The English Premier League takes a break this weekend as the FA Cup and EFL Cup take centre stage, with Manchester United continuing the defence of their FA Cup title when they host Leicester City, then on Sunday Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid square-off in the massive Madrid derby.

Event # 1 – FA Cup – Manchester United vs Leicester– 3:00 PM

Manchester United welcome Leicester City to Old Trafford in the FA Cup fourth round as they continue the defence of their title later today, after setting their worst run of home form for 131 years last weekend. Amazingly, Manchester United, under Coach Rubem Amorim’s leadership, have suffered five defeats in seven home matches, which is already more than his compatriot Jose Mourinho managed in two and a half years at the club, and he must make amends here against a fellow Premier League struggler to get back on track. Indeed, the 2-0 defeat at home against Crystal Palace last Sunday saw Manchester United put together such a poor run of form that has not been this bad since the 19th century. With that said, United remain stuck in the bottom half of the table in 13th, just three points above Everton in 16th, meaning the FA Cup and the Europe League will most likely be the only route back in Europe for next season.

Interestingly, current Leicester City coach and United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy was the coach for United for the 5-2 and 3-0 wins in the EFL Cup and Premier league, respectively, before being appointed Leicester’s manager a few weeks later — which gives Man United the opportunity to beat a club three times at home in a single season for the first time in their history. However, after winning the first two FA Cup meetings against Leicester, they lost the most recent in 2021, with Leicester winning a quarter-final clash at their King Power Stadium on the way to lifting the FA Cup trophy that season.

Key Stats

• Man United – Manchester United are unbeaten at home this season in seven cup matches with over 2.5 goals scored in five of those games.

• Leicester – Leicester have lost six of their last seven overall matches and have seen over 2.5 goals being scored in seven consecutive away games.

• Both sides – Manchester United have already beaten Leicester twice at home this season.

The betting Tip.Man United win.

Event # Spanish La Liga – Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid– 3:00 PM

The biggest match of the Spanish La Liga season so far will take place on Saturday, February 8, when Real Madrid host their neighbours Atletico Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Madrid derby. Indeed, the second Madrid derby of the season is a true six-pointer, with both teams currently occupying the top two spots in the league table. Victory for Real Madrid would see them move four points clear of Atletico, while a win for the visitors would see them leapfrog Real into the top spot. Real Madrid have been in imperious form this season, particularly at the Bernabeu, which has been a fortress, having won nine games, and only one defeat in the league at home. Indeed, Real’s goal scoring prowess has been evident for all to see with them scoring an impressive 50 goals so far this season. However, Real Madrid enter this match off the back of a surprising 1-0 away loss to relegation strugglers Espanyol last weekend and will be aiming to return to winnings ways against their neighbours.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid will enter this clash with confidence that they can beat their neighbours, having gone unbeaten against them in 90 minutes in three meetings so far this season, with the three meetings being high scoring affairs. Atletico won the first meeting of the season 3-1, then the neighbours met twice just last month — the first saw them go head-to-head in Saudi Arabia in the Super Cup, with Real Madrid winning 5-3 in extra time, after scoring a late equaliser in normal time to make it 3-3. However, Atletico had the better of the second clash, with the teams drawing 2-2 in regulation, before Atletico emerged a 4-2 winner in extra time. With that said, Atletico Madrid enter this game in excellent form,having won their last three matches including a big 5-0 thrashing of Getafe last weekend.

Key Stats

• Real Madrid– Real Madrid have scored two or more goals in 15 of their last 16 overall matches.

• Atletico Madrid–Atletico Madrid have scored 11 goals in their last three matches.

• Both sides–Real Madrid have won 14 of their last 16 home matches while Atletico Madrid have won 6 of their last 8 away matches while scoring more than 2 goals in each of those wins.

The betting Tip. Atletico Madrid win.