A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Tuesday:
ENGLAND
Wrexham, a Welsh team from the fifth tier of English soccer and owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, looks to cause another upset in the FA Cup and set up a last-16 match against Tottenham. Wrexham visits second-tier Sheffield United in one of four fourth-round replays. The teams drew a wild match 3-3 last month at Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground. Wrexham is the lowest-ranked team left in the draw and the only club from outside English soccer’s top four leagues. It is gaining increasing publicity after being bought by Reynolds and McElhenney in November 2020 and being used by the celebrities in a behind-the-scenes TV series called “Welcome To Wrexham.” Among the other replays is a match between third-tier teams Fleetwood Town and Sheffield Wednesday while fourth-tier Grimsby hosts Luton, which is fourth in the second-tier Championship.
ITALY
Juventus travels to Salernitana in what has surprisingly become a relegation battle, with both sides perilously close to the bottom three. A 15-point penalty for false accounting and a poor run of results has left Juventus just seven points above the relegation zone. Salernitana is two points behind Juventus and can leapfrog the Bianconeri with a second successive victory after last weekend’s win at Lecce ended a run of seven matches without a win. Juventus needed a last-minute goal to salvage a 2-2 draw against Salernitana when they met in Turin in September in a match that saw three red cards in the closing stages.
GERMANY
Local rivals meet in the German Cup when Eintracht Frankfurt hosts second-division leader Darmstadt. Frankfurt goes into the game unbeaten in eight games in all competitions since before the World Cup. In another last-16 cup game, Freiburg visits second-division Sandhausen looking to turn its form around after recent Bundesliga setbacks. Freiburg entered 2023 in the hunt for Champions League qualification but has just four points from four games and has lost games 6-0 and 5-1.
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