Five football matches to watch out for this weekend
It is such a great time to be a football fan as there are exciting matches from the major European leagues that are sure to thrill football lovers. Here are some of the major highlights to expect this weekend:
1) Chelsea vs Leicester
Things kick off in the premiership where Chelsea take on Leicester in a must win encounter for the blues. They will be encouraged by the return of captain John Terry and the blistering form of Diego Costa who tops the scorers chart with 6 goals in 7 appearances.
It would be dangerous to count Leicester out of this tie as they have quality players such as Vardy, Mahrez and Slimani who can pile the pressure on Chelsea’s leaky defense.
2) Messi is back
Lionel Messi is back and is available for selection against Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday. The Argentina forward has been out of action since picking up a groin strain in the 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid on September 21.
Messi will be looking to take part in this match as Barcelona prepare for a crunch test on Wednesday in the Champions League against Manchester City which will also provide a reunion with his ex-coach Pep Guardiola.
3) Dortmund vs Hertha Berlin
Hertha Berlin have been the surprise team of the season in the bundesliga as they sit 2nd on the log behind leaders Bayern Munich with 13 points from 6 matches. However a match against Dortmund might be too much for them to handle as Dortmund have scored 11 times in 3 home games this season and they will be looking to continue their impressive scoring record in front of their fans.
With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang showing no signs of slowing down on the goal scoring front, Thomas Tuchel side is expected to defeat Hertha Berlin in a goal scoring extravaganza.
4) Real Madrid is ready to get back to winning ways and Ronaldo is pumped up
Real Madrid saw their lead at the top of the La-liga drop due to a barren run of 3 consecutive draws, this weekend against Real Betis they will be hoping to get back to winning ways.
Call Cristiano Ronaldo cocky, arrogant or rude, one thing you can’t deny is that he delivers when it matters most for his club and country. Ronaldo declaration during the week that he considers himself the best player in the world will rub some shoulders the wrong way but his performance this year has helped to back up his claims. Coming off his impressive performance in the World Cup qualifiers he will be looking to help Real Madrid get back to winning ways as their run of recent draws has brought question marks to the strength and unity of the team.
Real Madrid will be looking to silence their critics and it seems likely that this will be a festival of goals as they will likely score 4 or more goals on Saturday against a Real Betis side that is lacking in confidence and sits 15th on the table with 8 points from 7 matches.
5) Can Liverpool defeat Manchester United?
Liverpool have started this season in style as they have already dispatched Chelsea, Arsenal and Leicester, this impressive results against top-tier teams have been interesting to watch as this has made pundits rate them among the favourites to lift the EPL crown.
Liverpool and Manchester City have scored the highest number of goals with 18 goals from 7 matches and their attack is likely to pose all sorts of problems to Manchester United, if Coutinho and Firmino are allowed to run riot at the heart of the midfield, a victory will definitely be in the cards for Liverpool.
Jose Mourinho still seems to be experimenting with his United side as he is yet to settle on his first team selection. Wayne Rooney seems destined for the bench yet again but there are question marks over who gets to play, will he pair Paul Pogba with Ander Herrera or will he opt for the strength and aerial presence of Marouane Felliani in place of Herrera.
Paul Pogba comments during the week that he wants to play a more attacking role in the team shows that there are some cracks in the team and there are also question marks about the appropriate position for Juan Mata if indeed he is starting the match.
The presence of Henrikh Mkhitaryan from injury means he will be also contesting for a starting spot with Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard or Anthony Martial.
Mourinho will definitely want to get his selection right as he would want to avoid going 8 points behind Manchester City ( I am assuming Manchester City win) with just 8 games into the season.
