1. Will Juventus set up again?
On Friday evening, Napoli will take on Juventus in-house. After a terrible competition start, the Old Lady is suddenly second in the standings. Leader Napoli is one of the better teams in Europe this season and yet the difference with Juve can just be four points after Friday evening.
Napoli-Juventus, Friday at 8.45 p.m
© AFP
2. Manchester Derby for KDB
Also on Saturday it is not long to wait for a topper. Manchester United will receive city rivals Manchester City in the Premier League. The Red Devils are on the mend after getting off to a poor start and could within one point of City if they win. Kevin De Bruyne and co are second on five points from Arsenal and must be careful not to widen the gap. This week, City were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Southampton. The Citizens didn’t have one shot on target…
Manchester United v Manchester City, Saturday at 1.30pm
© Action Images via Reuters
3. Battle for London
A derby is also scheduled in England on Sunday. Tottenham and Arsenal, the number five and number one in the standings, battle for London honours. The Gunners are having an incredible season, but couldn’t beat revelation Newcastle last weekend. Tottenham then has to win again in order not to fall out of the top five.
Tottenham-Arsenal, Sunday at 5.30pm
© AP
4. The Classic in… Saudi-Arabië
And we also get a real classic in Saudi Arabia. Not between Al-Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo’s new club, and Al-Hilal, but between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The Spanish top clubs compete in El Clásico for the Supercup, which was brought to the Middle East in 2019 for a lot of money. Real won the semi-final this week on penalties from Valencia, Thibaut Courtois was the great hero and Eden Hazard remained on the bench for 120 minutes. Barça also needed extra time and penalties against Real Betis.
Real Madrid-Barcelona, Sunday at 8:45 p.m
© EPA-EFE
5. Doku en Theate vs. Messi
To close the weekend: Jérémy Doku and Arthur Theate take on the stars of Paris Saint-Germain, with whom world champion Lionel Messi has returned since this week. The Argentinian immediately scored a goal in his first match as world champion, now Red Devil Theate may try to prevent him from scoring against Rennes. We will also be looking forward to Doku, because he will have more playing opportunities since his competitor Martin Terrier was out with a serious knee injury.
Rennes-PSG, Sunday at 8.45pm
© ISOPIX