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What to Watch for this Weekend
England | Another early test for Arsenal
Chelsea v. Arsenal – Unai Emery has a daunting start to life at Arsenal, beginning with a loss to a record-shattering Man City side. Now the Gunners visit Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea on Saturday, whose attack-first mindset has N’Golo Kante tasked with becoming a true box-to-box midfielder. That should provide plenty of motivation for Emery to hand defensive mid Lucas Torreira his full debut.
Spurs v. Fulham – In their first match back in the EPL, Fulham had 7 debuts in their starting 11. Their squad looks strong enough to finish mid-table, but given the amount of turnover, Saturday’s match against Spurs may be too early of a test.
Man City v. Huddersfield – You’d expect City to comfortably get three points on Sunday, even in the wake of Kevin De Bruyne’s injury. However, Huddersfield did hold them to a 0-0 draw in May (albeit after City were already crowned champions).
Brighton v. Man United – A straightforward fixture on paper, yet Brighton won their last meeting 1-0. Plus, the Seagulls’ record signing, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, should get his full debut on Sunday against United.
Italy | Ronaldo’s debut
ChievoVerona v. Juventus
– Juve’s chapter with Ronaldo begins away to ChievoVerona on Saturday,
which is a bit distant from the Champions League ambitions he was
purchased for. Yet, Ronaldo’s insane drive means we won’t see a
half-hearted debut.
Lazio v. Napoli –
Napoli begin life without manager Maurizio Sarri away to Lazio, who
have managed to hang onto star midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic…for
now.
Spain | La Liga Kicks off
Barcelona v. Deportivo Alaves –
Messi has been made captain after Iniesta’s departure, as Barca chase a
fourth title in five years. Saturday’s visitors, Alaves, begin their
third consecutive season in La Liga with Swedish striker John Guidetti
arriving on a permanent deal in the summer.
Real Madrid v. Getafe –
Real Madrid finished third in La Liga last season, but of course no one
remembers that after they won their third Champions League in a row.
They’ll start this La Liga campaign at home to Getafe, who haven’t
beaten Real since 2012.