Today’s Newsletter is once again sponsored by the brilliant LiveFootballOnTV! Check them out for complete listings of live football on TV in the UK! I’m a big user of their website, so click the link, and check them out :)
Friday
Sassuolo vs Napoli: 19:45 (BT Sport Three) (15th vs 1st)
Auxerre vs Lyon: 20:00 (BT Sport Four) (19th vs 9th)
Saturday
Aston Villa vs Arsenal: 12:30 (BT Sport One) (11th vs 2nd)
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Monza vs AC Milan: 17:15 (BT Sport Two) (10th vs 5th)
Frankfurt vs Bremen: 17:30 (Sky Sports Football) (6th vs 9th)
Newcastle vs Liverpool: 17:30 (Sky Sports Main) (4th vs 9th)
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Inter vs Udinese: 19:45 (BT Sport One) (2nd vs 8th)
Strasbourg vs Angers: 20:00 (BT Sport Two) (17th vs 20th)
Osasuna vs Real Madrid: 20:00 (Premier Sports) (9th vs 2nd)
Sunday
Atalanta vs Lecce: 11:30 (BT Sport Three) (3rd vs 13th)
PSG vs Lille: 12:00 (BT Sport One) (1st vs 5th)
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Manchester United vs Leicester: 14:00 (Sky Sports Main) (3rd vs 13th)
Salernitana vs Lazio: 14:00 (BT Sport Two) (16th vs 6th)
Brest vs Monaco: 14:00 (BT Sport Three) (15th vs 3rd)
Union Berlin vs Schalke: 14:30 (Sky Sports Football) (2nd vs 18th)
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Lens vs Nantes: 16:00 (BT Sport Three) (4th vs 13th)
Dortmund vs Hertha Berlin: 16:30 (Sky Sports Football) (3rd vs 16th)
Tottenham vs West Ham: 16:30 (Sky Sports Main) (5th vs 16th)
Spezia vs Juventus: 17:00 (BT Sport Two) (17th vs 9th)
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Leverkusen vs Mainz: 18:30 (Sky Sports Football) (8th vs 12th)
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Roma vs Verona: 19:45 (BT Sport One) (4th vs 18th)
Toulouse vs Marseille: 19:45 (BT Sport Two) (11th vs 2nd)
Barcelona vs Cadiz: 20:00 (Premier Sports) (1st vs 16th)
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PROFILE: TIAGO DJALÓ
In writing my video for this week centred around Lille and Paulo Fonseca, I ended up asking myself a question.
Why is no one talking about Tiago Djaló?
He’s a two footed defender, who has played at right back, left back, RCB and this season LCB. He’s quick, strong, and a tidy passer being encouraged by his fellow Portuguese in the dugout to build out from the back more - and he’s only 22 years old.
That same coach also told La Voix Du Nord that Djaló *already* has leadership qualities, and just three players in the squad have played more minutes than the defender.
He’s also in the top five in France for tackle success rate (vs Dribblers, a slightly unreliable statistic but nonetheless thought provoking). While his passing may not be quite as incisive as a Van Dijk, he has the highest completion rate in the squad. Barring an error earlier in the season against Monaco where he got pickpocketed for a goal, he’s largely been stoic at the back.
So, a left-sided defender playing at the same club Sven Botman made his name at, with a contract that runs out in June 2024 which reminder, is just over a year away, and the only real transfer links you could find online throughout January are ones depicting him as the replacement for PSG-bound Milan Škriniar - why are only Inter interested?
I would hope to expect Djaló’s name to come up much, much more as the season closes out and we creep closer to the summer transfer window.