Preview

Jan

2025

Preview: Real Madrid go to Valladolid as top meets bottom

Real Madrid have bounced back from their Spanish Supercopa humbling against Barcelona to score 14 goals in their last three outings.

By Graham Ruthven

Liga leaders hitting their stride

It was only two weeks ago that Real Madrid suffered that humiliation against Barcelona in the Spanish Supercopa. Since then, though, Carlo Ancelotti’s team have responded by stringing together three consecutive wins.

Barca’s draw away to Getafe last weekend allowed Real Madrid to stretch their advantage at the top of LaLiga over their fiercest rivals to seven points with Atlético Madrid two points behind.

Most ominous is Real Madrid’s attacking form. Indeed, los Blancos have scored 14 goals in their last three games in all competitions including five goals against Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League during the week.

After a slow start to the season, Kylian Mbappé has hit top form in recent weeks, finding the back of the net five times in the last four games. The Frenchman’s speed and willingness to get in behind will give Real Valladolid problems.

While Madrid are looking to boost their title chances, Valladolid need points to move off the bottom of LaLiga. The White and Violets have just 15 points from 20 games and are fighting for their top flight lives.

Valladolid have actually won their last two league matches at home (against Valencia and Real Betis), but a victory over Real Madrid would be their biggest result of the season so far.

Key players

Kike Pérez scored the only goal of the game as Real Valladolid beat Real Betis two weeks ago and could offer the hosts a source of creativity from midfield on Saturday.

Defensively, Valladolid will have to be solid to stand any chance of earning a result against the league leaders, putting pressure on goalkeeper Karl Hein to perform. He will surely have a busy afternoon.

Mbappé’s recent scoring record speaks for itself, but the incredible form of Rodrygo has flown under the radar somewhat. The Brazilian scored twice against Salzburg on Wednesday and has seven goals in his last eight games.

With Vinîcius Júnior still suspended in the league, Rodrygo will start in his favoured position on the left wing. On the right side, Brahim Díaz could offer cohesion with his movement inside, creating space for Lucas Vázquez on the overlap.

Dani Ceballos and Fede Valverde have recently forged a strong partnership in central midfield while Jude Bellingham will continue in a more advanced role where he has freedom to roam.

Team news

Juma Bah will be left out of the Real Valladolid lineup as punishment for attempting to force a transfer to Manchester City. The young centre back failed to turn up for training this week and won’t be included in this weekend’s matchday squad.

Moro suffered a broken collarbone in Valladolid’s last game against Espanyol and is now set for a period on the sidelines. Stanko Jurić will be another absentee due to the midfielder’s suspension.

Vinícius will miss out for Real Madrid through suspension while Eduardo Camavinga, Éder Militão and Dani Carvajal are currently sidelined through injury.

Real Madrid’s injury troubles have eased recently with David Alaba back in action following a 13-month spell out. The Austrian could start against Valladolid, but is more likely to make another appearance off the bench.

Prediction

Valladolid’s two game winning run at home will surely come to an end with the rampant league leaders in town: Real Valladolid 0-3 Real Madrid.

(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.

Jan

2025

Preview: Leaders Liverpool welcome Ipswich Town to Anfield

Liverpool host the Tractor Boys at Anfield on Saturday afternoon as Arne Slot’s side look to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table. Kieran McKenna’s men will be hoping to climb out of the relegation zone.

By Matt Smith

This will be the first time Ipswich have faced Liverpool at Anfield since 2002. The two sides met earlier in the season at Portman Road, with the Reds securing a 2-0 victory away from home.

Slot dealt Jones blow

Speaking to the media ahead of Liverpool’s game against Ipswich, Slot confirmed that he would be without Curtis Jones, suggesting that he might return to face Bournemouth next weekend. It doesn’t appear to be a serious injury for the English midfielder, but he’ll certainly miss this weekend’s game.

Slot has also added that he’s taking caution with Ibrahima Konaté, who is struggling to play every three days due to his fitness. The French centre-back was benched against Lille in the Champions League during the week, so it will be interesting to see if he comes back in.

