Man Utd vs Newcastle and more: betPawa BIG match insights

It’s February, which means that football matches around the globe are becoming more and more meaningful by the day. This coming weekend we have pivotal EPL matches to enjoy at both ends of the table, the EFL Cup Final, Real vs Atléti, a Sunday stunner in France and even a massive Soweto Derby. Here are our BIG match insights into a blockbuster batch of games.

Saturday 25th February

The Soweto Derby

Arguably one the BIGGEST derby games on the African continent, The Glamour Boys face The Buccaneers on a day when South African football comes to a complete standstill.

The mighty Chiefs currently sit languishing in 5th place in the Premier Soccer League after a poor run of results that has seen fans call for the head of coach Arthur Zwane. They are 27 points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.

By contrast, Pirates have hit form lately, winning 5 of their last 6 matches across all competitions, but are still some way behind the runaway leaders too. Watch out for Pirates flyer Monnapule Saleng, one of the hottest players in the land.

Neither of these sides will win the league this year but both are desperate for the Soweto Derby bragging rights. For the record, Chiefs have won each of the last 4 derby clashes in the league. Their manager needs another one this weekend.

Last-gasp Gunners seek temporary 5-point lead at the top

Arsenal’s dramatic 4-2 stoppage-time win at Aston Villa snapped a winless streak of 3 games in the EPL and breathed new life into their title quest. It was a match that either side could have won, but Gunners boss Mikel Arteta will be delighted that it was his side who claimed the spoils.

Leicester had their chances against Man Utd last time out but were foiled by the excellent David de Gea in goal. Prior to their 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford, the Foxes had notched 4 goals in consecutive league outings, with 6 different players scoring in those 2 matches.

Arsenal beat Leicester 4-2 in this season’s reverse fixture on 13th August. The Gunners are on a run of 6 matches without a clean sheet in all competitions.

EPL relegation battle gets serious

For these clubs, this is one of the BIGGEST matches in what remains of the campaign.

Rubén Sellés, Southampton’s caretaker manager, guided his rock bottom side to a win at Chelsea last weekend. The Saints are still 20th in the division but now just a point adrift of Leeds and 3 points away from the relative safety of 17th place.

Saints skipper and dead-ball specialist James Ward-Prowse rattled in yet another beautiful set-piece at Stamford Bridge, meaning he’s now scored 17 EPL free-kicks. Only David Beckham (18) has more in history. In fact, according to Opta Analyst, 13 of JWP’s 17 free-kick goals have come away from home, including the last 8 in a row.

Leeds have lost 3 of their last 4 league games and each of their last 2 and they’ve also failed to score in 4 of their last 5. Simply put, this isn’t a good time to forget where the back of the net is. There will not be many fingernails left after a tense afternoon at Elland Road. Can their new boss Javi Gracia make an immediate impact?

Expect the unexpected from the champions

Not so long ago, this might have seemed a foregone conclusion. City have only won 1 of their last 4 EPL matches on the road. Strangely, that was at league leaders Arsenal. They lost to Tottenham and Man Utd in that sample and dropped crucial points last time out at Nottingham Forest in a 1-1 draw, despite dominating the chances and the ball. How will they fare here?

The Cherries got a crucial win at Wolves last time out and haven’t conceded more than a single goal in any of their last 4 EPL assignments. After this, Bournemouth have matches against Arsenal and then Liverpool. They’ll need to be as stubborn as possible in this critical period.

Pep Guardiola’s men will have to be patient if they are to claim 3 points on the South Coast because they won’t get many more bites at the cherry this year.

Los Blancos hitting form when it matters

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti admitted his side had a difficult January but they’re back in their groove again. A 2-5 win at Anfield against Liverpool in the Champions League round of 16 first leg is about as resounding a statement as a team can make.

They have won 4 of their last 6 LaLiga meetings with city rivals Atlético, losing just once in that sample. They have to win here, too, if they are to keep pace with leaders Barcelona. Since a surprise defeat to Mallorca on 5th February, Real have won 5 games on the bounce in all competitions, and even some silverware to boot in the form of the Club World Cup.

Atléti, for their part, are also looking more like themselves again. Diego Simeone’s men have won 4 of their last 5 in LaLiga and conceded just a single goal in that sequence of matches. Real will likely need the match-winning brilliance of superstar duo Vinícius Júnior and Karim Benzema to break through a stubborn defence. Both players scored braces against Liverpool.

Sunday 26th February

A tale of 2 goalkeepers?

David de Gea gets some criticism for his distribution but, as an old-school shot-stopper, he’s still up there with the very best. His early heroics kept Man Utd in their recent game against Leicester before the Red Devils pulled away to comfortably beat the Foxes 3-0. That was De Gea’s 180th clean sheet for the club, equalling the legendary Peter Schmeichel. In Sunday’s EFL Cup final against Newcastle, it feels as though he’ll be a key figure, one way or another.

Magpies goalkeeper Nick Pope, who has been excellent for the large majority of this campaign, had a rare lapse against Liverpool and handled outside his area. That error of judgement means he's suspended for this final which, with Martin Dúbravka cup-tied for representing Man Utd on loan earlier in the competition, might open the door for an unlikely hero: Loris Karius.

We all remember his night to forget for Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final in Kyiv, but that’s a long time ago. This could be a massive chance at redemption for the 29-year-old German. He’s likely to be a busy man if picked at Wembley against a Man Utd side bristling with attacking quality, spearheaded by the red-hot Marcus Rashford and his major chance-supplier, Bruno Fernandes.

It’s time for the first major piece of silverware of the English season to be handed out. This will be a first trip to Wembley for Newcastle’s ultra-passionate fans since 1999 and, pending the result of Thursday’s clash with Barcelona, Man Utd are still challenging on 4 fronts in 2022/23. Something has to give.

Ligue 1 title could be at stake in Le Classique

PSG had Leo Messi to thank for his 95th-minute heroics last time out when the Parisians beat Lille 4-3 in a thriller.

According to Squawka, it was Messi’s 40th league goal from outside the box since the start of 2017/18 (20 more than any other player in Europe’s top 5 leagues in that period) and his 22nd direct free kick in that timeframe. It was also a much-needed result for PSG after 3 consecutive defeats, namely to Marseille, Monaco and Bayern Munich.

Marseille’s decisive goal-getter at Toulouse last weekend, Nuno Tavares, who is on loan from Arsenal, has 6 Ligue 1 goals this season, making him the most prolific defender in the division as things stand.

There’s potential for a 3 or possibly even 4-horse race in Ligue 1 this season with Monaco and Lens part of the picture, but Marseille and PSG are the current top 2, making this fixture BIGGER than ever.

PSG need to avenge their Coupe de France defeat to Marseille earlier this month, while a win for the hosts would take them to within 2 points of the leaders, confirming a genuine title race.