Man City, Arsenal race to the top of the English Premier League this weekend
Crystal Palace - Man City: 0:30 on Sunday, March 12
Palace have not won a game since the beginning of 2023 and the pressure is growing on Patrick Vieira. Only scoring 21 goals after 25 times is unacceptable for an attack that includes great players like Wilfried Zaha, Eberechi Eze or Michael Olise. The poor form of the attack puts Palace in danger of falling into the relegation battle at any time when the distance between them and the group holding the red light is only five points.
A difficult match will await Vieira's teachers and students when their opponents are thirsty for points. Man City no longer shows a cold image in the championship race like in previous years. When Arsenal suddenly lost to Everton, Pep Guardiola's teachers and students also lost to Tottenham. Then, after defeating the opponent in the championship race, Man City again dropped points when drawing Nottingham Forest.
Although Man City's instability offers some hope for the home team, Palace have not won in the last seven times against this opponent and failed to score in five of them. However, Man City could not concede Palace in the first half in the last four encounters. All of the last nine goals they scored in this tie came in the second half. Vieira's teachers and students face a difficult schedule because after this match, they will face Brighton and Arsenal.
Nathan Ferguson and Sam Johnstone are absent from Palace's side due to injury and Cheick Oumar Doucoure is suspended after receiving a red card against Aston Villa. Man City has almost the strongest force, only Phil Foden has a slight pain and can still play.
Fulham - Arsenal: 9pm on Sunday, 12/3
If Arsenal win the Premier League this season, the 3-2 win against Bournemouth in the previous round will certainly be considered as one of the turning points. It was a match where the "Gunners" proved their squad depth enough to be crowned in a tough tournament like the Premier League.
Mikel Arteta started Fabio Vieira, in place of Granit Xhaka, to capitalize on his creativity, and replaced Jorginho with Thomas Partey, who then scored. After halftime, he replaced Takehiro Tomiyasu with Ben White, who later also scored. When Leandro Trossard was injured, Arteta brought in Emile Smith Rowe and then replaced the player himself with Reiss Nelson, who scored the match goal.
That personnel adjustment process shows that Arteta has enough cards to turn the situation around as the game progresses. This weekend, when away at Fulham, Arsenal will aim to maintain a five-point gap with Man City. In the past, the "Gunners" have won 71% of the times against Fulham in the Premier League and since January 2012, they have never lost at Craven Cottage. Arsenal have won all four London derbies away from home this season with a total score of 8-0. No team in the history of English football has won five consecutive London derbies away from home without keeping a clean sheet.
Arsenal have only two cases for sure absent: Gabriel Jesus and Mohamed Elneny. But there are four potential players left open: Martin Odegaard, Kieran Tierney, Eddie Nketiah and Trossard. Fulham are without Layvin Kurzawa and Neeskens Kebano while Cedric Soares is sidelined on loan from Arsenal. But the most unfortunate absence is probably Joao Palhinha when the Portugal international is suspended.
Bournemouth - Liverpool: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 11
Liverpool created an unbelievable score in the previous round before beating Man Utd 7-0. But that is not the biggest victory of Jurgen Klopp's teachers and students this season. In the first leg, Liverpool once crushed Bournemouth 9-0 with each goal scored by a different player. That defeat cost Scott Parker his seat.
A big loss can continue to happen to the home team. Bournemouth have only won one of the last 12 matches in all competitions and are at the bottom of the table. Meanwhile, Liverpool's attack is full of confidence after four strikers scored against Man Utd, in which, Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez each scored twice.
A win at Vitality will be a necessary rehearsal for Liverpool before the second leg of the 1/8 Champions League round at Real in the middle of next week. Although losing 2-5 in the first leg, Klopp's army created incredible upstream displays based on the strength of the attack. If you maintain the excitement, Liverpool can dream of a miracle on the defending champion's field.
Liverpool continue without the services of Thiago, Luis Diaz, Calvin Ramsay and Arthur while the ability of Naby Keita and Joe Gomez is unclear. As for Bournemouth, David Brooks, Matias Vina and Junior Stanislas continue to sit out. The possibility of Marcus Tavernier, Lloyd Kelly and Illia Zabarnyi is still open but Jefferson Lerma and Hamed Traore can return.
Leicester - Chelsea: 10pm Saturday, 11/3
Many people consider Chelsea's 2-0 victory over Dortmund in the second leg of the 1/8 Champions League round as an unexpected achievement. However, with the superior quality of the squad, the ticket to the quarterfinals of the continental arena should have been within the reach of teachers and students Graham Potter.
The second victory in a row helps Potter relieve some of the pressure, but not yet free from doubts about his ability. The 47-year-old strategist was brought in by Chelsea's new leadership, replacing the man who helped the club win the Champions League Thomas Tuchel. Potter's performance has not proven that he is qualified to take on this position.
