This is supposed to be the weekend the new Spanish La Liga season begins but a player strike might put that on hold, however England’s Premier League has dished up a number of treats to keep us happy over the weekend.
Sports Pundit’s Game of the Weekend
English Premier League, Saturday 3.45pm (Central European Time)
Two of England’s big clubs go to battle on Saturday and after unconvincing opening day results, both drew, they’ll both be looking to pick up three points to get their seasons underway with champions Manchester United already looking impressive.
Kenny Dalglish believes the Reds are due for a victory at Arsenal and there’s probably no better opportunity than now, given Arsenal’s current predicament. The Gunners lost influential skipper Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona in midweek, while Samir Nasri wants out and is set to join Manchester City, soon although Arsene Wenger may use him against Liverpool. Alex Song and Gervinho are also out suspended.
For Liverpool, they were sensational for a half last weekend against Sunderland with Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll looking dangerous and they’ll fancy more of the same but over 90 minutes this time.
English Premier League, Saturday 3pm (CET)
England’s only two North-East top flight clubs face off in Saturday’s early kick-off, with both sides having claimed decent opening weekend results against big opponents.
Sunderland, who have signed a long list of quality players over the European summer, drew 1-1 at Kenny Dalglish’s revitalised Liverpool, while Newcastle held Arsenal to a goalless draw at St James’ Park with Joey Barton grabbing a few headlines, rather than the team’s performance, which was moreso defensive than impressive. Now, though, the rivalry returns with the Magpies hoping to repeat last season’s 5-1 hammering.
Bayern Munich v Hamburg SV
German Bundesliga, Saturday 3.30pm (CET)
Jupp Heynckes’ Bayern Munich side are one of the big stories in Europe this term and how their season pans out will be of much interest. Their opening day 1-0 loss to Moenchengladbach was an awful start but they’ve rebounded with wins over Wolfsburg and Zurich, the latter in the Uefa Champions League qualifiers.
Now, Bayern have a tricky home clash with Michael Oenning’s Hamburg SV, who are a capable side on their day. Bayern will be boosted by their midweek success with Arjen Robben looking the goods, while HSV striker Mladen Petric could be set to miss this one.
Spanish La Liga, Sunday 5pm (CET)
Big-spending Malaga are expected to open the season at home to European and Spanish champions Barcelona, although the Spanish Professional Footballers Union strike may put paid to that with no agreement reached just yet.
If it goes ahead, this is a game to look forward to with after Malaga invested heavily in their playing squad with the likes of Jeremy Toulalan, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Martin Demichelis join the club. Barca, meanwhile, secured a major move for Chile international Alexis Sanchez and Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas in recent weeks (and he helped them claim the Super Copa last week over Real Madrid) so there’s plenty to be excited about.
English Premier League, Monday 9pm
The champions play host to Harry Redknapp’s ambitious Tottenham on Monday, with the away side only now preparing for their opening clash of the campaign after their game with Everton was postponed last week due to the London riots.
There’s no major additions to the Spurs side which hint this team can return to England’s top four, but they’ve held onto Luka Modric after Chelsea’s bid to lure him. Tottenham also won’t be burdened by Uefa Champions League commitments this term and will now doubt be tricky opponents, but United showed in their opening two games of the season, the 3-2 win over Manchester City in the Charity Shield and last weekend’s 2-1 league victory over West Bromwich, that they’ve got plenty of character despite several stars retiring. Ashley Young has started well, while Dimitar Berbatov could be excited to face his former club.