What Matches to Watch this Week: Friday, December 20 through Monday, December 23
Our last full slate of European’s top leagues before most of them go on break is on the horizon. When your holiday plans are filled with family and friends, this is a great opportunity to make new soccer fans out of them! Let this be your guide to bridge that divide.
Last Week’s Recommendations
The Good
Freiburg 3–2 Wolfsburg
This played out like the evenly matched contest I anticipated. Kamil Grabara in the Wolfsburg net made some great saves wearing and even greater blue mask. Of all the players to breach his goal though, it was 32 year old right back Lukas Kubler from a set piece. That definitely wasn’t on my bingo card. Nor for him to complete a brace in the second half. Whatever momentum or competitive fire Wolfsburg dissipated and Gregoritsch ended the game with a third goal at the hour mark. Until Wolfsburg made it 3–2, showing their resilience like they did previously. It’s good to see them regain that fight despite that air being taken out of them going 3–0 down. Freiburg win a rollercoaster ride of a game to get this weekend started!
Wolfsburg might’ve lost, but Mattias Svanberg should still feel like a winner having scored this beauty.
Nottingham Forest 2–1 Aston Villa
It’s a joy to see two clubs outside of the usual big six in the top six, and this could determine which of these two clubs will have the happier tale when all 38 Premier League matchweeks are in the books. Jhon Duran celebrated his 21st birthday with the go ahead goal for Villa. Forest remained persistent and eventually got a would be break through from a beautiful build up play. Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi played their part setting up Chris Wood, but the referee made a poor decision from my perspective to call it offside. Forest would make their own justice with dual threat center back Nikola Milenkovic scoring an equalizer. Anthony Elanga sealed a memorable and spirited comeback with an emphatic finish from a well timed run. Emi Martinez may be a World Cup winning goalkeeper but there was no saving that effort! Both these impressive clubs put on a show.
Justice prevailed as Nottingham Forest won despite the referee disallowing one of their goals, keeping this game out of the mixed bag section.
Juventus 2–2 Venezia
The ascent of Kenan Yildiz continued as he looked like scored Juventus’s second goal shortly after halftime. What a duo he and Arda Gular make for Türkiye for years to come! As for now though, that goal was ruled out for an apparent handball.
Venezia responded at the hour mark through a beautiful headed goal by the Icelander Mikael Ellertsson that Michele Di Gregorio got a hand on but still couldn’t keep it out. Looking like a Federico Gatti own goal is the deciding factor in this incredible result by Venezia. Douglas Luiz had an incredible bicycle kick attempt just wide, that would’ve been a fantastic equalizer. Both these clubs impressed with the offense they generated. Conceicao’s strike was saved but then Candela tagged with a handball, what a dumb move to have your harm on Douglas Luiz when anything can happen in the box. Dusan Vlahovic slots the penalty past his fellow Serbian Filip Stankovic in the last minute of stoppage time. a dramatic finish to this thrilling game. Juventus have drawn their 4th in a row to stall their Serie A title campaign.
Brighton 1–3 Crystal Palace
After Augsburg and Venezia pulled off unexpected results yesterday, Crystal Palace followed suit with first half goals with Trevoh Chalobah and Ismail Sarr. Palace were very clinical whereas the creativity from Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma and Pervis Estupinan couldn’t be converted into goals by their teammates. Dean Henderson had a top class reflex save in the opening few minutes too that could’ve changed the whole game. Henderson’s heroics were required early in the second half again to keep out Lewis Dunk’s header off of a free kick.
In the 82nd minute despite waves of Brighton attacks, Ismaila Sarr called game! He is so fun to watch when he’s on his game. You can tell he has the confidence of an elite player, and there’s no denying his talent even if his career hasn’t panned out as people thought when he first broke out. Henderson’s clean sheet was spoiled by a dodgy rebound goal that Evan Ferguson reacted to and it bounced off of Marc Guehi for an own goal.
Manchester City 1–2 Manchester United
The question ahead of this fixture was whose poor season would go from bad to worse? Most people would assume Manchester United, as they’d gladly take City’s position in the table. Despite a promising spell of play in the first half, set pieces continued to haunt the Red Devils and Andre Onana had a shaky performance. Could’ve done better in the Josko Gvardiol goal and nearly had Erling Haaland pick him off waiting too long to pass it out of danger. Bruno Fernandes had a brutal miss with 15 mins left in the game. He made up for that miss in the 88th minute equalizer from the penalty spot. Amad Diallo golazo to turn this game on its head!
Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho were left out of the squad for disciplinary reasons further putting their Manchester United future in doubt. Also frustrating for Mason Mount to get another injury early in this game, a repeated pattern limiting his impact for his club. Despite this, Manchester United supporters have reason to celebrate in a season with few opportunities to do so. Still work to do but they can enjoy this moment.
RB Leipzig 2–1 Eintracht Frankfurt
RB Leipzig were officially eliminated from the Champions league during the most recent Matchday, which is embarrassing for a club of their recent reputation and the more forgiving format. However, they continue to fire on all cylinders in the Bundesliga with their star striker duo of Lois Openda and Benjamin Sesko both finding the back of the net.
