Things to know when the European leagues return from the World Cup break
The unique moment of World cup It means that there is not much rest between the end of the tournament and the resumption of the soccer league around the world.
Some leagues even started play before the World Cup ended. The English League Championship resumed last week and the Carabao Cup quarter-finals began on Tuesday.
With the Premier League, the first of Europe’s top five leagues to resume play on Monday, we thought a refresher course on how things stand in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain was in order after we all watched a month international soccer. Here’s a quick refresher ahead of the return of club football.
English Premier League
The league resumes on December 26
first division table
1. Arsenal, 37 points
2.Manchester City, 32
3.Newcastle, 30
4.Tottenham, 29
5. Manchester United, 26
Odds of winning the league
Probabilities of descending
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Bournemouth (-175)
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Nottingham Forest (-175)
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Wolves (-110)
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Everton (+165)
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Southampton (+175)
what you need to know
League leaders Arsenal will be without star striker Gabriel Jesus for some time due to a right knee injury sustained in Brazil’s game against Cameroon. Jesús underwent surgery at the beginning of the month. Manchester City striker Erling Haaland will be well rested as Norway missed out on the World Cup. Newcastle may be active in the January transfer market after their strong start as they chase Champions League football. Meanwhile, Manchester United were second only to Manchester City in the number of minutes their players played in the World Cup. Both teams could heavily rotate their teams in the coming weeks.
French Ligue 1
The league resumes on December 28
league table
1. PSG, 41 points
2. Lens, 36
3. Rennais Stadium, 31
4. Marseille, 30
5. Lorient, 28
Odds of winning the league
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PSG (-10000)
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Lens (+2500)
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Rennes Stadium (+3300)
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Marseille (+4000)
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Monaco (+10000)
Probabilities of descending
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Anger (-400)
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Auxerre (-250)
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AC Ajaccio (-135)
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Brazil (+135)
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Montpellier (+160)
what you need to know
It seems likely that PSG will play a game or two without Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi after their epic World Cup runs. That would give the keys to the attack on Neymar. Only Mbappé (12) has scored more than Neymar’s 11 league goals in 14 games. Lens have not lost a single home game this season in their bid to keep up with PSG thus far and the two teams drew 1-1 earlier this season. Stade Rennais has the second best goal difference in the league behind PSG.
the Spanish league
The league resumes on December 30
league table
1. Barcelona, 37 points
2. Real Madrid, 35
3. Royal Society, 26
4. Athletic Club, 24
5. Atletico Madrid, 24
Odds of winning the league
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Barcelona (-190)
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Real Madrid (+150)
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Atlético de Madrid (+10000)
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Athletic Bilbao (+15000)
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Royal Society (+15000)
Probabilities of descending
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Elche (-2000)
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Cadiz (-200)
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Getafe (+165)
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Almeria (+200)
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Spanish (+250)
what you need to know
Both Barcelona and Real Madrid have lost just once in their first 14 matches. The only difference between them is that Real Madrid has two links with Barcelona. Karim Benzema should return to Real Madrid soon after missing the entire World Cup and manager Carlo Ancelotti said this week that he will stay at Real Madrid until his contract expires in June 2024 after he was linked to Real Madrid. work from brazil Robert Lewandowski has scored 13 goals in Barcelona’s 14 games, while Ousmane Dembélé is looking to maintain his solid World Cup form.
Italian Serie A
The league resumes on January 4
league table
1. Napoli, 41 points
2. AC Milan, 33
3. Juventus, 31
4. Straight, 30
5. Inter Milan, 30
Odds of winning the league
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Naples (-250)
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AC Milan (+550)
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Inter Milan (+650)
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Youth (+650)
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Lazio (+2500)
Probabilities of descending
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Cremone (-400)
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Hellas Verona (-250)
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Sampdoria (-250)
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Soccer Spice (+150)
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Lecce (+200)
what you need to know
Napoli is eight points ahead of second thanks to 13 wins and two draws in 15 games. Victor Osimhen has nine goals in 11 games, while 21-year-old Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has six goals and five assists in 12 appearances. Juventus have allowed a league-low seven goals in 15 games, but trail 10 points because they scored just 24 goals, 13 fewer than Napoli and the fewest of any team in the top five. Only 6 points separate AC Milan from seventh place Roma. With the top four teams reaching the Champions League, it could be a fascinating 2023, even if Napoli clinch the title.
german bundesliga
The league resumes on January 20.
league table
1.Bayern Munich, 34 points
2. SC Freiburg, 30
3.RB Leipzig, 28
4. Eintracht Frankfurt, 27
5. Union Berlin, 27
Odds of winning the league
Probabilities of descending
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Schalke (-500)
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VfL Bochum (-165)
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Augsburg (+135)
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Hertha BSC (+250)
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VfB Stuttgart (+350)
what you need to know
As you can see, punters are optimistic about another league title for Bayern Munich. If Bayern win again, they will do so without GK Manuel Neuer. He suffered a broken leg while skiing after the World Cup and will be out for the rest of the season. Bayern’s goal difference is +36. Freiburg is +8. Dortmund have the third best chance of winning the league despite being in seventh place and five points off second. Dortmund could be tempted to sell Jude Bellingham in January after his strong World Cup performance or they could try to wait out a strong offer during the summer transfer window.