14/05 - 19:30
14/05 - 20:00
15/05 - 19:30
14/05 - 19:30
14/05 - 20:00
15/05 - 19:30
The second-half of the campaign is getting into full-swing now with cup competitions across the continent being balanced alongside the restart, or continuation in some leagues, of the domestic season.
The Bundesliga, La Liga, Primeira Liga and Serie A all have hotly contested title races among the six major European leagues. This is a look ahead at some of the potentially standout matches this weekend.
All kick-off times are GMT.
BUNDESLIGA
1899 Hoffenheim vs Borussia Dortmund | 14:30 on Saturday
This is a match between two of the top four and one that could be defining for the German title race in the second-half of this campaign.
Hoffenheim enjoyed a couple of successful years under Julian Nagelsmann when they reached the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds but never sustained that. This time around, under the management of Sebastian Hoeness, has the Baden-Wurttemberg club sitting back inside those top four places.
They come up against a Borussia Dortmund side that have stumbled into a title race. The perennial champions Bayern Munich have struggled with injuries and COVID-19 absentees, and Dortmund, more by accident than design, have picked up enough points to make the race slightly interesting. This is a game they must win, really.
LA LIGA
Atletico Madrid vs Valencia | 20:00 on Saturday
Since the start of the 2019/20 season, only two clubs have kept more clean sheets than Real Madrid and Sevilla – Atletico Madrid and Jose Bordalas’ Getafe.
Diego Simeone’s notorious ‘Cholismo’ style inspired several up and comers in the Spanish managerial game. Bordalas, now the manager of Valencia, was one of them. Atleti have struggled for goals and their reliance on an aggressive and dogged, determined style of play is proving ineffective this season.
Valencia have been relatively leaky for a Bordalas side but it is a team in transition. The aggressive nature was evident the other night against Sevilla when they shared a 1-1 draw with the title challengers from Andalusia. Whilst neither side have been fluent nor free-scoring this season, it could be a fiery affair.
LIGUE 1
Olympique Lyonnais vs Saint-Etienne | 20:00 on Friday
One game that is almost guaranteed to always be a fiery affair is Le Derby between Lyon and St Etienne in France.
Crowd hostility has boiled over in Ligue 1 this season – quite often in games involving Lyon. The club were thrown out of the Coupe de France and have had a game against Marseille abandoned for crowd trouble. In recent years, this rivalry with Saint-Etienne has led to suspensions in the game due to issues with supporters.
Lyon, under the management of Peter Bosz, have been an entertaining watch but quite often they have proven to be ineffective with the overly attacking style of Bosz proving to be slightly too gung-ho. St Etienne have struggled badly, the sacking of Claude Puel over the winter break with the club at the bottom-of-the-table was a sign of just how bad things are.
PREMIER LEAGUE
Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur | 16:30 on Sunday
This match-up has always been a fiercely contested London derby but, in recent years, some matches have had the hostility spill onto the pitch – the 2016 Battle of the Bridge being an example.
Chelsea have been in some terrible form in the league. Their cramped fixture schedule being highlighted by Thomas Tuchel. An example of what The Blues will be doing is playing six matches in five competitions across three different continents in the month of February. Whatever the reason may be, they have slipped out of the title race having won four of their last 13 in the league.
Tottenham Hotspur will be buoyant this weekend after their remarkable win at Leicester City in midweek. Steven Bergwijn came off the bench to score two goals in the 95th and 97th minute to turnaround a 2-1 deficit. That victory extended and continued Antonio Conte’s unbeaten start in the league as Spurs manager as he returns to Stamford Bridge against his former club once again.
⚡ Quickest #PL doubles this season:
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) January 20, 2022
2⃣ mins: 💥BERGWIJN (90+5', 90+7' v Leicester)💥
3⃣ mins: Foden (v Brighton)
4⃣ mins: Antonio (v Leicester)
8⃣ mins: Vardy (v Watford)
9⃣ mins: Édouard (v Spurs)#COYS @LastWordOnSpurs pic.twitter.com/rQhdW0tBUX
PRIMEIRA LIGA
Sporting CP vs Braga | 20:30 on Saturday
The reigning champions of Sporting CP sit second-in-the-table and now take on fourth place, and arguably the most innovative Portuguese side, Braga.
Ruben Amorim’s managerial career has started ridiculously well. He has been constantly linked with jobs across Europe but remains at Sporting ahead of a UEFA Champions League knockout campaign in the second-half of the season. They have lost just one game so far this season and yet still sit three points behind unbeaten Porto at the top-of-the-table.
Carlos Carvalhal has enjoyed his own relatively successful spell as manager of Braga. The former Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea City boss has created a style of football that can, in a way, be viewed as his own version of ‘total football’ whereby his side is formation-less and roles are simply assigned. Despite that, they have still failed to win as many as they do win so far this season.
SERIE A
Milan vs Juventus | 19:45 on Sunday
For the first time in well over a decade, and maybe even 20 or so years, it is AC Milan that will be looking to maintain their title charge against an underperforming Juve.
AC Milan, led by Stefano Pioli, absolutely hammered Thiago Motta’s Spezia last weekend. They lost 2-1. A goal to win the game was chalked off as the referee failed to play advantage (a mistake that he almost immediately acknowledged) and their relegation threatened opponents went down the other end and made them pay. That result ramped up the pressure on this one.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side are in a period of transition. The teams that reached two UEFA Champions League finals in three years are no longer and this is a very, very different Old Lady. The visitors sit just outside of the top four ahead of this weekend’s round of fixtures but they come into this in much better form than they showed for much of the early part of the season.
