Preview

Oct

2025

Preview: Liverpool and Crystal Palace meet again

Anfield plays host to an intriguing Carabao Cup match-up on Wednesday evening as an out of sorts Liverpool take on a Crystal Palace team with just one win in October.

By Sam McGuire

The story so far

If you ignore the Community Shield (loss to Palace), Liverpool started the season with seven wins from seven across all competitions. Since then though, the Reds have won just one of six and this run includes four consecutive losses in the Premier League.

Arne Slot’s side have one of the worst defensive records in the Premier League and only five teams have conceded more than the Reds after nine matches. The reigning champions are now seven points off of the pace, injuries are racking up to key players while a number of their title winning team are out of form.

The Carabao Cup is both a hindrance and an opportunity. It is a game they don’t need right now with the squad looking thin and so many big matches on the horizon, but it’s a chance for a bit of a confidence boost.

The same could be said for the visitors too.

For Palace, they kicked off Liverpool’s losing run with a 2-1 win at Selhurst Park. Olivier Glasner’s men had been on an 19-match unbeaten run until recently. They’re now four without a win across all competitions and find themselves 10th in the Premier League. They’ve blanked in their last two outings and are struggling for clean sheets.

Recent form

The 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt was a bit of a false dawn for Liverpool.

It was supposed to be a confidence boost for the Reds. Yet it was more of the same for Slot’s side in the loss to Brentford. Slot’s side conceded an early goal, couldn’t deal with the direct nature of their hosts and were wasteful in attack.

It was the same in losses against Palace, Chelsea and Manchester United too. The Premier League champions are in a rut.

The Eagles haven’t been as bad as Liverpool, but the wheels have fallen off a little bit over recent weeks. Glasner’s side conceded two late goals to Everton to bring their unbeaten run to an abrupt halt. They showed great resolve to claim a 3-3 draw with Bournemouth before back-to-back losses to AEK Larnaca and Arsenal. The game against the Cherries aside, Palace are finding goals hard to come by and that seems to be their problem.

Key Players

Both sides might rotate heavily with the focus being on other competitions. Both teams might go with strong starting XIs as they look to return to winning ways. It’s difficult to really know what either manager will do and, as a result, it’s difficult to know who might be the key players for this game.

Fede Chiesa will likely get the nod for Liverpool though, regardless of how strong Slot goes against the Eagles. He’s had an influential season for the Reds and will look to, once again, make the most of his opportunity in the team.

For Palace, Glasner isn’t going to resist the urge to play Ismaïla Sarr against Liverpool, is he? The Senegal forward has a good record against the Merseyside club and is one of the few players in Europe who seems to have the better of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté on a regular basis.

Team News

Alisson Becker, Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni all miss out for Liverpool while the expectation is that Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones and Alexander Isak won’t be risked in this clash with so many big games coming up for Liverpool. Having played so much football recently it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai rested for this clash either.

For Palace, Cheick Doucouré is still out but, other than that, Glasner appears to have a full squad to pick from.

Prediction

Under Slot, Liverpool don’t have the best record against Palace. They picked up a 1-0 win at Selhurst Park early last season but have failed to win any of the last three matches between the two teams. They could only manage a draw in the final game of the 2024/25 season, the two sides played out a 2-2 draw at Wembley in the Community Shield before Palace claimed a 2-1 win in their last meeting.

Without knowing how strong either team will go, it’s hard to predict what might happen. Liverpool have home advantage but with the way they’ve been playing recently, will it matter? We’re going to say 1-1 with the match going to penalties.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2025

Preview: Everton host Thomas Frank’s Spurs

Everton host Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, as the Toffees attempt to continue their unbeaten start to life at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

By Matt Smith

Spurs have won just once in their previous five games in all competitions, and they travel to Merseyside where they haven’t had much luck in recent years.

Everton are unbeaten in their last seven home fixtures against Tottenham, albeit at a different stadium.

Team news

Everton will be without Jarrad Branthwaite and Nathan Patterson for this game. Branthwaite recently underwent surgery on a hamstring issue and is likely to be on the treatment table for an extended period, while Patterson picked up a problem playing for the U21s.

Thomas Frank confirmed that Cristian Romero, Dominic Solanke, and Destiny Udogie were unlikely to be fit enough to feature. Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison also remain on the sidelines.

