Ligue 1 Preview: Monaco, Saint-Etienne need to improve

Monaco have lost ground on Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain over the last month and need to respond against Toulouse on Sunday.

A home loss to relegation-threatened Valenciennes in December was followed by a 1-1 draw at Montpellier last week.

And champions PSG capitalised on the slip-up made by Claudio Ranieri's side, as they surged five points clear at the top of the table with victory at Ajaccio last time out.

Toulouse are in good Ligue 1 form, unbeaten in six, and won 1-0 at Bordeaux on Saturday - a result that lifted them to 10th in the table.

Monaco striker Radamel Falcao has battled injury issues this season and has scored just once in his last four matches for the club, with Ranieri desperate for the Colombian forward to find form.

PSG host sixth-placed Nantes on Sunday and will be buoyed by their 3-1 Coupe de la Ligue win at Bordeaux on Tuesday.

Goals in the last five minutes from Adrien Rabiot and Blaise Matuidi helped the capital club into the last four, as their bid for a domestic treble gathered pace.

PSG won 2-1 at Nantes earlier this season thanks to Ezequiel Lavezzi's late strike and will enjoy returning to Parc des Princes, where they have not lost in the league since November 2012.

Third-placed Lille are now just two points behind Monaco and take their outstanding record to Saint-Etienne on Friday.

Lille have conceded just 10 goals in 20 Ligue 1 matches and will hope to make the most of Saint-Etienne's humiliating Coupe de France exit at fourth-tier Cannes on Tuesday.

Saint-Etienne, who sit fourth, had the chance to win the penalty shootout that followed a 1-1 draw, but lost their nerve as Cannes celebrated a famous triumph.

Marseille host troubled Valenciennes on Saturday, with the latter facing the prospect of being administratively relegated at the end of the season if their financial problems continue.

They might drop to Ligue 2 on form anyway, but victories in their last two league matches have boosted spirits and seen them rise to 18th.

Other fixtures on Saturday see Bastia take on Bordeaux, Lorient battle Guingamp and Nice face Ajaccio.

There are also matches between Rennes and Evian TG, and Sochaux and Montpellier, while a slowly-improving Lyon hit the road to face Reims on Sunday.

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Coupe de la Ligue: PSG head to Bordeaux, Lyon host Marseille

A place in the semi-final of the Coupe de la Ligue will be at stake when Paris Saint-Germain travel to Bordeaux on Tuesday.

The Ligue 1 leaders have already beaten Francis Gillot's side twice this season and another victory at Stade Chaban-Delmas would see them progress to the last four.

Not since May 2011 have Bordeaux beaten the Parisian giants and they come into the game on the back of a 1-0 home defeat against Toulouse.

PSG had to come from behind to beat bottom-of-the-table Ajaccio 2-1 on Saturday, with Blaise Matuidi scoring the winner.

France midfielder Matuidi was also on target when the Ligue 1 champions won 2-0 at Bordeaux in September and Laurent Blanc's men were 2-1 victors in the Trophee des champions back in August.

The other three quarter-finals will be played on Wednesday night and the pick of the ties is a repeat of the 2012 final between Marseille and Lyon.

Lyon have home advantage against Jose Anigo's side, who came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Stade Gerland in Ligue 1 last month.

Marseille beat Lyon 1-0 after extra-time in this competition two years ago, so the home side will have a score to settle.

Troyes are the only team from outside the top flight remaining in the competition and the Ligue 2 outfit will be looking to spring a surprise when they host Evian.

Nice won 2-0 at Nantes in Ligue 1 earlier this month in the Coupe de France and the two sides lock horns once again at Stade de la Beaujoire in the last eight.

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Weligton targets win for Malaga

Malaga captain Weligton is keen to see his team draw the curtain on the first half of the Primera Division season with a winning display against mid-table rivals Levante on today.

With this weekend's fixtures denoting the midway point of the campaign there is little to separate the two teams, with 11th-placed Malaga above their opponents on goal difference only.

Malaga were beaten by Atletico Madrid last time out while Levante have lost their last two matches in La Liga, and Weligton is keen to put some fresh air between themselves and their rivals.

"A win is fundamental to us," the Brazilian defender told the club's official website.

"We've got a difficult away match on today, and following that we've got some tough games coming up at the start of the second round.

"However we're solely focused on our next match against Levante at the moment, and gaining three important points this weekend."

However, Weligton fears defensive woes may not help the team, with Vitorino Antunes and Marcos Angeleri suspended while Jesus Gamez and Eliseu are battling injuries.

He said: "We're all hoping that our team-mates recover in time for today's match, as they're important members of the team.

"However if they're not match-fit in time, the coach has a 'plan B' and we're all ready to get out there and play.

