The mouth-watering match across Europe this weekend takes place on Merseyside as two of England’s historic clubs face off. Arsenal travels to Liverpool looking for a bounce-back win following a 1-0 defeat at Stoke on August 19th. Arsene Wenger’s side dominated at the Bet365 Stadium a week ago, but couldn’t beat Jack Butland, who made six saves. Liverpool is unbeaten so far this season in all competitions, most recently ousting Hoffenheim in the Champions League playoff round. Jurgen Klopp’s men eased past Crystal Palace 1-0 in league play a week ago, and will be favored to earn another win at Anfield.
Elsewhere in Europe, Chelsea welcomes Everton to London on Sunday, while Roma hosts Inter in Serie A play. Real Madrid welcomes Valencia to the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, while Barcelona faces a trip to Alaves a day before. Borussia Dortmund hosts Hertha Berlin in Saturday’s late match in the Bundesliga, while PSG and Monaco both have tough home contests in France.
Here’s a closer look at this weekend’s European action:
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
The third weekend of the EPL kicks off on Saturday with AFC Bournemouth welcoming Manchester City to town. Eddie Howe’s men have stumbled out of the gate, losing their first two league matches of the season. The Cherries have failed to score in league play and will look to quiet a dangerous Manchester City side. Pep Guardiola’s men are coming off a 1-1 draw vs. Everton on Monday. Raheem Sterling scored the all-important equalizer while both sides were reduced to 10 men. City has won this game the last two seasons, by a combined score of 6-0.
In the early game on Sunday, Chelsea welcomes Everton to Stamford Bridge. The Blues used a pair of goals from Marcos Alonso a week ago to defeat London rivals Tottenham 2-1. Everton held on for a point at Manchester City, and advanced to the Europa League group stage after a 3-1 aggregate victory against Hajduk Split. Chelsea rolled to a 5-0 victory at home against the Toffees last season.
Here’s all of this weekend’s EPL fixtures:
Saturday
- AFC Bournemouth vs. Manchester City
- Crystal Palace vs. Swansea City
- Huddersfield Town vs. Southampton
- Newcastle United vs. West Ham United
- Watford vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
- Manchester United vs. Leicester City
Sunday
- Chelsea vs. Everton
- West Bromwich Albion vs. Stoke City
- Liverpool vs. Arsenal
- Tottenham Hotspur vs. Burnley
SPANISH LA LIGA
Real Sociedad welcomes Villarreal to the Anoeta in Friday’s La Liga weekend opener. The hosts fought back for a 3-2 road win at Celta Vigo in their opener as Jose scored the winning goal from the penalty spot. Villarreal fell 1-0 to Levante in their season opener last weekend, creating only one shot on goal. Striker Carlos Bacca is the man to watch after joining Villarreal from AC Milan on loan earlier this summer.
Saturday’s must-watch match in Spain comes from Mendizorroza as Alaves plays host to Barcelona. The hosts fell 1-0 at Leganes in their season opener, but will look for a strong showing against Barcelona this weekend. The Catalan side defeated Real Betis 2-0 in its opener, as an own-goal and a strike from Sergi Roberto was all it needed. Barcelona rolled to a 6-0 triumph at Alaves a year ago.
The match of the weekend comes on Sunday, when Real Madrid hosts Valencia. Zinedine Zidane’s side rolled to a 3-0 opening day win at Deportivo with Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos, and Casemiro all getting on the score sheet. Cristiano Ronaldo will serve the third match of his five-match band and is expected to be eligible for the Sept. 20th game versus Real Betis. Valencia defeated Las Palmas 1-0 on opening day, using a lone goal from Simone Zaza. The Italian is in his second season with the club, and is the player to watch for the visitors.
Here’s all of this weekend’s La Liga fixtures:
Friday
- Real Sociedad vs. Villarreal
- Real Betis vs. Celta Vigo
Saturday
- Alaves vs. Barcelona
- Levante vs. Deportivo
- Girona vs. Malaga
- Las Palmas vs. Atletico Madrid
Sunday
- Espanyol vs. Leganes
- Eibar vs. Athletic Bilbao
- Getafe vs. Sevilla
- Real Madrid vs. Valencia
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
Saturday’s opener features defending champions Bayern Munich travelling to Werder Bremen. Bremen fell 1-0 in their season opener a week ago at Hoffenheim, only creating two shots on goal. Striker Max Kruse is the main attacking threat for the hosts, scoring 15 goals a season ago. Bayern defeated Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 at the Allianz Arena in the opening match of the new campaign. New boys Niklas Sule and Corentin Tolisso each found the back of the net in their league debuts for the club.
