Our picks: Maidstone keen on more upsets and Napoli look for revival

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Our picks: Maidstone keen on more upsets and Napoli look for revival

Sam Corne of Maidstone United celebrates scoring his team's goal during the Emirates FA Cup third round match against Stevenage
Sam Corne of Maidstone United celebrates scoring his team's goal during the Emirates FA Cup third round match against StevenageAFP
Ipswich will be hoping to avoid a big FA Cup upset against the lowest-ranked side left in the competition this weekend as they welcome Maidstone on Saturday afternoon.

Elsewhere, there are also key clashes to watch out for in Italy's Serie A, the Netherlands' Eredivisie and France's Ligue 1.

Take a look at our editors' top picks of intriguing fixtures across Europe this weekend:

Ipswich v Maidstone - Brad Ferguson

Ipswich Town will be looking to avoid a banana skin when they host National League South Maidstone United at Portman Road on Saturday in the FA Cup.

Maidstone are the lowest-ranked side left in the competition after ousting Stevenage at their humble Kent ground in the third round.

While they may have hoped for the glamour of a Premier League visit to their 4,200-capacity Gallagher Stadium, a trip to the Championship's second-placed side will have to suffice.

Form for both sides
Form for both sidesFlashscore

Former Wolves player and Maidstone current manager George Elokobi has taken The Stones' cup run in his stride, enjoying each game as it comes with a smile on his face without seeing it as any sort of unwanted distraction from his side's push for a play-off place in the league.

They currently sit fourth in England's sixth tier and will be aiming to make more history in arguably the biggest game in the club's history.

That being said, they're coming off a shaky run of form with just a single point taken from their previous three games against Havant & WaterloovilleSlough and Braintree.

Separated by almost 100 places in the English football pyramid, Ipswich are hitting a form roadblock themselves and will be hoping a tie against minnows Maidstone will perk up their confidence levels.

Championship standings
Championship standingsFlashscore

Despite the impressive form of Brighton loanee Jeremy Sarmiento - who secured them a vital point against league leaders Leicester in their last Championship outing - Ipswich have laboured to draws in five of their previous seven games, leaving them peeping over their shoulders at Southampton in the push for the automatic promotion places. 

A cup exit might not be the worst thing in the world for Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna in allowing him to focus on the more important matters at hand, yet an exit to a side that has just reached this stage for the first time since they were reformed in 1992 would probably be too disastrous for the morale of his players and the club's supporters.

It would be wise then for the Tractor Boys to take this fixture very seriously or risk the wheels fully coming off their season.

Lazio v Napoli - Ste Carson

Reigning Serie A champions Napoli find themselves 21 points adrift of current leaders Juventus.

Not just that, but the Azzurri are slumped in ninth – two points behind their hosts this weekend, Lazio, and at risk of slipping even further.

Speaking of the Biancocelesti – they're in a fine run of form, having won four matches on the spin, and will fancy themselves at home.

Napoli, however, despite beating Salernitana last week, are in a rough patch (1W, 1D, 2L).

Serie A table
Serie A tableFlashscore

Truth be told, it has been an overall tepid season for them thus far.

Defeats to Torino and Roma on their last two away days leaves a dark cloud over the capital for the faltering champions.

Lazio captain Ciro Immobile hasn't been setting the league on fire this term (4G, 0A), but he is the player they often look toward for a moment of magic.

Former Liverpool man Luis Alberto's efforts can sometimes go underappreciated – he will certainly be one to keep an eye on this weekend.

Form for both sides
Form for both sidesFlashscore

Compounding Napoli's unfortunate situation is Victor Osimhen's unavailability due to partaking in AFCON with Nigeria.

The Azzurri will be hoping they can bet on fellow talisman Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and diamond in the rough Matteo Politano to pull something out of the bag.

The signs mostly point to Lazio taking all three points this weekend, but Napoli have a talented squad and are the reigning Italian champions for a reason.

Whichever way the cookie crumbles at the Stadio Olimpico, it's sure to be something special to watch.

Brest v PSG - Ali Pollock

Third-placed Brest host league leaders PSG in Ligue 1 on Sunday, looking to close the gap to the top of the table and continue their superb unbeaten run.

The hosts, managed by former Sunderland midfielder Eric Roy, haven’t lost in their last nine games in all competitions.

In their last five Ligue 1 games they’ve won four and drawn one while scoring 10 goals and only conceding once.

Ligue 1 standings
Ligue 1 standingsFlashscore

PSG have a near-identical record with the same number of wins, draws and goals scored – but have conceded two more times in their last five.

As expected, Kylian Mbappe is the key man for the Parisians.

The forward is the only player in the entire league to have hit double figures for goals this season, with his tally of 19 at least 10 more than anyone else.

Sunday’s clash pits two of the form teams in the division against each other and if anyone is going to stop PSG then it will likely be Brest.

Romain Del Castillo is their main outlet with five goals and five assists.

Former Norwich man Pierre Lees-Melou is also one to watch, having been at the heart of the hosts’ midfield all season and consistently delivering top performances. 

Feyenoord v FC Twente - Anthony Paphitis

Feyenoord take on FC Twente in the Eredivisie's marquee fixture of the weekend as both teams look to narrow the gap on runaway leaders PSV.

Hosts Feyenoord could consider themselves a little unlucky to be sitting in second behind an unbeaten PSV side at present given their excellent start to the season.

Their 42 points would have had them top of the pile at this stage last term, which was actually where they were positioned with one point less.

Top of the Eredivisie
Top of the EredivisieFlashscore

Arne Slot's team have done their best to keep pace as they attempt to close a 10-point gap, and they have plenty of firepower at their disposal to do that.

They will, of course, be looking in the direction of Santiago Gimenez to do the business, with the Mexican striker spearheading the attack with a stellar 19 goals in 18 games.

Gimenez has a solid supporting cast too with the likes of Calvin Stengs (5G, 8A), Quinten Timber (6G, 6A) and right-back Lutsharel Geertruida (5G, 2A) all contributing nicely.

Yet Feyenoord will have to be careful of a third-placed Twente side equally capable of dealing some damage.

Previous H2Hs
Previous H2HsFlashscore

Arriving in Rotterdam five points off their hosts, the travelling De Tukkers know victory could be key in edging them closer towards a Champions League spot.

Twente, though, haven't necessarily clicked lately - dropping out of the Dutch Cup to PSV and suffering a 1-0 league defeat at Nijmegen last week.

Midfielder and top scorer Sem Steijn with his 10 goals will be one of their main threats as will Costa Rican striker Manfred Ugalde, with 13 contributions of his own (7G, 6A).

A worry for Twente will be their pretty poor recent record when visiting Feyenoord - their 2-1 win in 2022 standing as their only victory at De Kuip since 2013.

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