Barcelona will be hoping to turn their form back around after a rocky spell over the last few weeks as they host Elche at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

By Matt Smith

Hansi Flick’s side enjoyed a strong start to the season, but two defeats in their previous three games have seen them fall slightly behind in the title race. Elche will be looking to rock the boat even further, as they face the defending champions for the first time in over two years. The two sides last met during the 2022/2023 season, where Barcelona did the double over Elche.

Team news

Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo could both return to the squad this weekend after their recent injury troubles. Barcelona will, however, be without Gavi, Marc-André ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen, Raphinha and Pedri for this one.

Elche could have a fully fit squad for this one, which is a huge boost considering the task at hand, facing the champions away from home.

Barcelona looking shaky at the back

Barcelona are certainly having no issues going forward, especially after their 6-1 victory against Olympiacos in the Champions League last week, but Flick’s side are starting to leak goals at the other end. They’re averaging 1.2 goals conceded per game so far this season in LaLiga.

Barcelona have also conceded a whopping 14.6 xG, with only eight sides conceding more in the league this term. The Catalan giants are heavily relying on outscoring the opposition, and Flick needs to find a way to tighten them up at the back.

Elche’s low block causing problems

Averaging just 2.9 possessions won in the final third per game this season, Elche have been sitting back and trying to hit teams on the counter-attack, and it’s worked well for them so far. They’ve conceded just one goal per game this season, with only Deportivo Alavés, Villarreal, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid managing fewer.

Elche were promoted from LaLiga 2 last season, and it’s been an impressive start to life back in the top tier. They currently sit in eighth position in LaLiga, and they’ve only lost twice, with their defensive style making them difficult to beat this term.

Lamine Yamal flourishing despite injury

Lamine Yamal is currently carrying an injury, but he’s playing through the pain and remains one of Barcelona’s key players. The Spanish youngster has provided eight goals and assists combined in as many games, and boasts the highest average FotMob rating in the Barca squad. He’ll be the player Elche will be worrying about ahead of this one.

For an 18-year-old player to be such an important cog in a side is almost unheard of, but it’s testament to his development that he’s become one of the best players in the world. Flick will be desperately hoping his injury doesn’t cause him a long-term issue, and he’s expected to be involved this weekend.

Prediction

Despite Barcelona having a small blip in recent weeks, many will still be expecting them to secure three points against Elche. We’re going for a 3-1 win for Flick’s side.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the LaLiga with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.