Saturday’s must-watch match takes place at the Signal Iduna Park as Borussia Dortmund hosts Hertha Berlin. The hosts cruised past Wolfsburg 3-0 in their season opener last weekend, with Christian Pulisic scoring the first goal. Hertha Berlin used a brace from Matthew Leckie last weekend to defeat newly promoted Stuttgart 2-0.
Sunday’s early match takes place in Leipzig as RB Leipzig welcomes Freiburg to the Red Bull Arena. The hosts fell at Schalke 2-0 in their opener a week ago, making that three straight without a win in league play dating back to last season. Freiburg drew 0-0 against Eintracht Frankfurt in its opener, creating only one shot on goal. The hosts will look to last season’s leading scorer Florian Niederlechner to lead the attack after 11 goals a season ago.
Here’s all of this weekend’s Bundesliga fixtures:
Friday
- Koln vs. Hamburg SV
Saturday
- Werder Bremen vs. Bayern Munich
- Eintracht Frankfurt vs. VfL Wolfsburg
- Bayer Leverkusen vs. 1899 Hoffenheim
- FC Augsburg vs. Borussia Monchengladbach
- Stuttgart vs. FSV Mainz
- Borussia Dortmund vs. Hertha Berlin
Sunday
- RB Leipzig vs. SC Freiburg
- Hannover 96 vs. Schalke 04
ITALIAN SERIE A
The top match in Serie A this weekend takes place in the capital as Roma welcomes Inter to the Olimpico. The hosts defeated Atalanta in their opener a week ago, thanks to a goal from Aleksandar Kolarov. Despite only one effort on goal, Roma got the three points it needed. Former Roma boss Luciano Spalletti is now the head man at Inter and will be licking his chops to face his old team on Saturday. Inter defeated Fiorentina 3-0 in its opener, thanks to a brace from Mauro Icardi. Icardi rolled off 24 league goals a season ago and is a rising star in Europe.
In Sunday’s must-watch match, Napoli welcomes Atalanta to the San Paolo. Maurizio Sarri’s men used a 4-0 aggregate to edge Nice in the Champions League playoff round, and book their spot into the group stage. Napoli also eased its way past Hellas Verona 3-1 in its Serie A opener a week ago. Atalanta fell 1-0 to Roma last weekend, but swept the season series from Napoli in 2016/17. Josip Ilicic is the playmaker to watch for Atalanta after joining from Fiorentina this summer.
Here’s all of this weekend’s Serie A fixtures:
Saturday
- Benevento vs. Bologna
- Genoa vs. Juventus
- Roma vs. Inter Milan
Sunday
- Torino vs. Sassuolo
- Chievo Verona vs. Lazio
- Crotone vs. Hellas Verona
- Fiorentina vs. Sampdoria
- AC Milan vs. Cagliari
- Napoli vs. Atalanta
- Spal vs. Udinese
FRENCH LIGUE 1
Round four in France’s top-flight kicks off on Friday as PSG welcomes Saint-Etienne to the Parc Des Princes. Unai Emery’s side are unbeaten so far, scoring 11 goals in the opening three matches. Neymar dazzled his way to two goals and two assists against Toulouse last weekend, and has already formed a strong partnership with his teammates in Paris. St. Etienne is also unbeaten so far this season, keeping three clean sheets in the process. Striker Jonathan Bamba and midfielder Bryan Dabo each lead the team with two goals apiece.
Saturday’s early match comes from the La Beaujoire-Louis-Fonteneau as Nantes hosts Lyon. Claudio Ranieri’s side defeated Troyes 1-0 last Saturday for its first victory of the new season. Emiliano Sala’s 81st-minute effort was all the Italian manager needed for his first win with his new club. Lyon is unbeaten so far this season, despite a 3-3 home draw against Bordeaux a week ago. Strikers Nabil Fekir and Mariano each lead the team with three goals apiece.
The mouth-watering game of the weekend comes from the Stade Louis II on Sunday as Monaco welcomes Marseille to town. Leonardo Jardim’s side is undefeated to start the season, outscoring its opponents 8-3. Radamel Falcao is on fire for the Municipality side, leading it with five goals. Marseille advanced to the Europa League group stage on Thursday, edging NK Domzale 4-1 on aggregate. Rudi Garcia’s side is unbeaten in all competitions, and will look to striker Clinton N’Jie (three goals in 2017/18) to come up with the goods against the defending champions.
Here’s all of this weekend’s Ligue 1 fixtures:
Friday
- Paris Saint-Germain vs. Saint-Etienne
Saturday
- Nantes vs. Lyon
- Amiens vs. Nice
- Bordeaux vs. Troyes
- Caen vs. Metz
- Dijon vs. Montpellier
- Toulouse vs. Rennes
Sunday
- Guingamp vs. Strasbourg
- Angers vs. Lille
- Monaco vs. Marseille