Preview

Oct

2024

Preview: Manchester City looking for an improved performance against Sparta

Can Haaland rediscover his goalscoring instinct without De Bruyne’s help?

By Filip Mishov

Even though the Cityzens snatched a last-gasp win (1-2) at Molineux through John Stones‘ clinical header over the weekend, Pep Guardiola surely is not too happy with his squad’s overall performance and especially the offensive line as the defenders stole the goalscoring show. Additionally, Erling Haaland was isolated in attack, barely touching the ball, and extended his personal goalscoring drought to a couple of matches.

Something which speaks volumes about Kevin De Bruyne‘s importance and the flamboyant Belgian is back in training ahead of Sparta Prague’s visit to Etihad, although it is difficult to see him go straight into the starting XI given his recent injury record.

With Sparta, the reigning Czech champions coming to Manchester as complete strangers but boasting an identical European record (1W, 1D) in the Champions League this season as the hosts, City might need a creative spark in this, the first-ever meeting between the two clubs. And for Pep, actions speak louder than words, and Jérémy Doku and Savinho‘s unconvincing performances might sprung the Spaniard into making changes with Jack Grealish and Phil Foden coming into the side.

*Possible Man City starting XI, made with the FotMob lineup builder*

Unlike the Blues’ forwards as of late, their versatile centre-backs are flourishing on both sides of the pitch as Rúben Dias, Joško Gvardiol, and John Stones all registered a shot on target against Wolverhampton Wanderers and furthermore, Manchester City’s defence has yet to concede a goal in Europe, being one of only six clubs to keep consecutive clean sheets. The Croatian defender, Gvardiol is at the heart of everything City do, both defensively as well as offensively and the ever-improving 22-year-old scored another scorcher from distance with his weaker foot at Molineux.

On the other side, the Iron Sparta(ns) are travelling to England on the back off a 1. Liga win after the international break, sitting in second place in the standings, just like Manchester City in the Premier League.

The Lars Friis-led squad upset the odds in Europe as they recorded a home win (3-0) against Salzburg and a respectable away draw (1-1) against VfB Stuttgart in the opening two rounds of the Champions League. Kaan Kairinen is one Sparta’s main trump cards and the Finish midfielder is their top goalscorer in the Champions League with two goals scored.

Obviously, Manchester City’s undefeated start this season is more likely to be extended than cut short, but Pep Guardiola is fully aware that the Cityzens’ performances must improve and Sparta Prague have already shown resilience to secure positive results on the European stage. Lastly, don’t be surprised if the loud Czechs outsing the home supporters at Etihad as the visitors enjoy passionate support from the stands as their loyal fans follow their team everywhere.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2024

Preview: Liverpool defence set for Leipzig test

It has been a tale of two competitions for RB Leipzig this season.

By Sam McGuire

Die Roten Bullen are currently joint-top of the Bundesliga alongside Bayern Munich with an identical record to the German juggernauts. Marco Rose’s men have taken 17 points from their opening seven matches.

They have the best defensive record in the German top-flight having conceded two goals while keeping six clean sheets.

*Leipzig keeping pace in the Bundesliga*

It is a completely different story in the Champions League.

RB Leipzig have lost both of their outings in Europe this term.

Against Atlético Madrid, the German side scored after four minutes but conceded a 90th minute goal to lose 2-1. Against Juventus, they, again, took the lead before ultimately suffering a 3-2 loss.

In-demand forward Benjamin Šeško is the only player to score in the competition for Rose’s men. He’s on three goals across his two outings. Only Harry Kane (four) has found the back of the net with greater regularity in the Champions League this term.

Rose and his team welcome Liverpool to the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday hoping to kickstart their European adventure.

They’re up against one of the most in-form sides in Europe this term. The Reds are just one of seven teams to have a 100% record in the Champions League this term having picked up wins over AC Milan and Bologna.

Arne Slot’s men have also won seven of their eight games in the Premier League. Unlike RB Leipzig, Liverpool’s impressive defensive record extends beyond their domestic league. The Reds have conceded just five goals across 11 matches in all competitions this term.

They are yet to concede more than one goal in a game.

*Liverpool sitting pretty in the Premier League*

Liverpool are potent in the final third too, scoring 25 goals in their 11 outings. For added context, this term, RB Leipzig have 17 goals in 10 outings.

