Derby Weekend
This weekend is derby weekend with four derby games coming up this coming weekend bringing the animosity, ferociousness and pure passion of both set of supporters. Here's what to look forward to.
EPL: Merseyside & North London Derbies
It's getting close to the climax of the season in the Premier League with ten games left and this weekend has two major games, Everton hosting city rivals Liverpool at Goodison Park on Sunday and Tottenham against Arsenal at Wembley on Saturday. The Merseyside derby on Sunday is the longest running top-flight derby in the Premier League and the most violent with 20 red cards since the league's inception. Everton's season has been a poor one given the aims they had this season especially with their form at home. However, form goes out of the window in games like this and will want nothing more than to derail the title hopes of Liverpool, who are in a tight title race with Manchester City. Liverpool know the crowd at Goodison will be on to them from minute one and will have to frustrate the crowd and show their superiority in the game to get a win. In the North London Derby, Tottenham's slim hopes of the title ended with consecutive defeats to Burnley and Chelsea. Now they have to be concern with the chasing pack of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea for the Champions League spots with Arsenal behind Spurs by 4 points. Arsenal have a poor record against Spurs at Wembley and have been pretty hot and cold this season but they are picking form at the right time with 5 wins in their last six league games and another game against Manchester United coming up. With the race for the Champions League spots very close, getting points from your rivals is a big benefit in your chances.
La Liga: El Clasico
This is the second El Clasico in a space of four days at the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday. The game on Wednesday which was the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal, Barcelona advanced to the final defeating the hated rivals 3-0 despite Madrid's chances especially from Vinicius and Barcelona not depending so much on Lionel Messi to bail them out. That meant that Barcelona have managed to get a win at the Bernabéu for the past ten seasons. In La Liga, Madrid have picked up points under Santiago Solari despite his unpopular decisions of leaving Isco and Marcelo out with Vinicius and Reguilón now mainstays for Los Blancos. However, they are nine points behind Barcelona with their chances of winning La Liga being very slim. It's likely that Gareth Bale will start on the weekend alongside Benzema and Vinicius or Marco Asensio being called up but it's unlikely Solari will make changes. As for Barcelona, it wasn't a vintage performance on Wednesday but get the job done without needing Lionel Messi who was pretty quiet. Despite his struggles, Luis Suárez is still reliable for Barça and loves to play against Madrid with 11 goals in just 14 games. Another win for Barcelona against Real will increase the gap to 12 points, continuing Madrid's poor spell domestically with only two league titles in nine years.
Serie A: Derby della Capitale
Now we have probably the most ferocious derby this weekend in the Derby della Capitale or the Roman Derby between Lazio and AS Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday with both sides aiming for Champions League football next season. For Lazio, they are in the semifinals of the Coppa Italia but they are out of the Europa League and are six points behind their city rivals and are seven points behind 4th placed Milan. Their form going to the g as me is not something to shout about either with three defeats in their last six league games knowing that a deadbeat would their top four hopes despite having a game in hand. Another problem is the distribution of games. Ciro Immobile is the only Lazio player to score double digits in Serie A with Felipe Caicedo the closest with only three goals. Roma, on the other hand, have picked up form after their poor start to the season with three consecutive wins, unbeaten in the last six league games with their last defeat being against Juventus in mid December. They are one point behind AC Milan and three points behind Inter meaning that Champions League football is still a possibility. Lazio have had it tough beating their city rivals with only one win in their last ten league meetings so for Lazio fans, a win against Roma is long overdue and rekindle their top four hopes.
EPL: Merseyside & North London Derbies
It's getting close to the climax of the season in the Premier League with ten games left and this weekend has two major games, Everton hosting city rivals Liverpool at Goodison Park on Sunday and Tottenham against Arsenal at Wembley on Saturday. The Merseyside derby on Sunday is the longest running top-flight derby in the Premier League and the most violent with 20 red cards since the league's inception. Everton's season has been a poor one given the aims they had this season especially with their form at home. However, form goes out of the window in games like this and will want nothing more than to derail the title hopes of Liverpool, who are in a tight title race with Manchester City. Liverpool know the crowd at Goodison will be on to them from minute one and will have to frustrate the crowd and show their superiority in the game to get a win. In the North London Derby, Tottenham's slim hopes of the title ended with consecutive defeats to Burnley and Chelsea. Now they have to be concern with the chasing pack of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea for the Champions League spots with Arsenal behind Spurs by 4 points. Arsenal have a poor record against Spurs at Wembley and have been pretty hot and cold this season but they are picking form at the right time with 5 wins in their last six league games and another game against Manchester United coming up. With the race for the Champions League spots very close, getting points from your rivals is a big benefit in your chances.
La Liga: El Clasico
This is the second El Clasico in a space of four days at the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday. The game on Wednesday which was the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal, Barcelona advanced to the final defeating the hated rivals 3-0 despite Madrid's chances especially from Vinicius and Barcelona not depending so much on Lionel Messi to bail them out. That meant that Barcelona have managed to get a win at the Bernabéu for the past ten seasons. In La Liga, Madrid have picked up points under Santiago Solari despite his unpopular decisions of leaving Isco and Marcelo out with Vinicius and Reguilón now mainstays for Los Blancos. However, they are nine points behind Barcelona with their chances of winning La Liga being very slim. It's likely that Gareth Bale will start on the weekend alongside Benzema and Vinicius or Marco Asensio being called up but it's unlikely Solari will make changes. As for Barcelona, it wasn't a vintage performance on Wednesday but get the job done without needing Lionel Messi who was pretty quiet. Despite his struggles, Luis Suárez is still reliable for Barça and loves to play against Madrid with 11 goals in just 14 games. Another win for Barcelona against Real will increase the gap to 12 points, continuing Madrid's poor spell domestically with only two league titles in nine years.
Serie A: Derby della Capitale
Now we have probably the most ferocious derby this weekend in the Derby della Capitale or the Roman Derby between Lazio and AS Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday with both sides aiming for Champions League football next season. For Lazio, they are in the semifinals of the Coppa Italia but they are out of the Europa League and are six points behind their city rivals and are seven points behind 4th placed Milan. Their form going to the g as me is not something to shout about either with three defeats in their last six league games knowing that a deadbeat would their top four hopes despite having a game in hand. Another problem is the distribution of games. Ciro Immobile is the only Lazio player to score double digits in Serie A with Felipe Caicedo the closest with only three goals. Roma, on the other hand, have picked up form after their poor start to the season with three consecutive wins, unbeaten in the last six league games with their last defeat being against Juventus in mid December. They are one point behind AC Milan and three points behind Inter meaning that Champions League football is still a possibility. Lazio have had it tough beating their city rivals with only one win in their last ten league meetings so for Lazio fans, a win against Roma is long overdue and rekindle their top four hopes.
Comments
Post a Comment