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What to Watch for this Weekend
England | A tale of two Manchesters
Wolves v. Man City – Coming off of a 6-1 win over Huddersfield, City head to the Molineux in the first EPL match of the weekend. In each of their first two matches, Wolves had over 57% possession, yet have just a single point to show for it.
Arsenal v. West Ham – Jack Wilshire returns to the Emirates while both sides are looking for their first point. Arsenal have looked decent in their two losses against tough opposition while West Ham clearly need more time to gel.
Liverpool v. Brighton – Brighton have lost five straight to Liverpool, scoring five goals to Liverpool’s 20. They’re coming off a 3-2 home win over to Man United, but haven’t won away in the Premier League in 14 tries.
Man United v. Spurs – United are going to win with a boring 1-0, aren’t they? Mourinho rarely takes risks against top sides, so this is unlikely to be an open-ended match. But, it will still be a welcome distraction from the Pogba-Mourinho-Woodward drama that has only intensified after their loss to Brighton last weekend.
Italy | A big test for Juve
Juventus v. Lazio – These two sides won away against each other last season – Lazio beating Juve in Turin 2-1, and Juve wining 1-0 in Rome. As we await Ronaldo’s first Serie A goal, this is the match to watch this weekend.
Napoli v. AC Milan – Milan’s Serie A campaign begins this weekend after their opening fixture was postponed due to the tragic bridge collapse in Genoa. We should see a Milan debut for Gonzalo Higuain against his former side.
Germany | Bundesliga begins
Bayern Munich v. Hoffenheim – Friday’s Bundesliga curtain-raiser Yes, Bayern cruised to the Bundesliga title with a 21 point margin last season, but Hoffenheim have only lost once in four competitive matches against Bayern under manager Julian Nagelsmann.
Borussia Dortmund v. RB Leipzig – Dortmund finished fourth last season, with Leipzig two points behind them in sixth. Under new manager Lucien Favre, Dortmund should reclaim their legacy for high-tempo attacking football and the occasional title challenge.
Spain | Real Madrid head to Girona
Real Valladolid v. Barcelona – Real Vallaolid won the last match up between these two sides in 2014, their last stint in La Liga. But after Messi’s performance last weekend, don’t count on a repeat result.
Girona v. Real Madrid – Real lost their last trip to Girona, a result that put them eight points behind Barcelona in October of last year. Gareth Bale missed that match, and now heads to Catalonia on Sunday as Real’s key man.