Barcelona vs Real Madrid and more: betPawa BIG match insights
We’re previewing 2 FA Cup quarter-finals, more Premier League drama, another critical weekend in an enthralling Bundesliga title race, the Rome Derby and the latest instalment of El Clásico. Let’s get stuck into 7 massive fixtures across Europe this weekend that could shape the destinies of all those involved.
Saturday 18th March
2 teams starting to find form?
After picking up 4 points from their last 2 games, Everton now sit in the relative safety of 15th place in the Premier League. However, they’re just 1 point above the relegation zone and there’s almost no space to breathe and no margin for error at the bottom.
Chelsea have won their last 2 in the league to sandwich an impressive 2-0 success over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. A few weeks ago, Sean Dyche and Everton might have relished a visit to Stamford Bridge but perhaps that’s not quite as much the case any longer. Still, you can be sure that his side will be adequately prepared to fight for every ball and stay compact as they always do with 5 men in midfield.
Only 1 of Chelsea and Everton’s last 6 Premier League head-to-heads featured goals at both ends. With Chelsea starting to look a bit more resilient at the back, Dyche’s visitors may need to scrap to get something out of this fixture.
The return of a hero
Burnley manager Vincent Kompany is back on his old stomping ground. One of the most commanding central defenders of his time, he won 4 Premier League titles and 2 FA Cups with City, among other honours, proving to be an inspirational skipper in Manchester. Kompany is undoubtedly one of the club’s greatest ever players.
He brings his Clarets side to Etihad Stadium brimming with confidence and he has rightfully earned rave reviews for the work he’s doing at Turf Moor. Only a dramatic collapse in the Championship would see them fail to secure automatic promotion to the top-flight next season, so the prospect of Kompany vs Pep Guardiola in the dugout at the top level looms large, and we’ll get to see the first instalment in the FA Cup this Saturday.
City ground out a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace in the league last time out thanks to a 78th-minute Erling Haaland penalty, and Haaland bagged 5 goals in their 7-0 midweek hammering of RB Leipzig in the Champions League. Only Haaland, Luiz Adriano and Lionel Messi have ever scored 5 times in 1 Champions League match.
Burnley will be confident they can ruffle a few illustrious feathers though. Watch out for South African striker Lyle Foster, who scored his first goal for the club in a recent cameo appearance against Wigan in the league. He’s started each of Burnley’s last 2 FA Cup ties and may receive another chance to impress here.
If the Clarets overcome City to reach the semi-finals, it would be one of the BIGGEST upsets in the competition’s 152-year history. With Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers locking horns on Sunday, we’re guaranteed at LEAST 1 non-Premier League semi-finalist in the FA Cup this season. Could we see another?
Sunday 19th March
3 more London Derby points would delight Gunners fans
Premier League leaders Arsenal beat Fulham last time out and, in so doing, became the first side in English football league history to win 5 consecutive away London Derby clashes without conceding a goal. That stat via Opta. The Gunners have enjoyed their meetings with other sides from the capital city this season, it’s fair to say.
Mikel Arteta’s league leaders have alternated between stoppage-time heroics and comfortable cruising successes in recent weeks. The memorable 3-2 win over Bournemouth at Emirates Stadium was about as dramatic as it gets, while the most recent 3-0 win over Fulham was about as controlled a win as they’ve had all season. Still, the Gunners have only kept 1 Premier League clean sheet at the Emirates Stadium in their last 5 outings.
After their defeat to Man City, and writing before the midweek grudge match with Brighton, Crystal Palace’s winless streak in 2023 was extended to 11 matches across all competitions, and they chalked up just 5 goals in those games.
Palace came agonisingly close to a win in the corresponding fixture last season, but settled for a 2-2 draw after an Alexandre Lacazette goal deep in stoppage time.
EFL Cup winners search for more silverware
The Red Devils are unbeaten in 21 home games across all competitions at the Theatre of Dreams and are unbeaten in their last 15 meetings with Fulham, winning 12 of those matches. Fulham boss Marco Silva will be looking for a response from his players after they were soundly beaten 3-0 by Arsenal in their last league match.
In-form attacker Marcus Rashford has failed to score in United’s last 2 league matches and also didn’t get on the scoresheet off the bench against West Ham in the last round of the FA Cup. This domestic ‘drought’ is something he’ll be eager to end against the Cottagers.
Fulham will be delighted to have holding midfielder João Palhinha back after a 2-game suspension. United, however, must do without their own midfield general Casemiro for 4 domestic matches after his second red card of the season, against Southampton. The winners of this clash will book their ticket to Wembley in the final 4.
Bavarians hitting form at the right time
Leverkusen aren’t in the title picture themselves, but they can have a BIG say on the destination of this season’s Bundesliga crown. They’ve recently found their shooting boots again, rattling in 7 goals in their last 2 league encounters.
Bayern have dominated this fixture recently with 5 wins in the last 6 Bundesliga H2Hs, and the Bavarians have been in superb form since a 3-2 defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach in February, winning their last 4 in all competitions and scoring 12 goals in that time. That included a 2-0 win over PSG in the Champions League round of 16, which completed a 3-0 aggregate success.
In their 5-3 win over Augsburg last time out, 4 of Bayern’s 5 goals came from defenders, so they really can hurt you from all angles. Leverkusen’s 7 goals in their last 2 league wins were scored by 6 different players so they’re also a fun, sometimes unpredictable side to watch. This is a BIG test of Bayern’s title credentials and it should produce an entertaining spectacle.
Champions League qualification at stake in the Eternal City?
Italy’s 2 most prominent capital city clubs meet again and, on this occasion, both are in the mix for a top 4 finish.
Lazio have won their last 2 home matches against Roma in Serie A, scoring exactly 3 goals on each occasion. Roma haven’t been in great form in the league of late, losing 2 of their last 3 and falling out of the Champions League qualifying places as a result. However, a win in the Derby della Capitale would see them leapfrog Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio.
That’s easier said than done though. Lazio haven’t conceded a single goal in any of their last 4 league outings. It’s often said that form goes out of the window in local rivalries, and Roma boss José Mourinho will hope that the cliche proves to be true again this Sunday. His side’s ambitions of a top-4 place and finishing above their neighbours would be dented by a defeat.
Must-win territory for the champions
These old rivals appear to have very different priorities as we reach the business end of the season. Barça are out of Europe and firmly focused on wrestling their LaLiga crown back from Real Madrid, who won their 35th title in 2021/22. They enter this match with a 9-point lead and a further 12 fixtures to complete. Los Blancos, meanwhile, are determined to retain the Champions League. An unprecedented 15th European Cup triumph is still on the cards.
Real Madrid were victorious in the first LaLiga Clásico of the campaign in October but have lost twice to Xavi’s side since, in the Supercopa de España final in Saudi Arabia and the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final in the capital earlier this month.
Barcelona’s 20-year-old superstar midfielder Pedri was injured against Man Utd in Europa League action but could make a timely return for El Clásico this weekend. For sheer spectacle, glitz and glamour, this is a great way to close out your weekend of football viewing.