WE ARE NEARING THE MIDPOINT OF THE SEASONS, AND THE END OF THE YEAR.
We are just days away from Christmas. The fixture schedule either lightens or tightens, depending on the league you are following.
La Liga will not resume until the 2nd of January, after Atlético Madrid and Sevilla play their game in hand this weekend.
Eredivisie, Ligue 1, and Bundesliga are on break until the 12th of January, providing a hiatus. In contrast, the Premier League, Serie A, and Primeira Liga will continue with matches through the rest of the year. Notably, the Premier League’s fixture schedule is denser than usual during this period.
🇳🇱 EREDIVISIE
PSV Eindhoven (48), Feyenoord (38), Twente (34), AZ Alkmaar (33)
Ajax (25), Go Ahead Eagles (23), Sparta Rotterdam (22), NEC Nijmegen (21)
SC Heerenveen (19), Fortuna Sittard (19), PEC Zwolle (18), Excelsior (17)
Utrecht (17), Almere City (16), Heracles Almelo (15), RKC Waalwijk (14)
Volendam (11), Vitesse (11)
Feyenoord’s title defense season would’ve been on track if not for a flawless PSV Eindhoven side rusnning away with the league title as things stand. The Dutch Eredivisie is approaching the midpoint of the season, and PSV Eindhoven has not only remained unbeaten but has also secured a victory in every round. Currently holding a 10-point lead over the defending champions, Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven has faced every team in the league except Excelsior and is set to host them in the upcoming round.
Among the promoted clubs, PEC Zwolle is the top performer, with 18 points and an 11th-place standing. There is a narrow 2-point gap between the three promoted teams: PEC Zwolle (16 points), Almeria City (16 points), and RKC Waalwijk (14 points). Vitesse, the team at the bottom of the table, has 11 points. As a result, the competition among the recently promoted teams to secure their place in the league remains fiercely contested.
LEADING GOALSCORERS:
Evangelos Pavlidis (AZ Alkmaar) – 18 goals
Santiago Gimenez (Feyenoord) – 18 goals
Luuk de Jong (PSV Eindhoven) – 12 goals
🇩🇪 BUNDESLIGA
Bayer Leverkusen (42), Bayern Munich (38), Stuttgart (34), RB Leipzig (33)
Borussia Dortmund (27), Eintracht Frankfurt (24), Hoffenheim (24), Freiburg (24)
Heidenheim (20), Wolfsburg (19), Augsburg (18), Borussia Mönchengladbach (17)
Werder Bremen (16), Bochum (16), Union Berlin (13), Mainz (10)
FC Köln (10), Darmstadt (10)
The German Bundesliga is one point from the midpoint of the season, and Bayer Leverkusen takes a 4-point lead in the title race into the winter break. Leverkusen is the only unbeaten team left in the league.
The defending champions are still in the title race. Bayern Munich holds a game in hand to potentially cut Leverkusen’s lead down to a point.
The battle for survival in the top flight is favoring Heidenheim over Darmstadt among the promoted clubs. Heidenheim occupies a mid-table position with double the points of Darmstadt, who find themselves at the bottom of the table. Heidenheim enters the winter break on a positive note, boasting a three-game winning streak. In contrast, Darmstadt secured a point against Hoffenheim in a 3-3 draw, ending a streak of three defeats, including a ‘3-2’ loss to Heidenheim.
LEADING GOALSCORERS:
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) – 21 goals
Serhou Guirassy (Stuttgart) – 17 goals
🇫🇷 LIGUE 1
Paris Saint-Germain (40), Nice (35), Monaco (33), Brest (31)
Lille (28), Marseille (27), Lens (26), Reims (26)
Strasbourg (23), Rennes (19), Le Havre (19), Montpellier (18)
Nantes (18), Metz (16), Lyon (16), Toulouse (14)
Lorient (12), Clermont (11)
The French Ligue 1 season is at the halfway point, and the gap between the three teams chasing the league leaders is smaller than the gap between the leaders and the rest of the pack. Paris St. Germain is on track to defend their title, despite a slow start to the season that saw them win just two of their first five games. The Parisians head into the winter break with a five-point lead, and they are the dominant side in all relevant statistics, except for goals conceded, where Nice currently leads the league.
The two promoted clubs are in the third quadrant of the league table, with three points separating them. Le Havre has 19 points, good for 11th place, while Metz has three fewer points and sits in 14th.
All 18 clubs in the league have reached double-digit points, with Clermont having the fewest at 11.
