Preview

Feb

2025

Preview: Depleted giants face off as Real Madrid visit Manchester City

A titanic battle is in store for us on the first day of the revamped UEFA Champions League knockouts as the competition’s last two winners face off. Manchester City have been drawn against Real Madrid in the UCL knockouts for the fourth consecutive season, but both teams are far from their best this time around.

By Neel Shelat

Real Madrid still searching for their first win at the Etihad

This will be Real Madrid’s seventh visit to Manchester City’s home, but they are still yet to register an outright win at the venue. In fact, the Etihad Stadium is the only ground that the Spanish giants have visited over five times without success.

Los Blancos have lost three and drawn as many games at the Etihad, but they did emerge victorious on penalties in their most recent meeting. That result broke the trend of the first-leg hosts losing all ties in this head-to-head.

Manchester City’s home form on the mend

While the worst patch of Manchester City’s downturned form is likely behind them, they certainly aren’t back to their best yet. They were defeated in two of their last five games, conceding over three goals on both occasions. On the whole, they have lost precisely half of their last 22 matches.

However, Pep Guardiola’s side seem to quietly be getting back on track on their own turf at least. They have won all four of their home matches in 2025, including a couple of big games such as Chelsea’s Premier League visit and their UCL league phase finale against Club Brugge. They will be desperate to extend this streak at the start of a formidable looking fixture list.

New signings and injury issues for Manchester City

Manchester City went big in the January window, recording the second-highest mid-season transfer spend in football history. They added four players to their first-team squad, but only three could make the cut in their revised UCL squad. So, teenage centre-back Vitor Reis will not feature in Europe this season.

€60 million midfield signing Nico González was widely seen as Manchester City’s interim Rodri replacement, but he had to go off injured less than half an hour into his debut ironically enough. Uzbek defender Abdukodir Khusanov scored his first goal for the club in that match, though he is unlikely to feature ahead of more senior figures tonight. Versatile attacker Omar Marmoush is the likeliest of the trio to make his Champions League debut in this big game, most probably off the bench.

Jérémy Doku, Nathan Aké, Ederson and Oscar Bobb are the other doubts in City’s squad.

Real Madrid’s defensive injury crisis compounded

Real Madrid’s injury crisis is even worse as key defenders Dani Carvajal and Éder Militão are out for the season, while David Alaba is yet to start a game and recently suffered another setback. Antonio Rüdiger picked up a minor hamstring injury earlier this month, and matters were made worse this week when stand-in right back Lucas Vázquez suffered a similar issue.

So, Carlo Ancelotti will have to field Federico Valverde to the right of a makeshift centre-back pairing of Aurélien Tchouaméni and Raúl Asencio.

Prediction

Given Real Madrid’s depleted state, City should aim to record a multi-goal win.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, player ratings, and a new super-intuitive knockout stage bracket. Download the free app here.

Feb

2025

Preview: Everton vs. Liverpool, the rearranged final Derby at Goodison

There’s more at stake than just three points on Wednesday evening as Everton host Premier League leaders Liverpool for the final time at Goodison Park. Both sides will head into the game looking to return to winning ways after the Reds and the Blues crashed out of the FA Cup at the weekend.

By Sam McGuire

Changes since December

This game was initially scheduled for the first weekend of December. However, the havoc caused by Storm Darragh forced the Premier League to rearrange this tie.

Everton now head into this clash in much better form.

Back then, the Toffees had won just one of their previous five matches heading into the December clash. Sean Dyche’s side were struggling for goals having scored just four in those five outings.

Fast forward two months and David Moyes’ Everton have won three of their last five across all competitions, scoring eight goals in the process. They are nine points clear of the drop zone and despite a disappointing home defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday, things seem much more positive at Goodison Park at the minute.

Liverpool haven’t been as relentless over recent weeks because they haven’t needed to be. They’re six points clear at the summit with this game in hand. They topped the Champions League group stage which allowed them to rest players against PSV Eindhoven and having reached the Carabao Cup final, Arne Slot decided to make nine changes to his XI for the (still a) shock FA Cup defeat against Plymouth.

The important thing here is that the Reds are winning the games they have to win.