Chelsea have scored 24 goals, conceded 25 goals in 25 games. The matches with them in attendance saw the lowest number of goals (49) in the Premier League this season. In contrast, matches with Leicester often have many goals (79 goals), only lower than Man City (91), Arsenal (84) and Tottenham (82). "Foxes" only won one of the last six times against Chelsea at home. It was a 2-0 win in January 2021. In the first leg, Chelsea won 2-1 and they had the opportunity to win all Leicester for the first time in a season since the 2016-2017 season.
Armando Broja, Thiago Silva, Edouard Mendy and N'golo Kante continue to be absent from the Chelsea side while the possibility of Cesar Azpilicueta and Mason Mount is still open. Leiceter lost James Justin, Youri Tielemans and Victor Kristiansen. Jonny Evans, Harvey Barnes and Ryan Bertrand are unlikely to play.
Tottenham - Nottingham: 22h Saturday, 11/3
Antonio Conte helped Chelsea win the Premier League 2016-2017 with a three-centre strategy. But since then, no championship team has used a three-man defense and this scheme gradually revealed the limitations of keeping up with the tactical trends of world football.
Conte's conservatism in forcing Tottenham to pursue three central defenders makes this club's play more and more boring. Despite spending $ 180 million to strengthen the squad in the summer, Tottenham played too cautiously compared to the teams in the top five. Even their fans were fed up with this style of play and gave Conte boos when Tottenham drew 0-0 with Milan in the second leg of the 1/8 Champions League round in the middle of the week and were eliminated.
Conte once expressed pride when helping Tottenham win tickets to the Champions League last season. But that feat of his was partly contributed by the declining performance of his opponents. One thing is for sure, Conte cannot help Tottenham quench their thirst for titles this season and the North London club has realized the anachronism of the Italian leader's coaching style. A bad result against Nottingham could push Conte away from Tottenham sooner, when the board has been looking for replacement names. Among them are Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel.
Tottenham continue without four players Hugo Lloris, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ryan Sessegnon and Yves Bissouma. The duo Ivan Perisic and Emerson Royal need to wait for the results of their medical tests. Nottingham lacks at least eight players, including: Willy Boly, Scott McKenna, Taiwo Awoniyi, Moussa Niakhate, Dean Henderson, Giulian Biancone, Omar Richards and Cheikhou Kouyate.
Man Utd - Southampton: 9pm Sunday, 12/3
Losing to Liverpool 0-7 in the previous round is an embarrassing result for what Erik ten Hag is building at Man Utd. Therefore, the Dutch coach immediately took psychological measures to revive the player. The results are somewhat positive. Man Utd somewhat removed the face when crushing Real Betis 4-1 in the first leg of the 1/8 round, thereby placing one foot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
Ten Hag reminded his students that the previous round's defeat was only worth three points anyway. Man Utd still keep a seven-point gap with the fifth team Liverpool and hold the advantage in the top four race when the season has 13 rounds left. Man Utd may run out of chances to win the Premier League, but they still have the Europa League and FA Cup to add more titles, after winning the League Cup.
Man Utd have lost to Southampton twice in a row at home in January 2015 and January 2016. But since then, they are unbeaten against this opponent for six consecutive games at Old Trafford. Victory at the beginning of 2016 is also the last time Southampton beat Man Utd. Since then, the two teams have met 14 more times. Since August last year, Man Utd have not lost two consecutive matches in the English Premier League.
Donny van de Beek, Christian Eriksen and Anthony Martial have not been able to return to the home team and Marcel Sabitzer needs to wait for the results of a medical test to know his ability to play. Southampton lack Tino Livramento and Juan Larios while Carlos Alcaraz, the only scorer in the 1-0 win over Leicester last round, is unlikely to play.
Real - Espanyol: 8pm Saturday, 11/3
Two consecutive draws against Atletico and Real Betis made Real lose in the championship race with Barca. The gap between the two teams is now nine points when the season has 14 rounds left. Carlo Ancelotti's teachers and students only have to hope that their rival stumbles, and at the same time, Real needs to win all the points when the season enters an important period.
In the middle of next week, Real will take on Liverpool in the second leg of the 1/8 round of the Champions League. Although the 5-2 victory in the first leg makes the match somewhat under the control of Karim Benzema and his teammates, Real still needs to spend a certain amount of caution in the arena with many potential surprises. Real's opponents this weekend will be Espanyol, the team ranked 13th but only two points above the group holding the red light.
Real have won 15 of the last 17 encounters with Espanyol in La Liga and drawn the remaining two matches. This is the opponent Real has beaten the most times in the history of the tournament, as well as scored the most goals. At home, Real have won their last eight matches against Espanyol, scoring an average of 2.9 goals per game and keeping seven clean sheets. Those statistics forecast an easy victory for Ancelotti's teachers and students.
Real have three absences in this match, all in the defense including: Andriy Lunin, David Alaba and Ferland Mendy. Espanyol cannot yet have the services of Keidi Bare, Adria Pedrosa, Gori, Dani Gomez while Brian Olivan's ability to play is unclear.
