Liverpool will hit the road and travel to Germany to take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday night, and they are in desperate need of a victory after literally losing four straight games. The fourth of those losses was to rivals Manchester United, and that's the most concerning loss, given where Manchester United have been this season and where Liverpool aim to be.

Real Madrid superstar Trent Alexander-Arnold hasn't been able to get off to the right start at his new home in the Spanish capital, but that's also partially because he's missed the past month with a nagging hamstring injury. Well, Trent is getting closer and closer to his expected return date, and while there are questions as to whether or not he will be ready for Sundays' all-important battle with Raphinha and Barcelona for his first El Clasico, he will be ready for a game that may be even bigger to him personally.

After watching Liverpool drop all three points to rivals Manchester United, Arsenal now stand clearly alone at the top of the Premier League and suddenly look like this is their best chance at winning the title. Mikel Arteta has come so close for three consecutive years, and whlie both Manchester City and Liverpool are legitimate challengers this season, the algorithms back Arsenal as the favorites.

Liverpool started the season off well enough, but they have been major disappointments recently and aren't getting the same luck to go their way in the close games now. While a lot of criticism has been sent at the new faces who are joining a team that already won the Premier League last season, the biggest issues with Liverpool have been some of their biggest players.

Once again, Real Madrid picked up the full three points in a La Liga weekend, maintaing their spot at the top of the league table heading into next weekend's pivotal El Clasico - the first of manager Xabi Alonso's tenure. But Real Madrid only beat Getafe by the skin of their teeth on Sunday night, requiring more late-game heroics from Ballon d'Or headliner Kylian Mbappe in order to squeak past their local rivals.

Real Madrid are realizing that despite the breakout of Arda Guler and the return of Jude Bellingham from a shoulder injury, they remain thin in the midfield department overall. That's what happens when you lose two club legends in Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in each of the past two seasons, and with Fede Valverde off to a slow start in the 2025/26 season, more midfield reenforcements could be coming for Xabi Alonso next year.

As Barcelona gear up to face rivals Real Madrid in La Liga next weekend, they have to worry about being shorthanded in the attack with Raphinha and Ferran Torres only just being ready to return from injuries for El Clasico. Neither star forward will be able to play against Olympiacos on Tuesday afternoon in the Champions League, and Barcelona are already missing Dani Olmo and star striker Robert Lewandowski.

Real Madrid young star Endrick recently returned from an injury, but he is still finding it almost impossible to get minutes in a crowded Real Madrid attacking rotation. Even when there is an opportunity for Endrick to get into the game and help the team, he has been eschewed for other options, and the same situation played out this weekend against Getafe.

Barcelona are gearing up for a big challenge against La Liga leaders Real Madrid in Sunday's Clasico, and they will likely have to beat Ballon d'Or frontrunner Kylian Mbappe and his gang while shorthanded with their own attack. But beyond the potential absences of strikers Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, as well as superstar left winger Raphinha, the Blaugrana also have lingering injuries elsewhere in the squad.

Raphinha has missed the last few games for Barcelona with a hamstring injury, while fellow starting forward Ferran Torres also recently suffered a muscular strain that has kept him out of the action. Neither Barcelona attacker will be able to feature for the club on Tuesday afternoon in the Champions League against Greek powerhouse Olympiacos, and their statuses for the bigger match on Sunday against La Liga leaders Real Madrid is entirely uncertain.

Although Juventus have fallen hard since they were last Champions League title rivals with Real Madrid in the 2010s, the Bianconeri have enough talent to cause Los Blancos some issues on Wednesday night, especially if Xabi Alonso's young side is too distracted by a vital El Clasico this coming Sunday. But Juve could head into the matchup with Real Madrid short-handed from an attacking perspective, as star right winger Edon Zhegrova is back on the injured list again with some muscular fatigue.

Barcelona are currently reeling with a number of high-profile injuries, as forwards Raphinha and Ferran Torres have already been ruled out of tomorrow's Champions League clash against Olympiacos. So with Real Madrid looming in La Liga, Barcelona are going to need some other key players in the squad to step up in the final third in order to avoid any sort of a letdown against a Greek side filled with veteran players.

Real Madrid center back Antonio Rudiger was a key player in the 2023/24 season when Los Blancos conquered both the La Liga and Champions League titles again, making a bigger name for himself by shutting down Manchester City superstar striker Erling Haaland in the knockout stages of the competition. Rudiger is now a two-time Champions League winner with both Real Madrid and Chelsea, but his reputation took a major hit last season with putrid defensive performances, mental errors, and famously ill-disciplined blow-ups.

Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres has been criticized way too much by fans outside of the Emirates, because anyone who is actually watching him play can tell that he's helped the Gunners significantly. Not only is he the team's leading goal scorer, but he is also doing an excellent job with his hold-up play to draw fouls and free up space for others.

Chelsea just made a big statement in the Premier League this weekend with a 3-0 victory over Ange Postecoglou's Nottingham Forest, sending the former Tottenham Hotspur manager back on the unemployment line. But what's next for Chelsea? Let's make some quick predictions about how the Blues could do in their next seven games, which includes a trip to face the aforementioned Spurs.

Liverpool are entering a state of panic right now after a horrid 2-1 loss to Manchester United, falling to a rival that was previously buried in the bottom half of the Premier League and in crisis mode themselves. Arne Slot has a lot to figure out about this new-look Liverpool side, as the Reds look even worse to start the 2025/26 season despite a heavy dose of offseason investment.

After Manchester United upset Liverpool and Tottenham fell yet again to Aston Villa, it's time to take stock of the predicted top five of the 2025/26 Premier League table after another thrilling weekend of action on Matchday 8. 5. Tottenham Bournemouth are so hard to leave off this list, and Tottenham Hotspur are just barely hanging on to the fifth spot.

Barcelona are working out the future of their striker position while they continue to compete with Real Madrid in the La Liga title race, which will be complicated further by a Clasico this coming Sunday. With Marcus Rashford in the fold, Barcelona technically have three people auditioning to be the striker next season, but, right now, it looks like Ferran Torres is the Blaugrana's pick to succeed Robert Lewandowski, with the legendary Polish international likely to leave at the end of the season.

Real Madrid were able to survive a scare from a usually stingy Getafe on Sunday night, as Arda Guler and Kylian Mbappe combined to help Los Merengues grind out a 1-0 win. But the real hero may have been goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois again, as the Belgian superstar made a wonderful one-on-one save at the last second, stretching to bail Real Madrid out of what would have been a draw to erase a two point lead over Barcelona in the table heading into Sunday's El Clasico.

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has been under more fire than any other coach in world football - well, besides Ange Postecoglou, but he already got fired this weekend. But as the saying goes, let your praise be as loud as your disrespect, and although the direspect directed at Amorim has been valid, the Portuguese manager is getting back on the right track.

Real Madrid will face Juventus on Wednesday in the Champions League, and while injury news is generally negative for the Merengues, lately, there have been a host of positive updates on that front with El Clasico against Barcelona looming large on Sunday. Star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois seems to have avoided serious injury against Getafe, Dean Huijsen should be back for the Barcelona battle, and even one of the star right backs (Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dani Carvajal) could make their anticipated return for the match vs.

Bayern Munich star forward Serge Gnabry has been dealing with an adductor issue over the past couple of days, and Die Roten have actually been missing the German international for a bit, since he hasn't played since Oct. 4 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the league. Ahead of Bayern's upcoming Champions League matchup against Club Brugge on Wednesday, the club are worried about their attacking depth and options, but it looks like Gnabry will be a go.

Liverpool have been whipped into a state of concern following a terrible loss to Manchester United, and if the Reds want to have a successful title defense this season, then they are going to need to resolve some major issues in the squad. An issue that isn't actually an issue, though, is the play of new playmaker Florian Wirtz. Since he was a new addition to the formula that won the Premier League last year, a few bad results led to Wirtz receiving the brunt of the criticism.

Chelsea picked up another huge win over the weekend in the Premier League, starting off everyone's Matchday 8 with a statement-making 3-0 pummeling of Nottingham Forest, which led directly to the unsurprising sacking of former rival manager Ange Postecoglou. The Blues are quietly sneaking behind rivals Arsenal as main title contenders, especially with Liverpool slipping up as of late, losing over the weekend to their struggling rivals Manchester United.

As anyone could have guessed, Juventus have been poor to start the 2025/26 Serie A season with Igor Tudor at the helm, and they suffered another humiliating defeat on Sunday, getting shut out 2-0 by Nico Paz and Como. The Bianconeri are sitting outside the top five and look like a long shot to make it to the Champions League with the way underdog clubs like Bologa and Como are cleaning house in comparison to the disjoined Bianconeri.