Arsenal-Chelsea to end in draw
SPANISH LA LIGA
Real Madrid 2 Sevilla 1
Los Blancos have dominated this match-up in recent seasons. This time round the fixture will be a much closer contest but I can’t see how Santiago Solari can let the European champions lose further ground in the title race. Nervous home victory is my verdict.
Barcelona 2 Leganes 0
Barcelona are not exactly blowing away opponents but they are doing just enough to secure maximum points. Leganes will put in admirable shift but it wont be enough to threaten Lionel Messi and company.
OTHER MATCHES
Levante 1-1 Real Valladolid
Getafe 1-0 Alaves
Huesca 0-1 Atletico Madrid
Villareal 1-1 Athletic Bilbao
Real Betis 2-1 Girona
Celta Vigo 1-1 Valencia
Eibar 1-0 Espanyol
Rayo Vallecano 2-2 Real Sociedad
FRENCH LIGUE ONE
St Etienne 1 Lyon 1
The odds are dropping on Olympique Lyonnais boss Bruno Genesio losing his job unless he can put together a good run of results. Saint Etienne’s cast of Premier League rejects is delivering above expectations. Yann M’Villa and Wahbi Khazri won’t allow Lyon to thrive in this northern France derby.
OTHER MATCHES
Caen 1-2 Marseille
Lille Metropole 2-0 Amiens
PSG 2-0
Guingamp Rennes 1-0 Montpellier
Monaco 2-1 Strasbourg
Angers 1-1 Nantes
Reims 0-0 Nice
Bordeaux 2-1 Dijon
Nimes 1-1 Toulouse
ITALIAN SERIE A
Napoli 2 Lazio 1
It’s just as well these two Serie A giants enjoyed Coppa Italia success mid-week as Juventus is yet again running away with the Scudetto. Senegal star Khalidou Koulibaly is to show why Napoli are unwilling to sell him to Manchester United, even for a whooping £90m.
OTHER MATCHES
Juventus 2-0 Chievo
Genoa 0-1 AC Milan
Cagliari 2-1 Empoli
AS Roma 2-1 Torino
Inter Milan 2-0 Sassuolo
SPAL 0-0 Bologna
Frosinone 1-3 Atlanta Bergamo
Fiorentina 2-1 Sampdoria
Udinese 1-1 Parma
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal 1 Chelsea 1
Was truly taken aback by how easily the Gunners folded last Saturday. Unai Emery is under pressure to field Mesut Ozil from the start. I think he will. Chelsea are finding it difficult to score because Alvaro Morata has his mind set on returning to Spain.
Man Utd 2 Brighton 0
The Red Devils are a team running on a wave of belief after the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Key players Marcus Rashford, Paul Pogba, David De Gea and Victor Lindelof are playing the best football of their season and throughout the team, there is a new-found confidence.
OTHER MATCHES
Fulham 1-2 Tottenham
Huddersfield 0-2 Man City
Liverpool 2-0 Crystal Palace
Wolves 1-1 Leicester City
Bournemouth 2-2 West Ham
Watford 2-1 Burnley
Newcastle United 1-0 Cardiff City
Southampton 1-1 Everton
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
Leipzig 1 B. Dortmund 1
Ralf Ragnick’s Red Bull Leipzig played the better football but fell 1-4 to league leaders Borussia Dortmund in the reverse fixture. They’ve since turned their home ground into a fortress. I can see Dortmund garnering maximum points.
Hoffenheim 1 Bayern Munich 2
Holders Bayern Munich are still trailing Borussia Dortmund and Nick Kovac’s side are aware they must hit the second half of the season running to build the sort of momentum that will last them to the end of the campaign.
OTHER MATCHES
Hoffenheim 1-2 Bayern Munich
Schalke 1-0 Wolfsburg
Nuremberg 1-1 Hertha Berlin
Stuttgart 2-1 Mainz
Augsburg 2-1 F. Dusseldorf Hannover 2-2 Werder Bremen
Frankfurt 3-1 Freiburg
Leverkusen 2-2 Gladbach
