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The North London Derby, Edin Džeko, MLS season start, and more
There's a varied offering available in the FotMob match feed this weekend
With news on all the important league games taking place over the next few days, and some stories we believe might be of interest from elsewhere, The Assist is here to help you get the best from the FotMob app.
Spurs vs. Arsenal
Derby Days are usually nervy affairs, but this North London Derby, being played at this stage, in this Premier League campaign could have fans of both sides screaming in to their club scarfs.
Spurs welcome new interim manager Igor Tudor for his first game in the run in to their calamitous season. The former Juventus boss, sacked in October, takes over with Spurs five points clear of the relegation zone but with an in-form West Ham looking to close that gap when they play Bournemouth on Saturday evening.
Arsenal still have a similar five point lead over their rivals in the title race but having won just three of their eight leagues games since the the turn of the year, and slipping to back-to-back draws from winning positions against Brentford and Wolves in their last two, not everything is going to plan for Mikel Arteta and his side.
At the moment, Arsenal are averaging marginally less points per game than they did in the 2023/24 season when Man City overhauled them late on to take the Premier League crown (2.2 points per game to 2.3).
Still, an upcoming game against Tottenham has been the tonic for more than a few sides searching for form this season, and recent history suggests the Gunners can head in to Sunday’s game with some confidence.
Arsenal have won on each of their last three visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and have triumphed in six of the last seven derbies played in the league. November’s previous meeting between the two produced one of the most talked about moments of the season - Eberechi Eze’s hattrick, scored just a few weeks after the England international snubbed Spurs to sign for the Gunners.
Everton vs. Man United
With no European football for Manchester United this season, the Red Devils have often had their league games spread across the schedule to keep the TV companies happy. And this week is no different, with the trip to Everton held over to Monday night.
This should be an exciting contest though, Michael Carrick will be looking to extend his five-game unbeaten start to life as interim coach, and Everton are desperate to improve their record at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The Toffees have won just four games at their impressive new home, and none of their last six in all competitions. David Moyes’ side still sit eighth in the table, eight points down on fourth placed United, by virtue of their good away form. In 2026 alone, they’ve picked up two from a possible 12 points at home, but seven from nine on their travels.
To stop that from changing, Carrick’s rejuvenated United will need to find their shooting boots again. Having scored nine goals in their first four games under the former midfielder, United then struggled in front of goal against West Ham, generating just 0.57 xG in a game where they needed Benjamin Šeško’s 96th minute equaliser to earn them a point.
MLS is back! The 2026 season starts in St. Louis on Saturday night but the majority of the outside attention will be on Saturday’s headline contest between the league’s two most marketable teams, and the two most marketable players (we caveat that with a honourable mention for Vancouver’s Thomas Müller).
LAFC, who finished third in the West last year, and eventually fizzled out in the playoffs, take on reigning MLS Cup champions Inter Miami. Lionel Messi, freshly back to full training following a hamstring injury scare, will lead a new-look Herons XI as they go to Son Heung-min’s California idyll.
It would be fair to say that Son’s impact on a club that have never been afraid of a Hollywood storyline has been dramatic. His signing caused a rush in ticket requests from the area’s large Korean diaspora and the amount of shirts sold with Son Heung-min’s name on in his first month at the club dwarfed those of Messi’s when he joined Miami in 2023, and reportedly, outsold every other athlete in the world!
On the pitch, Son registered 15 goal contributions in 12 starts after joining midseason in 2025. And in midweek, he registered FOUR more as LAFC played their first competitive match of the season, scoring once and laying on another three as they won 6-1 away to Honduran opposition in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Inter Miami have yet to play in that continental competition but Javier Macherano’s side have been touring South America for a series of friendlies. They won just once, but both Messi and new marquee signing, the Argentine-born Mexican international Germán Berterame scored in their most recent outing, a draw with Ecuadorians Barcelona.
RB Leipzig vs. Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund are quietly enjoying a very successful season in the Bundesliga. They’ve lost just one of their 22 games, going 15 games unbeaten since that solitary defeat, which came all the way back in October. Frontman Serhou Guirassy has also been in form of late, scoring in each of his last four and with six goals coming in that run.
Sadly, of course, their noisier rivals from Munich are making all the headlines - Vincent Kompany’s Bayern are the team that beat Dortmund, and they currently hold a six point lead in the table while boasting a goal difference of +63.
With the second Klassiker of the season coming up next weekend, Dortmund must, therefore, get a result when they go to Leipzig on Saturday. Niko Kovać cannot afford a slip up here.
