We preview the highly anticipated upcoming matches across major European leagues, which take place starting from Friday through to Sunday.
ENGLAND
Joint-leaders Manchester United have a perfect opportunity to go top of the league table when they host rock bottom Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. The Red Devils have been in a two-horse race at the top with Manchester City, and could go clear heading into the international break if the Citizens drop points at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea and Manchester City meet at Stamford Bridge in the game of the weekend. The visitors are joint-leaders while the Blues are third on the table. Games between the pair over the years have always proven to be fiercely contested. Considering Manchester City’s mind-blowing start to the season and Chelsea’s massive away win in the UEFA Champions League midweek, we expect this game to probably be one of the games of the season yet.
GERMANY
Seventh-place Schalke hosts Bayer Leverkusen on Friday night. The home team have suffered successive league defeats, losing in their last home game to Bayern Munich. The visiting team have struggled away from home this season, but can always guarantee you a goal feast whenever they are in action.
League leaders Borussia Dortmund are away to Augsburg on Saturday afternoon. The leaders have to put their latest UEFA Champions League setback behind them and focus on extending their lead at the top of the Bundesliga table.
Hertha Berlin could pile further misery on Bayern Munich when they host the troubled champions. Eight-place hosts could be prepared to hand a shocker to an expensively assembled team who are five spots ahead. Failure to secure maximum points will be a third successive winless game for Bayern Munich.
ITALY
AC Milan needs to get their season back on track starting with a home game against Roma. Coach Vincenzo Montella, a Roman hero, and now manager of AC Milan has to put whatever affiliations and connections he has with the capital club, in a game whose outcome could decide his fate in-charge of the Rossoneri.
League leaders Napoli are home to Cagilari in Sunday’s early kickoff. It has being a wonderful season for the Marek Hamsik captained team who are unbeaten and have set the pace in the league. They should have little trouble in blowing away a Cagilari team that have struggled both home and away this season.
FRANCE
Second-place Monaco will aim to bounce back from UEFA Champions league disappointment on home ground when they host Montpellier at the Stade Louis II on Friday night. The 13th-place side come into this game on the back of an impressive scoreless home draw against PSG last weekend and could fancy their chances of nicking another point off a battered Monaco team.
Paris Saint-Germain are at home to Bordeaux in a game the leaders need to make up for last weekend’s shocking away draw. Coach Unai Emery can once again count on the services of Neymar who is available after missing the last game due to a slight toe complaint, as the Parisians have the full complement of Neymar, Edison Cavani and Kylian Mbappe all rearing to go from the start.
OGC Nice and Marseille round up French Ligue 1 matches on Sunday night at Allianz Riviera. Nice have been inconsistent this season, despite their heavy hammering of Monaco on this ground a fortnight ago. It promises to be an exciting game as the Rudi Garcia coached Marseille team are a competitive side who are capable of creating upsets.
