The new wave of the pandemic is shaking up the sports calendar, including football competitions.
While several meetings have already been postponed and others remain threatened,
Le Figaro
takes stock of the situation, championship by championship, for this weekend.
France
Among the five "
big
»European championships, Ligue 1 is the one which is the hardest affected by the postponement of matches this weekend. The confrontation between Angers SCO and AS Saint-Etienne, initially scheduled for this Sunday (3 p.m.), had already been canceled at the end of 2021 due to too many positive cases of Covid-19 within the Angevin workforce. It has already been rescheduled for Wednesday January 26 (7 p.m.). Lille-Lorient, which was to be played this Saturday (5 p.m.), was also postponed after the detection of twelve cases of contamination in the Breton ranks. Finally, the confrontation between Montpellier and ESTAC, scheduled for this Sunday (3 p.m.), was also postponed because of thirteen cases of infections among Trojan players. The shock of the 20th day of Ligue 1 between Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain (Sunday, 8:45 p.m.),For his part, should argue with Lucas Paqueta, back in training after being declared positive during his vacation, but without several Parisian players like Angel Di Maria, Julian Draxler, Gianluigi Donnarumma or Danilo Pereira, all contaminated.
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England
No Premier League match is scheduled for this Saturday and Sunday. Not because of the new wave of the pandemic, but quite simply because the weekend is dedicated to the 3rd round of the FA Cup. So far, no meeting has been postponed. However, we are not immune from another surprise. Last Thursday, the League Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Arsenal could not take place and was postponed after the discovery of numerous positive cases at the Reds. They must face Shrewsbury Town Football Club (League One, English D3) this Sunday (3 p.m.). Chelsea, for its part, receives this Saturday (6.30 p.m.) FC Chesterfield (National league, English D5) without N'Golo Kanté or even Thiago Silva, both placed in solitary confinement after a positive test.
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Germany
In Germany, the 18th Bundesliga matchday should go smoothly. Well almost. If no match, for the moment, has been postponed yet, some teams are still affected by the epidemic and will be forced to show a great ability to adapt. Like Bayern Munich, which hosted Borussia Mönchengladbach this Friday evening with only thirteen professional players available due to nine cases of contamination within its workforce, but also the absences of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Bouna Sarr , gone to compete in the African Cup of Nations. Among the meetings to follow, Borussia Dortmund of Erling Haaland will come to the lawn of Eintracht Frankfurt this Saturday (6.30 p.m.). Earlier, at 3.30 p.m., RB Leipzig will host Mainz and Bayer Leverkusen will host Union Berlin.
See also Bundesliga: Bayern Munich requests the postponement of their resumption match
Italy
Italian football is not spared by the pandemic. Last Thursday, no less than four matches of the 20th day of Serie A could not take place. Four formations of the transalpine elite, Bologna, Salernitana, Torino and Udinese, had been banned from travel and placed in isolation by the health authorities due to a large number of contaminations. The 21st day of the first division championship, scheduled in its entirety this Sunday, is however not called into question. All matches are maintained. At least so far. AC Milan will move to the Venice lawn (12:30 p.m.), while Juventus Turin will face AS Roma at the very end of the afternoon (6.30 p.m.) and Inter Milan will host Lazio Rome in the evening ( 8:45 p.m.).
Read alsoSerie A: Omicron prevents four teams from showing up, the League refuses to postpone the matches
Spain
In Spain, the pandemic should not cause any postponement by Monday evening.
The 20th day of La Liga should therefore go almost normally.
A bit like in Germany, some formations will have to adapt, even if it means drawing from the players of their reserve team.
Last week, FC Barcelona made the trip to the lawn of Mallorca (0-1) with many young people to compensate for all his absences.
Xavi Hernandez, the new Catalan coach, had also deplored the maintenance of the meeting.
In vain.
This Saturday (6.30 p.m.), against Granada, the Blaugrana should always be reduced.
For its part, Real Madrid will receive Valencia a little later (9 p.m.).
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Elsewhere in Europe
In the other European championships scheduled for this weekend, namely in Portugal and Turkey, the pandemic should not have consequences on the holding of matches either.
All meetings are maintained.
In Liga Portugal Bwin, FC Porto will travel this Saturday (7 p.m.) on the lawn of Estoril.
In Süper Lig, Galatasaray receives this Saturday Giresunspor (7 p.m.) while Besiktas go to the enclosure of Rizespor (Sunday, 5 p.m.).