The best matches to follow this weekend
Saturday
🇪🇸 Tomorrow in LaLiga, the Santiago Bernabéu plays host to the latest edition of the Madrid Derby. Hosts Real Madrid have had a brilliant week, returning from Anfield with a 5-2 aggregate lead in their Champions League tie with Liverpool, which is even sweeter when you consider they were 2-0 down after 14 minutes.
They come in to this game against their city rivals having not conceded a league goal since lifting the Club World Cup earlier in the month. And having recovered to beat Atlético in a Copa del Rey quarter-final match as recently as January. That game finished 3-1 to Real despite Atleti taking an early lead but since then, Diego Simeone’s side have gone four games unbeaten, winning three of those by a 1-0 scoreline. And now with the added threat of Memphis Depay linking up with an in-form Antoine Griezmann up front there’s renewed hope for a top four finish this campaign.
Splitting Real (who sit second) and Atlético (who sit fourth) in the table, Real Sociedad also have an intriguing game on Saturday. They travel to a relegation threatened Valencia side who have just one win in their last 10 competitive games and will be plagued by fan protests against owner Peter Lim before, during, and after this fixture.
🇺🇸 This weekend marks the start of the 2023 MLS season. And typically, they’re starting with a bang. Okay, so the first fixture to kick-off features Nashville SC vs. NYCFC, both play-off finishers last season, and there’s also the clash between Eastern Conference holders Philadelphia Union and Columbus Crew. But there’s no denying the biggest game of the weekend: El Tráfico, LA Galaxy vs. LAFC, which is being played at the iconic, 90,000 capacity, Rose Bowl. That’s the stadium that hosted the 1994 World Cup Final, an event which, in turn, led to the formation of the league we know today.
🏴 In the Premier League where the title race appears to swing one way, then the next, each match day there’s games for the two main protagonists. Leaders Arsenal, their lead now down to two points, go to Leicester City, a side who’s recent good form was halted somewhat abruptly by a 3-0 defeat at Manchester United last weekend.
Meanwhile, Manchester City are also on their travels. They visit seventeenth placed Bournemouth, a side they’ve beaten in each of their last 12 meetings with an aggregate goals total of 36 scored to just six conceded.
Elsewhere, Liverpool must raise themselves after their biggest ever home defeat in European competition to continue their rebuild in the league. Back-to-back 2-0 wins against Everton and Newcastle preceded the loss to Madrid but they could be tested by recent draw specialists Crystal Palace – they’ve got a point from four of their last five.
And the bottom two are set to meet as Southampton visit Leeds United. The two sides both sacked their managers this month and they’ll meet with only Leeds having named a permanent replacement – former Watford and Valencia coach, Javi Gracia. The Saints, meanwhile, have given Rubén Sellés their top job, at least until the end of the season. The Spaniard earned his chance having taken charge of last weekend’s victory at Chelsea.
🇮🇹 Fresh from a 2-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt in their Champions League R16 tie and basking in their current 15-point lead at the top of Serie A, times are good for Napoli. And they’ll be even better if they can continue their six game winning streak at mid-table Empoli on Saturday. They will, however, come up against one of the best rated goalkeepers in the league – Guglielmo Vicario’s save percentage of 70.7% in the league isn’t far behind Napoli’s Alex Meret (75.4%), despite the fact he plays behind a far leakier defence.
🇩🇪 The biggest game taking place in the Bundesliga on Saturday gives Borussia Dortmund the opportunity to temporarily move three points clear at the top of the table.
Going in to the weekend level on points with leaders Bayern and Union Berlin – who play each other on Sunday – Dortmund can make it nine wins on the bounce with victory at Hoffenheim. Elsewhere, fifth meets sixth as RB Leipzig take on Eintracht Frankfurt at the end of a week where both featured in the Champions League – Leipzig drawing with Manchester City while Frankfurt lost that game to Napoli.
Sunday
Sunday is shaping up to be a massive day in the calendar with huge games taking place everywhere.
🏴 Perhaps top of the bill, which historically isn’t always the case, is the Carabao Cup Final. England’s League Cup competition is making waves this season, mainly due to the fact that Newcastle United have made the final – their first under their new ownership and also their first this century! Could we finally see the Magpies lift what would be a first major trophy since 1969?