The Toffees need to tighten up

Everton have been known for their defensive solidity in recent years, but they have perhaps been slightly fortunate to have conceded as few goals as they have this season. The Toffees have given up 12.2 xG, but have only conceded nine goals so far.

A win this weekend could take Everton into the European places if results go their way, so it’s been far from a disastrous start to the campaign. David Moyes’ side welcome back Jack Grealish this week, which is a huge boost for the Merseyside club.

Tottenham dropping after a strong start

Spurs enjoyed an impressive start to the campaign under new manager Frank, but they’ve started to shown signs of inconsistency in recent weeks. They’ve won just once in their previous four games, but they have accumulated more points away from home than any other side.

Tottenham have created just 8.3 xG, despite scoring 14 goals this season. That could be a concern for Frank and his side, as the data suggest they might have a few more points than they possibly deserve so far this campaign.

Jack Grealish the danger man

Only Bruno Fernandes has created more chances than Grealish this season, and that’s with the Man City loanee missing their previous game and only coming off the bench in their opening match.

The England international has been a breath of fresh air for the Toffees in the final third, who have been missing a creative spark for many years now. You feel that there’s still more to come from Grealish, who has only found the back of the net on one occasion, and the motivation of getting into the England squad for the World Cup next year will only benefit Everton.

Prediction

Tottenham’s struggles to build from the back this season could play into Everton’s hands, and they have a strong record against Spurs in recent years. With the Toffees having a better squad than they’ve had in previous meetings with the north London outfit, we’re going for a 2-1 victory to Moyes’ men.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2025

Preview: Manchester City visit unhappy hunting ground Villa Park

Villa host City with Pep Guardiola’s squad looking to leave Birmingham with three points for the first time since 2021.

By Filip Mishov

A clash of two in-form sides led by a couple of great Spanish masterminds

Unai Emery had his groove back, Aston Villa were on a five-match winning streak across the Premier League and the Europa League, but a setback followed, with the Villans’ heavily-rotated side losing to Go Ahead Eagles. However, the Midlands’ visitors still won the xG (2.82) battle and dominated the possession in the Netherlands, which is further proof that they have turned the page in terms of their performances this season.

Just like Villa, Pep Guardiola‘s squad are riding high on confidence, with the Cityzens unbeaten across all competitions since August, with Gianluigi Donnarumma keeping a clean sheet in each of the last three games. The Premier League title contenders are hitting top form ahead of an incredibly tough fixture run, including home matches against Bournemouth, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool before November’s international break.

The Sky Blues’ last win at Villa Park dates back to 2021 and the then-champions lost in Birmingham both last season as well as the season before. Unai Emery boasts a perfect record against Pep Guardiola at Villa Park, which is both rare and impressive at the same time.

Key players

Former City youngster, Morgan Rogers is excelling under Unai Emery’s guidance and the 23-year-old is Villa’s most dangerous attacker this season. The England international is the squad’s joint-top performer in the Premier League based on goals + assists (3) alongside unlikely hero, Emiliano Buendia, and the tenacious attacking midfielder is ranking high in both chances created (7) and big chances created (3), making him a threat in and around the box.

Despite Erling Haaland scoring all the goals, Man City’s results have improved mainly due to the refinement of their defence and Ruben Dias has played a key role in steadying the ship in front of Gigi. The Portuguese centre-back has started in all but two matches across all competitions this season and his presence and leadership is a settling presence. Additionally, the vice-captain is averaging a FotMob rating of 7.5 over the past five matches, while his compatriot at right-back, Matheus Nunes also deserves a notable mention for his contribution.

Team news

Unai Emery is close to having a full squad to pick from with the exception of Youri Tielemans, who is injured and will miss Sunday’s clash, while Lucas Digne is doubtful.

Abdukodir Khusanov and Rodri are the only certain absentees for City, while Nico González is a doubt. Guardiola’s side have had an extra 48 hours more than the Villans to rest and prepare for the match, which will surely benefit the visitors from Manchester.

Prediction

With both squads enjoying a decent run of form, it is hard to pick a clear favourite, but given Aston Villa’s recent home record against Manchester City, I expect goals on either side, and if I have to pick a winner, it would be the latter, only due to having the free-scoring Erling Haaland.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2025

Preview: Table-toppers Real Madrid and Barcelona meet for the season’s first Clásico

The newest chapter of the storied rivalry between Spain’s two most successful clubs is set to be written at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday.

