A big week in the Champions and Premier League
Arsenal take on Manchester City in a rescheduled Premier League game on Wednesday 16th of February 2023. Arsenal have dropped points in their last two games against Everton and Brentford. Arsenal had 69% possession at the Emirates Stadium against Brentford. Brentford were very fortunate to get a draw as their goal should have been disallowed for offside. This game is huge for Mikel Arteta’s men and need to get a positive result if they have any ambitions of winning the Premier League title this season. The lack of pace in Man City’s defence will be an opportunity for both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli to create chances on the counter attack.
Man City have the opportunity to go level on points with Arsenal if they win at the Emirates Stadium. Erling Haaland created an assist for their second goal against Aston Villa and Man City need to start playing to his strengths. There is a bit of negative attitude coming out of Man City due to their ongoing financial issues. Man City are not themselves this season as they lost away from home against both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Squad rotation will be key for Pep Guardiola in the next couple of months with still been in the Champions League, FA Cup and a title race in the Premier League.
This match is going to be a tight encounter but my opinion is that Arsenal will win 2-1
Chelsea travel to Germany to take on Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their last 16 Champions League clash. Dortmund still have ambitions of winning the Bundesliga as they are only three points behind leaders Bayern Munich. Jude Bellingham is a fantastic talent and has a record of scoring against an English team as he scored against Man City in the group stages. Chelsea have showed signs of improving over the last couple of games and would of won against West Ham only for a bad VAR decision. Dortmund will be favourites for this game due to current form and were both teams are ranked in their respective leagues. Football is a funny game and anything can happen in the knockout stages of Champions League which included Real Madrid winning the 2021/2022 edition.
With Dortmund been at home my opinion is the home side will win 2-1
Manchester United travel to the Spotify Camp Nou to take on Barcelona in a Europa League round of 32 game. Erik Ten Hag has done a fabulous job with Man United as they are only five points off first place Arsenal in the Premier League. Ten Hag will be able to call again on the experience of Casemiro after been suspended for the last two Premier League games. It will be interesting to see what team he goes with as Man United have another big game against Leicester in the Premier League next Sunday. Barcelona got a great win away from home in the LaLiga against Villarreal last weekend and are currently leading the Spanish league ahead of Real Madrid. Barcelona will rely on the experience of Robert Lewandowski as he has scored 19 goals in all competitions this season.
This game depends on how serious both teams want to take the Europa League this season. Both teams are doing well in their respective league’s and it wouldn’t be a surprise if both managers make changes for this game. It would be great if Man United achieved a win against Barcelona but would be happy with a draw. Score prediction 1-1