What to Watch This Week: Friday, January 24 through January 27, 2025
Did the heavy Italian seasoning from my previous week’s recommendations leave a sweet or sour taste? First, I’ll cover last weekend’s action. Then I’ll provide options for what to watch in the world of the beautiful game. I’ll also include my picks for which UEFA Champions and Europa League matches to watch next midweek as the group stage concludes in epic fashion.
The Good
Roma 3–1 Genoa
Dybala’s free-kick hit the crossbar within the first 10 minutes served as a warning sign for Roma clicking in the attack in this game. Both Lorenzo Pellegrini and Artem Dovbyk stepped up to aggressively attack the service provided by their teammates, the latter who put away the first goal of the game (after Nicola Leali made a solid save on the first attempt). Holding midfielder Patrizio Masini provided a Genoa equalizer shortly after Mattia Bani picked up a leg injury. that thankfully to reignite the game! Roma would take over the rest of this encounter after they regained the lead around the hour mark through Il Faraone Stephan El Shaarawy. Although Genoa piled on the pressure late, the defense led by Evan N’Dicka and Gianluca Mancini weathered the storm.
Newcastle 1–4 Bournemouth
The Toon Army that woke up on my side of the Atlantic will have been shellshocked back to bed as this game saw Newcastle United’s incredible run of form come to a screeching halt. Bournemouth are a great team this season, but given Newcastle United’s red-hot form and being more established in this area of the Premier League table from recent seasons, nobody saw this coming. Andoni Iraola masterminded another great performance and the biggest individual performance of the lot came from Justin Kluivert’s hat trick plus assist.
Valencia 1–0 Real Sociedad
Hugo Duro is one of the most talented players on this struggling Valencia side, reminding us of that quality with the go-ahead goal in the opening half hours through veteran fullback Dimitri Foulquier. Real Sociedad rotated a few key players like Jon Aramburu, Luka Sucic, Takefuso Kubo, and Mikel Oyarzabal but Valencia don’t care: they need a win like a fish needs water. A young player on the Valencia side Diego López ended up with the worst of his attempted challenge on Javi López, setting the tone for a scrappy, physical game with both teams desperate to dig in to get the result.
Valencia weathered the storm as Sociedad brought in their usual starters but the visitors were left stunned. When the final whistle blew to secure a priceless 3 points, the stadium erupted in joy. Valencia are not relegated yet. It’ll take more wins like this one and now there’s some renewed belief. What this result means to the club and their supporters and the emotional reaction when the result was sealed elevated this scrappy game into the good category.
Como 4–1 Udinese
Como got off to a flying start through 19-year-old Spanish wonderkid (seriously, Spain’s talent depth is unfair) Hassane Diao and entered halftime up 2–0. The moment shifted Udinese’s way in the second half with a goal and Como’s experienced center-back Edoardo Goldaniga getting a red card. Normally this is where I’d say “you just can’t have that as a newly promoted side.” Apparently, Como weren’t having it because this ignited another gear they had in store to humble Udinese. Before this game, Udinese didn’t take too many black eyes from embarrassing results. This will be a a new experience for the more established Serie A side this season. They’ll have to pick themselves up from a game where they were outclassed by the underdogs. While it’s still very tight in the Serie A relegation battle, it’s hard to see Como going down when they’ve shown this type of potential.
The Bad
Stuttgart 4–0 Freiburg
This game went all Stuttgart’s way and the air was taken out of the match within the first 20 minutes. It did not help matters when Freiburg’s captain Matthias Ginter was taken off due to injury. As good as Lienhart is, that’s a big loss. At that point the damage had already been done. Ermedin Demirovic was relentless in attack could’ve completed a hat trick before the halftime whistle blew. Nick Voltemade put this game away with a penalty just before the break.
Parma 1–1 Venezia
Finnish captain Joel Pohjanpalo added to his goal-to-every-other-game ratio for Venezia by providing the decisive strike from the penalty spot in the first half. It was a thundering effort to Zion Suzuki’s left while the Parma keeper went the other way. In the second half, Hernani made good on Parma’s penalty chance to equalize. It took until the final 15 minutes for Gaetano Oristanio to provide the first penalty goal of this match and it was worth the wait. Expertly placed beyond the keeper’s reach from a tight angle and hitting the inside of the crossbar to go in. However the referee disallowed the goal. This gave Parma confidence as Dennis Man powered Parma’s attack through the right side, but his service couldn’t translate into production. Things got chippy at the end as every foul call was protested and the ref struggled to control the game. Man had the best chance to seal 3 points but his shot was struck a bit too hard and went over the bar. Ultimately, this result doesn’t suit either side in their quest to avoid the drop.