The resurgence of Darwin Núñez?

Darwin Núñez has come under plenty of criticism in recent years after some underwhelming performances, and Slot has shown in the first few months of his tenure that the former Benfica attacker isn’t a guaranteed starter. Slot gave Núñez a rare start against Lille in the Champions League in midweek after a 25 minute cameo at Brentford last time out in the Premier League, a decision that paid off.

Núñez scored twice in injury time to help secure the win against the Bees and then earned the highest FotMob rating of the game (8.0) despite not finding the net in the victory over Lille. If the Dutch manager persists with the Uruguayan and shows confidence in the striker, he could become a valuable option in the coming weeks.

Szmodics and Chaplin remain sidelined

McKenna has stated that he’s expecting a similar Ipswich squad to travel to Merseyside as the group who were defeated 6-0 at home to Manchester City. The Ipswich boss confirmed that both Sammie Szmodics and Connor Chaplin will be unavailable for The Tractor Boys.

Ali Al-Hamadi could also miss out, with McKenna suggesting that he might be on the move before the end of the transfer window.

Delap will need to produce the goods

With Ipswich travelling to the strongest side in the Premier League this season, you’d expect McKenna’s men to have little possession, hoping to hit the opposition on the break. Liam Delap could, therefore, have a thankless task in attack, but Ipswich will be relying on him to produce the goods.

The former Man City striker has been a standout for the newly promoted club this season, finding the back of the net on eight occasions. If Ipswich manage to secure an emphatic result on the road, Delap is likely to have a major influence.

Prediction

With Ipswich picking up just nine points away from home and Liverpool losing just once at Anfield, a win for the Reds feels likely.

We’re going for a comfortable home win, with Núñez continuing his momentum and getting his name on the scoresheet.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Jan

2025

Preview: Hoffenheim meet Spurs in early Europa League kick-off

The German Spurs face-off against the English Hoffenheim in the Europa League tonight, a stoppable force versus a highly movable object.

By Ian King

The race to the bottom

It’s Crisis Club vs Crisis Club in the Europa League. For both Hoffenheim and Tottenham Hotspur, the 2024/25 season has been a bit of a disaster. Indeed, Spurs supporters seeking solace from it all can take some from the fact that Hoffenheim have had just as bad a time of things as they have.

Spurs have won one in ten in the Premier League and have failed to win their last three in this tournament, too. Ironically, Hoffenheim’s 3-1 win at Holstein Kiel on Saturday ended a run of one win in ten Bundesliga games for them. Both are in 15th place in their respective divisions, but because there are two fewer teams in the Bundesliga, Hoffenheim are only one above the relegation places.

History

These two have never met before. This is Hoffenheim’s fifth season in Europe, and they’ve met English clubs twice, both times in the Champions League. They’ve lost all four matches, to Liverpool in the qualifiers in 2017/18 and to Manchester City in the group stage the following season.

Spurs first played German opposition in two successive rounds of their run to the 1974 UEFA Cup final, beating FC Köln in the quarter-finals and Lokomotiv Leipzig in the semi-finals before losing to Feyenoord in the final. But more recently the news hasn’t been so good. They’ve lost their last four matches against German opposition, scoring three and conceding 14 (including seven in one match) to RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich.

Key players

The key position for Spurs for this match may be in goal. Antonín Kinský is not registered for this competition, so it’s likely that Brandon Austin will make his second start for the club in that position. Hoffenheim are in a similar position, but Adam Hlozek scored two at Holstein Kiel on Saturday to make dealing with absentees a little easier for head coach Christian Ilzer.

Team News

The Spurs injury list is as long as ever, though Ben Davies has now returned, which should allow Archie Gray to move back into midfield. For Hoffenheim, Gift Orban arrived from Lyon for €9m earlier this month but is ineligible for this fixture. Otherwise, their injury list is as long as Tottenham’s is at the moment, and that’s saying something.

