An Italian derby, a London cup clash and the return of German football…
The midweek action was largely dominated by matches from the various domestic cups across Europe. Those not involved in the competitions managed a rare midweek off, allowing them time to recharge for the upcoming fixtures. The German Bundesliga returns from its winter break this weekend, starting us off with a great clash between Dortmund and Leverkusen Friday evening.
This weekend is FA Cup weekend in England so there are a number of opportunities for ‘giant killing’ with PL clubs a prestigious target for lower league teams. The cup action starts today with three matches being played, including PL teams Everton and Fulham taking on Peterborough and Watford respectively. There are a further two matches on Friday evening with 19 matches scheduled for Saturday, weather permitting. The highlight of this round though is without a doubt the clash between Arsenal and Manchester United on Sunday afternoon. Neither would have wanted to face such a tough opponent at this early stage but the draw dictated otherwise.
Friday evening brings us an interesting match from the Bundesliga where second placed Bayer Leverkusen, the defending champions, travel to sixth placed Dortmund, who will be hoping for a better second half to the season than the first.
Three of the top six in France play on Saturday with Lyon, Nice and Marseille all in action whilst over in Germany the leaders Bayern face a tricky away match at Gladbach in the late kick off. Atalanta have a chance to return to the top of the table if they manage to win at Udinese on Saturday and there is a Turin derby later in the day when Torino host their illustrious neighbours Juventus.
Dortmund vs Leverkusen
Signal Iduna Park, Friday @ 20:30
The last game before the winter break saw Dortmund register their first away win of the season, a 3-1 win at Wolfsburg. They will be hoping to start the second half of the Bundesliga season in a positive manner as they have ground to make up in the league, after what has so far been a disappointing season. Dortmund can at least point to the fact that they were one of only two sides to not lose against Leverkusen last season and they are also yet to lose at home this season with six wins from eight matches. Overall, Dortmund do have a good record against Leverkusen at Signal Iduna Park, with seven wins and only one loss from the last nine. Julian Brandt has been pivotal for them this year as he has started all twelve of their wins so far.
Leverkusen are on an excellent run, winning their last eight matches including five in the Bundesliga. They have stormed up the table and are now only four points behind leaders Bayern, meaning their defence of their title is back on. If they want to move even closer to the leaders, who play on Saturday, then they will need to be the first Bundesliga side to win six straight games this season. They are undefeated away from home so far and they haven’t lost any of their last 24 away league matches, an impressive record. Patrick Schick is the man in form for the visitors, he has scored all nine of his goals in the league within his last five matches.
Both matches were draws last season, Dortmund have five wins in the last ten meetings whereas Leverkusen have managed three.
Torino vs Juventus
Stadio Olimpico di Torino, Saturday @ 18:00
The ‘Derby della Mole’ is a fixture that certainly has not been kind to Torino in recent history, they have only managed to beat their illustrious rivals once in their last 39 meetings, a truly awful record. They go into this match with not a great deal of hope of improving that terrible record either as they have not managed to score a goal in any of their last three home matches, the last being against Parma. They have only won one game at home since the start of September and the total number of goals they have scored in their own stadium, six, is the second worst total in Serie A. Nikola Vlasic is likely to be a key man for the home side and Scottish striker Che Adams is their top scorer with five goals, one of few players who is capable of finding the net for the home side.
Juventus find themselves thrust back into league action following their elimination from the Supercoppa after losing to AC Milan. They have had a rest after that much and a whole week to prepare for this fixture, they are the only unbeaten side in the league but have eleven draws to their name, which means they find themselves down in fifth place. Coming into this match they will be convinced that they can get three points on the board due to their excellent record against their neighbours, but they do have five draws in their last six matches, so anything is possible. Dusan Vlahovic is their top scorer but there are rumours that he is available for transfer in January, a somewhat surprising decision if Juventus do choose to cash in now.
Juventus have won seven of the last ten meetings with the other three ending in a draw, including this fixture last season.
Arsenal vs Manchester United
Emirates Stadium, Sunday @ 16:00
These two giants of the English game clash at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon at this very early stage of the third round in the FA Cup. This is by far the biggest clash of the season so far in the cup and one which both teams would have hoped would come later on in the competition. Arsenal have a good recent record against Manchester United, having not lost against them in a competitive match since September 2022 and they have stopped United from winning at the Emirates Stadium since December 2021. Arsenal will be hoping for an improvement in their most recent performance, having put in a sub-par display in midweek in the first leg of the semi-final of the EFL Cup, where they lost at home to Newcastle, a huge dent in their hopes of reaching the final of that competition. Prior to that, they could only manage a 1-1 draw in the league against Brighton but before that they won the previous four matches comfortably. Injuries are starting to take their toll however, with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Ben White being sorely missed down the right hand side.
These two teams have not drawn a match in their last nine meetings and Manchester United go into this without a clean sheet in their last nine matches. The holders would have hoped for an easier first round tie but will be buoyed by the performance last weekend against Liverpool where they left Anfield with a well earned point. The question is, whether they can build on that or whether they will return to their poor previous form, they lost the previous four matches. The fact they scored twice at Anfield will certainly give the team confidence and they will know that they need another similarly gutsy performance if they are to continue to defend the cup that they surprisingly won last season. Several players are rumoured to be leaving so it remains to be seen who Ruben Amorim decides to play in this match, but he surely cannot afford to take the competition lightly considering they are so far off the pace in the league.
Arsenal have won six of the last ten meetings with Manchester United winning the other four. Arsenal are justifiably favourites here but many will be watching to see whether United can repeat the unexpectedly positive performance that they put in last weekend.
Last Updated: 17.01.2025
