This has been a week filled with continental football competitions; from the Champions League to the AFC Champions League and the CONCACAF League to the Copa Sudamericana. So it’s about time we got back down to the nitty gritty of the world’s domestic leagues for the weekend.
Here, we pick through the best games FotMob has to offer over the next few days. ⬇️
? Friday Night
??????? With no pesky European away trips distracting them, Crystal Palace and Newcastle United should have been able to concentrate fully on giving us a decent opener to the weekend in the Premier League.
? And staying in England, there’s a local derby in the EFL Championship as QPR make their first trip to Brentford’s new stadium, approximately 3 miles away from their own ground in West London.
? Having just said the week was full of continental competition, we should point out that perhaps the biggest game actually comes tonight, with the Final of the CAF Champions League. And for the first time in the 56 year history of the tournament, we not only have two sides from the same country, but two sides from the same city competing to lift the crown.
Great Egyptian rivals, Zamalek (5 times previous winners) and Al Ahly (record 8 times winners) meet at the Cairo International Stadium, a ground they both use for most of their regular games.
? Saturday
??????? Tomorrow should be an interesting day in the Premier League as we’ll get to see how Liverpool continue to cope with their injury concerns as they feature in the lunchtime kick-off at Brighton.
Next, Manchester City will be hoping to take their Champions League form into the Premier League as they host Burnley, whilst two of the season’s most entertaining sides, Everton and Leeds play at Goodison and West Brom and Sheffield United meet in what, since the Battle of Bramall Lane, back in 2002 has become a bit of a non-local rivalry.
?? In La Liga, both Madrid sides will be hoping to build up to next weekend’s derby between the two by picking up three confidence boosting points – Atlético go to ever unpredictable Valencia, whilst Real have a home game against Alavés.
?? Juventus are in action against Pippo Inzaghi’s Benevento as they continue to play catch up in Seria A. The newly promoted side have the joint worst defensive record so far this season, so a win for Juve would put them just one point below league leaders Milan, at least until the bulk of the games on Sunday.
?? Saturday is a busy day, as ever in the Bundesliga. Of the current top six, only Bayer Leverkusen aren’t in action as the likes of Bayern visit Stuttgart, RB Leipzig play Arminia and Dortmund host struggling FC Köln.
We’ll be waiting for the inevitable goal alert from that one.
?? After tipping the title race to be over in its penultimate round in this column last weekend, the Belarusian Premier League has actually gone down to the final day. And as if by magic, the league have arranged the country’s version of the Clasico – with BATE Borisov needing a win at traditional rivals, Dynomo Minsk to secure the title. Should they fail, Shakhtyor Soligorsk could sneak it with a win of their own at home to FC Minsk.
? Sunday
?? Two big games involving leading sides to tell you about in Italy – one sees Milan continue their unexpected title charge, at home to Fiorentina and the other sees third placed, Roma go to Napoli. There will no doubt be emotional scenes as the club again, pay tribute to their all-time idol, Diego Maradona.
?? Real Sociedad, another surprise leader of a top European league face stiff opposition on Sunday as they play Villarreal, who sit third going into the weekend. La Real have lost just once so far and although Atlético Madrid have games in hand, they have been more than good value for their run at the top.
Barcelona on the other hand, would die for a league record to match that this season. They go into their game against Osasuna level on points with their opponents, sitting 13th and 14th in the league respectively.
??????? Jose Mourinho will have been basking in his side’s victory over Pep Guardiola last weekend, seen by many as a tactical masterclass on his part – a win that saw Spurs go top of the Premier League. Now, this Sunday he must go to Chelsea to face not only his former club, but the former captain of his title-winning side, Frank Lampard in the opposition dugout. With Chelsea just two points behind in the table, this is going to be a vital game.
In Sunday’s other fixtures in the EPL, Manchester United are away to Southampton and Arsenal entertain Wolverhampton Wanderers.
? And just to round up the weekend’s action, how about a few big derbies? In Austria, Rapid Vienna are reunited with recently re-promoted Austria Vienna whilst in Bulgaria, there’s the second meeting of the season between PFC CSKA Sofia and CSKA 1948, the two clubs fighting over the legacy of the original CSKA Sofia club who went bankrupt. And further East, Fenerbahçe play Beşiktaş in Turkey.
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