LEADING GOALSCORERS:
Kylian Mbappe (PSG) – 18 goals
Wissame Ben Yedder (Monaco) – 8 goals
HIGHLIGHTED FIXTURES
December 22.:
Aston Villa vs. Sheffield United (english premier league)
December 23.:
West Ham United vs. Manchester United (english premier league)
Liverpool vs. Arsenal (english premier league)
Roma vs. Napoli (italian serie a)
Atlético Madrid vs. Sevilla (spanish la liga)
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Everton (english premier league)
Bologna vs. Atalanta (italian serie a)
DECEMBER 22.
🏴 ASTON VILLA vs. SHEFFIELD UNITED
With Liverpool playing host to Arsenal this weekend and Manchester City four points adrift and away in pursuit of a Club World Cup title, Aston Villa could finish the round at the top of the Premier League table if they defeat a Sheffield United side at the foot of the table. For this to happen, Liverpool vs. Arsenal shouldn’t produce a winner.
⚽ : Aston Villa vs. Sheffield United
Accumulated Points : (38) vs. (8)
Points per game : (2.24) vs. (0.47)
Dropped Points : (13) vs. (43)
Win Rate : (0.71) vs. (0.12)
Draw Rate : (0.12) vs. (0.12)
Losing Rate : (0.18) vs. (0.76)
Scoring Rate : (2.18) vs. (0.71)
DECEMBER 23.
🇪🇸 ATLETICO MADRID VS. SEVILLA
Originally scheduled for the fourth round, Atletico Madrid will face Sevilla on Saturday to ensure all La Liga teams have played 18 league games.
La Liga will then scheduled to return after they New Year, on January 2, 2023.
⚽ : Atlético Madrid vs. Sevilla
Accumulated Points : (35) vs. (16)
Points per game : (2.06) vs. (0.94)
Dropped Points : (16) vs. (35)
Win Rate : (0.65) vs. (0.18)
Draw Rate : (0.12) vs. (0.41)
Losing Rate : (0.24) vs. (0.41)
Scoring Rate : (2.06) vs. (1.35)
🏴 LIVERPOOL vs. ARSENAL
It’s a battle for the top spot in the Premier League. Arsenal must avoid defeat to have a chance of remaining at the top of the Premier League table at the end of matchday 18. Liverpool, in second place and just a point behind Arsenal, will move to the top of the league table with a home win. If the two teams draw, Aston Villa will move to the top of the table if they can secure a win at home against Sheffield United, who are at the bottom of the table.
⚽ : Liverpool vs. Arsenal
Accumulated Points : (38) vs. (39)
Points per game : (2.24) vs. (2.29)
Dropped Points : (13) vs. (12)
Win Rate : (0.65) vs. (0.71)
Draw Rate : (0.29) vs. (0.18)
Losing Rate : (0.06) vs. (0.12)
Scoring Rate : (2.12) vs. (2.06)
🇮🇹 ROMA vs. NAPOLI
Napoli enters their weekend fixture against Roma after being eliminated from the Coppa Italia at home by Frosinone. Few would have expected Napoli’s early exit in the Round of 16, and even fewer would have anticipated a ‘4-0’ defeat at home. There is only a 2-point gap between Napoli and Roma in the Serie A standings after 16 rounds of the season. Roma comes into this tie following a ‘2-0’ defeat in Bologna. As things stand, it seems unlikely that Napoli will defend the Serie A title, but Champions League qualification should be a target.
⚽ : Roma vs. Napoli
Accumulated Points : (25) vs. (27)
Points per game : (1.56) vs. (1.69)
Dropped Points : (23) vs. (21)
Win Rate : (0.44) vs. (0.5)
Draw Rate : (0.25) vs. (0.19)
Losing Rate : (0.31) vs. (0.31)
Scoring Rate : (1.75) vs. (1.75)
🇮🇹 FROSINONE vs. JUVENTUS
Frosinone comes into this game boosted by their midweek ‘4-0’ win against Napoli in the Coppa Italia. They will be supported by the home crowd in search of a positive result against a Juventus side engaged in a title race with Inter Milan. The points dropped in a ‘1-1’ draw with Genoa have added pressure on Juventus to secure a win from this fixture. Frosinone is without a league win in their last three games, with a ‘2-1’ victory over Genoa being their most recent. Juventus has an 18-point lead over Frosinone, but that counts for little as they dropped points against Genoa in the last round, with Genoa sitting three points below Frosinone.