Prediction

This match may all come down to being a matter of priorities. Spurs have flatlined in the League but could be prioritising cups and have an eight-point buffer from the relegation places. Hoffenheim have no such insulation. Indeed, their win last weekend lifted them out of the Bundesliga relegation places. With two threadbare squads of players both looking over their shoulders at relegation, to which of these two will it matter more? I’ll go for Spurs, by 2-1, though this is in the full knowledge that seeing where their next win is coming from has been getting increasingly difficult of late.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Europa 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.

Jan

2025

Preview: Man United face Rangers in ‘Battle of Britain’ test

Once upon a time, this would have been a massive Champions League fixture, now, the two most successful league sides in Scotland and England face off in the Europa League on Thursday.

By Alex Roberts

Both sides are in the automatic qualification spots, sitting in seventh and eighth respectively, but that could change very quickly, with five other sides able to leapfrog both United and Rangers in the next round of fixtures.

Rúben Amorim hasn’t exactly set the world alight since replacing Erik ten Hag, and Philippe Clement is seemingly one game away from getting the sack at any given time. It’s not quite ‘El Sackio’, but it’s about as close as it gets.

Happy memories for Amad Diallo

Not even arguably Man United’s best player at the moment, Diallo spent the second half of the 2021-22 season on loan at Rangers, banging in three goals, and providing a single assist in his 13 games.

He’s come a long way since then and is almost single handedly dragging Man United out of a potential Premier League relegation battle. A sentence no one here at FotMob thought they would ever write.

Unfortunately for United, he was powerless to stop Brighton in their 3-1 defeat to the South Coast side over the weekend, but he is still their only real big game player at the moment, scoring a late hat-trick against Southampton, a winner against Man City, and an equaliser vs Liverpool. He’ll be wanting to do the same against his former loan club.

A much-needed goal scorer

Hamza Igamane is really starting to establish himself at Rangers. Having supplanted streaky striker Cyriel Dessers as Clement’s preferred option up top, he’s got eight goals in his last ten games across all competitions.

One of those goals came against Premier League opposition, the opener against former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglu and his struggling Tottenham side in their previous Europe League fixture.

He’s incredibly versatile, capable of playing anywhere across the frontline, but feels most comfortable as either a left-winger or a striker. If we were to compare him to anyone, it would be Marcus Rashford.

Onana, not again

After his most recent howler in the defeat to Brighton, André Onana has now made 10 errors leading to goals in his nearly two years at the club. In comparison, David de Gea made 17 over 12 years.

Given Altay Bayındır’s performance in their FA Cup third round win over Arsenal, Amorim has serious options should he decide to drop Onana. The Turkish international appears to be his preferred choice in domestic cup competitions, it wouldn’t be surprising if he gets a chance against Rangers too.

The world’s most prolific right-back

Ok, that might be a sweeping statement, but James Tavernier is an anomaly. While this season he’s not scoring like he used to, just three goals and seven assists in his 31 appearances, he is a massive asset for Rangers.

Deadly from almost every dead ball situation, the Rangers captain could cause some serious damage against Man United, who have a history of not being particularly solid from defensive set pieces.

United conceded a whopping 17 goals from set pieces, excluding penalties, in 2024 and they haven’t started 2025 particularly well either. Of course, that’s not all down to Amorim, but he hasn’t done much to change it.

Prediction

All those 60+ year-old pundits will be incredibly excited about a ‘Battle of Britian’, but in all honestly, they’re rarely a competition. Despite United’s poor form, we’re going to go with a 3-1 win for the English side.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

Jan

2025

Preview: Arsenal face Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb

The Gunners are almost there; one more win in the Champions League and they’ll look all-but assured of an automatic place in the last 16. Standing in their way: embattled Dinamo Zagreb, fighting for their lives to stay in the hunt for a play-off spot.

By Karl Matchett

Kindly fall of the fixture list?

It remains tough to tell as clubs get to grips with the new league version of European competition, and across the board it feels as though playing the strongest available team may be the approach. But, it might just be that the final two rounds of fixtures – and these teams’ respective points – play nicely into Arsenal’s hands.

