Preview

Feb

2025

Preview: Giantkillers Plymouth go to Manchester City

Following wins against Brentford and Liverpool, Plymouth Argyle will be looking to complete a hat-trick of sensational FA Cup wins against Premier League teams, but will Manchester City prove a step too far?

By Ian King

Pride and silverware to fight for

Plymouth have been struggling near the foot of the Championship all season, and their form since the Liverpool match has been mixed. They followed it up with a 5-1 win against Millwall the following Wednesday, but since then they’ve lost 2-0 at Blackburn and had two draws against fellow strugglers, Cardiff and Luton. They’re no longer bottom of the Championship table, but they’re still three points from safety.

Manchester City’s 1-0 win at Spurs on Wednesday night continued their recent rollercoaster-like trajectory. They’ve won-lost-won-lost their last four Premier League matches, while elimination from the Champions League came at the hands of Real Madrid. This is their last chance of silverware, this season.

*Plymouth’s precarious league position in the Championship*

Distant history

SInce Plymouth have never played top-flight football, their only previous meetings with City have come when their spells in the second tier coincided or in cup matches. They haven’t played each other since 1989, when City won 2-0 at Maine Road. Plymouth’s last win against City came with a 3-2 win at Home Park back in January 1988.

Key players

Since this is City’s last chance of winning anything this season, we might expect a strong line-up for this match to build on their recent win at Spurs. Erling Haaland is back from injury, and Pep Guardiola may well feel that a game against moderate opposition should be fertile ground for his main striker to keep his eye in. Goalkeeper Conor Hazard was the star of the show during Plymouth’s win against Liverpool in the last game with a string of excellent saves, and Plymouth will need more of the same from him if they’re to cause another shock in this round.

*Haaland’s shot map in the Premier League, 2024/25*

Team News

Manchester City emerged from their midweek trip to North London untroubled by any fresh injuries, so their absent list remains Rodri, Oscar Bobb, John Stones and Manuel Akanji. Plymouth’s most notable absentee is striker Ryan Hardie, who scored the winning goal from the penalty spot against Liverpool but is now out until the middle of March with a back injury. It had been hoped that the Plymouth captain Joe Edwards, who hasn’t played since the end of October, might return for this match, but it now seems likely that he’ll just miss out.

Prediction

Plymouth have been further than this in the FA Cup before, you know. In 1984, while in the Third Division (!), they went all the way to the semi-finals before losing 1-0 to Watford at Villa Park. But football is a very different game now to then, and City have exactly the reputation of being dream-wreckers to make a Premier League hat-trick feel very remote indeed, although they were knocked out of the Cup by League One Wigan Athletic in 2018. City’s up and down form makes predicting them difficult, but they should win this at least 3-1, shouldn’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: Madrid travel to Real Sociedad for semifinal, first leg

Wednesday’s Copa del Rey semi-final first leg between Real Sociedad and Real Madrid could swing in either direction.

By Graham Ruthven

Season-defining opportunity

This season has been a difficult one for Real Sociedad. The Basque outfit are currently slumped in eighth place in the league table, 14 points short of the fourth spot (incidentally occupied by rivals Athletic Club) that would lead to Champions League qualification.

La Real, however, have more then held their own in this season’s cup competitions. Imanol Alguacil’s team are in the last 16 of the Europa League as well as the final four of the Copa del Rey.

Victory over two legs against Real Madrid would be a season-defining moment for Real Sociedad who come into Wednesday’s game on the back of six wins in their last seven matches in all competitions. They have some momentum.

Real Madrid also have momentum behind them having backed up last week’s win over Manchester City in the Champions League win a home victory against Girona on Sunday.

An away win at the Anoeta would add more weight to the idea this could be a Treble-winning season for Los Blancos. At their best, they have the attacking firepower to beat anyone, but do they have a strong enough structure as a team?

Key players

Nobody has scored more goals for Real Sociedad this season than Takefusa Kubo. The Japanese has found the back of the net in two of his last three games and will be a threat coming in off the right wing against his former club.

