Things to look out for in European football: January 25-26

 

The Derby della Capitale between AS Roma and Lazio is the highlight of another action-packed weekend of football in Europe. Here are some of the Things to look out for in European football: January 25-26. Bet on football here. 

Derby della Capitale

Bitter rivals AS Roma and Lazio go head to head on Sunday in one of the most anticipated Derby della Capitale at the Stadio Olimpico. Lazio have won 11 Serie A matches in a row while their arch-rivals Roma have lost just four league matches all season. Although both teams suffered defeats in the Coppa Italia in midweek, both sides will fancy walking away with bragging rights. The formbook goes out the window on Sunday and all three points are up for grabs. Simone Inzaghi’s men are seven points ahead of their fierce rivals with a game in a hand. Roma have won three of the last seven encounters with Lazio, who have won twice with the other two matches ending in a stalemate. This should be an entertaining showdown.

More misery for Napoli

Gennaro Gattuso’s wait for his first league win as Napoli manager is set to continue with the Partenopei set to face Serie A leaders Juventus on Sunday. Gattuso’s men are 11th in the table after four defeats in five games. Things look bleak at Stadio San Paolo. They have won one league match since October and things might get worse for them against the league leaders. They are 27 points behind their hosts and 14 points off top four. Taking into account their performances over the last few months, nothing suggests that they’ll get a result against Maurizio Sarri’s men.

Tough outing for Setien and Barcelona against Valencia

Quique Setien’s Barcelona survived a scare to beat third-tier outfit UD Ibiza 2-1 in the Copa del Rey round of 32 in midweek. The Blaugrana and Setien face a stern test this weekend in La Liga with a tricky trip to the Mestalla to face Valencia. Los Che have in recent times been a difficult opponent for Barcelona at home. Barcelona have won just twice at Valencia in their last five visits. With the team adjusting to new management, this will give Setien and his men a tough test. As we saw against Ibiza, they will need to do much more to win at the Mestalla against a Valencia side that lost heavily last time out.

Bundesliga Golden Boot race

Bundesliga’s Golden Boot race is heating up. Timo Werner of RB Leipzig and Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich are locked at 20 goals each at the top of the goal scoring charts after 18 games. This is the first time in Bundesliga history that two players have at least 20 goals after 18 rounds of matches. Lewandowski has won four Bundesliga Golden Boots. He has won two straight awards, which hasn’t been done since Bayer Leverkusen’s Ulf Kirsten won back-to-back from 1996-1998. Leipzig’s Werner is also hoping his goals can lead his team to the title and break Bayern’s hegemony in the league. This is definitely one of the most intriguing races which should get even better as the season progresses.

Robert Moreno search for first win as Monaco manager

Newly appointed Monaco manager Robert Moreno will be hoping to register his first win in Ligue 1 since being appointed at the end of 2019. Since taking the reins he has taken charge of four matches in all competitions, winning two, drawing one and losing once. On Saturday, they welcome Strasbourg, a team that has beaten them in two of their last three matches. Can Moreno get his first win?