Friday Forecast: Liverpool fight for CWC title; Mou faces Chelsea as Spurs boss

Another weekend with several huge league clashes is coming as we bring you all you need to know ahead of it.

Liverpool vs Flamengo

Kick-Off: UTC 2019/12/21 16:30

Probable line-ups

Liverpool focus

Illness ruled Virgil van Dijk out of Liverpool's Club World Cup semi-final victory and Jurgen Klopp will desperately hope to have him available here after being forced to play Jordan Henderson at centre-back on Wednesday.

Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Trent Alexander-Arnold will likely return to the starting XI on Saturday after being partially rested in midweek.

It's unclear whether Klopp will go with his strongest available XI or continuing rotating to keep his players fresh for when they return to England. Georginio Wijnaldum remains a doubt.

Flamengo focus

Former Atletico Madrid left-back Filipe Luis and Inter loanee Gabigol are among the notable names in Flamengo's squad ahead of Saturday's final.

The Brazilian outfit also have former Bayern Munich defender Flamengo, ex-Roma hopeful Gerson and Uruguay international Giorgian de Arrascaeta.

Whoscored predictions

Liverpool 2-1 Flamengo

Tottenham vs Chelsea

Kick-Off: UTC 2019/12/22 15:30

Probable line-ups

Tottenham focus

Jose Mourinho is without no fewer than five players for the welcome of Chelsea.

Hugo Lloris, Michel Vorm, Erik Lamela, Ben Davies, and Tanguy Ndombele sit this one out.

Mourinho could name the same XI that started recent wins over Burnley and Wolves.

Chelsea focus

Fikayo Tomori and Olivier Giroud will both be assessed, but Frank Lampard may not risk the pair with the games coming thick and fast.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek is still some way from full match fitness, so misses out.

Kurt Zouma is set to continue alongside Antonio Rudiger, while Mateo Kovacic may come in for Mason Mount.

Whoscored predictions

Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea

Man City vs Leicester 

Kick-Off: UTC 2019/12/21 16:30

Probable line-ups

Focus

Sergio Aguero returned to training at the start of the week but was not risked in Wednesday's League Cup quarter-final win over Oxford. It's unclear whether he is fit enough to start or whether Gabriel Jesus will continue up front.

Phil Foden has started Manchester City's last three matches and will hope to continue in midfield with David Silva still nursing his way back to a full recovery.

Neither Bernardo Silva nor Riyad Mahrez are at their best and both could find themselves on the bench for the second straight league match if Foden is preferred on the wing.

After only managing a 1-1 draw with Norwich last weekend, Brendan Rodgers may revert back to a 4-5-1 formation at the Etihad, with Kelechi Iheanacho dropped against his former club.

Whoscored predictions

Man City 3-2 Leicester 

Everton vs Arsenal 

Kick-Off: UTC 2019/12/21 11:30

Probable line-ups

Focus

Arsenal expect to have former captain Mikel Arteta in their dug-out on Saturday, as they close in on appointing the Manchester City assistant manager as Unai Emery's long-term successor.

Sead Kolasinac is a major doubt for Saturday's trip to Goodison Park due to an ankle injury suffered in last weekend's defeat to Manchester City. With Kieran Tierney also ruled out, Arsenal have a real problem at left-back.

Sokratis is suspended for one match due to an accumulation of bookings, which should pave the way for David Luiz to start at Everton.

If Calum Chambers is required at full-back to cover for Arsenal's defensive injuries, the Gunners may have no choice but to play Shkodran Mustafi. Konstantinos Mavropanos is also an option, albeit an inexperienced one.

Granit Xhaka has missed Arsenal's last two matches due to the concussion protocol but should be available to play on Saturday.

Alexandre Lacazette has dropped down the pecking order under interim manager Freddie Ljungberg and will hope to return to the starting XI if Arteta is appointed in time.

Whoscored predictions

Everton 2-2 Arsenal

Watford vs Man Utd 

Kick-Off: UTC 2019/12/22 13:30

Probable line-ups

Focus

Mason Greenwood failed to pile further pressure on Anthony Martial's starting spot in midweek and is expected to settle for a place on the bench here.