On paper, this should be a routine win for the Reds. But this is the sort of game that could cause Liverpool problems, especially if Slot looks to rotate to keep things fresh ahead of the high profile trip to the Emirates on Sunday.

The greatest threat to Liverpool’s 100% record in the Champions League could well be Liverpool. RB Leipzig could take advantage of Slot and his team potentially having one eye on Arsenal.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2024

Preview: Hansi Flick faces former club as Barca and Bayern go head-to-head

Headline-makers are storylines from yesteryear are everywhere in the Champions League this midweek, as Barcelona host Bayern Munich in the third matchday.

By Karl Matchett

Both teams are looking dominant domestically, but with matters to prove on the continent. The biggest factor is set to be in the dugout, though, with Hansi Flick facing his former club having shown a capacity to deal with setbacks at his new side already – as well as make them look a formidable attacking outfit once more.

Flick has Barcelona top of LaLiga, free-scoring as a team but led by a re-energised Robert Lewandowski. The Pole already has two in two in Europe, but also 12 in ten domestically. He has his killer touch in front of goal back, but the buildup play around him is arguably the biggest improvement Flick has made on the team.

*Follow @FotMobapp on IG for more like this*

Despite a host of injuries to contend with, a string of youngsters and rejuvenated senior players have raised their game considerably – perhaps none more so than Raphinha. The Brazilian has even worn the captain’s armband this term, such has been his impact: only Lewandowski has scored more, only Lamine Yamal has assisted more than him. He has created a team-high 13 big chances – nobody in the Bayern side has fashioned more than four in the Bundesliga, albeit they’ve played fewer matches thus far.

Bayern themselves have been attacking at will and scoring plenty – 3.4 per league game is slightly above Barca’s 3.3 – but it’s still hard to see them troubling Barcelona quite as frequently, if nothing else because of how they struggled to really break down Aston Villa last time out in Europe.

Vincent Kompany has yet to prove himself on a tactical level as being among the game’s finest, and Flick will be backed to come up with a game plan to keep the best of Bayern away from dangerous areas. The returning Gavi and Frenkie de Jong give the Catalan outfit more options to control the game in midfield, and if it turns into a shootout…well, Bayern are scoring lots, but they’ve created 26 big chances so far in the league – 3.7 a game. Barcelona are at 50, equating to five a match.

*Bayern are back dominating the Bundesliga*

Ultimately, this new format is set up so that the biggest and best teams – certainly the best attacks – have all the chance in the world of progression, be it in the top eight or with a playoff later. Both sides will surely then progress – but Flick might be looking to put a marker down now for later in the competition regardless.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2024

Preview: Madrid take on Dortmund in a re-run of last season’s Champions League Final

The nature of the new group stage in this year’s Champions League means that this likely won’t stay the same for long, but Real Madrid will take to the pitch for their third match of the series against Borussia Dortmund in an unfamiliarly low position in the table.

By Ian King

Few were anticipating defeat in their second group match in Lille, but having comfortably beaten Stuttgart in their first match they came unstuck in the north-west tip of France, losing to a penalty converted by Jonathan David in first half stoppage-time.

It was their first defeat of the season in any competition and it left them in 17th place in the Champions league table, but there hasn’t been a slump since, with two wins in LaLiga – against Villareal and Celta Vigo – keeping them on the coat-tails of Barcelona’s explosive start to the season.

Kylian Mbappé returned from injury at the end of last month and is expected to start. Dani Carvajal, David Alaba and Brahim Díaz will all be absent. Mid-table is not where they’ll have expected to be after two games, though the six remaining games offer plenty of opportunity to set that straight.

Of course, Real beat Dortmund 2-0 in last year’s final and there is a case for saying that their opponents haven’t quite recovered from that yet. They’re currently 7th in the Bundesliga having already been beaten 5-1 by Stuttgart and 2-1 by Union Berlin.

They arrive in Madrid off the back of a nervy 2-1 against St-Pauli with injury worries. Karim Adeyemi scored a hat-trick in their last Champions League match against Celtic, but he suffered a severe hamstring injury at the start of the second half and won’t be back until the end of next month.

Other injuries Julien Duranville, Giovanni Reyna and Yan Couto, while Pascal Gross and Niklas Süle are both doubtful. Gross was replaced at half-time in the St-Pauli game, and it is not clear whether he will be fit to play. Süle missed the game ill and will be travelling, though it’s also doubtful he’ll be in a condition to play.

