European Football Weekend Preview
A look at the key fixtures in Europe’s top leagues
Premier League - Arsenal v Crystal Palace
Arsenal host Crystal Palace on Saturday lunchtime, keen to reverse their poor recent run of form. Mikel Arteta’s side have won only 1 of their last 5 games, the results seeing a 5 point gap opening up between themselves and table toppers Liverpool.
Crystal Palace are in a bad place themselves, only picking up 3 points once in 11 games. To add further salt to their wounds Everton dumped them out of the cup midweek.
For the Gunners, their ineffective attack has been the main cause of their problems. With a host of names linked such as Ivan Toney and Karim Benzema; a signing in this area is crucial this month to kick start their season.
Roy Hodgson’s time in his second spell at Selhurst Park looks very close to the end game, a change of voice and energy sorely needed to quell the growing unrest from supporters.
Arsenal form (All competitions)
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Crystal Palace Form (All competitions)
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Team News
Thomas Partey and Fabio Viera are still out of action, Oleksandr Zinchenko is still a major doubt for this fixture. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohammed Elneny are away with their respective nations on international duty.
Rob Holding, Michael Olise, Cheick Doucoure, and Joel Ward will be unavailable for Palace; Jordan Ayew is away with Ghana at AFCON.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Eze, Richards, Lerma, Schlupp; Edouard, Mateta
Prediction
Arsenal should have too much for Palace despite their poor form, a 3-0 win would not surprise many.
Bundesliga - RB Leipzig v Bayer Leverkusen
League leaders Bayer Leverkusen travel to the Red Bull Arena on Saturday evening hoping to extend their unbeaten run, Xabi Alonso’s men have yet to suffer a loss in the Bundesliga this season. In the previous fixture back in August Leverkusen took all 3 points, coming out victorious 3-2.
Leipzig got off to a rotten start to 2024, Die Roten were beaten by Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 last weekend despite having 26 attempts at goal. The defeat saw them fall 12 points behind Saturday's opponents.
Exequiel Palacios’ 94th minute winner against Augsburg last weekend showed Leverkusen can dig deep to win games as well as play superb football. The win ensured they kept their 4 point lead over Bayern Munich - who have a game in hand - to keep up their fight for a maiden Bundesliga title.
RB Leipzig form (all competitions):
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Bayer Leverkusen form (all competitions):
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Team News
Leipzig defender Willi Orban is still out with injury, while Amadou Haidara is in the Ivory Coast with Mali at AFCON.
For Leverkusen Victor Boniface and Arthur are set to miss out due to injury. Edmond Tapsoba, Odilon Kossounou and Amine Adli are away with their countries at AFCON.
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Blaswich; Henrichs, Simakan, Lukeba, Raum; Olmo, Schlager, Kampl, Simons; Openda, Poulsen
Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Stanisic, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Palacios, Xhaka, Grimaldo; Hofmann, Wirtz; Schick
Prediction
I fancy Xabi Alonso’s side to find a way to get all 3 points, Leverkusen to win 2-0.
La Liga - Real Betis v FC Barcelona
The biggest game taking place in La Liga this weekend is undoubtedly Real Betis v Barcelona. Just a point outside the European places, Betis will look to put one over Xavi’s men. For Barca any slim hopes of getting back into the title race will require 3 points from this fixture.
Betis come into the encounter with only 1 loss in 5 games, but 3 of those matches were drawn. They did pick up a timely win last week, defeating Granada 1-0 thanks to a deflected Isco strike, if they can turn more of those draws into wins a late run for a Champions League could be on the cards; they currently sit 7th, 10 points off their opponents in 4th.
Xavi watched his side capitulate to rivals Real Madrid last week in the Spanish Super Cup, the defeat intensifying the rumors around his job. Last night they made hard work of defeating 3rd-tier Unionistas, going a goal behind before turning things around to win 3-1.
A defeat in Seville will only put further pressure on the former Spain international and the project at the club. Barcelona have a good record against Betis, winning their last 4 league encounters.
Real Betis form (all competitions):
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Barcelona form (all competitions):
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Team News
Betis have major injury issues going into the contest with Aitor Ruibal, Ayoze Perez and Hector Bellerin ruled out, and Juan Miranda, Guido Rodriguez, Claudio Bravo and Marc Bartra potential doubts.
