Friday night treats Spanish football fans and lovers of La Liga to one of its most entertaining fixtures when relegation haunted Granada, travels to the San Mames to play the newly crowned Copa Del Rey Champions, Athletic Bilbao.

Ernesto Valverde’s side will be hoping his side can get all the maximum points from this one to help their charge up the La Liga table with the Basque club only 4 points behind Atletico Madrid in 5th place.

 

Bilbao’s UEFA Champions League Spot Dream is Still Alive

Athletic Bilbao may have their biggest feat in 40 years by lifting the Spanish Kings Cup, but they could still make this season even more memorable by knocking Atletico Madrid off the last UEFA Champions League spot at 4th place and they will try to do that.

With five games still to go in the Spanish top division this season and only a loss and a draw away from overtaking their Madrid-based counterparts, the Basque will know that their dream of making it to the UEFA Champions League for the third time in their history is still very much alive.

That will be their biggest motivation going into their remaining 5 games of the season and with the man-power they have in their team led by the talented William brothers, they will be more than ready to take on that challenge.

 

Granada is Unbeaten against Bilbao in their Last 3 Games

Granada, hungry for survival from being relegated, make the journey to a tough San Mames stadium knowing full well that if they are to climb out of the relegation zone, they will have to avoid losing any more points than they already have this season.

Jose Ramon Sandoval’s team are 8 points behind Cadiz in 19th with a poor goal difference of -28, and if they are to avoid getting demoted to the lower league, they will have to get great results like they have gotten in the past against a club like Bilbao.

With Granada grinding out a 1-1 draw, a 1-0 win, and a 2-2 draw at the San Mames where they go on Friday in their last 3 meetings with Athletico Bilbao, the team can feel a lot of motivation coming into this game against the newly crowned Copa Del Rey champions.

If that were not good enough to get the job done, then having drawn 2-2 and 3-3 in both games versus 2nd-placed Barcelona in the league this season should more than speak to their capabilities in getting the results if they play to do so.

 

Match Stats

Athletic Bilbao is ranked 5th in goals scored per match (1.6 goals) this season in La Liga while Granada is ranked 14th in goals scored per match (1 goal) although they have been awarded the most penalties this season (7).

Athletic Bilbao is unbeaten in 19 home games this season in all competitions and has won 37 points from a possible 48 points from their 16 matches played at the San Mames in La Liga while Granada has won just 1 of their last 12 games, losing 8 with 5 of them away from home.

Athletic Bilbao have achieved just 1 win in their last 7 games against Granada CF in all competitions failing to beat Granada in all of their last 3 meetings (2 away, 1 at home).

You can check out the La Liga game between Athletic Bilbao and Granada on MSport here.

The Etihad will host the 2nd leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final game between current holders of the competition, Manchester City and the former holders before them and record winners, Real Madrid.

The first installment of this blockbuster tie ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw with goals from six different scorers confirming the fixture as the world’s most entertaining and biggest game in club football.

Coming into this second leg clash dubbed as the “final before the final”, Pep Guardiola’s Man City will be hoping they eliminate a Real team that many feel are the only team that could prevent them from lifting the trophy back-to-back and they are right to think so.

 

Man City’s Formidable Home Form at Etihad is Fearsome

Manchester City's incredible home form at the Etihad is well-known and documented and that is their biggest strength going into this huge encounter as the knowledge of their unbeaten run can strike fear into the hearts of opposition teams even if they're called Real Madrid.

Yes, Manchester City has a team made up of great players in every department and that in itself is great reason enough to panic because it is these players, led by their great manager that helps the team play the way they do. However, these same players have been beaten before and that would motivate any team.

That is why the story of the only place they have not been beaten, the Etihad, where they could equal a club-record 42-game unbeaten streak going back to 1921, is their greatest weapon at their disposal coming into this encounter.

 

Real Madrid, the Miraculous Killers of Defending Champions

While Carlo Ancelotti’s team, Real Madrid also have an unbeaten run to talk about going into this fixture, a 37-game unbeaten run in all competitions, that is not their biggest strength and the thing that makes them a danger for Man City, no.

Real Madrid's greatest strength is also a reputation, the one they are known for by all in the world of football and that is that the Los Blancos are a team of incredible miracles and unbelievable comebacks, what they call in Spanish, “remontadas”.

Concerning the said great ability of Real Madrid to pull off the craziest of results, is their fearful record of being the team that eliminates the defending champions of the UEFA Champions League.

Since 1998, Real Madrid has always eliminated the defending champions and gone on to lift the Champions League themselves and great teams like the 2014 Bayern team, and the 2021 Chelsea team to name a few have all been a victim of this Real Madrid superpower.

Match Stats

Man City have won 2 of their last 5 meetings against Real Madrid, losing 1 and drawing the other two. Both 2 wins have been at home at the Etihad with City unbeaten versus Madrid.

There have been over 2.5 goals in 7 of the last 8 games between Man City and Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League with all 4 of them at the Etihad seeing over 2.5 goals.

Jude Bellingham has created the 2nd most assists (4) and big chances (6) in the UEFA Champions League this season while Foden has the 2nd most goal contributions in the competitions (8).

 

You can check out the Man City vs Real Madrid UCL quarter final 2nd leg game here on MSport.

 

The 2nd leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final game between former German Champions, Bayern Munich and Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal comes off at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night and one wonders, can Bayern’s UCL pedigree help them KO Arsenal?

