With another big weekend of football around Europe approaching, Thomas Woods looks at the major talking points and highlights the pick of the games on TV
Is Emery’s job at risk?
A few eyebrows were raised when PSG sacked Laurent Blanc at the end of last season, following a record-breaking season in which they romped to the French title and won both cups.
Blanc’s failing? Not winning the Champions League.
PSG were unlucky to lose to Manchester City at the quarter-final stage when they looked set for a good run at the trophy.
It’s a sign of the expectations placed on the manager by the club’s Qatari owners. They can’t be happy at the start made by the new man in charge, former Sevilla manager Unai Emery.
PSG are third in Ligue 1 and lost 3-0 at Montpellier last week. They also threw away the chance to top their Champions League group when they drew 2-2 at home to Ludogorets and could now face Barcelona or Bayern Munich in the next round.
Realistically, Emery should get until the end of the season to impress. He lost star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the summer so maybe a period of adjustment was inevitable. But we know how impatient Qatari club owners can be.
Can Kane fire Spurs to the top three?
Spurs were fantastic in the 5-0 defeat of Swansea last week and it is no coincidence that they are playing better now that Harry Kane has returned from injury.
The England forward completes the team and his return has also sparked an upturn in form for playmaker Christian Eriksen, who had been a major disappointment so far this season.
An example of Kane’s no-nonsense striker’s instinct from the Swansea game — winger Son Heung-min went through on goal down the right, cut inside and was setting up a shot on his weaker left foot when Kane appeared and stuck the ball in the corner.
It’s the efficiency Tottenham need and should stand them in good stead when they visit Old Trafford.
Now a trip to Manchester United is still going to be tough despite the fact the home side have drawn their last four league home games.
Spurs will look at the way United dominated Arsenal three weeks ago but will also remember the game on the opening day of last season — when they lost 1-0 to an unlucky Kyle Walker own goal.
Tottenham should have beaten United then and another win sets them up nicely for back-to-back home games against struggling Burnley and Hull.
Five games to watch
• Osasuna v Barcelona, Saturday, 4pm: Osasuna have returned to the Spanish top flight following two seasons in the second division. They have been a bit of a bogey side for Barca … on the road that is. It was 7-0 to Barca at Camp Nou the last time these two met, but Luis Enrique's side have only four wins at Osasuna since 2006 and only one by more than a single goal. By Barcelona standards, that is poor.
• Leicester v Manchester City, Saturday, 9.30pm: What's going on at Leicester? The defending champions have only 13 points from 14 games and relegation is now a possibility if they don't improve. Their line-up hasn't changed that much since winning the title so there's always the chance that they suddenly click and find form. Home against a Sergio Aguero-less Manchester City would be a good time for that.
• Torino v Juventus, Sunday, 6pm: This has been one lopsided Turin derby rivalry, with Torino not winning an encounter, home or away, between 1995 and 2014. Last season, Juve won all three matches (one in the cup) by a combined score of 10-2. It will be feisty — there were 18 yellow cards and two red across the three games last seasons.
• Manchester United v Tottenham, 6.15pm: A big match for United this. Lose and they will be nine points off a top-four spot. Failure to qualify for the Champions League for a third straight season would hurt financially, psychologically and could even cost manager Jose Mourinho his job. They need to start turning draws into wins or this will be another lost season. In Tottenham, they couldn't find a much tougher opponent at such a key time.
• PSG v Nice, Sunday, 11.45pm: Nice have been one of the stories of European football this season and head into the trip to Paris six points ahead of their richer rivals. It would be a major psychological boost for the south-coast club to take at least a point from the Parc de Princes. On paper, PSG should win comfortably but football isn't straight forward like that.
Plan your weekend — the pick of the TV games
(All games on BeIN Sports, kick-off times UAE)
Friday
• Scottish Premier League: Partick v Celtic 11.45pm
Saturday
• Primera Liga: Osasuna v Barca 4pm
• Premier League: Watford v Everton, 4.30pm
• Bundesliga: Cologne v Dortmund, 6.30pm
• Bundesliga: Ingolstadt v RB Leipzig, 6.30pm
• Bundesliga: Bayern v Wolfsburg, 6.30pm
• Premier League: Arsenal v Stoke 7pm
• Scottish Premier League: Rangers v Hearts, 7pm
• Ligue 1: Bordeaux v Monaco 8pm
• Premier League: Leicester v Manchester City 9.30pm
• Primera Liga: Real Madrid v Deportivo La Coruna 11.45pm
• Serie A: Sampdoria v Lazio, 11.45pm
Sunday
• Premier League: Chelsea v West Brom, 4pm
• Serie A: Torino v Juventus, 6pm
• Premier League: Manchester United v Tottenham, 6.15pm
• Premier League: Liverpool v West Ham, 8.30pm
• Ligue 1: PSG v Nice, 11.45pm
Monday
• Primera Liga: Villarreal v Atletico, 11.45pm
• Serie A: Roma v Milan, midnight
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