The Mixed Bag
Juventus 2–0 AC Milan
The past Saturday was one of those days when the earlier games are goalfests but this one is more cagey. That’s often the case between these two Italian giants. Juventus had another gear to go to and while Mike Maignan made a double save to keep Milan in it, Juventus relied on the Pierre Kalulu revenge game to close up shop and Manuele Locatelli covered every blade of grass. Samuel Mbangula is an integral part of the youth players Juventus has been able to rely on stamping his influence with a goal and with one of Juventus’s best performances of the season, Thiago Motta’s seat gets a little colder. That’s a great way to break through and get a win after seven draws in their previous eight. AC Milan had similar problems that Juventus showed earlier this season being rudderless in attack. A team with talented players like Tijjani Reijnders, Theo Hernandez, and especially Rafael Leao should not be this reliant on the health of Christian Pulisic.
The Substitution
Girona 1–2 Sevilla, but really Osasuna 1–1 Rayo Vallecano
It’s weird to call Sevilla winning against Girona an upset, but in the context of the last two seasons that would qualify. However La Liga did some shuffling around of fixtures and by the time I figured out this game already happened, it was too late. Accept this bonus substitute review.
Osasuna 1–1 Rayo Vallecano
Rayo lived up to their name and struck like a Thunderbolt on the counterattack to open the scoring 20 minutes into the match through Sergio Camello. It was a tale of two halves as Rayo had the bulk of the chances in the first, but Osasuna ensured they got a point in their home ground with a second-half equalizer through Raul García. This played out as expected with these evenly matched clubs splitting the spoils, but it’ll suit them for now. They find themselves rounding out the top half of the La Liga table ahead of a more well known chase pack of Sevilla, Real Betis, and Celta Vigo.
Game of the Week
Atalanta 2–3 Napoli
Mateo Retegui is heating up at the right time. He scored off the bench in the midweek draw against Juventus and then scored a fantastic goal today 15 minutes in that Meret had no chance to save. It took Napoli only 10 further minutes to find a response with Matteo Politano proving he isn’t just an assist guy but can score too. Napoli can also rely on their deeper midfielders to score goals with Scott McTominay receiving that baton from Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa (who fittingly provided the assist for the Scot) last weekend.
This game remained competitive into the second half especially with Ademola Lookman adding to his tally with an impressive finish that no keeper could reach. However, it was Romelu Lukaku, the player with the biggest resume in this game, to head home the clutch 3–2 goal for Napoli. Two of the most entertaining sides not just in Italy but in Europe flexed their offensive muscle and their ambitions this season. Napoli got the last laugh, but anyone who watched this game felt like a winner. If anyone is still sleeping on Serie A, show them the highlights to this game.
2026 World Cup Stock Increase XI
Since the World Cup is less than a year and a half away, my final recap segment from now on will highlight one player maximum from any given country out of the players in the featured games to credit their performances. Whether they are a star player for a national team with an uphill battle to qualify, a key player for a nation expected to qualify, or a longshot for a deep nation, these are 11 players who only helped their respective causes.
GK Filip Stankovic SRB 2002: 7 saves, only beaten by a penalty
RB Andrei Ratiu ROU 1998: Assist from 2 chances created
CB Jay Idzes IDN 2000: 7 clearances, 4 passes into final 3rd
CB Nayef Aguerd MAR 1996: 3 tackles, chance created, blocked shot
LB Milos Kerkez HUN 2003: Goal, solid defense, and offensively outlet
CDM Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa CMR 1995: Pair of assists
CM Manuel Locatelli ITA 1998: Won 7 duels and set the tempo offensively
CM Angelo Stiller GER 2001: Pair of assists
RW Justin Kluivert NED 1999: Hat trick plus an assist
ST Paulo Dybala ARG 1993: Assist and free kick hit the crossbar
LW Samuel Mbangula BEL 2004: Goal and chance created
I hope you’ve had fun recapping this wild weekend. With these recommended fixtures, more wild times are in store!