With such players missing and form patchy, there’s little to indicate that Dortmund will pose more of a threat to Real than they did on the 1st June, but a lot of people wrote off Lille’s chances against them too. This is their chance to get back on track and maintain their lofty top spot in the Champions League.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2024

Preview: Arsenal look to put the weekend behind them when they take on Shakhtar

With four points from two tricky opening games in the Champions League, Arsenal have had a decent start to their campaign, but they will arrive at The Emirates for their third match against Shakhtar Donetsk in a tetchy frame of mind.

By Ian King

Because regardless of the debate over the sending off of William Saliba during the match, there was little question that losing 2-0 at Bournemouth on Saturday was both their worst result and worst performance of the season so far. It was, considering that they’d just come back from an international break, a surprisingly tired looking performance from the title-chasers.

Saliba will start against Shakhtar (his one game suspension comes against Liverpool at the weekend), but Arsenal’s list of absentees remains long. Martin Ødegaard is unlikely to return until the end of the month and Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber will both face fitness tests before the match.

Shakhtar Donetsk have had a slightly troubled start to the season, both in this competition and domestically. In the Champions League they started off with a reasonable goalless draw away to Bologna, but their second game ended in a 3-0 ‘home’ defeat to Atalanta (they’re playing their home matches in Lviv, 1200 kilometres from home, at the moment due to Russia’s invasion). For what it’s worth, they are currently in 27th place out of 36 in UEFA’s new, byzantine Swiss Model group stage.

Their league season got off to a surprisingly weak start, losing two of their first three matches, but they’ve recovered since then, with a five match unbeaten run having lifted them back up to fourth place in the Ukrainian Premier League behind Dynamo Kyiv, Oleksandriya and Polissya Zhytomyr, and six points off the top of the table. Despite the obstacles being thrown in their way, Shakhtar are expected to be pretty much at full strength.

These two sides have met four times before, stretched across two Champions League groups a decade apart. In 2000/01 Arsenal won 3-2 at Highbury but lost the return match 3-0. A decade later, and by this time at The Emirates, they won 5-1 but then lost the return match 2-1. The Gunners will start this match as strong favourites to win, especially since the nature of their defeat on the south coast of England and the weekend surely demands one. Mikel Arteta surely knows that he needs a big performance in this match.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2024

Preview: Barcelona face Sevilla at the start of a huge week for the club

Does García Pimienta know something that his Sevilla predecessors did not to finally beat Barça?

By Filip Mishov

LaLiga leaders Barcelona have a big week ahead of them as they are set to host Sevilla on Sunday, and Bayern Munich, on Wednesday, at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys before making the trip to Spain’s capital to face arch-rivals Real Madrid all in the space of six day.

With that being said, Hansi Flick will be pressured to rotate in order to keep the squad fresh, but at the same time, the German tactician will hope to avoid the mistake of making too many changes as Osasuna taught the Champions League’s winning coach a harsh lesson, when Bryan Zaragoza & co. inflicted them their first defeat in the Spanish top-tier back in September.

Also, Flick’s faith in youth will be put to a test as the Catalonia-based club is the only one among Europe’s top five leagues to feature three 17-year-olds (Pau Cubarsi, Marc Bernal and Lamine Yamal) who have played more than 200 minutes. With the defensive midfielder – Bernal ruled out for the remainder of the season due to a knee injury and Yamal sustaining a hamstring strain while on international duty with La Roja, that is almost certain to change as Barça have not put a timescale on the wonderkid’s possible return yet.

However, it is not all doom and gloom as Fermín López is back in training and Gavi is finally nearing a return from long-term injury with the Spanish prodigy taking part in first team training during the international break. Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronald Araújo, Andreas Christensen, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres remain on the sidelines and with Yamal out, the in-form vice-captain, Raphinha is expected to occupy the right wing spot, but Flick has to decide between giving Pau Víctor another opportunity at left wing or giving Ansu Fati his first start of the season.

