October 02, (THEWILL) – With six matches set for Saturday, the English Premier League provides enough to look forward to for fans of the round leather game. However, there is a host of other mouthwatering ties to liven up the weekend across Europe.
THEWILL previews Saturday and Sunday top fixtures beginning with the EPL ties.
The first of these fixtures pots Manchester United against Everton, two teams that have started the season in the same way, with four wins, one draw, and one defeat.
United will need a big performance against Everton this weekend after Wednesday’s late, late win over Villarreal eased some pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Yet, the performance left question marks on Solskjaer’s coaching. Meanwhile, Everton will be looking to build on their 2-0 victory over Norwich to skip ahead of United.
Later, Chelsea host Southampton, one of just five teams in the Premier League without a win so far this season, while at the American Express Community Stadium, Brighton and Hove Albion welcome an improving and resurgent Arsenal, that have put their worst start to the season behind them.
Watford will visit Elland Road to take on the miserable Leeds United, and despite looking quite beatable on paper, the Hornets have had a successful return to the Premier League with Dennis and ismaila Sarr forming a strong partnership in front.
Leeds United desperately need a win to get their Premier League season off to a good start. After six games, the Whites have only managed three draws and are unable to avoid conceding goals. A slew of injuries has decimated Marcelo Bielsa’s backline, resulting in 14 players sidelined so far.
Over in Italy, Juventus travel to Torino in the first of a series of important derbies this weekend. As one might expect, Juventus has dominated this match in recent years, undefeated in 14 games, with 11 victories and 3 draws against their Turin city rivals.
Inter, the Serie A champions, are also on the road as they travel to Sassuolo. Still unbeaten in Serie A, the Nerazzurri have adapted to life under new manager Simone Inzaghi with the minimum of fuss, but their hosts are still coming to terms with their own change of leadership and have won just twice in the league this term.
In La Liga, the most important match of the day, on paper at least, is the fixture between Atlético Madrid and Barcelona in the Spanish top flight.
This clash would be an immense tie at any point in time in La Liga, but circumstances have changed the tenor of this season’s fixture. Ronald Koeman’s side is currently experiencing new lows, which are coming thick and fast. Then, there is also the threat that recent headline exits from Barca, Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suárez, offer now that they play for Atleti, to give this match a little extra heat.
In the Bundesliga, it will be worth keeping an eye on the games involving the teams currently in third and fourth place as Borussia Dortmund, who are 4th, host struggling Augsburg, while third-placed Wolfsburg hosts Borussia Monchengladbach.
And then on Sunday, in the Rhône-Alpes region of France, there is a match between two major local rivals, Saint-Etienne and Lyon, which is known simply as “Le Derby.”
At the top of the Ligue 1 table, PSG will aim to build on their win over Manchester City in the UCL second round last week when they go to Rennes. And now that he is free of the pressure of scoring his first PSG goal, Lionel Messi will be an interesting player to follow in Mauricio Pochettino’s reinforced team’s progress.
Sunday will also see all three of England’s UEFA Europa League participants in action with Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi returning for Leicester City at Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur at home to Aston Villa, and West Ham United at the astoundingly impressive Brentford.
However, the most anticipated match of the day will undoubtedly be the clash between Liverpool and Manchester City, the last two league champions and the top two teams in the division ahead of the weekend fixtures.
Over at Serie A, there is also a decent curtain closer to the weekend, with second-placed Milan trying to keep their unbeaten start to the season going against Atalanta.
Also, Victor Osimhen’s Napoli are billed to play Fiorentina earlier in the day. The Neapolitans still have their perfect record intact and are in first place in the league after six rounds, to make the tie even more interesting to watch especially given their Europa League upset loss at home to Spartak Moscow on Thursday night.
The Sunday La Liga schedule has the top three teams in Spain featuring prominently. Real Madrid will pay a visit to Espanyol in Barcelona, possibly as a warm-up for the real El Clásico when they return to the city later this month.
Real Sociedad, who are unbeaten in their last eight games, travel to Getafe, who have yet to pick up a point this season. Sevilla will fancy their chances against Granada, who are also winless.
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.
