'Maeda has been red-hot in recent weeks, benefiting from the departure of Kyogo Furuhashi to Rennes in the winter transfer window. In Premiership matches in 2025, he has at least one goal or assist in 11 of the 12 games he has started.

The Japanese has a strong record against Rangers this season, too. He has three goals and one assist against the Gers in the four matches they have played this term across all competitions.

He might have failed to net on his previous trip to Ibrox, but he should be in the thick of the action here.'

"This might seem an unconventional pick, but stylistically, this is a matchup that suits Guimaraes' more adventurous side. While not known as a volume shooter, he's managed 2+ shots in two of his last three starts, and in three of his last four he's attempted at least one effort.

Against Brighton, he’s been similarly assertive: two shots in the FA Cup clash, and another attempt as a substitute earlier this season, where he is averaging 1.85 shots per 90 minutes against them this season. Away from home, he's managed at least one shot in four of his last six."

"Bergvall has won 17 fouls across his 27 Premier League appearances this season, 11 of these have been starts, taking his average to 1.27 fouls won per 90. Bergvall was also brought down on three occasions in Liverpool’s 5-1 win over Tottenham last time out.

Bergvall didn’t feature in the initial meeting between the sides, but each of Kulusevski, Bissouma and Maddison were hauled down at least once in Tottenham’s 4-1 win over the Hammers with the Tottenham midfield drawing six fouls in total from the East London side who committed 15 fouls overall in the game."

"Caicedo has been Chelsea’s standout performer this season. He’s featured in almost every game for the Blues in the Premier League this campaign which has seen him play as a holding midfielder and as an inverted fullback in recent games to allow for the introduction of Romeo Lavia to Chelsea’s midfield. 

Caicedo was hauled down three times in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Chelsea earlier on in the campaign. He contested nine duels in that game with Liverpool going on to commit 12 fouls in total. This is a feature of Liverpool’s play, they press quite high up the pitch which naturally sees plenty of fouls committed on opposition holding midfielders in particular. 

Caicedo has won 54 fouls across his 34 appearances for Chelsea in the Premier League this season (1.62 per 90). Liverpool have already shown that they can force a rise in this average as we saw in the initial league meeting between the sides. Caicedo is excellent in tight spaces and usually finds himself in own individual battles which he usually wins, aided by his brilliant reading of the game to sniff out danger. 

Caicedo is likely to be up against Dominik Szoboszlai who committed a foul in the initial meeting and was shown a yellow card. Szoboszlai is averaging 1.47 fouls committed per 90 in the Premier League this season, in line with the suggestion that Liverpool use their attackers as the first form of defence. He’ll also contest duels against Alexis Mac Allister who is averaging 2.11 fouls committed per 90 in the Premier League this season."

"When it comes to the Basque Derby, cards aren’t just likely—they’re almost inevitable. This is one of Spain’s most passionate rivalries, and under the lights at Reale Arena, tempers tend to flare more than fireworks.

Even outside the derby context, Real Sociedad's home fixtures are consistently card-heavy. They average 4.94 cards per game at Reale Arena in La Liga, and 10 of their 16 home games have seen 5 or more cards, with two more narrowly missing at 4—showing just how regularly the threshold is approached or exceeded.

While Athletic Bilbao’s away matches have been slightly less volatile, with 6 of 16 clearing this line, this rivalry skews the data. Six of the last seven Basque Derbies have produced at least 5 cards, with the average across their last 12 meetings sitting at 5.75 total cards per game. That’s an outstanding indicator of this fixture’s physicality and emotional charge.

Add to that the European implications for both sides and a fiery crowd behind the home team, and this card line looks well-supported from every angle—historical, statistical, and situational."