Friday’s standout matches feature a relegation battle in Spain, the second-place team in France, a mid-table clash in Germany, and Andrea Pirlo’s crew in Turkey.
Lens can continue to put first-place PSG under pressure by reducing the deficit to just two points before the Parisian side takes the field on Saturday.
To do that Lens will have to dispatch one of the surprise packages of the 2022/23 Ligue 1 season: Toulouse.
Werder Bremen and Hertha Berlin are just looking to avoid relegation in 2022/23 and their battle should be a tight one at the Westerstadion in Bremen.
Relegation will also be the theme in Spain when Mallorca and Espanyol meet with both clubs within a few points of the drop zone.
They both play some good football, so the entertainment should equal the drama on the night.
In other places around the world: Belgian league leaders Genk are in action, there’s a bottom of the table clash in Portugal (Maritimo vs.
Pacos Ferreira), Pirlo’s team taking on Galatasaray, and the USL playoffs (USA 2nd division) kick off in San Antonio.
MORE: The Sporting News soccer betting guide Two teams in a crowded La Liga relegation battle get set to meet in a Friday league matchup that both will feel they have more to lose than gain.
Still, it should be a plucky one with opportunities at both ends.
Mallorca haven’t kept a clean sheet in five straight games, and Espanyol can score goals, bagging multiple strikes in five of their last seven.
Mallorca struggled to finish their chances earlier in the year, but Vedat Muriqi has five goals in his last eight games, racking up a sizable 5.2 xG in that span.
Mallorca have been better when Muriqi is fed, and he should feast against an Espanyol defense that concedes at a high rate (19 goals allowed on 14.61 xGA, 13th in La Liga) , Kyle Bonn Werder Bremen have slumped of late to two straight league defeats by way of shutout, but the attack hasn’t quite been as stifled as that would suggest.
While they were beaten soundly by a very good Freiburg side last time out, they were held goalless by Mainz the previous match despite winning the xG battle and missing two high-quality chances.
This Werder Bremen side usually finishes chances well, with a +3.25 xG to xGOT differential, so the recent struggles are more a blip than anything else, and they should use this matchup to get back to winning ways against a defensively fragile Hertha team.
Still, the visitors should score, especially considering the last six games between these two sides have all seen both teams find the back of the net. , Kyle Bonn Second-place Lens are perfect at home with six wins in six matches.
Defending is proving their strength this season with just one goal allowed in their last six matches overall.
But their defensive line will be down a key contributor on Friday as Argentine international Facundo Medina misses out due to suspension.
Likely taking his place will be returning French center-back Jonathan Gradit who has recovered from a collarbone fracture.
Visitors Toulouse, one of three promoted sides this season, are one of the surprise outfits of the season, going 3W-1L-2D in their last six.
They’ve conceded in every one of those matches except one, and they’ll have to take on Lens without starting Danish center-back Rasmus Nicolaisen who serves a red-card suspension.
It increases the likelihood Lens can find the back of the net, already sporting the third most goals scored at home in Ligue 1.
They’re also due for a breakout match, last scoring multiple goals in a game back on August 31 (5-2 win at home).
Both teams prioritize the defensive side of the ball, but they’re both talented enough in attack to do damage, and that includes the away team.
Toulouse have scored in 10 of their 12 matches, and they’re ( tied for 6th in Ligue 1 in big chances created .
The bottom line is that goals should not be lacking at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, but the more talented squad (Lens) on both sides of the ball should still come out victorious. , Simon Borg * Sports Interaction offers Lens to win and over 1.5 total goals at 1.72, and Lens to win and over 2.5 goals at 4.20.
It will be a fascinating Friday nighter in Turkey, with Andrea Pirlo’s high-scoring Fatih Karagumruk meeting a Galatasaray team that has to remake its defensive unit.
Two Galatasaray defenders saw red cards in the last game and manager Okan Buruk is now forced to shuffle his lineup to include a center-back, right-back and left-back who haven’t featured all that much this season.
Expect Galatasaray to sit back and let their opponents push the game.
Pirlo’s side scores plenty of goals (19 goals are 4th best in the Super Lig) and they’ve found the net in eight of their 10 matches so far with the second best shots-on-target percentage in Turkey’s top flight.
But Karagumruk also allow a bunch of goals (18 goals allowed are 4th worst) which should encourage Galatasaray to push forward, making for an open game that will give the home team a solid chance at the two goals, a mark they’ve reached in half their games so far. , Simon Borg * Sports Interaction offers Fatih Karagumruk to score exactly two goals at 3.75.
It was an incredibly frustrating Thursday of Europa League action.
Teams that will have expected to pick up results fell short of expectations across the board, especially those on the road.
Manchester United took care of business handily at Old Trafford, with Cristiano Ronaldo coming through in a 3-0 win to begin his redemption tour.
Yet the likes of Bodo/Glimt, Qarabag, and Trabzonspor all travelled to teams below them in the standings, and all three lost, placing their qualification to the knockout stage in serious peril.
Bodo/Glimt’s defeat was especially baffling , they conceded two second-half goals to a FC Zurich team that had lost all four previous group stage games and had not scored an open play goal for 520 consecutive minutes across all competitions.
The deserved defeat confirmed Bodo/Glimt’s elimination from knockout stage contention, when they’d have otherwise had the opportunity to control their own destiny in the final matchday.
Records below compiled since the first edition of this post on Monday, October 3. source