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- The Premier League title race tightens, Wrexham, and live fan takes on FotMob
The Premier League title race tightens, Wrexham, and live fan takes on FotMob
Leeds vs. Arsenal, Man United vs. Fulham, Strasbourg vs. PSG, and more
After a hectic week where a lot got decided in UEFA’s club competitions, Europe’s elite get back to league business this weekend. Here, we take a look at the form book in the Premier League, discuss some pressing matters from elsewhere, and discover our new favourite team in Malaysia. You can also read on for news of a new FotMob update that was released in the last few days.
Leeds vs. Arsenal
After recording a record eighth-straight win to top the league phase table in the Champions League, Arsenal can focus all their attention on getting back on track in the league. Viktor Gyökeres, Gabriel Jesus, and the returning Kai Havertz have all found the net in recent games, with that strength in depth being a key tenet of Arteta’s plans for this season.
They face Leeds United this weekend, a side they rattled in five goals against when they last met back in August.
Daniel Farke has, however, steadied the ship at Elland Road, and no one in the Premier League has lost fewer games than Leeds since the start of December.
Striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has nine goals to his name this season and he has developed a knack for getting on the scoresheet in big games, scoring against Liverpool, Chelsea, and Man City already.
Man United vs. Fulham
Speaking of Premier League form, only Manchester United and Chelsea have won both of their last two games in the whole of the division.
United now sit fourth in the table, eight points down on City and Villa but four points above seventh placed Fulham, the visitors to Manchester this weekend. The Londoners are one of the most exciting sides to watch at the moment, Marco Silva has his side playing some fine football, and in Harry Wilson, they have one of the most in-form midfielders out there - he has 10 goal involvements in his last 11 games. The Welshman is running his own personal goal of the season competition with his shots seemingly flying in from all angles.
Fulham have won four of their last seven league games but have a terrible record against United, winning just one of their last 20 meetings in the league.
The Basque Derby is a largely friendly rivalry off the pitch, with television pictures beaming images of lone Athletic or Real Sociedad fans in the stands in their colours, despite being completely surrounded by opposition fans, or happy couples each wearing a different club shirt. On the pitch, it’s a different story.
This remains a battle between the two powerhouses of a proud autonomous region, Athletic with their Basque-only player rule, La Real with their equally proud traditions, and both operating supremely successful academies.
The November derby was notable not only for the high-scoring nature of Real Sociedad’s 3-2 win (uncommon in a derby), but also for it being the first derby ever won with a stoppage time goal. Both, however, have struggled for consistency this season, especially Athletic who have been juggling European commitments with the demands of LaLiga.
Real Sociedad appear to have turned a corner with the appointment of unheralded American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo. He’s picked up four wins from his five games, including a famous 2-1 victory over league leaders Barcelona.
Athletic Club were knocked out of the Champions League during the week and they will have to raise themselves for this one.
Strasbourg vs. PSG
Much was made of Liam Rosenior being promoted from within the BlueCo multiclub ownership group, swapping the Strasbourg dugout for the one at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge at the start of the year.
Rosenior had led the Alsace club back to European football with a seventh placed finish in Ligue 1 last season and he left them in a similarly healthy position this term. His replacement, former Bournemouth and Wolves manager, Gary O’Neil has carried on the good work, winning all three games he has overseen so far and with in-demand striker Joaquín Panichelli racking up five goal contributions during that time.
Now, though, they are preparing to face PSG, the newly-restored league leaders (and current European Champions). Luis Enrique’s perennial winners have been nipping at the heels of surprise title contenders Lens for the last few matchdays but finally overhauled them when the Blood and Gold slipped up at Marseille last weekend.
Despite a uncharacteristic run of low goalscoring, PSG still average over two goals a game, boast the league’s best defensive record, and hold the best away form (W6, D2, L2).
Kelatan The Real Warriors FC, with their fantastic full name, and their badge that looks like it belongs to the missing fifth house at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films might just be our new favourite team found on FotMob.
Currently plying their trade in the Malaysian Super League, the Real Warriors are on at least their fifth rebranding in their short 10 year history, and they have already faced some serious legal issues and a transfer embargo imposed by FIFA themselves. We, for one, hope they’ve finally stumbled upon an identity they can build around.
They go in to the weekend sat 11th in the 13-team division but with a five point cushion to the relegation zone and a home game against mid-table Penang to look forward to.
The dream of back-to-back-to-back-to-back promotions is on for Wrexham and what is now the barely believable ‘Hollywood’ story of their recent successes continues at pace.
Last weekend’s epic comeback win at QPR, sealed by an equaliser on 90+3 and Oliver Rathbone’s winner on 90+4, saw the Welsh club move in to the top six of the Championship. That was a significant result in more ways than one.
Wrexham have dropped a staggering 20 points from winning positions in the league this season, more than any other club in the Championship. This time the roles were reversed!
Add those 20 points to their current tally and we’ll be talking about a title race and not just their chances of making the play-offs. Phil Parkinson’s side have a good opportunity to consolidate their position with a trip to bottom club Sheffield Wednesday coming up on Saturday lunchtime.
Wednesday went in to administration in October, have been deducted a total of 18 points for the current campaign, and are winless since September.
No, not the aging Uruguayan legend still plugging away at Inter Miami, and no, not the Spanish striker who won the 1960 Ballon d’Or. This week we’ve been writing about the Luis Suárez that has replaced Viktor Gyökeres and is banging in the goals in Portuguese football.
Protected perhaps a little too closely by Enzo Maresca, Liam Rosenior appears to have seen what even casual observers of Chelsea have understood this season. That Brazilian teenage talent Estêvão is the most exciting prospect at Stamford Bridge and his raw but skilful energy needs to be let loose on the rest of the league.
The seven-time Ligue 1 champions looked like they were going to suffer an administrative relegation at the start of the season but having appeased French football’s governing body, Lyon have regrouped, performed well at home, and finished top of the league phase mega table in the Europa League.
This week we launched an all-new enhanced live text commentary that will be a feature of all major fixtures going forward.
If you find yourselves following a game via our commentary tab you will now, for the first time in FotMob history, 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. We want to see those emojis raining in.
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: Lens vs. Le Harve is perhaps the biggest game of note this evening. Victory for Lens would see them go back above PSG at the top of Ligue 1 and put the pressure back on Luis Enrique’s side. A win for Bristol City over Derby in the Championship would see them replace Wrexham in the play-off places.
Saturday: Chelsea vs. West Ham and Liverpool vs. Newcastle United should provide some evening entertainment as the Premier League’s two late kick-offs. Bayern will look to get back to winning ways when they visit Hamburg in the Bundesliga. Napoli vs. Fiorentina is a Serie A highlight, while Barcelona travel to mid-table Elche looking to maintain top spot in LaLiga. And there’s a derby in the A-League as Sydney take on Western Sydney Wanderers.
Sunday: Real Madrid meet Rayo Vallecano in an early kick-off. Manchester City go to Spurs in the Prem, while there are two top of the table clashes in the low countries. PSV vs. Feyenoord is first vs. second in the Netherlands, and Union St. Gilloise vs. Club Brugge is the same in Belgium. In Italy, in form Como face Atalanta and leaders Inter go to Jamie Vardy’s Cremonese.