The Premier League takes a well-earned break after a hectic midweek round of games, so the focus lies elsewhere over the next few days. As usual, there is still a wide variety of top of the table clashes, derbies, and potential Cup upsets to keep you entertained. We preview the best of them here.

Wrexham vs. Chelsea

The FA Cup has reached the Fifth Round and perhaps the pick of the ties pits Wrexham, the headline grabbing Welsh club with the famous owners, against Chelsea, eight time winners of the competition.

For both, a deep Cup run offers a distraction from a high-pressure league campaign. Wrexham, famously, are aiming to become the first side in England’s professional divisions to secure a fourth straight promotion. They currently sit sixth in the Championship, in the last playoff place, with a four point cushion to the sides below them. Chelsea, meanwhile, are fifth in top flight and in the midst of a battle to claim a Champions League place having just beaten Aston Villa, one of the sides above them.

Liam Rosenior now takes his team to the Racecourse Ground looking to improve a record that includes nine wins, two draws, and three defeats since taking over the club at the start of the year. The Blues have a fine record against lower division sides in the FA Cup, having won through in their last 24 such encounters.

Wrexham and Chelsea have met in two friendlies played in the US in recent years

Wrexham, meanwhile, have lost just twice in ten games since beating Premier League opposition back in the third round (Nottingham Forest). They have reached this stage of the competition for the first time since 1997, which incidentally, was a year that Chelsea lifted the trophy at Wembley.

Saturday, 5.45pm GMT, 12.45pm EST

FA Cup continued…

Elsewhere in the world’s oldest / longest running tournament, the draw for the fifth round has been playing tricks on us. Tonight, Liverpool return to Wolves, where they went down to a shock league defeat just four days ago. And Newcastle United host Manchester City, a side they’ve already faced twice in the league and in a two-legged League Cup semifinal this season - City have triumphed in three of those four meetings.

But the clash between League One Mansfield Town and Arsenal, the Premier League leaders does rather catch the imagination. Traditionalists will be hoping for some of that old Cup magic when Mikel Arteta’s expensively assembled quadruple-chasing squad take to the pitch at Field Mill, the oldest ground in the EFL and one that has been in use since 1861, the same year that saw the start of the American Civil War.

Portugal’s big three once again occupy the first three places in the country’s top division but it’s the biggest two of those three who we focus on here. José Mourinho’s unbeaten Benfica welcome league leaders Porto, the club where he won his first Champions League title, to Lisbon on Sunday.

Mourinho’s standing in the world is not what it was but he knows how to grind out results at this level. Even The Special One, though, must be impressed with the job that former-Ajax and Nice manager Francesco Farioli has done in what is his first season with Porto.

After watching Sporting and Benfica battle it out for the last two seasons, Porto have roared back with a title charge built on the most miserly of defences. The Dragões have kept 17 clean sheets, lost only once, and concede goals at a rate of 0.30 goals per game.

Benfica, second placed Sporting, and fourth placed Braga (who play each other this weekend) have all scored more goals than the leaders but nobody, it seems, can stop them from winning games.

Could they be the side to finally end Benfica’s run?

Sunday, 6pm GMT, 1pm EST

Derby della Madonnina

Last week, we labelled Der Klassiker as the virtual title decider in Germany, such was Bayern’s lead in the Bundesliga before a ball had been kicked against Dortmund. Similarly, the outcome of Sunday’s Milan Derby has the potential to decide the Scudetto in Serie A.

With Inter holding a ten point lead over second placed city rivals AC, an Inter win would give Cristian Chivu’s side an advantage that surely couldn’t be made up with only ten rounds left to play in the season.

Since winning the last derby, played back in November, a result that actually took Milan above Inter in the table at that point, Max Allegri has failed to get consistent results out of the Rossoneri. They’ve drawn six and lost one of the consequent 15 games, while Inter have dropped points only once.

For all their troubles in Europe, Inter have remained dominant at home, winning their last eight in a row, and scoring at rate of 2.4 goals per game (Juve have the next best record on 1.7 goals per game!). Federico Dimarco has two goals and eight assists in his last six games alone.

To have any chance of stopping their rivals winning the title, Milan must cut off the Dimarco supply line, and look to extend their current six-game unbeaten run in the derby (all comps) - their best run in this fixture for over a decade.

Sunday, 7.45pm EST, 2.45pm EST

Image courtesy of Bjarg IF

We probably all work with someone that tells a tall tale about their footballing ability, you know the ones, the ‘I had trials for United you know’ guys and the ‘I would have made it if it wasn’t for this dodgy knee’ fella you got stuck next to at the Christmas party.

Well, there can be no doubting the best footballer currently working at FotMob. And that’s because he’s actually on FotMob. During the week, Axel Ahlander works as a developer at out HQ in Bergen. At the weekend, he’s turning out in midfield for Bjarg IF, a side recently promoted to the third tier of Norwegian football.

And this weekend, thanks in part to Axel’s heroics against Stabæk in the last round, the minnows of Bjarg are preparing to take on Viking, the current Norwegian league champions (yes, Bodø/Glimt only came second last season), in the fourth round of the Norwegian Cup.

We caught Axel at the water cooler and pressed him on their chances of causing what would be a famous Cupset:

“I think it depends on how quickly we are able to adapt to the tempo - and get a good feeling early on. If we get all these things right - and play our own style of football, I think there is the possibility for an upset.

Me, and everyone else on the team have been working a bit harder than usual, with this game in mind. We have analysed Viking well, and feel well prepared.”

Saturday, 3pm GMT, 10am EST

Lincoln City have been competing in English football since 1884 but have only spent 36 of the consequent 142 years as high as the second tier. The rest of their existence has been spent battling away in the lower leagues, and even non-league for a spell that ended as recently as 2017. All that makes their current campaign all the more remarkable.

The Imps are riding high in League One, and occupy the second automatic promotion spot behind Cardiff City, their weekend opponents, 10 points clear of the play-off places below them. The Lincolnshire side look likely to be reach the EFL Championship for the first time since a ill-fated one-season stint in 1998/99.

England’s second tier wasn’t even known as the Championship at that point.

Led by career coach Michael Skubala, Lincoln head in to this weekend’s showdown with Cardiff unbeaten in 17 games, a run that includes a win over the Welsh side back in December. Both clubs seem likely to be promoted, but for Cardiff that was always expected, they are relative giants at this level and relegated from the Championship only last summer.

Not many were predicting similar success for Lincoln, not least a fanbase who haven’t seen such dizzying heights in a generation.

Saturday, 12.30pm GMT, 7.30am EST

Hajduk Split, Croatia’s eternal bridemaids

Hajduk Split have come close to ending a two-decade wait for a league title in recent seasons, and they’re in the running again this year. As usual, Dinamo Zagreb stand in their way, meaning this weekend’s Eternal Derby is a must-win game.

Motherwell, the fourth horse in a two-team title race

We’ve documented the once-in-a-generation battle raging in Scotland in previous weeks, with Hearts looking to break the Old Firm’s stranglehold on the title. Now we’ve profiled Jens Berthel Askou, the manager behind fourth placed Motherwell, perhaps the best footballing side in the SPFL.

Benjamin Šeško could fire United to the Champions League

Manchester United’s Slovenian striker had a slow start to life at Old Trafford but since Michael Carrick’s return as interim boss, it’s Šeško who’s come good, scoring match winners and point saving goals since the turn of the year. The big man deserves to start more games in the hunt for Champions League qualification.

In the latest version of FotMob now available at your favourite app store, we’ve linked up with SciSports to bring you the best Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) insights currently available in the public domain.

Now, if you head to any player profile in the app - we’ve used Eberechi Eze in the example shown here - you’ll see a chart plotting their transfer value at any given point in their senior career.

What to know how much that new striker being linked to your club is going to cost? Wonder no more! The ETV is updated regularly and takes into account factors like player performance and development, age, remaining contract length, and how often, and at what level they currently play.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page to add them to your Following section.

Friday: The FA Cup fifth round starts with a repeat of Tuesday night’s Premier League fixture between Wolves and Liverpool. In Ligue 1, leaders PSG take on Monaco, the side they defeated in the Champions League just a couple of weeks ago. Álvaro Arbeloa will look to avoid a third straight loss when Real Madrid go to Celta Vigo. And in the Bundesliga, leaders Bayern clash with Gladbach, the side that were their chief rivals prior to the emergence of Dortmund as a major force.

Saturday: Away from the FA Cup, and the other noteworthy games we’ve already previewed, the main draw is likely to be Barcelona’s trip to Athletic Club. Hansi Flick’s side will be aiming to reestablish their four-point lead, or extend that lead at the top of LaLiga, depending on Madrid’s result tonight. Elsewhere, two of Istanbul’s big three, Beşiktaş and Galatasaray, face off in the SüperLig. And in MLS, Inter Miami are in the US capital to face DC United.

Sunday: Premier League sides Fulham and Leeds United play Championship opposition in the FA Cup. And Port Vale, bottom of League One and the lowest ranked side still in the competition, host top flight Sunderland. Just one weekend after playing out a 2-2 draw in the league, Glasgow rivals Rangers and Celtic meet in the quarterfinals of the Scottish Cup. And across a number of European nations the fixture gods have scheduled a host of big derbies, including the Hajduk Split vs. Dinamo Zagreb game we mentioned in the Must Reads section.

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

This could be a decisive weekend in a number of Europe’s top leagues, with big derbies and title rivals all in play. And if you haven’t heard about Real Betis’ scratch and sniff kit, or the long awaited feature we’ve launched in the app, read on for more details.

Arsenal vs. Chelsea

It’s all about the two two in the Premier League at the moment, with Mikel Arteta's Gunners holding a five point advantage over experienced chasers Manchester City.

For their part, Arsenal don't play until Sunday, when they take on London rivals Chelsea at the Emirates. The two capital city clubs faced each other in the semifinals of the Carabao Cup only recently, with Arsenal victorious in both legs, results that set up the distraction of next month's final against City!

Chelsea did hold the Gunners to a draw in the reverse fixture back in November and they boast the second best away record in the division having won six and drawn four of their 13 games on the road.

In Viktor Gyökeres, though, Arsenal do appear to have a striker finding his form at just the right time of the season. No Premier League player has scored more goals than the Swede so far in 2026 (8 in all comps). If he can finally do it here, against a big side in the league itself, his critics may have to change their tune.

Sunday, 4.30pm GMT, 11.30am EST

Leeds United vs. Man City

Man City, who play on Saturday, do have the chance to cut Arsenal’s lead down to two points. And with a game in hand up their sleeves to come, a win at Leeds would heap a whole lot of pressure back on to the Gunners.

This is a position that Pep Guardiola sides appear to thrive in, coming up on the rails, and eking out results. Whether this particular City side can do that in this title race remains to be seen, but the signs are there. The Cityzens have followed a patchy start to the year with wins in each of their last three league games, with Erling Haaland's new found ability to create goals as well as score them resulting in four goal contributions across those wins.

Leeds United, under the lights at Elland Road, do pose a threat though, especially when you consider that Daniel Farke's team have lost just two of their last 12 league games. That's a run that has seen the Yorkshire club move up to 15th in the table and put six points between themselves and the relegation zone.

They will undoubtedly make this one a tough slog for City.

Saturday, 5.30pm GMT, 12.30pm EST

Borussia Dortmund head into a weekend showdown with Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich looking to defend a 16-game unbeaten run in the league that dates back to October.

Sadly for Nico Kovač, there has been little fanfare about the side with the last unbeaten home record in the division because the last team to beat them, and indeed the only team to have beaten them anywhere all season, Bayern Munich, are still so far ahead of them in the standings.

Dortmund have, of course, also just suffered a humiliating reverse in the Champions League, losing a two-goal aggregate lead in defeat to Atalanta.

Conceding four goals in Europe was not ideal preparation for facing Vincent Kompany’s lethal attack. Bayern’s 85 goals in 23 games marks them out as the top scorers across all of Europe’s top five leagues. Harry Kane has 28 of those goals on his own.

And should Bayern win again here, that would give them what is, presumably, an unassailable lead in the title race.

Saturday, 5.30pm GMT, 12.30pm EST

LaLiga title race

We haven’t given much time to the current picture in LaLiga in recent newsletters, so we've saved this section to preview what’s coming up for Barcelona and eternal rivals Real Madrid.

After two rounds where Madrid have played first and Barcelona have followed, knowing exactly what result they need to keep pace at the top of the table, the roles are reversed this weekend.

With only a point separating the two opposing forces in LaLiga, the pressure is intense. Barcelona cracked two weeks ago, losing at Girona, then, last weekend, it was the turn of Álvaro Arbeloa’s side to suffer a defeat as they went down to a 90th minute dagger blow at Osasuna. Barca went on to beat Levante and go back to the top of the table.

On paper, Hansi Flick’s defending champions have the harder fixture, as they face third placed Villarreal, a side who’ve beaten them on each of their last two visits to Barcelona.

Madrid did prevail in their grudge match against Benfica in the Champions League during the week but the performance was again far from convincing. Luckily, though, Getafe are the visitors to the Bernabéu on Sunday. Madrid have won their last eight games against the side from the capital’s suburbs, conceding just once in the process.

Last week, Real Betis wore the latest of their special edition Forever Green kits in celebration of their annual sustainability match. This kit is really rather special, with over 16% of the organic material used to make the shirts derived from orange peel, and even scratch and sniff technology that means when rubbed, the numbers give off the scent of oranges.

With the citrus fruit synonymous with the Andalusian city of Seville, we think they really should have saved the kit for this weekend’s edition of ‘El Gran Derbi’ between Betis and Sevilla. With this being one of the most heated rivalries in Spanish football, the likelihood of some good ol’ argy-bargy, and thus, the release of a delicious sweet orangey smell would have added something to proceedings!

Both sides come in to the derby on a good run of form having lost one of their last five in the league, but neither have a lot to play for in terms of table position. Betis sit fifth but are comfortably occupying the Europa League qualification spot - six points down on Atlético Madrid above them, and five above sixth placed Celta Vigo. They will also find out their Round of 16 opponents in this year’s Europa League at today's draw.

Sevilla are midtable, five points clear of a congested relegation scrap, but still with work to do to avoid being dragged into it, as they were last season. They've been steady but unspectacular under Argentine boss Matias Almeyda but even that has been some improvement on the turbulence of the past few years.

Sunday, 5.30pm GMT, 12.30pm EST

Sticking with Spanish football but dropping down a division, we'd like to bring the LaLiga2 title race to your attention. Here, just four points separate the top four, and there's some classic names involved in the battle.

Obviously, the news that Cristiano Ronaldo has taken out a 25% stake in Saudi-backed Almería means a lot more eyes will be on the league during the run in, but this weekend sees a meeting between the top two, Racing Santander and Castellón.

Castellón haven’t played in LaLiga since they suffered relegation at the end of the 1990/91 season, and have spent more time in the third and fourth tiers than they have this division in the intervening 35 years. After narrowly avoiding relegation last season, Castellón know a win over leaders Racing would be their ninth in a row at home, and take them to the top of the table.

The current leaders, Racing Santander, will be a much more familiar name for those of you of a certain age. Former top flight stalwarts in the 1990s and 2000s, Racing have themselves been in the wilderness since relegation in 2011. Financial issues even saw them drop to the third tier amid protests and suspensions from the Copa Del Rey in the not too distant past.

Now, though, with a successful Copa run that was ended by Barcelona in the quarter-finals behind them, Racing can concentrate on the final 15 games of the league campaign.

Saturday, 8pm GMT, 3pm EST

Looking ahead to the latest Old Firm Derby

With Hearts currently boasting a four point lead over Rangers, and Celtic a further two points back in third, it's now or never for the Old Firm if one of them wants to wrestle back control in the Scottish title race. The two meet on Sunday so click through for our match preview. Rangers beat their Glasgow rivals 3-1 in January, with Celtic winning by the same margin in November’s League Cup semifinal, so we’re expecting goals.

Dro Fernández is getting his chance at PSG

The 18-year-old graduate of Barcelona's La Masia didn't really get a look in this season, with Hansi Flick even questioning the youngster’s desire. Since moving to PSG, though, Fernández has already featured four times and clocked up more minutes in Ligue 1 than he did in LaLiga.

Viktor Gyökeres is coming good just in time

With 10 Premier League goals to his name, Arsenal's Swedish frontman is hitting form at a crucial time in the season. Of all the big name strikers signed by team in the league last summer, only João Pedro has scored more. And the two should face off against each other this weekend.

Wrexham are the Championship’s entertainers

After a slow start to life back in England's second tier, the Welsh club's meteoric rise up the divisions continues, with Phil Parkinson’s side currently occupying a playoff spot and dreaming of a fourth promotion in four years. The manager's usual pragmatic style has gone out the window as 29 goals have flown in over their last 12 games!

We finally went and did it. After years of requests from users, and months of design work behind the scenes, we've brought heatmaps to FotMob.

If you haven’t already updated your app this week, check your app store now, and make sure you install our latest release. Or check it out on the web, right here.

You can then check any game with advanced data coverage and better understand how each player has impacted the action by clicking on their icon in the line-up page to view their heatmap. The example shown above comes from Bodø/Glimt’s famous victory at San Siro in the Champions League, where ex-AC Milan player Jens Petter Hauge tormented Inter.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page to add them to your Following section.

Friday: Midlands rivals Wolves and Aston Villa get the weekend started in the Premier League and Lens go to Strasbourg with the possibility of going back to the top of Ligue 1. The top two in Portugal both play, with Porto home to Arouca, and Sporting playing Estoril. And we have the first Bohemian vs. Shamrock Rovers Derby of the new season in Ireland.

Saturday: Liverpool vs. West Ham and Newcastle vs. Everton are the pick of the games in England that we haven’t covered elsewhere. Inter need to pick themselves up after that Champions League shock vs. Bodø/Glimt as they face Genoa back in Serie A. Hearts face Aberdeen as they look to build on their points lead in Scotland, and fairytale Swiss Pro League champions elect FC Thun are also in action. Back in Ligue 1, PSG visit Le Havre.

Sunday: Michael Carrick tests his unbeaten start as Manchester United welcome Crystal Palace to Old Trafford. Marseille vs. Lyon and Roma vs. Juventus are some heavyweight games in France and Italy, respectively. Ángel Di María's Rosario Central take on archrivals Newell’s Old Boys in the first major clásico of the Argentine season, and there’s an all-Floridian clash in MLS as Orlando City face Inter Miami.

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

With news on all the important league games taking place over the next few days, and some stories we believe might be of interest from elsewhere, The Assist is here to help you get the best from the FotMob app.

Spurs vs. Arsenal

Derby Days are usually nervy affairs, but this North London Derby, being played at this stage, in this Premier League campaign could have fans of both sides screaming in to their club scarfs.

Spurs welcome new interim manager Igor Tudor for his first game in the run in to their calamitous season. The former Juventus boss, sacked in October, takes over with Spurs five points clear of the relegation zone but with an in-form West Ham looking to close that gap when they play Bournemouth on Saturday evening.

Arsenal still have a similar five point lead over their rivals in the title race but having won just three of their eight leagues games since the the turn of the year, and slipping to back-to-back draws from winning positions against Brentford and Wolves in their last two, not everything is going to plan for Mikel Arteta and his side.

At the moment, Arsenal are averaging marginally less points per game than they did in the 2023/24 season when Man City overhauled them late on to take the Premier League crown (2.2 points per game to 2.3).

Still, an upcoming game against Tottenham has been the tonic for more than a few sides searching for form this season, and recent history suggests the Gunners can head in to Sunday’s game with some confidence.

Arsenal have won on each of their last three visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and have triumphed in six of the last seven derbies played in the league. November’s previous meeting between the two produced one of the most talked about moments of the season - Eberechi Eze’s hattrick, scored just a few weeks after the England international snubbed Spurs to sign for the Gunners.

Sunday, 4.30pm GMT, 11.30am EST

Everton vs. Man United

With no European football for Manchester United this season, the Red Devils have often had their league games spread across the schedule to keep the TV companies happy. And this week is no different, with the trip to Everton held over to Monday night.

This should be an exciting contest though, Michael Carrick will be looking to extend his five-game unbeaten start to life as interim coach, and Everton are desperate to improve their record at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The Toffees have won just four games at their impressive new home, and none of their last six in all competitions. David Moyes’ side still sit eighth in the table, eight points down on fourth placed United, by virtue of their good away form. In 2026 alone, they’ve picked up two from a possible 12 points at home, but seven from nine on their travels.

To stop that from changing, Carrick’s rejuvenated United will need to find their shooting boots again. Having scored nine goals in their first four games under the former midfielder, United then struggled in front of goal against West Ham, generating just 0.57 xG in a game where they needed Benjamin Šeško’s 96th minute equaliser to earn them a point.

Monday, 8pm GMT, 3pm EST

MLS is back! The 2026 season starts in St. Louis on Saturday night but the majority of the outside attention will be on Saturday’s headline contest between the league’s two most marketable teams, and the two most marketable players (we caveat that with a honourable mention for Vancouver’s Thomas Müller).

LAFC, who finished third in the West last year, and eventually fizzled out in the playoffs, take on reigning MLS Cup champions Inter Miami. Lionel Messi, freshly back to full training following a hamstring injury scare, will lead a new-look Herons XI as they go to Son Heung-min’s California idyll.