By Neel Shelat

Barcelona aiming for five straight Clásico wins

Barcelona’s success in all four Clásicos last season certainly was a big reason behind their triumph in all three domestic competitions. They put 16 goals past their arch-rivals’ defence, showcasing their irresistible attacking strength.

The last time the Blaugrana won four consecutive Clásicos was between 2008 and 2010, when a certain Pep Guardiola was their head coach. They capped that streak off with a fifth win – the famous 5-0, which remains the most one-sided meeting between these two teams in the 21st century.

Both sides’ weaknesses exposed in recent heavy league defeats

Barcelona will need to produce something very special if they are to relive the highs of November 2010, as they haven’t looked particularly convincing of late. The scoreline in their midweek Champions League win over Olympiacos was very flattering after a dubious red card, but they needed a stoppage-time winner to beat bottom-of-the-table Girona last weekend and suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Sevilla in their last away match.

Real Madrid’s form has been far better in contrast to that as they have won 11 of their 12 matches so far this season, but that one outlier was a 5-2 derby defeat to Atlético. They put together a quite puzzling and weird display at the Metropolitano, so they must be keen to avoid making the same mistakes.

Significant injury issues for both

Injury issues have been plaguing both Real Madrid and Barcelona for quite a while, so this match will be no exception. Los Blancos will be without at least two defenders in Antonio Rüdiger and David Alaba, while Dean Huijsen as well as both the recognised right backs have not featured in recent weeks. The ex-Bournemouth centre back looked excellent at the start of the season, so his potential return would be a huge boost.

Barcelona will similarly be hoping to see the return of Raphinha, but they are sure to miss Robert Lewandowski, Dani Olmo and Gavi besides their top two goalkeepers. Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford are the two obvious alternative options for the striker spot, while Fermín López is in line to start behind them after netting a hat-trick in midweek.

Could the pressing battles be decisive?

Barcelona’s high line played a starring role in last season’s first Clásico as they caught Kylian Mbappé offside eight times, but the French forward now has a year’s worth of extra experience and is in imperious form. So, the visitors will likely need to limit the number of balls they allow in behind their defence if they are to make Wojciech Szczęsny’s task relatively straightforward.

On the other hand, Real Madrid might want to step up much more than they did in the Madrid derby. Their passivity seemed to cost them dear that day, so against a team without a target striker, they shouldn’t be afraid to turn up the pressing intensity.

Prediction

Xabi Alonso’s side seem to have the upper hand in terms of personnel and tactical matchups going into his first Clásico, but Barcelona certainly can open any game up.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2025

Preview: Arsenal meet Palace at the Emirates

Arsenal can build more title momentum against Crystal Palace on Sunday with the Gunners on a six-game winning run.

By Graham Ruthven

Title chances

This could be Arsenal’s season. The Gunners were widely tipped as one of the teams that could win the 2025/26 Premier League title, but they might have made themselves favourites over the last few weeks.

A lot of that is down to Liverpool’s inconsistent form. The defending champions are on a losing run of three games in the league, while Arsenal have won their last six in all competitions.

If the door at the top of the Premier League table has been opened, Mikel Arteta’s side look ready to walk through it with Sunday’s home match against Crystal Palace an opportunity to build more momentum.

Palace will be dangerous opponents having beaten Liverpool twice already this season, but the Eagles are fresh from a disappointing loss to AEK Larnaca in the Conference League.

Nevertheless, Oliver Glasner’s side have proven their ability to upset the best teams and could hit Arsenal on the break to destabilise their growing title challenge.

Crystal Palace are remarkably leading the Premier League for Expected Goals (xG), shots on target per match and Big Chances. The Gunners mustn’t take them lightly.

Key players

Bukayo Saka was a constant danger in the Champions League victory over Atlético Madrid on Tuesday and is almost certain to start against Crystal Palace on Sunday too.

No other Arsenal player has created more chances this season than Saka (13) who is such an important component of the Gunners’ attack. With just two goals and assists to his name, the 24-year-old surely wants to improve his raw numbers.

Declan Rice will anchor things at the base of the midfield for the hosts. The England international is a threat from set pieces, as he showed by assisting Gabriel against Atleti.

Viktor Gyökeres bagged a brace on Tuesday night and is expected to lead the line for Arsenal against Palace with Eberechi Eze in line to face his former club.

Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a hat trick in Palace’s whirlwind 3-3 draw against Bournemouth last weekend and will stand a good chance of physically matching Gabriel and international teammate William Saliba at the Emirates Stadium.

Ismaïla Sarr will pose a threat on the right wing while Adam Wharton will face a midfield battle against Rice who will also have Martin Zubimendi alongside him in the centre.

If Palace are to get anything from Sunday’s game, they will need their back three of Marc Guéhi, Maxence Lacroix and Chris Richards to be in top form.

Team news

Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Noni Madueke remain sidelined for Arsenal while Martin Ødegaard is expected to miss Sunday’s match as he continues his recovery from a knee injury.

Crystal Palace, however, have just one injury absence in the form of Chadi Riad. Otherwise, Glasner has a fully fit and available squad to choose from for the visit to North London.

Prediction

The Gunners don’t concede many goals, in fact they’ve conceded just once at home this season, but Palace create more changes than most. We’ll go with a home win, but not without some consolation for the visitors: Arsenal 2-1 Crystal Palace

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the 2025/26 Premier League season with FotMob – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Oct

2025

Preview: Brentford host Liverpool on Saturday night

Saturday evening sees Premier League champions Liverpool travel to the Gtech Community Stadium to face Brentford. The Reds are looking to bring a three match losing streak to an end in the English top flight having returned to winning ways on Wednesday against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League.

By Sam McGuire

The story so far

Liverpool are yet to draw a game this season. Arne Slot‘s side started with seven successive wins across all competitions before losing four on the spin.

They surrendered an early lead at the summit of the Premier League and now find themselves four points off the face after losses to Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Manchester United.

A resounding 5-1 win over an underwhelming Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday may have snapped the Reds out of their rut. However, the real test will be against the Bees on Saturday evening.

Brentford have been pretty inconsistent this term. They’ve suffered defeats against Nottingham Forest, Sunderland, Fulham and Manchester City but picked up wins over Aston Villa, Manchester United and West Ham United.

Keith Andrews has done a decent job since replacing Thomas Frank and has managed to get Igor Thiago firing.

Recent form

It might be hard to believe this but Brentford are the form team heading into this game with seven points from their last five in the Premier League. They took a point off of Chelsea in a 2-2 draw, hammered Manchester United 3-1 and claimed a comfortable 2-0 win over West Ham during this period.

Defensively, things have improved recently, with the Bees conceding just two across their last three outings, and this included a game against Manchester City.

Liverpool have six points across their last five Premier League games and are without a win since the 20th September when the Reds beat Everton 2-1 in the Merseyside derby.

Slot’s men are struggling for goals and have managed just one clean sheet across these fixtures, away at Burnley.

Key Players

For the hosts, the main man is Thiago. He was the Player of the Match against West Ham last time out, earning himself an 8.6 FotMob rating. He’s scored for the Bees in wins over the Hammers, Manchester United and Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup. The 24 year-old also found the back of the net in defeats to Sunderland and Nottingham Forest.

Thiago has been responsible for five of his team’s 11 goals this term.

*Player traits comparison for an in form Cody Gakpo*

For Liverpool, the key player is a surprising one. It is Cody Gakpo.

He’s scored in five successive games for club and country. He’s the joint top scorer for the Reds in the Premier League with three goals and his average FotMob rating of 7.67 is the highest in the Liverpool team.

Team News

Liverpool are without Alisson Becker, Jeremie Frimpong, Alexander Isak and Giovanni Leoni while Ryan Gravenberch remains an injury doubt after sustaining an injury against United last weekend.

Brentford are missing Scotland international Aaron Hickey. Other than that, Andrews has a full squad available to him for this Saturday night clash.

Prediction

If Liverpool have title aspirations, a win is needed here. The way Brentford are playing means it’ll be a tough game though. Both teams are going to score. The Reds might edge it after a confidence boost on Wednesday. We’re saying 2-1 to the visitors.

(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

2025

Preview: Manchester United meet Brighton aiming for third straight win

Manchester United return to Old Trafford following their Liverpool success to take on Brighton team who are also recovering from a disappointing start to the season.

By Ian King

Both teams have momentum that they’ll be looking to maintain

Both Manchester United and Brighton are on an upward trajectory that they’ll be looking to maintain, going into this late Saturday afternoon fixture at Old Trafford. United come into this match off the back of their 2-1 win at Anfield last Sunday, and have now won three of their last four games, lifting them into the top half of the Premier League for the first time since their win against Burnley briefly took them to 9th ahead of the September international break.

