As we head into football action in Europe this weekend, all eyes will be on Real Madrid as they take on Malaga at the Santiago Bernabeu. With just a single point between the Los Blancos, Sevilla and Barcelona at the top of the La Liga table, it’s already a must-win situation for the three sides. After two defeats in the follow-up to their 40-game unbeaten run, Madrid will look to record a victory.
Meanwhile, in Germany, the Bundesliga kickstarts with a late Friday night match between league leaders Bayern Munich and SC Freiburg. With a three-point lead at the top, the Bavarians travel to the Black Forest region for a clash with the eighth place side as second place RB Leipzig take on Frankfurt.
Over in the Italian Serie A, perennial league leaders are set for a high-stakes match with fourth place Lazio. AC Milan who are fifth at the moment take on third-place Napoli in the hope of climbing further up the table.
Here are the best statistics ahead of this gameweek in Europe:
Real Madrid vs Malaga
- Zinedine Zidane’s men have won 19 of their last 22 games at the Bernabeu and remain undefeated in 16 home games against Malaga in all competitions.
- Malaga are currently 13th in the league table having failed to register a single win in their last five games, drawing two and losing three while they have lost their last 12 away games in the Spanish league.
Also Read: The streak had to end, but it could mark a new beginning for Zidane’s Madrid
- The Boqueron side have beaten the European champions only once in the league, less than any other side they have come up against.
- Real Madrid have an 18.7 shot per game average, more than any other La Liga team.
Osasuna vs Sevilla
- Last-place Osasuna may be hosts to Sevilla for their clash this Saturday but they go into the game with little to no home-advantage. The Rojillos have not won their last 10 matches in the league and conceded at least three goals per game in their previous three home fixtures.
- First place aspirants Sevilla, on the other hand, have been dominant against their opponents winning six of their last seven games in the La Liga.
Athletic Club vs Atletico Madrid
- Diego Simeone’s side maintain the upper hand as they visit Athletic Club on Sunday. Winning seven of their eight fixtures against them, the only other result was a goalless draw in 2015 at the Vicente Calderon.
- The home side have been undefeated in their last eight home games which includes a 2-1 victory over Barcelona in the Copa del Rey and will look to damage the visitors’ recent run of clean sheets. Atletico Madrid have kept five clean sheets in six games in the league.
Eibar vs Barcelona
- After their Copa del Rey victory against Real Sociedad on Thursday night, the Catalans will travel to Basque country safe in the knowledge they have won all four of their last meetings with Eibar in the league scoring a total of 12 goals and conceding just one.
- The Blaugrana's recent form against Basque teams has not been impressive, losing two of their four games, one against Real Sociedad and the second against Alaves.
Freiburg vs Bayern Munich
- The Bavarians will be confident of their chances of getting a positive result when they visit eighth place SC Freiburg after having won nine of their last 11 away games in the German league.
- In 18 of the 21 occasions when they have been the winter champions, they have also gone on to win the Bundesliga. It will also be the 22nd time in their 52-year top-flight tenure.
- SC Freiburg, on the other hand, will do their best to cut the leaders down to size after their four-game unbeaten run towards the end of 2016.
Werder Bremen vs Borussia Dortmund
- Borussia Dortmund are unbeaten in all their first games of the calendar year since 2004 (eight wins and four draws) and have won nine of their 10 meetings with Werder Bremen.
- Bremen will look to do their best to unsettle Thomas Tuchel’s side who have won only seven of 16 Bundesliga games. While they have scored as many as 35 goals, they have conceded 19 keeping just three clean sheets.
- The home side are unbeaten in five of their Bundesliga games, second only to Hoffenheim who are on a 16-game unbeaten run.
AC Milan vs Napoli
- AC Milan have their work cut for them as they prepare to host third-place Napoli. The away side are on a nine-game unbeaten run, the longest in the league and have won five of their last six games.
- Even though the Rossoneri are also unbeaten in eight of their previous home games, Napoli have remained unbeaten in 10 out of 11 of their clashes with the Milan side making them the favourites to walk away with all the spoils.
- The Partenopei have scored a total of 45 goals so far this season, more than any other side on the league with Dries Mertens their top scorer accumulating 12.
Juventus vs Lazio
- The Bianconeri have dominated fourth place Lazio in the recent past with a 100 % win record against them in their last six meetings scoring a total of 11 goals in all competitions.
- Lazio have a daunting task ahead of them as they travel to the Juventus Stadium having lost goalless to the defending champions five times in a row in the Italian league. However, Juventus are yet to make it six wins in a row and their game on Sunday could be the day they do it.
- Massimiliano Allegri’s men have beaten Lazio at home on three previous occasions but the last time they won four times in a row was in 1990.