*Real Sociedad top scorers, LaLiga 2024/25*

While La Real have struggled for attacking firepower in LaLiga this season, scoring just 23 goals in 25 games, they have netted eight goals in their last two outings.

Mikel Oyarzabal come come back into the starting lineup after coming off the bench in the weekend win over Leganés. Igor Zubeldia might also replace Nayef Aguerd in the Real Sociedad backline.

Carlo Ancelotti is expected to field a full-strength team for the trip to the Basque County with Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior likely to feature in the attack.

Jude Bellingham could return to the lineup after missing the win over Girona through suspension while Fede Valverde might come back in after being rested over the weekend. This could push Luka Modrić back to the bench.

*Real Madrid top scorers, LaLiga 2024/25*

Team news

Luka Sučić, Hamari Traoré and Jon Pacheco will all miss the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg against Real Madrid through injury with Aguerd also set to be sidelined.

Zubeldia and Sheraldo Becker are available again after missing Sunday’s win over Leganés through suspension. Otherwise, Imanol has a strong squad of players and options to pick from.

Bellingham’s suspension only applies to matches in LaLiga, but Éder Militão, Dani Carvajal are both still injured, leaving Real Madrid somewhat short of defensive options.

Andriy Lunin has been Real Madrid’s Copa keeper so far this season and is expected to replace Thibaut Courtois for this match.

Prediction

Ancelotti’s side should come away with a lead that they can defend back at the Bernabéu in the second leg of this semi-final: Real Sociedad 1-2 Real Madrid.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Feb

2025

Preview: Man City go to Spurs needing a result

Tottenham Hotspur can build on their recent form by piling more misery on Pep Guardiola and Manchester City on Wednesday.

By Graham Ruthven

A turning point

Saturday’s win over Ipswich Town was a landmark moment for Tottenham Hotspur. It marked the first time all season that they had strung together three straight wins in the Premier League, hinting at how Spurs are slowly turning around their fortunes.

Of course, Ange Postecoglou’s team are still a long way from where they want to be, sitting in the bottom half of the table with just 12 games of the campaign left. But there are finally reasons for optimism around the North London club.

Optimism is something that is in short supply around Manchester City after a damaging week for the Premier League champions. Indeed, back-to-back defeats to Real Madrid and Liverpool highlighted the fundamental frailties in Pep Guardiola’s side.

Against Liverpool, Guardiola set up his team to control possession. City, however, failed to create many opportunities. They could lean into a more direct approach against Spurs, but that risks turning the game into a basketball match. Guardiola faces a tactical conundrum.

Key players

Son Heung-min was back to his best in Tottenham’s 4-1 win over Ipswich, contributing two excellent assists for Brennan Johnson. The South Korean has scored eight goals against City in his career and could add to that tally on Wednesday night.

Mathys Tel is expected to start as Spurs’ attacking focal point as Dominic Solanke continues to make his recovery from injury. The young Frenchman will dovetail with Son on the left wing.

Kevin Danso’s arrival has steadied Tottenham’s defence and the Austrian will need to produce a big performance to keep Manchester City’s attack at arm’s length. Djed Spence, however, will give Spurs a way to get out from the back, whether that’s as a left or right back.

With Erling Haaland a doubt to feature, Omar Marmoush could be asked to lead the line for City once again with Phil Foden another option in the final third.

Jérémy Doku and Savinho could keep their place after starting against Liverpool, although Kevin de Bruyne’s lacklustre display could push Guardiola towards another central midfielder alongside Nico González.

The pace of the Tottenham attack will keep Nathan Aké and Rúben Dias on their toes with Abdukodir Khusanov another defender who could start for City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Team news

While Tottenham’s injury troubles have eased in recent weeks, they still have a good number of important players sidelined.

Indeed, Solanke, Radu Drăgușin, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Richarlison will all miss Wednesday’s match against Manchester City with Timo Werner set to face a late fitness test ahead of kick-off.

Haaland’s true fitness is still the subject of speculation. The Norwegian wasn’t included in the squad to face Liverpool on Sunday, but Guardiola has remained coy on whether he could play against Tottenham.

