A look at what’s happening in European football on Friday:
ENGLAND
The focus switches from the Premier League to the FA Cup as Manchester United goes for a seventh straight win in all competitions in a home match against struggling Everton to kick off the third round. A defeat for Everton at Old Trafford would pile the pressure on manager Frank Lampard, whose future looks uncertain after just one win in 11 games since Oct. 1. The most recent setback was a 4-1 home loss to Brighton in the league on Tuesday, after which there were loud jeers from fans. United is on a roll under Erik ten Hag, having climbed into the league top four and the quarterfinals of the English League Cup. The third round of the FA Cup is when the teams from England’s top two divisions join the famous old competition.
SPAIN
Last-placed Elche hosts Celta Vigo looking to pick up its first win of the season in the league. Elche is the only team yet to win in the competition after 15 matches, and it is coming off elimination against third-division club Ceuta in the Copa del Rey. It will face a Celta team that also failed to advance in the round of 32 of the Copa, though it lost to fellow first-division club Espanyol. Celta hasn’t won in eight league matches and sits just outside the relegation zone in 17th place. Elche is last with four points, eight points behind second-to-last Cádiz.
FRANCE
Paris Saint-Germain will be without star forwards Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and Lionel Messi for a French Cup match at third-tier Châteauroux in the round of 64. The star trio are being rested by PSG, which has won the cup a record 14 times but was knocked out in the round of 16 last season. It would be a massive upset if PSG loses at Châteauroux, which sits in 14th place in its division. Among the other cup matches, Strasbourg hosts fellow struggler Angers in an all-first division game and Montpellier travels to face second-tier Pau.