Mikel Arteta will of course want to wrap up matters at home; win here and they probably don’t have to be too concerned with their last away day in Girona. And that might have the added knock-on effect of allowing them to rest some players before the Premier League match immediately afterwards, home to Man City. So, the reasons mount up for the Gunners to claim three points, hit 16 overall and be all-but-certain to finish in the top eight.

And, while opponents Zagreb won’t exactly roll over and accept defeat, the lingering suspicion is they are more likely to be accepting of putting all their eggs into a final-night basket, given they’re at home to Milan. That said, Dinamo’s two wins so far in the Champions League have come on the road, while they’re without a victory on home soil, so a sturdy rearguard will still be their approach at the Emirates. Hope for Arteta’s men comes in the shape of Bayern thrashing the Croatians 9-2 earlier this season – they are far from unbreachable.

Recent form

Arsenal have been sketchy at best. It feels only a week ago there was bullish talk of reigniting title hopes domestically, only for them to yet again slip up next time out. Arteta has overseen just one win in the last five in all competitions, three wins in the last seven at home and their last clean sheet against a team ranked above 16th in a league was six weeks back. Better is required.

Dinamo would almost welcome that kind of run, mind. While this match will be their first for exactly a month following a winter break, their win on 22 December snapped a seven-game winless streak that included a home draw to Celtic and a hammering by Borussia Dortmund.

Team news

Ben White, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and William Saliba are all out, as is Ethan Nwaneri. Riccardo Calafiori needs a fitness test.

Dinamo are missing Bruno Petković, Josip Mišić and Petar Sučić as first-team options.

Key player

Scored one and was denied another at the weekend – Kai Havertz remains Arsenal’s biggest goal threat and has the all-round penalty box play to both create and take chances against a determined defence. In Europe this term though he’s been more about build-up play than getting shots away: he averages 1.9 per 90 minutes with an average xG of 0.39 each game.

Prediction

Arsenal will get the job done but it might not be a pretty watch all night. Arsenal 2 Dinamo 0.

(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.

Jan

2025

Preview: Real Madrid in must-win territory against struggling Salzburg

Defending UEFA Champions League holders Real Madrid are hovering precariously close to the bottom 12 with just two league phase matches left. Anything but a win against Salzburg will set the alarm bells ringing.

By Neel Shelat

Salzburg’s shocking season so far

After Sturm Graz ended their decade-long Bundesliga-winning streak last season, RB Salzburg were expected to come back strong this term. Instead of competing for another title, though, they are currently on course for their worst league finish in two decades.

Ahead of the season, they hired former Liverpool assistant coach Pep Ljinders to lead the squad. He won less than half of the competitive matches he took charge of, so he was sacked back in December. The team has been away on a winter break since then, so new head coach Thomas Letsch will make his debut in charge of the club at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Real Madrid’s shaky league phase campaign

Real Madrid’s UEFA Champions League title defence has been anything but convincing so far. Even each of their three victories was far from straightforward as they needed a late winner to beat Stuttgart, had to stage a dramatic turnaround in the second half against Borussia Dortmund and just about got the better of Atalanta in a five-goal thriller. On the other hand, their three losses to Lille, Milan and especially Liverpool were not undeserved.

With two games to go, the defending champions will almost certainly fail to finish in the top eight to earn a direct spot in the Round of 16. At the moment, though, their biggest concern has to be sealing a knockout spot as they are barely in the top 24.

Of course, injuries have been a big factor behind Real Madrid’s struggles (though there are other issues too). The situation is not much better for this match as defensive midfielders Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga have joined Éder Militão and Dani Carvajal on the treatment table, albeit for a shorter period of time. Lucas Vázquez’s suspension for accumulating three yellow cards means Federico Valverde will be forced to join Raúl Asencio on the right side of the defence, so Dani Ceballos and Luka Modrić will likely start behind Jude Bellingham in midfield.

