How this will go is anyone’s guess. Panama will be favored, if only slightly, but hasn’t played a high level of competition this year before a 2-0 loss to Brazil on May 29. Bolivia has played a very strong batch of opponents but only has wins over Venezuela (2) and Ecuador.
Lionel Messi won’t be ready to play in Argentina’s biggest match of the group, a rematch of the 2015 final won by Chile in penalty kicks. Chile is struggling, though, having lost a home World Cup qualifier 2-1 on March 24 to Argentina, part of a 1W-4L stretch. Will no Messi be enough to tip the scales for Alexis Sanchez and Co.?
Alassane Plea and Marcus Thuram bring red-hot form and top four hopes to Freiburg when Borussia Monchengladbach visits the Schwarzwald-Stadion on Friday for a 2:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
Gladbach is ahead of fifth-place Bayer Leverkusen on goal differential and four points back of second-place Borussia Dortmund.
Below is the schedule for the Bundesliga game early on Friday and how you can watch live on TV in the USA and online and follow along via the link above.
Focusing on Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Saints, they have rebounded superbly after that humbling 9-0 defeat to Leicester City in late October. Hasenhuttl’s young side have gone back to basics and have a pretty favorable run of games to finish the season. They still aren’t totally out of the relegation battle but three more wins should keep them up and there is a renewed sense of belief about their future as the boss recently signed a new contract.
Let’s take a closer look at all things Southampton when it comes to the season restart.
Outlook: The season started very badly and hit rock bottom with that hammering by Leicester. Hasenhuttl then went back to his tried and tested 4-2-2-2 formation and kept things simple, as previously he messed around with several formations and his players seemed confused. A run of seven wins from 11 games around the turn of the year pushed them up the Premier League table and they are seven points above the relegation zone with nine games to go. Danny Ings is their main man with 18 goals in all competitions and their high-pressing style often catches out opponents. Defensively they still need to improve but Hasenhuttl has recently signed a new four-year contract extension and there’s a clear plan in place for the future. Saints have some talented young players coming through again and even though they haven’t got a lot of cash to spend, Hasenhuttl has made his team horrible to play against and they should be a solid PL club for the next few seasons.
Tactical analysis: The 4-2-2-2 formation that Hasenhuttl perfected at RB Leipzig has worked well since November with Southampton possessing plenty of speedy attacking players who use this system perfectly. Nathan Redmond, Shane Long and Ings lead the charge, while Sofiane Boufal and Moussa Djenepo are wild cards off the bench. Having extra defensive stability has been key with Hojbjerg and Ward-Prowse playing in deeper midfield roles, plus Stuart Armstrong a perfect blend of a central midfielder and a winger. This formation is very narrow but Saints have pressing from the front mastered and when it works, it works very well.
Remaining schedule:
Home: Arsenal, Man City, Brighton, Sheffield United
Away: Norwich, Watford, Everton, Man United, Bournemouth
Predicted finish: This really could go one of two ways for Saints. Hasenhuttl has just signed a new contract and there is finally some stability at the club after several managers have come and gone, the Chinese ownership group has said the club has to be self-sustaining and previous star players haven’t been replaced. In theory Saints aren’t really in this relegation battle but if they fail to pick up any points from their first three games, they will be looking nervously over their shoulders. On the other hand, if the pressure is off they could easily push for a top 10 finish as they have a favorable run-in, but is playing a bunch of teams in the relegation spots really a good thing at this time of the season?
Bayern Munich can take another huge step towards winning an eight-straight Bundesliga title when they travel to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday at the BayArena and below are details on how you can watch Bayer v Bayern in the USA.
This will be a beauty of a game as Hansi Flick’s side have been in sumptuous form, but so too have Bayer with Kai Havertz leading the line. Leverkusen have won three of their four games since the restart and remain firmly in the top four battle as they sit in fifth-place but are just four point behind second-placed Borussia Dortmund. Havertz has scored five goals in his last four games and Real Madrid have reportedly offered over $85 million for him this week, which was rejected.
As for Bayern Munich, they are seven points clear at the top of the table and are ripping teams apart with Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, Alphonso Davies and Co. in fine form. Bayern have won all four games since the restart, scoring 13 goals in the process, and barring a catastrophic late collapse they will waltz to the title. Philippe Coutinho remains out injured but they aren’t missing him with Serge Gnabry and Kinglsey Coman in fine form.
Below is how to watch Bayer Leverkusen v Bayern Munich on TV in the USA this Saturday, while above you can follow the action live, as the three points are so valuable to both clubs.
In transfer news Ben Chilwell has been linked with a move to Chelsea, while there’s been a new development in a potential move to Man United for Raul Jimenez.
First up, Chelsea have had a pretty decent few months in the transfer window with Hakim Ziyech locked up, Timo Werner set to arrive in the next few weeks and now they are pushing hard to sign Ben Chilwell. Reports out of Italy say that Leicester want $85 million for Chilwell, who is under contract for another four years.
Multiple reports claim that Chelsea have reopened talks with Leicester over the England international, as a deal was discussed in January. The left back, 23, has been in fine form for the Foxes over the past few years, although talk of a potential move seemed to distract him from December onwards as his play took a nosedive.
As was previously reported, Chelsea have Nicolas Tagliafico lined up as a back-up option and the Ajax defender would certainly be a cheaper option. Is Chilwell worth this huge fee? He could be England’s left back for the next 10 years but there are a few concerning signs.
His crossing ability is undoubted and he’s a fine one-on-one defender, but his distribution and decision-making still needs some work. Chelsea badly need an upgrade in the left back, center back and goalkeeping department and Chilwell would start over Emerson and Marcos Alonso right away. Leicester are of course playing hardball over this price but given the financial impact of the coronavirus, this transfer fee does seem high for a player who only has a few seasons as a Premier League regular under his belt.
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In other transfer news, Man United have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Wolves and Mexico star Raul Jimenez.
Jimenez, 29, has repeatedly been linked with Real Madrid, Juventus, Barcelona and Man United, with the powerful striker having a second-straight stellar season in the Premier League with Wolves.
A report from TuttoJuve states that Wolves may lower their asking price for Jimenez in the coming months as they know that transfer fees will drop significantly, but the Molineux club are obviously not in a hurry to sell their top goalscorer. Juve will reportedly offer $25 million plus Gonzalo Higuain for Jimenez.
Speaking to Medio Tiempo, Jimenez’s father recently said his son is flattered by the interest from big clubs but is happy with Wolves for now.
Quite why Wolves would lower their price for Jimenez remains to be seen but he is getting closer to the age of 30 and if they want to cash in on him, they will probably wait until 12 months from now.
