Preview of the Weekend: Barca & Madrid in action; Utd & Chelsea fight for FA Cup

Welcome to All Football's Preview of the Weekend. You should miss not even one game! Below are the best matches the world of football would bring to you.

Tranmere vs Tottenham

Kick off: 20:45 (CET)

Date: Fri, 04-Jan-19

Probable Lineups

Team News

Eric Dier, Victor Wanyama, Erik Lamela and Vincent Janssen are all ruled out for Tottenham here.

Mousa Dembele and Jan Vertonghen have returned to training, but will miss out, while Serge Aurier is carrying a knock and it remains to be seen whether he'll play any part.

Mauricio Pochettino should take the opportunity to rotate for this FA Cup tie, with Paulo Gazzaniga, Juan Foyth, Kyle Walker-Peters, Oliver Skipp, Lucas Moura and Fernando Llorente in line for starts.

Focus

A 1-1 draw with Macclesfield means Tranmere have won only ony of their last five league matches. However, on home turf, they have been hugely impressive, winning eight of 13 league games and losing just the once.

Tottenham bounced back from their 3-1 home loss to Wolves with a comfortable 3-0 win at Cardiff on Tuesday night. On the road, Spurs have been impressive, winning four of their last five away competitive games.

While Tranmere have been in good form at Prenton Park this season, Spurs should come away with a win to secure their place in the next round of the FA Cup.

Prediction

Tranmere 0-2 Tottenham

Manchester United vs Reading

Kick off: 13:30 (CET)

Date: Sat, 05-Jan-19

Probable Lineups

Team News

Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku are both expected to start Manchester United's clash with Reading in order to build their match fitness.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has reportedly told 17-year-old academy prospect Mason Greenwood to prepare to make his senior debut on Saturday.

Other fringe players like Fred, Andreas Pereira, Maroaune Fellaini, Matteo Darmian and Sergio Romero can expect to play here.

Unless Chris Smalling or Marcos Rojo can recover from injury, Solskjaer may be forced to start Phil Jones and Victor Lindelof at the heart of United's defence against Reading with Eric Bailly suspended.

Focus

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is just the second manager in Manchester United's history to win his first four matches in charge.

United triumphed 2-0 away to Newcastle on Wednesday night and in doing so kept just their third clean sheet in the Premier League this season.

Reading are second from bottom in the Championship and have not won any of their last 10 matches (D5, L5).

Reading have only won one game away from home all season and have failed to score in five of their last six matches on the road.

Prediction

Manchester United 3-0 Reading

Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest

Kick off: 16:00 (CET)

Date: Sat, 05-Jan-19

Probable Lineups

Team News

Maurizio Sarri is short of options in attack with Willian, Pedro and Olivier Giroud injured. Callum Hudson-Odoi is at least back in training and should feature here.

Cesc Fabregas is expected to start on Saturday in what will likely prove his farewell match before joining Monaco this month.

Andreas Christensen was back on the bench in midweek after a short spell out injured and is expected to start in defence against Nottingham Forest.

Focus

Chelsea have kept a clean sheet in 5 of their last 7 matches (FA Cup).

There have been under 2.5 goals scored in Chelsea's last 3 games (FA Cup).

Chelsea are undefeated in their last 7 matches (FA Cup).

Prediction

Chelsea 2-0 Nottingham Forest

Blackpool vs Arsenal

Kick off: 18:30 (CET)

Date: Sat, 05-Jan-19

Probable Lineups

Team News

Hector Bellerin, Nacho Monreal and Mesut Ozil were not training with the main group as late as Thursday and may not be available to feature against Blackpool.

Shkodran Mustafi came off injured against Fulham and will certainly not feature for the Gunners here, but Konstantinos Mavropanos was back in full training for the first time in five months.

Expect Unai Emery to call on a lot of youngsters for Arsenal's FA Cup third round trip to League One side Blackpool.

Focus

This is the second meeting between the two sides this season following Arsenal's 2-1 win over Blackpool in the EFL Cup back in October.

This is the first time Blackpool have hosted Arsenal since 2011, when the Gunners ran out 3-1 winners. They are clear favourites to win here, too.

