The best action to follow this weekend

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Saturday

?? The Derby della Madonnina, or Milan Derby is quite simply the biggest game in club football this weekend. Inter are the designated home side for the clash against city rivals Milan in the stadium that they share, and its Inter who go in to the game with a four point lead at the top of Serie A.

Milan sit third, level on points with Napoli above them and they will be looking to get back to winning ways after defeat to lowly Spezia and a goalless draw against Juventus in their last two fixtures.

??????? The FA Cup takes priority in England over the next few days, although if you do need a Premier League fix there is one vital game being played, and that’s between the bottom two – Burnley vs. Watford.

In the fourth round itself, look out for the games involving lower league teams taking on top flight opposition. After all, the FA Cup is built on the back of potential giant-killings!

Kidderminster Harriers are the lowest side left in the competition sitting as they do, third in the National League North (level 6 of English football) and they host West Ham United. Elsewhere, League Two (level 4) Hartlepool United go to Crystal Palace whilst League One (level 3) Plymouth Argyle will be putting their promotion aspirations to one side as they visit the home of European Champions, Chelsea!

Another intriguing clash pits Premier League leaders Manchester City against Fulham, their counterparts from the Championship. Both sides are in form, with Fulham always a threat going forward – they’re averaging over 2.6 goals a game this season.

?? In the Bundesliga, Bayern München face RB Leipzig in the Saturday headliner in Germany and whilst this isn’t the potential title decider it has been in recent years – Leipzig currently sit sixth in the table, there is still no love lost between the sides. That does of course, stem from the perception that one tends to lose their star players and indeed coaches to the other on a regular basis, mentioning no names (ahem Julian Nagelsmann).

? The delayed 2021 FIFA Club World Cup sees its first major contest take place on Saturday with African Champions, Al Ahly of Egypt – often dubbed the biggest team in Africa taking on Concacaf Champions League holders Monterrey, from Mexico.

The winners of this one go on to face Palmeiras, with the Brazilian giants allowed a bye until the semi-final stage due to their status as South America representatives.

Sunday

? The Africa Cup of Nations will come to a dramatic conclusion on Sunday, with the final set to be contested by Senegal and Egypt. Now, you won’t catch us reducing a game of this magnitude to a clash between two strikers from the same Premier League club, it’s obviously so much more than that.

That said, Sadio Mané’s side (!) have the chance to right the wrong of losing out in the 2019 final but they will have to do it against the tournament’s most decorated nation, as Mo Salah (!) and his countrymen look for AFCON title number eight.

Senegal have looked fluent in the knockout stages, easing past Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea and Burkina Faso whilst Egypt required penalty shoot-out wins against the Côte d’Ivoire in the Round of 16 and again in Thursday’s Semi-Final versus Cameroon.

?? La Liga should be lively on Sunday with six of the current top seven all involved. Leaders Real Madrid have the easiest game on paper, at home against 14th placed Granada whilst Real Betis, who sit third at the time of writing must play seventh placed Villarreal.

Top of the billing though, will be the game between fourth and fifth as defending champions Atlético Madrid go to Barcelona. And given the transfers between the two clubs, there may be a few players out to prove a point against their former employers.

??????? Back to the FA Cup and Sunday features a couple of ties that might just grab the headlines. Leicester City, the current holders make the short trip to Championship side Nottingham Forest and Liverpool entertain Cardiff City.

??????? It’s already been a significant week in the Scottish Premiership where Celtic beat old rivals Rangers to take top spot in the table, a position Rangers had held since Round 5 of the season. The defeat ended Rangers’ 21-game unbeaten league run and extended Celtic’s to 18 under the impressive stewardship of new manager Ange Postecoglou.

On Sunday, both sides face a further test – Rangers host Hearts, who’ve sat third for the majority of the campaign and Celtic go to Motherwell, the side currently in fourth.

