European Matches of the Week

By Ivan Avalos and James Snedaker

Tottenham vs Leicester (Premier League)

Both teams come off of their last game with a draw and will be hoping to get the 3 points in their clash on the 13th. Leicester City will hope to put pressure on Arsenal for 1st place, while Tottenham look to get into a top 4 spot.

Both teams offense will be key in this match with forwards Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane. Vardy has 15 goals in the league this season for Leicester and will be up against fellow English international Harry Kane who has 11 strikes this season. Christian Eriksen will be in charge of getting the ball to Kane, the Dane has created 73 chances from the center attacking midfield position, while Mahrez will be looking for Vardy in the attack as he led his team with 38 chances created from the wing. Mousa Dembele will be a brick wall for Tottenham in the midfield and will be in charge of winning the 50/50 balls. Leicester City hope that N’Golo Kante will do a similar job as he uses his energy, speed and strength to win as many tackles as he can in the middle of the park.

This should be a very entertaining match as both teams have a go-to man when it comes to finding the back of the net and a creative outlet for finding their in-form forwards. This game will be won by the defenders as they try to stop two excellent strikers from scoring goals.     

Prediction: Tottenham win

Wednesday, January 13th at 3pm on NBC Live Extra

Roma vs Milan (Serie A)

7th placed AC Milan will travel to Rome on Saturday to take on 5th placed AS Roma. Both sides started the season well, but have fallen off in recent weeks due to injuries and inconsistent performances. Midfielder Kevin Strootman is out for the Romans, having struggled with injury problems in recent years. Roma also have a suspended striker in Edin Dzeko and their Egyptian winger Mohammed Salah is doubtful for the clash. For Milan, forward Jeremy Menez is still injured with a hip issue he suffered early in the season. Expect a debut from Ghanaian midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng, who returns to the side after a spell in Germany.

A win for Milan will see them move up one spot while a victory for Roma could move them level in points with an rejuvenated Juventus side. It should be hard test for Roma though, the Rossoneri have only lost 1 of their last 10 games. Both sides faced disappointing results during the weekday matches with Roma surrendering a 2-0 lead to tie with 12th placed Chievo Verona while Milan suffered a home defeat to 15th placed Bologna.

This game should be decided between the performances of Carlos Bacca and Miralem Pjanic. Bacca has been excellent recently for Milan after a shaky start with his new side. The Colombian has scored 3 times in his last 4 games in all competitions. On the other hand, Roma will rely on the Bosnian Pjanic to provide passes to their pacey forwards and get in behind the opposition's defence. The midfielder has a great season, scoring 7 goals and providing 5 assists. Milan have been very inconsistent in recent weeks and Roma have been excellent at home. Expect an intense and testing match for both sides, but Roma should come out on top.

Prediction: 3-1 win for Roma

Saturday, January 9th at 2:45pm on beIN Sports Connect