This week’s games at the top and bottom of the Premier League catch the eye, there’s some key action in Serie A and LaLiga, and a potential unlikely meeting of minds in the Brasileirão. We also tell you more about the San Francisco Burrito spot with it’s own football team competing in North America’s oldest competition.
Arsenal vs. Everton
The Premier League’s reputation as Europe’s top league took a hammering this week, with none of England’s six representatives in the Champions League Round of 16 winning the first legs of their respective ties. Arsenal did, at least, come away with a respectable 1-1 draw from their trip to Bayer Leverkusen, and they will be expecting to overcome the German side when they meet again on Tuesday.
Before that, though, the Gunners host the Toffees as they continue their quest to end a 22-year wait for a league title. Everton are unbeaten in six away games and have the fourth best record on the road this season. With England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford on a good run of form, and players like James Garner continuing to impress, David Moyes’ side could be hard to break down.
Nevertheless, this is the kind of game in which Arsenal have been grinding out results this season - as evidenced by the reverse fixture at the Hill Dickinson back in November. That was settled by a single Viktor Gyökeres penalty as David Raya picked up one of his league-leading 14 clean sheets.
In domestic competition, the leaders have won eight of their last 10 games in league and cups, drawing the other two, and Mikel Arteta won’t want to miss the opportunity to extend their current points advantage in to double figures ahead of Manchester City’s late kick off on Saturday night.
Liverpool vs. Spurs
On the other side of the North London divide, Tottenham Hotspur are on a club record six-game losing streak, with the 5-2 capitulation at Atlético Madrid in the week just the latest humiliation during a torrid spell. By the time Sunday’s game at Anfield kicks off, Spurs’ current one point gap to the relegation zone may have evaporated and they could find themselves in the bottom three depending on other results.
Igor Tudor has yet to win a game since joining as interim manager and he does not appear well equipped to arrest the slide. His team selection has come under severe scrutiny and he continues to be hampered by the club’s ongoing injury crisis, something that only worsened after the game at Atlético. The decision to change goalkeeper and then hook the unfortunate Antonín Kimsky after just 17 minutes may go down as Tudor’s unwanted legacy.
Micky van de Ven’s suspension for the trip to Liverpool doesn’t help matters, nor does the club’s record on Merseyside. Spurs haven’t won a Premier League game at Anfield since 2011 and Liverpool have won the last three meetings 4-3, 4-1, and 5-1.
On paper, the Reds have won five of their last seven and while they might not be playing anywhere near the level they were when they won the league last season, Arne Slot’s team will be confident of turning the screw on Tottenham here.
Como’s rise, albeit financially accelerated, from Serie B stalwarts to top four challengers in Serie A has been dramatic. Under the management of former Spain midfielder Cesc Fàbregas, the lakeside club controlled by the richest club owners in Italian football, returned to the top flight for the first time in over two decades with promotion in 2024. They then finished 10th last season and now, thanks mainly to their solid defence, they are vying for a first ever qualification for European competition.
While the two Milan clubs look to be battling it out for the Scudetto, the likes of Napoli, Como, Roma, and Juventus are left to fight for the minor places. Napoli sit third, five points above Como and Roma, who are locked together on 51 points.
Como have the better goal difference and the better form coming in to this one, and if it wasn’t for their nine draws, they would probably be involved in the title race.
Roma have struggled to find a regular source of goals this season, something that may have eased a little with the loan signing of Donyell Malen, but they hadn’t drawn a single game until mid-February. Since then, though, they’ve drawn three and lost one of their last five.
Barcelona vs. Sevilla
Hansi Flick’s defending champions sit top of LaLiga and head into the weekend with a healthy four point lead on a Real Madrid side that have been wobbling in recent times, at least in league play.
The potency of the Catalans’ attack has been well documented this season but the figures remain impressive. They lead the way in virtually all attacking metrics having scored 72 actual goals from 124 big chances and an xG of 68.1. Lamine Yamal is their top scorer in the league with 14 goals while he has also provided nine assists, and has created a league-high 62 chances.
Barca’s opponents this weekend are, however, one of the four sides to beat them in LaLiga this season. In fact, Sevilla recorded the biggest win over the leaders, beating them 4-1 back in October!
The Rojiblancos sit down in 14th place but a six point cushion should mean they are safe from any relegation trouble for another year. An unbeaten run of four draws and a win also has them looking up the table under the management of Matías Almeyda, who joined the club this season.
The first round of the US Open Cup, the longest running football tournament in North America, gets underway in the upcoming week. First held in the 1913/14 season, the competition has been through a difficult time in recent years, due to a fractured relationship with the country’s professional leagues, but 16 MLS clubs are among the 80 competitors taking part this year.
Alongside sides from other second and third tier national leagues, there is always a healthy mix of semi-pro and amateur teams represented. And once again, one of our longterm favourites, El Farolito SC will enter in the first round.