Los Blancos looking to avoid creating unwanted history

Real Madrid have an unmatched reputation for being serial winners and record-breakers. Their 15 European Cups and Champions Leagues are over twice more than any other team’s tally, and they also have a record nine FIFA Club World Cups in their sprawling trophy cabinet.

However, they are fairly close to creating an unwanted piece of history this term. Chelsea’s group stage elimination in 2012/13 was the only time that the UEFA Champions League holders have not progressed to the knockouts, but that might well change if Los Blancos fail to win their last two games.

Prediction

The Santiago Bernabéu is hardly the best place to try out a new head coach’s tactics, so Real Madrid should get the better of Salzburg pretty comfortably.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

Jan

2025

Preview: Crunch time for PSG and Man City in Europe

The champions of France and the champions of England meet in a crucial Champions League clash in Paris on Wednesday, with both sides in serious danger of falling at the first hurdle.

By Alex Roberts

Luis Enrique’s side are fresh off the back of an edgy 2-1 win over RC Lens, the side City recently signed Uzbek centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov from – a player we recently profiled here. He didn’t feature in that game, but he did score his one and only goal of the season against the Parisian club back in December.

City’s most recent victory was a little more comprehensive. Pep Guardiola’s lads travelled to Ipswich and pumped them 6-0, temporarily re-entering the top four. Are they finally back after a dismal first half of the season?

2 Phil 2 Foden

One player who does appear to be back to his best is Phil Foden. Two consecutive Premier League braces against Brentford and then Ipswich earned him two back-to-back Player of the Match awards.

Up until now, the winger had struggled domestically, but found some solace on the continent, providing four goal contributions in his five Champions League games. That’s more than in his previous 16 Premier League games before the 2-2 draw with Brentford.

The past six months marked his first real dip in form since breaking into the Man City first team, which is quite a remarkable feat. It doesn’t always happen, but sometimes the sequels are better. Just ask Vin Diesel.

A shift in policy

Since the departures of Neymar, Lionel Messi, and Kylian Mbappé, PSG have seemingly avoided big name signings, instead opting to build what is quite possibly one of, if not the, best young squad in Europe. And they remain unbeaten after 18 rounds of the Ligue 1 season.

New signing Khvicha Kvaratskhalia won’t feature on the left-wing against City or their next Champions League game against Stuttgart later in the month as they won’t be able to register him until the league phase is over.

Up steps 19-year-old Désiré Doué. The youngster has impressed since joining from Rennes in the summer and started in PSG’s 2-0 defeat to fellow Premier League side Arsenal back in October. With one goal and two assists in 706 Ligue 1 minutes, he has the ability to be a difference maker.

Kyle Walker’s farewell tour

The veteran right-back looks set to depart Man City imminently, with AC Milan the most likely destination according to reports. He’s a player who has saved City time and time again. Tracking back has become his trademark.

Guardiola has never been particularly sentimental, and Walker has been left out of City’s last three squads entirely, but for what he’s done for the club, he deserves a proper send off.

City started Matheus Nunes at right-back in the win over Ipswich, and he performed well, and although Walker hasn’t been particularly impressive this season, ongoing defensive injury issues at the club mean he may well get the chance to say bye.

Marquinhos will be a big miss

Speaking of defensive injury issues, PSG have them too. Not quite to the extent that City do, but they will likely be without captain and central defensive stalwart Marquinhos for the clash.

He’s been out of action since PSG’s 1-0 Super Cup final win over Monaco at the start of January with a groin injury, and, despite his standing at the club and in the game as a whole, he won’t be rushed back.

Lucas Hernández, Willian Pacho, and Lucas Beraldo formed a back three in the win over Lens, and they impressed, but it will take some serious effort to fill the void left by the legendary Brazilian against a side like City.

Prediction

Neither side have been in particularly good form in Europe, sitting in 22^nd (Man City) and 25^th (PSG) respectively. For the amount of talent on display, and the importance of a win for both sides, we predict a relatively quiet game, 2-1 to Man City.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

Jan

2025

Preview: Barcelona visit Benfica in penultimate Champions League game

Benfica host Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday evening with both teams targeting qualification from the league phase.