It would be fair to say that Son’s impact on a club that have never been afraid of a Hollywood storyline has been dramatic. His signing caused a rush in ticket requests from the area’s large Korean diaspora and the amount of shirts sold with Son Heung-min’s name on in his first month at the club dwarfed those of Messi’s when he joined Miami in 2023, and reportedly, outsold every other athlete in the world!

On the pitch, Son registered 15 goal contributions in 12 starts after joining midseason in 2025. And in midweek, he registered FOUR more as LAFC played their first competitive match of the season, scoring once and laying on another three as they won 6-1 away to Honduran opposition in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

Inter Miami have yet to play in that continental competition but Javier Macherano’s side have been touring South America for a series of friendlies. They won just once, but both Messi and new marquee signing, the Argentine-born Mexican international Germán Berterame scored in their most recent outing, a draw with Ecuadorians Barcelona.

Saturday, 9.30pm EST / Sunday, 2.30am GMT

RB Leipzig vs. Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund are quietly enjoying a very successful season in the Bundesliga. They’ve lost just one of their 22 games, going 15 games unbeaten since that solitary defeat, which came all the way back in October. Frontman Serhou Guirassy has also been in form of late, scoring in each of his last four and with six goals coming in that run.

Sadly, of course, their noisier rivals from Munich are making all the headlines - Vincent Kompany’s Bayern are the team that beat Dortmund, and they currently hold a six point lead in the table while boasting a goal difference of +63.

With the second Klassiker of the season coming up next weekend, Dortmund must, therefore, get a result when they go to Leipzig on Saturday. Niko Kovać cannot afford a slip up here.

Leipzig also started the season strongly, losing just once before December. They have, however, lost their fizz since then, losing four of their consequent nine games. Ole Werner will be looking to breakout star Yan Diomande to lead the charge against one of the best defences in the division.

Saturday, 5.30pm GMT, 12.30pm EST

A quick look at the 2. Bundesliga table will give you a sense of just how many sleeping giants of German football currently lie in the second tier. Leaders Schalke have been national champions on seven occasions. Darmstadt (second), Hannover (fourth), and Hertha Berlin (sixth) all have two Bundesliga titles to their name.

The true outliers are third placed Elversberg. But this is no fluke. The team from a small town of no more than 13,000 people, in Saarland, close to the French border, also finished third last season. They missed out on what would have been a historic third promotion in just four seasons due to defeat in the promotion/relegation playoff, against Heidenheim, the side who’d finished third bottom of the Bundesliga.

Elversberg’s journey from the regional fourth tier to a possible first-ever promotion to the top flight is based on a plan formulated by the Huzler family, local entrepreneurs who, as the local legend goes, sat down in a pub a few years ago, and sketched out a route to the top.

Now, with the backing of their community, a canny transfer policy, and a focus on youth, they’re close to fulfilling those plans.

Standing in the way of Elversberg are some formidable divisional rivals, clubs with some significant financial backing and history behind them. None more so than Schalke, who have been boosted by the inspired recent signing of Bosnian legend Edin Džeko in January.

The 39-year-old former Premier League and Bundesliga champion had been playing for struggling Serie A side Fiorentina, where he scored just twice in 18 games, having returned to Italian football after two very fruitful seasons with Fenerbahçe in Türkiye.

But any fears that one of Europe’s elite strikers of the 2010s and early 2020s was finally running out of gas, and was looking for one last paycheck, have been blown away. Džeko scored 20 minutes into his debut at the end of January. He’s been pictured bouncing around the training ground like a teenager and playing with a smile on his face. A further four goal contributions have come in the three games that have followed.

Could he be the difference maker that fires Schalke back to the Bundesliga after three seasons away? The 2. Bundesliga run in is going to be fun to watch. And for the leaders, it starts with a game against Magdeburg this weekend.

Saturday, 7.30pm GMT, 2.30pm EST

Liverpool’s get out of jail card 

Dominik Szoboszlai’s performances this season have seen him become the first name of the team sheet for Arne Slot, with his positional versatility, and goalscoring ability proving vital for the faltering Premier League champions.

Is Diego Simeone’s time at Atlético finally coming to an end?

The longest serving manager in LaLiga has been in trouble before, but with new ownership behind the scenes, could Atleti now be planning for a post-Simeone world? Inconsistency has plagued them this season, with every massive win followed quickly by a setback.

Vedat Muriqi is the best of the rest in LaLiga

Kylian Mbappé, obviously, leads the way in the scoring charts for Spain’s top division, but Mallorca’s talisman is next best, with the Kosovar netting 16 times in 23 games for a side fighting against relegation.

Scotland has a genuine title race

Hearts still lead in the Scottish Premiership but the Old Firm are just behind them, biting at their heels. With six games to go before the league splits just three points separate the top three, with Rangers and Celtic equally determined to maintain their 40-year duopoly on the title.

We’re a few weeks in since the launch of our all-new enhanced live text commentary, so it’s time for a reminder of this still-new feature that we offer for all the biggest fixtures.

Now, if you find yourselves following a game via our commentary tab you have the opportunity to react to match events as they happen, get involved in live polls, and even have your opinions heard in real time.

We’re publishing fan takes, bringing in expert punditry, and sourcing imagery to give you a sense of the atmosphere. All simple things, but done really well.

Make sure you get our latest update from your app store and give it a try over the weekend. Join the thousands who’ve already had their say.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page to add them to your Following section.

Friday: Local rivals Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End meet in the EFL Championship. Marseille go to Brest in Ligue 1, giants Boca Juniors and Racing face off in the fledgling new season in Argentina, and at the third time of asking, following two postponements, Shamrock Rovers may kick off their title defence in Ireland.

Saturday: LaLiga leaders Real Madrid go to Osasuna. In the Premier League, Man City and Newcastle United meet for the third time already in 2026 (with a fifth meeting of the season due in the FA Cup soon). Chelsea host Burnley, German league leaders Bayern play Eintracht Frankfurt, Ligue 1 title rivals Lens and PSG are both in action. And Inter can build on their seven point lead in Serie A when they take on Lecce.

Sunday: There’s a big potential story in the EFL Championship as Sheffield United could relegate arch-rivals Sheffield Wednesday in the Steel City Derby. Liverpool’s trip to Nottingham Forest is the pick of three afternoon kick-offs in the Premier League. Milan entertain Parma at San Siro and Barcelona, playing catch up, host Levante at Camp Nou.

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

Friday is here again and we’re back with all the usual information to help you ease in to another weekend full of noteworthy games. The world’s oldest Cup competition dominates proceedings in England, while the title race continues unabated elsewhere in Europe. We’ve got news, too, of a Concacaf oddity, and a Must Reads section that errr…must be read.

Arsenal vs. Wigan Athletic

The FA Cup Fourth round gets underway this evening and for those Premier League giants still in the competition, it’s a chance for a bit of breathing space away from the relentless pressure of the league campaign.

Mikel Arteta may feel his Arsenal side need it more than most, especially after Thursday’s frustrating draw away at Brentford saw them miss out on the opportunity of going six points clear of chasers Manchester City.

The Gunners welcome League One strugglers Wigan Athletic to the Emirates on Sunday. Some 13 years after their finest hour, when Wigan upset City to lift the 2012/13 FA Cup, they find themselves embroiled in a relegation scrap, and managerless having sacked Ryan Lowe last week.

Wigan have yo-yo’ed between England’s second and third tier since their glory days but are now at serious risk of dropping to the bottom division of the EFL in a season where they’ve picked up just seven league wins. They did, however, beat local rivals Preston North End to reach this stage.

Wigan and Arsenal haven’t met since the 2014 semifinals, the year after the Latics’ fairytale trophy win and the season when despite being in the second division, the Lancashire side were also enjoying their only ever foray into European competition, competing in the Europa League.

Arsenal won a nervy contest on penalties, a game Arteta played in, before then going on to win the final that year. Arteta will be hoping for a more relaxing affair, and a chance to rotate his team, this time around.

Sunday, 4.30pm GMT, 11.30am EST

Man City vs. Salford City

Elsewhere in the FA Cup, there’s a repeat of a local derby that was played for the first time in the competition just over a year ago.

The Class of 92-funded Salford City made the five mile trip to Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium for a third round clash that resulted in their worst ever competitive defeat, a 8-nil thrashing that featured goals from Jérémy Doku, a masterclass from Jack Grealish, and a hattrick from James McAtee, who now finds himself largely sitting on the bench at Nottingham Forest.

12 months on, Salford are once again going well in the cup - this will be the first time they’ve ever played in the fourth round - and looking to secure a place in the League Two playoffs. Having missed out by a point at the end of last season, manager Karl Robinson will be determined to get that right come May.

For now, he returns to the Etihad with a side that has won five of their last seven, and with the backing of an away end that will likely outnumber their usual average home crowd.

For City, having put ten past third tier Exeter in the last round, it’s another chance to flex their muscles, give fringe players some game time, and get their forwards in the goals. If there is to be some of that old FA Cup magic this weekend, it’s unlikely that an upset will come here.

Saturday, 3pm GMT, 10am EST

Inter boss Cristian Chivu comes in to Sunday’s Derby d’Italia with a point to prove. He may have lead Inter back to the top of the table, where the Milan side currently boast an eight point lead over city rivals AC, who sit second, but his side are getting a reputation for not turning up for the big games.

Inter have failed to beat defending champions Napoli home and away, they lost to Milan, and they lost the earlier meeting between these two in Turin, with Juventus coming from behind to edge a seven-goal thriller back in September.

That game was Derby Day football played at it’s chaotic best and it was won by a 30-yard, stoppage time piledriver, from Juve’s Vasilije Adžić.

The corresponding fixture last season also produced a 4-4 draw. The Derby d’Italia is developing a reputation for entertainment that Italian football has not always had! But Chivu will want to change the narrative in terms of recent results.

This game will also feature two of the most unlikely form players in the league, at least in terms of goal contributions. Inter wingback Federico Dimarco has won our player of the match award in each of his last four games, having scored twice and assisted a further six goals.

For Juve, the ever-versatile, Weston McKennie has scored seven times since the appointment of current coach Luciano Spalletti in October, making him the highest scoring midfielder in the country during this time.

Saturday, 7.45 GMT, 2.45pm EST

Girona vs. Barcelona

After Barcelona’s surprise first half capitulation at Atlético Madrid in the first leg of their Copa Del Rey semifinal on Thursday, Hansi Flick has until Monday to shake his team out of their stupor.

The current leaders of LaLiga play last in what is the 24th round of the season, with there being every chance that they’ll need a result to go back to the top of the table. That’s if Real Madrid can leapfrog them by ending Pellegrino Matarazzo’s unbeaten start to life as coach of Real Sociedad when they meet on Saturday night.

Barca travel to fellow Catalans Girona, where longterm goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen was sent out on loan last month. Ter Stegen won’t feature here - he’s ineligible, but also injured once again.

After a very slow start to the campaign, where Girona won just one of their opening 10 games, things have picked up, and the City-group owned club now start the weekend sat 12th, albeit still only four points clear of the drop zone.

The congested nature of LaLiga, both in the middle of the pack, and for those in the title race, means that every point will be keenly fought over. Flick can’t afford another misstep here.

Monday, 8pm GMT, 3pm EST

The Concacaf Champions Cup, the North and Central American equivalent of the Champions League, always throws up an intriguing story or two. For every Mexican grandee, like Club América or Tigres, or MLS mega-franchise, like Inter Miami or LAFC, there’s a lesser known team competing from elsewhere in the federation.

Last season, our favourite was Robin Hood, from Suriname, and this year, it’s Defence Force FC, Trinidad’s most successful football club. The side, historically made up of players from Trinidad and Tobago’s army and coast guard, enter the tournament after finishing third in the Caribbean Cup qualifying tournament.

They face MLS Supporters’ Shield holders Philadelphia Union in the first round of the Champions Cup but they boast an impressive history in the competition. Defence Force have actually won it twice since their inception in 1974, lifting the trophy in 1978 and again in 1985, making them the last Caribbean side to do so.

Wednesday, 6pm EST, 11pm GMT

French side Olympique Lyonnais looked like they were in a mess at the start of the season but having avoided an administrative relegation to Ligue 2 due their financial mismanagement, Lyon are now riding high and remain in contention on three fronts - the league, the Coupe de France, and the Europa League.

Amazingly, Lyon have won all seven games they’ve played in 2026, and their winning run stretches back to 12 games across all competitions.

Last weekend’s 1-0 victory at Nantes cemented their third place position in the table, and was achieved despite the sending off of Real Madrid loanee Endrick. The Brazilian has epitomised Lyon’s current resilience (until that red card!), scoring five times and assisting twice in the six games he’s played since joining the club.

Paulo Fonseca’s side may be nine points off top spot but he’s built a strong squad mentality that could see them go all the way in one of the cups. Lyon even finished top of the league phase table in the Europa League having won seven out of their eight matches.

Coming up, there’s a clash against an out of sorts Nice side to negotiate this weekend, before tricky league ties against Marseille and Strasbourg, two of the sides around them in the table, and then a Coupe de France quarterfinal against Lens, PSG’s main rivals for the title this season.

Sunday, 7.45pm GMT, 2.45pm EST

Luka Vušković bossing the Bundesliga at 18

The Spurs centre-back has been tearing it up on loan at Hamburg in what is his first season playing in one of Europe’s big five leagues. He’s already scored four goals, won more headers than anyone else in the division, and cleared the ball a staggering 151 times in 18 games.

James Rodríguez will be suiting up in MLS in 2026

Colombian World Cup legend James Rodríguez hasn’t played a lot of club football in recent seasons but his decision to join unfancied MLS franchise Minnesota United and spend World Cup year preparing in the same country as the tournament is being held makes a lot of sense.

Donnarumma is the bargain transfer signing of the season

At ‘just’ £29m, Manchester City got themselves one of the best shotstoppers in the business and the kind of goalkeeper who guarantees you points. Italy’s No. 1 has already shown his class in the Premier League.

Here’s a reminder of the new and improved match insights that you can find in the pre-match details for any upcoming game.

Full of useful statistics and interesting nuggets of information that should give you an idea of what you’re side are up against. For instance, recent form suggests that things do not look good for Werder Bremen tomorrow, especially if Harry Kane and Micheal Olise feature for opponents Bayern Munich.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page to add them to your Following section.

Friday: The FA Cup fourth round kicks off with some intriguing ties - Wrexham take on Ipswich, with both teams currently involved in the promotion race in the EFL Championship, and Chelsea visit Hull City, another second tier side performing well this season. PSG travel to Rennes looking to extend their lead in Ligue 1, while Dortmund and Milan, the sides sat second in the Bundesliga and Serie A respectively, both play their games tonight.

Saturday: Aston Villa vs. Newcastle United and Liverpool vs. Brighton gives us two all-Premier League ties in the FA Cup, while in LaLiga, Real Madrid can go top of the table with victory over Real Sociedad. In France, Marseille vs. Strasbourg should be interesting following the departure of Roberto De Zerbi this week, and in Germany, there’s that foregone conclusion we mentioned between Werder Bremen and leaders Bayern.

Sunday: If we are to see a non-Old Firm title winner in Scotland for the first time since the 1980s, then Hearts will need to avoid defeat in games like the one they have coming up against Rangers. Napoli play Roma in Serie A, and there’s the always atmospheric derby between Austria and Rapid Vienna. We’ll also be looking out to see if Raheem Sterling features following his surprise move to Feyenoord, as they take on Go Ahead Eagles.

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

There’s some massive football matches coming up in the next few days, with Big Six clashes in the Premier League, PSG vs. Marseille in France, and first vs. third in the Bundesliga. We also dive in to stories around the fifth round of the Scottish Cup and take a look at Benfica’s bizarre season under José Mourinho.

Liverpool vs. Man City

For so long, in the not-so-distant past, this would be the defining game of the Premier League season. With Arsenal on top, City second, and the Reds down in sixth, that’s perhaps not the case in this particular campaign, but it remains one of the go-to fixtures for fans of the English top flight.

Arne Slot’s title defence has long since been conceded but now, with his summer signings finally starting to gel - the in-form Bundesliga imports Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz in particular - Liverpool have been building a little bit of momentum. Both scored in last weekend’s 4-1 demolition of Newcastle and both now have four goals and two assists in their last six appearances.

Apart from January’s late heartbreak against Bournemouth, the Reds have won or drawn 11 of their last 12 league games.

Too many draws have cost Liverpool their place in the title race, and ultimately, it may be a similar story for Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side sit six points behind Arsenal having won just once in the league since the turn of the year.

Last week’s capitulation from two-nil up to drawing 2-2 with Spurs was their fourth draw in six games played in 2026. City do, however, remain dominant in the cups, completing a 5-1 aggregate victory over Newcastle in the Carabao Cup semifinals during the week. They are also the top scorers in the league this season.

Sunday, 4.30pm GMT, 11.30am EST

Man United vs. Spurs

The Saturday lunchtime slot pits another two of England’s so-called Big 6 against each other as Spurs travel to Manchester United.

Spurs currently enjoy their best ever head-to-head record against United, having won three and drawn three of their last six meetings in the league. According to the Opta Analyst, only Chelsea have enjoyed a better run against the Manchester club in the 21st century!

That said, none of those previous six league meetings have come with United saviour Michael Carrick at the helm! The change of mood at Old Trafford since Carrick’s latest interim appointment as manager has been nothing short of revolutionary.

As we detailed in this article, published today, the former midfielder has got a lot of the basics right. He’s made common sense tactical decisions to fix what was wrong with Ruben Amorim’s strict formation and the results have been immediate. Back-to-back-to-back wins over Man City, Arsenal, and Fulham give Carrick an 100% record so far.

Spurs will look to test that, but on current form question marks remain over manager Thomas Frank, especially with the Londoners still winless in the league in 2026.

Saturday, 12.30pm GMT, 7.30am EST

PSG and Marseille, the two great powers of French football, met in Kuwait just last month to decide the Trophée des Champions, the Super Cup. That match was won by Luis Enrique’s side, on penalties, following a dramatic 2-2 draw that featured a trademark stoppage time equaliser from PSG supersub Gonçalo Ramos.

Now, they face each other back in Ligue 1, with the reigning champions currently holding a narrow two point lead over Lens at the top of the table, and Marseille, a further seven points back in third.

There were wild scenes when Roberto De Zerbi led Marseille to a 1-0 victory over their rivals back in September, when they met for the first time this season. That remains one of only two league defeats that the Champions League holders have suffered in Ligue 1, the other coming against Monaco in late November.

Slowly but surely, PSG have dragged themselves back to their customary position at the top of French football. Not as free-scoring as they have been previously, but with a mean defence. Marseille have outgunned them, scoring 46 goals to PSG’s 43, but only Lens can match the league-low 16 goals that the Parisians have conceded.

Sunday, 7.45 GMT, 2.45pm EST

Bayern Munich vs. Hoffenheim

Surprise package Hoffenheim are currently on course to match their best ever finish in the Bundesliga as they come in to the weekend sat third in the Bundesliga. They might be nine points below leaders Bayern Munich, their opponents on Sunday, but their total of 42 points after 20 games is the record ever tally for a side placed third in the table at this point in the season.

We’ve spoken about the firepower Vincent Kompany has at his disposal at Bayern in the newsletter previously (74 goals scored in 20 and counting), but Christian Ilzer’s Hoffenheim have the next best return (43 in 20). TSG also boast the third best defensive record, behind top two Bayern and Dortmund.

On paper, Hoffenheim should be a good test for Bayern, having won six of their last seven games, and with Bayern currently on their worst run of the season having drawn and lost in their last two!

Sunday, 4.30pm GMT, 11.30am EST

No, we’re not here to discuss the famed military might of one Ancient Greeces’ most feared and revered city states. We’re here to talk about one of the lowest ranked sides still left in the Scottish Cup as the competition reaches the fifth round this weekend!

Spartans FC, originally formed as a alumni side for graduates of Edinburgh University in the 1950s, have been a regular feature in Scotland’s premier cup competition since their days in the country’s equivalent of non-league. Now, they’ve matched their best ever run in the Cup, in what is just their third season as a fully fledged member of the SPFL.

These are heady times for the Spartans as they currently top League Two by six points, and hold their highest-ever league position, as they prepare for the trip to Premiership side Dundee United in the last 16 of the Cup. A lot of credit for their success must go to longterm coach Douglas Samuel, who’s been with the club for over 20 years, and received one of the UK’s greatest honours, the MBE, for his services to the youth community that Spartans serve around their base in the north of Scotland’s capital.

The Spartans defeated another famous name of Scottish football, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, on penalties, in the previous round but will be looking to make history, and go one better tomorrow afternoon.

Saturday, 3pm GMT, 10am EST

Life is never simple with José Mourinho at the helm. His return to Benfica for this season was supposed to be a true full circle moment for a managerial career that started out here in dramatic fashion at the Lisbon giants back in the year 2000 (he lasted 10 games!).

After 20 games of the season, Benfica remain unbeaten in the Liga Portugal, but have drawn too many games and find themselves a relatively distant third in the table. They’ve also been knocked out of two domestic cup competitions.

The following is an extract from a story on Benfica’s season that we published this week:

“Even José was amazed by what he saw, telling Paramount+ after their dramatic win over Real Madrid: “I’ve won and lost many matches, but I had never won one with my goalkeeper scoring in the last minute. I thought I had seen everything in football, but in the end, I hadn’t.”