Friday, January 24
11:45 am P/2:45 pm E: Torino (11th/23 pts) vs Cagliari (14th/21 pts) Paramount+
It’s only right that we start this weekend with Serie A as the league’s offerings previously yielded good returns. The most intriguing aspect of this game is what Torino has in store following four successive draws. Something must be in the water in Turin for Juventus and Torino to draw so many games this season. Whatever that something is, it probably was found in Brighton during Graham Potter’s tenure. Cagliari will visit full of confidence after a 4–1 win over Lecce.
Saturday, January 25
4:30 am P/7:30 am E: Luton Town (23rd/26 pts) vs Millwall (17th/31 pts) Paramount+
Time is running out for Luton Town to prevent another painful chapter from being written after a glorious story of rising up the divisions. To follow up a rise from non-league to the Premier League with back-to-back relegations is some dark content from the football script writer. Millwall is a beatable opponent for Luton, but the Lions are starting to distance themselves from the bottom seven in the EFL Championship which consists of the sides fighting the drop.
6:30 am P/9:30 am E: RB Leipzig (5th/31 pts) vs Bayer Leverkusen (2nd/41 pts) ESPN+
RB Leipzig has been stuck in the mud, which is likely met with much applause throughout Germany. A 2–1 loss to Stuttgart with two red cards was followed by a 3–3 draw to Bochum. While Bochum benefited from a Myron Boadu hat trick and RB Leipzig’s attack kept up, those performances do not threaten the actual Bundesliga title contenders. That list has been trimmed down to, you guessed it, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen. The experienced Hungarian duo of center-back Willi Orban and goalkeeper Peter Gulasci have seen it all. They’ll have their work cut out for them against a Bayer Leverkusen offense that’s only gotten more dangerous with role players like Nathan Tella increasing in confidence.
9 am P/12 pm E: Napoli (1st/50 pts) vs Juventus (5th/37 pts) Paramount+
Even with a 13-point gap between these two teams, you should have this match circled in your proverbial football calendars with red pen! Both of these big clubs come into this fixture off of top drawer performances. It’s not even worth mentioning who is not longer player for Napoli because the players that are have done a phenomenal job, especially these last few weeks. From the Giovanni Di Lorenzo defense, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa doing it all in midfield, and Romelu Lukaku shouldering more responsibility, what’s not to like about Napoli? However, Juventus will be up for the challenge if they bottle up their gameplan vs AC Milan and bring it to Naples. AC Milan is a step below Napoli as far as tests go, but Federico Gatti and Manuel Locatelli will provide a solid foundation for their young players to thrive.
11:45 am P/2:45 pm E: Empoli (15th/20 pts) vs Bologna (7th/33 pts) Paramount+
With players like Devis Vasquez, Mattia De Sciglio, Ardian Ismaijli, Liberato Cacace, and Lorenzo Colombo, I considered Empoli too good to go down this season. But their form since knocking out Fiorentina from the Coppa Italia on penalties early December has been awful, losing five of their last six. The losses to Genoa and Lecce at home are the most concerning. Bologna needs to strike while the iron is hot. Earning 2–2 draws against Roma and Inter lately is fine but more encouragingly in this match’s context is the 3–1 win over Monza, a club similar in caliber to Empoli. Riccardo Orsolini is one of the more experienced players in Bologna’s ranks and comes off of a goal and assist performance, making for a sizzling combination with rising star Santiago Castro.
5 pm P/8 pm E: Chivas (3 pts/2 games) vs Tigres (6 points/2 games) Peacock/Telemundo
Prime time futbol for Liga MX fans to enjoy pitting Guadalajara against Monterrey, the two biggest cities outside of Mexico City and two of the biggest clubs in Mexico. It’s too early for the standings to matter, but this game is by far the biggest test Chivas will face in this burgeoning campaign. They have mixed returns in their first few encounters, scraping a 1–0 win over Santos Laguna but shockingly losing 3–2 to Necaxa. Will that make Chivas easy prey for the apex predators Tigres or, rather, a trap game?
