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- Arsenal at the Villa, Betis vs. Barcelona, Liverpool, Lens, Inter Miami, and more
Arsenal at the Villa, Betis vs. Barcelona, Liverpool, Lens, Inter Miami, and more
The top action keeps on coming so let FotMob be your guide
This week’s edition of The Assist takes in the big matches in Europe’s top leagues as Arsenal and Barcelona look to press home their advantage, in the Premier League and LaLiga respectively. Lionel Messi and Thomas Müller meet in MLS’s dream playoff final, the J.League title goes down to the wire, and whisper it, but there might be a title race in Ligue 1.
Aston Villa vs. Arsenal
Premier League leaders Arsenal travel to the team who find themselves third in the table after an action packed midweek round of games. Former Gunners boss Unai Emery saw his Villa side come from two-nil down at Brighton, then take a two goal lead, only to end up holding on to win 4-3 as the Seagulls mounted a late charge.
That was Villa’s sixth straight win in all competitions and they head in to the weekend as the next best form side behind the leaders in England’s top flight, with Arsenal now unbeaten in 18 following their routine victory against Brentford on Wednesday.
That translates to a five point lead in the standings and a growing feeling that this really might be their year. Since the defeat at Liverpool in August, Arsenal’s only draws have come in games against top six teams - Man City, Sunderland, Chelsea - something that might give Villa some hope of a result on Saturday lunchtime.
The Midlanders have been through quite the turnaround already this season after failing to win any of their first five games and scoring just once in that run. Write off Unai Emery at your peril, particularly at Villa Park, which has become something of a fortress in recent seasons - a factor we explored further in this article published earlier in the week.
Leeds United vs. Liverpool
Leeds will be hoping that their massive midweek win over Chelsea changes the narrative of their season. Indeed, the three points lifted them out of the relegation zone and relieved some of the pressure that had been building on coach Daniel Farke after four defeats in a row.
Farke switched to a back three for that game at Elland Road so it will be interesting to see whether Leeds line up in the same fashion against a Liverpool side that still look vulnerable despite a recent uptick in results, if not performances.
The Reds toiled to their first draw of the season against Sunderland, with Florian Wirtz coming close to breaking his duck for the club, only for his 81st minute effort to be ruled an own goal. That was the ninth time that Liverpool have scored in the last 10 minutes of a Premier League game during this campaign, which is a league high, and something to look out for tomorrow evening.
This really feels like a win for either side could be a significant turning point.
Real Betis vs. Barcelona
It’s been a busy week in Spanish football, with the big two featuring in league play, and the majority of the rest facing a variety of tests in the second round of the Copa Del Rey.
For their part, Hansi Flick’s Barcelona posted a very impressive 3-1 victory over Atlético Madrid in the biggest game to have been played at the rejuvenated Camp Nou so far. That, temporarily, lifted the defending champions four points clear at the top of LaLiga, until Real Madrid ended a run of three draws with victory at Athletic Club a day later.
Now, we’re back where we started, with Barcelona facing a tough trip to fifth placed Betis on Saturday night. The home side come in to the game unbeaten in eight, across all competitions, including Wednesday’s Rodrigo Riquelme-inspired 4-1 Cup win at minnows Torrent.
Barca have won their last six games straight in the league, and with 42 goals to their name, they’ve scored 10 more than anyone else in the division. However, as is well known, their defence is there to be got up, with Betis one of eight sides who are conceded at a lower rate than the league leaders.
Inter Miami vs. Vancouver Whitecaps
If MLS was script written, the writing room might have discounted the idea of these two sides meeting in this weekend’s MLS Cup Playoff final as being too unbelievable. Inter Miami, with one of the greatest players of all time, plus his band of aging superstar mates, up against plucky upstarts Vancouver Whitecaps from north of the border, with their own World Cup winner having recently joined in search of one last rodeo.
This is the first time either side has made it through to the season-defining final, with Vancouver looking to become the first Canadian side to win MLS since Toronto FC in 2017.
For many, the MLS Cup is the least we should expect from a Lionel Messi-inspired Miami franchise, but Messi himself appears to be more motivated than in previous seasons - with a record breaking 11 goal contributions coming in the playoffs alone - taking his tally to 35 goals and 21 assists for the year.