"We can end the first round of the league season with 23 points, so a win on today is crucial."

Levante were in Copa del Rey action in midweek, playing out a goalless draw with Rayo Vallecano in the opening leg of their last-16 clash.

Although their aim remains to keep away from the relegation zone in La Liga, goalkeeper Javi Jimenez admits he is enjoying their cup run and the added confidence it brings to the squad.

"We remain fully focused on the league but the thinking is that a cup run brings all-round benefits as well," he said.

"It is a great competition and the further we go, the much better it is for all of us."

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Serie A Preview: Cagliari v Juventus

Juventus have the longest winning run of the 2013-14 Serie A season in their sights as they prepare to visit Cagliari on Sunday.

Juve currently share that record with Roma, who kicked off the season with 10 straight victories, but a 3-0 triumph over the men from the Italian capital last weekend has teed them up to surpass that marker.

Antonio Conte's men have not been short of goals during their winning streak, netting an average of 2.6 per match, and success against Roma put the reigning champions eight points clear at the top of the table.

However, Juventus will be wary heading into this tie as Cagliari held the Turin outfit to a 1-1 draw when the sides last met in May.

Victor Ibarbo put Cagliari ahead at Juventus Stadium, before Mirko Vucinic spared the hosts' blushes just after the hour mark.

That said, the head-to-head record between these clubs reads in favour of Juve, who have not tasted defeat in the last seven league meetings.

The Sardinians currently sit 12th and have carved out a reputation as draw specialists in recent weeks, with five of their last six games finishing all-square.

Cagliari's last defeat came more than two months ago, when they went down 2-1 at Verona on November 3.

Conte knows his Juve side cannot afford to take their eyes off the prize in the pursuit of a third consecutive Serie A title, and has vowed not to get carried away following the win against Roma.

"Our victory against Roma was a step forward," he said. "This is all it is.

"There is an entire second half of the season to go. Anything can happen from here to the end of the campaign."

Juventus will be without the suspended Andrea Barzagli for the trip to Cagliari, while Nene is expected to miss out for the hosts.

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La Liga Preview: Espanyol v Real Madrid

The pressure is on Real Madrid to beat Espanyol on Sunday and close the five-point gap to La Liga's top two, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

With Barca and Atleti playing each other on Saturday, Carlo Ancelotti's side will make ground on one or both of them if they can extend their unbeaten run over Espanyol to 12 games.

Espanyol have endured an inconsistent season under Javier Aguirre so far with only six league wins to their name, although one of those did come against Atletico at Estadi Cornella El Prat in October.

The Mexican may not be on the sidelines though after being sent to the stands during last week's 1-0 defeat to Osasuna, if he is found guilty of abusing the referee he could face a touchline ban starting this weekend.

Stopping Real Madrid will be difficult given the 32-time league winners have amassed 31 goals in their last eight league matches, with forward Cristiano Ronaldo getting 12 of those to take him to the top of the goalscoring charts in Spain with 20 for the campaign.

The Portugal international is one of the most in-form players across the continent and is odds-on favourite to lift the FIFA Ballon D'Or on Monday after his displays in 2013.

Real are unbeaten in eight games in the league and Ancelotti is demanding a win from his players when they travel to Catalunya, although he is unsure which result he would like to see emerge from the Estadio Vicente Calderon.

"It is hard to think about what the best result (between Atletico and Barca) for us would be," the Italian said ahead of the match.

"They cannot both lose, but neither can they both win. We have to win to make up points with Barcelona or Atletico."

Espanyol have earned draws in their last two meetings with Real, however they come into the game on the back of consecutive defeats in the league and Wednesday's first-leg Copa del Rey tie with second -tier Alcorcon.

Raphael Varane and Sami Khedira (both knee) are the only players unavailable for the visitors but Aguirre will be without his captain Sergio Garcia through suspension and David Lopez after he picked up a thigh injury in midweek.

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Premier League Preview: Stoke City v Liverpool

Liverpool travel to Stoke City on Sunday still seeking a first league win at the Britannia Stadium.

Although the Merseyside club have twice run out winners in League Cup ties at the ground, famously recording an 8-0 success in November 2000, they have failed to win on five top-flight visits since Stoke were promoted to the Premier League in 2008.

Liverpool have, in fact, been beaten in three successive league games at Stoke, but will still start as favourites this weekend given their impressive season to date.

Brendan Rodgers' men sit fourth in the table, six points behind leaders Arsenal, and boast the league's most prolific scorer in Luis Suarez.

The Uruguayan forward has 20 goals from 15 starts - one more than the entire Stoke team have managed in 20 outings to date.

Liverpool could also welcome back Daniel Sturridge this weekend, the England international having returned to training following a near two-month lay-off with an ankle injury.

