News-EPL, Serie A, La Liga - Nigerian footballers. Exclusive match reviews, recap videos and Match of the Week selections curated by My11.

In a week where many midfielders and forwards scored 2 goals, five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo and Naija midfield marshal Wilfred Ndidi lead the line for My11 Round 15 Team of the Week. We will be looking at a 3-4-3 formation.

Goalkeeper:

Jaume Doménech | The 30-year-old goalkeeper was in fine form against Barcelona, helping Los Che salvage a point against the Catalan giants. He made 7 saves in all and he saved a penalty from Lionel Messi.

Defenders:

Achraf Hakimi | The former Real Madrid right-back has picked up his Dortmund form, adding to the team’s goals from his defensive position. He scored Inter’s first goal in their 2-1 win over Spezia, and defensively, he won 5 tackles, more than any other player on the field.

Stefan Radu | The Romanian was a solid rock defensively as Lazio defeated Napoli, helping the team keep a clean sheet. He made 2 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 6 clearances. He had 83 touches, more than any other Sky Blues player.

John Stones | The Englishman is now living up to the hype before joining the Cityzens, and he put up another good performance in the 1-0 win over Southampton. He made 1 tackle, 2 interceptions, 4 clearances, and blocked 2 shots, helping the team keep a clean sheet.

Midfielder:

Mohamed Salah | The Egyptian played for just 33 minutes in Liverpool’s 7-0 thumping of Crystal Palace, but his impact was outstanding with 2 good goals and an assist.

Wilfred Ndidi | The Naija Super Eagles star continues to prove why he is Leicester’s most important player with another man of the match performance, nullifying the entire Tottenham midfield. He was voted the best player in the encounter.

Scott McTominay | McTominay had his best goal return in a game for Manchester United and did it in style. He scored 2 goals in the first 3 minutes of the Red Devil’s 6-2 thrashing of Leeds United, before providing an assist for Daniel James.

Luka Modric | The 35-year-old has impressed a lot and many are asking if he truly is 35 years, and in Real Madrid's 3-1 win over Eibar, the Croatian was solid. With his brilliant movements, he had more dribbles than any other player, scoring the second goal in the match.

Forward:

Tammy Abraham | The Nigerian-born Chelsea star was back into the starting line-up in the London derby against West Ham, and he repaid the manager’s faith by getting on the score sheet. He scored 2 goals in the 3-0 win for the Blues.

Luis Suarez | The former Barcelona forward is enjoying life at the capital, and in Atletico Madrid's 3-1 win over Elche, Suarez hit 3 shots, 2 were on target and the two shots on target were goals for the Uruguayan.

Cristiano Ronaldo | The five-time Ballon d’Or put his penalty miss in the last match behind and he had an impressive performance in Juventus’ 4-0 win away to Parma. The Portuguese scored 2 goals from his 2 shots on target.

Manager:

Brendan Rodgers | The Irishman outsmarted Jose Mourinho as Leicester City defeated Tottenham Hotspur away from home, and the former Liverpool manager used Naija star Wilfred Ndidi to nullify Spur midfield, winning all 3 points and keeping a clean sheet.

Two teams who picked up impressive wins at the weekend after a poor run will be facing each other, as AC Milan will be welcoming Lazio to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, popularly known as the San Siro, on Wednesday night.

In the last 29 Serie A meetings between these two teams, Milan have won 12 games, while Lazio have won 5 matches, with the other 12 games ending in a draw. In their last 8 clashes, both teams won 2 matches each, and 4 ended in a draw.

AC Milan will be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Matteo Gabbia, and Ismaël Bennacer due to injury. Lazio, on the other hand, will be without Mohamed Fares, Lucas Leiva, Senad Lulic, and Silvio Proto due to injury.

AC Milan are not very strong at home this season, winning 3 and drawing 3, and Lazio are stronger away from home with 13 points, but the Rossoneri sit top of the table, and the Sky Blues will have a huge mountain to climb against a Milan side, who are yet to lose a Serie A game this season. The hosts should edge this encounter.

You can catch the game live on DSTV channel 208, SuperSport Variety 3 on Wednesday, December 23 2020, by 8:45 pm Naija time.

Real Sociedad will be welcoming Atletico Madrid to the Anoeta Stadium on Tuesday night in a battle between first and third on the La Liga table.

In the last 23 La Liga meetings between these two teams, Real Sociedad have won 6 games, while Atletico Madrid have won 14 matches, with the other 3 games ending in a draw. There have been clean sheets in 6 of the last 8 clashes between these two teams, whoever scores first always win.

Real Sociedad will be without Joseba Zaldúa, Andoni Gorosabel, Adnan Januzaj, David Silva, Miguel Angel Moya, Jon Guridi, and Luca Sangalli due to injury. Atletico madrid, on the other hand, will be without youngster João Félix and Hector Herrera due to injury, while Ivo Grbic will miss due to positive COVID-19 test.

Both clubs were tied at the top, but Sociedad lost at the weekend and will be facing a defensively compact Atleti side, who are fighting to win their first league title since 2014. This will be an interesting encounter that could end in a draw.

You can catch the game live on DSTV channel 204, SuperSport La Liga on Tuesday, December 22 2020, by 7:15 pm Naija time.

Naija Super Eagles forward, Alex Iwobi put up an impressive performance, as he helped Everton defeat his former club, Arsenal 2-1 at the Goodison Park.

Everton scored the opening goal in the 22nd minute after Iwobi sent in a beautiful cross to the head of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but Gunners defender, Rob Holding deflected the ball into his own goal. Arsenal pulled one back from a Nicolas Pepe penalty in the 35th minute, but 10 minutes later, just before the break, Yerry Mina headed home the ball from a Gylfi Sigurdsson corner, to give the hosts a 2-1 win.