After an entertaining 2-2 draw in the first encounter at the Emirates, an Arsenal side that might have just lost the English Premier League title race to Man City with a 0-2 defeat to Aston Villa, will have to pick itself up and try to pull off a huge one against Bayern.

Finally knowing the German league is not something they can win, the home team will have to find a way to repeat previous performances against the Gunners in the Champions League if they want to give themselves a chance of winning any trophy this season.

Bayern’s Last Shot at a Trophy is now the Champions League

While one can talk about Bayern’s superior head-to-head record over Arsenal or their great home form in the UEFA Champions League as their biggest strengths going into this enormous encounter, we would argue none of those things are Bayern’s biggest motivations.

If you are a Bayern Munich side, considered one of the biggest clubs in all of Europe 6 times winners of the UEFA Champions League and have lost the league title you have won for the past 9 seasons, avoiding going trophy-less will be your only goal.

The only way Bayern avoids ending this season without winning anything and making the season a complete failure and unacceptable to the fans would be winning the UEFA Champions League or at least getting to the final two stages and that starts by knocking out Arsenal.

 

Arsenal Fans would not Mind Lifting the UCL, if not the EPL

While lifting the Champions League is technically not Arsenal’s only chance at winning silverware this season given they are just two points behind Man City in the league at 2nd, and have already won the EFL Community Shield, the Gunners would not mind lifting the UCL at all.

It is general knowledge the Gunners were dreaming about lifting a different trophy this season, the EPL, however with that dream looking a lot closer to impossible now, Mikel Arteta and his lads would not mind switching their attention to the UEFA Champions League.

It is, after all, the trophy the Gunners have never won and dream of winning someday, they just did not imagine that that day could be this season with Arsenal only potentially four games away from lifting the Champions League but first, they will have to overcome Bayern at the Allianz Arena.

Match Stats

In the previous 5 meetings between Bayern Munich and Arsenal, Bayern have won 3 including two 5-1 wins at home, while Arsenal have won one, 2-0 at home, and drew the other (the recent 2-2).

Bayern Munich have created the 2nd most big chances in the UEFA Champions League this season, 31, behind City’s 37, while Arsenal have kept the most clean sheet together with Dortmund and Inter, (4).

Bayern Munich's latest meetings with Arsenal have been high-scoring with over 2.5 goals in all of their last 4 encounters (Champions League).

Bayern Munich have not been beaten in their last 9 straight home clashes in the Champions League while Arsenal are unbeaten in 6 of their last 7 Champions League games.

 

Check Game out on MSport here

Leicester City, back on top of the EFL Championship table with a game in hand on 88 points, will be looking to see out their charge to return to the English Premier League next season by getting the most of their remaining 5 games, starting at Plymouth Argyle.

Plymouth in front of their home fans at the Home Park, will also be looking forward to marching further away from the relegation zone by putting more distance between themselves and 22nd-placed Sheffield Wednesday with only 2 points separating them.

 

Plymouth are Unbeaten against Leicester at Home in Previous 3 Meetings

While one will have to go at least 14 years back to the last time Plymouth played Leicester at their Home Park, Neil Dewsnip’s side are on a 3-game unbeaten run at their home front in games against Leicester City.

In the last three meetings between the two sides at Plymouth’s home, the home side have won one, 3-0, and drawn two, 0-0 and 1-1, and will be hoping they can replicate that trend against the first-placed side.

While their current home form is nothing to write home about with zero wins in their last eight home games, Plymouth will hope they take inspiration from their last victory at home this season over Cardiff or their 1-1 home draw with Leeds in the FA Cup, which they lost on penalties.

The good news for Plymouth is that Leicester City are also going through their very own rough patch having suffered defeats in all their last three away games in all competitions and that should be enough motivation to avoid a result like the 4-0 they suffered away at Leicester when the two sides met earlier this season.

Leicester’s Form is not great, but it’s better than Plymouth’s

Enzo Maresca’s side are not living their best form at the moment with their wins over Birmingham and Norwich at home, the only time they’ve taken all 3 points on offer from their last six games in all competitions.

Their overall form is not that different from their away form either, with the Foxes managing only two wins in their last six games on the road, losing each of their last against Chelsea in the FA Cup, and Bristol and Millwall in the Championship.

Still, with Leicester’s lacklustre performances in recent weeks as it is, it is a lot better than their opponents as Neil Dewsnip’s Plymouth mastered only a single win in their last eight games in all competitions, a 0-1 win over bottom-placed Rotherham.

Plymouth’s overall form is one better than their home form as they have not managed a single win in their last eight games at the Home Park and that together with the gap in quality with Leicester suggests the away side should just about manage a win on Friday.

Match Stats

Plymouth Argyle are ranked 10th in goals scored per match (1.4 goals) while Leicester are ranked 3rd in goals scored per match (1.9 goals).

Plymouth Argyle's form hasn't been good, as the team has won only 1 of their last 10 home matches (Championship) while Leicester City have lost their last 3 away all competition matches in a row.

In Plymouth Argyle's last 4 home all competition matches, there have been under 2.5 goals while Leicester have been awarded the most penalties this season (12).

Plymouth’s Conor Hazard is ranked 3rd in saves per match in the competition (3.5) while Abdul Issahaku of Leicester is ranked 1st in big chances created in the competition (27).

You can check out the Plymouth Argyle vs Leicester City Championship game on MSport here.