So, what next? Well, it was one hell of a moment, but once the dust settled, there was still plenty of work to be done. Benfica travelled to lowly Tondela for their next league game, and it ended in a frustrating 0-0 draw.”

Ekitike vs. Haaland, the tale of two strikers?

Ahead of Sunday’s headline clash between Liverpool and Manchester City, we took a look at two of the potential protagonists, one currently bang in form, and another who is going through a surprisingly barren spell…by his own lofty standards.

Keinan Davis and Udinese are Serie A disruptors

The English-born striker, who may well have a part to play as Jamaica look to qualify for the World Cup later this year, has been enjoying a fruitful season at Italian club Udinese. We spoke to him as he sets his sights on his best ever scoring return.

Antonio Vergara, Napoli’s homeground star unlocked

Staying in Italy, Antonio Conte has been forced to dig deep as his defending champions suffer something of an injury crisis, but it has unearthed 23-year-old talent Antonio Vergara. A diamond in the rough.

If you’ve ever dreamt of being that Michael Carrick figure, parachuted in to rescue your beloved beleaguered club, to live out your best Football Manager fantasies, the FotMob line-up builder might be for you.

Currently found at fotmob.com only, you can create a team in your image! Select from one of our pre-built formations, you can then auto-select players from any team found on FotMob, or simply click and search to replace individual players with your ideal transfer signings.

Then, download your team graphic to share with your mates, or online. Tell everyone exactly who the manager should be starting this weekend.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page to add them to your Following section.

Friday: Leeds United vs. Nottingham Forest, 16th vs. 17th, kicks off the weekend in the Premier League. The new League of Ireland gets underway with champions Shamrock Rovers hosting Dundalk, and we’ll wait to see whether Cristiano Ronaldo starts for Al Nassr after his one-man protest regarding recent events in the Saudi Pro League.

Saturday: Premier League leaders Arsenal take on Sunderland while Chelsea go to bottom side Wolves in two traditional 3pm kickoffs. Barcelona host Mallorca, who in Vedat Muriqi, have one of the most inform strikers in LaLiga, and Lens know a win over Rennes will put them back on top of Ligue 1 ahead of PSG’s involvement in Le Classique.

Sunday: In LaLiga, title-chasing Real Madrid visit Valencia, and Atlético Madrid play Real Betis for a second time in four days after beating them in the Copa Del Rey on Thursday. Serie A leaders Inter travel to Sassuolo, while Juventus at at home to Lazio. And back in the Premier League, Brighton and Crystal Palace renew hostilities in their regional dispute.

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

After a hectic week where a lot got decided in UEFA’s club competitions, Europe’s elite get back to league business this weekend. Here, we take a look at the form book in the Premier League, discuss some pressing matters from elsewhere, and discover our new favourite team in Malaysia. You can also read on for news of a new FotMob update that was released in the last few days.

Leeds vs. Arsenal

After recording a record eighth-straight win to top the league phase table in the Champions League, Arsenal can focus all their attention on getting back on track in the league. Viktor Gyökeres, Gabriel Jesus, and the returning Kai Havertz have all found the net in recent games, with that strength in depth being a key tenet of Arteta’s plans for this season.

They face Leeds United this weekend, a side they rattled in five goals against when they last met back in August.

Daniel Farke has, however, steadied the ship at Elland Road, and no one in the Premier League has lost fewer games than Leeds since the start of December.

Striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has nine goals to his name this season and he has developed a knack for getting on the scoresheet in big games, scoring against Liverpool, Chelsea, and Man City already.

Saturday, 3pm GMT, 10am EST

Man United vs. Fulham

Speaking of Premier League form, only Manchester United and Chelsea have won both of their last two games in the whole of the division.

United now sit fourth in the table, eight points down on City and Villa but four points above seventh placed Fulham, the visitors to Manchester this weekend. The Londoners are one of the most exciting sides to watch at the moment, Marco Silva has his side playing some fine football, and in Harry Wilson, they have one of the most in-form midfielders out there - he has 10 goal involvements in his last 11 games. The Welshman is running his own personal goal of the season competition with his shots seemingly flying in from all angles.

Fulham have won four of their last seven league games but have a terrible record against United, winning just one of their last 20 meetings in the league.

Sunday, 2pm GMT, 9am EST

The Basque Derby is a largely friendly rivalry off the pitch, with television pictures beaming images of lone Athletic or Real Sociedad fans in the stands in their colours, despite being completely surrounded by opposition fans, or happy couples each wearing a different club shirt. On the pitch, it’s a different story.

This remains a battle between the two powerhouses of a proud autonomous region, Athletic with their Basque-only player rule, La Real with their equally proud traditions, and both operating supremely successful academies.

The November derby was notable not only for the high-scoring nature of Real Sociedad’s 3-2 win (uncommon in a derby), but also for it being the first derby ever won with a stoppage time goal. Both, however, have struggled for consistency this season, especially Athletic who have been juggling European commitments with the demands of LaLiga.

Real Sociedad appear to have turned a corner with the appointment of unheralded American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo. He’s picked up four wins from his five games, including a famous 2-1 victory over league leaders Barcelona.

Athletic Club were knocked out of the Champions League during the week and they will have to raise themselves for this one.

Sunday, 8pm GMT, 3pm EST

Strasbourg vs. PSG

Much was made of Liam Rosenior being promoted from within the BlueCo multiclub ownership group, swapping the Strasbourg dugout for the one at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge at the start of the year.

Rosenior had led the Alsace club back to European football with a seventh placed finish in Ligue 1 last season and he left them in a similarly healthy position this term. His replacement, former Bournemouth and Wolves manager, Gary O’Neil has carried on the good work, winning all three games he has overseen so far and with in-demand striker Joaquín Panichelli racking up five goal contributions during that time.

Now, though, they are preparing to face PSG, the newly-restored league leaders (and current European Champions). Luis Enrique’s perennial winners have been nipping at the heels of surprise title contenders Lens for the last few matchdays but finally overhauled them when the Blood and Gold slipped up at Marseille last weekend.

Despite a uncharacteristic run of low goalscoring, PSG still average over two goals a game, boast the league’s best defensive record, and hold the best away form (W6, D2, L2).

Saturday, 7.45pm GMT, 2.45pm EST

Kelatan The Real Warriors FC, with their fantastic full name, and their badge that looks like it belongs to the missing fifth house at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films might just be our new favourite team found on FotMob.

Currently plying their trade in the Malaysian Super League, the Real Warriors are on at least their fifth rebranding in their short 10 year history, and they have already faced some serious legal issues and a transfer embargo imposed by FIFA themselves. We, for one, hope they’ve finally stumbled upon an identity they can build around.

They go in to the weekend sat 11th in the 13-team division but with a five point cushion to the relegation zone and a home game against mid-table Penang to look forward to.

Saturday, 1pm GMT, 8am EST

The dream of back-to-back-to-back-to-back promotions is on for Wrexham and what is now the barely believable ‘Hollywood’ story of their recent successes continues at pace.

Last weekend’s epic comeback win at QPR, sealed by an equaliser on 90+3 and Oliver Rathbone’s winner on 90+4, saw the Welsh club move in to the top six of the Championship. That was a significant result in more ways than one.

Wrexham have dropped a staggering 20 points from winning positions in the league this season, more than any other club in the Championship. This time the roles were reversed!

Add those 20 points to their current tally and we’ll be talking about a title race and not just their chances of making the play-offs. Phil Parkinson’s side have a good opportunity to consolidate their position with a trip to bottom club Sheffield Wednesday coming up on Saturday lunchtime.

Wednesday went in to administration in October, have been deducted a total of 18 points for the current campaign, and are winless since September.

Saturday, 12.30pm GMT, 7.30am EST

Luis Suárez, the Sporting goal machine

No, not the aging Uruguayan legend still plugging away at Inter Miami, and no, not the Spanish striker who won the 1960 Ballon d’Or. This week we’ve been writing about the Luis Suárez that has replaced Viktor Gyökeres and is banging in the goals in Portuguese football.

Estêvão is ready to be unleashed on the Premier League

Protected perhaps a little too closely by Enzo Maresca, Liam Rosenior appears to have seen what even casual observers of Chelsea have understood this season. That Brazilian teenage talent Estêvão is the most exciting prospect at Stamford Bridge and his raw but skilful energy needs to be let loose on the rest of the league.

Lyon are flourishing despite the financial mess that surrounds them

The seven-time Ligue 1 champions looked like they were going to suffer an administrative relegation at the start of the season but having appeased French football’s governing body, Lyon have regrouped, performed well at home, and finished top of the league phase mega table in the Europa League.

This week we launched an all-new enhanced live text commentary that will be a feature of all major fixtures going forward.

If you find yourselves following a game via our commentary tab you will now, for the first time in FotMob history, have the opportunity to react to match events as they happen, get involved in live polls, and even have your opinions heard in real time.

We’re publishing fan takes, bringing in expert punditry, and sourcing imagery to give you a sense of the atmosphere. All simple things but done really well.

Make sure you get our latest update from your app store and give it a try over the weekend. We want to see those emojis raining in.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page to add them to your Following section.

Friday: Lens vs. Le Harve is perhaps the biggest game of note this evening. Victory for Lens would see them go back above PSG at the top of Ligue 1 and put the pressure back on Luis Enrique’s side. A win for Bristol City over Derby in the Championship would see them replace Wrexham in the play-off places.

Saturday: Chelsea vs. West Ham and Liverpool vs. Newcastle United should provide some evening entertainment as the Premier League’s two late kick-offs. Bayern will look to get back to winning ways when they visit Hamburg in the Bundesliga. Napoli vs. Fiorentina is a Serie A highlight, while Barcelona travel to mid-table Elche looking to maintain top spot in LaLiga. And there’s a derby in the A-League as Sydney take on Western Sydney Wanderers.

Sunday: Real Madrid meet Rayo Vallecano in an early kick-off. Manchester City go to Spurs in the Prem, while there are two top of the table clashes in the low countries. PSV vs. Feyenoord is first vs. second in the Netherlands, and Union St. Gilloise vs. Club Brugge is the same in Belgium. In Italy, in form Como face Atalanta and leaders Inter go to Jamie Vardy’s Cremonese.

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

There’s scores to settle all across Europe’s top leagues this weekend, and some at lower levels too. As usual, we’ve tried to cover it all, add a few interesting tidbits, and provide a useful tip from the app to keep you on top of your game.

Arsenal vs. Man United

Hostilities will be renewed between two of the Premier League’s most famous names as Manchester United head to the Emirates to face Arsenal on Sunday.

The Gunners are sitting pretty at the top of the table, safe with their seven point advantage, their watertight defence, and their near-infamous knack for scoring from set pieces.

Their second goal against Inter in the 3-1 Champions League win during the week was the 19th to have come from an Arsenal corner in all competitions this season. The first came back on the opening weekend of the Premier League, at Old Trafford, when Riccardo Calafiori’s early header decided the last meeting between these two old rivals.

Manchester United have been through a lot since then, and while Arsenal’s campaign has been near-faultless, United fans may finally now be feeling optimistic for the first time since that Sunday in August.

Michael Carrick’s interim spell in the dugout couldn’t have started much better. And if he can follow a comfortable 2-0 win over Manchester City by ending Arsenal’s current 12-game unbeaten run, the former United midfielder will find himself among the front-runners for the permanent job whenever that decision needs to be taken by the Old Trafford hierarchy.

Sunday, 4.30pm GMT, 11.30am EST

Villarreal vs. Real Madrid

Álvaro Arbeloa has barely gotten his feet under the desk in the head coaches’ office at the Bernabéu and he’s already facing a potentially pivotal game in LaLiga.

Having overseen games in three different competitions in his first three outings, Arbeloa now takes his team to Villarreal, the side sat third in the league - albeit one that are seven points worse off than Los Blancos going in to the weekend.

The main talking point is that Madrid could take over at the top of the table should they win. Thanks to Barcelona’ slip up last weekend, the gap between the two rivals is down to one point. If Arbeloa can seize the initiative here, it’ll go some way to alleviate the heat coming from a deharmonised fanbase in the wake of Xabi Alonso’s recent dismissal.

A repeat of the midweek performance put in by Madrid’s star players against Monaco in the Champions League would also help. We gave Vinícius Júnior a 9.4 FotMob rating for his goal and two assists while Kylian Mbappé got a 9.0 after his brace, and even Jude Bellingham was back on the scoresheet.

Saturday, 8pm GMT, 3pm EST

Ronaldinho once described the atmosphere at Fratton Park as the best in World football. But the Brazilian great only visited as part of an AC Milan side that were in Portsmouth for a UEFA Cup game back in 2008. He might have a different opinion if he was pulling on a Saints shirt and stepping out in to the febrile atmosphere of a South Coast Derby.

Portsmouth and Southampton played out a goalless draw at St. Mary’s back in September. But at Portsmouth, the heated nature of this rivalry will be felt even more keenly. The home crowd have been waiting a long time for this.

Back in the second tier for only a second season since back-to-back relegations in 2012 and 2013 saw them fall as far as League Two, Pompey are still trying to reestablish themselves at this level. Southampton have yo-yoed between the Premier League and the Championship but have regularly played at a higher level than their Hampshire neighbours in the recent past.

Seven points and six places (Saints are 15th, Pompey 21st) separate the sides ahead of the weekend, and with Portsmouth in dire need of a win to put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone, you can expect them to be going all out for the local bragging rights.

Sunday, 12pm GMT, 7am EST

Marseille vs. Lens

On Saturday night, we’ll see first take on third in Ligue 1, or possibly second vs. third depending on how defending champions PSG get on in their game later today.

For now, Lens remain the league’s surprise leaders. Although, we should probably stop calling them that, considering they’ve now won their last eight games straight in the league and conceded just three goals during that run. Pierre Sage’s team are there on merit — they work hard, they’re resilient, and their underlying numbers are good. They are the best team on the road, they have the meanest defence in the division and have created the most big chances (72) and the highest xG (34.8).

Roberto De Zerbi does, however, have Marseille playing in an even more attacking manner. L’OM have outscored everyone, averaging 2.3 goals per game and while that has only earned them 35 points to Lens’ 43 you can never write them off at the Vélodrome.

Saturday, 8.05pm GMT, 3.05pm EST

In the not too distant past, Marítimao were a top flight stalwart in Portuguese football, an island oddity that many football fans may have been familiar with from their exploits in Portugal’s domestic cups, and even the Europa League, where they faced off against Newcastle United as recently as the 2012/13 season.

Now, the side based in Madeira — an island in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 800km from the mainland — are riding high in the country’s second division. After three years away from the Liga Portugal, the Maritimistas sit seven points clear at the top of the table. This weekend they could stretch that lead with a win against midtable Felgueiras.

Presuming their rivals Nacional and Santa Clara, from the Azores, survive this season, promotion for Marítimao would mean we’ll see three island clubs in the top flight for the first time in five years.

Saturday, 2pm GMT, 9am EST

England’s fifth tier, the National League, is notoriously difficult to get out of. With all but a handful of it’s 24 teams now fully professional, the division is ‘non-league’ in status only. There are always more than a handful of sides who are well-equipped for promotion to League Two, so much so, there are calls at this point for the EFL to expand to a League Three.

Only one of those hopefuls can go up automatically, with one other promotion spot available to the end of season play-off winners. This is a legacy of the old protectionist Football League that only a generation or so ago demanded an election process to enter. At present, all teams in the fifth and sixth tiers are collectively campaigning for a third promotion spot to the hallowed uplands of the EFL.

This season looks even more competitive than normal, with six sides still in the title race. York City won at Carlisle United in midweek, a result that saw them take a one point lead in the table and sent Carlisle down to fourth. Second placed Rochdale have multiple games in hand on the sides around them and only four points separate the top five.

The three teams mentioned are all ex-football league members (14 out of the 24 in the division are, in some guise) so expectations are understandably high at each. Boreham Wood, who sit third, are this season’s best placed anomaly, riding high after promotion from the National League South.

Crunch time for Swiss fairytale FC Thun

FC Thun are aiming to ‘do a Leicester City’ in the Super League. Promoted back to the top flight this season, the side from the Switzerland’s 11th biggest city are defending a six point lead at the top of the table. We’ve profiled them here as they prepare for crucial back-to-back games against the country’s big two - Young Boys and Basel.

Ajax turn to a familiar name in order to restore some soul

Jordi Cruyff’s surname is synonymous with Ajax, with the stadium even named after his father. But now, after holding similar roles elsewhere in Europe, most notably at Barcelona, Jordi is back in Amsterdam to try and arrest the club’s slide down the Eredivisie pecking order as Technical Director.

Can Hearts last the distance in the Scottish title race?

With another game coming up against nearest rivals Celtic on Sunday, Derek McInnes’ side need to lay down another statement of intent. The Jam Tarts have led the table for three months now but they must keep going at full pace if they are to break the Old Firms’ 40-year hold on the Scottish championship come May.

This week, we’ve decided to remind you about the completely customisable TV Schedule that is available for all FotMob users. Never miss a game again!

Not only do we give details on how to watch upcoming games in individual match facts, we also have a separate feed that shows you every single game being broadcast or streamed in your region.

On iOS, you can find it by selecting TV schedule from the menu in the top right. On Android, you need to locate it via the More tab.

Next, make sure you have selected your country, and most useful of all, hit the next edit button to filter the channel list to show only those you have access to at home.

This is particularly pertinent this weekend, with a number of games we’ve previewed here being broadcast on channels you might not expect - for example, the Hamburg Derby between St. Pauli and HSV is on the BBC in the UK and ESPN in the States.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page to add them to your Following section.

Friday: Inter Milan could up open a six point lead in Serie A if they topple relegation threatened Pisa this evening. In France, PSG can once again leapfrog Lens at the top of the table, should they win away at Auxerre. But we’ve already mentioned what is perhaps the biggest game of the night, the Hamburg Derby being played in the Bundesliga.

Saturday: If you said a few weeks ago that Wolves would be the form side heading in to a game against Manchester City, no one would have believed you. But here we are - Wolves are unbeaten in five while City are yet to win in the league in 2026. Later, Bournemouth vs. Liverpool rounds off the day in the Premier League while Chelsea vs. Arsenal is the big game in the WSL. In Germany, Vincent Kompany’s all-conquering Bayern Munich side turn their attention to Bavarian rivals Augsburg while surprise package Hoffenheim go to Frankfurt.

Sunday: Serie A should provide some entertainment with Juventus vs. Napoli pitching fifth vs. third and Roma vs. Milan being fourth vs. second! Barcelona attempt to get back to winning ways in LaLiga when they face bottom side Real Oviedo and Crystal Palace’s home game against Chelsea is one of four Premier League games. And in Scotland, there’s the top of the table clash between leaders Hearts and chasers Celtic that we previewed in detail in the Must Reads section above.

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

The football world is a wide and varied one, and we’ve tried to bring you the best of everything in this edition of the newsletter. There’s all your usual big league game previews, plus a focus on the final of the African Cup of Nations and an inspiring story you might not have heard about from Cypriot football.

Man United vs. Man City

2026 is just 16 days old but Manchester United are set to be led out by a third different manager of the year, interim or otherwise, when they take on their City rivals on Saturday lunchtime.

Michael Carrick is the latest ex-player to be charged with steering the ship for the remainder of the campaign but it’s unlikely he would have picked Pep Guardiola and Manchester City as his dream first opponents. He has been here before, having led United for three unbeaten games in a previous interim spell back in 2021, and has since led Middlesbrough to fourth, eighth, and tenth place finishes in the Championship.

Both sides come into the Derby having drawn each of their last three league games, an anomaly that Opta report has not happened anywhere in the top flight since 2001. Since those three draws City have smashed ten past League One Exeter and come away with a 2-0 lead from the first leg of their Carabao Cup semifinal at Newcastle.

Notably, United have been knocked out of both domestic cups at the earliest opportunity, meaning a strong league finish is the best they can hope for this season. They start the weekend in seventh, 11 points behind second placed City, who in turn, sit six points down on leaders Arsenal.

Erling Haaland scored twice when the two sides met in September but the league’s top scorer is going through a relative dry spell, netting just once in his last six appearances. Now would be an opportune moment to improve that record, with City aiming to apply some pressure on the Gunners before they face Nottingham Forest later in the day.

Saturday, 12.30pm GMT, 7.30am EST

Real Sociedad vs. Barcelona

After a week that included lifting the Supercopa for the third time in four years, and avoiding a potential banana skin with victory at Racing Santander in the Copa Del Rey, Barcelona return to league action in fine form, with 11 straight wins across all competitions.

Hansi Flick’s defending champions resume their campaign in the Basque Country where they face a Real Sociedad side who appear to have turned a slight corner in their season. La Real are unbeaten in five heading into this one, a run that includes two draws and a win in the league.

Barca hold a four point lead over Real Madrid in the standings, and their awesome attacking prowess has seen them score 53 times at an average of 2.8 goals per game, something that might worry new Real Sociedad manager Pellegrino Matarazzo, whose side have only kept one clean sheet all season.

The American-born coach had been out of frontline work since leaving German club Hoffenheim in November 2024, so this will be by far the biggest test he has faced to date in Spanish football.

Sunday, 8pm GMT, 3pm EST

On paper, the stars appear to have aligned for Morocco. At a time when the nation’s stock in the footballing world is at its highest — four years after becoming the first African nation to reach a World Cup semifinal and four years before they themselves will host a portion of the 2030 World Cup — they have a chance to end a 50-year wait for Africa’s biggest crown.

