Leading the Italian top flight by two points ahead of a large chasing pack, La Dea had suffered a rare setback a few days earlier – losing to Real Madrid in the Champions League – but normal service was resumed at the weekend.

Still vying for a top-eight finish in the league phase of Europe’s top tournament, and leading the way in an enthralling title race, Atalanta can claim to be targeting four trophies this season, following last term’s groundbreaking Europa League triumph.

Also set to take part in the Supercoppa Italiana next month, the Bergamo club will first start their latest cup campaign, returning to the Coppa Italia for the first time since losing 1-0 to Juventus in May’s final.

Ever demanding, head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has tempered praise with words of caution as his team try to secure the club’s first Scudetto, but Atalanta undoubtedly start favourites to reach the Coppa quarter-finals.

Having won four of the sides’ last five league meetings since knocking Cesena out of the cup back in 2009, the Bergamaschi will expect to continue in that vein on Wednesday.

While Atalanta are just entering the competition due to their Champions League obligations, Michele Mignani‘s men have reached this stage of the Coppa by taking the scenic route.

After seeing off Padova in the preliminary round, they were handed a first-round tie away to top-flight opposition, and Cristian Shpendi scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over Hellas Verona at Stadio Bentegodi.

Then, Raffaele Celia‘s strike eliminated Cesena’s fellow Serie B promotion contenders Pisa in September, since when they have returned to fighting for a top-eight finish in Italy’s second tier.

After Saturday’s 2-1 win over Cosenza, the Bianconeri sit fourth in the standings and are on course for a playoff spot, although 12 points separate them from the automatic promotion places as things stand.

Amid a packed schedule, Atalanta will surely take the chance to make multiple changes, with fringe players such as Nicolo Zaniolo and Lazar Samardzic being offered rare starts.

Serie A top scorer Mateo Retegui could be among those rested by Gian Piero Gasperini, though captain Marten de Roon may return after being benched at the weekend.

Giorgio Scalvini is struggling with a muscular problem and Gianluca Scamacca has yet to make his comeback from an ACL rupture, though fears about a serious chest injury to Isak Hien were quelled after returning from Cagliari; having sustained some bruising, the latter should also sit out Wednesday’s game.

Meanwhile, Cesena have suffered a big setback before making the trip to Bergamo, as main marksman Cristian Shpendi left the pitch in tears during the win over Cosenza, and a sprained ankle could keep Serie B’s leading scorer sidelined for several weeks.

Sydney van Hooijdonk is therefore in line for promotion from the bench, potentially linking up with rising star Tommaso Berti, who scored the Bianconeri’s crucial second goal on Saturday.

Sierra Leone striker Augustus Kargbo is another contender to deputise as the spearhead of a likely 3-4-2-1 formation.

Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Djimsiti, Toloi, Godfrey; Palestra, De Roon, Pasalic, Zappacosta; Samardzic, Brescianini; Zaniolo

Cesena possible starting lineup:
Pisseri; Curto, Prestia, Mangraviti; Ceesay, Calo, Bastoni, Donnarumma; Berti, Antonucci; Van Hooijdonk

That being said, Los Blancos were forced to settle for a point at the home of Rayo Vallecano on Saturday evening, when goals from Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham and Brazil international Rodrygo were not enough to secure a total success at Estadio de Vallecas in front of 14,000 fans.

Dropping points for the sixth time this season at the top table of Spanish football, Real Madrid have dropped down to third place in the La Liga standings ahead of their festive trip to the Middle East, one point behind league leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in second.

Focusing on individuals for a moment, summer signing Kylian Mbappe has failed to truly set the world alight at the Santiago Bernabeu just yet, with the Frenchman arguably struggling to fit alongside all of the other Galacticos in Carlo Ancelotti‘s exciting class of 2024-25.

Real Madrid earned their spot in Wednesday night’s final at Lusail Stadium in Qatar courtesy of winning UEFA’s elite club competition at Wembley Stadium in June, when second-half strikes from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Jr sealed a two-goal success over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League’s showpiece match.

Pachuca have taken a more convoluted route to this week’s Intercontinental Cup final, with the Mexican outfit already spending over seven days in the Middle East as they fought through back-to-back matches against continental champions to earn the right to face European giants Real Madrid.

Tuzos enjoyed a comfortable success at Stadium 974 in Doha last Wednesday night, when second-half strikes from Oussama Idrissi, Nelson Deossa and Salomon Rondon resulted in the 3-0 thumping of Brazilian side Botafogo, who lifted the Copa Libertadores title for first time in November.

Whilst Los Blancos battled away in Vallecano on Saturday, Pachuca were booking their spot in the Intercontinental Cup final with a penalty-shootout victory over African champions Al Ahly, with goalkeeper Carlos Moreno saving Khaled Abdelfattah‘s kick to win the contest.

Prior to their positive outings on the continental stage over the past week, Tuzos had endured a troubling end to their Liga MX Apertura campaign, winning just one of their last eight top-tier matches, meaning that they ended up 16th in the 18-team division.