But Brighton have also recovered from a mixed start. Having lost two of their first four matches, they’ve now gone four League games unbeaten since the middle of September, and they had a similarly impressive result to United last weekend, with a 2-1 win against Newcastle United at the Amex.

Manchester United’s recent record against Brighton is pretty terrible

Manchester United have a pretty terrible record in recent matches against Brighton (particularly at home), having lost six and won just two of their last eight meetings, with one of those two wins being on penalties following a goalless draw in the 2023 FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. Brighton completed a league double over United last season, winning 2-1 at the Amex and 3-1 at Old Trafford.

*The previous three meetings at Old Trafford*

Getting Mbeumo scoring regularly could get United on track, while Welbeck could offer a reminder of what they lost

If there’s one player more than any other who seems likely to lead Manchester United back to sunnier climes, it’s Bryan Mbeumo. He took exactly a minute to open the scoring at Anfield last weekend, and getting him scoring regularly – he’s managed just two in eight in the League so far this season – would go a long way towards getting them back challenging for a European place. After all, it’s all very well talking about United having an advantage over their rivals on account of having no European football this season, but a club of this size really needs European football.

It’s now been more than a decade since Danny Welbeck was a Manchester United player, but the striker has hit a rich vein of form this season, with his four goals in eight appearances including both goals in their win against Newcastle. There’s even been talk of him getting an England recall at 34 years of age following an absence of seven years. He has it in him to become Albion’s talisman, this season.

United’s injury woes have eased, but Brighton could be without several familiar names

Manchester United’s injury problems seem to be easing. Long-term absentee Lisandro Martínez is close to a return but won’t make this one, but Leny Yoro could push for a return after only making a five-minute cameo at the end of the Liverpool match. Benjamin Šeško was also on the bench for that match, but he could also return to lead their attack.

Brighton have injury problems, both in the short and long-term. Solly March, Adam Webster and Jack Hinshelwood all remain out of action, while Kaoru Mitoma, Joel Veltman, Diego Gómez and Brajan Gruda will all need pre-match fitness tests. Carlos Baleba, who Manchester United lusted after all summer, is likely to start in midfield.

Both teams are on an upward trajectory, but there’s little between them at the moment

It would be a bit premature to say that Manchester United are BACK – Liverpool were abject last Sunday, yet still unfortunate to not take a point from the game – but confidence is building around Old Trafford and it’s starting to look as though Ruben Amorim is getting his system through to his players.

Brighton, meanwhile, have been slowly improving since a poor start to the season, and while they do have injury problems, their win against Newcastle United last weekend was a reminder that they’re a team that you simply cannot take for granted.

If Manchester United want to get back towards the top end of the table, this is the sort of home match to win. But Brighton have a good record against them in recent fixtures, and their confidence will be high following last weekend’s excellent result.

United still have question marks hanging over their defence and Brighton can blow hot and cold (often within the same 90 minutes), so I’m going for a 2-2 draw and for these two teams to end their weekend where they started it, in the middle of the Premier League table but continuing to look in an upward direction.

(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

2025

Preview: Chelsea face Sunderland for the first time since 2017

High-flying Sunderland travel to Stamford Bridge on Saturday for arguably their sternest test since returning to the Premier League, while Chelsea will be hoping to gain further ground on the top four and title chasers.

By Alex Roberts

Enzo Maresca’s young side are full of confidence after a comfortable 5-1 midweek win over Ajax, a team that looked more like a pub side than four-time Champions League winners, with three teenagers scoring for the same side in the same game for the first time in the tournament’s history.

As for Sunderland, their 2-0 win over Wolves last time out shows they’re doing exactly what newly promoted sides must do, beating the teams likely to be battling alongside them to avoid the drop.

A weird reunion for Marc Guiu

In another universe, the young Spaniard would be watching on with his Sunderland teammates rather than potentially starting with his Chelsea ones. He would have been ineligible to feature against his parent club should he have remained on loan on Wearside.

Alas, his loan was cut short after Chelsea decided to ship Nicolas Jackson off to Bayern Munich and here we are. Guiu started and scored the opener in the win over Ajax, with Chelsea looking an altogether more cohesive side with him on the pitch.

