Player to score – Jamie Vardy (Man Utd v Leicester)
The weekend’s FA Cup action will kick off with a fourth-round meeting between Manchester United and Leicester City on Friday night. Old Trafford has been a happy hunting ground for visiting teams this season, as proven by Crystal Palace’s win at the home of the Red Devils last weekend.
Leicester will look to play on the counterattack, which will suit Jamie Vardy’s natural style of play. The veteran striker has scored seven goals against Manchester United over the course of his career and will fancy his chances of adding to his tally on Friday against a defensively vulnerable opponent.
Over 2.5 total goals – Aston Villa v Tottenham
Sunday’s marquee FA Cup tie will see Aston Villa host Tottenham Hotspur with a place in the fifth round on the line. Spurs exited the Carabao Cup at the semi-final stage on Thursday evening, and so fatigue could be a factor for Ange Postecoglou’s outfit in another cup competition this weekend.
While Tottenham were toothless in the midweek defeat to Liverpool, they had scored in each of their 10 matches in all competitions before that. Villa have also bolstered their attack in the January transfer window with Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio both in line for a debut on Sunday.
Match to be a draw – Sevilla v Barcelona
While Barcelona are in the title hunt near the top of La Liga, the Catalans have struggled for their best attacking form in recent weeks. Indeed, Barca ground out a 1-0 win over Alaves last weekend only a few days after being held to a 2-2 draw at home by Atalanta in the Champions League.
Meanwhile, Sevilla have drawn three of their last four matches in La Liga with Garcia Pimienta expected to set up his team to defend deep and hit out on the counter against Barcelona. This could cause Lamine Yamal and co. problems – see how a similar approach worked for Alaves and Getafe recently.
Both teams to score – Borussia Monchengladbach v Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt are still coming to terms with the January departure of star attacker Omar Marmoush. Nonetheless, Dino Toppmoller’s side are still a dangerous outfit in the final third of the pitch, having scored at least once in every Bundesliga match this season since an opening weekend loss to Borussia Dortmund.
There has been over 2.5 goals scored in six of Borussia Monchengladbach’s last seven league matches, with the Foals fresh from an impressive away victory over Stuttgart. This promises to be a competitive match between two teams hoping to qualify for European football this season near the top end of the Bundesliga.
Graham’s Fourfold
Our red-hot tipster is back with his best bets from across Europe’s top leagues, including two crackers from the FA Cup, and action from the Bundesliga and La Liga!
Think Graham’s picks have legs? Could they race into the winners’ enclosure? Why not throw all four runners into an acca? £10 potentially returns £360 if they come in!
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El Derbi Madrileño
Saturday’s Madrid Derby could have a big bearing on this season’s Spanish title race. One point is all that separates Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid at the top of the La Liga table, making this weekend’s clash at the Santiago Bernabeu one of the biggest of the campaign to date. There is a lot at stake.
The last four league games between these two rivals at the Bernabeu have ended in a draw. Atleti are also unbeaten in 21 of their last 23 league matches, with Diego Simeone’s team set up to expose some of the weaknesses Real Madrid have shown in failing to break down low defensive blocks.
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