Arsenal striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Goal take a look at some of the continent’s big players who should be in action this weekend.
Hakim Ziyech and Edouard Mendy face off against Serge Aurier, while Kalidou Koulibaly would look to bounce back from last weekend’s horror show in Napoli’s loss against AC Milan.
Ziyech & Mendy vs Aurier
Gameweek 10 in the Premier League sees Chelsea play host to London rivals and league leaders Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge, a game that has plenty of African interest.
Hakim Ziyech and Edouard Mendy have had remarkable impacts in West London since their integration into the side and Sunday evening represents an opportunity to truly announce the club as title contenders.
Serge Aurier had a great game in Spurs’ 2-0 defeat of inconsistent Manchester City last time out and will hope to retain his place in Jose Mourinho’s XI for their visit to the third-placed side.
Frank Lampard’s team won both fixtures over their cross-town rivals last term, but his former manager’s team are a different animal to the side from last season, which suggests this meeting won’t be as straightforward for the five-time EPL champions.
Aubameyang vs Boly
The final game on Sunday is between Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Emirates Stadium, with the Gunners seeking their first league win in three games.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang featured as the central striker in last week’s goalless encounter vs Leeds United where he fired another blank to continue this year’s worrying form.
Arsenal’s talisman will face off against Willy Boly at the heart of the Wolves defence, looking to end the North London side’s lengthy run without scoring an open-play league goal.
Mikel Arteta’s side have won just once in their last five games and require a turnaround in results going into the Christmas schedule.
Boga vs Hakimi
Inter Milan’s poor run of results continued on Wednesday as they suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid, leaving them bottom of their Champions League group with two games remaining.
Achraf Hakimi featured against Los Blancos in midweek but scored a second-half own goal to seal the Nerazzurri’s fate against the Spanish giants.
Antonio Conte’s team face a tough trip to Serie A high-flyers Sassuolo, who remain unbeaten after eight gameweeks.
Jeremie Boga ought to feature on the left side of Roberto De Zerbi’s attack, in a mouthwatering head-to-head with Hakimi, as the second-placed side look to inflict another defeat on last season’s Europa League finalists.
Kalidou Koulibaly
K2 didn’t fare well in Sunday’s 3-1 defeat by AC Milan, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic getting the better of the Senegalese for both goals and in the majority of their duels.
The loss saw Gennaro Gattuso’s team fall six points behind the Rossoneri going into gameweek nine’s daunting encounter with another in-form side in Roma at Stadio San Paolo.
Paulo Fonseca’s team sit third on 17 points, three points off the top, after a run of four wins and a draw in their last five matches.
If Koulibaly and his teammates are to return to winning ways against the side from Rome, they’ll have to defend better against the third-best attack in the league as they look to prevent a third successive home loss.
Toko Ekambi, Cornet & Kadewere
Olympique Lyon’s 1-0 win at mid-table Angers last time out saw Rudi Garcia’s men close the gap on Paris Saint-Germain to four points.
Tino Kadewere scored the only goal of the game in Karl Toko Ekambi’s absence and the latter is likely to return to the XI after serving his suspension along with Maxwel Cornet.
Lyon face struggling Stade de Reims at the Groupama Stadium looking to continue a recent run of results that’s seen them accumulate13 points from their last five matches.
Still, the hosts shouldn’t underrate a Reims side that have scored 13 times in six away games this season, the most-prolific team on their travels after PSG (14).