And so far, the team have lived up to expectations on the pitch, conceding just one goal en route to the final (a penalty at that), and defeating both Cameroon and high-scoring Nigeria in the knockout stages. Real Madrid’s Brahim Díaz has been a revelation having found the net in five consecutive games (there’s more on him in the Must Reads further down).

The only hurdle standing in their way is, however, a formidable one. Senegal have built themselves a reputation in this tournament, reaching the final in three of the last four editions, and winning it in 2021. Sadio Mané’s goal was enough to see off Egypt in the semifinal and the Lions of Teranga will be counting on all of their big game savvy to get through this final encounter.

Sunday, 7pm GMT, 2pm EST

RB Leipzig vs. Bayern Munich

On Wednesday night Bayern suffered a slight scare away at FC Köln. The hosts dared to take the lead against the Bundesliga’s unbeaten leaders and for all of nine minutes it looked like a shock might be on the cards.

Vincent Kompany’s side did, inevitably, come back - equalising in first half stoppage time, and then going on to score a further two goals in the second half. That result took them to 47 points from a possible 51 at the halfway point of the season, a tally that equals a league record set by Pep Guardiola’s Bayern side in the 2013/14 season.

This year’s squad have, however, surpassed that achievement due to breaking the record for goals scored as we reach the midpoint marker. Their total of 66 goals beats the 56 that they notched in the 2021/22 campaign.

Now, they take their 25-league-game unbeaten run to Leipzig, where the Red Bull side have lost just once at home so far this season. Ole Werner’s appointment as head coach has proven a good decision, and the 37-year-old has them third in the table - albeit 15 points down on Bayern - and high up for a number of key metrics like clean sheets, xG, big chances, and shots on target.

Could this be the test that Bayern actually need?

Saturday, 5.30pm GMT, 12.30pm

Krasava, a team newly promoted to the top flight of Cypriot football, come with some back story. Originally founded in Russia by former-pro-turned-famous-YouTuber Yevgeny Savin, the side re-registered as a professional outfit on the Mediterranean island following Savin’s move into exile.

An outspoken critic of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Savin faced criminal charges for his condemnation of the war and was forced to uproot his family and leave the country. He was later sentenced to a prison term in his absence in 2024, just before Krasava embarked on their successful promotion campaign.

Savin has funded Krasava’s ascent through his own money and with the backing of other wealthy Russian exiles, and currently claims the support of a fanbase almost entirely made up of immigrants from Ukraine, Russia, and other Russian speaking countries. The club also work extensively with support groups for the diaspora in their base city of Limassol.

Krasava’s first top flight season hasn’t gone entirely to plan - they sit second bottom - but their sheer existence is an amazing achievement. They play the rather more familiar Cypriot side AEK Larnaca this weekend, a team who will be competing in the knockout stages of the UEFA Conference League later this season - a level that Savin is determined to reach himself.

Sunday, 3pm GMT, 10am EST

EFL Championship leaders Coventry City have won just two of their last nine games, a stretch that includes last weekend’s defeat at Stoke in the FA Cup. Such was their early season form, though, Frank Lampard’s side still boast a six point advantage at the top of the table.

The Sky Blues won 11 out of 12 games heading in to December when it seemed that injuries and suspensions had caught up with them. On top of that, Lampard had to deal with a flu outbreak that ruled out a number of key players over the festive period.

Now though, with reinforcements coming in during the January transfer window, Lampard has described the remaining 20 games of the season as a ‘shootout’ as the club look to seal a return to the Premier League for the first time since 2001. It all starts with a lunchtime kickoff against local rivals Leicester City.

Saturday, 12.30pm GMT, 7.30am EST

The Gunners need Viktor Gyökeres to find his form

The usual FotMob curse of publishing an article about a player and that player immediately tanking had the reverse effect on Wednesday, with the Swedish striker scoring and assisting against Chelsea. Arsenal will want much more of that.

Cesc Fàbregas’ stock is rising

We’ve spoken about Fàbregas’ exciting Como side in the newsletter before but with a number of big clubs in search of a manager, or in need of a succession plan, the former Spain international has demonstrated that he may be one to watch in the future.

Brahim Díaz is shooting his shot at the AFCON

Players usually use their club form as a way to break in to their national team, but with five goals in six games for Morocco at the Africa Cup of Nations, Real Madrid wide forward Díaz is doing the opposite. With a new manager at the helm when he returns to Spain, will he be able to get more game time in LaLiga?

If you ever find yourself questioning your national team’s place in the world, or watch a major tournament and wonder which team should really be winning, you can always check FotMob for the latest FIFA Rankings.

Head to a national team profile and you’ll get a plotted history of their ranking all the way back to 1992 when FIFA started keeping a record of such matters!

Or, you can click where you see a FIFA number listed under a team name and you’ll be taken to the latest overall rankings table.

If you check back on Monday, you should see if the AFCON has had any impact on the rankings when FIFA’s next monthly update is due.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page to add them to your Following section.

Friday: It’s second vs. fourth in Ligue 1 as PSG host Lille. A win would take the Parisians above plucky upstarts Lens at the top of the table. Middlesbrough can put more pressure on Championship leaders Coventry if they win at struggling West Brom. And in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup, League Two minnows Annan Athletic go to Rangers.

Saturday: Egypt and Nigeria fight it out for third place at the AFCON, Real Madrid will look to get over their midweek Copa Del Rey embarrassment when they play Levante, and Serie A leaders Inter head to Udinese. In the Premier League, there’s two all-London ties as Chelsea meet Brentford and luckless West Ham go to Tottenham Hotspur. Back in France, Lens play Auxerre hoping to avoid any damaging slip ups.

Sunday: Aston Villa vs. Everton is the fixture assigned to the headline slot in the Premier League, while Milan play Lecce in Serie A, and Atlético Madrid entertain Deportivo Alavés in LaLiga. Celtic face unfamiliar opposition in the Scottish Cup as they play Auchinleck Talbot of the sixth tier West of Scotland Premier Division. And with the state championships restarting in Brazil, Corinthians and São Paulo contest the Clássico Majestoso.

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

The fixture gods have provided a wide variety of action for the next few days. There’s distractions for some of Europe’s biggest sides, in the form of mid-season Super Cup trophies and cup competitions, and vital top of the table clashes and first games back after winter breaks elsewhere. We also take a look at a space race inspired team from the Netherlands.

El Clásico

Barcelona and Real Madrid meet in Saudi Arabia to contest the final of the Supercopa de España on Sunday. In the seventh year since the tournament shifted to a four team format, we have a fourth straight showpiece game that features Spain’s big two, which is exactly the desired outcome for those marketing the competition!

If you’ve been sleeping on this week’s semifinals, Barcelona were ruthless against Athletic Club, with five unanswered goals either scored or assisted by a combination of Hansi Flick’s front four; Raphinha, Ferran Torres, Fermín López, and Roony Bardghji.

Missing Kylian Mbappé through injury, Real had to endure an onslaught from city rivals Atlético Madrid after going two goals up in the other semi, eventually holding on to win 2-1.

Back in LaLiga, Madrid are one of only two teams to beat Barcelona this season but Xabi Alonso’s side do trail their great rivals by four points at the top of the table.

In terms of this competition, you can usually guarantee goals, with 16 coming across those three consecutive Clasico finals. Barcelona have come out on top in two (5-2 and 3-1) while Madrid’s last triumph came in 2024 (4-1).

Sunday, 7pm GMT, 2pm EST

Inter vs. Napoli

First meets third on Sunday night as the defending Serie A champions face off against the side who won the Scudetto the season before last. In fact, Inter and Napoli have each lifted the title twice in the last five years, with Antonio Conte starting that run at Inter when they won back in 2020/21 before tasting success again, this time with Napoli in 2024/25.

Conte now returns to San Siro with his side sitting four points down on leaders Inter after 18 rounds. That gap would have been wider if it weren’t for Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s late leveller that earned Napoli a point against Hellas Verona in midweek.

Cristian Chivu’s Inter have won their last five games and with 40 goals scored, they’ve outgunned everyone else in the division by some margin this season. Lautaro Martínez has put away exactly one quarter of those and he currently leads the race to be named the Capocannoniere, the ‘head gunner’ as it’s known in Italy.

Sunday, 7.45pm GMT, 2.45pm EST

The third round of the FA Cup, the world’s oldest national cup competition, takes place this weekend. This is, of course, the round at which the sides from England’s top two divisions enter the chat. And that’s why we’ve chosen to highlight it in this week’s newsletter.

Among the various ties that pit non-league and lower league minnows against the big boys, there is the usual smattering of all-Premier League ties. One of them - Manchester United’s clash with Brighton - will be notable for the presence of Darren Fletcher in the home dugout. After United’s disappointing draw at Burnley in midweek, this will be Fletcher’s second and last game in temporary interim charge of the club he played for with distinction, ahead of what is expected to be the announcement of a slightly longer term interim managerial appointment at some point next week.

Elsewhere, despite the history of the FA Cup now spanning 155 years, there are still new stories being written. For instance, sixth-tier Weston-Super-Mare are competing in the third round for the very first time. The Somerset side have already won five ties to reach this point, including a qualifier that required a replay, and a period of extra time in another round. An away trip to League Two Grimsby Town isn’t perhaps the dream glamour tie they were hoping for, but it does offers up an opportunity to progress even further.

PSG vs. Paris FC

When you wait 25 years for the first all-Parisian top flight derby, another one comes along the very next weekend! This time, the next door neighbours that we discussed in last week’s edition of The Assist, meet in the Coupe De France Round of 32, a competition that PSG have won a record 16 times since 1982.

PSG beat Paris in Ligue 1 last Sunday thanks to a second half strike from Ousmane Dembélé and Luis Enrique’s side have since travelled all the way to Kuwait and back. There, they required a penalty shootout to beat Marseille and lift the Trophée des Champions, the French Super Cup, for the 12th time in the last 13 years.

Marseille, their vanquished rivals, return to face a potential banana skin of their own in the Coupe De France early next week. Roberto De Zerbi must take his team to Bayeux, home of the tapestry, and the last side from France’s semi-professional regional leagues left in the competition.

Founded shortly after NASA sent the first Telstar communication satellites in to orbit in the early 1960s, a Dutch football team was inspired to take on the Telstar name. And now, Sportclub Telstar are enjoying/enduring their first top flight season since the 1977/78 campaign.

Sat just outside the relegation zone at the halfway point of the season, they are due to take on Amsterdam giants Ajax this weekend. Now managed by the aptly-named Fred Grim, Ajax are struggling to keep pace with their main Eredivisie rivals at the top of the table. PSV currently lead the way with Feyenoord sat 11 points behind them in second. Ajax are third, a whopping 16 points down on the side from Eindhoven.

Sunday, 1.30pm GMT, 8.30am EST

The Africa Cup of Nations has provided few shocks so far, but as a result of that, we have been left with four heavyweight contests as we reach the quarterfinal stage.

All six top-seeded nations from Pot 1 of the draw process are through, as are the two highest ranked sides from Pot 2, and the action kicks off with Mali against Senegal later today. Mali have gotten this far despite not winning any of their four matches in normal time (they beat Tunisia via a shootout) while Senegal have averaged 2.5 goals per game, and have looked like strong contenders to go all the way.

That is followed by hosts Morocco taking on Cameroon, a team who have belied expectations following the administrative crisis that saw two warring head coaches submit two different squads to CAF in the build up to the tournament.

For a full preview of all four games, hit the link below.

Where did Bournemouth find Eli Junior Kroupi!?

The 19-year-old French forward has landed in the Premier League and banged in seven goals in under 600 minutes of football for a team who have only won once since October. Junior Kroupi has been a sensation. We published this profile just ahead of the Spurs game on Wednesday night.

Joan García’s performance vs. Espanyol has elevated his status

Faced with a hostile home crowd who see him as a traitor for leaving the club that developed him to join cross-city rivals Barcelona, Joan García put in the kind of goalkeeping display that firmly places him in to the conversation on World Class net minders.

Danny Röhl has got Rangers going again

While a lot of attention has been on the goings on at Celtic in recent weeks, Danny Röhl has been quietly rescuing Rangers’ season on the other side of Glasgow. The German coach came in to a club in crisis but his pragmatic management style produces results, and all of a sudden, Rangers are back in the title race.

Looking to get that perfect view of your football world? The unique list of leagues you care about, and nothing else?

You can quickly create a personalised view in the FotMob app by following the leagues you want to keep an eye on, sorting them into the order you like, and hiding those you’re not interested in.

Check out our step-by-step guide here.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page to add them to your Following section.

Friday: The FA Cup action starts early with tonight’s headline fixture featuring Championship high-fliers Wrexham against Nottingham Forest, of the Premier League. Top level football returns to Germany as the Bundesliga restarts following it’s Winterpause. Second placed Borussia Dortmund go to Eintracht Frankfurt in the opening game.

Saturday: The second set of quarterfinals takes place at the AFCON as free-scoring Nigeria face Algeria and Egypt take on the Ivory Coast. There’s an all-Premier League clash in the FA Cup as the under pressure Thomas Frank leads Spurs against Aston Villa, and other standout ties see Manchester City host third tier Exeter City, and Chelsea cross London for a meeting with Championship side Charlton Athletic. With the big three away for the Supercopa, third placed Villarreal can make up some ground in LaLiga when they face Alavés.

Sunday: Arsenal can take a break from the pressure of the Premier League title race as they travel to Portsmouth in the FA Cup. Bayern will be looking to pick up where they left off in the Bundesliga by continuing their unbeaten league run against Wolfsburg. And in Serie A, while their Scudetto rivals face off late in the day, Milan face relegation threatened Fiorentina in a lunchtime kick off.

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

The New Year is here and the fixture gods have lined up a host of top games in the Premier League and Derbies galore elsewhere, including the first top flight meeting of two Parisian clubs for well over 30 years, and in-form Espanyol against city rivals Barcelona.

Bournemouth vs. Arsenal

The four Premier League fixtures played on New Year’s Day resulted in just two goals scored, neither of which came at the Stadium of Light, where Manchester City were left frustrated by Sunderland. That blank scoreline put an extra bit of gloss on Arsenal’s triumphant 4-1 victory over third-placed Aston Villa two days earlier.

The Gunners lead at the top of the table stands at four points coming out of the festive period, and after ending Villa’s 11-game winning streak, Mikel Arteta can now focus on a opposition side that are currently enduring one of the worst runs of form in the division.

Arsenal head to the South Coast to face Bournemouth on Saturday evening, with the Cherries winless in 10 league games, seriously underperforming when it comes to their xG (our figures suggest their should be at least four places better off in the table), and dealing with the prospect that their star performer this campaign, Antoine Semenyo (nine goals, three assists), may or may not have played his last game for the club.

That’s a headache for Andoni Iraola, a coach who has managed to get one over Arteta, his fellow Basque, in the last two meetings between these sides.

Saturday, 5.30pm GMT, 12.30pm EST

Man City vs. Chelsea

After being held at bay by a combination of Robin Roefs, Sunderland’s backline, and the sheer collective will of a raucous home crowd on Wearside, Pep Guardiola may be hoping that manager-less Chelsea offer less resistance when it comes to kickoff on Sunday. Thursday’s draw ended the Sky Blues’ eight-game winning run across all competitions.

The quick turnaround between games and the shock news that Pep’s former protege, Enzo Maresca, had been dismissed on New Years’ Day may mean that any tactical preparation for this game will be rather rushed. At the time of writing, no news on Chelsea’s next manager has been forthcoming, with Liam Rosenior, who’s Strasbourg side we’ve praised previously in this newsletter, looking the most likely candidate - promotion from one BlueCo club to another being slightly easier than cobbling together a recruitment process when the busy and distracting January transfer window is open.

The London Blues fell out of the Champions League places over Christmas following two damaging home results; the defeat against Villa, and a draw versus Bournemouth. Chelsea have now lost 15 points from winning positions in the league this season, more than anyone else, and their current run has seen them win one of their last seven.

Sunday, 5.30pm GMT, 12.30am EST

Espanyol vs. Barcelona

The picture at the top of LaLiga is rather similar to that in the Premier League, with Hansi Flick’s Barcelona holding a four point lead over their arch-nemesis Real Madrid.

But ahead of a week where Spain’s big two will fly off to Saudi Arabia for the midseason Supercopa tournament, that is designed to create an extra Clásico in the calendar, Barca face the more immediate threat of their own crosstown rivals.

Espanyol’s return to the top flight has been remarkable this season, and their current fifth placed position (with a game in hand) is a testament to Manolo González, the man who oversaw their promotion.

Espanyol’s style is built on defensive resolve and a patient attack. The Periquitos have the fourth best goals against record in the league but record the lowest average possession of anyone (40.7% to Barca’s 68.4%, for example).

Barcelona have won their last eight league games, all by a margin of at least two goals, but Espanyol’s only defeat in their last six was a Copa Del Rey upset where they rested players against lower league opposition.

Saturday, 8pm GMT, 3pm EST

Celtic vs. Rangers

The traditional News Years’ meeting between Scotland’s Old Firm falls relatively late, on Saturday the 3rd, but it should prove to be a critical game for the fortunes of both clubs, and their respective midseason managerial appointments - Wilfried Nancy at Celtic, and Danny Röhl at Rangers.

Nancy’s short time with the Hoops has been lambasted by all quarters, a run of four straight defeats proving the worst possible start for the Frenchman. Back-to-back wins followed but any confidence that built was quickly wiped out by Tuesday’s defeat at Motherwell.

If Celtic can beat their archrivals for a second time this season, following November’s triumph in the League Cup final, it would give Nancy a massive boast, and move them level with stumbling league leaders Hearts ahead of their game later in the day. Defeat though, would mean that Rangers instead move level on points with Celtic.

That would signal a dramatic turnaround in their fortunes after the disastrous start to the campaign given to them under Russell Martin. The club’s decision to replace Martin with Danny Röhl has saved their season, with the German boasting a win percentage of 73% so far.

Saturday, 12.30pm GMT, 7.30am EST

There is another famous derby game taking place in Scotland’s Premiership this weekend, but the drama of Dundee United vs. Dundee, the rivals who’s stadiums share the same street, has rather had it’s thunder stolen by Sunday’s Ligue 1 fixture between PSG and Paris FC.

Paris FC currently occupy the Stade Jean-Bouin, an equally impressive looking ground used mainly for rugby, that sits directly across the road from PSG’s Parc des Princes. And they’ll be looking both ways and carefully crossing said road for the first top flight meeting between two Parisian clubs since 1990.

The history of the two are intricately linked, with the foundation of PSG, as we know it, stemming from a vote to create a new professional football team for Paris in 1970. Two years later, when name changes and financial commitments were again being decided by the club’s members, a split emerged and a breakaway team was formed as Paris FC in the amateur divisions of French football.

Ever since, Paris FC have lived in PSG’s shadow but their promotion from Ligue 2, powered by the ownership of the Arnault family (and a minority owned by Red Bull), has shaken things up in the French capital.

In truth, Paris have struggled for consistency on their top flight return but they do sit four points and two places above the relegation zone. PSG start the weekend in second, a point down on surprise leaders Lens, a lead that may be extended when the Blood and Gold play their game this evening (Friday).

Sunday, 7.45pm GMT, 2.45pm EST

From a 44 metre away trip to one that totals out at about 14,000 kilometres and actually requires a lengthy plane journey. Liga Portugal leaders Porto, who are still unbeaten after 16 rounds of the season, must head to Santa Clara, a side based in the Azores, an archipelago situated west of mainland Portugal in the Atlantic Ocean.

Porto have been sensational under the tutelage of 36-year-old Italian coach Francesco Farioli, who joined after missing out on the Eredivisie title with Ajax last season. They are one of only fours sides who have yet to suffer a defeat in any of Europe’s top 10 leagues, and one of only two who currently lead their division (Slavia are unbeaten in 19 over in Czechia).

The Dragões have conceded just four goals in their 16 games and have a goal difference of +31, a return that is only likely to improve further when they have been able to register the transfer of the legendary Thiago Silva. The 41-year-old returns to European football after an impressive spell back in his home land with Rio club Fluminense.

Santa Clara, who were affiliated with Porto’s great rivals Benfica for the early part of their history, enjoyed their best ever league finish last season, coming fifth following promotion, but have struggled to match that, and now sit 14th and just two points above the relegation zone.

Sunday, 6pm GMT, 1pm EST

Weston McKinnie enjoying another hot streak with Juventus

The versatile USMNT international has played in just about every outfield position for the Old Lady and new Juve manager Luciano Spalletti clearly rates him very highly.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin aiming to be England’s best Plan B

With seven goals in seven Premier League games, Leeds United’s summer signing is looking focused and refreshed as part of Daniel Farke’s fluid new system.

Lookahead to the Round of 16 at the AFCON

Enjoy our extensive preview of each Round of 16 tie as Africa’s biggest tournament reaches the knockout stages this weekend.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page to add them to your Following section.

Friday: Tonight, the biggest games on your feed see French league leaders RC Lens head to Toulouse knowing a win would take them four points clear of PSG. And Milan can move above rivals Inter to take over at the top of Serie A, if they do the business away at Cagliari.

