Preview of the Weekend: 2nd Clasico in 4 days coming; Arsenal face Tottenham
maite_ 2019-03-01 21:00:00 评论
Welcome to All Football Preview of the Weekend. You should miss not even one game! Below are the best matches that the world of football would bring to you.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona
Kick off: 20:45 CET
Date: Sat, 02-Mar-19
Probable Line-ups
Real Madrid news
Sergio Ramos is available in the league once again for the home side after sitting out versus Levante due to suspension.
Nacho is absent due to a ban, however, with a yellow card that the Spain international picked up last weekend ruling him out due to an accumulation of bookings.
Despite a heavy defeat midweek in the Copa del Rey against Barcelona, the only change which is expected from Santiago Solari is to restore Thibaut Courtois in goal.
Barcelona news
Arthur should be available for selection for Ernesto Valverde, after a spell on the sidelines due to injury, but the Brazilian midfield may not be risked from the off in Madrid.
Nelson Semedo is likely to retain his place at right-back for the Blaugrana, given that his pace can be useful in the battle against tricky Real Madrid wide man Vinicius Jr.
Samuel Umtiti could return at centre-back for the visitors, after Clement Lenglet's appearance midweek, as Barca try to slowly integrate the former back into regular first-team action after a serious knee injury.
Focus
Real Madrid's 3-0 home defeat in the semi-final stages of the Copa del Rey will have rocked Los Blancos slightly ahead of what is a very important game in the context of La Liga's title race this season.
The hosts have lost their last two competitive outings at the Bernabeu, the latter of which was Wednesday's El Clasico, but the former saw Solari's men throw away a lead in a 2-1 defeat to struggling Girona.
Barcelona are unbeaten in their last nine games, stepping up to the plate well in the last two games to see off both Sevilla and Real Madrid. The away side didn't need to be at their best to win in the first El Clasico of the week, but the second is set to be more fiery.
WhoScored prediction
Real Madrid 2-2 Barcelona
Tottenham vs Arsenal
Kick off: 13:30 CET
Date: Sat, 02-Mar-19
Probable Line-ups
Tottenham news
Eric Dier could continue to miss out as he recovers from tonsillitis. Dele Alli and Vincent Janssen are not expected back either.
Mauricio Pochettino needs to change something after successive Premier League defeats.
Kieran Trippier will likely lose his place in the starting XI after a poor showing in Wednesday's 2-0 defeat away to Chelsea. Danny Rose should also return on the opposite flank.
Jan Vertonghen will return to the side if he can shake off a minor hip injury and that will facilitate Tottenham moving to a back three.
Arsenal news
Sead Kolasinac came off before the hour mark in Arsenal's 5-1 win over Bournemouth on Wednesday with a niggling muscle injury. He is a doubt for Saturday. Laurent Koscielny is also a doubt but should be fine for the North London derby.
As neither Stephan Lichtsteiner nor Ainsley Maitland-Niles were fit enough in midweek, Carl Jenkinson was given a rare start and may have to be considered again here.
Granit Xhaka, Shkodran Mustafi, Alexandre Lacazette and Aaron Ramsey will push for starts after being rested in midweek.
Focus
Tottenham have lost successive Premier League matches and now need to look over their shoulder with Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea closing in. Defeat here would leave Arsenal only one point behind them.
Arsenal warmed up for Saturday's North London derby with a 5-1 win over Bournemouth. They will be full of confidence heading into Saturday's early kick-off and will hope to have caught Tottenham at the perfect moment.
The Gunners have failed to score in their last two away matches to Tottenham and are winless in the last three. You'd expect Unai Emery's side to find the back of the net here but whether they will have enough to beat their rivals remains to be seen.
WhoScored prediction
Tottenham 2-2 Arsenal
Everton vs Liverpool
Kick off: 13:30 CET
Date: Sat, 02-Mar-19
Probable Line-ups
Team news
Roberto Firmino missed out in midweek but Jurgen Klopp expects the Brazilian to be available on Sunday.
Jordan Henderson was dropped against Watford on Wednesday but will push to captain the side against Everton.
Naby Keita is another option in midfield but may have to settle for a place on the bench on Sunday.
Kurt Zouma has served his suspension and is expected to replace Phil Jagielka in Everton's backline. Yerry Mina is also an option after recovering in time to make the bench in midweek.
