Week of Footy (MLK & Jan 20)

Ignore the stuff in the parenthesis, just there to describe the week, even though that will be in the date... I'm writing this on Sunday, having no idea how much football I'll end up watching in the coming days, but also buzzing off a few games from today. It didn't start out well, tbh, as I wanted Feyenoord to get a least a point (lost to Ajax 1-0) and both Atalanta and Liverpool drew 0-0. At that point, I was very close to tuning completely out of the football for the day, but I said screw it and watched the Athletic and Inter games (TV and tablet, respectively). Those were both awesome, in terms of the result, as they both won. I'd been expecting the favorite to win, meaning Barcelona and Juventus. Anyway, time to go over some games during the week.

Cagliari v Milan: not the most exciting game, but I'm all (as usual) with Serie A. Milan are finally back in the running, and this trip to Sardinia is the next step. Focusing on Cagliari, since I watch Milan every week, they're pretty bad this season. I'll say from watching Roma when he was there that I don't like Di Francesco as a manager. Not sure what it is. Since then, he's been shit (at Samp, now Cagliari), so my opinion seems to be in the right direction. It's weird because the first half of last season they were on fire, and since then they're relegation candidates. I like a few of their players, such as the Polish CB Walukiewicz, Zappa (RB) and Marin (on loan from Ajax). Their main man, however, is Joao Pedro (10 goals so far). They're the 4th lowest side in ball possession, so make of that what you will.

Leverkusen v Dortmund: not as much of a preview as the Milan game... I'm looking to see who's for real in this league. Nobody seems to be challenging Bayern, once again, so that kinda sucks. I did predict that, as Dortmund's squad is unbalanced (not much at the back or in midfield, and their keepers suck). Leverkusen just don't pass the eye test under Bosz, and I don't see that changing. Went from top of the league to 7 points back in 3 or 4 games.

West Ham v West Brom: again, not too much to say here. Moyes has his boys beating teams they should, but not so much the "giants" of the league. West Brom are in the shit, so they'll be scrapping every game for points. I'd expect the hosts to control the ball, which is not what they'll want, but then again, they forced Burnley to take initiative and won 1-0.

Leicester v Chelsea: not super stoked for this, but it'll have the usual implications at the top of the table. I just don't find either team fun to watch. I'd generally expect the team with less possession to win, as is tradition in the PL these days.

Udinese v Atalanta: again, not a great matchup, but a game that I care about due to one of the teams. In the expected points model, Atalanta should be 4th and Udinese 8th; the latter being a surprise to me (actually 15th). They won't go down, or challenge for anything, just like Genoa and Samp. Just there, pissing off the teams that try to play football, no ambition. As I said in the preview, the Genoa draw upset me, so I'm expecting a response from Atalanta.

City v Villa: two teams I actually like watching, which is a rarity. Villa haven't played lately, so that's gonna (in my mind, at least) be a disadvantage. City have better players, but I'd expect Villa to sit back. Close City win for me.

Schalke v Koln: classic relegation 6 pointer. Two bad teams trying not to lose, I'd imagine. Not one I'm hyped up to watch but important nonetheless.

Leipzig v Union: on the other hand, we have a top 4 battle here. I actually think Union get something here, seeing as they're defensively solid and Leipzig can't score for shit. I mean, the Wolfsburg game was an anomaly, with each scoring twice despite not scoring for fun and rarely conceding. I'd expect a 1-1, tbh.

Liverpool v Burnley and Eibar v Atleti: two I'll group in together. Teams going for a title versus teams trying to say up. Attack v defense. Point you need to pick up to have any hope of lifting silverware. Won't be pretty.

Gladbach v Dortmund: another big game for Dortmund. Stats wise, both teams are underperforming in the league, despite making the first knockout CL round. Thuram is still suspended for the spitting incident... Witsel is out for the year... Neither really has a chance to challenge for the title. IDK. Whatever. Dortmund could easily be 10 points off Bayern, while Gladbach could be close to 10 points off top 4 (I'd expect them to beat Bremen, though).