Bragging rights and more

Nobody wants to lose a derby.

Everton will be even more desperate than usual to avoid defeat though.

This is the final Merseyside derby to be played at Goodison Park. They aren’t going to go out on a whimper. They will want to go out on a high, all while seriously denting Liverpool’s title hopes.

The Reds will want to extend their lead at the top to nine points. They’ll want to extend their unbeaten run. Slot will want to win his first Merseyside derby too, all while looking to stop Everton from making it back-to-back wins against their Stanley Park neighbours. So there’s lots at stake.

But there’s something else to factor in. A win for Liverpool would be their 100th against Everton. Can you imagine the bragging rights if they achieve that? They strengthen their title charge while etching themselves into history having won the final derby at Goodison, while also racking up their 100th win over the Blues.

The Mohamed Salah show continues

Salah has been the best player in the Premier League this season.

He’s already on 34 goal involvements this term, that’s one more than Cole Palmer, the most productive player in the league last season, managed during the 2023/24 campaign. He leads the way for goals (21) and assists (13).

Slot made the decision to rest his No. 11 for the match against Plymouth and if recent form is anything to go off, Everton should be worried.

Salah had the international break off before a brace against Southampton. He had the Carabao Cup game off before a brace and two assists versus Spurs in the 6-3 win, and missed the Champions League game against PSV before scoring twice against Bournemouth.

After missing a game, Salah always seems to deliver.

And if this is to be his final season with the Reds, he’ll want to go out on a high in the derby. Only Ian Rush (13), Steven Gerrard (nine) and Harry Chambers (eight) have scored more league goals for Liverpool against Everton than Salah (seven).

Favourable timing for Liverpool

Liverpool’s injuries have cleared up.

Slot is expected to be without Trent Alexander-Arnold for the Merseyside derby, with the right-back a doubt, but everyone else is available for the Dutchman.

Moyes is having no such luck. Everton have a number of players on the treatment table with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Dwight McNeil, Orel Mangala, Seamus Coleman, Youssef Chermiti all missing this clash.

The Blues aren’t spoilt for choice but Moyes does still have players at his disposal to make life difficult for Liverpool and he’ll be looking to do just that in his first Merseyside derby back in the Goodison Park dugout.

Prediction

Both sides need to make amends for their FA Cup exits. Both are in good form back in the league and both will be out to win rather than playing to avoid defeat. The home crowd will be up for this which could level the playing field a bit. We’re going to go with a 2-2 draw though.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Feb

2025

Preview: Aston Villa meet Spurs in the FA Cup

Inconsistency, meet inconsistency. Despite erratic results, a big name all-Premier League clash in the FA Cup between two sides desperate for progress and trophies means Sunday’s game should be a hell-for-leather classic.

By Karl Matchett

Villa need a return, Spurs need a response

Aston Villa don’t really have the label of inconsistency in the way Tottenham Hotspur do, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t deserve it. Yes, they’re ten points above their cup rivals in league terms, but they also haven’t had their disastrous injury issues – and clearly have a bigger pull than them in the transfer market right now too, as was shown by the January face-offs they engaged in.

Axel Disasi opted for the Midlands over north London, while Marcus Rashford heading to Villa Park would not have been considered remotely probable even a couple of years ago. And he’s far from the only attacking reinforcement, with Marco Asensio and Donyell Malen joining last month too – though it remains to be seen how pleased the latter is after immediately being left out of the Champions League squad. How much can Villa get out of their new recruits in four months? It will be telling.

Just as telling will be Spurs’ response after they were hammered in the press for being hammered at Anfield. It’s not so much losing to Liverpool as the manner of their semi-final capitulation which irked some, and the long stretch without a trophy goes on a little longer. Can the FA Cup be their salvation? Not if they don’t find a way to get their own new forward Mathys Tel firing quickly – or perhaps get some of their injured defenders back on the pitch.

Matching form records

Home side: Eight wins in 23. Away side: Eight wins in 23. As above, Villa don’t have the same inconsistent tag, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve it. Villa’s winning runs tend to be more streaky, while Spurs earn scattered victories. Of late, Villa have won one and drawn two in their last five; Spurs have won three, lost two.

