From the most exciting English Premier League to the German Bundesliga, through the La Liga and Serie A, Nigerian players have crucial games for their teams this weekend, reports Correspondent, TUNDE LIADI.
In the Premiership, Ola Aina and his two other teammates with Nigeria heritage Tosin Adarabioyo and Ademola Lookman earned their second win of the season against Leicester City on Monday and the Cottagers’ trio will pray for mother luck when they visit wounded Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium today.
Alex Iwobi will be playing for Everton away against Burnley today and anything other than a win could plunge them to the lower cadre of the league table as they are currently eighth with 16 points.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remembered the forgotten man at Manchester United, Odion Ighalo when he was thrown into the fray in the 90th minute of their Champions League 3-1 loss to PSG in Manchester on Wednesday. Could this be a sign of better things to come for the Nigerian when the Red Devils visit West Ham tonight?
Can West Brom make it two wins on the bounce tomorrow against Crystal Palace at the Hawthorns after they ended their winless streak in the league with a 1-0 victory over Sheffield United last weekend? Semi Ajayi got his ninth game of the season in that game and should be eager for another run-in against the Eagles tomorrow.
With the return of Winfred Ndidi, Leicester City will be hoping to bounce back from their 2-1 at home to Fulham on Monday and they hope for a win at the Bramall Lane against Sheffield United tomorrow.
In the Spanish La Liga Santander, it should have been a battle between two brothers tomorrow when Azeez Ramon’s Granada host SD Huesca with Kelechi Nwakali on their payroll but with the former still out injured since October his chances of making the tie is very slim. Huesca are still without a topflight win since their promotion at the start of the season.
Villarreal got a morale boosting draw at Real Sociedad last weekend with Samuel Chukwueze getting his 10th game of the season when he came on in the 46th minute. Despite Europa League exertion on Thursday, the Yellow Submarines have a league game with Elche tomorrow. They are third on the table with 20 points and must secure a positive outcome in the game to protect their league spot.
In the Italian Serie A, a handful of Nigerians in the league are also doing their utmost to measure up.
Bologna are yet to cap ex-Flying Eagles’ midfielder, Kingsley Michael in the league though he had appeared on the bench in a few games. It is not certain if Michael will have any role when Bologna visits the San Siro today against Inter Milan.
In another gritty affair, Simy Nwankwo’s Crotone will be up against Victor Osimhen’s SS Napoli tomorrow in their quest for their first league win of the season. Osimhen is still recovering from a shoulder injury and is unavailable for Napoli but Crotone will hope their leading scorer with three goals, Simy is in fine form to convert the chances that come his way.
In the German Bundesliga, Taiwo Awoniyi will travel with Union Berlin to Hertha Berlin in a local derby today and based on the Nigerian exploit last week, it is only a late minute injury that can rule out Awoniyi from the team.
Cologne’s Kingsley Ehizibue will face Wolfsburg today at home with the hope of another good result today to be out of the relegation zone.
Kevin Akpoguma will be in the defense line when Hoffenheim host Augsburg on Monday in their quest to move to the middle of the league table.
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