*Possible Barca starting XI, made with the new line-up builder at FotMob.com*

As for Rojiblancos, Barcelona represent one of, if not the most difficult opponents to face because Sevilla’s last league win against Barça at Camp Nou dates back to 2002 and the Andalusia-based club has recorded only three league home wins against them over that same period. But the Sevillistas are hoping for a change of scenario as now, García Pimienta is at the helm, a former Barcelona player, and coach of La Masia’s youth teams and finally, Barcelona B. The Catalan has not enjoyed the best start of the season at his new club but Sevilla did defeat city rivals Betis before the international break and to extend their current unbeaten run to three games, something that sees them sat 12th in the standings. Additionally, unlike Flick, Pimienta enjoys a clean bill of health within his squad with only Saúl Ñíguez unavailable, which should give him plenty of options to choose from and provide support for Belgian forward Dodi Lukebakio, who has been their best player this season.

Finally, the Blaugrana boast a perfect home record in LaLiga with three wins under their belt, while Sevilla are still winless on the road this season with three draws and one loss, and given their struggles when facing Barça, it would take a monumental performance to break their Catalan curse, but hope dies last and who knows what Pimienta has up his sleeve from his time spent in 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.

Oct

2024

Preview: Liverpool and Chelsea put their strong starts to the season on the line at Anfield

Many are tipping Manchester City and Arsenal to battle it out for the Premier League title this season but on current form, Liverpool and Chelsea are the two best teams in the English top flight.

By Sam McGuire

The Reds host the Blues this weekend in a pivotal game for both managers and projects.

As Arne Slot keeps pointing out, his side have had favourable fixtures so far this season. Their record of six wins from seven attests to that.

An away win at Old Trafford sounds impressive on paper but Manchester United have, yet again, been awful this season. The game against Chelsea is the first time his Liverpool team are coming up against a recognised top team in good form.

After a number of lacklustre showings before the international break, he’ll want a reaction from his players. He’ll want a good showing and a positive result.

Enzo Maresca finds himself in a similar situation. Chelsea are unbeaten since their opening-day defeat to Manchester City. They’ve had some big wins this season over Wolves, Brighton and West Ham United. However, they’ve also dropped points in games against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.

The former Leicester City manager has his side playing good football. He has them playing as a team. He’s also figured out a way to get the best out of Cole Palmer. He’s yet to record a statement victory over an established top team.

Winning at Anfield could force people to take notice of this Chelsea team. A win on Sunday would also end the terrible recent record the Blues have against the Reds – they’re winless in nine matches across all competitions. Their last victory arrived in 2021 during that terrible run of form for Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp. Liverpool fans may remember that in that particular game, Fabinho partnered Ozan Kabak at centre-back.

This should be a good game for the neutral.

Both sides are attack-minded with Chelsea ranking second for Expected Goals this season and Liverpool currently sat in third for this metric. The Reds top the charts for Big Chances Created while the Blues are second. In the alternative, Expected Points table, we have Slot’s men sat top with Maresca’s side in second.

This really is the two most in-form teams in the league so far this season facing off. These are two teams with stacked attacks and impressive defensive units. These are two teams under new management, looking to show their good start is the real deal, not just a honeymoon period. This is a game you do not want to miss.

(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.

Oct

2024

Preview: The league’s leakiest defence take on the meanest attack as Wolves host Man City

Although the international break is now behind us, Wolves manager Gary O’Neil may be wishing for another week off, with his Molineux men currently sitting bottom of the Premier League table, and with the visit of Manchester City coming up on Sunday.

By Dan Tracey

Gary O’Neil will almost certainly be looking at ways to shore up Wolves’ defence, with 21 goals conceded across their first seven league games of the season, at an average of three goals per game is not one that is sustainable in either the short or long-term.

In the long-term, it is the kind of metric that points to a relegation battle, at best, and demotion to the EFL Championship at worst. In the short-term, failure to land a first league win of the season in the next couple of weeks may lead to a change in the dugout.

That is not to suggest that the visit of Manchester City represents a free hit for O’Neil and his players and if they are to suffer another heavy defeat at home, a change may even have to be made before next weekend’s clash with Brighton.

In fairness to the team that is currently propping up 19 others in the Premier League, their attacking output has been far better from what you would expect from a team in their position, and with nine goals to their name, they rank joint 12^th on that measure alone.

However, it is not goals scored that matter the most, it is league points and with both they and Manchester City needing them for far differing reasons, this clash has all the hallmarks of an ideal warm-up for matters at Anfield – where Liverpool take on Chelsea just a couple of hours later.

It must be noted that City have shown their own defensive deficiencies at times this season, but whereas Wolves can’t seem to convert the necessary chances to get them out of trouble, the defending champions never seem to panic even when finding themselves going behind.

