Norwich hold a four-point advantage at the top of the Championship table with eight games remaining courtesy of a six-game winning streak. The international break came at a good time for Middlesbrough, who have lost their last three and are winless in four.
Spain look a class apart in Euro 2020 qualifying Group F and can kick off with a smooth success against Norway at the Mestalla in Valencia. The Scandinavian side have not reached a major tournament since 2000 and still appear short of star quality heading into this campaign.
Portugal have been handed what looks a pretty straightforward start to the defence of their European Championship crown when entertaining Ukraine. The visitors, now coached by Andriy Shevchenko, are no mugs but they have always tended to struggle up front when coming up against elite-level nations.
With the UEFA Nations League now on hold until the summer, the England national team can turn its attention to the qualifying campaign for Euro 2020. Ahead of the first matches kicking off later this week, we’ve analysed data on every qualifying campaign since Euro 96 to see what might be in store for Gareth Southgate’s young side.
Austria and Poland both go into Euro 2020 qualifying with very experienced squads and are hard to split ahead of Thursday’s Group G opener in Vienna. With Israel, Slovenia, Latvia and Macedonia the other teams in this section, each manager may well be satisfied with a share of the spoils to start out.
Brighton will go into their FA Cup quarter-final against Millwall at The Den in great spirits following back-to-back victories in the Premier League. That should allow Albion to fully focus on reaching the semis at Wembley, especially as this game comes before an international break.
West Ham have been inconsistent of late but Trueform shows they are capable of producing the sort of performances that rock-bottom Huddersfield can only dream of. The Terriers enjoyed a rare win against Wolves recently but have since flopped against Brighton and Bournemouth.
Arsenal face an uphill battle to qualify for the Europa League quarter-finals after losing 3-1 away to Rennes but will go all out to turn the tie around in London. The Gunners are 11/10 to advance and Unai Emery is sure to urge his players to push forward at every opportunity at Emirates Stadium.
Chelsea put one foot in the Europa League quarter-finals when beating Dynamo Kiev 3-0 in London and can confirm their superiority in the Ukraine. The Blues had 60 per cent of the possession and did not allow a single shot on target in a dominant display at Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool failed to break down Bayern Munich at Anfield but we still fancy them to reach the next round of the Champions League. FC Hollywood put in a professional display on Merseyside but will have to open up more in Germany, which should suit a superb counter-attacking team like the Reds.
Barcelona were wasteful in a goalless draw at Lyon but are expected to get it right on home turf in the second leg of this Champions League tie. The Catalan giants enjoyed 63 per cent of the possession in France, firing in 25 shots, and should capitalise on a similar dominance at Camp Nou.
We’ve studied the different game states by adding up how much time each club has spent winning, drawing and losing in league matches this season. We’ve also identified which player is their club’s lucky charm and looked at how much goals scored in the last minute of each match affect the final outcome.
Manchester City survived a major scare when winning 3-2 at Schalke in the Champions League and will be hoping for a smoother ride on home turf. The Blues looked up against it when 2-1 behind and down to 10 men, but showed plenty of spirit to snatch victory late on at the Veltins Arena.
Huddersfield have been showing spirit at home recently and are fancied to hold their own against Bournemouth at John Smith’s Stadium. The Cherries are rated a better team than the Terriers but may settle for a share of the spoils following nine straight away defeats in the Premier League.