The best action to follow this weekend
Saturday
🏴 Swiftly following the midweek matches in the Premier League, the next round starts with four fixtures on Saturday. They include a meeting between Liverpool – who looked a bit more like their former selves when they beat West Ham on Wednesday, and Nottingham Forest – who slipped to the bottom of the table despite drawing at Brighton on Tuesday.
Manchester City return to action after sitting it out during the week as they host Brighton. City can move to within a point of leaders Arsenal if they can continue Roberto De Zerbi’s winless start to life with the Seagulls. And in the evening fixture, Graham Potter – still unbeaten with Chelsea – will face a test as Manchester United go to Stamford Bridge. The visitors will most definitely be without Cristiano Ronaldo following his disciplinary issues but as the 2-0 win over Spurs on Wednesday showed – does Erik ten Hag need him?
🇪🇸 There were midweek games in LaLiga too, where leaders Real Madrid will be in action again on Saturday, after following last weekend’s victory over arch-rivals Barcelona with a 3-0 win at Elche on Wednesday. That result included a goal for the newly crowned Ballon d’Or, Karim Benzema – not that Madrid need their talisman to score with contributions currently coming from all over the pitch!
Madrid play Sevilla, who’ve enjoyed a four game unbeaten run since the return of Argentinian coach Jorge Sampaoli. Also on Saturday – we’ll get another look at form side Real Sociedad as they go to Real Valladolid. The Basques have won eight straight games in all competitions but will come up against a team with fresh confidence after Valladolid enjoyed a rare 4-1 win over Celta Vigo during the week.
🇮🇹 Serie A throws up an interesting clash as third placed Milan prepare to host Monza, who are, of course, owned by Silvio Berlusconi, the Political behemoth who also used to own Milan. The newly promoted side appear to have settled in to their first tilt at the top tier of Italian football having won two of their last three and they also defeated high-flying Udinese in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday.
Another side finally showing a bit of form are Simone Inzaghi’s Inter Milan – they’re unbeaten in four having won twice in the league and taken four points from two Champions League meetings with Barcelona. They face strugglers Fiorentina on Saturday evening, a side who’s current plight was covered here, in our most recent Serie A column.
🇩🇪 As in Italy, a lot of the Bundesliga clubs have been involved in domestic cup action over the past few days so watch out for a few sides who may get caught out in terms of their recovery. Bayern ended their recent hoodoo at near neighbours Augsburg – beating them 5-2 having lost a league meeting there earlier in the campaign. The 10-time champions play fourth placed Hoffenheim, who smashed five past Schalke in the week, the same side they’d beaten in the league last weekend.
Elsewhere, Dortmund – who are winless in three league games – enjoyed some respite with a win at second tier Hannover. Just what they needed as they look to refocus for their home clash with mid-table Stuttgart. And third placed Freiburg, who were taken to extra-time by St. Pauli but were eventually victorious go up against Werder Bremen. Werder were not so lucky after they were knocked out of the cup by Paderborn on penalties.
🇫🇷 With PSG involved in this week’s Friday night game – the weekend’s focus will be on those sides sat just behind them in the table. Luckily for those with a short attention span, two of them meet at Marseille‘s Vélodrome. RC Lens, who sit third, are the visitors with Marseille currently a point below them, in fourth, following defeat in last weekend’s Classique against the Parisians.
🇹🇷 There’s top of the table action in Türkiye as well – with Fenerbahçe hosting Istanbul Başakşehir. The prize for a winner is the honour of leapfrogging leaders Adana Demirspor – at least until they play their game against fifth placed Konyaspor on Sunday.
Sunday
🇪🇸 LaLiga provides not one, but two top-six clashes on Sunday. Barcelona (2nd) bounced back from that Clásico defeat by comfortably beating Villarreal in midweek and they now face former manager Ernesto Valverde and his Athletic Club side (6th). Athletic have started the season brightly only to stutter in recent games – they’re now winless in three.
The other big game involves Real Betis and Atlético Madrid, two sides locked together on 20 points. Diego Simeone’s Atleti have a superior goal difference – albeit only +1 but they also have a decent recent record against Betis, going six games unbeaten, and winning five of those meetings.
🏴 Back in the Premier League and there’s a busy Sunday programme with five games lined up. The highlights of which include Arsenal’s visit to Southampton, where they’ll be looking to open up their lead at the top of the league table, after the important business of sealing qualification from their Europa League group with Thursday’s win over PSV.
Third placed Spurs face the side with the tightest defence in the league: Newcastle United. Eddie Howe’s Magpies are enjoying a six game unbeaten run in which they’ve conceded just three goals while scoring 11. And there’s an early season six-pointer in the midlands as Wolves and Leicester meet to see if either of them get out of the relegation zone with a win.
🇮🇹 Serie A’s largest fixtures of the weekend involve both the sides from the capital. José Mourinho’s Roma face unbeaten leaders Napoli at the Stadio Olimpico, a side they’ve not beaten in five previous meetings. Can Luciano Spalletti continue that run, and thus the Neapolitans’ Scudetto charge with his young dynamic squad?
Meanwhile Lazio, the Olimpico’s other tenants, go to second placed Atalanta. This will be a meeting between the league’s two meanest defences but with Ciro Immobile leading the way in the goalscoring charts, Lazio might just have the edge in this one.
🇩🇪 It’s top vs. bottom in the Bundesliga as Germany’s surprise leaders (can we still call it a surprise?) Union Berlin travel to Bochum. With the lowest amount of goals scored and the most goals conceded, the basement side might just be dreading this one. Union, have proven themselves to be very resilient in recent weeks – winning their last five straight without conceding a goal against the likes of Dortmund, and Malmö in the Europa League (twice).
🇦🇷 The title will be decided in Argentina on Sunday and there could be just the right amount of skullduggery that you’d expect from a major footballing story in South America. In a strange twist of fate, the final games for the two sides battling it out for the title – Boca Juniors and Racing – come against each other’s major rivals.
Boca lead by a single point and go up against Independiente – who share the same block with, but do not get on with neighbours Racing. Meanwhile, kicking off simultaneously, Racing play Boca’s bitterest rivals River Plate.
Will either opposition side want to win knowing they could gift the title to the club they hate the most!?
🇨🇦🇺🇸 Sunday sees the remaining Conference semi-finals in the MLS Cup Play-offs. In the East, in-form Montréal meet New York City for the right to face top seeds Philadelphia Union in the conference final. And in the West, Austin are looking to extend their first post-season appearance by beating Texan rivals FC Dallas. The winners of that one will go on to face Supporters’ Shield holders LAFC.
🇧🇪 Two of the sides who’ve enjoyed the best start to the season anywhere in Europe – Royal Antwerp and Genk – will go head-to-head on Sunday. In any other year, one of them would be running away with the league but unfortunately, they’re stuck with each other!
Genk lead the table by a point after going 12 games unbeaten since losing to Club Brugge on the opening day while Antwerp won nine straight games but have since lost two of their last four.
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Cover Image from IMAGO