Football Tracker: Man City face West Ham, Stuttgart set for Hoffenheim battle

Updated
Manchester City's Etihad Stadium
Manchester City's Etihad StadiumCarl Recine / GETTY IMAGES EUROPE / Getty Images via AFP/ Flashscore

It's a blockbuster weekend of football across Europe's top leagues before Christmas, with plenty of intriguing matches to look forward to, while the Africa Cup of Nations gets underway in Morocco.

Listen live to the Premier League.

15:56 CET - More goals in the Bundesliga, this time in the game between Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburg. It was Hamburg who took the lead through Albert Sambi Lokonga in the 19th minute, before Hugo Larsson levelled it up seven minutes later.

15:53 CET - All over between Real Oviedo and Celta Vigo as it has ended goalless, a good, battling point for the hosts as they look to survive the drop.

Read the full report now.

Meanwhile, the next game in LaLiga is just around the corner as Levante welcome Real Sociedad to town.

Follow it from 16:15 CET.

Levante - Real Sociedad lineups
Levante - Real Sociedad lineupsFlashscore

15:45 CET - Wolfsburg hit back fast against Freiburg! Dzenan Pejcinovic has the leveller for the home side in what is still the only game in the Bundesliga with goals so far.

15:35 CET - Underway across the 15:30 CET kick-offs in the Bundesliga, and after just four minutes, we have our first goal. Freiburg have the lead against hosts Wolfsburg through Philipp Treu's exquisite finish.

15:27 CET - All over between Chelsea and Newcastle, with the Blues battling back from a two-goal deficit to earn a point in a pulsating 2-2 draw.

Read the match report now.

Newcastle - Chelsea match stats
Newcastle - Chelsea match statsOpta by StatsPerform

15:12 CET - At the bottom of the Premier League table, Wolves are still chasing their first win of the season after 14 games, with just two points to their name.

Today could be one of their best opportunities as they take on 15th-placed Brentford at Molineux.

Follow the action from 16:00 CET.

Wolves - Brentford lineups
Wolves - Brentford lineupsFlashscore

14:58 CET - All square in the north east! Joao Pedro slices through the Newcastle defence, and coolly slots home a tidy finish to make it 2-2. A great fightback from Chelsea!

14:52 CET - As Newcastle and Chelsea continue to slug it out at St James' Park in what is turning into an end-to-end encounter, there are four more Premier League games to come from 16:00 CET.

The stand-out clash of them sees Manchester City - starting to hit their stride - welcome West Ham, who are winless in their last five and occupy one of the relegation spots before kick-off, to the Etihad Stadium.

It will be a tough test for the Hammers, who Opta believe have just a 9% chance of coming away with all three points today.

Manchester City - West Ham lineups
Manchester City - West Ham lineupsFlashscore

14:48 CET - We have reached the interval in LaLiga, where Real Oviedo will be the happier of the two sides, holding Celta Vigo to a goalless first half.

Follow the second with Flashscore.

Real Oviedo - Celta Vigo match stats
Real Oviedo - Celta Vigo match statsOpta by StatsPerform

14:40 CET - Filth from Reece James! The Chelsea captain has put his side right back in the contest against Newcastle, scoring a beautiful, curling free-kick into the bottom left-hand corner past a diving Aaron Ramsdale. He has halved the arrears - can his side find another?

14:31 CET - It's the final weekend of Bundesliga action of the year, and we have a cracking game to get us going. From 15:30 CET, fifth-placed Hoffenheim travel to Stuttgart, who are just one place and one point behind them.

Both are targeting potential Champions League football next year, and are well in the hunt before the Christmas break. They both were victorious in their last games, but who will come out on top at 15:30 CET?

Stuttgart - Hoffenheim lineups
Stuttgart - Hoffenheim lineupsFlashscore

We have four other games kicking off in Germany at the same time, with both Eintracht Frankfurt and Freiburg in action.

Follow all the Bundesliga action now.

14:22 CET - Half-time at St James' Park, where the first 45 minutes belonged to Nick Woltemade, scoring twice to see Newcastle 2-0 up against Chelsea.

The Blues have had the ball in the net through Pedro Neto, but a blatant handball put pay to any chance of celebrations.

Follow the second half with us right here.

Newcastle - Chelsea match stats
Newcastle - Chelsea match statsOpta by StatsPerform

14:03 CET - Over in Spain, Real Oviedo and Celta Vigo have begun their early afternoon clash in LaLiga - follow it all with us right here.

13:54 CET - It's that man again, Nick Woltemade! A cross from Anthony Gordon finds the tall striker, and he flicks it home. It's an incredibly tight offside call that goes to VAR, but after minutes of deliberation, the goal stands, and Newcastle have a 2-0 lead over Chelsea midway through the first half.

Woltemade is the fourth Newcastle United player to score twice in the opening 20 minutes of a Premier League game at St. James' Park, after Andy Cole vs Liverpool in November 1993, Duncan Ferguson vs Southampton in January 2000, and Jacob Murphy vs Tottenham Hotspur in April 2023.

Nick Woltemade's second goal for Newcastle
Nick Woltemade's second goal for NewcastleOpta by StatsPerform / Owen Humphreys / PA Images / Profimedia

13:34 CET - What a start from the hosts! Nick Woltemade has put last week's disastrous own goal against rivals Sunderland behind him to open the scoring for Newcastle against Chelsea after just four minutes.

A big goal for the German and his manager, Eddie Howe.

13:30 CET - We are underway in the Premier League for what is one of the biggest games of the day as Newcastle United welcome Chelsea to St James' Park.

Listen to the game live with us right here.

13:07 CET - Over to LaLiga, where managerless Real Oviedo will look to end a six-match scoreless run as they welcome European contenders Celta Vigo to town for the first time in 25 years.

The home side are on their third manager of the season, with Uruguayan Guillermo Almada stepping into the breach as they look for their second win of the campaign, something to move them, bit by bit, towards safety.

Things are looking far more rosy for Vigo. They have won five of their last seven league games, including a 2-0 victory over Athletic Club last time out.

Can they continue their good form this afternoon? Find out from 14:00 CET.

Real Oviedo - Celta Vigo lineups
Real Oviedo - Celta Vigo lineupsFlashscore

12:28 CET - Our first game of the day is a big one, as Eddie Howe's Newcastle United host fourth-placed Chelsea in the Premier League's early kick-off.

Premier League: Newcastle Utd - Chelsea (video preview)
Flashscore

The Magpies have won eight of their last nine matches at St James' Park, while Enzo Maresca's men will be hoping to end a four-game losing run in away head-to-heads.

Follow the match from 13:30 CET here.

Starting lineups
Starting lineupsFlashscore

10:30 CET - Good morning and welcome to our Football Tracker on what promises to be a thrilling weekend of action before Christmas!

We've got a massive Saturday ahead as Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool all take to the field in the Premier League, while Juventus host Roma in a mouthwatering clash in Serie A this evening.

Read more: Arsenal facing tricky Everton test

Read more: Liverpool targeting win at Spurs

Here are today's headline games:

Newcastle United vs Chelsea - 13:30 CET

Manchester City vs West Ham - 16:00 CET

RB Leipzig vs Bayer Leverkusen - 18:30 CET

Tottenham vs Liverpool - 18:30 CET

Juventus vs Roma - 20:45 CET

Everton vs Arsenal - 21:00 CET

Real Madrid vs Sevilla - 21:00 CET

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