COPPA ITALIA – quarter final
INTER MILAN VS AC MILAN (Coppa Italia)
Derby della Madonnina (Milan Derby)
It’s always a big event at San Siro when they meet. The current top two teams in the Italian Serie A standings will battle for a place in the Coppa Italia semi finals. Both teams will be looking to make up for their failure to win their fixture over the weekend.
Atalanta and Lazio are fighting for a place in the semi-finals is also preparation/test for their fight for league points on Sunday (January 31st).
SPAL are the only SERIE B side left in the Coppa Italia. They will have a tall task of trying to eliminate Juventus.
Spezia took out Roma to face Napoli.
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – ROUND 20
SOUTHAMPTON VS ARSENAL (English Premier League)
Arsenal’s revenge? Arsenal will be back at the St. Mary’s Stadium after getting eliminated from the FA Cup there just three days ago. This time around, the chase will be for Premier League points. Two points separate the two teams in the league standings. Southampton on 29 points with a match in hand, while Arsenal are on 27 points. A repeat of what happened on Saturday will see Southampton widen their lead on Arsenal in the league to 5 points; while having a game in hand.
WEST BROM VS MANCHESTER CITY (English Premier League)
Manchester City with a game in hand will end the round at the top the league standings with a win against Wolves (and if Manchester United fail to beat Sheffield United).
MANCHESTER UNITED VS SHEFFIELD UNITED (English Premier League)
The two teams are on the opposite end of the league standings. Manchester United keeps top spot in the Premier League standings by beating Sheffield United.
CHELSEA VS WOLVES (English Premier League)
First game for Chelsea after sacking Frank Lampard will be against Wolves. Chelsea are at risk of falling in the bottom half of the standings if they don’t pick up the right result from this fixture. Wolves haven’t had the best run of games in recent, but the reverse fixture was a win for Wolves.
TOTTENHAM VS LIVERPOOL(English Premier League)
Not too long ago these two were writing the headlines of a ‘two-horse’ race in the Premier League season.
The last time was a 2-1 for Liverpool, but Tottenham are on a better run at the moment and can take advantage of the slump Liverpoola re in. With a game in hand and just a point difference, Tottenham with a win at home will leap 2 points above Liverpool and take their palace in the ‘Top 4’.
Since their big win at Crystal Palace (7-0), Liverpool have won one game; FA Cup round 3 against Aston Villa. One win in their last 7 games isn’t what we’ve become accustomed to from Liverpool in recent years. Things must turn around quickly if Liverpool still has the ambitions of defending their league title. In the last 7 matches since their success against Crystal Palace, Liverpool have lost their position at the top of the league table to Manchester United, their unbeaten streak at home in the Premier League, they’ve been knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United.
COPA DEL REY – ROUND OF 16
There might be no ‘under-dogs’ left in the Copa del Rey. We’ve already seen the top two teams in the current La Liga standings eliminated by teams from bottom tiers.
Segunda Division
Almería
Girona
Rayo Vallecano
Segunda Division B
Alcoyano
Navalcarnero
Girona vs Villarreal
Almeria vs Osasuna
Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona
Navalcarnero vs Granada
Alcoyano vs Athletic Club
Navalcarnero and Alcoyano are both facing top division sides in the Round of 16 of the 2021 Copa del Rey.
Upset could be brewing. Alcoyano have already knocked out Real Madrid so it isn’t difficult to see them take out Athletic Club, while Navalcarnero take out Granada from the Copa del Rey.
Barcelona needed extra time to get past Cornelia in the last round. There’s been enough upsets in recent games to noth see Rayo Vallecano feel good about their odds at home against Barcelona.
Villarreal advanced through a narrow 1-0 win against Tenerife. Girona took out Cadiz with a 2-0 win. Taking out Villarreal isn’t too far from a reality.
Almeria were 5-0 winners against Alaves in the last round. Alaves are just a point from Osasuna in the La Liga standings at the moment. Almeria are playing at home just like they did against Alaves. Almeria should feel good about their odds of taking out another top division side from the Copa del Rey.
