The best action to follow this weekend

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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.

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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!

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

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

Cover Image from IMAGO

The best action to follow this weekend

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Saturday

??????? 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.

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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.

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

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

Cover Image from IMAGO

The best action to follow this weekend

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Saturday

With many leagues on their winter break or otherwise inactive as we start 2022, consider this a curtailed look ahead at what’s coming up over the next two days.

??????? In England, and at the time of writing there are three games scheduled to survive the current wave of coronavirus cases sweeping through the league.

Game of the day probably comes in the early kick-off as leaders Manchester City travel to Arsenal. Both clubs have enjoyed a successful festive period with the Gunners up to fourth in the table and City now looking to extend their 10-match winning streak.

Elsewhere, Watford will look to snap their run of five defeats at home to relatively near-neighbours Tottenham Hotspur. And finally, West Ham make the short trip to play fellow Londoners, Crystal Palace.

? Also set to take place on Saturday is the second leg of the final in the heavily delayed 2020 AFF Suzuki Cup, currently being held in Singapore. The tournament is usually biannual and determines the champions of Southeast Asia.

Thailand’s War Elephants will be thinking they’ve already got one hand on the trophy after a comprehensive 4-0 win in the first leg, but could Indonesia pull off one of the biggest shocks of 2022, on the very first day of the year!?

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Sunday

??????? In theory, there’s five Premier League games due to take place on Sunday, including the heavyweight clash between two former Dortmund managers, Thomas Tuchel and Jürgen Klopp.

Chelsea take on Liverpool at Stamford Bridge having dropped points in four of their last six league games, a period in which Tuchel has been without a number of key players. Klopp has faced similar issues at Liverpool and indeed the Reds are without a win since facing Newcastle in mid-December.

Also on the slate for Sunday are games involving seven of the sides who find themselves in the bottom half of the table. The worst placed of those, Newcastle United (19th) go to Southampton whilst Leeds United (16th) and Burnley (18th) play each other.

?? In Spain, La Liga officials announced that there have been 138 positive coronavirus cases reported ahead of the league’s return to action following the Christmas break. Nevertheless, all of the weekend’s games are supposedly going ahead.

Leaders Real Madrid visit Getafe without guaranteed starters like Thibaut Courtois and Vinícius Júnior whilst defending champions Atlético Madrid must play this season’s surprise package Rayo Vallecano without coach Diego Simeone in the dugout.

Barcelona have had 10 positive cases over the festive period but will still fulfil their fixture at Mallorca.

?? The Coupe de France has reached the Round of 32 and as is befitting of a competition so grand in terms of scale (over 7000 teams take part), 10 sides from amateur levels of the French game are still involved.

One of them, the fifth tier US Chauvigny even face the might of Marseille. And Stade Reims (15th in Ligue 1) make the unfamiliar trip to Thaon, another side from the regionalised fifth tier. Also worth following will be AS Monaco’s game at 2012 finalists Quevilly, currently making their way back through the divisions having dropped to the fourth division as part of a merger.

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

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

Cover Image from IMAGO

A documentary from COPA90

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This is the story of Inter Milan’s Curva Nord, who didn’t let an empty San Siro stop them from leading their club on to their first Scudetto in 11 years.

Watch the documentary from COPA90 below.

The most difficult challenge in English football

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

See how Eugene rated his trip to Old Trafford below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by COPA90 | Football | Soccer ⚽️ (@copa90)

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

The best action to follow this weekend

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Saturday

?? There are some big games lined up in La Liga, with three of the top six involved. The headliner is undoubtably the clash between reigning champions Atlético Madrid and Sevilla, who currently sit second behind Real.

Real Sociedad play earlier in the day, at home to Villarreal and could therefore leapfrog Atlético in to fourth.

And Barcelona might just break into the aforementioned top six if other results go their way, and they can beat Elche at Camp Nou.

