The return of European action in midweek saw a flurry of goals over the course of an entertaining few days and provided a welcome alternative to the domestic leagues. That being said, this time of year is characterized as being the busiest part of the football calendar, particularly in England where the traditional Christmas football schedule is very popular with fans.
Over the coming weeks there will be plenty of domestic league and cup action across Europe’s top divisions, starting with some action-packed action this weekend. The PL kicks off on Friday this time with a south coast derby between Brighton and Southampton and there will also be matches from the top divisions of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Turkey, among others.
It’s a busy day on Saturday with five PL matches as well as Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga fixtures. There are also cup ties this weekend involving teams from the lower divisions with the FA Cup, Coup de France and Scottish Cup featuring a number of matches. On Saturday in Spain, Barcelona and Atlético will be in action, hoping to build on midweek CL victories. AC Milan will be hoping to get back to winning ways in the league when they host Empoli and in Germany, the best match of the weekend will take place on Saturday evening as Dortmund host Bayern Munich.
England’s fixture selection takes place on Sunday, starting with Chelsea against Aston Villa in a battle for the top four. Manchester United will be hoping to secure their first league win under Ruben Amorim in their PL home opener against Everton and the final game of the day should be a success as leaders Liverpool host a stuttering Manchester City. French football giants Marseille and Monaco face off in a late kick-off on Sunday. Serie A leaders Napoli travel to Turin and defending champions Inter are also on the trip, taking fourth place Fiorentina. In Spain, Real Madrid face Getafe in the hope of closing the gap with the leader and rival Barcelona.
We wrap things up on Monday with an interesting Serie A clash between AS Roma and Atalanta and there are also a few games from Portugal, Scotland, Spain and Turkey but no action from England.
Liverpool vs Manchester City
Liverpool could hardly have hoped for a better start to the season as they find themselves top of the championship and eight points ahead of their opponents on Sunday, Manchester City. A win here and they will be hot favorites to win the title at the hands of City, who have won the last four games in a row. Midweek saw another positive result as Liverpool swept aside Real Madrid in the CL. Arne Slot has certainly had a good start to life at Anfield, winning ten of his first twelve league matches in charge. Their midweek victory was already their seventeenth of the season and they will be optimistic that they can get the better of an out-of-form Manchester City. Liverpool can also highlight their positive home record against City, against whom they have lost only once in their last 21 league meetings at Anfield. Although Liverpool have not offered him a new contract, Mo Salah remains their star man with sixteen goals and assists to his name this season.
Manchester City are currently in the midst of their worst run in recent memory as they continue to break records in negative fashion. They led 3-0 in midweek but failed to finish with all three points in their CL tie against Feyenoord. Their last victory came a month ago when they got the better of Southampton and since then they have not won any of their last six matches. The absence of Rodri in central midfield has been key, as have a number of injuries to other important players. Manager Pep Guardiola will be aware that another defeat here will leave them with a mountain to climb if they are to defend their league title and open them up to being overtaken in the table by Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton, depending on further results.
Both meetings last year ended in a 1-1 draw and Man City have won three of the last ten meetings, with Liverpool also winning three.
Chelsea vs Aston Villa
Chelsea are exceeding expectations so far this season, currently sitting in third position and on track to finish in the top four. Many weren’t sure what to expect following the appointment of Enzo Maresca as coach and the recent unrest within the club, but so far it has been a success. They may have only won twice in their last five league matches, but they have only lost twice this season, a record that can only be bettered by leaders Liverpool. They are unbeaten in their last five matches, including a simple 2-0 victory in Europe in midweek, and this with a greatly renewed squad. A win in this match and they will be just six points behind leaders Liverpool, at least for a few hours. Expect significant changes to the starting lineup with Palmer, Neto, Caciedo and Cucurella all likely to start in this match.
Aston Villa are certainly going through a tough time and find themselves in eighth position heading into this match, but just three points behind their opponents. Having to juggle European football in midweek has taken its toll on the team: they have won none of their last four league matches and seven in total and have the worst defensive record of any team currently in the top ten. Aston Villa will feel bad about being denied a win against Juventus in midweek in the CL, although a draw against the Italian giants is not a bad result in itself. Onana and Ramsey are doubts for the visitors.
The odds are certainly in the home side’s favor, but Aston Villa have a pretty good record at Stamford Bridge overall. They won their championship match there last season and in total, they have three victories in the last ten meetings with Chelsea while the Londoners have four.
Fiorentina vs. Inter
It’s a tough game to put together as third-placed Inter travel to fourth-placed Fiorentina on Sunday afternoon, with both teams having an identical record in Serie A. They both have twenty points and a goal difference of +17, but it is the hosts who have the better recent record, having won their last five matches compared to Inter who have won only three of their last five matches. These two have met 172 times in Serie A, with Inter winning 72 to Fiorentina’s 45 and recent history has been kinder to Inter, who have won six of the last eight meetings. Inter have won their last four visits to Fiorentina and another victory here will make them the first team to win five away matches at the Viola’s home ground. Fiorentina won their ECL match in midweek to continue their good recent record and they have a man in good goal scoring form, with Moise Kean second with Inter’s Marcus Thuram in the charts.
Inter also won their midweek tie, a 1-0 win over Leipzig in the CL, allowing them to build on their impressive 5-0 away win over Verona last weekend. They have conceded just one goal in their last five matches and have scored in every one of their league matches so far this season. They have scored 41 away goals so far in 2024, so they are certainly powerful on the attacking side of the pitch. Lautaro Martinez is a man who is enjoying this game, having scored seven goals in his last five appearances against Fiorentina and he provides another option alongside Marcus Thuram.
The last few matches have certainly benefited Inter, who have won eight of the last ten meetings, including both last season. Therefore, while they cannot be separated on form this season, history is firmly on Inter’s side.
Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich
More often than not, it is a battle between the top two in the Bundesliga, but there is a significant ten-point gap between the teams heading into this match, with Dortmund struggling so far this season. Therefore, there is significant pressure on the home team to win this match in order to maintain their chances of winning any type of title challenge. This is the first ‘Der Klassiker’ of the season with Dortmund still boasting bragging rights after their 2-0 victory when these two last met in March. This is the 136th meeting between the two teams, the most hotly contested meeting in German football. Both teams replaced their managers this summer, so it’s Nuri Sahin against Vincent Kompany in the dugouts. Dortmund have the best home record in the league so far with six wins, but this time they will face the team with the best away record so far, with Bayern having 5 wins and one match zero outside. Dortmund’s last game was a 4-0 home win over Freiburg last weekend and they haven’t lost a competitive home game since April.
Bayern have an impressive winning streak against Dortmund and have won their last five league matches this season without conceding a goal. They also managed to get past PSG in midweek, keeping a clean sheet again in a narrow 1-0 victory. Scoring goals has certainly not been a problem for the Bavarian giants, they have scored an impressive 36 goals so far this season, fourteen more than their hosts here. Harry Kane is in good form once again and has scored fifty goals in the Bundesliga faster than any other player. Last season he scored a hat-trick in this match and he has scored the opening goal in three of his last four Bundesliga matches.
Dortmund have only won one of the last ten meetings and that was last season’s 2-0 win in March. Bayern have won eight of the last ten matches and so history is firmly on their side.
PS: The odds may have changed since this article was written and published.
Last updated: 11/29/24