?? Ligue 1 provides an interesting end to the weekend as we get to see how outgoing champions Lille shape up against PSG, the side aiming to regain what was taken from them in that dramatic 2020/21 season. Despite their success in the Champions League groups stages, Lille are looking decidedly mid-table domestically but PSG haven’t been as dominant as their 11 point lead in the table might suggest, and they did suffer an early exit from the Coupe de France on Monday night.

?? Lastly, we’ll end with a look at Sunday’s Serie A fixtures where Napoli will know exactly what they need to do to keep pace with the Milan clubs as they visit Venezia.

And later, we’ll have our alerts set to see if Dušan Vlahović makes his first appearance for new club Juventus after the league’s joint top scorer made his controversial and rather protracted move from Fiorentina. The Old Lady face Hellas Verona in Turin.

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

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

Saturday

? We have reached the last eight at the Africa Cup of Nations and our thoughts remain with those affected by the tragic events outside the Olembé Stadium earlier in the week.

All games at this stage have consequently been moved to other grounds and that will see host nation Cameroon face Gambia in Douala on Saturday.

The Gambia are ranked 150 in the world according to FIFA but have been enjoying a dream debut appearance at the finals, finishing second in their group and beating Mali to reach this point. Cameroon though will prove a stiffer test as the tournament’s top scorers and led by Vincent Aboubakar up front – the first man this century to score more than five goals in a single AFCON.

Saturday’s other quarter-final is perhaps a surprise one with Burkina Faso, who overcame Gabon on penalties in the Round of 16 taking on Tunisia, who were victors against the previously impressive Nigeria.

?? Flicking through the app this weekend, you may well be missing your usual fix of big domestic league action but don’t worry – there’s still some decent games to look out for! And from France, that comes in the form of the Coupe de France.

The Round of 16 gets underway on Friday night but Saturday’s biggest game comes on the country’s Mediterranean coast where Ligue 1 giants Marseille take on Montpellier. The last three meetings between these two have seen a total of 15 goals scored.

?? In Portugal, the Taça da Liga takes centre stage on Saturday evening with the 2021/22 final being contested by Lisbon rivals, Benfica and Sporting.

Sporting are the defending champions going in to the game but perhaps surprisingly, in a country dominated by the big three (Benfica, Sporting plus Porto), this is just the second time that these two have met in the showpiece final. The last one came back in 2009 with Benfica winning on penalties.

??????? The English Championship is one high level league that is carrying on as normal this weekend, with games spread over the next few days.

Leaders Fulham face mid-table Blackpool and will be looking to extend their run of four back-to-back wins, a period in which they’ve scored a whopping 22 goals!

Among the chasers, Blackburn Rovers go to Luton Town (10th), Bournemouth visit bottom side Barnsley and Queens Park Rangers host another of the struggling sides, Reading (21st).

Sunday

? The drama of World Cup Qualifying will be where we’re focusing most of our attention on Sunday, with games in the Concacaf Octagonal top of the bill. This is the final stage of qualifying for this federation and for the first time since their only other appearance back in 1986, Canada are on the verge of reaching the finals.

But with five rounds left to play and only five points separating Canada from Panama, current occupants of the inter-continental play-off place, it’s not guaranteed just yet! Which makes Sunday’s game against old rivals the United States all the more crucial. The USMNT sit second and will be determined to end Canada’s unbeaten campaign but could be forgiven for having one eye on the nations coming up behind them in the group.

For their part, Mexico will look to follow Thursday’s comeback win in Jamaica with something a little more comfortable at home vs. Costa Rica. And Honduras and El Salvador, the bottom two face each other in a game that always has a lot at stake, particularly if you know the history between these two.

? Sunday’s quarter-finals at the Africa Cup of Nations gives us the opportunity to cast an eye over three of the remaining favourites.

Record seven-time winners Egypt haven’t set the tournament alight so far but will come in to their game against Morocco on a high after a penalty shootout victory over the dangerous Côte d’Ivoire. For their part, Morocco have been one of the more exciting sides with the likes of Romain Saïss, Selim Amallah and Achraf Hakimi all making our team of the Round of 16 after beating Malawi.