Sunday, January 26
6 am P/9 pm E: Crystal Palace (12th/27 pts) vs Brentford (11th/28 pts) Peacock
Earlier in the Premier League season, Crystal Palace’s slow start and Brentford scoring goals within seconds of the opening whistle were among the top stories. Since then, the feel-good stories of Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, and Newcastle have put these midtable clubs under the radar. Crystal Palace took down fellow London club West Ham 2–0 at the London Stadium last time out with Jean-Philippe Mateta bagging a brace. Their defense consists of some quality players including England Euro 2024 standout Marc Guehi and Colombian dual threat Daniel Muñoz. Brentford has had a tougher time lately. A 2–2 draw to City and 2–0 loss to Liverpool is understandable, but getting knocked out of the FA Cup by Plymouth Argyle had to sting. Yoann Wissa and Bryan Mbuemo need to get going again to get Brentford’s season back on a positive note.
9:30 am P/12:30 pm E: Athletic Bilbao (4th/39 pts) vs Leganés (15th/22 pts) ESPN+
When Athletic Bilbao faces off against a Madrid club, they’re usually the underdog. At least when encountering the first two that come to mind. In the case of Madrid-based Leganés, this is a role reversal. However, they are not to be taken lightly having beaten Atlético Madrid in their last match to make it 3 wins and a draw in their last four. Sure, their goal came from an unlikely source in former Manchester City player Matija Nastasic (who is still only 31 years old), but similarly experienced shot-stopper Marko Dimitrovic is capable of stealing games against bigger clubs. Iñaki and Nico Williams will be up to the challenge as usual for Bilbao.
11:45 am P/2:45 pm E: Lazio (4th/39 pts) vs Fiorentina (6th/33 pts) Paramount+
Another exciting Serie A fixture even if it would be considered an undercard compared to Napoli vs Juventus. Even so, two of the top six in a competitive top of the table has been a recipe for entertaining performances all season long and this should be no exception. Neither club is dreaming about the title anymore, but Champions League qualification is within their crosshairs. Doulaye Dia has been a revelation for Lazio in attacking midfield forming strong chemistry with mainstay Mattia Zaccagni. Fiorentina’s collective form hasn’t been great, but key individuals like Albert Gudmundsson and Yacine Adli are still playing at a high level. Moise Kean got on the scoresheet last time out in their 1–1 draw with Torino and he’ll likely have to encore to get a result in Rome.
Monday, January 27
9:30 am P/12:30 pm E: Venezia (19th/15 pts) vs Hellas Verona (18th/19 pts) Paramount+
A rare matinee offering on a Monday pits two of the clubs in Serie A’s relegation zone in an even more dire six-pointer than Venezia just found themselves in against Parma. While they showed grit and spirit to get a 1–1 draw, they had some clear chances especially late to walk away with all three points. That would’ve put them just two points out of danger instead of five. Can they make things right against a visiting Hellas Verona side that just got thumped 3–0 by Lazio? If not, it’s time to start worrying.
12 pm P/3 pm E: Burnley (3rd/56 pts) vs Leeds United (1st/59 pts) Paramount+
For the last recommendation in this article, we go from the threat of relegation to the aspiration of promotion. Burnley FC is currently England’s biggest yo-yo club having exchanged promotions for relegations in the last few seasons. Leeds United look to end their Premier League absence at only two seasons, and their next step in doing so would involve rolling up to Turf Moor and coming away with 3 points. The status and financial incentives at stake are clear, but also there are talented players in both of those ranks that could make their way to Europe’s top flights this summer: with or without their current clubs. If Burnley and Leeds want to retain the services of the likes of Lyle Foster and Joel Piroe respectively, securing promotion is essential. We are still four months away from determining who goes up, but this feels like an early indicator.
Rapid Fire European Competition Recommendations (all games on Paramount+)
Wednesday, January 29 (Final Matchday for UEFA Champions League Group Stage)
Paris Saint-Germain (22nd/10 pts) vs Stuttgart (24th/10 pts)
Thursday, January 30 (Final Matchday for UEFA Europa League Group Stage)
AS Roma (14th/9 pts) vs Eintracht Frankfurt (6th/13 pts)
Note that all matches are played simultaneously at 12 pm P/3 pm E and that at the time of writing, the Europa League standings post matchday 7 aren’t known. That recommendation is an educated guess.
Thank you as always for reading!
