In this weekend preview we summarise the best five games to follow on your match feed. And make a couple of suggestions for matches that you may otherwise miss.
🤝 Barcelona vs. Real Madrid
A pre-season edition of the Clásico, what a treat! And one we’re getting used to as the two pillars of Spanish football now regularly meet on their respective money-spinning pre-season tours of the globe.
For this summer showdown, Barça and Madrid will face each other at the AT&T Stadium, on Saturday, home of the Dallas Cowboys NFL side, in the United States. Both have been in the country for some time as they prepare for the upcoming season in LaLiga – Barcelona most recently losing a heated friendly, 5-3 against Arsenal, in a game that coach Xavi complained had the intensity of a Champions League knockout tie. While Real Madrid were 2-0 victors over Manchester United on the same night. A victory that included a first goal for big summer signing, Jude Bellingham.
There were five competitive Clásicos last season, one where Barcelona won the league and Madrid won the Copa del Rey. Most recently, Madrid beat their great rivals en route to the Copa final, a two legged tie that sandwiched a league meeting, won by Barça, at Camp Nou. Earlier in the campaign, Madrid won comfortably at the Bernabéu only for Barça to then triumph in the Super Copa by the same 3-1 scoreline.
🤝 Manchester City vs. Atlético Madrid
On Sunday, on the other side of the globe, two more European powerhouses meet each other for a friendly game. This one features the Champions League holders and the Spanish side who once again finished third last season, and pits two of the modern day great managers – Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone, against each other in the Korean capital of Seoul.
The two last met in the quarter-finals of the 2022/23 Champions League season, with City coming out victorious in a low-scoring, two legged-tie, settled by a single goal from Kevin De Bruyne.
In the build-up to this one, Atleti have played, and lost to an all-stars side put together to represent the K-League, and City have enjoyed wins over Bayern Munich and current Japanese champions, Yokohama F Marinos.
🤝 Manchester United vs. Borussia Dortmund
Not to be outdone – the other Premier League giant from Manchester also feature in another tour game we wanted to highlight here. On Sunday night, United will face Borussia Dortmund in Las Vegas.
This game marks the culmination of Eric Ten Hag’s tour of the States and he’ll be looking for a marked improvement on that midweek defeat to Madrid discussed above. A young United side also lost to lower league Wrexham during the week but both games were played with the kind of intensity that Ten Hag wants to instil in his side ahead of the new season. And they came off the back of a morale boasting victory over Arsenal, a side they would have been keen to measure themselves against.
For their part, Dortmund have started their summer preparations with three wins against domestic minnows and then, on arriving in the States, a thumping 6-0 win over Landon Donovan’s San Diego Loyal, a club who ply their trade in the second tier USL Championship.
🏆 Women’s World Cup: France vs. Brazil
The weekend’s headline game as the group stages continue at the Women’s World Cup is that between France and Brazil, being played in the Australian city of Brisbane, on Saturday.
Two solid outside bets to be there, or thereabouts, in the latter stages of the competition, the sides meet instead, on Matchday 2 in Group F. And they both had contrasting fortunes in their opening fixtures.
France were held to a goalless draw by Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz, who claimed their first ever World Cup point, thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer.
And Brazil looked untouchable in their one-sided 4-0 victory over Panama. Ary Borges scored a hat-trick on her tournament debut and provided a back-heel assist for Beatriz’s supremely well-worked team goal. In total, the Brazilians racked up 32 shots and maintained 73% of possession.
This should be one of the biggest game of the finals so far, perhaps only rivalled by the repeat of the 2019 Final, that saw the US and Netherlands play out a 1-1 draw on Thursday.
🇸🇪 Allsvenskan: Häcken vs. Elfsborg
In recent columns, we haven’t drawn much attention to games currently ongoing in Europe’s so-called summer leagues but this weekend, we’ll make an exception to that. On Saturday, there’s a top-of-the-table clash between the two (relatively) unfancied leaders in the Swedish Allsvenskan – Häcken vs. Elfsborg.
To be fair, Häcken are the defending champions but their 2022 triumph (the first in their history) was a big surprise after a 12th placed finish the year before. And the expected strength of Malmö, plus to a lesser extent, the Stockholm clubs, Djurgården, AIK, and Hammarby.
But, at present, it’s Elfsborg who have both a four point advantage, and a game in hand, at the top of the table. They’ve lost only once so far this season – on the opening day – so come in to this fixture on the back of a 15 game unbeaten run.
Plus two hidden gems from a little deeper in your match feed…
🇩🇪 2. Bundesliga: Hamburg vs. Schalke
The return of one of Europe’s most compelling leagues should be a cause for celebration and we will, of course, be following Friday night’s opening game between fallen/sleeping giants Hamburg and Schalke.
The two sides have a total of thirteen (Hamburg 6, Schalke 7) German titles between them but once again find themselves starting the new campaign in the country’s second tier. And both will still be smarting after the final day drama of last season.
Hamburg were on course for both the 2.Bundesliga title and automatic promotion thanks to a win at Sandhausen but not one, but two injury-time goals from Heidenheim, saw them come back to win their game and HSV dropped to third as a result. That meant Hamburg moved on to the promotion/relegation play-off against top tier Stuttgart, which they consequently lost 6-1, over two legs.
Schalke also saw their fate settled on the final day – a defeat to RB Leipzig consigning them to relegation just one season after being promoted back to the Bundesliga.
🇧🇪 Pro League: Union St. Gilloise vs. Anderlecht
Similarly, Belgian giants Anderlecht have much to prove as they kick-off the new season against Union on Friday night.
Under the tutelage of former Brentford assistant manager, Brian Riemer, who took over mid-season, Anderlecht finished the last campaign down in 11th – their lowest finish since 1937! The club has generally been on a downward spiral since the departure of Vincent Kompany who had done much to steady the ship and got them to a Cup final in 2022.
In contrast, Union have famously been on an upwards trajectory since their return to Belgium’s top flight in 2021. Consecutive second, and then third place, finishes have seen them qualify for European football, and become a happy hunting ground for overseas clubs looking to pick off their best talent – the departure of striker Victor Boniface, this week, to Bayer Leverkusen being the most recent example.
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Cover Image from IMAGO