A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Friday:
SPAIN
Last-place Huesca tries to end a seven-game winless streak when it visits Valladolid in the Spanish league. Huesca is the team with the fewest goals scored in the competition this season, with 14. It hasn’t found the net in four consecutive league games. Valladolid, coming off two straight draws, sits 16th in the 20-team standings, two points from the relegation zone. It was eliminated by Levante in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey.
FRANCE
Bordeaux winger Hatem Ben Arfa is in fine form heading to Lyon to face the club which launched his career in 2004, when the 17-year-old was French soccer’s brightest talent alongside then-teammate Karim Benzema. He never reached the heights Benzema has in a glittering career with Real Madrid, but Ben Arfa is enjoying a good spell at the ninth club of his stop-start career. In 12 games he has scored twice and provided four assists to help Bordeaux climb to seventh place. However, Lyon is formidable this season and a win will move Rudi Garcia’s side above Paris Saint-Germain and into top spot before the weekend’s games.
GERMANY
Mainz looked headed for relegation before Christmas but has been revitalized under new coach Bo Svensson and will play Stuttgart off the back of a 3-2 win over high-flying Leipzig. Svensson played at Mainz under now-Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel. Like Tuchel’s Mainz a decade ago, Svensson’s team has little fear of the Bundesliga’s big clubs, having also drawn with Borussia Dortmund. However, it’s still seven points from safety. Stuttgart started well but slipped down the table and is on a three-game winless run. Top scorer Silas Wamangituka has scored in his last three league games and could be a deciding factor against Mainz.
ITALY
Torino drew its first match under new coach Davide Nicola last week and will be hoping to go one better against fellow struggler Fiorentina. Fiorentina also changed its coach in November and has inched into midtable thanks to narrow wins over relegation-threatened sides Cagliari and Crotone. Those wins came either side of a 6-0 thrashing at Napoli. Fiorentina is seven points clear of Torino and the relegation zone.
___
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
