5️⃣ spicy fixtures you must watch this weekend 🌶 | OneFootball

It looks like it’s going to be a fascinating weekend for football across Europe and Africa.

We’ve got the second round of AFCON group stage matches taking place as well as some key battles in Germany, Italy and England.

Here’s what to look forward to.

Another upset from the minnows?

Spice rating: Mild 🌶

Sierra Leone provided the biggest shock of AFCON round one as they drew 0-0 with Algeria thanks to heroics from goalkeeper Mohamed Kamara and former Liverpool defender Steven Caulker.

The Leone Stars will need to be at their resolute best again on Sunday as they take on Ivory Coast who are fresh off the back of a narrow win over Equatorial Guinea in their opening match.

Group E looks like being one of the more tightly-contested in the tournament with all four sides in with a chance of qualification to the last 16 by the end of next week.

This one though, at the brand-new 50,000-seater Douala Stadium, should be a cracker.

All to play for as the Championship hots up

Spice rating: Medium 🌶🌶

The Championship rarely disappoints, but this season has been one of the best in recent memory.

Just nine points separate the top six with Bournemouth currently leading the pack and Huddersfield on the charge in the final play-off position.

All eyes this weekend, though, will be on the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium as fifth-place Queens Park Rangers host fourth-place West Brom.

QPR have been a punchline in English football for nearly a decade now, seen as overpaying for over-the-hill stars and failing to compete for promotion since their last Premier League appearance as a result.

Under coach Mark Warburton, however, the west London outfit are back and take on Valérien Ismaël’s West Brom side who have dropped off recently after a blistering start to the campaign.

European dreams a step closer to reality

Spice rating: Hot 🌶🌶🌶

Freiburg have arguably been the story of the Bundesliga so far this season.

A relatively small club in the Black Forest, the SC-Stadion outfit have been transformed under coach Christian Streich to the point where they are now dreaming of a place in next season’s Champions League.

That seemed like pie in the sky at the start of the campaign but a win over Borussia Dortmund on Friday evening will be sure to shift expectations as they cement themselves in fourth place.

Impressive results against Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen, though, have been cancelled out by losses against Hoffenheim and Bochum in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

This match against Marco Rose’s men should tell exactly where Freiburg are in their development.

Serie A goes black and blue

Spice rating: Fire 🌶🌶🌶🌶

There’s a fascinating encounter on Sunday evening in Serie A.

Free-flowing, must-watch-at-all-time Atalanta take on league leaders Inter in what’s undoubtedly the game of the weekend on the peninsula.

Despite major upheaval last summer with the loss of their coach Antonio Conte and star striker Romelu Lukaku, Inter have kept up their brilliant momentum and currently sit top of the league.

They travel to Bergamo to face fourth place La Dea who have lost just once in the league since the start of October.

If this game is anything like the 2-2 they played in September, we’re in for a treat.

The first trophy to play for in Spain

Spice rating: Insane 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

The Clásico semi-final certainly lived up to the hype but now the Supercopa de España reaches its conclusion in Riyadh.

Real Madrid, fresh from their extra time win over Barcelona, take on Athletic Bilbao for the first silverware of the Spanish season.

With Vinícius Júnior in devastating form and Karim Benzema starting 2022 like he finished 2021 year, all signs point to success for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

But Athletic are no pushovers, as their semi-final win over Atlético Madrid proved on Thursday evening.

The Basque giants came from behind to score two late goals against Diego Simeone’s men and will fancy their chances of an upset in the Saudi capital.