He came on against Liverpool, distracted Virgil van Dijk enough to allow Marc Cucurella to send in the cross for Estêvão’s winner, and after replacing Alejandro Garnacho at half time vs Forest, they were 2-0 up within seven minutes. It’s almost as if when Chelsea play a proper striker, they score goals.

The signing of the summer?

Sunderland spent a lot of money in the summer transfer window to get their squad ready for the step up from the Championship to the Premier League, and it appears to have worked wonders.

Few new boys across the league have had as instant an impact as Nordi Mukiele, however. The French defender is a constant, leading the charts for tackles made per 90 minutes at Sunderland with 3.3, while also making an average of eight clearances per game.

*Mukiele’s player traits, compared against defenders in top 5 leagues*

Capable of playing as a centre-back or a right back, he bagged the opening goal in the 2-0 win over Wolves having somehow found himself at left wing, playing a lovely one-two with Trai Hume, and beating José Sá. Adding goals to his game would be a welcome bonus.

Team News

Chelsea welcome Wesley Fofana back in the win over Ajax after missing the previous four games due to a concussion he picked up in the 2-1 League Cup win over Lincoln City, with Enzo Fernández also returned from a knock he picked up while on international duty.

Tosin Adarabioyo started his first game since the defeat to Man United, so Chelsea’s centre-back injury crisis appears to be over. Still, they’re missing Cole Palmer (groin), Levi Colwill (ACL), Dário Essugo (thigh), Benoît Badiashile (muscle), Liam Delap (hamstring), however.

Sunderland have a good few injuries too, with Ajibola Alese (shoulder), Dennis Cirkin (wrist), Leo Hjelde (Achilles tendon), Habib Diarra, (groin), and Romaine Mundle (hamstring) all out.

Prediction

Chelsea don’t tend to start games particularly well, so if Sunderland get an early goal, this could be interesting. We’re going to go with an edgy 2-1 home win.

(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

2025

Preview: Inter Miami meet Nashville for Game 1 in their playoff series

Inter Miami kick off their MLS Cup campaign this weekend with a best-of-three series against Nashville SC in the first round.

By James Nalton

Lionel Messi’s side have been drawn against the same opponent they faced last Saturday in the final game of the regular season, when they ran out 5-2 winners in Tennessee.

The best-of-three format, which is used only in the first round, does allow for some leeway for the favourites, as they can afford to lose one game as long as they win the other two, but Miami will be looking to get the job done with a game to spare.

Inter Miami’s 2025 season begins now

Having failed to win any of the other competitions they have entered this season, Inter Miami are left with one more trophy to play for.

They didn’t manage to add silverware in the Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup, and Club World Cup, and neither could they retain the Supporters’ Shield title they won last season.

The one remaining competition they can win, and will be favourites to do so, it the MLS Cup.

It is this trophy they have been targeting ever since Messi rocked up in Florida in 2023, and this is their second go at trying to win it.

Last year, they were knocked out at this stage after a shock series defeat to Atlanta United, who won game three of the best-of-three in dramatic fashion.

Nashville SC will have this in mind and will believe they can do the same.

Opposition watch: Nashville SC

Nashville were 2-1 up as they went in at half-time in last weekend’s game against Miami.

Goals from Sam Surridge and the tireless Jacob Shaffelburg had the home side in high spirits at the break, with Hany Mukhtar also looking good as he set up Surridge’s goal.

Teams always have a chance against Miami given their lack of organisation in defence, and Nashville have enough firepower to have a very good one.

It all depends, as is so often the case against Javier Mascherano’s side, on what Messi does at the other end and whether he can be stopped.

Nashville couldn’t stop him last week as he scored a hat-trick and registered an assist in the game that Inter Miami eventually won 5-2 after scoring four in the second half.

The recent meeting means BJ Callaghan’s side are now familiar with where Inter Miami are at and how they are setting up, though, and the team from Tennessee will hope to learn from last week’s defeat.

Messi watch

If Messi wasn’t already a shoo-in for the 2025 MLS MVP, his hat-trick last weekend further reinforced his case.

When he inevitably picks up the award, he will become the first player to win it in back-to-back seasons, and only the second player to win it twice (Preki being the other).

The aim now is to replicate this form in the playoffs, which is the trophy Inter Miami truly craves.

If Messi’s postseason performances match his regular season displays, Inter Miami, despite their tendency to concede plenty of goals themselves, are favourites for the title.

