Actions Resume in Domestic Leagues As Man U Takes On Arsenal
By Tanko Bauka
Away from the UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup matches played across the length and breadth of Europe and England, actions in domestic league will take centre stage once again with notable fixtures to look out for as Manchester United and Arsenal will rekindle their old rivalry.
The rivalry between Manchester United and Arsenal dates back to the golden era of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger; though the great rivalry had been played down since the retirement of the two great managers.
Any encounter between the two always dominates the headline.
Arsenal had, in the first leg, dispatched Manchester United, but Manchester United came back to dump Arsenal out of the FA Cup via a penalty shoot-out.
Both teams’ credibility has come under heavy criticism following their inconsistency, though Manchester United sit in the 15th position while Arsenal still occupy the second position, thirteen points adrift of the league leader Liverpool FC, so this match offers both teams the opportunity to go at each other for the three points at stake.
The league leader Liverpool FC will be pretty at home to welcome Ivan Juric Southampton side that has been fighting the battle of their lives as they continue to seek ways of avoiding relegation back to the championship going by the pedigree and the depth in Liverpool’s squad, Southampton would have their hands full.
Manchester City travel to take on Nottingham Forest, whose fire seems to have been extinguished, given their poor results of recent, but their visitors are not any better, too, as Pep Guardiola’s rebuilding process has not been yielding the positive impact he needed.
Chelsea are enmeshed in the battle for the top four positions, with Manchester City hosting Van Nistelrooy relegation-bound Leicester City at Stamford Bridge while Tottenham Hotspur entertain AFC Bournemouth.
Brighton Albion also host Fulham, with Unai Emery Aston Villa making a short tricky trip to take on Brentford even as Wolves play guest to David Moyes Everton at the Molineux stadium.
In the Spanish LA Liga, the league leader FC Barcelona play host to Osasuna, while in second place, Atletico Madrid travel to take on Getafe.
Third-place Real Madrid welcome Rayo Vallacano to the Bernabeu Stadium, Athletic Bilbao entertain Mallorca, and Real Betis engage Las Palmas as Valencia host Real Valladolid.
In the Italian Serie A, resurgent Juventus battle Ademola Lookman Atalanta to close the six points gap with the Italian league leader Inter Milan, which will also be seeking to further extend their lead against AC Monza.
Lacce welcome AC Milan while recently dip in form Napoli play host to Fiorentina as Empoli welcome A.S Roma.Como host Venezia as Cagliari entertain Genoa.
In the German Bundesliga, Vincent Kompany, Bayern Munich would like to continue their dominance as they welcome VFL Bochum and their title rival, the defending Champion, Bayern Leverkusen host Werder Bremen while Borussia Dortmund entertain FC Augsburg.
Fixtures across Europe
English Barclays Premier League
Saturday
Nothingham vs Manchester City
Brighton Albion vs Fulham
Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Town
Liverpool FC vs Southampton
Brentford vs Aston Villa
Wolves vs Everton
Sunday
Chelsea vs Leicester
Tottenham vs AFC Bournemouth
Manchester United vs Arsenal
Monday
West Ham vs Newcastle
Spanish LA Liga
Saturday
Celta Vigo vs Laganes
Deportivo Alaves vs Villarreal
Valencia vs Rayo Valladolid
FC Barcelona vs Osasuna
Sunday
Gatafe vs Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid vs Real Vallacano
Athletic Bilbao vs Mallorca
Real Betis vs Las Palmas
Real Sociedad vs Sevilla
Monday
Espanyol vs Girona
Italian Serie A
Friday
Cagliari vs Genoa
Saturday
Como vs Venezia
Parma vs Torino
Lacce vs AC Milan
Inter Milan vs AC Monza
Sunday
Hellas Verona vs Bologna
Napoli vs Fiorentina
Empoli vs A.S Roma
Juventus vs Atalanta
Monday
Lazio vs Udinese
German Bundesliga
Friday
Monchenglabach vs Mainz 05
Saturday
Holstein Kiel vs Stuttgart
Leverkusen vs Werder Bremen
Dortmund vs FC Augsburg
Bayern Munich vs VFL Bochum
Wolfsburg vs FC St Pauli
SC Freiburg vs RB Leipzig
Sunday
Frankfurt vs Union Berlin
Hoffenheim vs Heidenheim