Athletic Bilbao - Barca: 3pm on Monday, March 13
Barca aim for a third consecutive victory in all competitions when away at Athletic Bilbao's San Mames. Xavi's teachers and students have a fairly safe distance in the championship race and have not lost to this opponent since August 2019.
In fact, Athletic Bilbao's performance makes the majority of people favor Barca's victory in this match. The hosts have not won since beating Valencia 2-1 on February 11 and have lost three of their last four matches in all competitions. The recent bad performance caused Ernesto Valverde's teachers and students to drop to ninth, but only four points behind Villarreal's sixth team, meaning they still have the ability to compete for the European Cup next season.
Valverde will meet Barca again, the club he led from 2017 to 2020. In the first leg, the 59-year-old coach received a 0-4 defeat at the Nou Camp. Valverde's goal is to help the home team end six consecutive matches without winning Barca and two consecutive matches against this opponent. Home ground will be the fulcrum for Athletic to do this because they have won three points in the last four times against Barca (won one, drew two).
Ousmane Dembele and Pedri could not play on the Barca side due to injury and Ronald Araujo was sidelined because of a penalty card. Athletic also has Oihan Sancet suspended while Ander Herrera, Unai Simon and Jon Morcillo are absent through injury.
Napoli - Atalanta: 0:00 Sunday, March 12
After receiving the first defeat at home this season, losing to Lazio 0-1 in the previous round, Napoli decided to regain their face when they received Atalanta in the 26th round of Serie A. The loss in the previous round did not affect Luciano Spalletti's teachers and students much. because they still leave the second place group Inter to 15 points and kick less than one match. A new utopian scenario can take the championship away from Napoli this season.
The loss to Lazio was also the first time Napoli had conceded a goal since January. This result means that the top team in Serie A have lost two of their last four encounters with teams in the top six. Before that, they were unbeaten in five consecutive matches against these opponents. This motivates Atalanta, despite their recent poor form sending them out of the top four.
The visitors enter this match with four defeats in their last match in all competitions. Last round, they drew Udinese 0-0. It was the second game Atalanta could not score. Under coach Gian Piero Gasperini, they have only lost three consecutive matches in Serie A and that has happened since 2018.
The two teams did not suffer too much loss of force. On Atalanta's side, Hans Hateboer and Teun Koopmeiners were absent. Napoli are without Giacomo Raspadori and Hirving Lozano due to injury while Mario Rui is suspended.
Bayern - Augsburg: 21:30 Saturday, 11/3
Bayern need a win to keep the top of the table because they are still trailed by Dortmund when the gap between the two teams is only created by goal difference. Due to playing first, teachers and students Julian Nagelsmann can put pressure on the opponent. This round, Dortmund will play the Revierderby match that promises to be tough.
However, Augsburg are one of only two teams to have beaten Bayern in the Bundesliga this season. It was a match last September and Enrico Maassen's first home win as Augsburg coach. At that time, the second half goal of Mergim Berisha brought victory for Augsburg in the battle against Bayern powerless against the privacy of the opponent.
"Bavarian Gray Lobster" will enter the match with excitement after eliminating PSG in the 1/8 Champions League round with a total score of 3-0. However, the loss to Augsburg in the first half of the season was no coincidence. Bayern have lost two of their three encounters with this opponent under Nagelsmann. However, the last time they lost to Augsburg at home was in May 2015. The result at that time did not mean much because Bayern won the championship.
Bayern welcomes the return of many players like Sadio Mane or Noussair Mazraoui. Their injury list is only Manuel Neuer and Lucas Hernandez. Augsburg will be without Elvis Rexhbecaj, Felix Uduokhai, Tobias Strobl and Andre Hahn but Berisha could return.
Brest - PSG: 3pm Sunday, March 12
A gloomy atmosphere will probably cover the Francis-Le Ble field when Brest receives the top team PSG in the 27th round of Ligue 1. The home team has just ended a five-match winless streak when they beat Strasbourg 1-0 in the previous round. But it is difficult for them to avoid a defeat when PSG is looking to bounce back from the defeat in the Champions League.
The 0-2 defeat to Bayern in the second round of the 1/8 round shows the weaknesses of PSG. Although the season is two months away, there have been reports of coach Christophe Galtier leaving at the end of the season. As of March, PSG have lost six games in 2023 while losing only four in all of 2022.
Since the 2022 World Cup, PSG have lost five of their nine away matches and have only kept a clean sheet once in the last 10 matches. Galtier's teachers and students will aim to win two consecutive away matches for the first time this year against their opponent unbeaten in the last 24 meetings. Brest has lost all of the last five times against PSG and has never lost so many opponents in Ligue 1.
PSG will be without the duo Nordi Mukiele and Marquinhos after the two defenders were forced to leave the field in the match against Bayern due to injury. Similar is the case with Neymar and Presnel Kimpembe. Kenny Lala is absent from Brest's side due to injury and Mahdi Camara is suspended.
