Top Five European Football Matches Preview

It is now time for the top five leagues across Europe to kick off action in their respective domestic front again.

Oladipupo Mojeed will take you through the review as usual.

English Premier League

A couple of Premier League games have been postponed due to the growing number of Covid-19 cases among Premier League Clubs.

READ ALSO: Preview of games across top European League

Wolves vs Chelsea

Wolves snapped a four-game winless streak in midweek with a 1-0 win away to Brighton.

Chelsea dropped more points on their title rivals with a 1-1 draw with Everton on Thursday. They’ve only won three of their last seven in the league.

Chelsea have now conceded in six straight matches, having previously looked rock solid at the back.
Wolves were unbeaten against Chelsea last season and could inflict more misery on Thomas Tuchel here.

Newcastle vs Manchester City

Newcastle lost 3-1 to Liverpool in midweek despite going ahead. The Magpies have lost back-to-back games and are three points from safety.

Manchester City put seven past Leeds in midweek and are still one point clear of Liverpool at the top of the league.

City have won seven in a row in the league and should ease to victory if this game goes ahead.

Leeds United vs Arsenal

There is yet no light at the end of the tunnel for Leeds at present. They are coming off a 7-0 thumping at the hands of Manchester City and their injury problems are just getting worse and worse.

Arsenal have won back-to-back matches over Southampton and West Ham and have put in good performances in each game. They are now fourth after beating West Ham in midweek.

It’s difficult to see how Leeds can turn it around at the moment. They have also failed to win their last 10 matches with Arsenal and another defeat surely beckons here

Spurs vs Liverpool

Tottenham won’t have played for two weeks by the time Sunday’s match comes around after games against Rennes, Brighton and Leicester were postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the squad. The rustiness in the squad could well come back to haunt Spurs, but they have won their four home games under Antonio Conte.

Liverpool kept on the coattails of league leaders Manchester City with a 3-1 win over Newcastle on Thursday night. The Reds have won their last six league games, and have returned to Merseyside from north London with all the spoils on the last three occasions.

There is a quick turnaround in games for the Reds, but given Spurs are still suffering with the effects of their COVID-19 issues, the visitors are expected to earn a seventh successive league win on Sunday.

Prediction: 0-2

Spanish La Liga

Real Madrid vs Cadiz

Real Madrid come into this one in sizzling form, winning all of their last 10 games across all competitions. They took their winning run into double figures with an impressive El Derbi victory over Atletico Madrid last time out, Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio finding the net.

That win followed a Champions League victory over Inter Milan and La Liga wins over both Athletic Club and Real Sociedad. Carlo Ancelotti’s men are currently eight points clear at the top and looking a solid bet for the title. Though, the COVID outbreak will make for a tricky end to the year for Los Blancos.

Cadiz head to the capital having stopped the rot last time out in the league with a 1-1 draw with Granada, Santiago Arzamendia finding the net before Cadiz conceded an equaliser two minutes from time. They have also progressed to the next round of the Copa del Rey in the meantime, defeating Albacete.

The stalemate followed defeats to Elche, Atletico Madrid, and Getafe, and the poor run of form has seen Cadiz drop to 18th, two points from safety.

The Andalusians are likely to return to losing ways here and to become Real Madrid’s latest victim.

Barcelona vs Elche

Barcelona’s miseries continued last weekend when they failed to hold out against Osasuna, drawing 2-2 despite goals from Nico Gonzalez and Abde. That result followed the thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League. That means Xavi Hernandez’s men are now three games without a win.

Since then, the Blaugrana have made the long trip to Saudi Arabia to face Boca Juniors in a tribute match to Diego Maradona a year on from his death. It will be interesting to see how that result will impact Barcelona’s fitness levels here. On paper, the trip is not what this struggling Barcelona side needed.

Barca are currently in eighth place, three points off the Europa League spots, and five from the top four.
Elche, meanwhile, are in 16th and a mere two points above the drop zone, though they should be better off.

They suffered a defeat to Valencia away from home last weekend with Cristiano Piccini scoring late to overcome Lucas Boye’s equaliser, but Elche had a goal ruled out earlier in the game despite the ball crossing the line.La Liga’s lack of goal-line technology was to blame for that, and Elche were understandably furious.

Since that defeat, they have beaten lower league opposition in the Copa del Rey, and before it, Elche had beaten Cadiz and drew with Osasuna in a bright start to life under new boss Francisco.

Barcelona are obvious favourites here, but Elche will take heart from the Blaugrana’s regular slip-ups.

Bologna vs Juventus

Bologna’s defeats against Fiorentina and Torino have partially dented their Europa League ambitions, therefore this game is even more important to catch up on the major rivals in this moment.

Juventus are one of these and are on the back of a poor second half in Venice that saw them drop two points last weekend.

Juventus should have more possession in this match and it will be interesting to see if Bologna can regain the defensive solidity showcased in previous weeks.

AC Milan vs Napoli

AC Milan’s injury woes continue as the Rossoneri dropped into second place last weekend following an underwhelming performance in Udine.

Napoli were very unlucky to lose against Empoli despite not creating clear-cut chances with 30 shots.

Injuries have significantly affected both teams’ form in Serie A, especially in their attacking phases. Neither can afford to lose for different reasons, so we could be in for a cagey game.