Long-term absentees Rodri, John Stones and Manual Akanji will all miss the trip to North London with Oscar Bobb also a doubt.

Prediction

We’re going with goals, and the home side to shade it: Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 Manchester City

(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.

Feb

2025

Preview: Forest host Arsenal in top four battle

Nottingham Forest and Arsenal both had a hiccup over the weekend, but who will react better to their recent defeats when they meet on Wednesday night?

By Ian King

Form

Nottingham Forest have now lost three of their last four, though the jarring little interjection into that run was their 7-0 demolition of Brighton. Qualification for the Champions League remains a realistic goal for this season, but they do need to regain the consistency of performance that got them this high in the first place.

Arsenal’s lack of a reliable goalscorer came to haunt them against West Ham, and there was a feeling that this result could have been coming following a relatively lacklustre performance at Leicester a week earlier which was partially masked by the surprise factor of Mikel Merino being so successful as a makeshift striker. A Forest win would close the gap between these two to just three points.

History

Arsenal’s 2-1 win at The City Ground in January 2024 ended an unwelcome run of them having lost their last three games there, two of which had come in the FA Cup while Forest were in the Championship. Arsenal comfortably won when they met earlier this season at the end of September, 3-0 at The Emirates.

Key players

Following their 90 minutes of blanks-firing on Saturday afternoon Arsenal need goals, but will Mikel Arteta keep faith with Merino in the absence of four other attacking players, who are all injured? He may need to think out of the box again; might this match even see a return to the first team for Raheem Sterling? Stranger things have happened.

Forest haven’t had a problem scoring goals but they have had one in conceding them, so Arsenal’s current lack of attacking potency is very much in their interests. Morgan Gibbs-White has been one of their key players in unlocking opposing defences this season, and Forest’s rugged attacking style could be difficult for Arsenal to cope with.

Team News

Ethan Nwaneri limped off late against West Ham. Arteta subsequently said, “It was just fatigue, I think”, but given their current wounded list it would be understandable if fans were holding their breath until the team is named. Ben White did return for a few minutes. Following his sending off against West Ham, Myles Lewis-Skelly is suspended. Taiwo Awoniyi returned to the bench for Forest at Newcastle on Sunday but didn’t get on the pitch. Forest’s only other current absentee is second-choice goalkeeper Carlos Miguel.

Prediction

Few would have predicted at the start of the season that Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal would be third vs second in the Premier League at the end of February (at the time of writing), but we are where we are and Forest are there on merit. Both teams have issues at present. Forest have been struggling defensively but are scoring goals. Arsenal’s defence is okay but they have no strikers, although they do have makeshift strikers and midfielders who can score goals. A 2-2 draw and a possible sigh of relief for Mikel Arteta it is, then.

(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.

Feb

2025

Preview: Can Liverpool and Newcastle produce another classic?

Liverpool and Newcastle United played out one of the games of the season at St James’ Park earlier in the campaign. There’s always something special about this clash.

By Sam McGuire

The potential for an all-time classic increases when there’s a bit more at stake than just three points. And this is the case this week as the table-topping Reds host the Champions League chasing Magpies at Anfield.

Fortress Anfield could deliver the Premier League title

Arne Slot’s men have 11 games left this season and seven of these fixtures are at Anfield.

If the Reds take maximum points from these games, the league title is all but guaranteed. Even five wins from these seven matches should stand them in good stead. Liverpool have enjoyed home comforts this season. They have the best home record in the Premier League with 29 points from 36 on offer. They’ve won nine matches, scored 26 goals and conceded on just 10 occasions.

They’re currently running at a rate of 2.41 points per game at Anfield. If they’re able to extend that across the remainder of the season, they’ll rack up a further 17 points on home turf and it’ll take their points haul to 81 with four away matches to play.

*Liverpool home/away points breakdown, Premier League 2024/25*

Looking at the current state of play, 85 points should be enough to win the title this term.

So, like we said, doing the business at Anfield sets Liverpool up for title success.

Mohamed Salah vs Alexander Isak

On Wednesday evening, two of the form strikers in the world face off.