A scenario that played out against Fulham a fortnight ago, and one that they would rather avoid when referee Chris Kavanagh gets Sunday’s game underway. Should the defending league champions pick up the win in the West Midlands, they could even find themselves going back to the top of the table.

That would put the pressure back on to Liverpool as it will be down to Arne Slot’s side to then find a way to pick up maximum points against Chelsea. But first, City need to make sure they clear the hurdle placed in front of them before placing one in front of one of their title rivals.

(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.

Oct

2024

Preview: Madrid travel to Celta Vigo, one of LaLiga’s great entertainers this season

After two weeks off thanks to the international break, LaLiga champions Real Madrid are back in action. Their tenth league match of the season will see them visit Balaídos to take on the eye-catching Celta Vigo.

By Neel Shelat

Celta promise goals galore

Celta Vigo are unquestionably among the most exciting teams in LaLiga this season. Led by Claudio Giráldez in his first full season in charge of a professional club, they are third in the division in terms of total goals (scored and conceded) per game.

They have a dynamic attack led by Borja Iglesias and Iago Aspas, although the latter is suspended for this game after being sent off in the win over Las Palmas. Celta Vigo kept their only clean sheet of the season in that match, despite playing with nine men for over half an hour!

The most intriguing part of this Celta side has to be Óscar Mingueza, the former Barcelona defender. He was a sturdy centre-back or at most a defensive full-back for Xavi’s side, but Giráldez has refashioned him into a flying right wing-back. He has been doing his best Trent Alexander-Arnold impression in Vigo, already breaking his personal seasonal record for goal involvements with six in just eight games. Real Madrid will have to keep a close eye on him.

Will a refreshed Real Madrid attack click?

The two-week break and a favourable fixture against a frail Celta Vigo defence might just be what the doctor ordered for Real Madrid’s misfiring attack. Although they have the second-most goals and the second-highest xG tally in the league, they haven’t been able to create chances at anywhere near the same consistency as their main title rivals, Barcelona.

Thanks to the world-class quality of their players, their clinical finishing has helped them get over the line in most cases, but Carlo Ancelotti will surely be a lot happier if he can get his star forwards to click. Both Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior did not travel with their national teams in this break so they should be well-rested and refreshed, though they were also nursing slight injury issues. Should either of them fail to feature, the likes of Rodrygo, Endrick, Arda Güler and Brahim Díaz will be keen to make the most of the opportunity they get.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from top flight game from Spain live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Oct

2024

Preview: Arsenal head to Dorset looking to extend their winning streak against the Cherries

With seven games of the Premier League season now played Arsenal have still dropped just four points, and at a glance it looks as though a Saturday afternoon trip to the south coast should be one of their easier away trips of the season.

By Ian King

Arsenal scored nine goals in their last three games before the international break, which hints at the scale of the job ahead for Bournemouth.

The historical record certainly seems to back that assessment. In the nine years since the Cherries found their way into the top flight they’ve only taken five points off Arsenal in fourteen attempts; a 2-1 win in January 2018 and 3-3 and 1-1 draws in January 2017 and December 2019. Arsenal have won each of their other eleven League meetings, including the last seven in a row.

Arsenal have one or two minor injury worries ahead of this match. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are both at risk of absence following knocks picked up during the international break for England and Brazil respectively. Both will be assessed before the match on Friday tea-time. Martin Ødegaard is also still likely to be absent, though it seems fair to say that Mikel Arteta has coped pretty well without his usual captain.

For Bournemouth, the most significant question is whether Tyler Adams, who’s been out since the summer following back surgery, is fit to return to the team. This is the game that had been targeted for his return, but it’s unconfirmed that he will, and if he does return in this match, it may turn out to be from the substitutes bench. Bournemouth’s recent form has been inconsistent of late, with 2 wins and 3 defeats in their last 5 matches.

If there is a potential weakness to be exploited, it could be Arsenal’s defence. They only conceded 29 in 38 games last season but they’ve conceded five in their last three games since last keeping a clean sheet in the League against Spurs four weeks ago, three of which came against somewhat modest opposition, in the form of the newly-promoted Leicester City and Southampton.

It’s not much, but it is at least a glimmer of hope for Bournemouth, and considering both Arsenal’s recent form and Bournemouth’s record against them in recent years, it’s difficult to see past the Gunners continuing to keep pressurising both Liverpool and Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.

(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.