European and EFL fixtures included Aston Villa away at Barcelona on Tuesday, Liverpool away at Fenerbahce on Wednesday and West Brom hosting Southampton at the Hawthorns on Tuesday. Several of the games came with notable form lines and table context.
Barcelona against Aston Villa
Aston Villa were due to play away at Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday. Barcelona had 12 wins from 14 so far this season. Football365 said it would be Villa's first meeting with Barcelona since the 1982 Super Cup. Football365 said Unai Emery had not come up against a La Liga side since he left Villarreal to take on his current role four years ago. Football365 said Emery had only won three times from 30 previous attempts against Barcelona. Football365 said the only teams to beat Barcelona had been Real Madrid and PSG.
Wednesday's European fixtures
Liverpool were due to play away at Fenerbahce on Wednesday. Football365 said Dirk Kuyt was in interim charge of Fenerbahce. Football365 said Kuyt's first game in charge ended in a 2-1 defeat. Football365 said Fenerbahce had held Roma and Slavia Prague to draws in their two previous home matches in the league phase. Football365 said Besiktas were the only team to beat Fenerbahce at home this season in the league.
Manchester City were due to play away at RB Leipzig on Wednesday, while Arsenal were due to play away at Slavia Prague on Wednesday. City had beaten AEK Athens 5-1 in their most recent Champions League game, but had suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats against Aston Villa and Brighton and needed penalties to knock Brighton out of the Carabao Cup. Football365 said RB Leipzig had won three games in a row since being heavily beaten by Real Madrid in their last Champions League game. Football365 said that 4-1 defeat by Real Madrid directly followed a 6-1 defeat by Bayern Munich. Football365 said RB Leipzig were the team Erling Haaland had scored most against in his career, with 12 goals from eight meetings, and said five of those goals came in one game in 2023.
Manchester United against Roma
Manchester United were due to host Roma on Tuesday. Football365 said Donyell Malen had left Aston Villa for Roma in January. Football365 said Malen had become Serie A's most prolific goalscorer after joining Roma and had 11 goals from 12 games this season. Football365 said Malen had only played twice off the bench against Manchester United for Aston Villa. Football365 said Manchester United's only clean sheet this season had come against Sabah.
Championship and Thursday schedule
West Brom were due to host Southampton in the Championship on Tuesday at the Hawthorns. One point separated the sides going into the match, and Southampton had the better goal difference. Cyle Larin was among the league's top scorers.
Bournemouth had won their first three Europa League games. Football365 said one of those wins was against AC Milan. Bournemouth were due to play away at Sparta Prague at 5:45pm on Thursday.
