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European Weekend Preview: Dortmund hosts Gladbach, Celtic travels to Rangers, and more

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Saturday will see the first installment of the Rivierderby this season as Borussia Dortmund hosts Borussia Monchengladbach at Signal Iduna Park. The hosts are atop of the Bundesliga table so far, winning four of their first five matches. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leads the team with five goals while Christian Pulisic has two. Gladbach are unbeaten in their last two matches, sitting in seventh place. Brazilian striker Raffael leads the visitors with two goals so far this season.

Elsewhere in Europe this weekend, an Old Firm Derby takes place in Glasgow, while a Turin derby takes place between Juventus and Torino. In England, Tottenham travels to West Ham United while Leicester hosts Liverpool. Atletico Madrid welcomes Sevilla to town in Spain, while Monaco travels to Lille in Ligue 1 action.

Here’s a closer look at all of this weekend’s European action:

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

The opening match of Matchday #6 in the EPL sees Tottenham Hotspur traveling to West Ham United. The visitors are unbeaten in their last five matches, winning three of them and drawing two. Harry Kane and Dele Alli each lead Spurs with two goals apiece, and will be counted on to lead the attacking front on Saturday. West Ham have won two of their last three matches across all competitions, including a 3-0 league cup triumph midweek over Bolton. Mexican international Javier Hernandez leads the Hammers with two goals.

In their second meeting in the past four days, Liverpool travels to Leicester City. The Reds were eliminated by the Foxes midweek in Carabao Cup action, losing 2-0. Liverpool are winless in their last four matches, losing two and drawing two. Mohamed Salah leads Jurgen Klopp’s side with three goals, while the return of Philippe Coutinho should help. Leicester drew 1-1 last weekend with Huddersfield, and have only won one league match so far. Jamie Vardy leads Craig Shakespeare’s side with four goals in five appearances.

Here’s all of this weekend’s EPL fixtures:

Saturday

  • West Ham United vs. Tottenham Hotspur
  • Burnley vs. Huddersfield Town
  • Everton vs. AFC Bournemouth
  • Manchester City vs. Crystal Palace
  • Southampton vs. Manchester United
  • Stoke City vs. Chelsea
  • Swansea City vs. Watford
  • Leicester City vs. Liverpool

Sunday

  • Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Newcastle United

Monday

  • Arsenal vs. West Bromwich Albion

SPANISH LA LIGA

The mouth-watering fixture in Spain comes from the Vicente Calderon as Atletico Madrid hosts Sevilla. The hosts have a 4-0-2 record across all competitions so far, and have won their last two league fixtures. Midfielder Angel Correa leads Atletico with three goals, while Koke and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco each have two. Sevilla have won their last four league fixtures, keeping clean sheets in all of them. Brazilian midfielder Ganso leads the team with two goals, while defensively Sevilla have only allowed one goal so far in league play.

The return of Cristiano Ronaldo to the Real Madrid line-up did not help midweek as Los Blancos fell for the first time in league play since Apr. 23rd. A late winner from Antonio Sanabria helped Real Betis pull the 1-0 upset away from home on Wednesday. Real Madrid will look to bounce back this weekend as they travel to Alaves. The hosts are winless this season, losing all five of their league fixtures so far. Gareth Bale and Marco Asensio each have two league goals this season for Zinedine Zidane’s side.

Here’s all of this weekend’s La Liga fixtures:

Saturday

  • Atletico Madrid vs. Sevilla
  • Alves vs. Real Madrid
  • Malaga vs. Athletic Bilbao
  • Girona vs. Barcelona

Sunday

  • Espanyol vs. Deportivo
  • Getafe vs. Villarreal
  • Las Palmas vs. Leganes
  • Eibar vs. Celta Vigo
  • Real Sociedad vs. Valencia

Monday

  • Real Betis vs. Levante

GERMAN BUNDESLIGA

Bayern Munich kicks off Matchday #6 on Friday as they welcome Wolfsburg to the Allianz Arena. Carlo Ancelotti’s side brushed aside Schalke midweek, winning 3-0. Robert Lewandowski leads Bayern with six league goals this season, and will be the leading attacker for the hosts this weekend. Wolfsburg are winless in their last three fixtures, drawing two and losing one. Midfielder Daniel Didavi leads the team with two goals, while Divock Origi has one.

