MY ACCOUNT
After a festive period disrupted by postponements, the FA Cup third round brings some much-needed football relief this weekend.
As well as plenty of potential upsets, there are full slates across the continent and plenty of transfer rumours to get your teeth stuck into.
Swindon vs Manchester City
The FA Cup third round kicks off tonight with a cracker of a tie as Premier League leaders Manchester City visit League Two Swindon.
And conditions are ripe for an upset with a coronavirus outbreak meaning City are without boss Pep Guardiola and seven players.
Even with a full squad, the champions are short of left-footed options at left-back and may want to strengthen in the transfer market.
We assess the players Guardiola may look to bring in if he opts to improve his backline.
FA Cup bonanza
Third-round weekend is one of the biggest in the English football calendar and there are plenty of ties to whet your appetite over the coming days.
As well as a tasty South London derby between Millwall and Crystal Palace, non-league sides Boreham Wood, Kidderminster, Chesterfield and Yeovil will all be dreaming of causing huge upsets.
Talking of upsets, there have been plenty of shock results in the storied history of the FA Cup.
From Ronnie Radford’s winner for Hereford against Newcastle in the 1970s to then non-league side Lincoln’s remarkable run in the 2016-17 edition, all are remembered fondly.
Find out which five games we class as the famous competition’s biggest shocks.
And if you want to tuck into plenty of live action across the coming days, our explainer will make sure you know exactly how to watch as much of the football as possible.
European weekend
There are full fixture lists in Germany, Spain and Italy this weekend, coronavirus permitting, as the continent’s biggest sides jockey for position.
In LaLiga, Real Madrid are at home to Valencia on Saturday looking to bounce back from last week’s shock defeat at Getafe.
Winning the league is far from Atletico Madrid and Barcelona’s thoughts this campaign but they need three points against Villarreal and Granada respectively in the battle for the top four.
The Bundesliga table already has a familiar look to it with Bayern Munich nine points clear of Borussia Dortmund at the top.
The Bavarians face Borussia Monchengladbach on Friday looking to heap pressure on BVB ahead of their trip to Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
While the rest of Europe longs for a competitive title race, Italy looks set for a classic battle between Inter Milan and fellow San Siro inhabitants AC Milan.
Just one point separates the two rivals at the top of Serie A, with Napoli lurking five points behind the second-placed Rossoneri.
All the games are on Sunday this weekend with Milan travelling to Venezia before Napoli host Sampdoria and Inter face Lazio to round off an exciting day.
Transfer Talk
As Barcelona continue to be linked with nearly every player in Europe, Ousmane Dembele looks set to disembark from Xavi’s revolution.
The Frenchman has failed to deliver since his big-money move from Dortmund but at 24 has plenty of time to succeed elsewhere.
With Premier League clubs reportedly in the running for his signature, we look at where he may end up.
And our daily Transfer Talk column brings you all the latest rumours from the world of football.
Today the focus is on Porto winger Luis Diaz, who has reportedly secured a £60million move to Liverpool.
Completed deals
Today has already seen two big names move back to the Premier League after spells in LaLiga.
Kieran Trippier’s £12million move from Atletico Madrid to Newcastle has been confirmed, while Aston Villa have won the race for Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho.
Keep our confirmed deals page bookmarked all January to make sure you do not miss out on any transfers.