Despite the obvious threat posed by Liverpool - and Suarez, in particular - Stoke's Jonathan Walters believes his side can prevail on Sunday.

The Ireland international takes confidence from a 3-1 victory in last season's corresponding fixture, in which Stoke responded to an early Steven Gerrard penalty by roaring to victory with arguably their finest display of the campaign.

Walters, who scored twice in that game, told Stoke's official website: "In terms of what we have produced in the Premier League, that was arguably as good a team performance as we have put in, and we will need something similar on Sunday if we are to get the result that we all want.

"We have beaten them before, though, and this season we have been very strong at home, especially against the big sides, so we can take a lot of confidence from that into this particular game and hopefully come away from it with the points."

Walters will not have such fond memories of the last encounter between the two teams, on the opening day of this season.

The former Ipswich Town man had a late penalty saved by Simon Mignolet at Anfield, meaning Liverpool were able to claim a 1-0 victory thanks to Sturridge's first-half goal.

Liverpool will be without Daniel Agger (calf), Jose Enrique (knee) and Jon Flanagan (hamstring) this weekend, but are set to welcome back Mamadou Sakho (hamstring).

Robert Huth (knee), Asmir Begovic (broken finger) and Andy Wilkinson (foot) remain sidelined for Stoke, who are set to make a late decision on whether Thomas Sorensen, the recent victim of an Achilles injury, or Jack Butland starts in goal.

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Chelsea eye top spot in Premier League

Jose Mourinho may be slightly worried about lack of goals from his forwards, his team can go past second-placed Manchester City if the team triumphs against Hull City this weekend.

Jose Mourinho's Chelsea will attempt to increase the pressure on their Premier League title rivals by moving to the head of the table with victory at Hull City on Saturday.

Three points at the KC Stadium will take the Blues ahead of second-placed Manchester City who travel to Newcastle 24 hours later, while current leaders Arsenal visit struggling Aston Villa on Monday.

So Chelsea's time, if any, at the summit may be brief but victory on Humberside would maintain a pleasing run.

Last weekend's FA Cup win at Derby County marked a fourth successive success for a side who've conceded just one goal in their last five outings.

And while Mourinho continues to have concerns about the lack of goals from his forwards, the contribution from midfield has masked the deficiencies up front.

The Portuguese manager has claimed the club will not bring in a new striker during the January transfer window to supplement his current trio of Samuel Eto'o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba.

But with Ba's Chelsea future looking increasingly uncertain -- his last appearance came in the League Cup quarter-final defeat by Sunderland -- the Senegal forward's departure would almost certainly trigger a move for a replacement.

Atletico Madrid's Diego Costa is one of the high-profile names linked to have been linked with a move to Chelsea.

Meanwhile, Costa's current team-mate Thibaut Courtois has again questioned his Chelsea future.

The young goalkeeper is midway his third season-long loan at the Spanish club where his performances have drawn widespread praise, prompting Mourinho to describe the Belgian as the best young keeper in the world.

But Mourinho has also spoken of his current number one Petr Cech as the best in the business. And that has prompted growing frustration on the part of Courtois, who has made it clear he now wants his long term future resolved.

"About my future, I cannot wait much longer.I need to make a decision with Chelsea as soon as possible, in March, but at the moment I do not really want to talk because there are so many games and you must be focused," he said.

Mourinho began his second spell as Chelsea manager with an opening-day 2-0 victory over Steve Bruce's Hull side at Stamford Bridge.

But City defender Curtis Davies said the Tigers feared no one at the KC Stadium.

Hull have the sixth-best home record in the Premier League, winning half of their 10 games, including a 3-1 victory over Liverpool in December.

"We're confident we can beat anyone at the KC," said Davies. "We know we have to be right on our game and, maybe a side like Chelsea have to be slightly off it.

"We're not going to kid ourselves that if both of us are at 100 percent, that we're going to outplay Chelsea and win.

"If we're at our game and we do the right things in terms of frustrating them, then maybe we can nick a goal and keep a clean sheet to win the game."

Davies added Hull's defeat at Stamford Bridge taught them a valuable lesson about the demands of the Premier League.

The promoted Tigers were 2-0 down after 25 minutes but rallied in the second half to limit the damage.

"It was a lot of the players' first game in the Premier League, it was on TV and with Mourinho going back, there was a lot of hype away from the football side of the game," Davies explained.

"The fact that we managed to come through that 2-0 and make a fist of it in the second half, we grew in confidence.

"We knew it wasn't going to come much harder than that, so it was a blessing in disguise."

Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic and Frank Lampard are again sidelined while Hull's Paul McShane is expected to be out for a month with an ankle injury.

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