The Mixed Bag
Preston North End 1–1 Leeds United
Preston were so close to a valuable win that could’ve given their season new life, and Leeds turned their major disaster into a small one. The 46-game EFL Championship season is a marathon, not a sprint, and about halfway through these two will feel like they tripped over their feet. Defender Jack Whatmough came in at the 83rd minute to defend a 1–0 Preston lead and conceded an own goal 10 minutes later, deep into stoppage time. In his defense, Mateo Joseph might’ve tapped it in had he not been there, but it’s still brutal.
Augsburg 0–2 Leverkusen
Augsburg set up in a back five with Marius Wolf and Dimitrios Giannoulis flanking three center backs, including the forgotten Schlotterbeck brother, Keven. It wouldn’t matter if they have Nico and Keven: Bayer Leverkusen dissected this defense easily to get a 2–0 lead at halftime through Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz. That’s the mark of a great team: bulldozing through low blocks.
This recommendation takes a hit for being in the same time slot as Mainz unexpectedly beating Bayern 2–1, but that would be like foreseeing Cooper Kupp scoring 0 fantasy football points.
AC Milan 0–0 Genoa
Genoa struggled to generate anything, let alone a shot on target. AC Milan didn’t do much better with their possession advantage. Alvaro Morata is a prolific goalscorer but his wasted chances are what fans remember most. He added to that montage with a beautiful piece of skill to cut inside but curled his effort beyond the target. Genoa spoiled the 125th anniversary part by getting a point at the San Siro. At least the classic AC Milan kits look cool.
The Championship (Bonus)
Monterrey 1–1 Club America Leg 2 (Club America won 2–3 aggregate)
Club America winning the Liguilla is as inevitable as Thanos. They complete a threepeat going back to Aperture 2023. Las Aguilas did most of their damage in the Estadio Azteca in Leg 1, but the goal they scored tonight was a beauty. Monterrey’s comeback came a little too late, although they came within a crossbar away from sending this to extra time.
Well…That Escalated Quickly
Lazio 0–6 Inter Milan
For the first 35 minutes, Inter couldn’t cope with Lazio’s attackers, with Bastoni who’s normally a great defender armbarring Isaksen on a blistering run for an easy yellow card. Stefan de Vrij poked the ball into the back of the net off a corner but it was ruled out for offside (and a foul on Samuel Gigot, who replaced Gila). Because Lautaro Martinez’s boot made contact with Gigot’s head, a VAR check for handball to award Inter a penalty. Disaster for Lazio in every facet, fortunately Gigot could continue. Calhanoglu buried the penalty and against the run of play, Inter had a 1–0 lead. It would only go from bad to worse from there.
Reminding us that Dumfries and Dimarco are one of the best wingback pairings in the game, Dumfries set up Dimarco for a thunderbolt goal to double their lead right before halftime. Lazio went from pushing for the lead to down a deep hole in a flash. That’s a margin for error at the top of the Italian top flight. It could’ve been 3–0 before halftime but Lautaro Martinez was well defended by Adam Marusic 1 on 1. Barella sealed the game with a banger early in the second half. Three more goals were added to get to this astounding 6–0 scoreline.
Lazio’s ability to bounce back from this frustrating defeat will be crucial in determining what they can accomplish this season. At least they’re still a strong contender for the Europa League. Inter prove they are still among the elite not just in Italy, but in Europe.
I can’t promise another 6–0 victory, but here’s to hoping this last fully loaded slate before the Winter Break in Spain and Germany can deliver as well!
Friday, December 20
11:30 am P/2:30 pm E: Bayern Munich (1st/33 pts) vs RB Leipzig (4th/27 pts) ESPN+
Other than Hoffenheim, this matchup features the most hated clubs in Germany albeit for different reasons. While Bayern aren’t running away with the Bundesliga title like we are used to seeing, they’re currently 4 points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen. I think Leverkusen fans wouldn’t mind the Red Bull club doing them a solid here. The battle between high quality forwards Harry Kane vs the Lois Openda and Benjamin Sesko tandem will be fun to watch. It says a lot about Harry Kane’s prolific goalscoring that it can take two very good players to match his production.
Saturday, December 21
4:30 am P/7:30 am E: Aston Villa (7th/25 pts) vs Manchester City (5th/27 pts) USA
This is about as excited as I can get for this earliest of time slots. Nottingham Forest and Manchester United inflicted some damaging losses to them last week. Who has the guts to turn things around and in the process continue their opponents’ misery? Unai Emery will relish the opportunity to pit his wits against Pep Guardiola, who judging by his press conferences, is at his wits’ end.
7:15 am P/10:15 am E: Celta Vigo (12th/21 pts) vs Real Sociedad (7th/25 pts) ESPN+
Only 6 points separate Mallorca in 5th from Celta Vigo in 12th, so they’re thinking optimistically that there’s still some exciting possibilities this season. Real Sociedad however are 8 points off of Athletic Bilbao in 4th, and considering that’s their biggest rivals and both Basque clubs are producing high quality Spanish talent, that will bother them. Before either side can dream further, they have a tricky task at hand. Oscar Mingueza continues to provide great service to Celta Vigo’s forwards, including 37 year old Iago Aspas still going strong.