Team news

There’s injuries on both sides, with Spurs’ casualty list the longer. Disasi is cup tied, while starters Pau Torres, Matty Cash and Ollie Watkins are out, as well as Tyrone Mings and Ross Barkley for Villa. Spurs are without (deep breath): Guglielmo Vicario, Cristian Romero, Radu Drăgușin, Destiny Udogie, James Maddison, Wilson Odobert, Timo Werner, Brennan Johnson, Dominic Solanke and, presumably once again, Richarlison. Assuming they get a squad together, Micky van de Ven will be carefully assessed before playing a part to ensure he doesn’t rejoin the absentees.

Key player

As shown midweek, gaps in Spurs’ midfield and a slowness to react to dangerous situations will be costly. Villa have Morgan Rogers who is excellent at manipulating the ball and using space well. He averages two dribbles, 1.75 shots, nearly 1.5 chances created and 1.5 fouls won every 90 minutes in the league – he’s such an all-round handful.

Prediction

Spurs have a great record at Villa of late but those injuries are just too much: Villa 2 Spurs 1.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Feb

2025

Preview: Barcelona keen to keep the good times rolling against subpar Sevilla

After the two Madrid clubs took centre stage last night, Barcelona will be keen to reinforce their title credentials against an underwhelming Sevilla side.

By Neel Shelat

Barcelona back on song in 2025

After a scintillating start to the season, Barcelona seemed to run out of steam towards the end of 2024. They won just one and lost four of their last seven LaLiga matches of the year, going from a six-point lead at the top of the standings to an equivalent deficit. However, they have looked much better since the turn of the year.

The 5-2 Supercopa win over Real Madrid must have done a world of good to their confidence as they went on to put five past Real Betis, staged a dramatic turnaround to win a nine-goal Champions League thriller against Benfica and scored 12 times in two recent fixtures against Valencia.

While it has not been all smooth sailing for Hansi Flick’s side as they have drawn a couple of games, it is safe to say that they are much closer to their best now than they were two months ago.

Ferran Torres delivering as Barcelona’s fourth forward option

One of the major issues Barcelona had to contend with in the first half of the season was their lack of quality depth beyond the first-choice front three of Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha. Indeed, it was no coincidence that their downturn in form coincided with their teenage winger’s ankle issues.

Lamine Yamal still looks quite irreplaceable, but the good news for the Blaugrana is that they seem to have a decent backup for the other two as Ferran Torres has shown himself capable of doing a job in the more central positions. He has five goals and an assist in his last seven appearances, including a hat-trick in his second start of the year at Valencia in midweek.

As the stakes get ever higher in the second half of the season, having a rotation option like Torres could prove invaluable for Barcelona to not only get an impact off the bench but also rest their stars in certain games.

García Pimienta’s reunion with his boyhood club

García Pimienta was affiliated with FC Barcelona for well over half his life, starting as a prospect in their youth academy and going on to spend about two decades as a coach. However, he was sacked from the B team post in 2021 in a move that still confounds many, himself included.

The Spanish tactician was soon hired by Las Palmas, with whom he won promotion to LaLiga. His incredibly possession-based style of play attracted a lot of attention and earned him a move to Sevilla this summer, but he has not been able to turn around the fortunes of the consistent underperformers’ so far.

Sevilla’s last league victory over Barcelona was all the way back in 2015, so the likelihood of García Pimienta earning his first points against his boyhood club at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán is quite low.

Prediction

All signs point to a comfortable multi-goal win for Barcelona.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Feb

2025

Preview: Liverpool go to Championship strugglers Plymouth in the FA Cup

Liverpool can build on making the Carabao Cup final during the week by taking another step forward in the FA Cup against Plymouth Argyle.

By Graham Ruthven

Is the Quadruple on?

Top of the Premier League. Through to the Champions League last 16 after finishing top of the 32-team league phase. Through to the Carabao Cup final. A win over Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup this weekend would add to the growing sense Liverpool could win the Quadruple this season.

By every measure, Liverpool are the strongest team in England right now, making them firm favourites to sweep aside their struggling Championship opponents on Sunday afternoon.