Senegal feature in the late game and will start as overwhelming favourites against Equatorial Guinea. That is despite concerns over the fitness of Liverpool striker Sadio Mané who suffered a concussion in the last round vs. Cape Verde. Despite their lowly FIFA ranking of 114th, Equatorial Guinea have a surprisingly good tournament record having never failed to make the last eight in any of their three appearances at the finals.

?? Lastly and returning to the Coupe de France, two further games to let you know about on Sunday.

Bergerac of the regionalised fourth tier have already knocked out Metz en route to the Round of 16 and as such, will fancy their chances against another Ligue 1 club, the struggling Saint-Etienne. Meanwhile the all-Ligue 1 clash between Lens and Monaco pits two very evenly matched sides against each other – both are locked on 33 points with identical W9 D6 L7 records in the league.

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

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

Saturday

??????? Make the most of the games played in the Premier League over the next couple of days as that’ll be it until the league reconvenes in two weeks time. It doesn’t sound like a long break but the absence of the familiar routine might just surprise you!

There’s five fixtures this Saturday, including a trip to managerless Everton for Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa and a home game for Manchester United against West Ham, seemingly a direct challenger for the fourth Champions League spot come the end of the season.

Runaway leaders Manchester City round off the day with a game on the South Coast as they visit Southampton.

Away from the top flight, there’s something of a Derby Day feel in the EFL Championship with Cardiff City crossing the Severn Bridge into England to face Bristol City and arch-enemies Nottingham Forest and Derby County meeting in the East Midlands. Both games could be ‘fun.’

?? No need to worry about about any mid-season breaks in Serie A as it’s business as usual in Italy (COVID outbreaks not withstanding). Here, Inter will be back at the San Siro and hoping to extend their seven-game unbeaten run against Venezia.

Despite being held to a goalless draw at Atalanta last weekend, Inter actually increased their narrow advantage at the top of the table thanks to the dramatic injury-time winner Spezia scored at rivals Milan.

?? The big game of the day in the Bundesliga sees fourth take on second as Hoffenheim play Borussia Dortmund. Both sides suffered midweek defeats in the DFB Pokal – Hoffenheim losing to fellow high-flyers Freiburg whilst Dortmund went down 2-1 at St. Pauli of the 2. Bundesliga.

Also in action, Bayer Leverkusen (3rd) face Augsburg and in-form Union Berlin (5th) go up against the unpredictable Borussia Mönchengladbach.

?? Sevilla are now well established at the head of the chasing pack in La Liga, four points down on leaders Real Madrid but with a clear gap to city-rivals Real Betis below them. Every point is therefore vital for Julen Lopetegui’s outside title bid, and they’ll be hoping to take all three against Celta Vigo on Saturday.

The other headline fixture sees Atlético Madrid go up against Valencia as Diego Simeone desperately tries to rescue something from their season.

In reality, with Atleti now 16 points back in the league and following consecutive defeats in the Supercopa and Copa Del Rey over the last ten days, next month’s Champions League knockout game against Manchester United might be the club’s main focus.

?? The new Clausura season is now underway in Liga MX and there’s a couple of big games that may be of interest here – Apertura champions Atlas play Club América whilst the side Atlas beat to that title, Club León host Pachuca.

Sunday

?? La Liga’s big two both feature on Sunday with Real Madrid facing Elche for the second time in just 72 hours after they also met in the Copa Del Rey on Thursday night.

Elche held Madrid in that encounter, and even took the lead in extra-time before Madrid substitutes Isco and Eden Hazard turned it around late on.

Barcelona were defeated in their cup tie at Athletic Club on Thursday, going down 3-2 (after extra-time) to the side they beat convincingly in last season’s Copa Del Rey Final. On Sunday, Xavi’s inconsistent side make another trip to the Basque Country, this time hoping to get more out of the game at Deportivo Alavés.

