With January drawing to a close, February kicks off another month of non-stop footballing action across Europe. With the Champions League only a couple of weeks away, teams are looking to settle the scores in their respective domestic competitions. The week’s action begins with the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, as Atletico Madrid take on Barcelona in a crunch tie.
The Premier League will make a return with Chelsea and Arsenal kicking things off this weekend, while Manchester United travel to champions, Leicester City on Sunday. There are big games in Germany, France and Italy as RB Leipzig play Dortmund, Monaco face Nice, and Juventus host Inter Milan. The week concludes with the second legs of the Cop del Rey.
#1 Chelsea host Arsenal to open the weekend’s action
Following an intense fixture schedule in mid-week, the Premier League teams will be in action once again on the weekend. Saturday kicks off with a thriller as Chelsea host London rivals, Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. The Blues were comfortably beaten by Arsene Wenger’s side the last time the two teams met but followed that with a 13-game winning run.
Third-placed Gunners will be looking to do the double over Chelsea and thus reduce the gap at the top of the league.
Liverpool will also be in action on Saturday, when they visit Hull City, while Tottenham will face a visit from Middlesbrough. Sam Allardyce will play host to his former team Sunderland, as Crystal Palace and the Black Cats battle it out at the bottom of the table. Both Manchester clubs will be in action on Sunday, with the Citizens hosting Swansea City and Jose Mourinho’s side travelling to reigning champions, Leicester City.
#2 RB Leipzig hoping to down Dortmund at Westfalenstadion
RB Leipzig managed to recover following their hiccup at the start of the year, winning each of their last two games to keep track with high-flying Bayern Munich. The Bavarian club are three points clear at the top of Bundesliga after a seven-game winning run.
They face a visit from struggling Schalke, while Leipzig will play host fourth place Borussia Dortmund at the weekend. Thomas Tuchel’s side have been performing well below par this season and find themselves out of a Champions League spot at the moment. Der BVB must improve their performances considerably and gain some consistency after failing to win four of their last five games in the league.
German teams will once again be in action the following mid-week in the DFB-Pokal Round of 16. The big game in the round is in-form Wolfsburg’s trip to the Allianz Arena to take on Bayern Munich.
#3 Top two battle it out in Ligue 1
PSG blew a chance to move closer to the top when they played league leaders Monaco last week. The Parisians are still in third place and three points behind the top of Ligue 1 and now face a trip to Dijon, who are unbeaten in their last four league games.
Monaco have been playing like a title winning side, lately, and have refused to slip up. They will face another tough test this week when they take on second-placed Nice on home turf. Nice have also been in top form this campaign and are currently level on points with Monaco, separated only by goal difference.
Mario Balotelli continued his outstanding form this season with another goal in his side’s 3-1 win against Guingamp last weekend.
#4 Copa del Rey semi-finals sees Barcelona take on Atletico Madrid
Football in Spain this week begins with the semi-finals of the Cop del Rey. Celta Vigo grabbed all the headlines in the cup last week when they knocked out Real Madrid. They will take on Deportivo Alaves in the last four of the competition, while Atletico Madrid are drawn against holders Barcelona. Diego Simeone’s side will play the first-leg at the Vicente Calderon, while Camp Nou will play host to the second leg in a week’s time.
Over in La Liga, Real Madrid managed to extend their lead at the top of the table with all of the other top four teams dropping points. Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both drew their respective games, while Sevilla dropped down to third, following their loss to Espanyol.
This weekend’s fixtures sees Barcelona host Athletic Bilbao, while Villarreal travel to Sevilla. League leaders Real Madrid will aim to make it three wins in a row but will find it difficult as they visit an impressive Celta Vigo side. Atletico Madrid are unbeaten in their last five La Liga matches but have drawn their last two. They will host Leganes this weekend.
#5 Juventus vs Inter highlight of a congested week in Serie A
Juventus were the only one of the top three sides in Italy to claim a victory last weekend. Napoli only managed a draw at home against Palermo, while second place Roma lost a thriller against Sampdoria. Inter Milan continued their rise to the top after claiming a seventh straight win, when Pescara visited last week.
They are now only three points behind a Champions League spot but will face a tough test this week, when they visit the Juventus Stadium to take on the league leaders.
Napoli must make the trip to Bologna on the weekend, while Roma will face a visit from Fiorentina on Monday night. The action in Serie A continues as teams with a game in hand will play once again in mid-week. Juventus will feature again as they visit struggling Crotone, while AC Milan travel to Bologna in the hope to get their season back on track.
Key Fixtures:
Wednesday
Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona (Copa del Rey)
Thursday
Celta Vigo vs Alaves (Copa del Rey)
Saturday
Chelsea vs ArsenalHull City vs LiverpoolTottenham vs MiddlesbroughBarcelona vs Athletic BilbaoBayern Munich vs SchalkeDortmund vs RB LeipzigMonaco vs NiceDijon vs PSG
Sunday
Manchester City vs Swansea CityLeicester City vs Manchester UnitedSevilla vs VillarrealCelta Vigo vs Real MadridJuventus vs Inter MilanPSG vs Monaco
Tuesday
Roma vs FiorentinaPSG vs LilleNice vs St.Etienne
Wednesday
Crotone vs JuventusBologna vs AC MilanBarcelona vs Atletico Madrid (Copa del Rey)Alaves vs Celta Vigo (Copa del Rey)Bayern Munich vs Wolfsburg (DFB-Pokal)
