European football returned to our screens midweek and we had some very entertaining matches in the final round of 2024. We now head into another busy weekend of domestic fixtures with Christmas fast approaching.
This means different things in different countries, as most of the top European leagues will be paused for a few weeks, but, on the other hand, the British leagues will increase the number of matches played. But for now, we have an average of two rounds of meetings until the mid-season winter break.
Midweek European action means none of the big teams will play on Friday night, although there is one game each for the top divisions of Spain, Italy, Germany and France. There is no early kick-off this weekend in the PL, so we have to wait until 4 p.m. for England’s top division to come alive with four matches played, including top teams Liverpool and Arsenal, who host Fulham and Everton respectively. . Struggling teams Wolves and Ipswich face off in what can be considered a six-point game, despite it being so early in the season. One of this season’s surprise teams, Nottingham Forest, will face Aston Villa in the late kick-off, with both teams tied on 25 points.
Second and third-placed teams Marseille and Monaco are both in action in Ligue 1 on Saturday. In Germany, leaders Bayern will play Saturday afternoon against Mainz and last year’s champions Bayer Leverkusen will play away against Augsburg. Napoli will look to get back to winning ways in the late afternoon Serie A match when they travel to Udinese and Juventus will expect to secure all three points at home to Venezia. There are four matches played in La Liga on Saturday, including Real Madrid’s visit to Rayo Vallecano in the evening.
The highlight of Sunday will certainly be the Manchester derby with high stakes for these two clubs in poor form. It’s City who host bitter rivals United, with both teams having managed just 3 wins in the last ten matches between them. Brighton host Crystal Palace, Chelsea face Brentford in a west London derby and Southampton host Tottenham on the south coast. There are five matches to be played in the French top flight, the highlight being PSG against Lyon in the evening. Bundesliga action includes Stuttgart’s trip to Heidenheim, Dortmund versus Hoffenheim and finally, Germany’s weekend match, RB Leipzig versus Eintracht Frankfurt. There are five Serie A matches on Sunday with the likes of AS Roma and AC Milan both in action. In Scotland, it’s the League Cup final between Rangers and Celtic on Sunday as the two Glasgow giants battle it out for the first piece of silverware of the season. In the Spanish La Liga, Atlético Madrid move the ball with their match against Getafe, followed by teams like Real Sociedad and Real Betis in the afternoon and finally Barcelona against Leganes in the evening.
Monday night football in England is Bournemouth v West Ham, the second week in a row that West Ham will play on Monday night. But the match of the day will surely be Lazio v Inter, two teams tied on 31 points in the Serie A top five. Elsewhere, there will be matches from Portugal and Turkey to round off a busy weekend .
Manchester City vs. Manchester United
The highlight of the week in England’s Premier League is undoubtedly the Manchester derby on Sunday. This season, both teams are struggling although City’s problems are somewhat unexpected. Manchester United’s struggles have hardly been a news story in recent years, but this year has been even worse than expected. Manchester City dropped further points last weekend when they were held to a 2-2 draw by lowly Crystal Palace, a result which leaves them eight points behind leaders Liverpool having played a game more. Manager Pep Guardiola has already written off his side’s chances of retaining the league title this season, but a defeat in this match would surely mean they are out of the running. Injuries to key players have certainly played their part, with key men such as De Bruyne, Rodri and Stones all missing numerous matches. The fact that they have already conceded 21 goals is alarming, more than any other team in the top five.
Manchester United’s season seems to be moving from one crisis to another, this week they fired sporting director Dan Ashworth, who only signed him in the summer. They continue to struggle for results and new manager Ruben Amorim has had a very short honeymoon period. He appears far from impressed with his squad of players, but it remains to be seen what he can do to turn around the fortunes of the struggling giants. United find themselves in thirteenth position heading into this game, but just eight points outside the top four, so it’s a very crowded league. Two wins from their last five won’t fill them with confidence, however, and the 3-2 home defeat to Nottingham Forest will have left supporters with their heads in their hands.
City got the better of United in their early season meeting in the Community Shield while United won the FA Cup final at the end of last season. In total, City have won seven of the last ten matches and United have won the other three.
RB Leipzig vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
The final Bundesliga match of the weekend is a clash between fourth-placed RB Leipzig and second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, a match with plenty at stake for both teams. Bayern Munich are looking back on their best league finish this season, but the battle for the top four is well and truly on, so the opportunity to take points away from a team vying for one of those positions is certainly worth it to be seized. RB Leipzig are not coming into this match in the best form, having only managed one win in their last five league matches. This victory came at least last time, an away victory against Holstein Kiel, which allowed them to maintain their fourth place. These are the lowest scores in the top six, so they will be looking for more from Openda and Sesko.
Although they are above their league opponents, the visitors approach this match as underdogs. They are in better form, with four wins in their last five matches, although last week’s draw against Augsburg will be considered a disappointment. The 33 goals scored are just behind leader Bayern and Omar Marmoush is second in the goalscoring chart behind Harry Kane with thirteen goals in total. The Frankfurt side will be looking for revenge here after being knocked out of the Pokal Cup by RB Leipzig last week, losing 3-0 on a disappointing day.
Draws are common between these two teams, with four of the last ten ending in a draw. RB Leipzig have won three and Frankfurt have also won three, so there’s really nothing to choose between these two teams in recent history.
Lazio vs Inter
The Italian Premier League match of the weekend takes place on Monday evening as Inter travel to the capital to take on Lazio. There is very little to choose between the two teams so far this season, both go into this match on 31 points, with the visitors having the better goal difference. Lazio have four wins in the last five matches and notched an impressive away win over Napoli last weekend, a big boost after losing to Parma in the previous round. Despite being at home, they will be underdogs in this match, with the defending champions having a good record against them.
Inter recorded a 3-1 victory over Parma last week and have not lost a match in any competition since losing to AC Milan in September. This impressive run includes 11 wins in their last 13 matches, which explains why they are also favorites to win this match. They are now just three points off the top of the table with a game in hand on the top two, so a win in this tricky match will give them a very good chance of going top of the table soon. Marcus Thuram is second in the overall goalscoring chart with ten league goals so far this season.
Inter have won five of the last ten clashes between these two teams, with Lazio winning three.
Celtic vs Rangers
The 2024 League Cup Final is another Old Firm clash as the two dominant forces in Scottish football clash at Hampden Park on Sunday afternoon. Celtic will undoubtedly go into this match as favorites as they hold an impressive eleven point lead over Rangers in the table. The fact that Rangers are not even in second place, but are also behind Aberdeen, illustrates what a bad season it has been for them. Celtic’s success was built on an excellent defensive record, conceding just four goals in the league and they beat Aberdeen in the semi-final, winning 6-0. In fact, Celtic’s only defeat so far this season was against Dortmund in the CL, a 7-1 defeat in Germany. They have nine wins in their last ten matches in all competitions and will be confident of lifting another piece of silverware on Sunday.
Rangers, on the other hand, have not had a great season, although they are unbeaten in their last eight matches. They are having a good time in Europe at least and are currently in eighth place in the new EL, having won three of their five matches played so far. Their last three league matches have been excellent, resulting in an aggregate scoreline of 10-0 in their favor as they attempt to close the gap to Celtic at the top of the league. A victory in this cup final will give them more confidence and give manager Philippe Clément more time to turn the season around.
Celtic have certainly had the better of things in recent times and have won eight of the last ten meetings between the two winning Rangers, managing just one victory, in the league in May 2023.
PS: The odds may have changed since this article was written and published.
Last updated: 12.12.24
