FC Barcelona (Barça), in the midst of a break with an Ousmane Dembélé price to pack his bags, will travel to relegated Alavés this weekend, while in Italy rivals AC Milan and Juventus Turin will face off in a shock decisive for the Champions League (C1) football.

– Spain: Barça whistles the end for Dembélé. Even if the poster of this 22nd day of LaLiga is the match between Atlético Madrid and Valencia CF tomorrow evening, all eyes will be on FC Barcelona, ​​in full divorce with Ousmane Dembélé, before the trip to Alavés on Sunday evening . The French winger, at the end of the contract next June, but who is slow to extend his commitment, “must leave immediately” from the Catalan club, said Barça sporting director Mateu Alemany yesterday Thursday. “It seems obvious to us that the player does not want to continue at Barcelona and get involved in Barça’s future project,” added Mr. Alemany, after a long standoff. Real Madrid, recent winners of the Spanish Super Cup last Sunday (against Athletic Bilbao), will host Elche on Sunday afternoon at the Santiago-Bernabeu stadium.

– Germany: Hoffenheim-Dortmund, a Cup to forget. The shock of the 20th day of the Bundesliga will oppose tomorrow Saturday Hoffenheim (4th with 31 points) Dortmund (2nd with 40 points), six points behind leader Bayern Munich. The two teams will have to quickly forget their disappointments in the round of 16 of the German Cup this week. Hoffenheim was ridiculed at home on Wednesday by Friborg (4-1). And Dortmund lost (2-1) on Tuesday against St Pauli (D2), after a non-match that put his coach Marco Rose in a rage. Already eliminated from the Cup, Bayern played on the lawn of Hertha Berlin late Sunday afternoon, with a full squad after a full week without a match. Coach Julian Nagelsmann was able to get the majority of his players injured or affected by Covid-19 back into shape.

– Italy: Milan under pressure against Juve. AC Milan (2nd with 48 points), under pressure after dropping 3 points at home after a crazy match against La Spezia (1-2) on Monday, will host Juventus (5th with 41 points) on Sunday evening during of an already crucial duel in the battle for the C1. The Bianconeri, having traded off their tough start to the year in Serie A rather well, have the opportunity to return to the fight if they win at the San Siro stadium. Juve have not (yet) recruited a new striker despite Federico Chiesa’s long-term injury, but were full of confidence in the Italian Cup on Tuesday against Sampdoria (4-1). In the event of a misstep by the Rossoneri, Naples (3rd with 46 points) can become the new runner-up to Inter Milan (50 points), which will host Venice tomorrow evening. On condition, however, for Victor Osmihen and his family not to stumble on Sunday afternoon in the Campania derby against Salernitana, a red lantern still diminished by the cases of Covid-19. Atalanta Bergamo (4th with 42 points and a late game) can also benefit from a misstep from Milan if they negotiate a never-easy trip to the Stadio olimpico tomorrow against Lazio Rome (8th).

– England: Chelsea must react against Tottenham. Without a league win for 4 days, Chelsea must react precisely on Sunday late afternoon, for the 23rd day of the Premier League, especially as a direct rival, Tottenham, arrives at Stamford Bridge. If the title dreams are a little further away after the draw at Brighton (1-1) on Tuesday, in the advanced match of the 24th day, Chelsea (3rd with 44 points) must be wary of Spurs (5th with 36 points) . If they can appear far enough in the rear view mirror with their eight lengths behind, the North Londoners have four games less. Before seeing the Blues play, tomorrow’s meeting on Saturday afternoon between Manchester United (7th with 35 points) and West Ham (4th with 37 points) will also be very important in the race for the C1. A little later tomorrow, at the start of the evening, the leader Manchester City (56 points), traveling to Southampton (12th), will aim for a 13th straight success in the league. 11-length runners-up Liverpool, one game short, travel to Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon to try to salvage the last hopes of title suspense.

– France: derby of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. The derby between Lyon and Saint-Étienne, clubs suffering this season, will open the 22nd day of Ligue 1 this evening at Parc OL, which will also offer a European Lens-Marseille poster tomorrow. Lyonnais in the soft belly, Stéphanois in the shallows. If we stick to the ranking, the derby between OL (11th) and ASSE (20th and last) seems to have lost its luster. But a derby remains a game apart and victory is essential, even if this season it will be more to improve the balance sheet than to fuel regional rivalry. At the Bollaert stadium, Lens (7th) will try to return to a point behind OM (3rd), which however has a match to replay in Lyon, scheduled for February 1 or 10 depending on the course of the Marseillais in the Coupe de France. OM have just conceded a draw at the Vélodrome against Lille (1-1), despite an hour in numerical superiority. The Lille residents will travel to Brest tomorrow. LOSC moved up to 8th place thanks to their home success against Lorient (3-1) in a late game on Wednesday. Fifth two days ago, Montpellier fell to 9th place after their defeat on Wednesday at Troyes (1-0). Facing Monaco (6th) on Sunday, the Montpellier residents will be deprived of their master playing Téji Savanier, excluded against Estac. Struck in Rennes (6-0) and under pressure like his coach Vladimir Petkovic, the relegated Bordeaux will have a lot to do when they receive Strasbourg on Sunday, in great shape and now 4th after their victory Wednesday at Clermont (2 -0). Sunday too, it is the turn of the Rennais (5th) to go to the promoted Auvergne. In closing, Paris SG, the untouchable leader, will receive the poorly ranked Reims (14th), while its runner-up Nice will go to Metz on Sunday at midday, recently released from the red zone.

Source: AFP