African players to watch this weekend

Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah netted against RB Leipzig on Tuesday, and the pair will want to carry that goalscoring form into Saturday’s Merseyside Derby at Anfield.

In Serie A, Achraf Hakimi faces off with Ismael Bennacer and Franck Kessie in the Milan Derby as Inter Milan look to move four points clear of Stefano Pioli’s troops.

Mbaye Diagne

West Bromwich Albion travel to Burnley looking to do their survival prospects some good at Turf Moor.

The Albion sit 12 points adrift of Newcastle United but have looked more threatening going forward in recent weeks, largely due to the presence of Diagne, who troubled Manchester United’s defence last time out.

Sam Allardyce will hope the Galatasaray loanee shows his combative side and have his shooting boots on against Sean Dyche’s men.

Salah & Mane

Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane netted in Liverpool’s 2-0 Champions League win vs RB Leipzig, and Jurgen Klopp will hope they reprise solid performances in front of goal vs Everton on Saturday.

Anfield hasn’t been kind to the Reds since December, with the defending Premier League champions winless at their hallowed ground since beating Tottenham Hotspur two months ago.

Klopp’s primary forwards scored twice in the reverse fixture and they’ll back themselves to thrive yet again as they look to return to winning ways after going five games without success on their turf.

Aubameyang & Pepe vs Mahrez

Arsenal may have had an underwhelming showing vs Benfica in the Europa League, but Mikel Arteta will hope the level of performance vs Leeds United in their last league outing is evident against Manchester City this weekend.

While Nicolas Pepe didn’t feature at the Emirates Stadium last time out, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted his first PL hat-trick against Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

Facing Riyad Mahrez’s City is a different kettle of fish, however, with the Cityzens on a 17-game winning run in all competitions.

The Algeria winger scored a brilliant strike against Everton in midweek and could get another start at in North London with Pep Guardiola’s team searching for their 13th straight league success.

Kessie & Bennacer vs Hakimi

This weekend’s Milan Derby has a lot riding on it with AC Milan in danger of falling four points behind their fierce rivals at the top of the table.

Achraf Hakimi is expected to feature against Stefano Pioli’s side, who suffered an unexpected 2-0 defeat by Spezia last time out.

Franck Kessie and Ismael Bennacer started in midfield for the first time since mid-December, but the Algeria star largely struggled in the encounter and was replaced just after the hour mark.

Antonio Conte will smell blood against a wobbling Milan side as Inter aim to edge further ahead in the race for the Scudetto.

Toko Ekambi & Kadewere

Karl Toko Ekambi and Tino Kadewere were in action as Olympique Lyonnais were let down by poor finishing in their 2-1 home loss vs Montpellier in the previous gameweek.

The upshot of that loss means the Ligue 1 challengers dropped to third after suffering their second defeat at the Groupama Stadium in four games.

They’ve fared better on their travels, though, and will welcome this weekend’s trip to Brest looking to continue their fine form on the road that’s seen them pick up 13 available points from five games.

This weekend’s hosts may be 12th on the log, but they have the fifth-best home record in Ligue 1, so the visitors will have to be wary on Friday night.