Real Sociedad face Real Madrid in Copa del Rey semis clash
Real Madrid will try to establish a first-leg lead when they travel to Reale Arena for Wednesday’s Copa del Rey semi-final clash against Real Sociedad. The hosts are dreaming of becoming four-time Copa del Rey winners, while Los Blancos are looking to win the competition for the 21st time in their history.
Real Sociedad pulled off the most recent of their three Copa del Rey triumphs in 2019-20 when they got the better of Basque rivals Athletic Club 1-0.
La Real are now just two games away from sealing their place in April’s final after successfully negotiating their way through five ties to set up their first Copa del Rey meeting with Real Madrid since February 2020.
The hosts will be aware that they are the underdogs for the semi-final clash, but their recent home form will give them hope of establishing a first-leg lead.
After taking two points from three league matches, Real Madrid got their La Liga title bid back on track with a 2-0 victory in Sunday’s home clash against Girona.
Real Madrid will now turn their focus to their Copa del Rey bid, with Los Blancos looking to win the competition for the second time in three seasons after beating Osasuna in the 2022-23 final to clinch the Copa del Rey for the 20th time in their history.
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Arsenal tackle high-flying Nottingham Forest
After suffering potentially the biggest blow yet to their hopes of Premier League glory, Arsenal bid to keep their increasingly thin chances alive when they tackle high-flying Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Wednesday.
The Gunners’ January transfer gamble backfired again in Saturday’s 1-0 derby loss to West Ham United, but their hosts also succumbed to defeat in gameweek 26, coming out on the wrong end of a 4-3 scoreline at Newcastle United.
Mikel Merino‘s hero arc off the bench at Leicester City proved to be a false dawn for Mikel Arteta and co, as with the emergency striker starting from the first whistle on Saturday, Arsenal were repelled time and time again by a sturdy West Ham side and were punished to the maximum for their toothlessness.
Arsenal may very well have lost the Premier League title on the same weekend that they lost their unbeaten home record for the top-flight season.
If there is any crumb of comfort for Arsenal to take heading into the weekend, it is the fact that their side have strung together an eight-game unbeaten run away from home in the Premier League – winning four of their last five.
The Gunners are statistically still the best defence in the league and might not have too much trouble keeping their hosts at bay if Santo does indeed go rearguard-heavy, but their ravaged attack should come up short once again, and a frustrating 0-0 could all but spell the end of their title charge.
Forest’s defensive catastrophe at Newcastle should have little bearing on Wednesday’s game, given the fact that Santo’s men are back at their City Ground fortress and are facing an Arsenal side with a far less destructive attack if the weekend is anything to go by.
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Liverpool to pass challenging test at home to Newcastle United
Having now arguably reached the status of Premier League champions-elect, Liverpool hope to pass another challenging test of their title credentials at home to Newcastle United on Wednesday night, in a precursor to next month’s EFL Cup final.
The Reds’ lead at the summit stretched into the double figures when they overcame Manchester City 2-0 on Sunday, a couple of hours after the Magpies’ absorbing 4-3 win over Nottingham Forest.
A handful of times Arsenal have failed to capitalise on Liverpool dropping crucial points in the Premier League title race, but after the injury-riddled Gunners were slain by West Ham United on Saturday, Arne Slot‘s relentless Reds did not let such a golden opportunity pass them by.
While the Reds remain unbeaten on the road in the 2024-25 Premier League season, Slot’s crop have quickly rebuilt the Anfield walls since September’s shock loss to Nottingham Forest, avoiding defeat in each of their last 17 home contests and scoring at least two goals in all of them.
In customary fashion, Slot and his Liverpool troops are staying as grounded as possible while the title race is still mathematically alive, and the league leaders will certainly take nothing for granted against a Newcastle side whose marksman they may be envious of.
Clashes between Liverpool and Newcastle almost always promise a glut of goals, and Wednesday’s affair should be no different, especially with the Magpies looking increasingly brittle at the back.
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Tottenham Hotspur welcome crest-fallen Manchester City
A slice of English football history is on the line for Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday evening, when Ange Postecoglou‘s men host Premier League champions Manchester City in the pick of the midweek fixtures.
Having already slain the Citizens twice while defeating Manchester United three times in 2024-25, Spurs could become the first team to ever beat both Manchester giants on three occasions in a single campaign.
A mediocre standing is still unacceptable for a club of Spurs’ stature, as Postecoglou himself has been upfront about, but the North London giants have unsurprisingly quashed any fleeting talk of a relegation dogfight since recovering a plethora of fundamental players from injury.
Pep Guardiola‘s men failed in their mission to halt Liverpool’s seemingly unstoppable surge to Premier League glory. Nevertheless, Guardiola’s crop are just about clinging onto the final top-four slot in the Premier League table.
However, even a City-less Haaland had their moments against Liverpool, and with all due respect to Spurs’ centre-backs, they are no Virgil van Dijk or Ibrahima Konate, so Guardiola’s men can bite back just as hard to claim a point.
Tottenham have lit the blue touch paper in the final third once more and will be working with an additional day’s rest than the champions, who should not head home without having conceded a couple of goals on the night.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Spanish Copa Del Rey
Semi-finals
Real Sociedad 20:30 Real Madrid
Manchester United 19:30 Ipswich Town
Nottingham Forest 19:30 Arsenal