Saturday: Aston Villa vs. Nottingham Forest kicks off the weekend round in the Premier League and Wolves vs. West Ham is the very definition of a relegation six pointer. Senegal vs. surprise package Sudan opens the Round of 16 at AFCON 2025, which is previewed above. In Serie A, fifth placed Juventus face Lecce, and Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini comes up against former club Atalanta.

Sunday: Yorkshire meets Lancashire as Leeds and Manchester United clash as one of six Premier League games taking place, a fixture list that also includes Fulham vs. Liverpool and Spurs vs. Sunderland. Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid take on Real Betis in LaLiga, and Inter close the latest round in Serie A with a game against Bologna. Back at the AFCON, South Africa vs. Cameroon is perhaps the heavyweight tie in the Round of 16.

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

‘Twas the weekend before Christmas and The Assist has returned to guide you through the next few days of action before a number of leagues take a well earned rest and others, well, just carry on regardless. We also look ahead to the Africa Cup of Nations, which starts in Morocco, on Sunday.

Everton vs. Arsenal

Premier League leaders Arsenal will be looking over their shoulder this weekend as they try to hold on to their position going in to Christmas week. With Manchester City now only two points below them, and Aston Villa also in top form, the Gunners can’t afford to lose on this, their first ever visit to new Everton ground, the Hill Dickinson.

Everton have won three of their last five games, keeping a clean sheet in each, but have a poor record against sides who are competing in the Champions League - losing all five such games so far, with Spurs and Newcastle the only teams who’ve won at their new stadium. David Moyes’ side look a little depleted for this one due to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s recent injury and Idrissa Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye both having gone to the AFCON.

Manchester City play their game (home vs. West Ham) ahead of this late evening kick off, so Mikel Arteta will know exactly what his team need to do to retain or retake pole position. The Gunners remain unbeaten at home but would only sit fourth in the table if you look at their away form alone, and nine teams, including the likes of Bournemouth and Burnley have scored more than the 10 goals they’ve managed on their travels this season.

Saturday, 8pm GMT, 3pm EST

Aston Villa vs. Man United

Next up, we thought we’d take a look at the Premier League’s form team, and sadly for @theUnitedStrand, and any other United fans who are still waiting for a haircut, that is not the away side at Villa Park on Sunday.

Unai Emery’s men have won their last nine games in a row, a run that includes five league wins and three consecutive matches where they’ve come from behind to beat Brighton, Arsenal, and most recently, West Ham. That form has rocketed them up to third in the table and if it wasn’t for their poor goal difference (all those comebacks mean they do tend to concede) they would be pushing for top spot at Christmas.

Villa do, however, face one of the toughest fixture lists over the festive period, with this match up followed by trips to Chelsea then Arsenal over the course of four days before we hit New Year.

United were involved in one of the most epic games of the season last Monday, with the 4-4 home draw against Bournemouth being an exemplar of their form under Ruben Amorim. They produced chances - recording a league high 17 shots in the first half alone - but they looked vulnerable at the back, conceding goals in quick succession. In fact, they’ve conceded two goals within 11 minutes on five different occasions this season.

As always, United’s trump card remains Bruno Fernandes. The captain has won four FotMob Player of the Match awards back-to-back, and leads our overall average match ratings (7.98) for the division, having created the most chances (50) and recorded the most assists (7).

Sunday, 4.30pm GMT, 11.30am EST

Villarreal vs. Barcelona

It’s first versus third in LaLiga this weekend, with Barcelona travelling to Spain’s next-best form side who, coincidentally, also have Villa in their name and were once managed by Unai Emery.

Villarreal have won their last six league games and sit eight points down on the leaders with two games in hand. But a run of defeats in Europe, including most recently, a 3-2 home defeat to FC København, and last week’s postponement of their game at Levante appears to have disrupted their form. That, combined with a slew of injuries to key defenders and absences due to the AFCON, saw them get knocked out of the Copa Del Rey by Segunda division leaders Racing Santander in the week.

Barcelona safely navigated their trip to third tier opposition in the Copa to (eventually) record a six straight win in all competitions. Hansi Flick’s title defence is going well — they’ve won their last seven in LaLiga and his attackers are closing in on 50 goals scored.

For the first time in a while, second-placed Madrid play their fixture first this weekend, meaning Barca’s lead may have been cut to one point before this Sunday afternoon encounter.

Sunday, 3.15pm GMT, 10.15am EST

The 35th Africa Cup of Nations gets underway in Morocco this weekend, with the hosts playing Comoros, the smallest nation to qualify for this edition.

Morocco have high hopes for the tournament and come in to it as the top ranked side (No. 11 in the World according to FIFA), but have only been crowned African champions once before, back in 1976. Ivory Coast will be out to defend the crown they won at the 2023 finals and the likes of Nigeria and Cameroon have something to prove having both missed out on World Cup qualification.

The impact of this tournament on club football has been getting a lot of attention (including in this newsletter), but that is reductionist. The AFCON should be celebrated for what it is, Africa’s most important competition, and a chance to watch the continent’s best players competing for the countries that made them.

We will have a high level of match data available for all games across the group stages and beyond, plus some editorial content as we go along. That starts with a full group-by-group preview you can find below.

Bayern Munich’s goalscoring exploits in the Bundesliga have been staggering. Ahead of their meeting with Heidenheim in the final round before Die Winterpause (winter break), Bayern remain unbeaten in the league and have reached a half century of goals faster than any other side in Bundesliga history (scoring 51 in total).

Vincent Kompany’s side have now scored at least twice in 21 consecutive league games, a run that obviously dates back well in to the last campaign.

All of which does not bode well for their opponents on Sunday. Heidenheim are four points off bottom but have conceded more goals than anyone else in the division (30) and have not kept a clean sheet in their last 17 matches.

Sunday, 4.30pm GMT, 11.30am EST

The Polish top flight has already gone on it’s festive break but we hope at least one of the clubs get it together and use their time off to come up with a plan to actually try and win the league in the new year.

After 18 rounds just 11 points separate leaders Wisła Płock from bottom side Termalica Nieciecza! The aforementioned Wisła Płock, who are managed by Mariusz Misiura (pictured above), only returned to the top division this season but are currently trying their best to ruin what has been a great start by drawing each of their last five games.

In fact, just one side in the top 10 actually won in the last round of fixtures. Last year’s champions Jagiellonia Blalystok were held by mid-table Motor Lubin. And don’t even ask about record league winners Legia Warsaw, they’re sat down in 17th, level on points with Termalica at the foot of the table.

The second half of the season could get very messy.

Cherki could succeed where other City mavericks have failed

For most of the season, it’s looked like Manchester City have been set out to feed Erling Haaland’s unquenchable thirst for goals. Now, though, with his minutes increasing, it’s seems as though Pep Guardiola is softening his tactics a little to let Rayan Cherki play to his obvious talents.

Florian Thauvin is back in Ligue 1 and loving it

RC Lens are top of the tree in France heading in to 2026, and one of the main driving forces behind their successful first half of the campaign has been the form of their experienced right winger. Thauvin has been to Mexico and Italy in recent years but it’s back in his homeland where he’s found his mojo.

Harry Wilson on form for Club and Country

With six goal contributions in his last four Premier League games and an international hattrick last time his pulled on a Welsh shirt, Harry Wilson might just be in the best form of this career. Key to everything positive Fulham have done in 2025/26, the 28-year-old is seemingly also running his own goal of the season competition.

If you run FotMob on an iOS device, you could be enjoying live score updates on your lock screen, without even having to click on a widget, or even open the app via a notification.

We’ve been making use of Apple’s Live Activities functionality since it’s initial release and if you head to your favourite team profile, and hit the bell, you can toggle on the top option to ensure that all their games get automatically added to your lock screen.

You will need to have opened the app at some point on matchday in order for the live activity to be triggered, that’s an Apple requirement, but after that, you can keep track of the score with a glance rather than interrupting that all-important family festive event and never again be accused of ‘always being on your phone.’

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page to add them to your Following section.

Friday: In Saudi Arabia, Bologna play Inter in the second Supercoppa semifinal, with the winners going on to face Napoli in Monday’s showpiece. Borussia Dortmund host Borussia Mönchengladbach, a side they have beaten 11 times in a row at home. It’s Coupe De France weekend, and Ligue 1 leaders Lens come up against fourth tier Feignies Aulnoye. And there’s an all-Welsh tie in the EFL Championship as Wrexham go to Swansea City.

Saturday: Newcastle United vs. Chelsea is the early kickoff in the Premier League, with Spurs vs. Liverpool filling the early evening slot. The big game in Serie A sees Juventus take on Roma, while in LaLiga, Real Madrid welcome Sevilla to the Bernabéu. Back in the Coupe de France, newly crowned Intercontinental Cup winners PSG have been drawn against fifth tier minnows Vendee Fontenay Foot.

Sunday: Hearts can continue to disrupt the usual order in Scotland when they play Rangers, a side they’ve already beaten once this season. As mentioned earlier, host nation Morocco kick of the Africa Cup of Nations with a Group A game against Comoros. Vasco da Gama and Corinthians meet for the second leg of the Copa do Brasil final, with the scores currently stuck at nil-nil. And keep an eye on Robin van Persie’s Feyenoord. They play Twente looking to avoid an eighth defeat in 10 games.

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

As we head in to the busy festive period, it’s time to get ready for another weekend of top football action. In this week’s edition of The Assist, we have the return of one of English football’s fiercest rivalries, a check in on ‘crisis club’ Real Madrid, the Serie A title race, and Europe’s top goalscorer.

Arsenal vs. Wolves

Fresh from making it six wins from six in the Champions League mega-group league phase, Arsenal return to domestic action with a game against the side that are propping up the rest in the Premier League.

This looks like a classic first vs. last contest. The Gunners need a response after last weekend’s stoppage time heartbreak at Villa ended a 11-game unbeaten run that dated back to August. Rob Edwards and his Wolves side just need a first league win. Or a hard-fought draw. Frankly, Wolves need something, anything, that can kickstart their season.

Monday night’s defeat to Manchester United was Wolves’ eighth in a row, equaling a club record that dates back to the 1981/82 season. The team from the Black Country have been through three managers and two sporting directors since they last won a league match.

It’s desperate stuff. But at least Jean-Ricner Bellegarde scored their first goal since October in that game against United. Scoring another against Arsenal, and what is the best defence in the division might, however, be a tall order.

Saturday, 8pm GMT, 3pm EST

Sunderland vs. Newcastle United

Here we go! Sunday sees a game that has been hotly anticipated since Sunderland sealed their return to England’s top flight via the Championship Playoff final back in May: The first Tyne-Wear (or Wear-Tyne on this occasion) Derby played in the Premier League for the best part of a decade.

Sunderland and Newcastle United did meet in the FA Cup last season, but that was the only time they’ve clashed competitively since both sides were last in the same division, back in the 2015/16 season. This is a big one.

And unlike last season, when the Magpies were in form and had a certain Alexander Isak bagging in the goals, the Black Cats may feel they come in to the game as favourites. Particularly at home, where they have yet to be beaten.

Despite their positive start, Sunderland are currently on a run of one win in six, albeit, they have managed draws against Arsenal and Liverpool during that spell. That drop in form has allowed Eddie Howe’s side to close the gap between the two to just a single point, with Newcastle starting the weekend in 12th to Sunderland’s 9th in the heavily-congested middle of the Premier League.

Sunday, 2pm GMT, 9am EST

Alavés vs. Real Madrid

If we’re using the same scale that we just outlined for Wolves, Xabi Alonso’s current predicament at Real Madrid can’t be called a crisis. But at one of the world’s biggest, richest clubs, two wins in eight games just won’t do.

Ahead of Wednesday night’s annual meeting with Manchester City in the Champions League, there was talk that Alonso was on his last chance, with Florentino Pérez and the rest of the board said to be preparing to sack a manager they employed just six months ago. As it stands, though, that has not happened.

Madrid pressed and pushed City but struggled to make the best of their chances as they slipped to back-to-back defeats for the first time since April.

Los Blancos still sit second in LaLiga but in a league defined by slim margins, they are four points down on leaders Barcelona. And that lead may be extended further by the time Madrid take the field at Deportivo Alavés as Barcelona play their game first.

Perhaps the biggest question that will be asked in the build up to this one concerns the fitness of Kylian Mbappé, rather than the status of his current manager. Mbappé sat out the City defeat and is said to be a doubt for the weekend clash against midtable Alavés, the kind of opposition he usually has no problem scoring against.

Sunday, 8pm GMT, 3pm EST

FIFA Intercontinental Cup

Never one to miss an opportunity to keep the fixture schedulers busy, games in FIFA’s Intercontinental Cup have been taking place sporadically for weeks, with things now coming to a head over the next few days.

This is the second edition of this re-badged tournament, but this is essentially the old Club World Cup, played between the winners of each federation’s premier club competition. With the Club World Cup now a massive sprawling month-long jamboree involving multiple teams from all the top leagues, the Intercontinental Cup is a more concise, but equally strung out affair.

African champions Pyramids FC beat Auckland City and Al-Ahli to lift something known as the African-Asian-Pacific Cup back in September. That set up Saturday’s meeting with Flamengo, the recently crowned Copa Libertadores champions from South America.

To get here, the Brazilian giants ran out 2-1 winners over CONCACAF Champions Cup holders Cruz Azul during the week. Now, it’s Africa vs. South America in a game branded as the Challenger Cup, with the winners then earning the right to take on European champions PSG in the overall final next Wednesday.

That’s right, unlike the old Club World Cup, the Champions League winners don’t even have to win a game before challenging for the title.

Saturday, 7pm GMT, 2pm EST

The biggest game in Dutch football takes place this weekend, as Ajax host Feyenoord for De Klassieker on Sunday afternoon. And there’s one man everybody is talking about ahead of this one.

Ayase Ueda is in the form of his life! Now in to his third season with Feyenoord, the Japanese forward is scoring at a rate of 1.32 goals per 90 in the Eredivisie, racking up 18 goals in just 15 starts. He scored four in last week’s thrashing of PEC Zwolle, collecting a hefty 9.9 FotMob rating in the process.

Ueda played just over 20 league games in each of the last two seasons, scoring five and seven goals, so this period of red hot form is definitely surprising. Perhaps February’s appointment of Netherlands legend Robin van Persie has had an impact, particularly when it’s time for the shooting drills to be run through on the Feyenoord training ground.

The Rotterdam club currently sit second in the table, six points down on runaway leaders PSV, but two places and eight points better off than arch rivals Ajax. All has not been well in Amsterdam of late and it cost coach Johnny Heitinga his job in November.

New man Fred Grim, who won a Champions League and four league titles as an Ajax player, has so far overseen three defeats, then three wins across all competitions. This will be his biggest test to date.

Sunday, 1.30pm GMT, 8.30am EST

It’s tight at the top of Serie A, and if the recent pattern continues, we could see first place change hands multiple times again this weekend. AC Milan led the way as we went in to last week’s round but first Inter, then Napoli overtook them, only for Milan to then beat Torino on Monday to regain top spot.

This week, all three of the leaders play on Sunday. And with just an eight point gap between first and Juventus, who sit seventh in the table, there’s little room for error from anyone.

Milan play first as they feature in the early kick off against Sassuolo. Then, Antonio Conte’s defending champions Napoli play away at Udinese in the afternoon, before Inter travel to Genoa later in the day.

Christian Pulisic was the star of the show in Milan’s win over Torino, scoring twice and turning the game after coming off the bench in the 66th minute. The American has seven goals in nine games but has only managed to play a full 90 minutes once so far this season. No one has scored more in the league and only Inter’s reliable goal getter, Lautaro Martínez has as many.

Igor Thiago, the Premier league’s next best No.9

Brentford’s Igor Thiago is the second top scorer in the Premier League behind Erling Haaland, and is on course to break the record for the most goals scored in a single season by a Brazilian striker in England’s top flight. The marker for that record currently stands at 15, with Thiago already on 11.

Fiorentina are Italy’s crisis club

In May, the Viola ended the 2024/25 season in sixth place in Serie A, their highest finish since 2016. Fast forward to December and they are still winless and sat bottom of the league. We took a look at what’s gone wrong.

KDH has been a revelation at Everton

Yes, Jack Grealish has a new lease of life, but the transfer signing that’s really driving the Toffees forward? It might just be Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, the midfielder creator who is driving Everton’s charge towards a possible qualification for European football.

Hopefully all of you reading this already make use of the Following feature in the FotMob app - the ability to go into an upcoming game, tap the star, and then have that game surface at the top of your match feed.

The aficionados among you probably use the resulting Following section to track all the games you want to keep an eye on, saving the need to scroll down even as far as where your favourite leagues are listed. A time-saving behaviour that we certainly endorse here at The Assist.

But this week’s Pro Tip takes this one step further by encouraging you to add the FotMob Following widget to your home page. By doing so, you can check all the important scores without even opening the app.

Instructions vary, depending on whether you are on iOS or Android, but once you’re in to the widgets menu, scroll down until you see FotMob, and then check out what we have on offer for your device. Each widget can be resized or edited to fit what looks best on your screen.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page to add them to your Following section.

Friday: In the Bundesliga, second-placed RB Leipzig play at Union Berlin, and in the EFL Championship, there will be no love lost between West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United. The latter will be looking to continue their recent rise up the table.

Saturday: Enzo Maresca will look to rally his troops as Chelsea take on Everton, while elsewhere in the Premier League, Liverpool can build on their midweek win when they face Brighton. Barcelona are in LaLiga action against Osasuna, and PSG can go top of Ligue 1, if they win away at Metz.

Sunday: Staying in France, Lens then have the opportunity to reclaim top spot with victory over Nice. Palace vs. Manchester City and Nottingham Forest vs. Spurs are two Premier League games that kick off at the same time as the Wear-Tyne Derby, Bayern face Mainz in the Bundesliga, and Bologna vs. Juventus is the closing game in Serie A. In Scotland, St. Mirren take on Celtic in the League Cup Final.

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

This week’s edition of The Assist takes in the big matches in Europe’s top leagues as Arsenal and Barcelona look to press home their advantage, in the Premier League and LaLiga respectively. Lionel Messi and Thomas Müller meet in MLS’s dream playoff final, the J.League title goes down to the wire, and whisper it, but there might be a title race in Ligue 1.

Aston Villa vs. Arsenal

Premier League leaders Arsenal travel to the team who find themselves third in the table after an action packed midweek round of games. Former Gunners boss Unai Emery saw his Villa side come from two-nil down at Brighton, then take a two goal lead, only to end up holding on to win 4-3 as the Seagulls mounted a late charge.

That was Villa’s sixth straight win in all competitions and they head in to the weekend as the next best form side behind the leaders in England’s top flight, with Arsenal now unbeaten in 18 following their routine victory against Brentford on Wednesday.

That translates to a five point lead in the standings and a growing feeling that this really might be their year. Since the defeat at Liverpool in August, Arsenal’s only draws have come in games against top six teams - Man City, Sunderland, Chelsea - something that might give Villa some hope of a result on Saturday lunchtime.

The Midlanders have been through quite the turnaround already this season after failing to win any of their first five games and scoring just once in that run. Write off Unai Emery at your peril, particularly at Villa Park, which has become something of a fortress in recent seasons - a factor we explored further in this article published earlier in the week.

Saturday, 12.30pm GMT, 7.30am EST

Leeds United vs. Liverpool

Leeds will be hoping that their massive midweek win over Chelsea changes the narrative of their season. Indeed, the three points lifted them out of the relegation zone and relieved some of the pressure that had been building on coach Daniel Farke after four defeats in a row.

Farke switched to a back three for that game at Elland Road so it will be interesting to see whether Leeds line up in the same fashion against a Liverpool side that still look vulnerable despite a recent uptick in results, if not performances.

The Reds toiled to their first draw of the season against Sunderland, with Florian Wirtz coming close to breaking his duck for the club, only for his 81st minute effort to be ruled an own goal. That was the ninth time that Liverpool have scored in the last 10 minutes of a Premier League game during this campaign, which is a league high, and something to look out for tomorrow evening.

This really feels like a win for either side could be a significant turning point.

Saturday, 5.30pm GMT, 12.30am EST

Real Betis vs. Barcelona

It’s been a busy week in Spanish football, with the big two featuring in league play, and the majority of the rest facing a variety of tests in the second round of the Copa Del Rey.

For their part, Hansi Flick’s Barcelona posted a very impressive 3-1 victory over Atlético Madrid in the biggest game to have been played at the rejuvenated Camp Nou so far. That, temporarily, lifted the defending champions four points clear at the top of LaLiga, until Real Madrid ended a run of three draws with victory at Athletic Club a day later.

Now, we’re back where we started, with Barcelona facing a tough trip to fifth placed Betis on Saturday night. The home side come in to the game unbeaten in eight, across all competitions, including Wednesday’s Rodrigo Riquelme-inspired 4-1 Cup win at minnows Torrent.

Barca have won their last six games straight in the league, and with 42 goals to their name, they’ve scored 10 more than anyone else in the division. However, as is well known, their defence is there to be got up, with Betis one of eight sides who are conceded at a lower rate than the league leaders.

Saturday, 5.30pm GMT, 12.30pm EST

Inter Miami vs. Vancouver Whitecaps

If MLS was script written, the writing room might have discounted the idea of these two sides meeting in this weekend’s MLS Cup Playoff final as being too unbelievable. Inter Miami, with one of the greatest players of all time, plus his band of aging superstar mates, up against plucky upstarts Vancouver Whitecaps from north of the border, with their own World Cup winner having recently joined in search of one last rodeo.

