The best action to follow this weekend
Saturday
? The Women’s European Championships started with England’s narrow win over Austria on Wednesday night but now, as we look ahead to the weekend, it’s time for some of group stage’s biggest games.
In Group C, 2017 winners Netherlands face a crunch match-up with Sweden, Olympic runners-up in 2020, and ranked number two in the world by FIFA. That game should dictate how the rest of the group plays-out so the other sides who meet on Saturday – Portugal and Switzerland, will see their fixture as their best chance of picking up a win at the tournament.
?? It’s a busy few days in the MLS calendar with a number of key match-ups set to follow Friday’s night big derby between Western Conference leaders LAFC and LA Galaxy. One such game is the longer-running rivalry between Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers – a battle that’s been raging since the days of the NASL in the 1970s. Last season, the Sounders won two of their three meetings but the Timbers did have the last laugh – winning at Seattle in August 2021. They do however go in this game with no win in their last eight away fixtures.
Elsewhere, Eastern Conference leaders New York Red Bulls travel to face Cincinnati whilst current MLS Cup holders NYCFC have a tough looking home game against the New England Revs.
??????? Scottish football returns to the app this weekend with the group stages of the League Cup getting the new season underway. Everyone bar the country’s five representatives in UEFA competitions are involved and that means games for the likes of Hibernian – who face League One side Clyde on Saturday, and Aberdeen, who travel to Peterhead on Sunday afternoon.
?? Life in other European nations also starts to look a little more normal with football returning around the continent. Of particular interest will be Croatia’s Eternal Derby – with Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split meeting in the Super Cup.
?? 29 goals were scored over the opening round in Mexico’s Liga MX last weekend so if you’re looking for attacking action, the league might be the place to look over the next fews days. Saturday’s headline games see Monterrey clash with Club América and recent Supercopa winners Cruz Azul play Pachuca.
?? Two of Argentina’s five grandes (or Big Five), San Lorenzo and Boca Juniors go head-to-head in Buenos Aires. In truth, both have started the league campaign poorly with just four wins between them in the opening six rounds so a result here could kickstart either side’s season. Boca also suffered a penalty shoot-out defeat in the Copa Libertadores during the week and consequently sacked coach Sebastian Battaglia.
?? Finally, Fluminense fans will be bidding a fond farewell to Fred, their old warhorse of a striker. The 38-year-old is hanging up his boots after their game with Ceará at the Maracaña, calling time on a 19-year pro career that has included nearly 40 caps for Brazil. Fred stepped off the bench to score his 199th goal for the club last weekend so what odds on him netting his 200th in his final game!?
Sunday
? Sunday’s action at the Women’s Euros comes from Group D and there’s another heavyweight match-up on the cards as France take on Italy. Les Bleues are right up there alongside the likes of Spain and hosts England in terms of the bookies favourites for the tournament but this might be the stiffest test of the group stage for the side ranked number four in the world.
Two evenly matched sides, Belgium and Iceland meet in the day’s earlier kick-off.
?? Five of the clubs from Brazil’s top division qualified for the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores – South America’s biggest tournament during the week and four of them are back in domestic action on Sunday.
League leaders Palmeiras have perhaps the easiest assignment with a trip to bottom side Fortaleza whilst reigning champions Atlético Mineiro play São Paulo in a battle between the sides sitting third and seventh in the table. Palmerias and Atlético will meet each other in the Libertadores quarter-finals later in the year.
Corinthians vs. Flamengo is another all-Brazilian tie set for the last eight in that tournament and we’ll get an early taster of that when the two face each other on Sunday.
?? At home in Norway’s Eliteserien, we have two attractive games to keep us busy on Sunday. Since their only hiccup of the season at Godset in late June, table topping Lillestrøm have won their last two and they’ll be defending a three-point lead going in to their game against third-placed Viking – a side who’ve failed to win any of their last six league matches.
Molde are the team who sit between those two in the table and they’ll be in action against Tromsø who, despite being well off the pace in 11th, are currently unbeaten in six on the road.
?? And finally, in Argentina, we’ll be keeping an eye on one of the most local of local derbies as Racing Club take on Independiente on the block that the two clubs share in Avellaneda.
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Cover Image from IMAGO