Weekend’s Key Matches
A busy weekend schedule for Europe’s major league is just around the corner with matches flowing through thick and fast after the international break.
After two weeks of the international break, where a number of Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers, Nations League, and friendly matches, all eyes will be set on Europe’s big matches.
English Premier, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, and the French Ligue 1 are set to be back on our screens with the first match being Paris Saint Germain taking on AS Monaco this Friday.
In the LaLiga, Atletico Madrid will be hosting Spanish giants Barcelona at the Wanda Metropolitano this weekend.
What are some of the key fixtures you can look forward to this week?
Tottenham vs Manchester City
Tottenham Hotspur will be playing hosts to Manchester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend in a Premier League encounter. Spurs are currently second on the log and will be keen to pick from where they left before the international break as they beat West Brom 1-0. The north London side looked destined for a draw but Harry Kane rose to the occasion, netting all the important goal in two minutes to the stoppage.
Meanwhile, Manchester City dropped points at the Etihad Stadium following a 1-1 draw with defending Champions Liverpool. City found themselves trailing inside 13 minutes of play thanks to Mohamed Salah’s penalty after Sadio Mane was brought down inside the danger zone.
Eighteen minutes later, City drew level through Gabriel Jesus, who squeezed the ball past Alisson Becker. Just before half time, the hosts were handed a penalty but Kevin De Bruyne failed to capitalize as his effort went wide.
Pep Guardiola’s men are currently 10th on the log with 12 points after seven matches.
The match is set to start from 8:30 PM EAT on Saturday 21st.
Atlético Madrid vs Barcelona
In-form Atletico Madrid will be welcoming Barcelona at the Wanda Metropolitano is one of the most anticipated clashes in LaLiga. Madrid has started this campaign on a good note and hasn’t lost any game so far as they occupy the third on the log.
Just before the international break, Diego Simeone’s men thrashed Cadiz 4-0 to move to within three points of league leaders Real Sociedad.
On the other hand, Barcelona who is eighth on the log punished ten-man Real Betis 5-2 at the Nou Camp.
Last season, these two sides met thrice, twice in the league and once in the Super Cup. In the first leg, Barcelona registered a 1-0 victory before grabbing another 3-2 win in the Super. The LaLiga return leg was staged at the Wanda Metropolitano where the two teams settled for a 2-2.
The match will kick off at 11:00 PM EAT on Saturday.
Villarreal vs Real Madrid
After a shocking result before the international break, Real Madrid will be traveling to Estadio de la Ceramica this Saturday to face Villarreal. Madrid had a night to forget at Mestalla, as they suffered a 4-1 humiliation in the hands of Valencia. It has not been a good start to the current campaign for the Los Blancos as they have already suffered two defeats in the league so far from their eight matches.
Zinedine Zidane’s men are currently fourth on the log with 16 points, four behind leaders Real Sociedad. Saturday’s clash will be another trick away fixture, as they will be up against second-placed Villareal.
Since the start of the current campaign, Villareal has only suffered a single defeat and that came against Barcelona as they were beaten 4-0 at the Nou Camp.
Their most recent encounter in the LaLiga was against Getafe at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez where they registered a 3-1 victory.
The match will start at 6:15 PM EAT time on Saturday 21st.
Liverpool vs Leicester City
This Sunday, all eyes will be at Anfield when league leaders Leicester City will be traveling to take on defending champions Liverpool. A time like now last season, The Reds were untouchable as they were yet to lose a single game. However, things are totally different now and as it stands, no team in the Premier League is unbeaten, all have at least dropped points through defeats.
Leicester is at the top of the table with having suffered only two defeats while registering zero draws in the process. Meanwhile, Liverpool has suffered a single defeat and it was a heavy one as they lost 7-2 to Aston Villa at Villa Park some weeks ago.
Last season, the two teams met twice with Liverpool beating Leicester City home and away with a 2-1 and 4-0 scoreline respectively,
This match will be played on Sunday 22nd starting from 10:45 PM EAT.
Napoli vs Milan
In Serie A, the huge match will be between Napoli and AC Milan with the pair entertaining each other at Stadio San Paolo. Only three points separate the pair heading to the clash with AC Milan being at the top of the with 17 points, two above second-placed Sassuolo.
Milan had a week to forget about, as we headed for the international break. The Italian side suffered a 3-0 defeat in the hands of Lille in the Europa League tie before settling for a 2-2 draw with Hellas Verona at home.
Meanwhile, Napoli registered a 1-0 victory over Bologna just before the international break thanks to Victor Osimhen’s first-half strike.
Last season, the two teams shared spoils in both legs with the first game ending in a 1-1 draw at the San Siro before a 2-2 result at Stadio San Paolo.
The match will be played on Sunday 22nd November starting from 10:45 PM EAT.
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