This is the first time either side has made it through to the season-defining final, with Vancouver looking to become the first Canadian side to win MLS since Toronto FC in 2017.

For many, the MLS Cup is the least we should expect from a Lionel Messi-inspired Miami franchise, but Messi himself appears to be more motivated than in previous seasons - with a record breaking 11 goal contributions coming in the playoffs alone - taking his tally to 35 goals and 21 assists for the year.

At Vancouver, Thomas Müller has been credited as being the final piece of coach Jesper Sørensen’s jigsaw, with the Danish manager joining the club for this season, and Müller signing in August. Fittingly, though, it was regular top scorer Brian White who fired the Whitecaps through to this, their biggest ever game in MLS, with the American scoring two to defeat San Diego in last weekend’s Western Conference final.

Saturday, 2.30pm EST, 7.30pm GMT

Fans of Northern powerhouse RC Lens are in dreamland at the moment. For the first time in a generation their beloved club are actually top of the pile in France, something that is perhaps all the more surprising when you realise they’ve been there or thereabouts in recent years and finished as runners-up as recently as 2023.

Okay, so their advantage is slender - they lead PSG by a point, and only five separate the top four - but the stat remains worthy of a mention! The fact that so many sides are still in the running with three games to go until the midway point of the season, in a league usually dominated by Luis Enrique’s European Champions, is certainly newsworthy.

On Saturday, Lens travel to Nantes, who find themselves struggling near the foot of the table. Later in the day, PSG host Nantes’ fierce rivals Rennes in Paris. Rennes and Lyon are the sides that make up the rest of the top six, only a further two points down on Lille in fourth. This could be a key weekend.

And if one of the title challengers can hold off PSG until the midway point, to become something the Ligue 1 website recently referred to as the ‘Champions of Autumn’, there’s an 80% chance that they will go on to win the overall championship (based on events in the last 10 seasons).

The mammoth 38-game season in Japan’s always-colourful J.League is set to come to a dramatic conclusion this weekend. It was only a few weeks ago that we discussed what was then a five-way title battle, but now, only two remain going in to the final round - frontrunners Kashima Antlers, and unlikely challengers Kashiwa Reysol, who’ve finished a lowly 17th in each of the last two years!

In a season of tight margins, neither side can claim to be outscoring the rest of the division, and neither can they say that they have the best defence - although Kashima have the second best at 0.8 goals conceded per match, and Kashiwa have the most clean sheets (18).

The games to watch out for - which, if you’re on a European timezone, take place in the early hours of Saturday - are Kashima Antlers vs. sleeping giants Yokohama F. Marinos and Kashiwa Reysol against sixth placed Machida Zelvia.

Kashima, who hold the record for the most J.League titles, just need to match Kashiwa’s result to take what would be their ninth top flight honour, but their first since 2016. Kashiwa Reysol have been waiting a little longer, with their last trophy lift coming in 2011.

The future’s bright for Benfica (and Portugal)

Over half of the Portuguese side that took to the field in the recent U17 World Cup final hail from the Benfica academy. While José Mourinho’s senior side struggle to make inroads on rivals Porto and Sporting in the league, the next generation have been busy securing their nation’s first World title at this age level.

Reece James is Chelsea’s great all-rounder

A fit and healthy Chelsea captain is on course to make more appearances this season than he has in any of the last three, proving to everyone just how vital he is to Enzo Maresca’s plans - whether that’s in defence, in midfield, or providing match-winning moments in the opposition box.

The World Cup underdogs

With the draw for the 2026 World Cup taking place at a star-studded ceremony in Washington DC later today, we took a look at what it means for some of the outsiders that will be taking part.

For more on the draw itself, including coverage of Donald Trump dancing to guest performers Village People (no, really), check out the live blog that our friends Sports Illustrated will be running over on the main news page.

Look out for the latest FotMob updates in the app store for your devices because we have just recently released an update that features all new and improved match insights.

These can be found in the Preview tab for any upcoming match and range from your run of the mill stats to the kind of facts that when repeated, will have your friends begrudgingly acknowledging that you really know your stuff.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page. This will automatically bring them to the top of your main feed in the app.

Friday: The aforementioned Mourinho takes charge of his first Lisbon derby since his return to Benfica as they take on Sporting, with both playing catch up behind Porto in the Liga Portugal. Third meets fourth as Marseille go to Lille looking to overhaul the sides above them (see our section on Ligue 1 above). And in England, the FA Cup second round gets underway as Salford City host Leyton Orient.

Saturday: The Premier League is front loaded this weekend, with seven games taking place tomorrow. Of those not already previewed, Bournemouth vs. Chelsea and Man City vs. Sunderland should be worth the watch. And if fiery, table topping, historic rivalries are your thing, follow Croatia’s Eternal Derby as Dinamo Zagreb play Hajduk Split.

Sunday: Napoli face Juventus in this weekend’s headline clash in Serie A, and Real Madrid will look to close the gap to Barcelona in LaLiga when they host Celta Vigo. And in Scotland, faltering runaway leaders Hearts must go to chasers Celtic, who will have new manager Wilfried Nancy taking charge of his first game.

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

Welcome to the Assist, your weekly guide to the weekend in football. We take you through all the key games in the top leagues from around the world, plus provide a couple of stories that have been bubbling away nicely, and hopefully help you get the best out of your FotMob app.

Chelsea vs. Arsenal

What a week it’s been for Premier League and Champions League leaders Arsenal. First the Gunners trounced Spurs in the North London Derby to move six points clear in the league. Then they beat Bayern Munich, arguably the other form in Europe on Wednesday night. Harry Kane, the all-time leading goalscorer against Arsenal in North London Derbies, didn’t even register a shot for current club Bayern.

Mikel Arteta’s side are in dominant form. And they’ll go in to Sunday’s game against Chelsea as favourites despite their injuries, and despite the fact that Chelsea are coming off of a fine few days themselves - Tuesday’s home win over Barcelona being the highlight of their campaign.

Renowned for making frequent changes to his team, Enzo Maresca appears to have gotten a little closer to a nailing a best XI, and with new boy Estêvão impressing in every game he’s featured, the Blues have moved up to second in the table.

In this battle between former Pep Guardiola assistants turned managers, expect to see the tackles flying in and every set piece contested fiercely. Arsenal are unbeaten in seven competitive games against Chelsea, and they won’t want to give up that run here.

Sunday, 4.30pm GMT, 11.30am EST

Crystal Palace vs. Man United

Before that, fifth placed Crystal Palace take on Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United in the early Sunday kickoff.

United missed a potential chance to move above The Eagles with Monday’s frustrating home defeat to Everton - a game in which they racked up 25 shots with a combined xGOT figure of 1.85. They might find it even tougher still to break down a Palace side that has conceded just nine times in the league this season, a figure that only leaders Arsenal can better.

Worryingly for United, they’ve failed to score in their last four games against Palace, losing three of those in the process.

Oliver Glasner will no doubt be pleased with that, but he made it perfectly clear that he wasn’t happy with the lack of goals his side are scoring at the other end following their Conference League defeat at Strasbourg last night.

In the top half of the Premier League only Aston Villa and Sunderland have scored less than the 16 that the Eagles have mustered so far. Jean-Pierre Mateta has six of those to his name, and he’ll be the focal point for the current FA Cup holders here.

Sunday, 12pm GMT, 7am EST

Girona vs. Real Madrid

Back-to-back draws — the second of which, at Elche, was only secured by Jude Bellingham’s 89th minute goal — have eroded Real Madrid’s lead at the top of LaLiga to one point.

That, plus defeat at Liverpool in the Champions League, have somewhat dampened the mood that had been building in the Spanish capital following the Clásico win over Barcelona in October. And now questions are already being raised of coach Xabi Alonso.

Four goals from Kylian Mbappé that inflicted a first home defeat tasted by Greek champions Olympiacos since March 2024, relieved some of the pressure on on Alonso, and he’ll be hoping to get back to winning ways in the league as they travel to Girona on Sunday.

Girona are not the same side that finished third when Madrid last won the league just two seasons ago. In fact, they might now be worse than the side that dropped to 16th in 2023/24. They currently find themselves in the relegation zone and have scored a total of 12 goals in 13 games, one less than Mbappé has managed in the league by himself.

Sunday, 8pm GMT, 3pm EST

Roma vs. Napoli

Another week, another massive game in the Serie A title race. After AC Milan’s derby victory over Inter allowed Roma to claim top spot with a win over Cremonese last weekend, Roma must now defend their position as they visit Napoli, last season’s defending champions, at the Stadio Olimpico.

Going in to the weekend, Napoli sit third in a congested top end of the table, with just three points separating leaders Roma from fifth-placed Bologna.

Results between the main contenders have been tit-for-tat so far. For instance, Antonio Conte’s team have struggled a little for consistency — they’ve beaten Inter but lost to both Milan and Bologna.

Roma, however, have been transformed under former-Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini. Formerly known for the expansive football that turned his former side in to Europa League winners, he’d switched tact to make Roma a solid defensive unit who have conceded just six goals in their 12 games to date.

This week, we went in to great detail about Roma’s new look and feel in this article - which you can read by clicking - here.

Sunday, 7.45pm BST, 2.45pm EST

The mammoth 2025 season is winding it’s way to a conclusion in Major League Soccer, with the Conference Finals taking place this weekend and the two winners contesting the MLS Cup playoff final next week.

Perhaps unsurprisingly — with the league now up to 30 teams — of the remaining four, only New York City are past winners of the whole shebang. And in any other year, the fact that the league’s 30th team, San Diego FC, have reached the Western Conference Final in their inaugural season would be the main talking point.

For those wondering, only one expansion side has ever managed to win the MLS Cup in their first season (Chicago Fire back in 1998). Standing in the way of San Diego’s moment in the sun are a Vancouver Whitecaps side gunning to become only the second Canadian side, after Toronto in 2017, to claim the title.

Already performing well above expectations, the Whitecaps have looked almost untouchable since Bayern legend Thomas Müller joined midseason. The German has scored eight and provided three assists in his 10 games and yet, his presence is still not the biggest potential storyline in these playoffs.

That’s because the side taking on NYCFC in the Eastern final is Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami. Messi led a side that featured seven Argentine compatriots, plus Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, and coached by Javier Mascherano, to an easy win over Cincinnati to set up this deciding game. With a goal and three assists, Messi moved on to 45 goal contributions for the season (35 goals, 20 assists), and he’ll be looking to deliver that first title that Inter Miami have been chasing since joining the league in 2020.

The Eliteserien, the top level of men’s football in Norway, comes to a dramatic head this weekend, with the title set to be decided in the 30th and final round of the 2025 season.

Bodø/Glimt, who have been Norwegian champions in four of the last five years, haven’t had it all their way this year. The team from inside the Arctic Circle made famous by their exploits in the Europa League, and this season’s Champions League, have built that continental presence on domestic dominance.

This season however, Viking, a team perennially looking to plunder one of the European qualification spots, have matched them win for win. Both have 21 victories in their 29 games, but crucially Viking have drawn five to leave themselves one point above Glimt heading in to the last weekend.

Due to their involvement in the qualification rounds for the Champions League earlier in the year, Glimt have always been playing catch up. Both games between the two even ended in matching 4-2 wins for the away side! Now, Viking just need to match or better Glimt’s result on Sunday evening to claim a first league title since 1991.

Viking host sixth placed Vålerenga, who have nothing to play for, while Glimt face seventh placed Fredrikstad, who may be similarly under-motivated.

We’re 14 games in to the Swiss Super League season and promoted side FC Thun currently find themselves four points clear at the top of the table. After spending five years outside the top flight, and having never won a major league or cup title (in 127 years of existence) they are determined to make the most of their return.

Until last weekend’s loss to Lugano, their only defeats of the campaign had come against the two sides who traditionally dominate the division, Youngs Boys and Basel. They remain comfortably above both of them.

On Sunday, they take on midtable Luzerne, who themselves are a bit of an anomaly this season. Two of their four wins to date have come against Young Boys and Basel. And, amazingly, they put five goals past both of them.

Sunday, 3.30pm GMT, 10.30am EST

Antoine Semenyo is a wanted man

Bournemouth’s high-pressing, goalscoring, Ghana international is going to be a name you see mentioned in transfer speculation a lot between now and January. Semenyo has a release clause that will tempt many, and the Premier League stats that justify the price tag.

FC Porto’s unbeaten start in Portugal

Coach Francesco Farioli was in charge of Ajax as they suffered one of the all-time title race collapses at the end of last season. But times have changed, and the Italian is seeking redemption at Porto, where he has overseen an 11 game unbeaten start to the campaign that has them back on top in the Liga Portugal

Elliot Anderson is the answer for club and country

Thomas Tuchel knows it, Sean Dyche and the array of Nottingham Forest’s previous recent managers know it. Liverpool found out all about it last weekend. Now the rest of the country is waking up to the fact that midfield dynamo Elliot Anderson is one of the best English players in his position in the Premier League.

The profile pages for your favourite teams in the FotMob app are a treasure trove of information, and we think they’re equally useful for those of you that enjoy a hate watch as well.

Two of the best features we’ve added in recent years are the graphs that chart a side’s final table positions across past seasons - this is particularly great when quickly checking whether you’ve misremembered that season you’ve just been waxing lyrical about to your mates - and we also provide a plotted history of coaches’ win percentages. Is the grass really greener with the new man in charge, or has your club made a mistake by sacking the last guy?

Search for any side or click any team name in the app to navigate to their profile.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page. This will automatically bring them to the top of your main feed in the app.

Friday: Cesc Fàbregas’ Como look to continue their solid start to the campaign when they face Sassuolo, and the top two meet in the 2. Bundesliga, as Schalke host leaders Paderborn. And with an international break underway in the women’s game, the UEFA Women’s Nations League semifinals take place.

Saturday: Manchester City face Leeds United as they try to break a run of two defeats, and there’s some big games in the Bundesliga as Leverkusen take on Dortmund and Bayern play St. Pauli. The two Brazilian sides that are currently embroiled in a two-horse title must put that to one side as Palmeiras and Flamengo face each other in the final of the Copa Libertadores, South America’s biggest club game.

Sunday: Sevilla vs. Real Betis, one of LaLiga’s most important derbies, Spain’s ‘Gran Derbi’ in fact, is an afternoon highlight on your feed. Arne Slot will be searching for a change in fortunes as Liverpool visit West Ham United. And Porto, who’s unbeaten start to the season we mentioned earlier (see above), play Estoril at home.

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

Congrats to Irvin who won our new subscriber competition! We’ll be in touch via email today about getting a shirt sent your way. More like Ir-win, am I rite!?

And current subscribers — keep your eyes peeled for upcoming competitions for you as well.

After an international window that saw some epic matches, and historic World Cup final places secured, it’s back to the day-to-day drama of league football this weekend, with big derbies in the Premier League and Serie A, plus playoffs in MLS, and silverware on offer in South America. Let FotMob guide you through it all here.

North London Derby

If there was one manager who would have been willing the international break to end, it would be Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta. With the Gunners top of the Premier League, unbeaten in Europe, and boasting a defence that has conceded just five goals in 15 competitive games, he’s got plenty to be excited about.

And the next week could be pivotal for his side. First up, it’s Sunday’s much anticipated North London Derby against Tottenham Hotspur. Then, on Wednesday, Arsenal host Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich, the only other side with a 100% record in the Champions League, before going on to face London rivals Chelsea next weekend.

But back to this Sunday. Arsenal haven’t lost a derby game for the last three seasons, and won both meetings in 2024/25, coming from behind at the Emirates in January, having won 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September 2024.

Spurs are unbeaten away from home in the league, and did beat the Gunners in preseason, with Pape Matar Sarr scoring the only goal of a game played in Hong Kong. But we’re not sure what impact, if any, that result will have on this weekend.

More likely, though, is the chance of seeing a goal scored from a set piece. Both Arsenal and Spurs are at the centre of a trend that is currently de rigueur, with Arsenal leading the league with 10 goals scored from set pieces, and Spurs third for that metric having scored six.

What Thomas Frank and Spurs fans would hate most, though, would be for Eberechi Eze to be on the end of one of those set piece goals. The now-Arsenal player snubbed a transfer to Spurs over the summer, apparently engineering a late alternative bid from the Gunners in the process.

Sunday, 4.30pm GMT, 11.30am EST

Liverpool vs. Nottingham Forest

Continuing the theme of pivotal match ups, this one — between perhaps two of the Premier League’s most underachieving sides this season — seems like a big one.

Liverpool famously started out with five straight wins before going on to lose five of their next six, and go in to the weekend eighth in the table and eight points off leaders Arsenal. The aim for them now is to get their season back on track, and for Arne Slot to find a way to get his big summer signings gelling with those players who helped him lift the title last season.

Nottingham Forest, who were the only side to win at Anfield in the league as Liverpool marched to that title triumph, now find themselves in the relegation zone, and already on their third manager of the season. Since his appointment in October, current incumbent of the City Ground hot seat Sean Dyche has taken charge of five games and only lost once. In that run, Forest have picked up an impressive win over Porto in the Europa League, drawn 2-2 with Manchester United, and last time out, beat Leeds United in the league.

A result for either side on Saturday feels like it might be a statement.

Saturday, 3pm GMT, 10am EST

Milan Derby

The first Derby della Madonnina of the campaign is being talked up as a good indicator as to which Milan club can go on and sustain a title challenge this season.

Inter, with Cristian Chivu maintaining the same formation and largely the same squad that he inherited from former manager Simone Inzaghi, has led them to the top of the table after something of a dodgy start. In fact, Inter have won seven of their last eight in the league.

The one major addition is Chivu pairing established Serie A-pedigree striker, Lautaro Martínez with new signing Ange-Yoan Bonny, who was picked up from Chivu’s former club Parma over the summer. Bonny has four league goals and three assists already, despite only starting five games.

On the other side of the corridors at San Siro, Milan have already shown great improvements on last season, with Maxi Allegri now back at the helm, and bringing with him the type of defensive resolve that both won games and infuriated fans during his time at Juventus! Milan are currently unbeaten in 10 games — since an opening weekend defeat to Cremonese — but draws have cost them, leaving them two points off their rivals.

For more on the this possibly season-defining game, hit the link below.

Sunday, 7.45pm GMT, 2.45pm EST

Barcelona vs. Athletic Club

This is one of the most played fixtures in Spanish football, with Athletic Club and hosts Barcelona two of the three clubs to have contested every season of LaLiga (the other being Real Madrid). They’ve also met in nine finals of the Copa Del Rey!

Despite that, relations between the two remain fairly cordial, with both clubs representing autonomous regions of the country that historically have always looked to foster aspirations of independence — Catalonia and the Basque Country.

This game, however, will stand out in the long history of this fixture, it being the first home game held at the refurbished Camp Nou. The much-delayed redevelopment is not fully completed yet, with this game seeing a reduced attendance of 45,401, while capacity will eventually rise to 105,000.

On the pitch, Hansi Flick’s champions start the weekend three points behind Madrid despite scoring 32 goals in their 12 matches. Athletic have been rather more frugal, as is common under the tutelage of Ernesto Valverde, and sit seventh, with their form rather more patchy now they are juggling domestic action with a first Champions League campaign since 2015.

Saturday, 3.45pm GMT, 10.45am EST

England’s Steel City Derby, the meeting between Sheffield clubs Wednesday and United comes at a difficult time, with both currently in the relegation zone of the EFL Championship.

In fact, there hasn’t been a Derby where the two have started so low in the English pyramid since the 2011/12 season, when both found themselves in League 1. Wednesday finished second and got themselves out of the third tier that year, but United, who came third, went on to miss out on promotion, losing a Wembley playoff final on penalties.

This season, Wednesday are rooted to the bottom of the table, placed in administration and deducted 12 points, following the much-longed for departure of nightmare owner Dejphon Chansiri. While their form may not have improved since the end of that particular era, with the squad now heavily depleted, the fanbase can at least now rally around whatever comes next. They’ll be hoping a victory over their hated city rivals can be a starting point.

The Blades are also struggling on the pitch. Chris Wilder, who oversaw the games in which United did the double over Wednesday last season, was dismissed at the end of the campaign. After a terrible start under Rubén Sellés, the club admitted they got that decision horribly wrong, reappointing Wilder in September. In his 10 games, however, Wilder has overseen just three victories to date. He’d love another one here.

Sunday, 12pm GMT, 7am EST

After a somewhat nomadic career that took in clubs in Russia, China, Japan, and Portugal, former Brazilian international Hulk is now in his fifth year back home with Atlético Mineiro.

And although he has reached the grand old age of 39, Hulk remains a much-valued asset for the Belo Horizonte-based club. In four of those five years, including this one, Hulk has made more that 50 appearances across all competitions, and has only failed to reach 20 goals on one occasion. In 2021, his first year, he hit 39 goals as he led them to a famous league and cup double - their first national league title for 50 years.

Since then, despite his consistency, there have been disappointments. Galo finished last season by losing in the final of both the Copa do Brasil and the Copa Libertadores, South America’s Champions League.

This Saturday’s final of the Copa Sudameiricana, the continent’s Europa League equivalent, is therefore a shot at redemption. Galo won’t have it easy, with Argentine side Lanús boasting a good record in the competition (winning in 2013, runners-up in 2020), but what a chance for Hulk and co. to make amends for last year’s double heartache.

