MATCHDAY: Arsenal, City meet in English League Cup quarters

A look at what’s happening around European soccer on Tuesday:

ENGLAND

English League Cup reaches quarterfinals st this week and Manchester City is closing in on ar slice of history under Pep Guardiola. City's players lifted trophy for third consecutive year last season and are three matches away from winning four in a row, which will match achievement of Liverpool in 1980s. Arsenal is City's opponent in last eight in latest he-to-he between Guardiola and man who was his assistant at City for 3 1/2 years, Mikel Arteta. or match sees second-tier Brentford host Newcastle and look for ar win over Premier League opposition having beaten Southampton, West Bromwich Albion and Fulham en route to quarters.

SPAIN

Real Socied hosts Atlético Mrid seeking a win to stop its skid and pull back level with league leers. Back-to-back losses after three straight draws have Socied three points rift of Atlético and Real Mrid, in second place on goal difference. A win would revive Socied’s bid to become a longshot candidate for title, while ar loss would leave it with a big gap to make up. Barcelona also needs to win when it visits Vallolid if it wants to stay in touch. Lionel Messi’s side is in fifth place after being held to a draw by Valencia over weekend. Sevilla will visit Valencia also on Tuesday, while Levante is at Huesca, and Elche hosts last-place Osasuna.

ITALY

Juventus will be confident of ending year with its unbeaten league record intact as nine-time defending champion prepares to welcome relegation-threatened Fiorentina. Juventus is one of only two teams still to lose in Serie A along with leer AC Milan, and has won three of its past four league matches. Its latest success was a 4-0 rout of Parma. Fiorentina is just four points above drop zone but re are signs new coach Cesare Prandelli is beginning to turn things around. Prandelli lost his first match in charge but drew next two, against high-flying Sassuolo and Hellas Verona. Elsewhere, Parma is only five points above relegation zone but will be hopeful of inching furr away as it visits bottom club Crotone.

GERMANY

Schalke is hoping for some pre-Christmas tonic for its barren run in Bundesliga when it hosts fourth-tier Ulm in second round of German Cup. Gelsenkirchen-based club is in crisis amid its worst ever run in league – a run of 29 games without a win that interim coach Huub Stevens failed to stop against Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday. Stevens, who took over from fired Manuel Baum last week, remains in charge for just game against Ulm, where it is hoped desolate players can restore some confidence against a team that plays three levels below in German soccer league system. Ulm would rmally host game in its modest stium, but coronavirus pandemic has forced many smaller clubs to give up ir home right for logistical reasons. Borussia Dortmund visits second-division Eintracht Braunschweig for new coach Edin Terzić’s third game in charge, Borussia Mönchenglbach visits fourth-tier SV Elversberg, Union Berlin and Cologne host second-division Perborn and Osnabrück, respectively, and Leipzig visits Augsburg for a Bundesliga duel. Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen h ir games postponed to January to avoid overburdening players.

(Im Courtesy: AP)