On the face of it, this could be a mismatch. Plymouth are currently marooned at the foot of the Championship table and are on their second manager of the season after Miron Muslić replaced Wayne Rooney. Argyle haven’t had their problems to seek.

However, the Devon outfit are fresh from a 2-1 win over West Brom and a very respectable 2-2 draw away to Sunderland which suggest Plymouth are turning a corner under their new manager.

A win over the Premier League table-toppers might be beyond The Pilgrims, but Sunday’s David v Goliath clash could epitomise the ‘Magic of the Cup.’

Key players

Ryan Hardie bagged a brace against West Brom on Saturday and could be in line to start against Liverpool. Mustapha Bundu could drop out of the team to make way for the Scottish striker.

After the departure of star player Morgan Whittaker to Middlesbrough in the transfer window, Plymouth are lacking an attacking dimension. Whittaker’s stunning strike against Brentford put Argyle into the FA Cup fourth round in the first place.

*Plymouth goals + assists, Championship 2024/25*

January signing and former Rangers defender Nikola Katić made his Argyle debut against the Baggies and will likely start in the centre of a back three

Arne Slot is expected to rotate his squad for the trip to Devon this weekend. This would have been likely anyway, but the exerts of Thursday’s Carabao Cup semi-final win over Tottenham Hotspur make it even more probable.

Jarell Quansah, Harvey Elliott, Wataru Endo and Federico Chiesa could all be in line for a start at Home Park. Even still, Liverpool should have the strength in depth to make the fifth round.

*Liverpool goals + assists, Premier League 2024/25*

Team news

Brendan Galloway, Kornél Szűcs and Joe Edwards are all expected to be sidelined through injury for Plymouth as they welcome the eight-times FA Cup winners to Home Park.

Nigerian forward Muhamed Tijani was back on the bench for the draw away to Sunderland after missing a number of months of action with a hamstring injury. He could feature against Liverpool on Sunday.

Trent Alexander-Arnold missed Thursday’s Carabao Cup win over Spurs and could be unavailable for this weekend’s FA Cup fourth round tie. This might hand another first team opportunity to Conor Bradley.

Darwin Núñez started ahead of Diogo Jota in the win over Tottenham on Thursday and so the Portuguese forward could be rotated into the starting lineup.

Prediction

Unless the Magic of the Cup springs a surprise, this should be a routine win for a rotated Liverpool squad: 3-0 to the away side.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Feb

2025

Preview: FA Cup tie gives Brighton and Chelsea a chance to reset

It’s round one for Brighton and Chelsea on Saturday as the two sides face-off in the FA Cup before meeting again in the Premier League for a rematch nearly a week later.

By Alex Roberts

Both sides defeated lower-league opposition in the Third Round before being drawn against each other, with Chelsea’s second team earning a comfortably 5-0 win over Morecambe, while Brighton left Norwich with a 4-0 victory.

Dark horses don’t seem to be much of a thing anymore, but Brighton have it in them to beat the big boys on their day, and a statement win over Enzo Maresca’s side ahead of their second meeting isn’t hard to imagine, despite their stuttering form.

Christopher Nkunku set for a “bigger role.”

Chelsea saw several players leave in the January transfer window, mostly on loan, but Christopher Nkunku wasn’t one of them. The French forward has had to take a backseat under Enzo Maresca and is reportedly unhappy with his situation.

Speaking in his pre-match presser, Maresca confirmed Nkunku is set for a “bigger role” in the second half of the season. With Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu both injury doubt’s, Nkunku will likely get a chance on Saturday.

He hasn’t scored a goal since the 5-0 win over Morecambe, but that’s simply due to a lack of opportunity. With 13 goals from his 30 games, 13 of which have been starts, only Maresca knows why he hasn’t been given more of a shot.

7-0 is pretty rough

Brighton’s 7-0 Premier League defeat to Nottingham Forest in their previous fixture has brought up some uncomfortable questions regarding their young manager Fabian Hürzeler.

The FA Cup tie with Chelsea allows them to step away, reset a little, and take a breath, but should they suffer another heavy defeat, those dissenting voices are going to start getting louder.

