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- The Assist: Club football is back!
The Assist: Club football is back!
FA Cup quarterfinals, the Derby du Nord, El Gran Derbi, and Inter Miami return to action
Bournemouth vs. Man City
With the Premier League not returning until next Tuesday, all focus is on the quarterfinal stage in the World’s oldest Cup competition. And for good reason — with the FA Cup featuring a completely open field in the last eight. Indeed, City are the only remaining side to have lifted the trophy during the course of this century! Bournemouth, their opponents on Sunday, are one of four remaining sides never to have won the competition in its 154-year history.
The Cherries have proven their attacking credentials this season, matching City for shots on target back in the Premier League (both average 5.8 per match), but they are currently on a run of one win in five across all competitions. And that only came via penalties - against Wolves in the previous round.
Andoni Iraola’s side did beat City when they last met at the Vitality Stadium back in November but Pep Guardiola needs a trophy win to salvage something from their poor season.
Inter Miami vs. Philadelphia Union
First meets third in this clash between two of the favourites for Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference. And it’s the Union who currently lead the way having picked up 12 points from their opening five games. Inter Miami have played a game less and return to action looking to extend their unbeaten start to the campaign.
Notoriously cagey over the fitness of the league’s biggest asset, Inter Miami are yet to confirm whether Lionel Messi will play any part in this one. Messi sat out the international break as Argentina picked up wins over Uruguay and Brazil to confirm their place at the 2026 World Cup finals.
If fit, Messi could come up against Philadelphia left back Kai Wagner, who’s average FotMob rating of 8.15 puts him second only to the Argentine’s 8.70 in the league this season.
PSV Eindhoven vs. Ajax
When Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven last met Ajax, back in November, their title defence was proving to be plain sailing. They’d won all 10 games played before making the trip to Amsterdam, where they would go on to suffer their first defeat of the season - losing 3-2 despite holding a lead at the hour mark.
From that point onwards, the momentum in this season’s title race shifted. Ajax now lead the way, clear of second-placed PSV by six points. That makes this Sunday’s meeting between them a virtual title decider.
And it’s one that PSV need to win after their campaign unraveled dramatically before the international break. They were upset by unfancied Go Ahead Eagles in the semi-finals of the cup, and then humiliated, beaten 9-3 on aggregate by Arsenal in the Champions League.
Lille vs. Lens
There’s something of a derby day theme to Sunday’s line-up in Ligue 1, with Nice and Monaco battling it out down south on the Côte d’Azur (see Must Reads below), and then this game, the Derby du Nord, taking place at Lille’s Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Young English / Belgian manager Will Still is hunting European qualification in his first season with Lens and their great northern rivals are a side with a target on their back. Lille sit sixth, two places and five points better off than the Blood and Golds, and most crucially of all - they occupy the final qualification spot for continental football next season. Lens want that for themselves.
Les Dogues are unbeaten in the last five derbies and will be hoping that the form of Canadian international Jonathan David can break Lens’ stubborn defence. Still’s side have kept more clean sheets than any other team in the league (11) but David has eight goal contributions in his last 10 games.
Spring has sprung in Europe! And with that comes the return of the so-called Summer Leagues, including our beloved local league, Norway’s Eliteserien.
The very idea for FotMob comes from a desire to follow the scores of Bergen-based side SK Brann and now, 21 years later, we’re entering in to our second season as one of the club’s main sponsors.
The shirts for the new campaign were unveiled last week and now attention turns to the season opener at Fredrikstad on Saturday. Our alerts are set.
The 2.Bundesliga, Germany’s second tier, is a division that is notoriously hard to get out of. This season alone, 11 of the 18 participating teams have a top flight title to their name. And, as always, the battle to obtain one of the two automatic promotion spots back to the promised land is a tight one.
Hamburg — with their six titles, three DFB Pokals, and a European Cup — are arguably the biggest sleeping giant in the league. But after six seasons away, years that have seen them finish agonisingly close to the promotion play-off in fourth, or third, only to lose in said play-off, HSV’s luck could be about to change.
They can extend their lead at the top of the table to four points with seven games to play, should they beat midtable Elversberg at home this evening.
Graham Ruthven looks ahead to the most open quarterfinal draw in years. At this point, most neutrals are praying for ‘Anyone but City’ to win it, but Pep’s side are the only team left in the competition with any kind of recent cup pedigree.
Behind runaway Ligue 1 leaders PSG, the race for the Champions League places is hotting up. And crucially, the sides sat third and fourth, local rivals Monaco and Nice meet on Sunday. David Skilling explores a lesser known rivalry built on history and vastly different cultures.
Leicester City have taken a few wrong turns since their return to the Premier League but one thing the relegation battlers have got right was the signing of Moroccan international El Khannouss. Here, Sam McGuire reports on the midfielders encouraging numbers this season.
Hollywood A-Listers have been flocking to Como 1907 this season as the previously untrendy, but now fashionable and upwardly mobile club seek to secure their Serie A status. Alex Roberts charts their rise back to the big time under Fàbregas, their up and coming stars, and the courting of the tourist trade.
A small, but handy, new feature is now live in the latest Android app update, and coming to iOS soon.
Head to the Fixtures tab on any given league and you can now view the upcoming games by round (after your many requests!) and team. For example, above, you can see Aston Villa’s Champions League run.
A little superuser tip for you there.