Their opponents, Manchester United, couldn’t come into the game off the back of a better result having recovered to knock Barcelona out of the Europa League on Thursday evening. There are signs that Erik ten Hag is building something special at Old Trafford and United will start the final unbeaten in nine.
🏴 It’s League Cup Final day in Scotland too, and for the 16th time in the competition’s history, we’ve got a meeting between arch-rivals Rangers and Celtic. This latest battle between the Old Firm comes nearly two months after they last met, at Ibrox in January, when Celtic equalised late on in an entertaining 2-2 draw.
In the league, Celtic currently boast a nine point lead as they look to retain the title but historically speaking, the Gers have the upper hand in the League Cup – winning nine Old Firm Finals to Celtic’s six.
🏴 Back in the Premier League, they’ll be no love lost when Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur face his former club, and London rivals, Chelsea. The man himself, however, will not be present as he continues to recover from his recent surgery.
The pressure is certainly on Graham Potter, the current incumbent of the Chelsea job, but a win at fourth placed Spurs would at least go some way to earning him a bit of credibility amongst a disillusioned fanbase.
🇫🇷 If it wasn’t for Lionel Messi’s 95th minute free-kick winner against Lille last weekend, we could have been going in to Sunday’s Classique with just two points separating PSG and Marseille at the top of Ligue 1.
Instead, PSG go into this contest against their nemesis in French football with the relative comfort of a five point gap. But with injuries to key players mounting up and the upcoming return leg against Bayern in the Champions League to distract them, L’OM might just fancy their chances. After all, they did defeat their rivals just a matter of three short weeks ago in the Coupe de France and they come in to the game with one competitive defeat in 12 games since the post-World Cup restart.
There are other important games elsewhere in Ligue 1 with third placed Monaco (who are no means out of the title race) facing Nice plus the clash between great Breton or Western rivals Nantes and Rennes.
🇩🇪 As mentioned, Sunday also sees the clash between title rivals in the Bundesliga, with Bayern hosting Union Berlin.
With the leaders losing at Gladbach last weekend, Union drawing, and Dortmund winning we were left with the quirk that all three sit level on 73 points. Bayern’s vastly superior goal difference (+40!) means they’ll start this game as favourites, although they may not be leading the table come kick-off, depending on Dortmund’s earlier result. For their part, Union have nothing to lose – they’ve already exceeded all expectations this season, even qualifying for the Round of 16 in the Europa League, following victory over Dutch heavyweights Ajax in the week. They remain unbeaten in 2023.
The earlier meeting between these two ended in a 1-1 draw back in September.
🇮🇹 The two Milan clubs feature in Serie A, bookending the day’s action, with Inter starting early and Milan headlining.
Inter (2nd), Napoli’s nearest but distant title rivals, travel to eighth placed Bologna unbeaten in six, a run in which they’ve conceded just twice. They also took a vital 1-0 lead over Porto in their Champions League R16 game on Wednesday night, albeit, coach Simone Inzaghi was left ruing the fact that they didn’t score more.
Their title defence now all but over, Milan (4th) need to concentrate on gaining a top four finish and they come up against one of their rivals for that – Atalanta – who currently sit sixth but only three points below them. After a woeful start to the year, Stefano Pioli has steadied the ship and Milan have now won 1-0 in each of their last three fixtures while Atalanta have lost three of their last four.
🇪🇸 In Spain, Barcelona need to shake off any lasting effect of that Europa League defeat at Manchester United and concentrate on what matters most, regaining the league title after a three year barren spell. They start the weekend eight points clear of Real Madrid and they’ll be confident of at least retaining that advantage as they go to Almería, who only sit outside of the bottom three by virtue of a superior head-to-head record against their relegation rivals.
To read more about what’s coming up in LaLiga this weekend, you can read our league specific preview – here.
If you want to follow any of the games mentioned above, click on the relevant link and tap the bell icon to receive all the key match updates.
Or join us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to discuss all the important football going on this weekend!
Cover Image from IMAGO