Chelsea needed a four-goal Cole Palmer masterclass to get past Brighton the last time these two sides played, the last thing Lewis Dunk and co are going to want to see is that lanky genius running at them right now.

Starting to worry about Roméo Lavia

The young midfielder may be the next star to wander down that ‘wonderkid’ to ‘streets won’t forget’ pipeline after Maresca admitted he “still has a long way to go” in the recovery from his most recent injury setback.

Lavia has made just 13 appearances for Chelsea since joining from Southampton back in the summer of 2023, and while he’s been decent in those games, it’s starting to get pretty hard to justify the price tag.

In a perfect world, and FA Cup game against Brighton would have been the ideal opportunity for Lavia to show what he can do, unfortunately, no one knows when he’ll be back playing consistently.

Chelsea aren’t the only side with a problem between the sticks

Bart Verbruggen struggled big time in the defeat to Forest. Yes, we understand the pros and cons of playing out from the back, but, in fear of sounding too much like Tim Sherwood, sometimes you need to get it out.

Thankfully for the Dutchman, he could put Jota Silva’s goal down to mental and physical fatigue, but four errors leading to goals in the Premier League this season is less than ideal for any party.

Don’t expect it to change, it’s the gameplan now, which is fine, but it can be so frustrating for the fans. If it makes Vergruggen feel any better, only Chelsea’s Robert Sánchez has made more errors in the league this season.

Prediction

Honestly, this one could go either way. Never trust Chelsea to win a game they ‘should’, so we’re going to go with a 2-2 draw after 90 minutes. You can make a judgement on who wins it from there!

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Feb

2025

Preview: Table-topping Madrid Derby promises drama

Just one point separates Real Madrid from local rivals Atlético going into what could well be a pivotal match in the Spanish title race.

By Neel Shelat

Referee under the spotlight

They say the best kind of game for a referee is one they are invisible in, but unfortunately for César Soto Grado, that will certainly not be the case for him in the Madrid derby. LaLiga’s match officials have been the subject of a fair few controversies in the past, but things have escalated recently.

The developments in the Negreira case over the last year or so have not helped matters, neither has Real Madrid’s aggressive approach to debatable decisions in recent times. Last weekend, for example, the club published an open letter complaining about some of the officiating in their loss to Espanyol.

Amid the back and forth of official statements from Real Madrid, LaLiga and the Spanish federation, Atlético Madrid pitched in with a social media post making light of the situation. However, things will surely get serious when Soto Grado takes charge of his third Madrid derby. He was the one who sent off Vinícius Júnior for violent conduct against Valencia in his last Real Madrid match, so he is quite likely to face a good deal of hostility in the Santiago Bernabéu.

Real Madrid’s defence further depleted

Injuries to key defenders have been a big cause of Real Madrid’s inconsistent form and performances this season. Eduardo Camavinga picked up a hamstring injury to join Dani Carvajal and Éder Militão on the treatment table last month, but the situation has gotten much worse in the last week. Antonio Rüdiger went off with a hamstring injury early on in last weekend’s loss to Espanyol and David Alaba was diagnosed with another injury later in the week.

Los Blancos have kept just two clean sheets in their last eight matches and let in as many as 12 goals. They will do very well to keep a shutout tonight with an expected makeshift centre-back pairing of Aurélien Tchouaméni and Raúl Asencio.

Atlético’s attack well-suited to exploit high lines

Unavailable personnel is not the only cause behind Real Madrid’s poor defensive record, as they have also made some very questionable tactical decisions. The nine goals they conceded in their last two matches against Barcelona highlighted the various issues in their high defensive line most clearly, but they are yet to make any major changes.

Atlético Madrid, for their part, will be delighted to come up against such a high line. Diego Simeone’s side have had their struggles against low blocks but really seem to thrive in open games when the likes of Julián Alvarez and Alexander Sørloth can stretch their legs.

Goals almost guaranteed

Besides the attacking star power and defensive absences on both sides (including Robin Le Normand’s suspension), the recent history of this fixture suggests that the scorekeepers will not be left idle. The last goalless Madrid derby was over five years ago, while both sides have scored in their last eight meetings!