Rather unsurprisingly, Lusail Stadium will witness the first-ever clash between Real Madrid and Pachuca on Wednesday night, although the two sides are set to become familiar foes, with both drawn into Group H of the next summer’s revamped Club World Cup alongside Al-Hilal and Red Bull Salzburg.

With their 24-man squad for the trip to Qatar revealed on Monday, it has been confirmed that Real Madrid’s Mbappe will be part of the travelling party and could feature at Lusail Stadium.

The Frenchman picked up a thigh injury during the Champions League triumph over Atalanta BC last week and missed Saturday’s stalemate at Rayo Vallecano as a result.

Los Blancos’ defensive options remain limited due to the season-ending injuries suffered by Euro 2024-winning Carvajal and Brazilian Eder Militao.

David Alaba (knee) has recently returned to Real Madrid training but has not been selected by Ancelotti for the contest in Qatar this week.

Battling back from a muscle injury sustained at the beginning of the month, Ferland Mendy is also set to stay in Spain as his teammates fight for intercontinental success in the Middle East.

Returning from a thigh issue suffered in October, Pachuca’s Andres Micolta has been instrumental over the past week and should start in the final on Wednesday.

Tuzos remain without the services of defensive midfielder Israel Luna, who picked up a campaign-ending cruciate ligament injury in April.

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Vazquez, Tchouameni, Rudiger, Garcia; Valverde, Camavinga, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius Jr

Pachuca possible starting lineup:
Moreno; Rodriguez, Cabral, Micolta, Gonzalez; Montiel, Pedraza, Deossa, Bautista, Idrissi; Rondon

The Magpies were dominant throughout against a beleaguered Leicester, registering an xG of 3.8 from their 27 shots, 11 of which were on target.

Newcastle remain in the bottom half despite that win, though, with the 4-2 loss at Brentford contributing to their slide down the table.

One thing going in Howe’s favour is their performance in the EFL Cup so far, where they have already beaten two in-form Premier League sides.

In round two, Howe’s men got the better of Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, before beating Chelsea’s cup team in the fourth round here at St James’ Park.

A delayed encounter with AFC Wimbledon saw them given home advantage after the lower-league opponents had their pitch ruined following adverse weather, but Howe was very critical of his players despite a 1-0 win, but nonetheless, it has helped them towards yet another quarter-final.

In Howe’s first full season in charge in 2022-23, he led Newcastle to the final, and only penalties saw them eliminated at this stage away to Chelsea last season.

It will reach seven decades without a domestic trophy by the time the final comes around for Newcastle, but Brentford are eyeing up their first-ever major honour, following a stratospheric rise under Thomas Frank over the last half-decade.

They have already made their best start to a Premier League season, despite losing 2-1 at Chelsea on Sunday night, sitting just five points short of the top four heading towards the midway point.

A win here will also equal their best EFL Cup performance, which was a semi-final appearance in 2020-21, ending in defeat over two legs against Tottenham Hotspur.

It was at this hurdle where the Bees fell last season, going down to eventual finalists Chelsea, and Frank will hope that a similar fate does not beset them in their first meeting with a Premier League side in the competition this season.

Brentford got the better of Colchester United and Leyton Orient to reach round four, where Sheffield Wednesday awaited, and despite a dominant display on home soil, they needed penalties to see off the Championship outfit.

On the road, form must improve if they are to have any chance here, considering they are yet to win in the league away from the Gtech this season, with their solitary point coming at a struggling Everton.

Nick Pope is set to miss the next few weeks with a knee injury, but that had no effect at the weekend, as Martin Dubravka stepped in and helped Newcastle to their first clean sheet in six matches.

Defensive duo Emil Krafth and Sven Botman are expected to return shortly into the new year, with Jamaal Lascelles a little further back in his recovery, and Callum Wilson is the other current absentee in what has been yet another injury-hit campaign for the attacker.

Joelinton was criticised publicly by manager Howe for picking up a caution just moments after being told to watch his step against Leicester on Saturday, and that has triggered a suspension, but it will be served against Ipswich Town at the weekend instead, with yellow card bans not carrying into cup competitions.

Brentford were able to welcome Vitaly Janelt to the squad at the weekend, and he came off the bench in the second half, but Mathias Jensen is still just short of being fit enough to make a comeback of his own.

Frank made tactical changes for the trip to Stamford Bridge compared to the team that beat Newcastle in the league, and after a spirited effort against Chelsea, he is set to stick with the same system, as is customary in away games for Brentford.

Elsewhere on the injury front, Josh Dasilva, Rico Henry and Aaron Hickey will be out until 2025, with an update on the latter not expected for a little while.

Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Trippier, Schar, Burn, Hall; Tonali, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Barnes, Isak, Gordon

Brentford possible starting lineup:
Flekken; Roerslev, Collins, Mee, Van den Berg; Yarmolyuk, Janelt; Mbeumo, Carvalho, Lewis-Potter; Schade