By Graham Ruthven

The race for top the eight

Benfica have already demonstrated their quality against one of LaLiga’s big hitters in the Champions League this season, thumping Atlético Madrid 4-0 back in October. This should be a warning to Barcelona.

Bruno Lage’s team are well-placed to qualify for the competition’s knockout rounds after three wins, two draws and just one defeat in the league phase. Another victory would all but secure their place in the top 24.

Barcelona’s Champions League form has been strong this season. Indeed, Hansi Flick’s team have suffered just one defeat in six games, and that came away to Monaco when they played the majority of the match with 10 men.

The Catalans sit second in the 32-team table with only Liverpool ahead of them. However, their recent form hasn’t been so glowing with Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Getafe leaving Barca without a win in their last four league games.

Barca’s last visit to Lisbon to face Benfica resulted in a 3-0 win for the hosts and this will be another test for the Catalan outfit as they struggle for consistency.

Key players

Lage will likely set up in a 4-3-3 shape that will look to exploit the space in behind the Barcelona full backs through Kerem Aktürkoğlu on the left and Ángel Di María on the right, should the latter be fit.

In central midfield, the pressure will be on Florentino Luís to stop Barcelona from finding their passing rhythm. Fredrik Aursnes and Orkun Kökçü are also expected to start in the centre of the pitch where the match could be won and lost.

Barca will field a fearsome starting lineup with a frontline including Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Pedri. Lamine Yamal has three goals in his last three games while Lewandowski has scored seven goals in six Champions League outings this season.

At the back, Ronald Araújo is expected to continue alongside Pau Cubarsí with Iñaki Peña set to be favoured over Wojciech Szczęsny despite the Polish goalkeeper starting the recent Spanish Supercopa games.

Team news

Tiago Gouveia and Renato Sanches are both sidelined through injury for Benfica who could also be without Di María for the visit of Barcelona on Tuesday. Otherwise, Lage has a fully fit squad to choose from.

The absence of Di María would be a significant blow considering the Argentine’s record this season – the former Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid winger has registered 19 goal involvements in 27 games. It’s possible he could start the match on the bench.

While Barcelona’s injury troubles have eased recently, they are still without a number of important players including Marc-André ter Stegen, Marc Bernal Iñigo Martínez.

Gavi was a worry following his early withdrawal against Getafe on Saturday, but the young midfielder is believed to be fit and available to feature against Benfica.

Prediction

Barcelona should continue their unbeaten run in Europe’s premier club competition but they won’t find it easy in the Portuguese capital: Benfica 1-1 Barcelona.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

Jan

2025

Preview: Liverpool look to make it 7 wins from 7 when they take on Lille

Liverpool only need a point against Lille to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League, but others have already underestimated the French club in this year’s competition.

By Ian King

Two strong sides go head-to-head

So, are Liverpool back on the boil? After the blip of draws against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest along with losing to Spurs in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, a semblance of this season’s normal returned at Brentford at the weekend with a 2-0 win, although it took them until stoppage-time and some very tired defending for this to come to pass.

But Lille are no pushovers. They’ve only lost four times in all competitions this season and haven’t lost to anyone since the 17th September. Their five game unbeaten run in the Champions League has included wins against both Real and Atlético Madrid, and a draw against Juventus.

History

These two clubs have only met once before, a two-legged Round of 16 match in the 2009/10 Europa League which came about after Liverpool could only finish in third place in their Champions League group. They won the first leg 3-0 at Anfield, but Lille did win the return match 1-0. Liverpool went on to lose to Atlético Madrid on away goals in the semifinals that year.

Key players

An injury may give an opportunity to a player whose arrival at Anfield hasn’t quite caught light yet. Federico Chiesa has only appeared twice in the Premier League since arriving from Juventus in August, but he scored his first Liverpool goal against Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup and could be given another opportunity here.