André Gomes will hope to replace Morgan Schneiderlin in central midfield but no other changes are expected from the side that beat Cardiff 3-0 on Tuesday.
Focus
Everton and Liverpool both picked up much-needed victories in midweek. Everton won 3-0 away to Cardiff while Liverpool tanked Watford 5-0.
Liverpool could be down to second by the time this match kicks off and the pressure will be on Jurgen Klopp's side.
Everton, however, are winless in the last 18 Merseyside derbies, last winning one back in 2010.
WhoScored prediction
Everton 0-2 Liverpool
Bournemouth vs Man City
Kick off: 16:00 CET
Date: Sat, 02-Mar-19
Probable Line-ups
Team news
Sergio Aguero looked like he was running on empty towards the end of Wednesday's win over West Ham and may need a rest here.
Benjamin Mendy was on the bench against West Ham but Pep Guardiola later revealed he still isn't quite ready to play. That should see Oleksandr Zinchenko continue at left-back.
Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling will all return to the starting XI on Saturday and the latter may even play through the middle if Aguero is rested.
With Fernandinho sidelined, Danilo may move into his position after playing at right-back in midweek. Vincent Kompany isn't used to playing so many games in quick succession these days but Guardiola has few options with John Stones and Aymeric Laporte sidelined.
Jefferson Lerma serves the final match of a two-game ban this weekend.
Eddie Howe would ideally want to make changes from the side that lost 5-1 to Arsenal on Wednesday but injuries will restrict the Bournemouth manager.
Focus
Bournemouth where battered 5-1 away to Arsenal on Wednesday and will be happy to return to home soil where they are unbeaten in five in the league, including a 4-0 win over Chelsea.
Manchester City can overtake Liverpool into first by avoiding defeat on Saturday, albeit only temporarily, as Liverpool play Everton on Sunday. Pep Guardiola's side have won their last four league matches and have kept a clean sheet in their last three.
WhoScored prediction
Bournemouth 1-2 Man City
Man United vs Southampton
Kick off: 16:00 CET
Date: Sat, 02-Mar-19
Probable Line-ups
Team news
Of Manchester United's 10 injured players, Marcos Rojo and Marcus Rashford recovered to make the bench in Wednesday's 3-1 win over Crystal Palace. The latter will return to the starting XI here.
Fred and Alexis Sanchez failed to impress on their audition for a regular starting berth and could both be demoted to the bench here.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would ideally like to shuffle his pack but that will depend what players are available on Saturday. Andreas Pereira and Eric Bailly will push for starts here.
Danny Ings has an outside chance of making Saturday's trip to Old Trafford but Michael Obafemi and Mario Lemina remain sidelined for Southampton.
Given the quick turnaround between matches, Ralph Hasenhuttl may have to look at rotating his starting XI.
Focus
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer extended his unbeaten league record as Manchester United boss to 11 matches in midweek after winning 3-1 away to Crystal Palace. That result was one of the most impressive under Solskjaer, as United had nine first-team players out injured.
Southampton moved out of the bottom three on Wednesday night after beating relegation rivals Fulham 2-0. Ralph Hasenhuttl's side have only lost one of their last five matches away to United.
With at least one of Arsenal or Tottenham due to drop points in Saturday's early kick-off, United have a great chance to close the gap on those above them in the table and they need to capitalise on that here.
WhoScored prediction
Man United 2-1 Southampton
Fulham vs Chelsea
Kick off: 15:05 CET
Date: Sun, 03-Mar-19
Probable Line-ups
Team news
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri decided to bench Kepa as payback for refusing to come off in the Carabao Cup final last weekend. The Italian has confirmed Kepa remains his first-choice goalkeeper and will come into contention for a start here.
Eden Hazard looked tired in midweek and it would not be a surprise if Sarri rested the Belgian this weekend, with Willian and Callum Hudson-Odoi waiting in the wings for a start.
Emerson, Olivier Giroud, Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will also push to start if Sarri makes other changes from the side that beat Tottenham 2-0 on Wednesday.
Fulham sacked Claudio Ranieri on Thursday and placed assistant head coach Scott Parker in caretaker charge. His first game will be against former club Chelsea.
Focus
Fulham are now only three points from being bottom of the league after Huddersfield won in midweek. The Cottagers look destined for relegation and sacked Claudio Ranieri on Thursday. .
