Cardiff have climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone with back-to-back victories and will be fired up for the visit of Watford on Friday night. However, the Hornets are also in fine form, only losing once in their last 10 matches – and that was a narrow defeat away to Tottenham.
Arsenal have given themselves plenty of work to do in their Europa League tie with BATE Borisov after losing 1-0 in Belarus but we’re confident they can turn things around. The Gunners romped to a 6-0 victory when these teams met at Emirates Stadium during last season’s group stage.
Celtic appeared to have their limitations ruthlessly exposed by Valencia in Glasgow and it is hard to see them getting back into this tie. Spanish teams have won the Europa League nine times in the last 15 years, with Los Che beginning that great run when lifting the trophy back in 2004.
Bristol City will be looking to make it a perfect 10 straight wins when entertaining Wolves in the FA Cup at Ashton Gate on Sunday. The Robins have already seen off one Premier League side in Huddersfield in this competition and should go into this clash full of confidence.
Crystal Palace travel to Doncaster in good spirits and are fancied to prove a cut above their League One opponents in Sunday’s FA Cup clash. The Eagles are in the fifth round for the first time since 2016, when they went on to reach the final, and Roy Hodgson looks to be eyeing another long run.
FA Cup ties don’t come much more romantic than Newport hosting Manchester City and we’re hoping the hosts enjoy an occasional flurry on their big day. County appear to be facing mission impossible in terms of getting through, but bagging a consolation goal could be within their compass.
Brighton made hard work of getting past West Brom in the last round of the FA Cup but are still fancied to see off Derby. Albion can fully focus on this clash, as they don’t play again in the Premier League for 10 days, whereas the Rams may be distracted by two crucial Championship fixtures coming up.
Middlesbrough could do with a win at Blackburn to boost their Championship promotion prospects and may be meeting Rovers at just the right time. The Lancashire outfit have done well since returning to this level but a sequence of three straight defeats suggests they are starting to run out of steam.
We have studied the data from the history of the Champions League to determine who are the future top players in the competition.
We have studied the data from the history of the Champions League to determine who are the all-time top 10 players in the competition.
We have studied the data from the history of the Champions League to determine who are the current top 10 players in the competition.
Ahead of the Champions League returning this week, we’ve been looking to answer a fundamental question about Europe’s most prestigious sporting competition: just who is the best player? We’ve designed an algorithm that allows us to rank every player at any point in the tournament’s history.
Ralph Hasenhuttl suffered a 1-0 defeat at Cardiff in his first game as Southampton manager but can gain revenge at St Mary’s Stadium. The Saints have since shown marked improvement under the upbeat Austrian manager and are fancied to be too strong for the Bluebirds this time.
Arsenal have only picked up one point from their last five Premier League away games, so we’re wary of taking short odds for them to win at Huddersfield. The Terriers are cut adrift at the foot of the table and look doomed to relegation, but this isn’t the type of team to throw in the towel.