August 21, (THEWILL) – This weekend sees the top five Leagues in Europe return to action as Italian domestic football finally joins the action with their Matchday one fixtures. The following preview of action provides a panoramic perspective of the slate of matches for the Saturday and Sunday schedule of exciting fixtures that the top sides in these leagues are engaged in.
On Saturday, there will be six matches in the prestigious English Premier League the highlight of which will be a chance for the English champions Manchester City to get their title defense back on track with victory over Norwich City after losing their opening game on Saturday last week to Tottenham Hotspur by a lone goal.
In the other exciting fixtures, Liverpool welcome Burnley to Anfield while Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds will seek to improve on their dreadful opening 5-1 defeat to the free-scoring Manchester United when they take on the Everton team now managed by the EPL veteran Rafael Benitez.
Over at La Liga, the post-Lionel Messi era continues at the Catalan club after Barcelona’s decent victory over Real Sociedad last week, when they travel to the other big team in the Basque Country: Athletic Club Bilbao. In last season’s Copa del Rey final in April, Barca thrashed them 4-0 with a Messi brace. Can they pull it off again in his absence?
With Nigeria’s Super Eagles forward Samuel Chukwueze still expected to return from injury in late August, Villarreal travel to the RCDE Stadium, in Cornella de Llobregat, for their Matchday two tie against Espanyol with both sides looking for their first goal and first win after each began the season with goalless draws.
The first match in Serie A will be a 5.30pm local time starter for title winners Inter Milan. They start the defense of their title with a new-look side with some leading players, like Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi, missing and without title-winning manager Antonio Conte. Yet, they should fare well against Genoa, at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan.
Meanwhile, the surprise package from last season that has bled by way of losing players too but which remains very adept at continuing to impress, Atalanta, is in action on Saturday as well. They travel to Torino to face Matteo Paro’s charges with a string of players injured while Lazio begin their campaign at newly promoted Empoli at the Stadio Carlo Castellani.
In France, it was not the most ideal start to their title-defense that Lille were looking forward to when the French champions opened the fresh season with a 3-3 draw against Metz followed by a 4-0 trouncing by Nice over the previous weekend. On Saturday, they have a chance at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard of Saint Etienne to redeem themselves and establish their champion credentials.
The Saturday rundown in Germany will see Erling Haaland’s Borussia Dortmund, coming from the stinging loss to Bavarian champions Bayern Munich in the Supercup final, to once again assert themselves against Freiburg in one of the early afternoon kickoffs. Later in the evening, two of the sides regularly competing for European football, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Mönchengladbach will clash for three points.
Then, on Sunday, the Italian League’s heavy hitters will take the stage beginning with former champions Juventus getting their season underway with a trip to the Udinese Dacia Arena with new manager Massimiliano Allegri ready to prove a second time success and possibly having Cristiano Ronaldo firing once again.
At Bologna’s Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, Nigeria’s Simi Nwankwo should be in action for his new side Salernitana after securing a loan move to the newly promoted side from his now-relegated Crotone. He will be at their central attacking position to provide the goals they will need to retain top division status after 23 years being away from Serie A.
Over at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium, the Victor Osimhen Napoli side will play host to Venezia, one of the untested promoted teams. Osimhen will have the opportunity to open his goal scoring account continuing from his pre-season success. The other game to highlight will be the maiden match of Jose Mourinho’s in the Roma dugout against another of the league’s most historic clubs, Fiorentina.
Mourinho’s former club Real Madrid and their city rivals Atletico will highlight Sunday’s La Liga fixtures. The league champions, Diego Simeone’s Atletico will welcome Elche to the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano while Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid take to the road to take on Levante in the late 9.00pm tie.
The EPL will light up with United seeking to continue their blistering form that began with that 5-1 drubbing of Leeds when they go to Saint Mary’s stadium for what may be Southampton’s second loss in two games if they do not keep the rampaging Red Devils at bay. Then, Spurs’ manager Nuno Espírito Santo returns to former club Wolverhampton Wanderers in an early test of his mettle.
The English weekend will be exciting with the first all-London derby between Arsenal and European Champions, Chelsea. The pair of new players the Gunners brought in on Friday, Martin Odegaard from Real and Aaron Ramsdale from Sheffield United, will not feature but Lukaku has the chance to bring more damage to Arsenal.
In the Bundesliga, Taiwo Awoniyi can continue his sensational start to life in the German top flight when Union Berlin takes on the top side of the league after Matchday one, Hoffenheim in the early afternoon kickoff. His stock will go sky-high if they can take all three points to lift them up the table after their first draw against Bayer Leverkusen left them in 11th place.
Current champions Bayern will be in action at the Allianz Arena as Julian Nagelsmann’s side entertain Koln. Although they bested Dortmund in the Super Cup, the drab 1-1 draw against Mönchengladbach in the league’s opening game will be at the back of their minds. The sharpness of Robert Lewandowski, as usual, may be the differentiating factor.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
