Big games in Manchester and Naples
The relentless schedule continues with another round of league fixtures taking place across Europe this weekend. Squad rotation is likely to come into play for those teams that had to play in midweek in the European competitions as the fixtures pile up at this time of year.
No early kick-off on Saturday in the PL, so we need to wait until 4pm for the top division to burst into life. The highlight of the day and the weekend from England is the late kick off between Manchester City and Chelsea with the London side only 2 points ahead of their Northern rivals heading into this clash. Dortmund will be desperate for three points after three consecutive losses as they take on Werder Bremen and league leaders Bayern are away to Freiburg with the clash of the weekend from Germany being RB Leipzig versus Bayer Leverkusen. The big match of the weekend from Serie A is the late afternoon match between Napoli and Juventus whilst over in Spain leaders Real Madrid are on the road playing at Valladolid and second placed Atlético are home to Villarreal.
Struggling Manchester United play in the evening game on Sunday, away to Fulham and the late game in France is also the highlight of Sunday as Marseille travel to fellow south coast team Nice. Inter and Roma are both away from home, with AC Milan and Lazio also in action on Sunday in Italy’s top division. Barcelona will be hoping to record their first win in their last five matches when they host struggling Valencia.
Manchester City vs Chelsea
Etihad Stadium, Saturday @ 18:30
This is surely the top match of the weekend from the PL as two of the giants of the league take each other on in the late afternoon match on Saturday. Manchester City looked to be back to themselves in recent weeks, including last weekend’s 6-0 mauling of Ipswich but they gave up a two goal lead in midweek to fall to a loss at the hands of PSG in midweek. The way the team capitulated under pressure will certainly be something of concern for manager Pep Guardiola. City can point to their positive record in this fixture in recent years, they are unbeaten in ten matches against Chelsea, winning eight of those. They will be hoping there is no hangover from the midweek defeat as they look to get back to winning ways and overtake Chelsea in the table.
Fourth placed Chelsea got their first win in their last five league matches to keep them ahead of Saturday’s opponents and revive their challenge to finish in the top four. The fact that Chelsea have only kept one clean sheet in their last 19 away H2H’s against City will certainly concern manager Enzo Maresca and they have also struggled to score against City. Cole Palmer will relish the chance to play against his old team again and he has once again been the star man for the Londoners this season. Chelsea will hope that Fernandez and Colwill can shake off knocks to take part in this match.
Manchester City’s impressive record in this rivalry reads eight wins from the last ten meetings with two matches finishing as a draw. The last Chelsea win came in the CL final back in May 2021.
RB Leipzig vs Bayer Leverkusen
Red Bull Arena, Saturday @ 15:30
The top game of the weekend from the Bundesliga is a battle between two teams who were involved in the CL in midweek, with both teams having contrasting fortunes in that competition. Leipzig beat Leverkusen earlier in the season, all the way back in round 2 and that was part of their eight game unbeaten run at the start of the season. Since then, their season hasn’t gone as well and they come into this game in fifth place, ten points behind opponents Leverkusen. The 27 goals conceded so far is the highest of the top six teams. Benjamin Sesko returns to the team after a league ban and is a man in form, having scored in midweek and in six consecutive league matches.
Leverkusen’s midweek defeat at the hands of Atlético Madrid was their first loss in twelve competitive matches, so they will be hoping to bounce back from that difficult experience here. They will be looking for revenge for the defeat earlier in the season and they remain the only Bundesliga side yet to taste defeat on the road this season, so they will be optimistic of carrying that on. Jeremie Frimpong is the man in form for the visitors and he enjoys playing against Leipzig, as he has three goals and two assists in his six games against them.
Both teams have won four of the last ten with the remaining two finishing as a draw, albeit the last draw between the two was back in September 2020.
Napoli vs Juventus
Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Saturday @ 18:00
This is the second of two massive league matches for Napoli, having overcome a stern challenge from Atalanta last weekend, beating them 3-2 to solidify their place at the top of the table. That was their sixth league win in a row, their best run since February 2023, the year they won the title. Napoli’s home record is impressive, having a joint league high of 24 points and they will likely welcome back defender Alessandro Buongiorno to the squad. Scott McTominay has been a revelation since his arrival and the midfielder already has five league goals to his name, so he will be one to keep an eye on.
Juventus have been plagued by far too many draws this season and they find themselves 13 points behind the leaders. An important 2-0 win over AC Milan last week reignited their charge for a top four spot though and they will be hoping for another impressive performance this weekend. Midweek saw them register yet another goalless draw in the CL though and fans will be hoping for more excitement than the solitary shot on target in the whole match.
Napoli have five wins from the last ten meetings whereas Juventus have three. Napoli won this fixture 2-1 last season.
Atlético Madrid vs Villarreal
Metropolitano Stadium, Saturday @ 16:15
This is an important match for Atlético, who are two points off top of the league despite a surprise defeat last week to Leganes. A midweek win in the CL over Bayer Leverkusen helped return the positive vibe and they will need to be at their best to get the better of one of La Liga’s in-form sides, Villarreal. Atlético have the best home record in the league, conceding the fewest goals and falling to the fewest defeats. On the other hand, Villarreal have a great record against Atlético, with only Barcelona and Real Madrid managing more wins at the home of Atlético. The fact that the home side have seven consecutive wins at the Metropolitano would indicate that it seems likely that they will add to that sequence.
Villarreal notched up an impressive 4-0 win against Mallorca last time out, managing four first half goals. That result continued to contribute to the feel good factor currently surrounding the club and moved them three points clear of Mallorca and into fifth place. A top four finish is the target this season and they are currently six points off fourth place. Their away form has been concerning though, as they have lost two of their last three on the road and will face an Atlético side that have not lost two back to back La Liga matches since March.
Atlético have won four of the last ten with Villarreal only managing one victory in that same sequence. There have, therefore, been five draws in the last ten meetings including the last match, which ended 2-2 in August.
Last Updated: 24.01.2025