??????? Before going on their winter break, the Premier League will serve up a few last minute treats for us. First up, Arsenal need to shake off their recent disappointments as Burnley visit the Emirates.

Kicking off at the same time, Liverpool follow Thursday’s League Cup triumph at Arsenal with another trip to London, where they face Crystal Palace. And Leicester City look to close the four point gap between themselves and opponents Brighton as both sides look to climb the table.

Last, but not least there’s another fiery London Derby between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur as the rivals clash for the third time this month. Chelsea did of course win both legs in that League Cup semi-final but Spurs will be boosted by their injury-time heroics against Leicester in midweek.

?? The Eredivisie’s top two, PSV and Ajax go head-to-head in a fixture that has more riding on it than the ordinary run-of-the-mill meeting between the league’s two biggest teams. Defending champions Ajax trail their domestic rivals by a point despite conceding just four goals across 19 games this season and boasting a goal difference of +55.

That is essentially down to Roger Schmidt’s side matching Ajax for consistency, with PSV now unbeaten in 11 league and KNVB Cup games since the sides last met back in October. Ajax won that first De Topper of the campaign by five unanswered goals but whoever comes out on top in this one will then undoubtably be favourites to take the title this year.

?? Bayern are back in Bundesliga action on Sunday as they visit a Hertha side who could be particularly vulnerable after their midweek defeat to city-rivals Union. The Champions were back to their usual goal-hungry selves last time out, sticking four past FC Köln to make it 61 goals in 19 games this season but if you really fancy a home win, Bayern’s three league defeats have all finished 2-1.

?? The biggest game of the Serie A weekend, as always comes last in the schedule with title-chasing Milan playing fellow giants Juventus. The Old Lady are unbeaten in eight league games and progressed to the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia after beating Sampdoria, with ease on Tuesday.

For their part Milan have stuttered of late, particularly last Monday when they missed out on the chance to go top of the table thanks to that shock defeat to Spezia.

? Lastly, and after an action-packed week of drama in the group stages, the Round of 16 kicks off at the Africa Cup of Nations.

There will be two games played on Sunday, the first coming between the Stallions of Burkina Faso, finalists back in 2013 and Gabon, who went through their three group games unbeaten.

Later in the day, there’s a chance to see Nigeria, now the bookie’s favourites after three wins saw them top Group D come up against Tunisia. Usually amongst the favourites themselves, Tunisia have struggled so far with a solitary win against Mauritania enough for them to qualify for this stage as one of the best third placed teams.

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

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

Saturday

??????? At the time of writing, five of Saturday’s Premier League games have survived the ongoing COVID-19 situation in England’s top league.

The main draw sees Manchester City meet Chelsea in the early kick-off, in what is their second encounter since the Champions League Final clash last May. Pep Guardiola’s side won the reverse fixture back in September so Thomas Tuchel will be out for revenge, and the chance to cut the 10 point lead City currently hold over Chelsea in the table.

Manchester United return to Premier League action for the first time since defeat to Wolves at Old Trafford as they travel to an Aston Villa side who’ve been very active in the transfer window. Could we see some involvement for Steven Gerrard’s new signings Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne?

From the other games, the six-pointer between Newcastle United and Watford looks particularly key. A win for the home side would see them move out of the relegation zone and crucially, leapfrog their opponents.

?? Bundesliga leaders Bayern have had a week to stew on last weekend’s home defeat to Gladbach, so watch out for their trip to FC Köln. The Billy Goats are no pushovers this season though and they come in to this game on the back of three straight wins that have seen them move up to sixth in the table.

Elsewhere in Germany, third placed Hoffenheim, who are unbeaten in seven face Union Berlin (7th), another side pushing for European qualification and Bayer Leverkusen (5th) are the next big team Gladbach will be looking to turn over as they begin to recover from a relatively poor first half of the campaign.