Salah has nine goals and four assists in his last eight appearances for the Reds across all competitions. He’s comfortably the best player in the Premier League this term with 25 goals and 16 assists in 27 appearances.

He has 10 goals against Newcastle, four in his last two appearances against the Magpies and, perhaps more impressively, he has assisted at least one goal in each of his last five appearances against Eddie Howe’s side.

The three-time Golden Boot winner is the best attacker in world football right now. The only one who can get close to him, and he’s still a fair bit away from him, is Isak.

Since the turn of the year, Isak has eight goals and one assist in nine matches across all competitions. His double against Nottingham Forest 19 goals in the Premier League. The Liverpool transfer target has doubles in three of his last six outings for the Magpies. He also has a good record against the Reds with three goals and an assist since the move to England.

Seeing these two go head-to-head is something you aren’t going to want to miss out on. The winner of this battle could well determine the winner of the match.

Patchy form for both

Both teams won their last match in the Premier League but their form over recent weeks could best be described as patchy.

The Reds are unbeaten since September but haven’t been at their best in February. Arne Slot’s side have won three and drawn two across their last five in the English top-flight. They have given up leads in games against Everton and Aston Villa, settling for 2-2 draws in both games, while narrowly beating Wolves at Anfield.

Newcastle, meanwhile, have lost three of their last five in the Premier League. They ran out 4-3 winners over Nottingham Forest last time out to get things back on track. They are, once again, in contention to claim a top four finish. With better form, they’d be a shoo-in for it.

Their form has been erratic though. A 4-0 loss to an out-of-sorts Manchester City side was a red flag. As was the 2-1 loss to Fulham and a 4-1 defeat Bournemouth at St James’ Park.

Howe’s side are Jekyll and Hyde as of late. They have the quality to cause an upset at Anfield. There’s also every chance they get battered by the runaway leaders.

Key players out for both teams

Liverpool head into the game without Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez and Tyler Morton. The latter hasn’t been involved much this term but the absence of Bradley and Gomez severely limits Slot.

It means Jarell Quansah is cover for Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konaté and Virgil van Dijk. And the Liverpool right-back has been looking a little leggy over recent weeks. He was given a torrid time by Jérémy Doku at the Etihad, winning just two of his 14 ground duels. He could do with a rest but Slot just doesn’t have the squad options to do that just now.

Newcastle are without Joelinton, Jamal Lascelles and Sven Botman. The former and the latter are starters for the Magpies and big losses for Howe. There is cover, Dan Burn is playing at centre-back while Joe Willock and Lewis Miley have come into midfield over recent weeks, but the team is weaker without those two players in the starting XI.

It’ll be interesting to see who gets the nod at Anfield.

Prediction

We’re going with a 2-1 win for the hosts. Salah really wants this Premier League title and he isn’t going to be stopped. We’re expecting another goal and assist.

(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: Amorim looking for home comforts as United face Ipswich

Was Manchester United’s comeback at Everton a(nother) sign of something stirring at Old Trafford, or was it a(nother) blip in their otherwise downward trajectory?

By Ian King

Bottom half battle

At half-time at Goodison Park on Saturday lunchtime Manchester United looked well beaten, but then Everton tired, United scored twice, and then may have got slightly lucky with a stoppage-time penalty decision which might otherwise have changed the post-match discussion. But they’ve still only won three of their last seven and remain 15th in the Premier League, now separated from West Ham United by goal difference only.

Ipswich are starting to look slightly beaten. They’ve taken two points from their last seven and shipped another four at home to Tottenham on Saturday. They’re now five points from safety, with their 2-1 home defeat to Southampton setting off alarm bells that they might not have enough about them to get clear of the drop this season.

History

Two historic games between these two sides spring immediately to mind. On the 1st March 1980 at Portman Road, the match was hyped over the appearance of Gary Bailey, whose father Roy had played in goal for Ipswich’s 1962 First Division title-winning team. Bailey had an eventful afternoon. Ipswich won 6-0, but Bailey saved three penalties. But when they met at Old Trafford in 1995 with United in their pomp and Ipswich heading down, United won 9-0, with Andrew Cole scoring five. Ipswich haven’t beaten United since a 2-0 win in the League Cup in 1997. They played out a 1-1 draw back in November.

