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The festive period is upon us already and if you are familiar with English football, you would realize that there are usually a lot of fixtures in this period.
The Merseyside derby is one of the biggest derbies in England and by extension the world. It’s between Liverpool and Everton – the red and blue sides of the industrial city.
The derby dates back to the English first division in 1894.
Everton won the first-ever Merseyside Derby 3-0 on 13 October, 1894.
The Godisson Park will host the 245th installment of the derby and it will be the final one before Everton move to their new stadium.
Liverpool go into the derby as the overwhelming favorite being league leaders and arguably the best team in the league so far.
The Reds have won 8 of the last 10 derbies with everton managing just one victory – the 2-0 win at Anfield in 2021.
Both sides have had contrasting fortunes this season with Liverpool winning 11 of their 14 league matches while Everton have one juat 3.
Liverpool go into the derby on the back of the enthralling 3-3 draw at Newcastle on Wednesday while Everton will be quite confident with the impressive 4-0 win over Wolves at the Godisson Park.
Arne Slot’s side will hope to get back to on the winning path as they look to extend their lead on the log.
Atalanta v AC Milan
This fixture is one of the biggest in the Italian Serie A going into the weekend. Atalanta has been in imperious form so far this season and they sit in second spot on the log with 31 points – one off league leaders Inter Milan.
AC Milan haven’t been exactly impressive this season but Paulo Fonseca’s men haven’t been bad as well. The big victory over Inter in the derby and the suprise Champions League win away at Real Madrid remain the highlight of AC Milan’s season so far.
The Rossoneri are undefeated in their last seven matches and will look to continue their run of form against Gian Piero Gasperini’s side as they look to get into the top 4.
Atalanta are slightly favorite to win based on current form and previous meetings and the likes of Ademola Lookman, Charles De Katelaere who have been imperious so far this season will look to get one over Milan tonight.
Tottenham v Chelsea
The London derbies are always interesting to look forward to as teams get to showcase who really “owns” the city.
Tottenham welcomesl an in-form Chelsea to their home ground on Sunday in another installment of the derby.
The LilyWhites are currently on a rough patch with 2 wins, 2 losses and a draw in their past five matches in the league.
Ange Postecoglu’s side suffered a narrow 1-0 loss to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday.
However, Chelsea have been arguably the most in-form team in the lague asides Liverpool recently.
The Blues have won 5 of their last 7 matches in the league – the lastest being the 5-1 victory at Southampton.
Chelsea’s last visit to Tottenham ended in 4-1 demolition of the home side in about a year ago.
Lazio v Napoli
This fixture promises to be an exciting one and it seems balanced both on paper and on the pitch. Napoli are the current league leaders and been the best team in the league so far but Lazio haven’t been bad as well.
Marco Baroni’s side went on a six-game winning run recently before Ludogorets forced them to a goalless draw in the Europa League on last month.
Parma also handed Lazio their first league defeaton December 1st after six consecutive wins in the league.
Lazio are undefeated against Napoli in their last four meetings – the latest meeting being a 3-1 win in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals on Thursday.
Napoli will have to at their very best to get one past Lazio when they clash at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on Sunday.