?? Not to be outdone by the ongoing Supercopa tournament that has seen four of Spain’s top sides spend the week in Saudi Arabia, back home all the attention will be on the Copa del Rey, where we have reached the Round of 16.

Especially as the draw brought together city rivals, Real Betis and Sevilla who will play out the 136th competitive edition of ‘El Gran Derbi’ on Saturday night.

?? In Italy, Juventus are in Serie A action against Udinese just a few days after missing out on their Super Cup equivilant, the Supercoppa.

A last gasp defeat to rivals Inter on Wednesday night came thanks to a goal scored in stoppage time, at the end of extra-time and prompted manager Massimiliano Allegri to describe football as having been invented by the devil, such is it’s cruelty! We’ll see what he has to say should Juve get back to winning ways.

? At The Africa Cup of Nations, the second round of group games continue across the weekend and on Saturday that means we get matches from Group D.

Here, Nigeria will look to back-up their impressive victory over Egypt to seal qualification for the knock-out stages by beating Sudan. And the aforementioned Pharaohs need to kick-start their tournament as they go up against Guinea-Bissau, the nation currently ranked 106th in the world.

Sunday

??????? The big games keep coming on Sunday, with the North London Derby the most high profile of them all. Spurs ‘welcome’ near neighbours Arsenal to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where they remain unbeaten in the three derbies played at their new home.

With just two points separating the sides in the top six of Premier League table (Arsenal are 5th, Spurs 6th), the result could be pivotal as we head into the second half of the campaign. Particularly with Spurs having two games in hand on their rivals.

Liverpool are also in Premier League action on Sunday as they host Brentford and for the second weekend in a row, West Ham play Leeds United no doubt looking to repeat the 2-0 win they enjoyed in the FA Cup last Sunday.

?? We’ve already alluded to the Spanish Supercopa being hosted in Riyadh, but Sunday will see Athletic Club play Real Madrid in this season’s final.

The Basque side were considered unlikely winners last year having overcame both Madrid and Barcelona to lift the trophy. And their confidence will be high after they came from behind to beat Atletico Madrid to reach this stage.

Madrid though, are a different proposition this season – top of La Liga, scoring freely thanks to the form of Karim Benzema and fresh from beating arch-rivals Barcelona in the Clásico played on Wednesday night.

? There’s four group matches from the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday and in Group E, the Ivory Coast come up against Sierra Leone and the heroic goalkeeper who kept a clean sheet against reigning champions Algeria in their opening game.

Mohamed Kamara, who plays in his country’s local league earned our MOTM and a rating of 8.97 for that performance but he’ll have to be on form again to keep out one of the tournament’s most potent strike forces.

In the other game in the group, Algeria – unbeaten in 35 international games probably can’t afford to drop any more points when they play Equatorial Guinea

From Group F, we’ll be looking out for the game between AFCON debutants Gambia and Mali, who both won their opening games – against Mauritania and Tunisia respectively.

?? In Serie A and with neither Milan nor Napoli playing until Monday, Inter have the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table. They face the always-entertaining Atalanta, in Bergamo on Sunday evening.

After last week’s collapse to Juventus, losing 4-3 despite leading 3-1 with half an hour to go, Roma fans will hope Cagliari provide less stiff opposition.

Strugglers on paper, Cagliari won only one of their first 19 games of the season but do come in to Sunday’s game off the back of consecutive wins over Sampdoria and Bologna.

?? Lastly, another huge European derby to point you in the direction of, the clash between Athens rivals Panathinaikos and Olympiacos.

Defending Greek champions Olympiacos are unbeaten and running away with the league this season but the reverse fixture against Panathinaikos was one of just the three games in which they’ve dropped points – that one finishing goalless. We’ll be hoping for goals on Sunday!

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

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

Saturday

??????? The English FA Cup, the world’s longest-running cup competition has reached the Third Round, the stage at which the big boys enter the draw. With games spread across the weekend and into Monday, we’ve picked out just a selection of the ties we think are worth following in the app.