Key players

Bruno Fernandes was the orchestrator for United at Goodison Park on Saturday and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be for this match either, with ten goals and twelve assists in all competitions so far this season. But we all know that this Manchester United defence can be bullied, so much from an Ipswich perspective will be resting on the shoulders of Liam Delap, whose ten goals so far this season have made up more than 40% of their total in the Premier League.

*Delap shot map, Premier League 2024/25*

Team News

There has been yet another injury scare for United with the news that Noussair Mazraoui faces a fitness test after limping off against Everton. He may join Rúben Amorim’s eight-player injury list. On the upside, Christian Eriksen and Leny Yoro returned to the bench on Saturday, though only the latter got on the pitch. Ipswich also currently have eight players missing, with Jens Cajuste and – let’s face it, this is no surprise whatsoever – Kalvin Phillips limping off against Spurs.

Prediction

Manchester United have only beaten Southampton at home in the Premier League since 1st December and that raises questions no matter who they’re playing against, especially when considering that they could only draw 1-1 at Portman Road earlier this season. But Ipswich are on a clear downward curve and United did end their last match on a high, and with that in mind I’m favouring a narrow Manchester United win. But with their defence you can never guarantee a clean sheet and Liam Delap is an obvious menace, so 2-1 sounds about right.

(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.

Feb

2025

Preview: Chelsea looking for a response against Southampton

Chelsea host Southampton in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night as they look to bounce back after a disappointing run of form. The Saints themselves are struggling of late, but it’s been a familiar story all season.

By Matt Smith

When the two sides met earlier in the campaign, Chelsea secured an emphatic 5-1 victory at St Mary’s Stadium. Southampton could take confidence from the last Premier League fixture they played at Stamford Bridge when James Ward-Prowse’s goal saw them win 1-0.

Chelsea suffer Chalobah blow

Since returning from his loan spell at Crystal Palace, Trevoh Chalobah has played a crucial role for the Blues in defence. The English centre-back was substituted after just eight minutes against Aston Villa last time out due to injury, and Enzo Maresca has now provided an update on his fitness.

The Chelsea boss has confirmed that Chalobah will miss the game against Southampton. The 25-year-old is likely to be out for around seven to 10 days, but thankfully the Blues have a break until their next Premier League fixture.

Maresca needs Palmer firing once again

Cole Palmer’s emergence on the Premier League scene has been special since his move to Chelsea, and the England international has quickly become one of the most talented players in Europe.

Unfortunately for Chelsea, Palmer has endured a difficult few weeks, and subsequently the team’s form as a whole has dropped significantly. Palmer has failed to provide a goal or assist in his last six games, and you get the feeling that the Blues won’t be at their best until Palmer starts producing the magic once again.

Bednarek set to miss out

Like Chalobah, Jan Bednarek was substituted early on in Southampton’s previous fixture. Ivan Jurić confirmed when speaking to the media ahead of this game that the Polish defender will be unavailable, but it’s not thought to be a serious injury.

Jurić also suggested that Flynn Downes will play after the Southampton duo settled their differences. Downes was omitted from the squad over the last few weeks, with Jurić citing an attitude issue.

Fernandes slowly adapting to life in England

Mateus Fernandes has been a shining light for the Saints in what has been a disappointing season after moving from Portugal in the summer transfer window. The 20-year-old has showcased his talent and immense potential during his first few months at the club, but Jurić will want to see more.

*Fernandes passing stats, Premier League 2024/25*

Fernandes will be disappointed not to have more goal contributions to his name, and it will be partly down to Jurić to get more of out him by getting him higher up the pitch. The Portuguese midfielder has created 24 chances this season in the Premier League, but only produced two assists.

Prediction

Despite Chelsea’s poor form, it’s difficult to see Southampton getting a result in this one considering they’ve picked up just nine points in the Premier League this season.