Everton have now moved up to 4th on the log, after winning 3 straight games against top opposition – Chelsea, Leicester, and Arsenal – but Arsenal, on the other hand, are getting closer to the relegation zone, 4 points above the drop.

Do you think Arsenal should sack Mikel Arteta?

Six-time Ballon d’Or winner, Lionel Messi thought he had won it for Barcelona, but his goal was not enough to win all 3 points, as Valencia equalized to pick up a point in the 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou.

Mouctar Diakhaby scored the opening goal in the 29th minute from a Carlos Soler corner kick. Barcelona were awarded a controversial penalty and Lionel Messi missed the spot-kick, but the argentine scored immediately after a Jordi Alba’s shot was deflected and the captain headed home. 7 minutes into the second half, defender Ronald Araujo scored an acrobatic shot to give the Catalan giants a 2-1 lead, but Maximiliano Gomez levelled matters by beating a Barcelona defender to tap in the ball.

More worries for Ronald Koeman and his Barcelona team, as they are now 8 points off the pace, and they remain 5th on the log, levelled on points with Granada, while Valencia moved up to 13th on the La Liga table.

Do you think Barcelona will sack Koeman?

Lazio defeated Victor Osimhen’s Napoli 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday to pick up their second home win of the season, putting more pressure on Gennaro Gattuso.

Ciro Immobile scored the opening goal with a beautiful header in the 9th minute after a lovely cross from Adam Marusic. The Italian then turn provider in the 56th minute, after setting up Adam Marusic, who scored a curler from outside the box to give the Romans a 2-0 lead.

Lazio have picked up more points away from home in the league, and the team from Naples were the favourite, but the Sky Blues were impressive, and they have moved up to 8th on the log, while Napoli have dropped to 5th on the Serie A table.

Do you think Napoli will finish in top 4?

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has been named the best player for the year 2020, after picking up the FIFA The Best Men’s Player award, beating Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. My11 looks at the Poland international’s stats for the year.

Bayern Munich won a total of 5 trophies, and Lewandowski was instrumental in those competitions, winning top scorer in the Champions League, Bundesliga, and the German DFB Cup.

In the 2019/2020 season, Lewandowski featured 47 times for Bayern Munich in all competitions, and he had a hand in 65 goals in as many games, scoring a total of 55 goals and providing 10 assists.

In the current 2020/2021 campaign, he has played a total of 17 matches for the Bavarians in all competitions, and he has scored 18 goals and provided 5 assists.

The 32-year-old striker finished with 52 votes, beating 2-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who had 38 votes, and 2019 winner Lionel Messi, who got 35 votes.

Do you think Lewandowski deserved the award?

This will be a battle between a team on the rise and a team on the low, as Alex Iwobi's Everton will be welcoming Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal team to Goodison Park.

In 56 Premier League meetings between these two teams, Everton have won just 8 games, while Arsenal have won 34 matches, with the other 14 games ending in a draw. The Gunners have not scored in their last 2 visits to Goodison Park.

Everton will be without Player, Allan, Fabian Delph, Lucas Digne, and Jean-Philippe Gbamin due to injury, while James Rodriguez and Seamus Coleman are major doubts. Arsenal, on the other hand, will be without Reiss Nelson and Thomas Partey, while Gabriel and Granit Xhaka are suspended.

Everton picked up their form, defeating Chelsea and Leicester City, while the Gunners are still on a poor run. This looks like another match that could end in tears for Arsenal.

You can catch the game live on DSTV channel 203, SuperSport Premier League on Saturday, December 19 2020, by 6:30 pm Naija time.

All eyes will be on Camp Nou when Barcelona and Valencia face each other as Ronald Koeman and his team will want to win 3 straight games for the first time this season.

In the last 53 meetings between these two teams, Barcelona have won 26 games, while Valencia have won 12 matches, with the other 15 games ending in a draw. Los Che had won 2 of their last 5 encounters and the Catalan giants have won just 1.

Barcelona will be without Sergi Roberto, Gerard Piqué, and Ansu Fati due to injury. Valencia, on the other hand, will be without Maximiliano Gómez, Hugo Guillamón, Kevin Gameiro, and Jasper Cillessen.

Valencia have been struggling all season, after losing some of their key players in the summer, while Barcelona have had mixed results, and despite their good run, their performance is still not continuing. At Camp Nou, Koeman's men should pick all 3 points.

You can catch the game live on DSTV channel 204, SuperSport La Liga on Saturday, December 19 2020, by 4:15 pm Naija time.

Rome will be the city to host the biggest Serie A game of the weekend as ninth-placed Lazio will be welcoming Napoli, who are fourth in the table in midweek, to the Stadio Olimpico.

In the last 26 Serie A meetings between these two teams, Lazio have won 6 games, while Napoli have won 14 matches, with the other 6 games ending in a draw. The Naples have won 7 of their last 8 encounters.

Lazio will be without, Lucas Leiva, Senad Lulic, Francesco Acerbi, Vedat Muriqi, and Silvio Proto due to injury. Napoli, on the other hand, will be without Dries Mertens and Naija star Victor Osimhen due to injury, while captain, Lorenzo Insigne is suspended.

Napoli will be without their top 3 strikers they will have to depend on other players for goals, but will against Lazio, who have won just one game at home this season. Gennaro Gattuso’s charge should nick this after 90 minutes.

You can catch the game live on DSTV channel 208, SuperSport Variety 3 on Sunday, December 20 2020, by 8:45 pm Naija time.