Lille’s main goal threat is the Canadian striker Jonathan David, who’s already scored 17 in 30 matches in all competitions so far this season, including six in ten in this very competition.

Team News

Liverpool’s injury list is pretty short, at the moment. If Chiesa is to get his chance, it’s because Diogo Jota picked up an injury last week which kept him out of the Brentford match and which will likely keep him absent for a few weeks. Joe Gomez is injured, and unlikely to return until the start of February. Lille also have absentees. They’ll be without defender Tiago Santos for the rest of the season, while another defender, Samuel Umtiti, won’t return until the end of January.

Prediction

This is ultimately a match between one of the Champions League’s surprise teams so far and one of the favourites to win it outright. Lille are in eighth place in the 36-team group and a result for them leaves them on the cusp of qualification for the last 16 of the tournament themselves. And while Liverpool are genuine European football royalty, so are Real Madrid, and Lille beat them in a group match in September. But with the Reds needing just a point to seal their own qualification Arne Slot will be after getting the job done, and a narrow 1-0 win would be more than enough to see them through.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

Jan

2025

Preview: Monday Night Football sees Chelsea face Wolves

Enzo Maresca’s honeymoon phase at Chelsea is well and truly over, and it’s slowly turning into the type of bitter resentment only really seen at the West London club. Without a win in their last five Premier League games, Chelsea host Wolves on Monday.

By Alex Roberts

Reece James’ late freekick salvaged a point for Chelsea in their 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, but it wasn’t enough to prevent them from falling out of the Champions League qualification spots.

Wolves haven’t been much better. Vítor Pereira has done well to take them out of the relegation zone, but they aren’t safe yet, sitting level on points (17) with Ipswich in in 18^th.

Enzo Enzo make a sub

One of the biggest points of contention amongst Chelsea fans at the moment is Maresca’s seeming reluctance to trust his bench. The Italian has made just two substitutions before the hour mark across their five-game winless streak.

An asset he had once embraced, Chelsea’s immense squad depth, now seems to be nothing more than an afterthought. It’s not surprising, remembering that many names is a big ask in and of itself.

Now, many are being linked with moves away from the club, and selling would make their ultimate goal of qualifying for the Champions League all the harder.

André is too good for a relegation fight

The Brazilian midfielder’s performance was one of few positives Wolves fans can take from their 3-0 defeat to Newcastle in their previous fixture, keeping hold of him is a completely different story, however.

André was essentially a one-man team against Eddie Howe’s side, ending his game with a 97% pass accuracy rate, having created two chances, and made 11 defensive actions while his side were dominated.

If performances like that continue, the big boys will start to circle, especially if Wolves do end up going down.

Trevoh Chalobah makes his return

Chelsea went back to Chalobah, hat in hand, begging one of their best academy products to save them from potential injury crisis. Of course, ever the professional, he answered the call and could be set to make an appearance against Wolves.

With both Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile both out for extended periods, Chalobah was recalled six months into his loan spell at Crystal Palace, having been a key player for Oliver Glasner’s side.

Solid defensively and a goal threat, popping up with three goals during his time in South London, Chalobah has nothing to prove to anyone.

Matheus Cunha is the guy

The forward had been suspended for Wolves’ last three games, it’s no surprise they failed to score against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle. Cunha has been their most potent goal threat in the first half of the season, and he will make it hard for Chelsea.

Not only is he consistently scoring goals, 10 in his 20 Premier League games to be precise, but his range of goals is also remarkable. Long-range, close encounters, and even direct from corners, it doesn’t matter, Cunha simply scores goals.

He’s another player that won’t be longed for Wolves should they go down or even have to continue the battle against it. Wolves have a mid-table squad, but Cunha was better than that already.

*Cunha’s varied shot map, Premier League 2024/25*

Prediction

Last time out, Chelsea battered Wolves 2-6 at the Molineux, things are a little more nuanced now. We’re still going to go with a Chelsea win, although it won’t be anywhere near as comprehensive. 2-1 to the Blues.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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