5 Matches To Watch This Weekend
It’s been an interesting week of football in Europe, with lots of entertainment and some surprise results in the Champions League and Europa League.
Domestic action returns in Europe this weekend and here is a look at the most-anticipated matches from Europe’s top five leagues.
La Liga: Real Madrid vs Granada (Saturday 19 September)
After a shock 0-0 draw at Sporting Gijón to start the season Real Madrid have started pummelling the goals into the back of the net.
Rafa Benítez’s side have subsequently thrashed Real Betis 5-0 and Espanyol 6-0 in La Liga and ran out 4-0 winners over Shakhtar Donetsk in their Champions League opener on Tuesday.
The big sides in Spain face some of the smaller teams this weekend and Real Madrid are no exception. This match will be a case of how many the giants will win by, and how many will Cristiano Ronaldo score after netting five last weekend? You won’t need to read any football betting tips to know who’s going to win this one…
Premier League: Chelsea vs Arsenal (Saturday 19 September)
What was meant to be an early test between two title contenders when the fixtures were initially drawn sees Chelsea in a must-win situation to keep their title chances alive in mid-September.
Jose Mourinho’s side already find themselves 11 points behind Manchester City in mid-September with three losses already on the board.
Arsenal are five points behind themselves and really don’t want to be falling back any further this weekend so it’s important Arsene Wenger’s side bounce back from their shock 2-1 loss at Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Arsenal are the predicted underdogs going into this game but that shouldn’t stop you from betting on the fixture (or on Arsenal for that matter). Armed with a bet365 bonus offer from BettingExpert.com and one of their top tips for the Chelsea-Arsenal game, you can’t go wrong with putting money on this game. And if you fancy an upset, remember that Wenger experienced his first-ever win over Mourinho in the Community Shield at the start of August – now can he pick up his first league win over the Special One this weekend?
Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen (Sunday 20 September)
The Rhine derby will take centre stage on Saturday but Sunday will be a test of two Champions League sides at Signal Iduna Park as last season’s underachievers Borussia Dortmund host Bayer Leverkusen.
Dortmund have started like a house on fire under Thomas Tuchel, scoring 15 goals in their first four league matches as they top Bayern Munich in goal difference.
Bayer Leverkusen suffered a shock home loss to newly-promoted Darmstadt 98 last weekend before bouncing back with the thrashing of BATE Borisov in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Will Borussia Dortmund maintain their 100% start to the season after this weekend’s fixture?
Serie A: Chievo vs Internazionale (Saturday 19 September)
The top two in Italy meet at the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi this weekend and it doesn’t involved Juventus.
In fact, Chievo held Juventus to a 1-1 draw in Turin last weekend to put them in second place ahead of matchday 4. Internazionale’s 1-0 win in the Milan derby sees them as the only Italian side to have a 100% win record after three games.
It’s been a good start from Roberto Mancini’s side but they have all been one-goal victories, beating Atalanta 1-0 and Carpi 2-1.
Chievo have made an impressive start, not least by thrashing Lazio 4-0 in their last home match. Can the underdogs pull off another surprise result this weekend?
Ligue 1: Marseille vs Lyon (Sunday 20 September)
After competing in the Europa League on Thursday, Marseille host Lyon in France’s biggest game of the weekend, on Sunday.
Both sides have made a poor start to the new season with Marseille taking only six points from their first two matches, whilst Lyon are only two points better off. Defending champions and league leaders Paris Saint-Germain have taken 13.
This is an important match for both sides to get their Champions League qualification back on track and a victory should do wonders to get either side’s season started.
One of the most-anticipated games around Europe on Sunday evening – which side will come out on top?