Leipzig also started the season strongly, losing just once before December. They have, however, lost their fizz since then, losing four of their consequent nine games. Ole Werner will be looking to breakout star Yan Diomande to lead the charge against one of the best defences in the division.
A quick look at the 2. Bundesliga table will give you a sense of just how many sleeping giants of German football currently lie in the second tier. Leaders Schalke have been national champions on seven occasions. Darmstadt (second), Hannover (fourth), and Hertha Berlin (sixth) all have two Bundesliga titles to their name.
The true outliers are third placed Elversberg. But this is no fluke. The team from a small town of no more than 13,000 people, in Saarland, close to the French border, also finished third last season. They missed out on what would have been a historic third promotion in just four seasons due to defeat in the promotion/relegation playoff, against Heidenheim, the side who’d finished third bottom of the Bundesliga.
Elversberg’s journey from the regional fourth tier to a possible first-ever promotion to the top flight is based on a plan formulated by the Huzler family, local entrepreneurs who, as the local legend goes, sat down in a pub a few years ago, and sketched out a route to the top.
Now, with the backing of their community, a canny transfer policy, and a focus on youth, they’re close to fulfilling those plans.
Standing in the way of Elversberg are some formidable divisional rivals, clubs with some significant financial backing and history behind them. None more so than Schalke, who have been boosted by the inspired recent signing of Bosnian legend Edin Džeko in January.
The 39-year-old former Premier League and Bundesliga champion had been playing for struggling Serie A side Fiorentina, where he scored just twice in 18 games, having returned to Italian football after two very fruitful seasons with Fenerbahçe in Türkiye.
But any fears that one of Europe’s elite strikers of the 2010s and early 2020s was finally running out of gas, and was looking for one last paycheck, have been blown away. Džeko scored 20 minutes into his debut at the end of January. He’s been pictured bouncing around the training ground like a teenager and playing with a smile on his face. A further four goal contributions have come in the three games that have followed.
Could he be the difference maker that fires Schalke back to the Bundesliga after three seasons away? The 2. Bundesliga run in is going to be fun to watch. And for the leaders, it starts with a game against Magdeburg this weekend.
Dominik Szoboszlai’s performances this season have seen him become the first name of the team sheet for Arne Slot, with his positional versatility, and goalscoring ability proving vital for the faltering Premier League champions.
The longest serving manager in LaLiga has been in trouble before, but with new ownership behind the scenes, could Atleti now be planning for a post-Simeone world? Inconsistency has plagued them this season, with every massive win followed quickly by a setback.
Kylian Mbappé, obviously, leads the way in the scoring charts for Spain’s top division, but Mallorca’s talisman is next best, with the Kosovar netting 16 times in 23 games for a side fighting against relegation.
Hearts still lead in the Scottish Premiership but the Old Firm are just behind them, biting at their heels. With six games to go before the league splits just three points separate the top three, with Rangers and Celtic equally determined to maintain their 40-year duopoly on the title.
We’re a few weeks in since the launch of our all-new enhanced live text commentary, so it’s time for a reminder of this still-new feature that we offer for all the biggest fixtures.
Now, if you find yourselves following a game via our commentary tab you have the opportunity to react to match events as they happen, get involved in live polls, and even have your opinions heard in real time.
We’re publishing fan takes, bringing in expert punditry, and sourcing imagery to give you a sense of the atmosphere. All simple things, but done really well.
Make sure you get our latest update from your app store and give it a try over the weekend. Join the thousands who’ve already had their say.
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: Local rivals Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End meet in the EFL Championship. Marseille go to Brest in Ligue 1, giants Boca Juniors and Racing face off in the fledgling new season in Argentina, and at the third time of asking, following two postponements, Shamrock Rovers may kick off their title defence in Ireland.
Saturday: LaLiga leaders Real Madrid go to Osasuna. In the Premier League, Man City and Newcastle United meet for the third time already in 2026 (with a fifth meeting of the season due in the FA Cup soon). Chelsea host Burnley, German league leaders Bayern play Eintracht Frankfurt, Ligue 1 title rivals Lens and PSG are both in action. And Inter can build on their seven point lead in Serie A when they take on Lecce.
Sunday: There’s a big potential story in the EFL Championship as Sheffield United could relegate arch-rivals Sheffield Wednesday in the Steel City Derby. Liverpool’s trip to Nottingham Forest is the pick of three afternoon kick-offs in the Premier League. Milan entertain Parma at San Siro and Barcelona, playing catch up, host Levante at Camp Nou.