Real Madrid host Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg on Wednesday having drawn 1-1 at the Nou Camp three weeks ago.
Madrid caused Barcelona plenty of problems in the first meeting, with Lucas Vazquez opening the scoring before Malcom equalised.
However, their record in this competition is surprisingly poor, having won it just twice in the last 25 years.
By contrast, Barca have lifted the trophy six times in the last 10 years and are chasing their fifth Copa del Rey success in a row.
Ernesto Valverde’s side head to the …
At the start of the season I made my predictions for the Champions League Group Stage, and 14 out of 16 teams tipped to qualify were correct, with Schalke getting through instead of Galatasaray (Group D), and Lyon ahead of Shakthar Donetsk (Group F). So now it is time for the knockout stages, let us have a look at who will advance to the Quarter Finals.
Champions League Round of 16
Legs to be played on 12th February & 6th March
Manchester United v Paris Saint Germain
This tie could not come about …
In the summer, Chelsea, let go of Coach Antonio Conte and bought in his fellow Italian Maurizio Sarri, to replace him. Sarri’s demand of quick passing, movement and getting the ball into wide areas to supplement the strikers (‘Sarriball’), was quickly implemented by Chelsea’s players. Chelsea started the Premier League season by going 12 games unbeaten, before losing to Tottenham. Since then, Chelsea have lost to Wolverhampton, Leicester and drawn with Southampton. These results have meant after their great start, that they have fallen away from the top 3 of …
With Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur looking good bets to fill the top three spots in the Premier League, there a trio of teams battling to claim fourth and a lucrative place in next season’s Champions League.
Chelsea are currently in pole position, three points ahead of Arsenal with Manchester United a further three points adrift in sixth place. Read on as we assess their respective chances of finishing in the top four.
Blues need more firepower
Chelsea’s failure to sign a top class forward last summer could seriously impact their chances …
With just six points separating the top three sides in the Premier League this season’s title race could be one of the most exciting in years.
Liverpool currently lead the way by four points from reigning champions Manchester City, with Tottenham Hotspur a further two points adrift in third place. Read on we assess their respective title chances.
Liverpool eager to avoid wobble
Liverpool followed up their defeat by Manchester City by getting knocked out of the FA Cup and they will be eager to ensure those results don’t turn into a full …
The battle to stay in the Premier League will be fiercely fought this season, with seven teams currently embroiled in the race to avoid the drop.
With just 10 points from 21 games, Huddersfield Town are strongly fancied to go down, but who will finish in the other two places is difficult to predict.
In true Grand National style, read on as we look at the runners and riders vying to avoid tumbling into the Championship.
Ranieri can guide Fulham to safety
Fulham picked up five points over the festive period, although their revival …
Fulham have informed that they have sacked manager Slavisa Jokanovic, and replaced him with former Chelsea and Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri. But did Jokanovic deserve the sack this early in the season? And was his termination handled respectfully?
It was only at the end of October, after Fulham’s 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, that Fulham owner Shahid Khan gave Jokanovic his public backing stating that, “(Jokanovic’s) record shows he has always led Fulham admirably when the stakes are at their highest”, (Source; dailymail.co.uk). Not even three weeks later and Jokanovic …
Arsenal face a huge test of their Premier League title credentials on Saturday as they welcome Liverpool to the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners head into the game four points off top spot after picking up 22 points from their last eight league matches.
They face a Liverpool side that have conceded just four goals in the league this season and who are currently level on points with leaders Manchester City.
However, the home team have reeled off four league wins in a row at the Emirates and look overpriced at 11/4 with NetBet …
“The challenge is opening the club’s mind enough to go some way to keep up (with the rest of the Premier League), because the whole of the football business is saying ‘all the best with that, we’re going up here’”, (Source: independent.co.uk), these are the words of Burnley manager Sean Dyche in pre season on the clubs financial limitations. Dyche led Burnley to seventh place in the Premier league last season; this gained the club qualification for the Europa League, their first dose of European football for 51 years. Fans …
