European football made its way back to the footballing world with Champions League and Europa League taking centre stage this week.
Liverpool got a huge win over Real Madrid, Arsenal pieced Sporting apart and Man City blew a lead and had to settle for a 3-3 draw.
Liverpool sit eight points clear at the top, while City sits in a lone second with 23 points, and Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton right behind with 22 points.
Brighton host Southampton to kick off match week 13 but the headliner,
Liverpool welcome Man City to Anfield in a top of the table clash.
Let’s have a look at everything in between and see what we find.
The weekend gets started with Brighton who are on a two game win streak which started by beating City a few weeks back. They welcome bottom of the table Southampton who have gone the other way.
Last weekend Southampton blew a 2-1 lead over Liverpool, losing 3-2 which puts them on a two game losing streak.
Southampton have not beaten Brighton in their last five so it seems pretty simple for the Seagulls but I don’t think they’ll keep it clean.
Crystal Palace find themselves in the drop zone while Newcastle sit in 10th spot but only four points out of the top four.
In the last six times these two sides have met, one of the two have managed a clean sheet. A bit of a snooze fest is expected here as neither side have been that clinical in front of goal but also haven’t leaked too many.
Bournemouth have taken seven points from a three game stretch that included playing Arsenal, Aston Villa and Man City. Since then they’ve been beaten twice losing to Brentford and Brighton.
Wolves have made their way out of relegation zone but only by goal difference. In their last 10 games, Wolves fixtures have seen more than 2.5 goals in nine of them.
I’m picking Wolves to win this one at home considering Bournemouth’s terrible away record.
Leicester will head to Gtech Stadium to face Brentford without a manager. After sacking Steve Cooper last week it seems like Utd legend, Ruud van Nistlerooy could be the front runner. A new era for the Foxes begins this weekend.
The Bees continue to be very up and down, after a 2-1 defeat to Fulham they then beat Bournemouth 3-2 followed by a 0-0 draw with Everton.
Playing at home for the Bees seems to be different gravy though as they’ve manged 3+ goals in each of their last three at Gtech.
I’m liking a Brentford win here with the goal total reaching at least three.
The Trees will be hoping to recover from their worst stretch of the season and continue to fight for a top four spot.
Despite the difference in table position I don’t think this will is an easy beat for Nottingham, with Ipswich Town showing real signs of improvement.
They’ve taken five points from their last three games including a win over Spurs.
Arsenal had a tough stretch early in the month but that may be behind them after a 3-0 win last week and a big win over Sporting in the Champions League.
Their form away from hasn’t been the best but I’d rather look at their most recent form and back them to get the win.
Bukayo Saka has two goals and an assist since Martin Odegaard has rejoined the squad. His impact allows Saka a lot more freedom and I think he’ll find himself on the scoresheet once again.
My word, Spurs heading into the Etihad and coming away with a 4-0 win over the defending champs, who could’ve predicted that?
I certainly didn’t want to back City but I also couldn’t bring myself to back Spurs.
They’ll be bouncing off the walls after their three game win streak but they’ll know that they’ve failed to beat teams they should be beating.
The unpredictability of both of these teams means I’m staying away from the result and crossing my fingers we get an entertaining fixture.
It might feel Unai Emery has some ground to make up if he wants his Villa squad to push top four, but they’re only three points off the pace. A win this week away from home could push them into third equal depending on results elsewhere.
Chelsea got off to a hot start but a few draws here and there before the break cooled them off slightly.
There is so much talent in that Chelsea squad and after a mid-week win I think they’re in for another three points.
Ruben Amorim found out just how tough a task he’s up for after last weeks result but a late comeback secured his squad a 3-2 win in the Europa League during the week.
They’ll be feeling more positive about things and the longer Amorim has with his squad implementing what he wants to do, the better they’ll get.
Until then I think the Toffees have a great chance to get some points and move up the ladder.
They haven’t beaten United in their last five fixtures but they’re always good for a draw so that’s what I’m leaning with this week while Amorim still figures things out.
A blockbuster at Anfield to wrap the week up. Arne Slot has the Reds rolling and a win over Real Madrid in the Champions League only boosts their confidence. However a shorter break between games means lest rest for Slot’s key players.
City blew their lead meaning they’re without a win in seven games across all competitions. Something isn’t quite right over in Manchester but if anyone can come up with a solution it’s Pep.
There’s that feeling that City won’t continue to drop points but I’m not sure if they have enough going for them to get the job done over the league leaders.
This is always going to be a tight battle but after some mid-week fixtures I think there might be a bit of fatigue and maybe some missed chances.