WEEKEND BANGERS
The Milan derby and West London derby are part of the exciting and intriguing fixtures for this coming weekend.
Feb 3.
Chelsea vs Fulham (English Premier League)
Feb 4.
Everton vs Arsenal (English Premier League) Wolves vs Liverpool (English Premier League) Newcastle vs West Ham (English Premier League) Roma vs Empoli (Italian Serie A) Sassuolo vs Atalanta (Italian Serie A) Paris St. Germain vs Toulouse (French Ligue 1) FC Koln vs RB Leipzig (German Bundesliga) Dortmund vs Freiburg (German Bundesliga) Union Berlin vs Mainz (German Bundesliga)
Feb 5.
Real Mallorca vs Real Madrid (Spanish La Liga) Barcelona vs Sevilla (Spanish La Liga) Brest vs Lens (French Ligue 1) Marseille vs Nice (French Ligue 1) Tottenham vs Manchester City (English Premier League) Inter Milan vs AC Milan (Italian Serie A) Wolfsburg vs Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga)
FEBRUARY 3.
- CHELSEA VS FULHAM
WEST LONDON DERBY
English Premier League
Will Fulham complete a league ‘double’ in the West London derby?
It will be up to Chelsea to settle the score since Fulham picked up 3 points in their recent meeting on January 12th, 2023.
Chelsea has a game in hand but is two points behind Fulham (31 – 29).
For Chelsea to maximize the advantage they have from having a game in hand, they will need a win in this tie.
FEBRUARY 4.
- EVERTON VS ARSENAL
English Premier League
While Everton looks for the points to help them fight their relegation battles, Arsenal will be searching for extra points to help their league title charge.
- WOLVES VS LIVERPOOL
English Premier League
Wolves need the points to help with their relegation-avoidance battles.
Liverpool needs the results to meet expectations.
Pre-season predictions wouldn’t have placed Liverpool in 9th place after 19 matches but this is the reality.
Liverpool is coming from an FA Cup elimination against Brighton, and two points dropped against Chelsea in their last league fixture.
- NEWCASTLE VS WEST HAM
English Premier League
Newcastle United is a point away from 40 points.
A win against West Ham is the only way Newcastle United can guarantee to hold on to their position (3rd) in the league.
- ROMA VS EMPOLI
Italian Serie A
Their last two competitive matches have ended in a 2-1 defeat – against Napoli in the league and against Cremonese in the Coppa Italia quarterfinal.
Roma will be searching for a win to boost morale from an Empoli side that is unbeaten in their last 6 league matches.
- SASSUOLO VS ATALANTA
Italian Serie A
After a ‘5-2’ away win against the defending champions (AC Milan), an inspired Sassuolo will play at home against an Atalanta side that will be looking for the points to remain in the ‘top four’. Sassuolo will be looking for the result to help them move further away from the relegation threat.
- PARIS ST. GERMAIN VS TOULOUSE
French Ligue 1
After ending a 2-game winless run in the league with their midweek victory at Montpellier, Paris St. Germain will host a Toulouse side that is unbeaten in their last 5 league matches.
- FC KOLN VS RB LEIPZIG
UNION BERLIN VS MAINZ
German Bundesliga
Union Berlin and RB Leipzig are within a win from the top of the league table. They will both be looking for a victory from their respective matches and hope Bayern Munich drops points for the fourth league game in a row.
- DORTMUND VS FREIBURG
German Bundesliga
Dortmund and Freiburg are both on 34 points after 18 rounds of the German Bundesliga season.
There is a 4-goal difference between Dortmund and Freiburg in the Bundesliga standings after 18 rounds. Both teams are on 34 points. The winner of this match will end up in the ‘top 4’ at the end of the round.
Dortmund were ‘3-1’ winners in the reverse fixture and ‘5-1’ winners the last time they hosted Freiburg.
Should this tie end in a draw, Frankfurt is in a position to move above both teams in league standings with a win against Hertha Berlin.
FEBRUARY 5.
- REAL MALLORCA VS REAL MADRID
Spanish La Liga
To keep tabs on a Barcelona side that is trying to run clear in the Spanish La Liga title race, Real Madrid will need the maximum points against Mallorca. The reverse fixture was a 4-1 win for Real Madrid.
- BARCELONA VS SEVILLA
Spanish La Liga
Barcelona will be playing at home against Sevilla after beating the better-performing Seville club (Real Betis) 2-1 in Seville on Wednesday. Can a relegation-threatened Sevilla do better at Camp Nou?
Barcelona’s last defeat in a competitive match was a 3-0 defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Their last league defeat was the El Clasico defeat in Madrid.
Barcelona is 14 matches unbeaten since their defeat against Bayern Munich, and 16 matches unbeaten from the El Clasico defeat.
They’ve won the Super Cup, and have advanced to the Copa del Rey semifinal within this period.
- BREST VS LENS
MARSEILLE VS NICE
French Ligue 1
LAST ROUND: Nice’s victory at Lens helped Marseille to move up a position to second place with a win (at Nantes).
THIS ROUND: Nice’s victory at Marseille can help Lens move back up to second place with a win (at Brest).
- TOTTENHAM VS MANCHESTER CITY
English Premier League
Manchester City will need a result in London to keep up pace with Arsenal in the title race. Manchester City were 4-2 winners in the reverse fixture but they were on the wrong end of a 3-2 score on their last visit against Tottenham.
As things stand, Manchester City is trying to defend a league title. Tottenham is trying to qualify for Champions League football in the coming season.
- INTER MILAN VS AC MILAN
Italian Serie A
Derby della Madonnina
They are the most recent winners of the Italian Serie A title.
As things stand after 20 rounds of the Italian Serie A season, Inter Milan is 13 points from the top of the league but is the second-best team according to the league standings. AC Milan is not in the ‘top 4’ despite a 2-point gap between the two teams.
The most recent Milan derby was a 3-0 win for inter Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana final on January 18, 2023. The derby prior was a 3-2 win for AC Milan on September 3, 2022.
- WOLFSBURG VS BAYERN MUNICH
German Bundesliga
Bayern Munich has dropped six points from nine after a streak of three ‘1-1’ draws in the German Bundesliga.
Beating Wolfsburg is not only necessary to put an end to the win drought in the league, it is also the only way Bayern Munich can guarantee their top spot position at the end of the round.
Union Berlin, RB Leipzig, and Dortmund are all in a position to take advantage of another Bayern Munich slip-up.