Prediction

All things considered, Atlético Madrid could well end up outscoring Real Madrid in what promises to be an extremely eventful and entertaining match.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Feb

2025

Preview: Man City face third tier Leyton Orient in the FA Cup

Manchester City’s 5-1 loss at Arsenal last weekend has been described as “the end of an empire”, but can Leyton Orient read them the last rites in the FA Cup?

By Ian King

Two sides on different levels

Well, we thought they were back. Prior to last weekend’s chastening loss, Manchester City had been unbeaten in their six previous Premier League matches, scoring 18 goals. The last time they failed to get past the Fourth Round of the FA Cup was ten years ago. The last time Orient got to the Fourth Round was in 2011, when they were beaten 5-0 by Arsenal following a replay.

Orient lost 1-0 at home to Stockport County last week, but prior to that they’d been eleven games unbeaten in League One, a run of nine wins and two draws which lifted them up to sixth place. In the last round of the Cup they beat Championship club Derby County 6-5 on penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw at Brisbane Road.

A history lesson from the pre-FotMob days

It’s now 49 years since these two clubs last met, with that last meeting ending in a 2-2 draw back in May 1966. They’ve met twelve times in total, with City winning eight of them. Orient’s last win against them came in a Second Division match in August 1964. The two clubs have met twice before in the FA Cup, in 1920 and 1926, with City winning both of those, 4-1 and 6-1 respectively.

Key players

The scale of the Arsenal loss may provoke Pep Guardiola to play a stronger team than he might otherwise have done. Nico O’Reilly could find himself back in the team. He scored his first senior goal from left-back in their 8-0 win against Salford City in the last round.

Another Nico, Nico González, arrived for £50m on transfer deadline day from Porto, but will any of their newest acquisitions get a runout?

Grenada international Omar Beckles will be on for a busy afternoon at the heart of the Orient defence. He’s been there since 2021, after having risen from the non-league game to play for Accrington, Shrewsbury and Crewe.

Team News

Orient are expected to be at full strength. For Manchester City, Stefan Ortega will likely start in goal in place of Ederson, while their defensive shambles at The Emirates last week means that, having missed out on that one, Abdukodir Khusanov could start in the centre of defence. It’s likely to be a very different City team to the one that started last Sunday.

Prediction

Obviously, this should be a walk in the park for Manchester City. The gulf is enormous. Orient’s record transfer fee is the £200,000 they paid Oldham Athletic for Liam Kelly in 2016. According to publicly available information, City have ten players who currently earn that amount of money a week. City should run up a hatful but it’s the FA Cup – and frankly, when am I ever going to get the opportunity to do this again? So I’ll go for an optimistic 1-0 Orient win because we’d all neutrals would love to see that, wouldn’t they?

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Feb

2025

Preview: Van Nistelrooy takes Leicester to Man United for FA Cup clash

Manchester United host Leicester City on Friday night under the lights in the FA Cup fifth round at Old Trafford. Ruud van Nistelrooy will be returning to his former club as manager, while Rúben Amorim will be looking to start steering his side back in the right direction.

By Matt Smith

The two sides met earlier in the season in the Premier League and EFL Cup. Van Nistelrooy was, coincidentally, in charge of United for both ties as he stepped in as interim before Amorim arrived. United won both meetings between the two teams this term.

Luke Shaw has ‘small issue’

In his press conference before the FA Cup tie, Amorim confirmed that Luke Shaw had a ‘small issue’, adding that United would have to be careful with the English left-back.

Lisandro Martínez is going to be out for an extended period after picking up a nasty knee injury, while Mason Mount and Jonny Evans remain sidelined.

Time for Amad to step up once again

Amad Diallo has been a shining light for United this season, providing 16 goals and assists combined in all competitions. The 22-year-old, however, is going through a tricky run of form, and Amorim will be desperate to see him step up once again.

Amad has failed to provide a goal contribution in his last five games in all competitions, previously finding the back of the net against Southampton in January, a game where he struck three times. If United are going to turn things around and build some momentum, Amad will need to step up once again.

Young stars make Leicester squad

Van Nistelrooy confirmed that academy stars Jeremy Monga and Jake Evans, who are 15 and 16 years old respectively, will be on the bench at Old Trafford on Friday. It’s a fantastic opportunity for the two young talents, especially if they are given minutes against United.