9:30 am P/12:30 pm E: Bayer Leverkusen (2nd/29 pts) vs SC Freiburg (5th/24 pts) ESPN+
The BayArena faithful should be well aware of the threat visiting Freiburg pose as they ran out to a 3–0 lead against Wolfsburg last week. Freiburg themselves will be wary that the margin for error after Wolfsburg roared back to make it 3–2 is even smaller against the defending champions. Freiburg are a steadily efficient outfit, with quality players like Ritsu Doan and Lucas Holer providing service and unlikely heroes like Lukas Kubler getting in on the goalscoring action. Leverkusen will have to be on their A-game especially as injuries to Amine Adli and Victor Boniface turn their lethal attack into a good, but more defendable one.
12 pm P/3 pm E: FC Barcelona (1st/38 pts) vs Atlético Madrid (2nd/38 pts) ESPN+
A month ago, FC Barcelona were runaway La Liga leaders. Losses to Real Sociedad, Las Palmas, and Leganés are the chief moments allowing both Madrid heavyweights to close that gap. While the El Clasico duo justifiably gets most of the attention, Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid have remained a force for a decade plus with a pair of La Liga titles during that span. While Atlético will be aggressive in going for the win here, they still hold a game in hand on the hosts. An additional blow to the Catalans is Lamine Yamal’s ankle injury keeping him out of this huge game.
Sunday, December 22
6 am P/9 am E: Venezia (20th/10 pts) vs Cagliari (18th/14 pts) Paramount+
Interestingly, both of these clubs played Juventus within the last week. If the Old Lady is a barometer, Venezia played them to a spirited draw (many would argue should’ve been a Venezia win) while Cagliari got played off the park in the Coppa Italia matchup. That development makes this 4 point gap and 6 point swing even more tantalizing. These two sides rely heavily on veteran strikers that are currently struggling: Joel Pohjanpalo and Gianluca Lapadula respectively. Whoever gets going again sooner could determine the outcome on the night and who, if either, survives this Serie A campaign.
8:30 am P/11:30 am E: Double Feature
Tottenham (10th/23 pts) vs Liverpool (1st/36 pts) Telemundo/USA
I don’t do many double features as that would defeat the purpose of this series to flood you with recommendations, but I think this situation is merited. How will Tottenham screw themselves? Will Liverpool get back on track after a shaky draw to Fulham? How many more goals will Mohamed Salah score before he’s offered a contract extension? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z!
Wolfsburg (10th/21 pts) vs Dortmund (8th/22 pts) ESPN+
Wolfsburg vs Dortmund is a spicy fixture because of how entertaining both of these clubs play. They’re also getting some strong performances from multiple areas of the pitch. The goalkeeper duel here of Kamil Grabara vs Gregor Kobel will be fascinating. Algerian forward Mohamed Amoura is coming up big for Wolfsburg with 5 goals and 6 assists on the year, while Dortmund’s Jamie Gittens has been their latest breakout wonderkid. It says a lot about the quality of the Bundesliga that these two are midtable, but it’s sink or swim time. If you want to swim in European waters, you have to sink your opponent.
12 pm P/3 pm E: Real Betis (9th/24 pts) vs Rayo Vallecano (13th/20 pts) ESPN+
While Rayo Vallecano only sit 6 points clear of relegation, I feel confident that they will be sticking around beyond this season. Maybe it’s the grit and quality they showed in their 3–3 draw to Real Madrid with La Liga mid to low table veteran Isi Palazon getting the point clinching goal. Real Betis have been inconsistent this season, and this inconsistency has bled into the Europa Conference League. You would think they’d be in a similarly comfortable position as Chelsea and Fiorentina, but they’re only 17th in that competition. Can they juggle two fronts? If not, Rayo Vallecano can take advantage.
Monday, December 23
9:30 am P/12:30 pm E: Fiorentina (4th/31 pts) vs Udinese (9th/20 pts)
11:45 am P/2:45 pm E: Inter (3rd/34 pts) vs Como (16th/15 pts)
This weekend’s fixture list ends with an exciting Serie A double header. These four clubs have been among my favorite to watch this season it what has been an entertaining Serie A from top to bottom. Inter Milan were expected to be in the title race along with Napoli, but Fiorentina have joined Atalanta in crashing the party. You also have Udinese breathing down AC Milan’s necks and promoted side Como out of the relegation zone looking to climb their way further up. After Inter’s 6–0 win over Lazio, Como have to be careful of course, but the way this season has transpired so far, there could be another twist on the horizon.
Once again, please note that La Liga and Bundesliga will go on a winter break after this week. La Liga and Bundesliga return the weekend of Saturday, January 11 and Sunday, January 12. Which is when I’ll resume this series. Until then, there’s the Premier League and Serie A that’ll dominate the attention of soccer and football fans.
There may be a different soccer themed article in the works though for this period. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @IvanOrnelas2, Bluesky @ivanornelas2.bsky.social, and Instagram ivanthewriter95 along with having notifications on my Medium page to stay tuned for what’s ahead!
