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Happy Friday, folks! No sooner has a wild midweek of UEFA Champions League action ended than we continue with this weekend’s European football offering, with Manchester City desperate to beat Chelsea in the English Premier League following their collapse at Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday. Jonathan Johnson is here to get you ready for the weekend.
📺 Foot correction
Always US/East
Friday January 24
🏴ꠁԠԠԠԠԠ EFL Championship: Sheffield United vs. Hull City, 3pm ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
Saturday January 25
🏴ꠁԠԠԠԠԠ EFL Championship: Norwich City vs. Swansea City, 7.30am ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
🇩🇪 Bundesliga: RB Leipzig vs. Bayer Leverkusen, 9:30 am ➡️ ESPN+
🇮🇹 Serie A: Napoli vs. Juventus, 12:00 ➡️ Biggest+
🏴ꠁԠԠԠԠԠ EPL: Manchester City vs. Chelsea, 12:30 pm ➡️ Peacock
Sunday January 26
🇮🇹 Serie A: Milan vs. Parma, 6:30am ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
🏴ꠁԠԠԠԠԠ EPL: Fulham vs. Manchester United, 2pm ➡️ USA Network
🇪🇸 LaLiga: Barcelona vs. Valencia, 3 p.m. ➡️ ESPN Deportes
⚽ The forward line
EPL match between Manchester City and Chelsea
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Manchester City host Chelsea in the English Premier League on Saturday and need a win to bounce back from a damaging 4-2 UEFA Champions League defeat at Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, leaving Pep Guardiola’s side in grave danger of to be turned off. competition phase. The Citizens completely fell apart at the Parc des Princes despite leading 2-0 early in the second half and sending four unanswered goals to a side below them in the pregame of the standings will leave some major bruises at a Citizens side lacking confidence, despite a recent revival in the league. form.
Both City and Chelsea are looking to get back into UCL qualifying after losing ground in recent weeks and months, although neither will be able to rekindle EPL title hopes at this stage with Liverpool looking top runs away. Enzo Maresca called City the “best team in the world” when the Blues lost 2-0 to the Citizens at Stamford Bridge earlier this season, but a lot has changed since then and the Italian’s players are in a much better position to get a result here to be achieved against City. than they were then.
Capitulation has been a theme for City this season, but Guardiola and his players cannot afford to take another lead against Arsenal, Newcastle United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest in the EPL. The defending champions have lost their three Premier League games straight after a European match in midweek, but are unbeaten in seven games against Chelsea with five wins and two draws to their name. The Blues have kept just one clean sheet in 16 away games at City and have failed to score seven goals since their last victory in 2021 – the Champions League final in Portugal – having not won any of their last 10 meetings .
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🔗 Link play in midfield
🔥Napoli vs. Juve and RBL vs. B04
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Elsewhere this weekend there are big games in both Serie A and Bundesliga, with Napoli vs. Juventus and RB Leipzig vs. Bayer Leverkusen to look forward to on Saturday. In Italy, Antonio Conte’s men sit at the top of the table, although Inter have a game in hand and are second, while Thiago Motta’s Juve are fifth and trying to break into the top four, despite being a have drawn a huge number of matches.
This one has the potential to impact that, as Napoli need the points to stay ahead of the Nerazzurri until they play their extra game, while the Bianconeri really need to convert a point into three if they want to rise in Serie A. stay ahead of players like Milan and Roma. Although Lazio are two points ahead, Atalanta are six points ahead, with Inter at least ten points ahead, so the Turin giants cannot afford to drop any more points – even though a draw wouldn’t normally be that bad in Naples.
In Germany, fifth-placed Leipzig will be hoping to break into the top four with a win over Leverkusen, but that will be easier said than done with Xabi Alonso’s side in second place and ten points ahead of the home team in the preliminary match. Despite a long unbeaten run in midweek, Die Werkself must respond to that loss and hope to put some pressure on Bundesliga leaders Bayern, who are just four points ahead and suffered a shock 3-0 deficit to Feyenoord in midweek.
🔗 Top stories
🔝 UCL power rankings: Liverpool remains perfect; Barca, Arsenal and Inter look like contenders, here they are how all teams score after matchday 7.
💸 UCL prize money: How the prize money of the Champions League and the payments for 2024-2025 will be distributed for success in the knockout stages.
🤑 Real Madrid top football money league: Los Blancos lead with $1 billion in revenue to widen the gap with Manchester City as the Taylor Swift effect and further football revenues have helped Los Blancos, with the home game against the Miami Dolphins later this year only expected to help keep them at the top.
🫰 Real Madrid is reshaping the new football world order: Here’s how Florentino Perez did it Whether it’s signing coveted free agents like Kylian Mbappé or using his team’s venue for Taylor Swift concerts, Real Madrid are showing how to excel in every possible area.
🤔 Jorginho backs Arsenal to win ‘difficult’ UCL: “We believe in what we do,” says the midfielder who sees similar qualities to Chelsea, with whom he won the UCL in 2021. the Gunners have almost secured a spot in the top eight.
🆓 Portland Thorns land free agent Deyna Castellanos: The coveted target reaches a two-year contract after leaving Bay FC, where the midfielder played one season with Bay FC following her playing career in Europe.
💰The Back Line
💵 Best bet
- La Liga: Valladolid vs. Real, Saturday, 3pm ET
💰 THE CHOICE: Rodrygo scores two or more (+800) — Real head to Valladolid looking for a fourth straight win in all competitions at Estadio Jose Zorilla. The home side are in a relegation battle and sit in 17th place, five points behind Alaves, but Diego Cocca’s side have won their last two home games. Pucela have lost their last six meetings with Real in the league and their last home win against the Spanish giants came in 2008. Carlo Ancelotti’s men have made it three straight wins since their huge Supercopa de España loss to Barcelona. Also in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey, Real have now secured a play-off spot for the UEFA Champions League and they are starting to ramp up the goals. With seven goals and three assists from his last eight games in all competitions, you wouldn’t be against Brazilian Rodrygo carrying the team while Vinicius Junior is suspended.
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