HIGHLIGHTED FIXTURES
Dortmund vs Freiburg
Manchester City vs Chelsea
Real Betis vs Sevilla [Copa del Rey Round of 16]
Tottenham vs Arsenal
Spanish Super Cup final
Atalanta vs Inter Milan
ITALIAN SERIE A
ATALANTA VS INTER MILAN
Two of the four teams with 40 + points in Serie A.
A win for Inter Milan will keep them at least a point in the lead while keeping the value of their match in hand.
Atalanta and Inter Milan are going into their weekend fixture with success in the midweek. Atalanta advanced to the quarterfinal of the Coppa Italia, while Inter Milan became the newly crowned Supercoppa Italiana winners.
AC MILAN vs SPEZIA
AC Milan will use a victory against Spezia to put pressure on Inter Milan.
JUVENTUS vs UDINESE
The reverse fixture was a 2-2 draw.
Juventus will go 8 matches unbeaten if they avoid defeat to Udinese.
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
FC KOLN vs BAYERN MUNICH
Bayern Munich will be going to Cologne for the result that will help amend the defeat they received from Monchengladbach in their opening match of the new year.
FC Koln has found wins from their three league games coming into this tie.
They have an opportunity at home to do the improbable by beating Bayern Munich to make it 4 wins in a row.
DORTMUND vs FREIBURG
There is a 6-point gap between Dortmund and the top of the German Bundesliga, and a 7-point gap between Dortmund and Freiburg.
As things stand in the German Bundesliga, Dortmund is the only team that can stop Bayern Munich from another title.
A victory is Freiburg’s only way of guaranteeing they end the round in a ‘top 4’ position.
MAINZ VS BOCHUM
Bochum: the best performing newly promoted team will look for a road win that will put the above Mainz in the standings.
MONCHENGLADBACH VS LEVERKUSEN
If you can beat the league leaders in their home, then you should have it in you to beat anyone.
Monchengladbach should be inspired to host Leverkusen and cut the point gap between the two teams to 4 points with a win.
Leverkusen is a point and position outside of the Champions League qualifying spot in the standings. With that said, Leverkusen has not won a league match (or any other match) since they hammered Greuther Furth 7-1. That is 4 league games without a win (2 defeats and 2 draws)
ARMINIA BIELEFELD vs GREUTHER FURTH
Greuther Furth desperately needs the result to cut into the point gap.
There are 11 points between the two but they are the worst performers in the league according to the standings. This match is an opportunity for both.
With a win, Arminia Bielefeld can open a 14 point gap on bottom-table Greuther Furth.
UNION BERLIN vs HOFFENHEIM
If they can make home advantage count, Union Berlin will equal the points accumulated by a Hoffenheim side that is 3rd in the league after 18 rounds played of the season.
FRENCH LIGUE 1
PARIS ST. GERMAIN vs BREST
After the points dropped in Lyon, Paris St. Germain’s lead in the Ligue 1 title race is at 11 points after coming out of Lyon with a point.
Hosting Brest is a chance to quickly make up for the dropped points.
NICE vs NANTES
Nice’s hold on the second place is probably because Marielle has not played 20 league games.
With Marseille hounding right behind them with a game in hand, Nice must beat Nantes to keep up with the pace in the chase for direct qualification to the Champions League.
MARSEILLE VS LILLE
Lille needs to improve a lot to get back into a position that is respectable for a reigning champion. Marseille must beat the defending champions to keep the value of their match in hand. Both teams are on the ascendancy as far as recent results are concerned.
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Chelsea clinched the EFL Cup final on Wednesday and they will be facing the holders this Saturday in the Premier League.
MANCHESTER CITY VS CHELSEA
They are the top two teams in the Premier League table after 21 rounds played.
Doing a league double against Chelsea might be the least Manchester City can do after losing the UEFA Champions League to them last season.
The reverse fixture was a narrow 1-0 win for Manchester City.
It’s a North London Derby for Tottenham after losing their bid to play in the EFL Cup final.
NORTH LONDON DERBY
A Tottenham win will have them above Arsenal with two games in hand. TOTTENHAM VS ARSENAL
It is always important to win a local derby.
The added importance of this game for the home team is that it gives them enough points to move above their city rival while having two games in hand.
LIVERPOOL vs BRENTFORD
No Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.
What will Liverpool do against a Brentford side that played a 3-3 draw with them in the reverse fixture?
Liverpool needs the maximum points to take full advantage of the results from the “Manchester City vs Chelsea” match. They will prefer a Chelsea defeat that will allow for Liverpool to move a point and a position above Chelsea with a win while having a game in hand.
DUTCH EREDIVISIE RETURNS
1| PSV EINDHOVEN- 43 points
2| AJAX – 42 points
3| FEYENOORD – 39 points
The two teams at the top of the table will search for the points away from home.
FC UTRECHT vs AJAX
GRONINGEN vs PSV EINDHOVEN
Feyenoord will host Vitesse for a chance to get to the 40-point mark.
The round will be opened with PEC Zwolle hosting Willem II.
The league leaders play the following day, and the defending champion is scheduled to play the following day.
THE SCHEDULED FIXTURES
PEC Zwolle vs Willem II
NEC Nijmegen vs Heracles
FC Twente vs SC Heerenveen
Feyenoord vs Vitesse
Go Ahead Eagle vs RKC Waalwijk
FC Utrech vs Ajac
Cambuur vs Sparta Rotterdam
FC Groningen vs PSV Eindhoven
Fortuna Sittard vs AZ Alkmaar
Supercopa de España Final
FINAL: REAL MADRID VS ATHLETIC CLUB (Sunday)
Madrid moves on to the final after another El Clasico win but it won’t be a Madrid derby final because Atletico Madrid fell short against Athletic Club.
Athletic Club has one more win to defend their Supercopa Espana title.
Copa DEL REY – Round of 16
January 15, 2022
Mallorca vs Espanyol
Girona vs Rayo Vallecano
Sporting Gijon vs Cadiz
Real Betis vs Sevilla
January 16,2022
Atletico Baleares vs Valencia
January 19,2022
Athletic Club vs Barcelona
Elche vs Real Madrid
Real Sociedad vs Atletico Madrid
