With another weekend of European football on the horizon, Thomas Woods provides his preview for the action and offers his thoughts on some of the big talking points.
Hopes rest on Sevilla
Real Madrid equalled a Spanish record of 39 games unbeaten in all competitions last week, when they beat Granada 5-0. They lead the Primera Liga table by four points with a game in hand, but it is not their arch rivals Barcelona who trail in second.
Two wins and four draws in their past six matches has seen Barca’s title defence take a battering, particularly given Madrid’s rampant form.
Hopes to avoid the Primera Liga title race turning into a procession could rest on the team that seperates Madrid and Barca in the table and who host the league leaders on Sunday night.
Sevilla are a point ahead of Barca and represent the best chance for quite a while that Madrid will lose a league match.
Their next tough encounter is a trip to Villarreal, who were a last-minute Lionel Messi free-kick away from beating Barca last week, at the end of February.
Sevilla certainly have the tools to beat Madrid. They are in superb form, winning five of their last six matches, possess flair all over the pitch in the likes of Samir Nasri, Ganso and new loan signing Stevan Jovetic, and have a striker in form in Wissam Ben Yedder, who has seven goals in his last four games.
Sevilla also boast a formidable home record, winning seven and losing just once in their eight matches played at the Ramon Sanchez-Pzjuan Stadium.
It will take something special to beat this Madrid side, as their previous 39 opponents can attest, although Barcelona and the rest of Spain will hope Sevilla can be the lucky No 40.
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Read more
■ Podcast: Talking title race and Dimitri Payet
■ Predictions: Will Man United defeat rivals Liverpool?
■ Primera Liga in focus: Barcelona losing ground to Real Madrid
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Will Gabriel Jesus kick start City’s title race?
The arrival of young Brazilian strikers to European shores often generates a great deal of hype.
Brazil has produced some of football’s greatest goalscorers, from Pele to Romario, Jarzinho to Ronaldo, so each time a new talent emerges from the South American country, it is only natural for fans to get excited.
You need only look back at Ronaldo for an example of a youngster arriving from Brazil and taking football by storm.
He scored 35 goals in 36 games in his debut season at PSV Eindhoven as an 18-year-old as he embarked on a career in European football that saw him become one of the all-time greats.
Manchester City hope they have signed the next big thing and, based on the praise from the likes of Pele and Ronaldo, there are plenty of reasons to get excited about Gabriel Jesus.
“He is going to be our next great No. 9,” Pele said. “I look at Gabriel and see myself in the past,” Ronaldo said.
The 19-year-old striker, who was signed by City from Palmeiras in the summer but who moved to the Premier League club this month, is already a Brazil international with five goals in six games, and while there are similarities to Ronaldo, his preference is to play on the left, cutting inside to his favoured right foot.
Work permit permitting, he may make his debut at Everton on Sunday.
Are United facing Liverpool at the perfect time?
When Manchester United travelled to Liverpool in October, Jose Mourinho set up his side defensively to stifle the home side, who were scoring at a rate of three goals per game. It proved a successful strategy, with United holding the previously free-scoring Liverpool to a goalless draw.
Fast forward three months to Sunday, and the landscape has somewhat changed. United have found their groove, with nine straight wins in all competitions. Meanwhile Liverpool enter the match following a League Cup semi-final defeat to Southampton, a 0-0 draw with Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup – albeit with a significantly understrength team – and a 2-2 draw at struggling Sunderland. Jurgen Klopp will also be without key forward Sadio Mane while Philippe Coutinho is not fully fit.
United couldn’t have picked a better time to play their big rivals.
GAMES OF THE WEEK
Swansea City v Arsenal, Saturday, 7pm
Arsenal on the road recently has resulted in some fantastic games. A 5-1 win at West Ham United, 2-1 defeats at Manchester City and Everton, the incredible comeback from 3-0 down at Bournemouth to draw and a come-from-behind win in the FA Cup at Preston North End. With Swansea’s poor defending this should be another high-scoring affair.
Leicester City v Chelsea, Saturday, 9.30pm
The last two Premier League champions face off, with Leicester City’s current campaign mirroring Chelsea’s 2015/16 - a major slump after winning the title. But Leicester did beat Manchester City in some style last month and they will look to that game for inspiration. Certainly, if they can use Jamie Vardy’s pace, they may have a chance of an upset.
Manchester United v Liverpool, Sunday, 8pm
English football’s biggest rivalry and this clash at Old Trafford comes at a pivotal time for both. United may have too much to do to challenge Chelsea for the title, but they are the form team in the league over the last six games. Liverpool have a more realistic chance of winning the trophy, but can barely afford to drop a point given Chelsea’s dominant run of results.
Sevilla v Real Madrid, Sunday, 11.45pm
Madrid could have captain Sergio Ramos back for this one and that is a major boost as Sevilla can play any team off the park when they get things right. The players may change, but the club’s philosophy doesn’t. Just look at the way they beat Liverpool in the Europa League final last season. A shock is on the cards.
Marseille v Monaco, Sunday, midnight
France’s south-coast derby isn’t the most heated rivalry in the country, but it has the potential to produce fireworks nonetheless. Monaco are second in the table and have scored an astonishing 56 goals in 20 games. Marseille have won their last four to go sixth and have a pretty frugal defence. Each side has a 10-goal striker too - Bafetimbi Gomis v Radamel Falcao.
Plan your weekend - the pick of the TV games
(All kick-off times UAE, matches on BeIN Sports)
Saturday
Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur v West Bromwich Albion, 4.30pm
Premier League: Swansea City v Arsenal, 7pm
Primera Liga: Barcelona v Las Palmas, 7.15pm
Ligue 1: Rennes v PSG, 8pm
Premier League: Leicester City v Chelsea, 9.30pm
Serie A: Inter Milan v Chievo, 11.45pm
Sunday
Premier League: Everton v Manchester City, 5.30pm
Serie A: Lazio v Atlanta, 6pm
Serie A: Napoli v Pescara, 6pm
Serie A: Udinese v Roma, 6pm
Ligue 1: Nice v Metz, 6pm
Premier League: Manchester United v Liverpool, 8pm
Serie A: Fiorentina v Juventus, 11.45pm
Primera Liga: Sevilla v Real Madrid, 11.45pm
Ligue 1: Marseille v Monaco, midnight
Monday
Serie A: Torino v AC Milan, 11.45pm
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