Serie A, Ligue 1, Copa del Rey and the DFB Cup offer some exciting matches this week. Here are some of the Things to look out for in European football: February 4-6. Bet on the games here.
Mbappe and Tuchel to put their differences to one side
Kylian Mbappe reacted unhappily to being substituted on Saturday against Montpellier and exchanged words with manager Thomas Tuchel as he came off the pitch. The young French forward and the German had a heated discussion at the touchline after the coach had substituted him for Mauro Icardi. The Ligue 1 leaders travel to Nantes tonight looking to make it ten wins from 11 league games. Mbappe has 22 goals and 13 assists to his name in 25 appearances and with Neymar ruled out of the contest, Mbappe should play a more integral role tonight. Mbappe has five goals and an assist against tonight opponents in six appearances.
Can Shrewsbury pull off an upset at Anfield?
Shrewsbury Town will be looking to replicate the miraculous recovery against Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round. The League One side were 2-0 down in the first leg but sucker-punched the Reds with two goals in ten minutes to snatch a replay. Academy coach Neil Critchley will take charge of this game with the young team. Although the visitors will definitely play an experienced team, it offers no guarantees that it will play in their favour. If they play as they did in the first leg, with desire and hunger, an upset is possible.
Another tough outing for Barcelona at Bilbao
Barcelona face a tricky Copa del Rey trip to the San Mames to face Athletic Bilbao. The Basque club inflicted a painful defeat on Barcelona in their first La Liga game this season and will seek to upset Quique Setien’s charges on Thursday night. Gaizka Garitano’s side have the third-best defence in La Liga and have stifled Barcelona in their last two meetings. Barcelona have won one of their four away games and this is a huge test for newly appointed manager Setien. Valencia proved that they could beat the reigning La Liga champions with less than 40% possession. Bilbao’s defensive solidity should unsettle the Blaugrana.
Lazio to leapfrog Inter Milan in Serie A?
Lazio‘s phenomenal season continued on Sunday when they hammered SPAL 5-1 which boosted their title charge. The Biancocelesti are proving that they can keep up the pace with Juventus and Inter Milan. They host Hellas Verona on Wednesday in their game in a hand and a win could see them leapfrog Inter to move to second place. Simone Inzaghi’s side have not lost a Serie A game since September. Since that loss to Inter, they have won 13 and drawn three, a run which included an 11-game winning streak. That run has been aided by the impressive form of Ciro Immobile who has scored 25 goals in 21 Serie A matches.
More magic from Erling Haaland?
Erling Haaland became the first player to score seven goals in his opening three Bundesliga games. The Norway international scored twice to help Borussia Dortmund win their third straight game whilst scoring five in each of them. Dortmund travel to Bundesliga strugglers Werder Bremen in the DFB Pokal and Haaland’s form shows that the young sensation could add more to his already spectacular tally.
RB Leipzig revenge mission?
Bundesliga title challengers RB Leipzig will be on a revenge mission when they face Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB Pokal round of 16. Frankfurt ended Leipzig’s 13-game unbeaten run two weeks ago, beating them 2-0 at home. This time they host Leipzig, as they look to add insult to injury. However, since Leipzig face Bayern Munich this coming weekend they would want to get some momentum with a victory. Leipzig have never won away at Frankfurt, something which adds another interesting angle to this clash. Can they pull off a win away at Frankfurt?