Another weekend of football rolls around and there’s plenty to look forward to, with some huge games coming from England, Italy, Germany and Scotland.
Sports Pundit’s Game of the Weekend
English Premier League, Sunday 5pm (Central European Time)
It’s first versus third in the Premier League, when champions Manchester United take on wannabe challengers Chelsea.
The Blues have Andre Villas-Boas at the helm this term and he’s slowly getting the team to perform the way he wants. It hasn’t been a bad start in terms of results, but the flowing football hasn’t yet occurred. The Red Devils, on the other hand, have produced some exemplary football this term, with Wayne Rooney in stunning form, along with new man Ashley Young. However, Chelsea started last term in a similar fashion to that which United have and look what happened to them. We’ll wait and see what happens here.
Italian Serie A, Saturday 8.45pm (CET)
Two of Italy’s big clubs face off on Saturday evening when Gian Piero Gasperini’s Inter, fresh from a shock defeat to Trabzonspor in the Uefa Champions League in midweek, face off against Luis Enrique’s AS Roma.
Both clubs have big expectations this season but started the campaign slowly on the opening weekend. Inter went down 4-3 to Palermo while Roma were surprisingly beaten 2-1 at home by Cagliari. As a result, victory here will be crucial for both sides, but arguably particularly Gasperini, so it’s set to be a beauty.
Scottish Premier League, Sunday 3.30pm (CET)
Another Old Firm derby rolls around on Sunday and as per usual Rangers and Celtic are currently the top two in Scotland, so it’s a big game.
Champions Rangers have claimed 16 points from six games, while Celtic have 15 from six matches, meaning slip-ups have been few and far between so far. Steven Naismith has been shining for the Gers this term, but Celtic have a spread of goalscorers and have notched up 14 strikes already this term which suggests they’ll have a big attacking threat at Ibrox Park.
German Bundesliga, Sunday 5.30pm (CET)
This is yet another between two huge clubs, when last season’s Uefa Champions League semi-finalists Schalke face German giants Bayern Munich.
After a disappointing 2010-11 campaign, Bayern have started the new season under Jupp Heynckes brilliantly, sitting atop the Bundesliga with 12 points from five games. Schalke, who had a disastrous 2010-11 season, are down in sixth but their big stars up front, Raul and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar have been hitting goals this term in a good sign. In one final subplot here, this is Manuel Neuer’s first return to Gelsenkirchen since moving to Bayern in the off-season.
Italian Serie A, Sunday 8.45pm
Two of the top three in Serie A last season face off on Sunday, in a clash which will be keenly anticipated. Napoli and Milan both were in action in midweek, claiming impressive away draws to Manchester City and Barcelona respectively. As a result they’ll be relieved by the late Sunday kick-off.
Napoli started the season off with a good 3-1 away win against Cesena with Marek Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi firing, before Edinson Cavani scored in England in midweek. Champions Milan could only manage a 2-2 home draw with Lazio last week but they did come from two goals behind and look to be slowly building for a big campaign. They’ll be buoyed by their draw at European champions Barcelona in midweek and will be ready to fire.