Blackpool are winless in their last four matches (D1, L3) and have failed to score in three of those games.

Arsenal have only won two of their last six but did bounce back from last weekend's 5-1 defeat to Liverpool with a 4-1 win over Fulham in midweek.

The Gunners haven't kept a clean sheet in any of their last six matches but should come progress to the next round of the FA Cup on Saturday.

Prediction

Blackpool 1-3 Arsenal

Manchester City vs Rotherham

Kick off: 15:00 (CET)

Date: Sun, 06-Jan-19

Probable Lineups

Team News

Pep Guardiola will make wholesale changes from the side that beat Liverpool on Thursday night. Bernardo Silva and Fernandinho ran their socks off in the win and will surely be given the weekend off.

Players like Gabriel Jesus, Kyle Walker, Nicolas Otamendi, Riyad Mahrez, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ilkay Gündogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Arijanet Muric will push for starts on Sunday.

Brahim Diaz is tipped to join Real Madrid this month, though Guardiola may use him here in one last attempt to convince the youngster to stay at the club.

Focus

Manchester City have scored at least two goals in each of their last 11 home matches in all competitions.

Rotherham are one place above the relegation zone in the Championship but did a nine-game winless run on New Year's Day.

Rotherham have not won an away match all season and their objective on Sunday will be to keep the scoreline respectable.

Prediction

Manchester City 4-0 Rotherham

Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid

Kick off: 16:15 (CET)

Date: Sun, 06-Jan-19

Probable Lineups

Team News

Filipe Luis and Lucas Hernandez both have injury problems, so Saul should continue at left-back.

Juanfran is expected to be preferred to Santiago Arias at right-back.

Thomas Partey and Rodri should continue to get a chance to build a partnership in central midfield.

Ever Banega and Pablo Sarabia both return from bans and come straight back into the midfield.

Gabi Mercado is suspended, which should see Simon Kjaer rushed back to fitness after a hamstring problem.

Focus

Sevilla have lost just one of their last 14 competitive games, with that sole defeat coming in the Europa League against Standard Liege.

Pablo Machin's side haven't lost in La Liga since match day nine against Barcelona, but drawing against the likes of Leganes, Valencia and Alaves of late has seen them drop into third

Atletico Madrid haven't lost in La Liga since match day three, suffering just two competitive defeats across the entirety of their current campaign.

Prediction

Sevilla 1-1 Atletico Madrid

Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad

Kick off: 18:30 (CET)

Date: Sun, 06-Jan-19

Probable Lineups

Team News

Gareth Bale was substituted due to injury in midweek and isn't expected to start at the weekend.

Isco could get a rare chance under Santiago Solari out wide, as Marco Asensio is also sidelined.

No big changes are expected from Real Madrid, despite their 2-2 draw with Villarreal on Thursday.

Focus

Real Madrid have lost just one of their last nine games in all competitions, but returned to domestic action with a disappointing draw last time out.

The hosts have won their last three home games in La Liga, with Solari needing Los Blancos to continue to make Estadio Santiago Bernabeu more of a fortress.

New Real Sociedad boss Imanol Alguacil has a tough first game in charge after replacing Asier Garitano on Boxing Day.

Prediction

Real Madrid 2-1 Real Sociedad

Getafe vs Barcelona

Kick off: 20:45 (CET)

Date: Sun, 06-Jan-19

Probable Lineups

Team News

Sergi Roberto has been passed fit this week, but Nelson Semedo is most likely to start at right-back.

Clement Lenglet will continue at centre-back, with Samuel Umtiti still battling a knee problem.

Ousmane Dembele should feature on the left wing, with Arturo Vidal starting in midfield.

Focus

Getafe ended the year with a six-game unbeaten run, with Jose Bordalas' side very much in the mix to try and finish in the European places this campaign.

The hosts have won their last three fixtures at Coliseum Alfonso Perez, taking three points against Real Sociedad and Espanyol in the league, as well as dispatching of Cordoba in the cup.

Barcelona recovered from a surprise La Liga defeat to Real Betis with four league wins in succession, leaving Ernesto Valverde's side top heading into 2019.

Prediction

Getafe 1-2 Barcelona