We’re going for a comfortable 3-0 victory to Maresca’s side at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

(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.

Feb

2025

Preview: Barcelona and Atlético Madrid face off in headline semi-final

Barcelona and Atlético Madrid were drawn against each other for the two-legged Copa del Rey semi-finals, after which the winner can expect to face archrivals Real Madrid in the final.

By Neel Shelat

Barcelona’s fine form in 2025

Barcelona rather ran out of steam at the end of 2024 as they won just one of their last seven domestic games of the year. However, they certainly seemed to hit the reset button in the winter break as they have won 10 and drawn the other two of their 12 games so far in 2025.

That run of results includes their last two Copa del Rey ties against UD Barbastro and Real Betis, the memorable Supercopa 5-2 Clásico victory (which is just one of seven games in which Barça scored four or more goals) and an ongoing five-match winning streak.

Atlético Madrid’s watertight defence

Atlético Madrid’s summer transfer business heavily focused on revamping their attack, but defence has still remained the key to success for Diego Simeone’s side.

Atléti have conceded multiple goals in just one domestic match this term, so they unsurprisingly have the best defensive record in LaLiga, and by a notable margin.

On the flip side, Barcelona have scored by far the most goals in the Spanish top flight this season, so an epic battle looks to be on the cards.

*LaLiga goals scored and goals conceded per match*

Barcelona’s tough-to-swallow defeat in the last meeting

Of course, these two teams met pretty recently in LaLiga. That match was also held at the Olympic Stadium, where Atlético staged a late turnaround to knock Barcelona off the top of the table.

That loss must have been particularly tough to digest for the hosts given the fact that they absolutely dominated proceedings throughout the match but conceded twice against the run of play.

On the flip side, Hansi Flick must have had a lot of positives to take away from his team’s overall performance in that game, which might even make them the favourites for this tie.

Both sides near full strength

Another reason to be excited about this game is that we should expect to see two near full-strength XIs. Lamine Yamal was absent for the last meeting with an ankle injury, but he should be expected to start along with all of Barcelona’s star forwards. Andreas Christensen’s fitness is the only question for the Blaugrana, as Marc-André ter Stegen and Marc Bernal are out for the season.

Koke is the only player on Atlético Madrid’s injury list, so Simeone will have all of his attackers to choose from. Assuming he sticks to the trusty 4-4-2 formation, the recent pattern suggests that Julián Alvarez should be expected to start alongside Antoine Griezmann, while Alexander Sørloth will likely come on off the bench in the second half.

Prediction

These two closely matched rivals will be keen to not lose this cup tie in the first leg, so we should expect a tight contest. Barcelona’s powerful attack should aim to break through Atléti’s staunch defence, but the visitors’ counterattacking threat may also cause problems for what can be a sometimes disarrayed defence. All of that might result in a 1-1 score draw.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Feb

2025

Preview: Real Madrid’s chance to recover in LaLiga against toothless Girona

Real Madrid scored a huge UEFA Champions League victory over Manchester City this week, but their form in LaLiga has been subpar of late. So, they will be keen to get back on track against Girona on Sunday.

By Neel Shelat

Real Madrid looking to avoid four-game winless streak in the league

Having started February with a loss to Espanyol and followed up with draws with Atlético Madrid and Osasuna, Real Madrid are the most out-of-form side among La Liga’s top 15 teams this month.

The last time Los Blancos went four league matches without a win was back in 2018 when a drawn Madrid derby was followed by losses against Alavés and Levante and a 5-1 Clásico humiliation that cost Julen Lopetegui his job. Of course, there isn’t quite as much pressure on Carlo Ancelotti right now, partly because of his previous success but mostly since he oversaw a commanding Champions League knockout win over Manchester City, complete with the team’s best performance of the season at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Jude Bellingham’s suspension opens a spot in the attack

Jude Bellingham saw red for dissent in Real Madrid’s draw with Osasuna last weekend, prompting long discussions all over Spain about the subtle difference between “f– you” and “f– off”. There was a potential threat of a long suspension as well, but ultimately, he was handed a relatively moderate two-match ban.

