Just three of Europe’s top five continents will be in action this weekend as Italy and Germany continue to enjoy their winter breaks.
La Liga’s return brings a battle at the top of the table on Sunday as Atletico Madrid visit Sevilla. The two teams sit in second and third place in the table with Sunday’s visitors just three points behind Barcelona.
Atletico comes into the match in good form riding a 13 game unbeaten streak in all competitions into the new year. Their last match came against Espanyol where Antoine Griezmann’s penalty was enough to give Diego Simeone’s men three points on the day.
Sevilla also enters the new year in good form as they trail Sunday’s opposition by just two points in the league table. Like Atletico, Sevilla has lost just one of their last 14 games in all competitions. Sevilla’s last match was a disappointing 1-1 draw away from home against Leganes.
Here’s a closer look at this weekend’s European action:
English FA Cup
With five of England’s top five teams featuring in FA Cup matches this weekend the competition gives fans much to look forward to.
Manchester United’s match against Reading marks nearly two years to the day since the last meeting between the English clubs. The pair matched up in the FA Cup in early 2017.
Manchester United have discovered new form since Jose Mourinho’s departure not long before Christmas and have won four of their last four matches.
United have scored 14 goals in that timespan and conceded just three. Both sides have experienced the effects of a busy winter period in England but Manchester United has managed to deal with the situation more positively.
Reading fans have not had much to cheer about this winter as the side has not won a match since early November. The Championship side sit second from the bottom of the table and are coming off the back of a 4-1 loss to Swansea City midweek.
Here’s all of this weekend’s FA Cup fixtures featuring Premier League teams:
Friday
- Tranmere Rovers vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday
- Manchester United vs. Reading
- AFC Bournemouth vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
- West Ham United vs. Birmingham City
- Burnley vs. Barnsley
- Chelsea vs. Nottingham Forest
- Gillingham vs. Cardiff City
- Everton vs. Lincoln City
- Derby County vs. Southampton
- Newcastle United vs. Blackburn Rovers
- Crystal Palace vs. Grimsby Town
- Bristol City vs. Huddersfield Town
- Blackpool vs. Arsenal
Sunday
- Fulham vs. Oldham Athletic
- Manchester City vs. Rotherham United
- Woking vs. Watford
- Newport County vs. Leicester City
Spanish La Liga
Outside of Sevilla’s visit to Atletico Madrid, Barcelona will also play the role of the visiting team as they take on Getafe on Sunday.
Barcelona sits just three points above second-place Atletico Madrid and would like to extend the gap this weekend. The league leaders have not lost any of their most recent eight matches and are coming off a 2-0 win over Cleta Vigo.
Getafe are also in good form as they extended their unbeaten run to six before the winter break. The most recent meeting between the two sides ended in a scoreless draw back in February of last year.
Real Madrid is also in action as they take on Villarreal with the latter playing host. Madrid picked up the FIFA Club World Cup prior to heading into their short winter break. The path to the trophy saw Los Blancos win a pair of games which moved them to a three-game winning streak.
Villarreal is currently sitting near the bottom of the La Liga table and are coming off a 2-2 draw against Huesca in their last match. Despite the disappointing campaign in Spain, Villarreal has managed to top their Europa League group with a win over Spartak Moscow days before their match against Huesca.
Here’s all of this weekend’s La Liga fixtures:
Friday
- Levante vs. Girona
- Espanyol vs. Leganés
Saturday
- Real Valladolid vs. Rayo Vallecano
- Deportivo Alavés vs. Valencia
- Huesca vs. Real Betis
Sunday
- Eibar vs. Villarreal
- Sevilla vs. Atlético Madrid
- Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad
- Getafe vs. Barcelona
Coupe de France
Paris Saint-Germain’s meeting with GSI Pontivy on Sunday headlines the Coupe de France action. PSG have lost just one match in the 2018-2019 season and it did not come domestically.
The French powerhouse is unbeaten in league play and has handled domestic cup competitions equally as impressive. The club returns from a short break with their most recent match being a 1-0 win over Nantes thanks to a Kylian Mbappe goal.
GSI Pontivy sits in France’s fifth division but are riding a four-game unbeaten streak into the new year.
Here are all of this weekend’s Coupe de France fixtures featuring Ligue 1 teams:
Saturday
- Viry Châtillon vs. Angers SCO
- Amiens SC vs. Valenciennes
- Lyon Duchère vs. Nîmes
- Stade Pontivy vs. Guingamp
- Entente SSG vs. Montpellier
- Red Star vs. Caen
- Schiltigheim vs. Dijon
- Toulouse vs. Nice
- Bourges Foot vs. Olympique Lyonnais
Sunday
- Canet Roussillon vs. Monaco
- Andrézieux vs. Olympique Marseille
- Rennes vs. Brest
- Reims vs. Lens
- Olympique Strasbourg vs. Saint-Étienne
- Bordeaux vs. Le Havre
- Pontivy vs. PSG