The Leicester boss added that there are two or three players with light injuries, but he didn’t go into detail.

Time to unleash Buonanotte

Facundo Buonanotte signed on loan from Brighton at the beginning of the season and made an impressive impact at Leicester. The Argentinian forward has provided eight goals and assists combined in all competitions, but he’s struggled for minutes of late.

*Leicester City goals + assists, Premier League 2024/25*

The 20-year-old has failed to start in the last four games for the Foxes, playing zero minutes against Everton last time out. Only Jamie Vardy has more goals and assists combined for Leicester this season, so it could be time for Van Nistelrooy to unleash him once again.

Prediction

Leicester have visited Old Trafford twice this season already, conceding eight goals and losing both games. The Foxes are in a tricky run of form, so it’s difficult to see past a United victory in this one, especially with Amorim’s side playing at home.

We’re going for a 3-1 win for the Red Devils on Friday evening.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Feb

2025

Preview: Valencia face daunting Barca test in the Copa Del Rey quarterfinals

Two of Spanish football’s most historic clubs clash in the Copa del Rey on Thursday, with Carlos Corberán hoping and praying his side can do a little better than the last time they faced Hansi Flick’s Barca.

By Alex Roberts

It’s been less than two weeks since Barcelona beat Valencia 7-1 but, if anything, Valencia were lucky it was only that. They had absolutely no answer to Barca’s ruthless attacking efficiency, although they managed to bounce back with a much-needed win over Celta Vigo in the game after.

Barca, on the other hand, seem to have navigated their way through a real rocky patch of form, winning seven of their last nine games across all competitions, easing any pressure on their German manager.

His head is already in Liverpool

Giorgi Mamardashvili hasn’t exactly set the world alight since his move to Anfield and subsequent loan back to Valencia, he was arguably the worst player on the pitch the last time these two sides met, and that’s saying something.

His LaLiga save percentage is well below what it was last season, 57.5% percent compared to 72.5. Yes, Valencia as a side have been poor, but Mamardashvili isn’t bailing his side out like he used to.

He didn’t have much to do in the win over Celta, but when he was called up, he stood on business, ending his game having made one save, six recoveries, and a decent 36% long ball accuracy rate.

*Mamardashvili’s player radar has taken a hit this season*

Lamine YaMessi

Lamina Yamal is an anomaly and he’s only getting better, breaking Lionel Messi‘s record for most dribbles attempted (21) and completed (11) in a single game in LaLiga for Barcelona in their 1-0 win over Deportivo Alavés.

He was just about the only player that didn’t score in Barca’s 7-1 win over Valencia last month, but he still had a major impact, providng the assist for Frenkie de Jong’s third minute opener.

Barca’s continued reliance in the 17-year-old is fully justified, let’s just hope he avoids the fate of some many La Masia graduates in recent years, we’re looking at you Ansu Fati.

A less than ideal injury

Sitting in the relegation zone, few players have managed to impress for Valencia as much as Javier Guerra has and after going off injured in the win over Celta, he’s a major doubt for the visit from Barca.

He bagged what turned out to be the winner in the 68^th minute before going off 12 minutes later, helping his side reach the dizzying heights of 19^th, just four points from behind Espanyol, who beat Real Madrid 1-0, in 17^th.

There are plenty of league games to go, but a decent Copa de Rey run would give the fans something to celebrate that isn’t just survival. That would be a hell of a lot harder to accomplish if Guerra isn’t on the field.

Ready for round two

Fermín López didn’t feature in the 1-0 win over Deportivo Alavés, instead Barcelona kept him at the training ground in some sort of Dragon Ball Z healing tank, ready to unleash him on Valencia like Goku on Frieza.

Nerdy references aside, López was incredible in the 7-1 win, scoring a brace and providing two assists in what was easily his best performance since breaking into the first team last season. His face will be the last thing Valencia fans want to see on Thursday.

Prediction

It’s hard to imagine it been any worse for Valencia this time around, but we still reckon they’ll get beaten fairly comprehensively. We’re going to go with 4-1 to Barca.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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