Four Non-League sides survived the early rounds and they all feature on Saturday. Two clubs, Kidderminster Harriers and Yeovil Town have been rewarded with ties against Championship opposition – Reading and Bournemouth respectively whilst the plum draw was saved for Chesterfield (currently top of the National League) as they face European Champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Elsewhere, we think the all-Premier League clash between Leicester and Watford should be interesting as will the South London battle between Millwall and Crystal Palace. And there’s potentially tricky ties for Everton, who go to Hull City and Southampton, who visit Swansea City.

?? In Spain, Real Madrid will be looking to bounce back from last weekend’s surprise defeat as they welcome Valencia to the Bernabéu. Both sides made hard work of beating lower division sides in midweek so the jury is still out on their post-Christmas form.

Also in action on Saturday are Barcelona, as Xavi’s semi-refreshed side test a run of four unbeaten away games at Granada. And early season pacesetters Real Sociedad will need a result against Celta Vigo if they’re to stop their slide back in to the mid-table pack.

?? There’s just one game from France coming up on Saturday night that we should mention, with Lens (7th) taking on Rennes (4th) in a clash between two sides who have dipped in and out of form so far this season.

?? The Bundesliga resumes this weekend, with the inevitable reports of multiple positive COVID-19 cases dominating the build-up.

Borussia Dortmund play at Eintracht Frankfurt in the evening kick-off, with 4th meeting 7th earlier in the day as Bayer Leverkusen take on the impressive Union Berlin. We’ll also be keeping at eye on Augburg’s game at fifth placed Hoffenheim. The struggling Bavarian side have signed breakthrough US star Ricardo Pepi in a bid to solve their problems in front of goal.

Sunday

? On Sunday and after a delay of seven months, the 2021 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations finally gets underway in Cameroon.

We’ve been looking forward to this tournament and we’ll be following it closely on our social media channels in the coming weeks.

Today’s opening games come in Group A as hosts Cameroon look to start well against Burkina Faso and Cape Verde take on group outsiders Ethiopia, who are making their first finals appearance since 2013.

If you follow African football, please take part in our AFCON predictor game. Make your call on the results and share your predictions with your friends – the bigger and bolder your claims, the better!

To play, simply hit the link here or click on the image above.

?? Sunday sees a massive game In France’s Ligue 1 as the two sides who’ve won 14 of the last 20 titles, Lyon and PSG meet at the Groupama Stadium.

Despite their well documented struggles this season (6 wins in 18 games) Lyon won’t want to lie down without a fight, especially if they can stop PSG extending their 11 point lead at the top of the table.

?? In Italy, where COVID-19 outbreaks put paid to four of the fixtures scheduled for Thursday, we’ll have to see which games get the go ahead for Sunday.

On paper, we should see leaders Inter host Lazio whilst chasers Milan take the gondola ride to Venezia. Meanwhile, managerial royalty José Mourinho and Massimiliano Allegri do battle as Roma meet Juventus.

?? Back in La Liga, look out for title-challenging Sevilla’s game against Quique Sánchez Flores’ improving Getafe side (unbeaten in six) and Atlético Madrid’s trip to the similarly in-form Villarreal.

Both should be real tests for the sides currently sitting in the Champions League places.

??????? And finally, Sunday’s highlights in the FA Cup include a second trip to Anfield in the last three seasons for third tier Shrewsbury Town.

The Shrews famously held Liverpool to a 2-2 draw back in 2020 before suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat in the replay thanks to an an own goal scored Ro-Shaun Williams (no longer at the club). As a reminder – there will be no replays in the stage of the competition this season.

Another League 1 side, Morecambe also have a glamour tie to look forward to as the Shrimpers go to Tottenham Hotspur, whilst Arsenal also face a potential banana skin with a game at sleeping giants Nottingham Forest.

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