Liverpool Inches Towards EBPL Win
By Tanko Bauka
If going by what pans out in the English Barclays Premier League midweek fixtures, then it is as good as saying Liverpool FC are the Champion in the waiting and this is so because Arsenal, the closest team on their tail dropped yet some points as they were held to a goalless draw by Nottingham Forest while the league leader Liverpool FC defeated Newcastle United 2-0 to extend their lead to 13 points with twenty round of matches left to round off the league.
Chelsea beat relegation-bound Southampton 4-0 at Stamford Bridge, while Manchester United fans can now smile after a very long time as the Red Devils defeated Ipswich Town 3-2 at Old Trafford.
Manchester City picked up three points against inconsistent Tottenham Hotspur as they pipped their host 1-0 to climb back to the top-four position in the league table.
Midweek fixtures results
Brighton 2- AFC Bournemouth 1
Wolves 1- Fulham 2
Crystal Palace 4- Aston Villa 1
Chelsea 4- Southampton 0
Brentford 1- Everton 1
Nottingham Forest 0- Arsenal 0
Tottenham 0- Manchester City 1
Manchester United 3-Ipswich 2
Liverpool 2- Newcastle 0
The English Barclay Premier League will go on a short break this weekend to pave the way for FA Cup matches, but actions will, however, continue in another domestic league across Europe with mouth-watering encounters to look out for as the top three teams in La Liga will have tricky matches to contain with.
In the Spanish LA Liga, Real Betis have always been a thorn in the flesh of Real Madrid, though with Real Madrid prevailing, it’s not an easy encounter for Carlo Ancelotti boys.
The encounter offers Real Madrid an opportunity to try and navigate on how to dethrone their arch-rival FC Barcelona on top of the league though on goals difference.
FC Barcelona will be at home to welcome another dangerous opponent, Real Sociedad, which has been standing tall with the big boys over the years, always making sure any encounter between them and FC Barcelona is exciting and entertaining.
FC Barcelona know what to expect and are fully prepared to wrestle for the three points at stake while third place Atletico Madrid entertain another nightmare in the form of Athletic Bilbao and the two teams are combat ready for the encounter because both need the three points at stake.
I’m the Italian Serie A. The Diego Maradona stadium will come to life once again as Inter Milan come to town with the hope of causing more havoc to their host, Napoli; they just overtook them at the top of the Italian Serie A league table.
Napoli were flying high, leading with five points at a stage, but poor results robbed them of their top spot.
But the match opens up an opportunity for them to climb back to the top of the league if they can beat their visitors, who seem to have shaken off their dip in form and have started picking up points.
In the German Bundesliga, Stuttgart will seek to stop Bayern Munich in their track as the league leader come to town to fight for the three points at stake while second-place Bayern Leverkusen make a tricky trip to take on Eintracht Frankfurt.
FC St Pauli welcome Borussia Dortmund, with RB Leipzig hosting Mainz 05.
Fixtures across Europe
Spanish LA Liga
Friday
Real Valladolid vs Las Palmas
Saturday
Girona vs Celta Vigo
Rayo Vallacano vs Sevilla
Real Betis vs Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao
Sunday
Laganes vs Getafe
Barcelona vs Real Sociedad
Mallorca vs Deportivo Alaves
Osasuna vs Valencia
Monday
Villarreal vs Espanyol
Italian Serie A
Friday
Fiorentina vs Lecce
Saturday
Atalanta vs Venezia
Napoli vs Inter Milan
Udinese vs Parma
Sunday
AC Monza vs Torino
Bologna vs Cagliari
Genoa vs Empoli
A.S.Roma vs Como
AC Milan vs Lazio
Monday
Juventus vs Hellas Verona
German Bundesliga
Stuttgart vs Bayern Munich
Saturday
FC St Pauli vs Dortmund
VFL Bochum vs Hoffenheim
Werder Bremen vs Wolfsburg
RB Leipzig vs Mainz 05
Heidenheim vs Monchenglabach
Frankfurt vs Leverkusen
Sunday
Union Berlin vs Holstein Kiel
FC Augsburg vs FC Freiburg