On Saturday, Hoffenheim looks to continue their strong home form in league play as they welcome Schalke to town. Julian Nagelsmann’s side defeated Mainz 3-2 midweek as three different players got on the scoresheet. 26-year-old Mark Uth leads Hoffenheim with four goals, while Andrej Kramaric and Sandro Wagner each have two. Schalke saw a two-game winning run snapped midweek vs. Bayern and will look to bounce back. Nabil Bentaleb leads Schalke with two goals, and is a creative player in midfield.

Here’s all of this weekend’s Bundesliga fixtures:

Friday

  • Bayern Munich vs. VfL Wolfsburg

Saturday

  • RB Leipzig vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
  • 1899 Hoffenheim vs. Schalke 04
  • Werder Bremen vs. SC Freiburg
  • FSV Mainz vs. Hertha Berlin
  • VfB Stuttgart vs. FC Augsburg
  • Borussia Dortmund vs. Borussia Monchengladbach

Sunday

  • Hannover vs. FC Koln
  • Bayer Leverkusen vs. Hamburg

ITALIAN SERIE A

The top fixture in Italy this weekend comes from Turin as Juventus hosts Torino. The hosts are unbeaten in league play, winning their opening five matches. Paulo Dybala leads Juve with eight goals so far, while Gonzalo Higuain and Mario Mandzukic each have added two apiece. Torino are also unbeaten to start the new season, winning three of their opening five matches. Andrea Belotti and Adem Llajic each have three goals apiece for Torino. These sides shared the points in this fixture a year ago.

Sunday’s late fixture comes from Florence as Fiorentina hosts Atalanta. The hosts are coming off a 1-0 loss against Juventus midweek, and will look to win their third league match of the season. Cyril Thereau is the man to watch for Fiorentina up top after his move from Udinese prior to transfer deadline day. Atalanta have had a strong September so far, winning three of their four fixtures across all competitions. Midfielder Alejandro Gomez leads the team with three goals and two assists and is a creative playmaker for Atalanta.

Here’s all of this weekend’s Serie A fixtures:

Saturday

  • Roma vs. Udinese
  • Spal vs. Napoli
  • Juventus vs. Torino

Sunday

  • Sampdoria vs. AC Milan
  • Cagliari vs. Chievo Verona
  • Crotone vs. Benevento
  • Hellas Verona vs. Lazio
  • Inter Milan vs. Genoa
  • Sassuolo vs. Bologna
  • Fiorentina vs. Atalanta

FRENCH LIGUE 1

Matchday #7 in Ligue 1 kicks off on Friday as a pair of matches take centerstage. The second one features Lille hosting Monaco at the Stade Pierre Mauroy. The hosts haven’t tasted a league win since opening weekend, a 3-0 triumph over Nantes back on Aug. 6. Lille will look to midfielder Anwar El Ghazi to create some chances, after his goal back on opening weekend. Monaco cruised past Strasbourg 3-0 last weekend, with Radamel Falcao netting brace in the win. The Colombian has nine goals so far and has been on a tear to begin the new campaign.

The early fixture on Saturday sees league leaders PSG travel to Montpellier. Unai Emery’s side have cruised to seven victories across all competitions so far, rattling off 26 goals in the process. Uruguayan international Edinson Cavani leads the team with seven goals, while Neymar has four goals and four assists. Montpellier earned their second win of the season last weekend, defeating Troyes 1-0. Giovanni Sio and Souleymane Camara each are dangerous attackers for the hosts, and have a goal each this season.

Here’s all of this weekend’s Ligue 1 fixtures:

Friday

  • Nice vs. Angers
  • Lille vs. Monaco

Saturday

  • Montpellier vs. PSG
  • Bordeaux vs. Guingamp
  • Caen vs. Amiens
  • Lyon vs. Dijon
  • Metz vs. Troyes

Sunday

  • St. Etienne vs. Rennes
  • Strasbourg vs. Nantes
  • Marseille vs. Toulouse

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

The first Old Firm Derby of the season in Scotland takes place on Saturday at Ibrox Stadium. Rangers currently sit in third place in the SPFL on 11 points, and are coming off a 2-2 draw at Partick Thistle on Sept. 15. Celtic sit atop the league table so far with a 5-0-1 record. Brendan Rodgers side are seeking their seventh consecutive league title after a dominant campaign in 2016. Celtic’s Scott Sinclair (three goals) and Rangers’ Alfredo Morales (six goals) are two players to watch in this fixture.

Saturday

  • Rangers vs. Celtic

 

 

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