The side were founded by the San Francisco-based Mexican restaurant of the same name, who, in the humble opinion of our American colleague, serve the best burritos in the Bay Area! Now, El Farolito is a heathy chain with 10 locations AND family members of the restaurant’s founders are still involved in the football team, who incidentally are past winners of the Open Cup having lifted the trophy in 1993.
As the amateur side to go deepest in to the competition last year, El Farolito start what they hope will be another giantkilling run at second tier Sacramento Republic, the same side who ended up knocking them out in the third round in 2025.
The Brasileirão is enjoying a boom time at the moment, with Brazil’s top flight clubs receiving more revenue in sponsorship, due to relaxed betting regulations in the South American country, and increased crowds, with fans returning to pack out the league’s huge stadiums.
Consequently, the draw of playing in the league has never been more attractive, both to star names returning to Brazil from European football, or indeed, overseas players looking for a new adventure. And that is where we land this weekend, with the potential match up between Neymar’s Santos, and São Paulo state rivals Corinthians, who currently feature both Memphis Depay and latest signing Jesse Lingard in their squad.
Lingard, if you’ve not been keeping up, has been without a club since leaving South Korean side FC Seoul at the back end of last year. Now, he’s just landed in Brazil, meaning a first start may be unlikely, but it is worth keeping an eye on nevertheless. For his part, Memphis Depay has yet to score this year but did register 12 goals and 10 assists for Corinthians last season.
Santos have been limiting Neymar’s involvement so far in 2026, as they have been forced to do since the star returned to his boyhood club, but he is expected to feature here.
In an interview carried out prior to the Norwegian club’s Champions League clash with Sporting, we spoke to Bodø/Glimt’s flying wide forward about his development in North Norway, his time at Milan and Frankfurt, and all that’s happened since returning to his boyhood club.
No, despite the name, the 17-year-old is not an up and coming European house DJ. De Cat is, in fact, the next wonderkid off the conveyor belt at Anderlecht. Already playing in the Belgian top flight, he has the potential to follow in the footsteps of fellow academy products, Kompany, Tielemans, Lukaku, Mertens et al.
Is he a No. 9 or a No. 10? Perhaps something like a 9.5? Either way, Chelsea’s summer signing is enjoying an excellent second half of the season under Liam Rosenior. In this article, we’ve taken a big look at the Brazilian’s numbers.
With six goals in the first eight games of his loan spell in Serie A, the Dutch forward has hit the ground running in the Italian capital. At a club that has long been struggling for a consistent attacking threat, his versatility is proving a massive asset as coach Gian Piero Gasperini looks to replicate his Atalanta success at the Stadio Olimpico.
In between app releases, when we’re dropping big new features like heat maps and estimated transfer values, we like to use this space to remind you of the slightly hidden FotMob tools that can help you dive deeper in to football lore.
One of this newsletter editor’s favourites is the chart of historical table positions that can found on each club profile in the app. This is a sliding scale that can show your favourite side’s rise (and fall) through the divisions through the last few decades.
One example that best shows this off is Wrexham’s back-to-back-to-back promotions through the EFL, especially with the Welsh club now also in the Championship playoff places. Another topical one that we recommend you go away and look at is Bodø/Glimt’s chart, where you can see their rise from the second tier to almost complete dominance in the Norwegian Eliteserien.
Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page to add them to your Following section.
Friday: While Wrexham are on your mind, don’t miss the all-Welsh clash vs. Swansea in the Championship tonight. St. Pauli take on Gladbach in the Bundesliga as they look to avoid the drop. Marseille will aim to make it three wins in a row in Ligue 1, and Villarreal could retake third place in LaLiga if they win at Alavés.
Saturday: Arsenal’s title rivals, Manchester City have an evening kickoff against West Ham in the Premier League. Chelsea vs. Newcastle is the league’s other late game. Real Madrid need to beat Elche in order to keep the pressure on Barcelona in LaLiga, and Serie A leaders Inter host Atalanta. In Germany, the country’s two remaining Champions League sides face each other as Bayern go to Bayer Leverkusen.
Sunday: Michael Carrick’s Champions League chasing Manchester United play direct rivals Aston Villa in a huge game at the top of the Premier League. Meanwhile, United’s women’s team take on Chelsea in the Women’s League Cup final. The domestic season in Norway gets underway this weekend - Bodø/Glimt’s game has been postponed due to their Champions League exploits, but our local boys Brann start off at Kristiansund. And in Serie A, it’ll be interesting to see how the fan protests continue as Lazio take on Milan. Ticket sales were reported to be around the 2,000 mark for last Monday’s game vs. Sassuolo at the 70,000 capacity Stadio Olimpico, but the ultras have stated they’ll return for this big game.