Further squad issues have been caused by AFCON with Chadi Riad, Youssouf Sabaly and Abde Ezzalzouli away on international duty.
For Barcelona, they will welcome back Lamine Yamal and Ronald Araujo from suspension. The Catalan outfit still are unable to call on the services of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Joao Cancelo, Marcos Alonso, Inigo Martinez, Gavi and Raphinha due to injury problems.
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Silva; Busto, Pezzella, Papastathopoulos, Abner; Roca, Guardado; Henrique, Isco, Diao; Willian Jose
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Pena; Roberto, Araujo, Kounde, Balde; F de Jong, Gundogan, Pedri; Yamal, Lewandowski, Torres
Prediction:
With Real Betis draw specialists in La Liga, and Barcelona struggling recently, I predict a low scoring draw.
Serie A - Frosinone v Cagliari
With the Italian Super Cup being played over in Saudi Arabia this week, I prefer to put some attention on the relegation battle in Serie A.
15th placed Frosinone take on 17th placed Cagliari at the Stadio Benito Stirpe, with just 1 point separating the sides.
Frosinone are in desperate need of a win, their last 3 points coming at the end of November in their 2-1 win over Genoa. On-loan playmaker Matias Soule will have a lot of pressure on his shoulders with the home fans hoping he can inspire his side.
Cagliari pulled off an upset last week defeating high-flying Bologna 2-1 to move out of the relegation places. Claudio Raneiri despite being into his 70’s is still proving an influential figure on the sidelines in Sardinia.
Frosinone form (all competitions)
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Cagliari form (all competitions)
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Team News
For Frosinone, currently sitting on the treatment table are Jaime Baez, Riccardo Marchizza, Sergio Kalaj, and Anthony Oyono; Pierluigi Frattali is suspended.
Eldor Shomurodov is a long term injury for Cagliari, while Marko Rog, Gaetano Oristanio, Gianluca Lapadula, and Marco Mancosu join him in the physios rooms. Zito Luvumbo is away with Angola at AFCON.
Probable Lineups
Frosinone
Turati; Bonifazi, Okoli, Romagnoli; Geli, Lirola; Mazzitelli, Barrenchea; Soule, Harrow; Jorge
Cagliari
Scuffet; Zappa, Wieteska, Dossena, Augello; Nandez, Prati, Makoumbou; Viola; Petagna, Pavoletti
Prediction
I think Cladio Ranieri will mastermind another win for Cagliari to guide them further away from the relegation zone, for now.
Coupe de France - Orleans v PSG
Third-tier Orleans welcome French giants PSG to Stade de la Source on Saturday, looking to cause a massive upset.
A Win against Nimes in the previous round set up arguably the biggest fixture in Orleans club history. That was unfortunately followed up with a 2-1 defeat to Red Star, the defeat seeing them drop to 12th in the French National League
PSG breezed past minnows Revel 9-0 with Kylian Mbappe grabbing a hattrick in this fixture. That was followed last weekend with a 2-0 win over Lens to extend their grip on top spot in Ligue 1.
With six straight away wins and the gulf between the two teams, PSG will expect an easy evening, but Orleans will hope to cause an upset.
Orleans form (all competitions):
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Paris Saint-Germain form (all competitions):
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Team News
In three of his last four matches, Orleans' Adrian Dabasse has successfully found the back of the net, making him a player to watch in the upcoming game.
Meanwhile, the twenty-year-old Arthur Lallias continues to recover from a long-term injury, keeping him out of action for the home side since July.
Achraf Hakimi and Kang-In Lee are presently engaged in international duty with Morocco and South Korea, respectively, rendering them unavailable for Paris Saint-Germain.
Additionally, the visiting team will have to cope without defensive pair Nuno Mendes and Milan Skriniar, both grappling with muscle and ankle injuries.
Arnau Tenas has been absent from the last five games due to a shoulder issue; however, the Spaniard is edging closer to a return.
Orleans possible starting lineup:
Matimbou; Morgan, Saint-Ruf, Theresin; Ponti, Goujon, Solvet, Halby; Fortune, Berthier, Dabasse
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Navas; Beraldo, Pereira, Ugarte; Mukiele, Soler, Ndour, Kolo Muani; Asensio, Mbappe, Dembele
Prediction
Anything but a big scoreline win for PSG would be a massive surprise, unfortunately I can’t see any cup magic happening here.