Leicester better count its blessings
PREMIER LEAGUE: League leaders need to be wary of surging Saints of Southhampton
Second-place Tottenham visits Liverpool on Saturday, while leader Leicester hosts Southampton on Sunday in two of the Premier League’s big games. Spurs trail Leicester by five points. This is the final time this season that they play before Leicester does, giving them a chance to apply a little extra pressure on the leaders.
It’s a nervous time at Leicester. The team hasn’t been scoring goals like before and instead is eking out 1-0 nail-biters. At this stage, they’ll take three points anyway they can.
Southampton is a tough opponent. The Saints have been coming on strong and are now challenging for a Champions League spot, sitting just four points behind Manchester City, which holds the fourth and final spot. Southampton has the third-best record in the league over the last 10 games, with only Spurs and Leicester having done better.
The Saints play a very direct style, with the focus on towering Italian striker Graziano Pelle. The team averages 24 crosses into the box per game, which is second highest in the league. They also rank second when it comes to headers won. Leicester captain and big central defender Wes Morgan will have his work cut out for him. Leicester’s defence, though, has been solid, with four shutouts in its last five games. Expect a lot of aerial battles in this one.
El Clasico
Barcelona hosts Real Madrid on Saturday, but this Clasico is not exactly shaping up as a classic. Barca leads the league by nine points and Real by 10. With only eight rounds remaining, it would take a big change of form for anyone but Barcelona to finish on top. Saturday’s match is also overshadowed by next week’s Champions League fixtures.
This will be the first Clasico for Real with Zinedine Zidane in charge. The rookie coach has had some setbacks since taking over in January, but his record has been good. He has experimented with different lineups, but things now seem to be coming together.
Gareth Bale is back from injury and joins Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema on the attack. Struggling James Rodriguez has been dropped from the starting 11, while Brazilian defensive specialist Casemiro has established himself in midfield. With Casemiro in a holding role, Toni Kroos can push forward along with playmaker Luka Modric. Casemiro will be the key player on Saturday as Real tries to disrupt Barca’s possession game.
First leg
The first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals kicks off on Tuesday. Benfica will look to upset powerful Bayern Munich in Bavaria, while Barcelona hosts Atletico Madrid in the other big game. Spanish fans aren’t happy that two of their league’s heavyweights have been drawn against each other so soon in the competition.
Wednesday’s action sees Paris Saint-Germain hosting struggling Manchester City while Real Madrid is in Germany to face underdog Wolfsburg. The Germans are in the quarter-finals for the first time in their history and have never before played the Madrid giants. Real has traditionally struggled badly on German soil, but that jinx seems to be old news as the team has won three of their last four visits.
Italian revival in Wales
At the start of the year, Swansea was slipping into relegation trouble. The Premiership club had sacked manager Garry Monk a month earlier, but things hadn’t much improved under caretaker Alan Curtis. So they brought in veteran Italian coach Francesco Guidolin, who had previously coached Udinese for many years, enjoying good success.
My family is originally from the region where Udinese plays. The team is a great example of a smaller-budget club that survives at a high level thanks to player development. That’s why Swansea looked to Guidolin because they are trying to do the same.
Guidolin wasn’t well-known in Britain at first. In fact, Swansea players admitted they had to Google him to find out who he was. Since his arrival, Swansea has posted a winning record and is now 10 points clear of relegation.
It’s rumoured Guidolin could even be the next coach of the Italian national team. That might work out as it’s also rumoured that Brendan Rodgers could be returning to Swansea to take over next season.