A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Wednesday:
ENGLAND
Tottenham aims to revive its faltering push for a top-four spot in the Premier League when it travels across London to face Crystal Palace in search of its first win since before the World Cup break. Tottenham is coming off a dispiriting 2-0 home loss to Aston Villa and had to come from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw at Brentford on Boxing Day, raising new questions about manager Antonio Conte’s future at the club. West Ham and Southampton, meanwhile, are both trying to end five-game losing streaks. Southampton hosts Nottingham Forest in a relegation scrap while West Ham travels to Leeds. Also, Villa hosts Wolverhampton looking for a fourth win in five league games under new manager Unai Emery.
SPAIN
Coach Xavi will rest most of his regular starters when Barcelona makes its Copa del Rey debut against lower-division club Intercity in the round of 32. Barcelona and the other three teams in the Spanish Super Cup — Real Madrid, Real Betis and Valencia — had not yet played in the competition until now. Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone also was set to rest his top players when Atlético faces Oviedo. Sevilla is at Linares, while Real Sociedad takes on Logroñés, Valladolid visits Alavés and Mallorca faces Pontevedra.
ITALY
Serie A resumes with a full slate of 10 games following a 7 1/2-week break for the World Cup. Unbeaten Napoli takes an eight-point lead into a visit to Inter Milan at the San Siro. Napoli forwards Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen should be fresh since they didn’t go to the World Cup. Defending champion AC Milan also resumes on the road at Salernitana, which just signed Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa following a solid performance at his fifth World Cup. Scandal-ridden Juventus plays at relegation-threatened Cremonese. Spanish defender Pablo Marí is slated to be back on Monza’s bench after recovering from a knife attack at a shopping center in October. Monza visits Fiorentina, which has Nordin Amrabat back from a breakout performance with Morocco in Qatar.
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