Weekend fixtures 9th Jan '21

It's an FA Cup weekend in England, but that's not why I'm writing this. Dutch football is back, the Bundesliga has some promising matchups, and Serie A is the most exciting league in world football currently. Oh, and La Liga continues as well, with Atleti going for another unexpected title given the domination of Barcelona and Madrid.

Starting on Friday, the obvious pick is Bayern's trip to Gladbach. Thuram is out with his suspension, and to be honest the hosts have been poor in the league. Reminds me of Lazio, in that they've underachieved in the league but made it to the round of 16 in the Champions League. The status quo is Bayern win, so that's what I expect here. I see lots of chances, because both teams play and open game, with Bayern controlling possession. The other game I'll be looking at is Celta v Villarreal. I've only recently started watching La Liga again, so it's a good chance to see these teams live. Celta have been reinvigorated by Caudet, their new coach, and Emery has the yellow submarine chugging along (5th place).

Saturday is pretty crazy, in terms of the number of games. Starting in Italy, two of the sides duking it out for the Champions League spots (Atalanta and Milan) are in action against teams they should beat on paper. It's entirely possible they'll both drop points, given the random dips in form by Atalanta and Milan's injury crisis. It's a similar situation in Spain, with the four representatives still in this year's Champions League all taking the pitch. Honestly, they all face somewhat similar tasks, in that they will likely be taking the initiative in an attacking sense. Sevilla host La Real, who are in poor form and have no problems sitting back for extended periods. Same with Atleti, who host an Athletic side capable of frustrating any opponent. The traditional big two travel to Granada and Osasuna, both sides that will defend for their lives and force Barcelona and Madrid (respectively) to break them down. In Germany, the big matchup is Leipzig hosting Dortmund. Now, I've said from day one that Bayern will triumph once again, mainly due to obvious weaknesses in these two teams. Leipzig can't score and Dortmund can't defend. Neither has been addressed. I expect a good game, quite possibly a draw, and it'll lead to at least one of them falling further behind the champions.

As for Sunday, there are a fair few games worth mentioning. Ajax hosting PSV is maybe the top game of the day for me, given the implications in the title race. The Amsterdam side have a ridiculous +42 goal difference after only 14 games, so their one point lead over this weekend's visitor (GD of 22) is effectively two. I'll analyze this one, so I won't say too much yet. Next, we go to Serie A for a few matches. The obvious one is Roma hosting Inter in the early kickoff. It's one of those that separates frauds from serious teams, or just allows other teams to catch up in the case of a draw. Roma have struggled against good teams since Fonseca arrived, while Conte needs to stop the "Pazza Inter" thing once and for all with a league title this season. The other main title challenger at this point to the Milan clubs is the incumbent, Juventus. Pirlo has his side playing well of late, gaining ground on the teams ahead of them in the table, and they face a Sassuolo team that's been struggling now that they're playing good opponents. Like Bayern, I just assume Juventus will find a way to win the title, despite an inexperienced manager, mainly because Inter are chokers and Milan don't have the talent or depth. Lower down the table, I'm looking at Fiorentina v Cagliari. They're both averaging less that one point per game, which given the talent in those squads is unacceptable. The former can't score while the other can't defend, so something has to give in this matchup.