After another busy weekend with plenty of surprise results, we now focus largely on the cup action during the week. The likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Bayern all dropped points over the weekend and some will be looking to bounce back and continue their respective cup journeys.
The Coppa Italia and EFL Cup are the center of attention, but there are also a number of La Liga and Ligue 1 fixtures as well as a full run of ECL matches taking place on Thursday, ensuring that football fans will have nothing to worry about. lack of action.
Starting with the EFL Cup, we have now reached the quarter-final stage and three matches will be played on Wednesday. Arsenal expect to force their way past fellow Londoners Crystal Palace, Newcastle expect to do the same against Brentford and Liverpool are likely to do so. return to winning ways on the south coast against Southampton. The clash of the round takes place on Thursday when two of the top division’s underperforming teams, Tottenham and Manchester United, meet in the last of the quarter-finals.
The first of the Coppa Italia matches took place yesterday, with Juventus beating Cagliari 4-0. Atalanta host Cesena on Wednesday in the late afternoon match and will also expect a relatively easy passage to the next round. The late match sees AS Roma face Sampdoria in what is likely to be a closer affair. The final match of the round takes place on Tuesday when Inter host Udinese.
There is a solitary Ligue 1 match taking place on Wednesday and it is an important match as third-placed Monaco host leaders PSG, with the visitors knowing that a win in the principality will put them eight points clear in the standings . There will also be a few La Liga matches on Wednesday evening as Espanyol host Valencia and Villarreal play Rayo Vallecano and there will be another round of Turkish Cup matches. Highlights from Thursday night’s round of the ECL include Chelsea vs Shamrock Rovers and Vitoria Guimaraes vs Fiorentina.
Monaco vs. PSG
Monaco will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing week where they failed to score against Arsenal and Reims, two major blows to their respective campaigns. They now go into this match seven points behind their opponents and will know they badly need a win to maintain their title ambition. Marseille overtook them in the standings, on goal difference. Monaco will know that they will have to rely on their impressive home record to get the upper hand against the powerful PSG, they have lost only one of their last fourteen home matches, a series which began with a goalless encounter between these two teams last season.
PSG will know that this is one of the toughest tests they will face this season. They managed an important 3-1 win against in-form Lyon at the weekend and have eleven wins in fifteen matches so far, unbeaten at this stage. PSG will be wary of this match, however, as Monaco are the last Ligue 1 team to beat them. They have drawn three of their last five away matches, so three points are not guaranteed. The 40 goals scored by PSG are by far the highest in the championship and almost double what Monaco managed (24).
PSG have won four of the last ten meetings between the two, with Monaco also managing four, so there isn’t much to choose between them in recent history.
Tottenham vs. Manchester United
Tottenham recorded an impressive victory on Sunday, albeit against bottom side Southampton, scoring five unanswered goals during a first-half goal blitz. The result ended a disappointing five-game winless run and sets them up well for what should be a crucial match this season, an EFL Cup quarter-final. Silverware is something the club’s fans have dreamed of for years and it must surely be a priority to win a trophy rather than just aim for European football this season. Manager Ange Postecoglou won the Scottish equivalent of this trophy in his two seasons in charge of Celtic and it was the last trophy Tottenham won, in 2008. They could be at home for this tie, but that won’t didn’t really help them. much later because they are on a four-game winless streak. James Maddison is a man in form for the home side, having scored two goals last weekend, but he has never managed to score against United in eleven attempts.
Manchester United recorded a memorable away victory against rivals Manchester City on Sunday, scoring two late goals to inflict further pain on the stuttering reigning champions. Once again there were positive signs but it was by no means a great performance and Ruben Amorim will be expecting more from his players in this quarter-final as the opportunity to win silverware in his first season is not far away. Jose Mourinho and Erik Ten Hag both won this tournament in their first season in charge of Manchester, but United have failed to win on any of the last four visits to Tottenham. Amad Diallo is the man in form for the Red Devils, having scored eight goals in his last nine matches.
Tottenham have three wins in the last ten meetings between these two, including an impressive 3-0 victory at Old Trafford in September. United last beat Tottenham in October 2022, one of four wins in the last ten meetings.
PS: The odds may have changed since this article was written and published.
Last updated: 12/18/24