Saturday, 8pm GMT, 3pm EST

Morocco on the rise as a footballing powerhouse

With a home AFCON on the horizon, a run of positive tournament performances at various age groups both in men’s and women’s football, Morocco are working hard to be the strongest footballing nation on the African continent.

Troy Parrott is an Irish hero

After more than doubling his career tally of international goals in the November window, scoring both goals in the win over Portugal, and the hattrick in Hungary that took Ireland through to the World Cup qualifying playoffs, Troy Parrott is having a moment. But it’s one that has been deserved for a striker honing his trade on an unbeaten path.

Son Heung-Min vs. Thomas Müller in MLS

Two of MLS’s biggest ever international imports clash in the Western Conference playoff semifinals as Son’s LAFC travel to Müller’s Vancouver Whitecaps this weekend. While both have had a huge impact on their sides since joining mid-season, this article highlights exactly what Son Heung-min in particular has brought to to the Hollywood Club.

Big Jacket season is coming! And with it, we have the release of a new weather feature in your favourite football app. That’s right, on every upcoming match, you should be able to check for rain before you head to the game, or settle down to watch it from the comfort of your own home.

And post-match, you can see exactly what conditions the game was played in. Perfect for those armchair managers looking to make excuses, and for those conversations we’re all going to be having about the heat and extreme weather delays when the 2026 World Cup kicks off in North America next summer.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page. This will automatically bring them to the top of your main feed in the app.

Friday: Valencia meet Levante in a fierce city derby in LaLiga, something we’ve taken to calling the Bat Derby, with both club crests featuring the flying mammals. Nice host Marseille in the south of France, with L’OM looking to move top of Ligue 1. And Bodø/Glimt play their penultimate game in Norway as they hunt down league leaders Viking at the top of the Eliteserien.

Saturday: Manchester City go to Newcastle United, and Chelsea travel to Burnley in perhaps the biggest Premier League games not mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter. Napoli play Atalanta as Antonio Conte attempts to get their title defence back on track. Bayern Munich test their unbeaten start to the campaign at home to Freiburg. Then there’s the playoff game between Vancouver Whitecaps and LAFC - one of these two favourites will not be lifting the MLS Cup next month!

Sunday: LaLiga leaders Real Madrid head to Elche looking to reopen a lead over Barcelona, who play Saturday. Inter Miami’s dream of a first MLS Cup rest on getting past FC Cincinnati in their Conference semifinal, highflying Roma visit Jamie Vardy’s Cremonese in Serie A, and it’s Derby Day in Copenhagen, where FC København face Brøndby.

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

By the time you go to bed next Tuesday, you’ll be able to list 42 out of the 48 nations that will take part at the 2026 World Cup. That’s a massive jump up from the 28 already confirmed at the time of writing this week’s newsletter. We won’t find out the final six until next March, when the last playoffs take place, well after the mammoth group stage draw that FIFA will be undertaking on 5 December.

England’s Three Lions are the only European nation to have secured their place at next year’s World Cup as we head in to the final double matchweek in qualifying. They remain unbeaten in such games since 2009, which is a record to be proud of.

Thomas Tuchel’s side will still have a massive role to play in their group, though, with games against Serbia tonight (Thursday), and then Albania on Sunday, with those two fierce rivals currently vying for the runners-up place and a second chance at qualification through the playoffs.

Portugal head the queue next to qualify

Cristiano Ronaldo will lead out his Portuguese side in Dublin, where they face Ireland tonight, with the sole aim of getting the win they need to qualify for what will be their talisman’s 15th major international tournament. If he can extend his world record for international goals scored in the men’s game in the process, we’re sure he’ll be happy to do so.

Ronaldo has bagged five goals during this qualification period, taking his overall tally to 143 goals in 225 appearances for Portugal.

In Group J, Belgium are in a similar situation, but with the added bonus that they have two games against sides already eliminated in order to get the three points they require to make it to their fourth straight finals. They go to Kazakhstan first on Saturday, then face Liechtenstein at home. The remaining interest in this group will stem from Wales and North Macedonia’s efforts to take second place, which could come down to a game between them in Cardiff next Tuesday.

Switzerland have such a superior goal difference advantage over Group B chasers Kosovo that a win on Saturday, against a Swedish side currently on a run of three straight defeats without scoring a goal, means that the Swiss will be home and dry in all but name.

The connotations for Spain in Group E are the same. The European champions have four wins from four in a four-team group and a goal difference of 12 over nearest rivals Türkiye. That means they can’t qualify on paper on Saturday, should they win in Georgia, but we can safely assume that we will be seeing them in the US, Canada, or Mexico next year!

France vs. Ukraine key for Deschamps

There’s a perceived wisdom in the game that Didier Deschamps, the longterm, very successful manager of Les Bleus, is past his sell by date, and that his French side has gone a little stale.

Deschamps has, of course, led France to the last two World Cup finals and would love to improve on his record of having won one, lost one. Which is why he has already stated his intention to step down after the 2026 finals - perhaps taking some of the power away from his critics by doing so.

But first, the French must qualify, and they can do so by beating Ukraine in Paris tonight. Deschamps has even brought trusted midfield lynchpin N’Golo Kanté back in to the fold in order to get there (see Must Reads below for more on that).

What will become of Scotland?

Steve Clarke’s Scots are aiming to get back to the World Cup for the first time since 1998 and their fate remains in their hands. Level on points with Denmark at the top of Group C, they need to match the Danes’ result when both are in action on Saturday night (Denmark play Belarus, Scotland go to Greece), to take qualification to a final game decider between the two sides, in Glasgow on Tuesday.

That could be massive.

Norway are so close to ending their long wait for a return to the world stage. With a three point lead over Italy and a huge +16 goal difference, and two games to play in Group I, Erling Haaland and the rest of his national team colleagues know that victory over Estonia, in Oslo, on Thursday will virtually confirm it.

That extra three points will mean that whatever else happens, they’ll just need to avoid a result so unlikely when they go to Italy on Sunday, that any such swing to the Azzurri will have the lawyers involved with the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal of the 2000s coming out of retirement.

Any talk of qualification is banned at FotMob HQ in Norway for fear of jinxing it. France ‘98 came long before mobile apps were even a thing, so we’ll leave it at this: Getting to follow Norway at a World Cup would mean an awful lot to a lot of people! Heia Norge!

If our preferred outcome comes to pass, that’ll mean Italy have to go through UEFA’s playoff route again. That has not proven a happy hunting ground for them in the past, with haunting memories of defeat to North Macedonia in 2022, and to Sweden in 2018 still fresh in the memory. Coach Gennaro Gattuso has even joked about going into exile should his side fail to make it through. At least, we thought he was joking…

The expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams meant that the African federation was handed an extra four automatic qualification places, redressing the continent’s past underrepresentation on the world stage, to some extent.

However, the resultant CAF qualifiers have left a number of big countries still at risk of not making it to the finals. Nigeria’s Super Eagles are one of those sides, a proud footballing nation that also missed the 2022 edition.

Their final chance of qualification comes by way of the CAF playoffs taking place this week - comprising of a semifinal against Gabon later today, and a final against either Cameroon or Congo on Sunday. AND THEN, should they win that, they’ll still have to battle through two further matches at FIFA’s inter-confederation playoffs due to take place next March.

Nigeria’s first overseas manager, Éric Chelle, has overseen three wins in their last four games, and with star striker Victor Osimhen currently the top scorer in the Champions League, he’s aware that he has the attacking talent at his disposal to fire them to the finals. It’s just about finding the balance in his squad.

“There are at least 25 players who could start across the frontline; more than a full team,” said Chelle who also has the 2025 AFCON later this year to plan for. “We manage it carefully. We’ve built a player-tracking system, monitoring around 80 players weekly. Selection is based on three criteria - club activity, performance, and tactical fit. Sometimes tactics take precedence.”

The only other FIFA Confederation still with automatic places up for grabs at next summer’s jamboree is CONCACAF. And in each of the three final stage groups, that seat at the top table remains wide open.

Steve McClaren’s Jamaica currently top Group B but qualification could all boil down to next Tuesday’s clash with Dick Advocaat’s Curaçao. To continue the name dropping, the Reggae Boyz face a trip to Dwight Yorke’s Trinidad & Tobago ahead of that.

Group A is a three-way battle between Suriname (looking to qualify for the first time in their history), Panama, and Guatemala (who have also never made the finals). The latter have the biggest say in things, with matches against the Canal Men and Suriname coming up.

Lastly, Honduras are best placed to make it out of Group C, and could secure their place with a win over Nicaragua tonight (Thursday), depending on Costa Rica’s result in the other game. Failing that, Tuesday’s clash between Honduras and Costa Rica will decide the group.

N’Golo Kanté is back

Didier Deschamps has never found an adequate replacement for his World Cup winning defensive midfield lynchpin from the 2018 finals…so he has brought back the original to help France get over the line in this qualifying run.

Danny Welbeck aging like a fine Malbec

Brighton’s veteran striker didn’t get the surprise international recall from Thomas Tuchel that some were suggesting, but Welbeck is currently the top scoring Englishman in the Premier League. And with him turning 35 this season, he might be on for the best goal return of his career.

Do we have a title race in Ligue 1?

Whisper it, but with seven points separating leaders PSG to seventh placed Lyon, Marseille and Lens in particularly good form, and Luis Enrique’s perennial champions dropping points more regularly, we might have a title race on our hands.

Need to get a better feel for a game beyond our market leading stats, in-play momentum, and shot map graphics? Well, you could try following our live minute-by-minute match commentaries.

For the top level games in all the best competitions, this is a handwritten account of all the action, full of context and rich in match facts worth repeating in the group chat.

Head to any ongoing match and switch to the Commentary tab to take a look.

Bonus Tip: Click on any of the green links below, then tap the star in the top right of the match page to automatically add them to the top of your match feed.

Friday: In UEFA World Cup qualifiers, Groups A, G, and L are in action. Germany and Slovakia are level on points in the first of those, with Germany facing Luxembourg before a likely decider against Slovakia on Monday. In Group G, A win for the Netherlands in Poland will seal their place at next year’s finals.

Elsewhere, there’s a host of international friendlies, including a trip to Angola for reigning World Champions Argentina, and the Round of 32 gets underway at the U17 World Cup.

Saturday: Away from international football, the two-horse title race in Brazil continues as leaders Palmeiras go to Santos, who despite having Neymar in their squad, are on the verge of a shock relegation. Title rivals Flamengo play Sport Recife.

In Women’s football, Barcelona meet Real Madrid in El Clásico femenino, while there’s a Manchester Derby in the WSL.

Sunday: By the end of the weekend, most attention will be on the final UEFA qualifiers for a host of big nations, including the potentially pivotal meeting between Italy and Norway that we detailed above.

And we’ll see which African side makes it through to the inter-confederation playoffs as the CAF playoffs come to a head. Will it be Nigeria or someone else?

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

This week, we take a look at the big games in the Premier League, catch up with Barca, PSG, and Juventus, now under the management of Luciano Spalletti. There’s also time to preview the Superclásico, Boca vs. River, and for our regular tips to get the best out of your FotMob app.

Man City vs. Liverpool

In previous years, this is the sort of fixture that might decide the destination of the Premier League title, but perhaps not this season. This clash between the reigning champions and the champions before them comes too early in the campaign and with City second in the table and Liverpool third, six and seven points down on Arsenal, respectively.

Manchester City’s rise to such a lofty position is fueled by the goals of Erling Haaland, with their only defeat in their last 13 coming against Aston Villa, the only game in that run in which Haaland both played and failed to find the net. The Norwegian has 13 goals in the league and scored his fifth in the Champions League during the midweek win over former club Dortmund. Increasingly, it appears, City’s tactics revolve around creating goalscoring opportunities for their No. 9.

It is not the same story at Liverpool where their Scandinavian No.9, Alexander Isak, has played just 253 minutes in the league and has one goal to his name, scored in the Carabao Cup back in September.

The Reds ended a run of four league defeats with their victory over Villa last weekend, and confidence in Arne Slot’s team will have been further boosted by the 1-0 win recorded against Spanish league leaders Real Madrid at Anfield in the Champions League. It appears they may have turned a corner.

The champions won both fixtures against City by two goals to nil last season, with the two matches in the previous year finishing 1-1, meaning they have not lost to their usual title rivals since April 2023.

Sunday, 4.30pm GMT, 11.30am EST

Sunderland vs. Arsenal

This is a game dripping with narrative, given the context of the season played so far. Sunderland, captained by Granit Xhaka, who used to fulfil the same role at Arsenal, are fourth in the Premier League, and have 18 points from their opening 10 games. That’s more points than any promoted side have managed at this stage in the campaign since Hull City in the 2008/9 season.

Arsenal, famously, have a very tight defence. Their run of eight clean sheets, reached with the midweek away win in Prague, equals an English top flight record set by Preston North End in 1889 and Liverpool in 1920.

The Gunners are conceding goals at a rate of 0.3 per game in the Premier League but Sunderland have only given up eight goals themselves, and have the second best record in the division. The Black Cats are unbeaten at home with their only defeats on the road coming against Burnley and Manchester United. A positive result against the league leader would be outstanding but perhaps understandable given the form book.

With the game between City and Liverpool not taking place until Sunday, a win for Mikel Arteta’s side could put Arsenal nine points clear at the top of the table.

Saturday, 5.30pm GMT, 12.30pm EST

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Juventus vs. Torino

The Turin Derby might be one of the more lopsided rivalries in the modern game but it is still a massive occasion, particularly for Juventus, with new manager Luciano Spalletti just two games in to his return to club football.

Juve are unbeaten in their last 22 meetings with city-rivals Torino, with the Bulls not tasting victory since April 2015. Two draws in the most recent of three derby games does, however, mark a relative high point.

Torino come in to this one sat 13th in the table but on a run of three draws and two wins in their last five, including a victory over defending Serie A champions Napoli. Their form under Marco Baroni has generally been much improved and is perhaps not reflected in their table position.

Spalletti is notorious for saying that he would never manage another club side in Italy having led Napoli to their previous title win in 2023 but two years is a long time in football and he is most certainly back. So far, he has overseen a nervy win over Cremonese and Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Sporting in the Champions League, and has looked to instil more dynamism in the side, making certain tactical tweaks that include the move of key midfielder Teun Koopmeiners to centre back.

You can read more on the new Spalletti era at Juventus via the link below:

Saturday, 5pm GMT, 12pm EST

Lyon vs. PSG

This season, PSG have already dropped as many points as they did on their way to winning the Ligue 1 championship in the 2024/25 campaign. As a result, the current table looks pretty congested, with four points separating the perennial leaders and their opponents this weekend, the sixth placed Lyon.

The French and European champions did win last time out in the league (vs. Nice) but were left frustrated by Bayern Munich during the week. Luis Enrique’s side recorded 25 shots against the Germans but only managed João Neves’ relatively late consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat.

Domestically, PSG are only being outscored by rivals Marseille and they currently boast the best defence, conceding just 0.8 goals per game on average. Lyon have given up more but they do match the league leaders for clean sheets, recording six so far.

The club, who won seven Ligue 1 titles back-to-back in the 2000s, are sat in the same table position in which they’ve finished the last two seasons, and that’s despite the ongoing touchline ban for coach Paulo Fonseca.

The Portuguese manager is allowed in the dugout for Lyon’s European matches but doesn’t see his ninth-month domestic ban, given for aggressively confronting a match referee, run out until the end of the month.

Sunday, 7.45pm BST, 2.45pm EST

Fans of Celta Vigo have come to expect a certain level of performance at home this season, with all of their previous five league games finishing 1-1 at the Estadio de Balaídos!

Since the last of those draws, however, the Galician side have gone on to win the consequent five games across league, cup, and Europa League. They come in to Sunday’s clash with Barcelona as the form side in Spain and unbeaten in eight.

Can Hansi Flick’s swashbuckling high line break that run of home draws for Celta? You’d think LaLiga’s top scorers are well placed to do so but they do concede goalscoring opportunities, with Barca not keeping a clean sheet in any of their last nine, and requiring an own goal to draw 3-3 with Belgian side Club Brugge during the week.

Sunday, 8pm GMT, 3pm EST

Traditionally seen as one of the biggest games in club football, Sunday’s Superclásico between Boca Juniors and River Plate comes at a difficult moment for both sides.

Boca suffered the tragic loss of manager Miguel Angel Russo, who died of prostrate cancer in October, but despite that, remain joint top of Zona A in the Argentinian league’s Clausura season.

In Zona B, River Plate sit sixth having lost five of their last six games in the league during a run of two wins in 10 across all competitions. That run has also seen them knocked out of the Copa Argentina by eventual winners Independiente Rivadavia and lose home and away to Palmeiras in the Copa Libertadores.

Sunday, 7.30pm GMT, 2.30pm EST

Exclusive FotMob interview with Erin Cuthbert

If you’re not subscribed to our Women’s football newsletter (why not!?), you may have missed our interview with Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert, who spoke to us ahead of the Blues’ big WSL clash with Arsenal this weekend.

Strasbourg striker Joaquín Panichelli is in demand

Learn everything you need to know about the Argentine frontman being closely watched by Europe’s elite clubs following nine goals in his first 11 games since arriving in Ligue 1 this season.

Erling Haaland’s machine-like numbers

We all know Erling Haaland scores goals but have you seen the extent of his underlying numbers this season? Sam McGuire talks us through them in this xG-heavy statistical analysis.

Have you tried the FotMob predictor game? Every week we select seven random big games and you predict the scores. You get three points for the exact score, and two points for the correct outcome.

The prize is the pride in yourself that you know ball. It’s all for fun. But you can also compete against other users in the worldwide league or create your own league to challenge your mates.

Head to the More tab in the app or click where you see FotMobPredict to start playing.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page. This will automatically bring them to the top of your main feed in the app.

Friday: The U17 World Cup continues in Qatar, and we’ll see whether the young England side can recover from their shock opening game defeat to Venezuela, when they take on Haiti. Later, Jamie Vardy’s Cremonese face fellow promoted side Pisa in Serie A.

Saturday: On top of the Premier League games covered above, Spurs face Manchester United and Chelsea play Wolves (again). In the WSL, there’s that big game between leaders Chelsea and rivals Arsenal, Milan go to Parma in Serie A, Bayern are at Union Berlin in the Bundesliga, and Inter Miami have the third and final game of their playoff series against Nashville.

Sunday: Palace vs. Brighton is the headline gathering game in the Premier League, LaLiga leaders Real Madrid visit Rayo Vallecano, Napoli face Bologna, and Gent play Genk in a game where there is always very little between the two sides!

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

Welcome to the Assist, your weekly guide to the weekend in football. We take you through all the key games in the top leagues, a couple of intriguing title races that are already brewing, and hopefully help you get the best out of your FotMob app.

Burnley vs. Arsenal

Virtually everything is coming up Arsenal in the Premier League this season, and with a four point advantage at the top of the table, and the best defensive record in the division, the Gunners head to Turf Moor for tomorrow’s clash with Burnley in fine fettle.

Mikel Arteta’s side have conceded just three goals in all competitions so the plaudits coming their way are deserved, even if there has been some sneering about the source of most of their goals, with 11 of their 16 in the league scored from set pieces.

Scott Parker’s Clarets should be in fine mood as well, having won back-to-back games against Leeds United and Wolves, which was their first on the road since their most recent return to the top flight.

Arsenal rested a few first choice players for their midweek run out in the Carabao Cup so have no new injury worries, and their record vs. Burnley is impressive: One defeat in 16 previous league meetings.

Saturday, 3pm GMT, 11am EST

Man City vs. Bournemouth

AFC Bournemouth currently boast the longest unbeaten run in the Premier League. And with the Cherries sitting second heading in to the weekend, and set to visit Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, we should get another indication of just how good Andoni Iraola’s side are this season.

Despite the loss of four of their first choice back five over the summer, Bournemouth have managed to record their best ever start to a campaign in the top flight, with a burgeoning reputation as relentless pressers of the ball, and a scoring record equal to Arsenal, the only side to have earned more points than them so far.

That press should come in handy against City, who despite some inconsistency this season, still like to dominate possession, and can rely on Erling Haaland to convert at least one opportunity fed to him per game.

Haaland’s streak of scoring in 12 consecutive games for club and country came to an end in last weekend’s defeat to Aston Villa but his record of 11 league goals dwarfs that of the next best striker in the division - who is, incidentally, Bournemouth’s form man, Antoine Semenyo (who has six).

You can read more on Semenyo and core of the side that have got Bournemouth motoring via the link below.

Sunday, 4.30pm GMT, 12.30pm EST

Real Madrid vs. Valencia

Winning last weekend’s Clásico against Barcelona has left Real Madrid with a five point advantage between the two rivals at the top of LaLiga - which, usually, is the kind of margin the team that goes on to claim the title needs to maintain in a league that boils down to a two-horse race more often than not.

Now, it’s all about momentum. And Xabi Alonso’s side appear to be gathering some, with September’s Derby Day defeat to Atleti still the only game they’ve lost this season, having won all the others, including each of their last five.

Worringly, at least for weekend opponents Valencia, Jude Bellingham seems to be regaining his form now he’s back to full fitness, which only increases the potency of an attacking unit that contains a firing Vinícius Júnior, Arda Güler, and Kylian Mbappé.

The latter leads virtually every attacking metric in LaLiga: Most goals (11), xG (9.5), xGOT (8.7), combined goals and assists (13), and perhaps more surprisingly, chances created (27).