Paul Pogba remains sidelined for Manchester United, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer set to name an unchanged XI from last weekend's 1-1 draw with Everton.

Juan Mata and Andreas Pereira are in competition with Jesse Lingard for a starting berth in attacking midfield.

Whoscored predictions

Watford 1-1 Man Utd

Barcelona vs Alaves

Kick-Off: UTC 2019/12/21 13:00

Probable line-ups

Sergio Busquets was unfit to feature in El Clasico in midweek, but should be ready to return to the midfield on Saturday.

Nelson Semedo is also expected to get the nod at right-back ahead of Sergi Roberto.

Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti will battle it out to feature at centre-back alongside Gerard Pique.

Whoscored predictions

Barcelona 3-1 Alaves

Bayern vs Wolfsburg

Kick-Off: UTC 2019/12/21 13:30

Probable line-ups

Focus

Kingsley Coman is out until after the winter break after injuring his knee against Spurs in the Champions League.

David Alaba picked up a knock in midweek but played on through the pain barrier.

Thiago is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow in midweek, while Leon Goretzka and Corentin Tolisso are both struggling with muscle injuries.

Philippe Coutinho is set to keep his spot after impressing of late.

€10m summer signing Michaël Cuisance has picked up an ankle injury and is ruled out.

Teenage striker Jann-Fiete Arp remains on the treatment table with an arm injury.

Niklas Süle suffered an ACL tear and has probably played his last club game of the season.

Whoscored Predictions

Bayern 3-1 Wolfsburg

Juventus vs Lazio

Kick-Off: UTC 2019/12/21 16:45

Probable line-ups

Juventus Predicted XI: Buffon; Danilo, Demiral, Bonucci, Sandro; Pjanic, Matuidi, Ramsey; Dybala, Ronaldo, Higuain

Lazio Predicted XI: Strakosha; Felipe, Acerbi, Radu; Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Lucas, Luis Alberto, Lulic; Correa, Immobile

Focus

Reigning champions Juventus are set to field the evergreen Gianluigi Buffon in goal again due to the continuation of Woijciech Szczesny's muscle problems.

Despite having the experience Italian in goal though, they will be without veterans Giorgio Chiellini and Sami Khedira who both have long term knee injuries.

Meanwhile Copa Italia champions Lazio will be without defenders Jordan Lukaku and Denis Vavro who both have knee problems.

They'll be relying on striker Ciro Immobile - who has 19 goals in 20 appearance this season - to fire them to victory in Riyadh.

This match will be a repeat of the 2017 Supercoppa Italiana where the two sides met in Rome.

On that day, a double from Ciro Immobile and one from Alessandro Murgia were enough to give Le Aquile a 3-2 victory.

They also came out on top when the pair met in Serie A earlier this month, coming back to win 3-1 against a ten-man Juve side after Cristiano Ronaldo had given the visitors the lead.

Whoscored Predictions

Juventus 2-1 Lazio

Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao

Kick-Off: UTC 2019/12/21 20:00

Probable line-ups

Real Madrid Predicted XI: Thibaut Courtois; Ferland Mendy, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos, Dani Carvajal; Toni Kroos, Fede Valverde, Isco; Rodrygo, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale

Athletic Bilbao Predicted XI: Unai Simon; Ander Capa, Yeray Alvarez, Inigo Martinez, Yuri; Unai Lopez, Dani Garcia; Raul Garcia, Muniain, Ibai Gomez; Inaki Williams

Focus

Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao are one of only three clubs to have been present in every season of LaLiga since its inception (alongside Barcelona) and as such, it comes as no surprise that this fixture is a regular in the Spanish calendar.

Matches between the two clubs are known as El Viejo Clásico and it is the second-most played match in Spanish football history behind El Clasico.

In total, Los Blancos have clashed with Los Leones on 231 occasions, with Real Madrid winning 114, while Bilbao have won 74 and 43 matches ended in a stalemate.

Furthermore, the capital club have scored 442 goals, while the Basque outfit have 322 goals to their name in all competitions against Real Madrid.

Whoscored Predictions

Real Madrid 2-1 Athletic Bilbao