At Vancouver, Thomas Müller has been credited as being the final piece of coach Jesper Sørensen’s jigsaw, with the Danish manager joining the club for this season, and Müller signing in August. Fittingly, though, it was regular top scorer Brian White who fired the Whitecaps through to this, their biggest ever game in MLS, with the American scoring two to defeat San Diego in last weekend’s Western Conference final.
Fans of Northern powerhouse RC Lens are in dreamland at the moment. For the first time in a generation their beloved club are actually top of the pile in France, something that is perhaps all the more surprising when you realise they’ve been there or thereabouts in recent years and finished as runners-up as recently as 2023.
Okay, so their advantage is slender - they lead PSG by a point, and only five separate the top four - but the stat remains worthy of a mention! The fact that so many sides are still in the running with three games to go until the midway point of the season, in a league usually dominated by Luis Enrique’s European Champions, is certainly newsworthy.
On Saturday, Lens travel to Nantes, who find themselves struggling near the foot of the table. Later in the day, PSG host Nantes’ fierce rivals Rennes in Paris. Rennes and Lyon are the sides that make up the rest of the top six, only a further two points down on Lille in fourth. This could be a key weekend.
And if one of the title challengers can hold off PSG until the midway point, to become something the Ligue 1 website recently referred to as the ‘Champions of Autumn’, there’s an 80% chance that they will go on to win the overall championship (based on events in the last 10 seasons).
The mammoth 38-game season in Japan’s always-colourful J.League is set to come to a dramatic conclusion this weekend. It was only a few weeks ago that we discussed what was then a five-way title battle, but now, only two remain going in to the final round - frontrunners Kashima Antlers, and unlikely challengers Kashiwa Reysol, who’ve finished a lowly 17th in each of the last two years!
In a season of tight margins, neither side can claim to be outscoring the rest of the division, and neither can they say that they have the best defence - although Kashima have the second best at 0.8 goals conceded per match, and Kashiwa have the most clean sheets (18).
The games to watch out for - which, if you’re on a European timezone, take place in the early hours of Saturday - are Kashima Antlers vs. sleeping giants Yokohama F. Marinos and Kashiwa Reysol against sixth placed Machida Zelvia.
Kashima, who hold the record for the most J.League titles, just need to match Kashiwa’s result to take what would be their ninth top flight honour, but their first since 2016. Kashiwa Reysol have been waiting a little longer, with their last trophy lift coming in 2011.
Over half of the Portuguese side that took to the field in the recent U17 World Cup final hail from the Benfica academy. While José Mourinho’s senior side struggle to make inroads on rivals Porto and Sporting in the league, the next generation have been busy securing their nation’s first World title at this age level.
A fit and healthy Chelsea captain is on course to make more appearances this season than he has in any of the last three, proving to everyone just how vital he is to Enzo Maresca’s plans - whether that’s in defence, in midfield, or providing match-winning moments in the opposition box.
With the draw for the 2026 World Cup taking place at a star-studded ceremony in Washington DC later today, we took a look at what it means for some of the outsiders that will be taking part.
For more on the draw itself, including coverage of Donald Trump dancing to guest performers Village People (no, really), check out the live blog that our friends Sports Illustrated will be running over on the main news page.
Look out for the latest FotMob updates in the app store for your devices because we have just recently released an update that features all new and improved match insights.
These can be found in the Preview tab for any upcoming match and range from your run of the mill stats to the kind of facts that when repeated, will have your friends begrudgingly acknowledging that you really know your stuff.
Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page. This will automatically bring them to the top of your main feed in the app.
Friday: The aforementioned Mourinho takes charge of his first Lisbon derby since his return to Benfica as they take on Sporting, with both playing catch up behind Porto in the Liga Portugal. Third meets fourth as Marseille go to Lille looking to overhaul the sides above them (see our section on Ligue 1 above). And in England, the FA Cup second round gets underway as Salford City host Leyton Orient.
Saturday: The Premier League is front loaded this weekend, with seven games taking place tomorrow. Of those not already previewed, Bournemouth vs. Chelsea and Man City vs. Sunderland should be worth the watch. And if fiery, table topping, historic rivalries are your thing, follow Croatia’s Eternal Derby as Dinamo Zagreb play Hajduk Split.
Sunday: Napoli face Juventus in this weekend’s headline clash in Serie A, and Real Madrid will look to close the gap to Barcelona in LaLiga when they host Celta Vigo. And in Scotland, faltering runaway leaders Hearts must go to chasers Celtic, who will have new manager Wilfried Nancy taking charge of his first game.