Prediction

Inter Miami get off to winning ways at home in this best-of-three series.

(Cover Image from IMAGO)

You can follow every MLS game live this season with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Oct

2025

Preview: Spurs visit Monaco in the Principality

Spurs travel to the Mediterranean for a Champions League fixture against a Monaco side who’ve already spun the managerial roulette wheel this season.

By Matt Smith

Both Monaco and Spurs arrive for this fixture in a slightly out-of-sorts condition

Both Monaco and Spurs have been under par, of late. Spurs’ 2-1 home defeat against Aston Villa on Sunday seemed to indicate that Thomas Frank’s plans for his team aren’t quite going according to plan, but he’s not alone in being in this position. Their Champions League performances so far have been underwhelming but more or less effective, with a 2-2 draw against Bodø/Glimt and a 1-0 home win against Villarreal.

Like Spurs, Monaco started their season pretty well, but also like Spurs, they’ve tailed off in recent weeks. They’re three games without a win in Ligue 1, and their Champions League performances so far have hardly set the world alight either, with a 4-1 defeat at Club Brugge in their opening match followed up by a more respectable 2–2 home draw against Manchester City.

Monaco have a 100% competitive record against Spurs in the Champions League

These two clubs have only been drawn together once in the Champions League. This came in the 2016-17 group stage, and Monaco won both meetings 2-1. They ended that stage at the top of the group – they were eventually eliminated in the semi-finals by Juventus – while Spurs finished third and were transferred into the Europa League, where they were promptly knocked out in the Round of 32 by Belgian side Gent.

There was happier news for Spurs a season prior to this, when they met in the group stages of the Europa League. The two sides drew 1-1 in Monaco, but Spurs won the return match at White Hart Lane 4-1. On that occasion, Spurs won the group – and were beaten in the Round of 16 by Borussia Dortmund – while Monaco finished third and were eliminated.

Fati is back on form, Johnson needs to rediscover his

There is one particular goal threat for which the Spurs defence will need to be especially prepared. Ansu Fati has had a stop-start career so far. The young forward remains a Barcelona player, and following a mixed time on loan in the Premier League at Brighton during the 2023-24 season he returned to Catalunya. Having failed to establish himself there, he was loaned out to Monaco for the 2025-26 season, where he’s found his shooting boots again, with six goals in six games in all competitions.

One Spurs player with a point to prove is forward Brennan Johnson. He scored in Spurs’ first two Premier League matches of the season but hasn’t done so again since, and with only a goal against Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Cup to show for the last couple of months, his recent form in front of goal has become a bit of a concern.

Monaco have changed manager, while Spurs have further injury doubts

There have been two big pieces of team news from Monaco in the last couple of weeks. One concerns the man who’ll be picking the team. Adi Hutter was sacked during the international break and has been replaced by the former West Bromwich Albion left-back Sebastien Pocognoli. Pocognoli was at Union Saint-Gilloise last season, taking them to their first-ever Jupiler League title and their first ever appearance in the Champions League group stage.

Their big injury news concerns Eric Dier, who was at Spurs for a decade before going to Bayern Munich and then on to Monaco this summer. Dier will have been looking forward to locking horns with his former club, but a muscle injury has rendered him injured for a few weeks and he will not be taking part in this fixture. They will also be missing Lamine Kamara, Denis Zakaria, Lukas Hradecky, Christian Mawissa, Paul Pogba and Vanderson.

Spurs have further injury concerns, with Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies all doubtful, to add to their list of longer-term injuries, which still consists of James Maddison, Radu Dragusin, Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, Yves Bissouma and Kota Takai.

Monaco and Spurs seem likely to cancel each other out

In seventh and sixth place in their domestic league respectively, Monaco and Spurs have both seen promising starts to their seasons tail off in recent weeks. Monaco have been in transition, with their managerial replacement, and they have a proven goalscorer leading their line. This could create problems for a Spurs defence which hasn’t kept a clean sheet since the 24th September.

The financial advantages conferred by being in the Premier League should hand a considerable advantage to Spurs for a fixture such as this, but seasoned Tottenham observers will already know that they just don’t seem to work in a logical sense, much of the time. Monaco need a win if they’re to kick-start their Champions League campaign and Spurs need a result following a very disappointing home defeat to Aston Villa at the weekend. These two teams seem likely to cancel each other out, so I’m going for a 1-1 draw.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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