As a result, there will be an opening in the otherwise fixed front four for the next week. Brahim Díaz and Arda Güler are the two chief competitors to be the second choice in the number 10 role. The latter is arguably the more creative player, but recent form favours the Moroccan as he provided the match-winning assist in the Copa del Rey tie against Leganés earlier this month before scoring the game-winner in the first leg against Manchester City.

Kylian Mbappé’s sensational start to the year

Kylian Mbappé’s move to Real Madrid was by far the biggest transfer of the summer. Even so, some analysts questioned whether he would be the best fit in Ancelotti’s side. Indeed, he did take a good deal of time to adapt to his new surroundings at the start of the season but has well and truly arrived by now.

The French forward has scored 14 goals in his last 11 matches, including a couple of hat-tricks against Real Valladolid and Manchester City. So, he is still firmly in contention for the Pichichi Trophy.

Girona looking a shadow of their former selves

Girona were one of the most eye-catching teams in LaLiga en route to a podium finish last season, but they have not been able to sustain that level of performance. Michel’s side are currently languishing in mid-table and have lost six of their last seven games in all competitions.

Although they have maintained their possession-dominant style of play, the departures of Artem Dovbyk and Savinho have really hurt them in the final third. The absences of forwards Abel Ruiz and Arnaut Danjuma will further limit their threat in this game, but the suspended Yangel Herrera will be a bigger miss in midfield.

Prediction

Given Girona’s recent struggles, Real Madrid should aim to keep a clean sheet and record a multi-goal victory.

(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 host Liverpool in Sunday headliner

Manchester City need three points from their match against Liverpool to retain a Champions League place for next season, even if their title bid has almost certainly sailed.

By Ian King

Crunch time for both sides

Both clubs were involved in midweek fixtures, and both had a difficult time of things. City were blown away in a meringue-storm at the Bernabeu courtesy of a hat-trick from Kylian Mbappé, which was all a sharp contrast from the previous weekend’s 4-0 thrashing of Newcastle. And with that result coming off the back of that 5-1 defeat at Arsenal and the first leg of their Champions League play-off, it’s fair to say that City’s recent form has been…patchy.

Liverpool made hard work of their rescheduled Premier League game away to Aston Villa, taking the lead before falling 2-1 behind by half-time at Villa Park and ending up hanging on slightly for a 2-2 draw. Following an uninspired performance against Wolves and conceding that late equaliser at Everton, they’ve started to show signs of fallibility of late after a lengthy excellent run from the start of the season.

History

Historically speaking, Manchester City do not have a great record in this fixture. It took them eleven goes to record their first win against Liverpool, a 3-2 win at Maine Road on Halloween 1903. Their recent record isn’t so great, either, with just two wins from their last ten meetings, though four of those ten did end in draws. Earlier this season, Liverpool beat them 2-0 at Anfield.

Key players

Dominik Szoboszlai was a lot of fun at Villa Park on Wednesday night. He’s a player who’s really grown into a role at Anfield, and his link-up play with Mo Salah can be a delight to watch. To the extent that a modern Premier League footballer at a big club can be, he still feels slightly underrated. Injuries mean that the Manchester City team for this match is somewhat uncertain, but a big performance from Phil Foden would certainly do an again beleaguered-looking Pep Guardiola a favour.

Team News

John Stones limped out of the Real Madrid game early, while Erling Haaland was left on the bench; both have to be considered doubtful for this game as well. Nathan Aké replaced Stones on Wednesday night and could be back in the team for this game. Cody Gakpo missed the Villa game for Liverpool but could return for this one. Joe Gomez and Tyler Morton are also likely to be missing.

Prediction

Manchester City are capable of putting in a big performance. This much we can say with a degree of certainty; they certainly put one in against Newcastle last weekend. And considering that Liverpool have started to look nervy in their last three straight Premier League games, it could even turn out to be that yesterday’s defeat for Arsenal isn’t too damaging if City can lift themselves out of their torpor and put in a similar performance to last weekend. The uncertainty surrounding both teams lends itself to a 1-1 draw.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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