For their part, Valencia are winless in five and currently find themselves dangerously close to the bottom of the table. This was not expected after the appointment of Carlos Corberán turned their fortunes around last season.

Saturday, 8pm GMT, 4pm EST

Milan vs. Roma

We’ve highlighted it in previous editions of The Assist, but the developing Serie A title race has been shaken up again following a chaotic midweek round - one of only two scheduled for this season.

Napoli and Roma are back as the joint leaders, and with Inter returning to winning ways on Wednesday, Milan have slipped from first to fourth. That means Sunday’s headline meeting between Roma and Milan has a lot riding on it. And although it’s the last fixture involving any of the main contenders this round, both could still have a chance to end the weekend in top spot.

Roma have the best defence and the best away form in the division, having won all four of their previous games on the road this season, conceding just once in the process. That contrasts with Milan, whose only defeat came at San Siro, where they have also dropped points in recent draws with Juve and Pisa.

Maxi Allegri’s side are unbeaten in eight, though, across all competitions.

Sunday, 7.45pm BST, 3.45pm EST

At the end of a week when Turkish referees, and specifically the scandal of their widespread gambling has been brought into the limelight, we thought it might be nice to talk about the Süper Lig itself, only this season seems to be heading the same way as the previous three.

After 10 games, three-time defending champions Galatasaray remain unbeaten and already have a five point advantage on Trabzonspor, their opponents this Saturday. Now would be a good time for the away side to make a statement, with giant frontman Paul Onuachu - who has seven goals in 10 this season - perhaps best placed to upset the Gala defence.

Coach ilOkan Buruk has made one of the most high-pressure jobs in football look easy, guiding Galatasaray to those three back-to-back titles. In 2023/24, José Mourinho’s Fenerbaçhe earned 99 points and lost just once only for Gala to still win the league by three points. And the margin went out to 11 points last season, enough to put José’s position in serious doubt, even before his eventual sacking in August.

Saturday, 5pm GMT, 1pm EST

Perhaps most famous in recent years for being the club where now-Luton Town boss Jack Wilshere saw out the end of an injury-hit playing career, Aarhus GF have been on the march in the Danish Superliga, and are now leading the table by two points having won nine and drawn three of their opening 13 games.

After three seasons of steadily improved finishes under Uwe Rösler in the league’s Championship Group, the side made a change this summer, bringing in former player Jakob Poulsen as manager.

So far, Poulsen has overseen victory over champions FC København, a win and a draw against Brøndby, and a draw with second placed FC Midtjylland. Good results against the only sides to have won the Danish title across a period that dates back to the 2014/15 season. Poulsen now takes his league leaders to Midtjylland, another side he played for, on Monday evening.

Monday, 6pm GMT, 2pm EST

Gilberto Mora, the next great Mexican wonderkid

Already a Gold Cup winner with the senior side, Gilberto Mora dropped down to star for Mexico’s U20s side at the recent age group World Cup, and now has scouts from Europe’s biggest clubs watching his every move.

Lionel Messi and the next Inter Miami rebuild

The goat signed a contract extension to stay in MLS until 2028 and will help launch the club’s first purpose built stadium. But with key retirements elsewhere in the team, how will the Herons look to shape the side around the great Argentine in the years to come?

Lennart Karl’s time is now

Bayern’s diminutive 17-year-old attacking midfielder has announced himself to the world with two wonder goals in as many games, and looks to be filling the boots of Jamal Musiala, the currently-injured but last great prospect off the Munich production line.

In this section we like to talk about lesser known, slightly hidden, features from the app that can help give you more context around an upcoming game.

And this week, we want to mention the H2H tab found on any given match page. From here, you can check past results (all the way back to when FotMob records begin!) and check out a handy Season So Far graphic that compares and contrasts the form of the two teams.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page. This will automatically bring them to the top of your main feed in the app.

Friday: EFL Championship leaders Coventry City aim to go 13 games unbeaten when they go to Wrexham. Borussia Dortmund visit Augsburg in the Bundesliga. And the FA Cup First Round Proper kicks off as Luton Town meet Robbie Savage’s Forest Green Rovers.

Saturday: Liverpool look to stop the rot as Aston Villa visit Anfield and London rivals Spurs and Chelsea clash in the capital. Real Sociedad take on Athletic Club in LaLiga’s biggest Basque Derby, PSG face Nice in Ligue 1, Napoli meet upwardly mobile Como in Serie A, and the last two champions of Germany face off as Bayern play Leverkusen in Munich.

Sunday: Barcelona need to get back to winning ways when they play Elche, struggling West Ham meet Newcastle United, and Switzerland’s big two Young Boys and Basel come head-to-head. And finally, the Old Firm meet in the semifinal of the Scottish League Cup. Astoundingly, Celtic and Rangers have both changed manager mid-season in the same season for the first time in the 137 year history of their rivalry!

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

Congrats to Sarah B who won our new subscriber competition! We’ll be in touch via email today about getting a shirt sent your way.

And current subscribers — keep your eyes peeled for upcoming competitions for you as well.

One of club football’s biggest games may dominate proceedings over the next couple of days, but there’s plenty more to be watching out for beyond El Clásico — with a full Premier League programme, plus top of the table action in Italy, Scotland, and France.

Real Madrid vs. Barcelona

No season in Spanish football is really set until the final whistle of the first meeting between it’s two biggest sides. Then, more often than not, we know the front runners in LaLiga, and who is chasing: Real Madrid or Barcelona, Barcelona or Real Madrid.

Last season, Barcelona beat Madrid to the title by four points, and won El Clásico both home and away. Currently, it’s Madrid who lead the way, sat two points clear of their great Catalan rivals heading in to their biggest home game of the campaign at the Bernabéu.

Should Xabi Alonso’s side win, that five point advantage will dictate the rest of the season, with Madrid constantly looking over their shoulder, and Barca waiting for any slip-ups, weekend after weekend, round after round.

The two sides have scored 44 goals between them so far, so it’s safe to assume there will be goals whatever the eventual outcome on Sunday. Barca, as they always do under Hansi Flick, will play with their usual high line, and Alonso will look to exploit that with an in-form forward set-up that includes Kylian Mbappé, who has scored in each of his last 11 appearances for club and country.

Hansi Flick has won all four Clásicos played since taking the Barca job (4-0, 5-2, 3-2, 4-3!), but his charges will have to do it without him this weekend, with the German coach suspended following his red card received in the game against Girona.

To change the current course of the campaign, Barcelona need a result.

Sunday, 3.15pm GMT, 11.15am EST

Made with the FotMob lineup builder - exclusive to FotMob.com - and based on average ratings in LaLiga this season

Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace

In the Premier League, league leaders Arsenal must wait until Sunday to take on Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace due to both sides having had European commitments during the week.

The Gunners have the best defence both at home and in Europe this season, having conceded just three times in 11 competitive games. After Palace lost their club-record 19-game unbeaten run at Everton earlier in the month, they needed a Jean-Philippe Mateta hat-trick to rescue a point against Bournemouth and then suffered a surprise defeat to AEK Larnaca in what was their first ever home tie in continental competition on Thursday night.

A trip to the Emirates, where they’ve not won since 2019, and the possibility of facing former star player Eberechi Eze, might not be top of the wishlist for the Eagles, but they have come through worse spells than this under their much-fancied Austrian coach.

They’ll do well to break the resolve of Mikel Arteta’s masterful defence, though, with Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya having already kept eight clean sheets this season, and at 83.3%, boasting the highest save percentage in the Premier League.

Sunday, 2pm GMT, 10am EST

Napoli vs. Inter

The primetime Saturday evening kickoff in Serie A was supposed to be a chance for defending champions Napoli to take charge of the title race against one of their major rivals. And that could still be the case, but their result last week saw Napoli slip to third, behind AC Milan and this weekend’s opponents, Inter. In turn, the latter’s victory over Roma in the last round means that just a single point separates a congested top four.

It’s early days, but with Milan playing on Friday night, the gap to the leaders may be up to four points by the time this one gets underway at the Maradona.

The defending champions were humbled at Torino last Saturday (1-0), and then dismantled at PSV during the week (6-2), so this game against his former club comes in a difficult moment for coach Antonio Conte. Inter have won their last seven, in all competitions, conceding two goals in the process, and look to have found their rhythm after a slow start and a disappointing exit from the Club World Cup under Cristian Chivu. They also appear to have unlocked a talent in new signing Ange-Yoan Bonny, who has three goals and four assists in his first 10 games for the club.

The last three meetings between these two, including both games last season, have ended in 1-1 draws.

Saturday, 5pm BST, 2.45pm EST

Lens vs. Marseille

With PSG dropping points in their last two games in Ligue 1, Roberto De Zerbi’s Marseille have been able to take advantage, winning their last five to climb above their archrivals, and sit top of the tree in France.

That run includes L’OM defeating PSG 1-0 at the Stade Vélodrome back in September, and a smash and grab comeback at third placed Strasbourg. De Zerbi’s side have scored nine in the two domestic fixtures played since then and at 2.6 goals per game, they’ve outgunned everyone so far.

This weekend, the leaders must pick themselves up after midweek Champions League disappointment at Sporting, as they go to fourth-placed Lens. The northern club are riding a high of their own having started their own four match unbeaten run with a Derby Day victory over Lille.

Saturday, 8.05pm BST, 3.05pm EST

On the announcement of his investment in SPFL side Hearts, Tony Bloom promised that the Jam Tarts would be in a position to challenge the Celtic and Rangers hegemony in Scottish football. But no one expected that challenge to come so soon.

Aberdeen were the last club outside the Old Firm to win the league but that was in 1985. Hearts haven’t claimed Scotland’s top prize since 1960, and the last time they tasted silverware of any kind was a Cup triumph in 2012.

Around this time in 2005 they were close. Seven games in to the season, they spent a single September day eight points clear of Celtic, but would eventually end the season finishing second. A win on Sunday would see them recreate that stat nine games in to the current campaign, maintaining their unbeaten start in the process.

A lot has been written about the crisis currently unfolding at both Glasgow clubs, with Celtic fans protesting against the board, and Rangers attempting to recover from the disastrous appointment of Russell Martin. But perhaps we should be focusing on the job done by Hearts boss Derek McInnes and a side that are averaging 2.4 goals per game and have won seven of their eight matches.

Sunday, 12pm GMT, 8am EST

Harry Kane’s new quarterback role

Vincent Kompany has untapped the England captain’s creative tendencies at Bayern Munich this season. Either playing up top on his own, or in behind Nicolas Jackson as a No. 10, Kane’s numbers are stronger than ever.

Nico Paz is the hottest property in Italy

Top of the average FotMob match ratings for Serie A, second in the scoring charts, top for assists and chances created. It’s fair to say that Como’s Argentine attacking mid has enjoyed a strong start to the campaign. Writer Zach Lowy has been tracking his career to date.

Newcastle’s giant-sized success story

With four goals in his first five Premier League games, plus another in the Champions League, Nick Woltemade has hit the ground running in English football. The 6’6” German might not have been their first choice signing but he’s proving a clever buy.

Want to know the winger in LaLiga with the most goals and assists this season? Need to compare players who play a specific role in your favourite league?

If you head to the profile for any competition in the app, then to the Player Stats tab, you can now tap on any stat and filter them by position.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page. This will automatically bring them to the top of your main feed in the app.

Friday: Serie A league leaders AC Milan host Pisa, playing at this level for the first time in a generation. Leeds and West Ham kick off the Premier League weekend, sleeping giants Schalke look to go top of the 2.Bundesliga, and Inter Miami, with the newly re-signed Lionel Messi, start a best of three series against Nashville in the MLS playoffs.

Saturday: After breaking their run of defeats in Europe, Liverpool look to get back to winning ways at Brentford in the Premier League. Elsewhere, Chelsea take on high-flying Sunderland and Manchester United play Brighton. German leaders Bayern Munich go to former bogey side Borussia Mönchengladbach, and European Champions PSG travel to Brest.

Sunday: Don’t forget the clocks go back in Europe, and make sure you’ve clicked follow on the big games in your match feed! The top two clash in the Netherlands as Feyenoord host PSV, while in the Premier League, Sean Dyche takes charge of his first league game with Forest, who play at Bournemouth, and Aston Villa take on Manchester City. In Serie A’s late evening kickoff, Lazio play Juventus.

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.

Europe’s big five leagues are back with a vengeance, and in the Premier League and Bundesliga, we get perhaps the biggest games of them all, historically speaking. Elsewhere, we check in on MLS Decision Day and learn more about Swedish minnows Mjällby, who could be about to pull off a fairytale title win more fanciful than Leicester City’s.

Liverpool vs. Manchester United

One of the Premier League’s traditional classics takes place on Merseyside this weekend, as Ruben Amorim’s United travel to face a Liverpool team going through a tricky spell for the first time since Arne Slot took over as manager.

Indeed, some are calling this the most important game of the Dutch coach’s time at Anfield - okay, it was us, we were calling it that - here, in Sam McGuire’s long read lookahead to Sunday’s headliner. But the simple facts remain, Liverpool have lost their last three games, something they haven’t done since March 2023. And if they want to end that run, they’ll need to do it against one of their oldest and most hated rivals.

Last season’s corresponding fixture finished 2-2 and was rightly seen as a bit of a coup for Amorim. The fact that the draw was celebrated perhaps tells you something about United’s ongoing lean spell under the Portuguese manager.

Famously, United do lead the Premier League for xG this season, with a figure of 14.1 expected goals. But in actual goals, they’ve delivered just nine, and have shipped 11. Midtable form that has seen them win three, draw one, and lose three so far.

The Reds have only the seventh best xG (11.1) but they have overperformed on that, scoring 13 actual goals, a number only Arsenal and Manchester City can beat across the early stages of the 2025/26 campaign.

Sunday, 4.30pm BST, 11.30am EST

Fulham vs. Arsenal

Premier League leaders Arsenal, meanwhile, are set to enjoy a short trip across London to play Fulham on the banks of the Thames.

Marco Silva’s Cottagers have been one of the more inconsistent Premier League sides this season, and start the weekend in 14th having lost their last two games leading up to the international break by the same 3-1 scoreline (away to Aston Villa and Bournemouth). But they do remain unbeaten at home, and won the two league games prior to that (against Leeds and Brentford).

Uncharacteristically, Fulham currently lead the league in fouls per match (14) and are averaging the fourth highest amount of successful long balls per game (23.4). Which perhaps shows they’re willing to mix it up.

Arsenal have won six of their last seven in all competitions, drawing the odd game in that run (vs. Man City), and still boast the best defensive record in the Premier League having lost just once, at Anfield, back in August.

Saturday, 5.30pm BST, 12.30am EST

Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund

We’ve covered Bayern’s start to the season previously in the newsletter, with Vincent Kompany’s German champions beating all-comers thanks to a combination of a firing-on-all-cylinders Harry Kane (18 goals in 10 competitive club games), an in-form Michael Olise (nine goal contributions in 10 games), Luis Díaz hitting the ground running (five goals and six assists in six league games since joining) and a defence, led by the evergreen Manuel Neuer, that has conceded just three goals in the league so far.

Now, though, it’s the game most passionate German football observers have been waiting for - Der Klassiker - the round seven clash against rivals Borussia Dortmund. There’s a hope that Dortmund will provide a real test for Bayern (indeed, they are unbeaten in their last three meetings), but it’s also time to test a theory about Dortmund.

The Black and Yellows have been enjoying something of a resurgence under the continued steady hand of Niko Kovać this season. But are the early results a false-positive? Have Dortmund really improved that much? They go in to the weekend unbeaten in the league and Champions League, and sit second in the table.

Serhou Guirassy is in the goals (it’s four in five for him) and Nico Schlotterbeck is looking strong at the back. But have they got enough to sustain a challenge across the season? Sunday’s game should tell us more.

Sunday, 7.45pm BST, 2.45pm EST

Made with the FotMob lineup builder - exclusive to FotMob.com - and based on average ratings in the Bundesliga this season

Serie A

The Italian top flight is looking particularly interesting this season, with a host of teams performing well, while other, more established sides, now look to be kicking in to gear after a difficult start.

Admittedly, we’re only six rounds in, but the table is jointly led by reigning champions Napoli and Roma, now under the management of Gian Piero Gasperini, the coach credited with establishing Atalanta as regular qualifiers for European competition. Both have won five and lost one of their games so far. Below them, Milan sit third having gone five games unbeaten under Maxi Allegri, Inter are one point further back, as are Juventus, who remain unbeaten but down in fifth.

This Saturday, both leaders are in action. Roma host Inter, in perhaps the biggest test of the Gasperini-era - bar last month’s Derby day win over Lazio. And Antonio Conte’s new-look champions face Torino in Turin.

Thomas Müller has made just seven appearances for MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps since joining the club in August, but the Bayern Munich legend has already made a lasting impression - scoring seven goals and assisting another four so far!

Never the most successful franchise in the league, Müller’s arrival coincides with a season where the Canadian club are riding a wave of success under the management of Danish manager Jesper Sørensen.

Having lost out in the final of the Concacaf Champions Cup (their Champions League equivalent) and pipped to the Supporter’s Shield by Philadelphia Union, a side they beat 7-0 last month(!), the Whitecaps are now looking to end the season on a high.

This Saturday night is MLS Decision Day, where the final round of regular season fixtures all get played at the same time in each conference.

Vancouver Whitecaps can win the Western Conference with a victory over Dallas, a result that will also help their seeding in the post-season playoffs, and could see them move level with the Union at the top of the Supporters Shield standings. Despite having a better goal difference, the Whitecaps can’t actually steal that title due to the first tiebreaker used in the league being the total number of games won across the season.

Confusing? Probably. But that is just one quirk that perhaps the most quirky German international of his generation will have to get used to as he hopes to propel Vancouver through the playoffs and on to their first ever MLS Cup triumph.

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Saturday, 9pm EST, 2am BST

Image via Football Is Everywhere

Based in a tiny fishing village in the very south of Sweden, Mjällby AIF were in the second tier as recently as 2019. Now, they are already preparing to make their European debut next season and are just one win away from lifting an unforgettable Allsvenskan title (which could come at IFK Göteborg on Monday).

They only made their top-flight debut in the 1980s and never managed to stay up for successive seasons until after the turn of the century. But in recent years, something special has been brewing in Blekinge County.

Soon after their first multi-year Allsvenskan stint came to an end in 2014, Mjällby appointed a new chairman in Magnus Emeus. Sweden’s 51% rule is similar to the German 50+1 rule, in principle, making all of their clubs effectively fan-owned and controlled. So, the locally born businessman did not change the club’s fortunes overnight with a big cash injection, but he did start laying the groundwork for achievements that might then have seemed unthinkable.

Hit the link below for more on how this fascinating side have reached the brink of a league title despite their low budget, a leading goalscorer with just seven goals, and a goalkeeper who wears a Petr Čech-style helment.

Monday, 6.10pm BST, 1.10pm EST

The Dutch regen phenomenon

During the international break we investigated the boom in young footballers with famous ball-playing fathers currently breaking through in the Netherlands. From academy prospects to first team stars, we found six of the Dutch XI who reached the 2014 World Cup final now have at least one son playing professionally.

Moisés Caicedo is Chelsea’s Mr Consistant 

The lynchpin of Enzo Maresca’s midfield, Caicedo provides the rhythm in this Chelsea team, and Graham Ruthven argues that the Ecuadorian is more than living up to his price tag. Staggeringly, we’ve given him the same 8.1 match rating in four of his seven league appearances this season!

Rasmus Højlund’s post-United recovery

With two league goals, and two more in the Champions League, the Man United loanee has found his form for Antonio Conte’s Napoli as they attempt to defend the Scudetto in Serie A. We took a look at how Conte’s tactical shift has seen it all come together for the Danish striker.

Have you ever clicked on a manager’s profile in your FotMob app? If not, you might be missing out.

From a summary of their wins, draws, and losses in their current role, to their win percentage at previous clubs, there’s a host of at-a-glance info that could prove really useful. Particularly if you want to evidence that one-man argument you’ve been raging in the group chat.

You can either use Search to locate a manager, or tap in to a line up during a match, and scroll down to see the two coaches, then click through for their profile and career history.

Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page. This will automatically bring them to the top of your main feed in the app.

Friday: It’s top vs. third in Ligue 1 as Liam Rosenior’s high-flying Strasbourg visit champions PSG. Middlesbrough could go top of the EFL Championship if they beat Ipswich, and in the League of Ireland, Shamrock Rovers should pick up the result they need to claim a fifth title in six seasons. And as one league is decided, we welcome back another, as the A-League season gets underway in Australia.

Saturday: Forest vs. Chelsea and Man City vs. a Grealish-less Everton are the big Premier League games not already mentioned. Barcelona host Girona as they look to leapfrog Madrid at the top of LaLiga, Scottish leaders Hearts head to Kilmarnock, and we’ll have coverage from the CAF Super Cup in Africa.

Sunday: Flamengo and Palmerias meet for a crucial top of the table clash in Brazil, just days before both also feature in the Copa Libertadores semifinals. Real Madrid make the short trip to Getafe in LaLiga, while in Serie A there are more interesting fixtures, with Como taking on Juventus, and Milan playing Fiorentina. We’ll also be following Morocco vs. Argentina in the final of the U20 World Cup.

Follow the weekend with us on Instagram, TikTok, X, or Bluesky.