Picks
Everton 2-0 Crystal Palace
Brighton 1-1 Watford
Sheffield United 1-0 Bournemouth
Manchester City 4-1 West Ham
Bayern Leverkusen 2-2 Dortmund
Bayern Munich 3-1 RB Leipzig
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Granada
Osasuna 0-2 Real Madrid
Real Betis 1-2 Barcelona
Verona 1-2 Juventus
Inter Milan 2-0 Milan
PSG 4-1 Lyon
With the EPL splitting their winter break across the next fortnight, we’ve decided to go in a different direction for the next two weeks, by mixing our EPL predictions with a selection of top European games. We’ve also decided to put together a mid-season team of the season for both Italy and Spain, beginning with Serie A this week.
While the EPL games centre around the relegation scrap, there are 3 huge mainstream fixtures to focus on across Europe. Bayern Munich vs RB Leipzig is a key game at the top of the Bundesliga, as Bayern have managed to claw back Leipzig’s pre-winter break lead. A win for Bayern will take them four points clear of their rookie challengers and will probably put an end to Leipzig’s unexpected charge. With the Bayern’s personnel and big game experience, I fully expect them to rise to the occasion and get the job done this weekend.
Another huge game this weekend comes to us from Italy, as the Milan Derby takes centre-stage. Inter and AC are on contrasting paths, with the rebuilt Inter challenging Juve for the title, while Milan linger in mid-table. Inter won the reverse fixture comfortably last time out and I am expecting the same outcome this time around. The third big European game of the week comes to us from France, as PSG host Lyon. Despite the fact that Lyon and Marseille are considered to be PSG’s closest challengers, they really aren’t in the same league as the Parisians. To make matters even worse for their rivals, PSG seem to really turn up for their closest challengers, often covering large handicaps comfortably. Look for PSG to roll big this weekend, in what should be a high scoring game.
Serie A Mid-Season Team of the Season
Luis Alberto is unquestionably the first name on the team sheet. No player in Europe has more than his 11 assists and he has also chipped in with three goals. There is perhaps no player more important to his team than Alberto, who has been largely responsible for Lazio’s surprise title challenge this season. He is joined by his team mate Ciro Immobile, as Biancocelesti marksman continues banging in the goals week after week.
Inter Milan are solidly represented with Handanović, Vrij and Lukaku all making my team. Handanović is forever solid, while Vrij has been Inter’s most important defender, leaving the Diego Godin to sit on the bench. Lukaku has settled into Italy perfectly, scoring 16 times this season. Ronaldo probably should’ve edged him out based on his form since the winter-break, but I feel Inter’s title challenge deserves a little more credit than that of a star-studded Juventus team who should be impossible to stop on paper. Dejan Kulusevski may be a surprise inclusion for some, but the 19 year old has popped up in several positions in midfield and attack and been devastating, with four goals and seven assists already in his maiden full senior season.