??????? With coronavirus cases rising rapidly around England and the UK, and the Premier League reporting the highest number of positive tests since the beginning of the pandemic, predicting how many of the weekend’s scheduled games actually take place is a tricky one. At the time of writing there’s just two going ahead on Saturday.

Leeds need to shake off the 7-0 thrashing they suffered at the hands of Man City during the week when they host Arsenal. And Aston Villa, who’ve won four out of six under the tutelage of Steven Gerrard face Burnley at Villa Park.

? The Arab Cup, being played for the first time under the FIFA’s officialdom has been enjoyable so far, especially considering a lot of the nations sent squads that were missing their star names based overseas.

And it all comes to a head on Saturday as Tunisia take on Algeria in the Final. Both enjoyed late winners in their respective semi-finals in midweek – Tunisia beating Egypt by a single goal scored in the 5th minute of added time.

But that’s nothing compared what happened in Algeria’s encounter with Qatar. Leading 1-0, Algeria conceded an 97th minute equaliser before going on to find a winner in the SEVENTEENTH additional minute! And that was scored on the rebound after a penalty save.

?? In Germany, leaders Bayern München play on Friday night so the weekend focus will be on the chasing pack in this, the final round of matches before the Bundesliga goes into hibernation for the winter break.

For Borussia Dortmund, that means a trip to Hertha. The struggling Berlin side looked like they were on the up after going three games without defeat but that all came to a halt with a 4-0 defeat at Mainz in the week.

?? Serie A’s game of the day pits third against sixth (as it stands), with Atalanta entertaining Roma. Despite their disappointment at being knocked out of the Champions League, the hosts are on a run of six straight wins in the league whilst Roma remain surprisingly unpredictable under José Mourinho, picking up three wins and three defeats during the same period.

Also in action, Juventus go to Bologna hoping for a result that will keep them in touch of the Champions League places ahead of the busy festive period.

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Sunday

??????? Again, Sunday’s Premier League fixtures are decimated by the number of positive coronavirus cases amongst the squads. But, all being well we should still get to see leaders Manchester City play at Newcastle United.

And there’s games for the rest of the top three as Chelsea go to Wolves and Liverpool travel south to face Spurs in what will be a welcome return to action for the London club.

?? Milan vs. Napoli should be one of the most interesting games of the weekend, with both sides starting the Serie A season unbeaten in the first 12 rounds. Since then, Milan have picked up two wins and Napoli just one, form that has allowed Inter to move above them in the table. The pressure is therefore on both sides to get a result.

?? La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who are in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak are still, apparently going ahead with their fixture scheduled for Sunday night – against relegation threatened Cadiz.

The legendary Luka Modrić is the most high profile of Madrid’s absentees to be reported so far.

?? Just a point separates the big three at the top of the Dutch Eredivisie, with PSV holding a slender advantage over the combined might of Ajax and Feyenoord.

The latter two play each other on Sunday and despite Ajax’s daunting record of scoring 49 goals whilst conceding just four in 16 games so far this season – their rivals will be looking to expose the same cracks that AZ Alkmaar did in their surprise win at the Johan Cruyff Arena last weekend.

??????? There’s silverware on offer in Scotland as Hibernian meet Celtic in the 76th final of the long running League Cup. The two sides have met just once in the league so far this season, with Celtic winning at the home of their Edinburgh rivals for the first time since 2014 but Hibs will remain confident having already seen off Rangers en route to the final.

?? In France, we’ve reached the always crazy Round of 64 in the Coupe de France. Where else in the world will you find the likes of PSG and Marseille up against fifth tier amateur sides – or in the case of Clermont Foot, who play on Saturday, a top flight team facing someone from the seventh and very much regional tier of French football. The intricacies of the competition even allow for sides from the country’s many overseas territories and departments to qualify for this stage.

And on Sunday, that means Bordeaux of Ligue 1 host Jumeaux M’Zouasia, a side from the archipelago of Mayotte which is off the coast of South East Africa. As a French department, the island’s official currency is the Euro despite its geographical location just north of Madagascar.

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

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

Cover Image from IMAGO

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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