Chelsea bounced back from their remarkable League Cup final defeat with a strong 2-0 win over Tottenham in midweek. Now they face a London rival closer to home.
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 18 derbies against Fulham, last losing to their west London rivals in 2006. This fixture should present Chelsea with the chance to record a morale-boosting victory.
WhoScored prediction
Fulham 0-3 Chelsea
Napoli vs Juventus
Kick off: 20:30 CET
Date: Sun, 03-Mar-19
Probable Line-ups
Team news
Napoli will field their strongest possible XI on Sunday as this is last chance saloon to keep the title race alive. The only absentee will be Raúl Albiol, who is out injured.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been cleared of a serious ankle injury but he will still need assessing prior to this match. With their must-win match against Atletico Madrid around the corner, coupled with their big lead in Serie A, it would not be a surprise if he skips this match.
Focus
Napoli are 13 points behind Juventus and even three points here may not be good enough to catch the Old Lady.
Juventus are the only unbeaten side left in Europe's top five leagues this season but are not playing at their best at the moment.
WhoScored prediction
Napoli 2-3 Juventus
Augsburg vs Dortmund
Kick off: 20:30 CET
Date: Fri, 01-Mar-19
Probable Line-ups
Team news
Achraf Hakimi should replace the injured Lukasz Piszczek at right-back again, with Abdou Diallo possibly getting the nod at left-back.
Thomas Delaney challenges Julian Weigl for a spot in central midfield.
Marco Reus should return from injury to start behind Mario Götze.
Kevin Danso could replace the suspended Reece Oxford at centre-back.
Focus
Augsburg have lost 10 of their last 13 Bundesliga matches and need to recover from a heavy 5-1 defeat at Freiburg last time out. They only sit two points above the relegation play-off spot and continue to struggle with injuries and suspensions.
Borussia Dortmund have regained confidence with a 3-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen last weekend. They retained their three-point lead on top of the table ahead as a result and should have no issue winning here.
WhoScored prediction
Augsburg 1-4 Dortmund
Cagliari vs Inter
Kick off: 20:30 CET
Date: Fri, 01-Mar-19
Probable Line-ups
Team news
João Pedro is available again after serving a one-game suspension, and he is expected to start right away. Nicolò Barella will therefore drop deeper in midfield.
Mauro Icardi is still claiming he is injured despite Inter proving otherwise. Lautaro Martinez could have the chance to be Inter's starting striker for the rest of the season.
Focus
Cagliari gave themselves some breathing space with a win against Parma a few weeks ago but they are basing their survival bid on their home form.
Inter dropped two points in a controversial game against Fiorentina last week and that has allowed AC Milan and Roma to cut into their lead in third place.
Inter should be able to field their strongest XI on Friday, as they will have six days to prepare for their next Europa League match.
WhoScored prediction
Cagliari 1-2 Inter
Milan vs Sassuolo
Kick off: 18:00 CET
Date: Sat, 02-Mar-19
Probable Line-ups
Team news
Suso will return to the starting XI after serving a ban. Samu Castillejo will drop out of the team as a result.
Domenico Berardi is back available, but now Sassuolo have lost Alfred Duncan to suspension. Mehdi Bourabia is expected to deputise.
Focus
AC Milan have won three in a row in the league and are in the last four of the Coppa Italia. They are on course to qualify for next season's Champions League and are the favourites here.
Sassuolo should have already done enough to beat the drop but a lack of motivation could cost them for the remainder of the season. They are not expected to get any points here.
WhoScored prediction
Milan 2-1 Sassuolo
Caen vs PSG
Kick off: 17:00 CET
Date: Sat, 02-Mar-19
Probable Line-ups
Team news
Layvin Kurzawa is available again after missing the Coupe de France win in midweek through suspension.
Kylian Mbappé, Marquinhos, and Dani Alves were all rested on Tuesday and should feature here.
Thomas Meunier is fit again, having played in mid-week.
Focus
Caen have managed to tread water through their work ethic, but the bottom is looming for the Norman side, having taken just two points from the last 18 available, they should be no issue for Paris Saint-Germain.
With the return leg against Manchester United looming, PSG could be a bit distracted, but certainly not enough to jeopardise a win.
WhoScored prediction
Caen 0-3 PSG
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