Weekend Preview

It’s a limited Premier League schedule this weekend due to the FA Cup fixtures, but there are still plenty of games to get excited about both domestically and abroad. Leagues and knockout competitions alike are approaching the business end – the so-called ‘must-win’ matches are coming thick and fast.

One of the league games that does go ahead in England is Liverpool vs Watford. This should be well worth a watch. Notwithstanding the disappointing defeat to bitter rivals Manchester United, the hosts are in scintillating goal-scoring form. Salah continues to go from strength to strength in his debut season on Merseyside, and Sadio Mane appears to be emerging from his mini-slump just in time to help the team’s efforts to secure a place in the top four. Javi Gracia has steadied the ship at Watford since taking charge, but defensive frailties are still clear for all to see: Arsenal were able to expose these last weekend, putting three past the Hornets defence. It would not be a surprise if Liverpool were able to match or better this tally. However, the visitors are also capable of finding the net – Klopp’s men found this out in the 3-3 draw on the opening day. A repeat of such a scoreline is clearly unlikely, but a high-scoring fixture seems all but guaranteed.

The FA Cup also offers some interesting match-ups. The pick of these is probably Chelsea vs Leicester. The home side are looking to bounce back following the disappointment of being knocked out of the Champions League; Leicester are no Barcelona, but they might well fancy their chances of capitalising on the vulnerability of their opponents. Conte’s men actually played quite well against the Catalan side, but were undone by multiple moments of sloppiness at the back – few forwards are better-equipped to pounce on errors than Jamie Vardy. However, barring a rout against a woeful West Brom side last weekend, Leicester have not been in great form. Chelsea will undoubtedly feel they can at least manage to score against The Foxes; a performance anything like the one that they produced midweek would probably be enough to see them through to the semi-finals, potentially giving Conte a slight hope of redemption. Given Chelsea’s exit from all other competitions and unsatisfactory league position, a loss might prove to be the final nail in the coffin.

Further afield, Real Madrid vs Girona could prove to be a fascinating fixture. At the start of the season, such a statement would have sounded absurd – a walkover would have been considered essentially a given. This is still a possibility, of course: it was not long ago that the newly-promoted side were comprehensively dismantled by six goals to one against Barcelona. However, since then they have produced three straight impressive wins. Celta Vigo, Villareal and Deportivo have all been brushed aside, leaving Pablo Machín’s side in seventh place. Their opponents are only four places higher, in third; there is a danger of dropping down to fourth if Zidane cannot orchestrate a win in this match. This would leave a campaign that is already highly disappointing for Los Blancos on the brink of becoming disastrous. Girona, meanwhile, could move as high as fifth. To occupy a Europa League spot at such a late stage would be a huge accomplishment for the team playing their first ever season in the Spanish top flight. Real probably have enough to see off their challenge, but it is unlikely to be straightforward.

The final pick comes from Serie A, where Inter Milan travel to Sampdoria. The two teams are embroiled in fights for Champions League and Europa League qualification respectively, making this a massive game for both clubs. Inter are looking to capitalise on their game in hand over Lazio to move into fourth place – to do so, they must win. A victory for Sampdoria, on the other hand, would propel them above Inter’s city rivals into sixth place, just five points behind Inter themselves. The Milan side managed an impressive draw with high-flying Napoli last time out, putting a serious dent in Sarri’s title hopes, and will be confident of continuing that good form in this game. Sampdoria, by contrast, are looking to bounce back from a surprise drubbing at the hands of relegation-threatened Crotone, to whom they lost 4-1. Another loss here may well effectively end a campaign that had shown such promise. This may consequently be something of a cagey affair, and ultimately it seems likely that Inter will come out on top.