5️⃣ spicy fixtures you must watch this weekend 🌶 | OneFootball

The final international break of 2023 is now over and we return to club football with a bang.

These are the fixtures you cannot miss.

Manchester City Women v Tottenham Women

It has been a hit-and-miss start to the season for Manchester City Women.

There have been big highlights such as the win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in the derby but there’s been disappointment too.

A frustrating late loss at Arsenal chief among those, while in midweek they were surprisingly beaten by Leicester City in WSL Cup action, meaning the pressure is on to bounce back.

Tottenham will pose plenty of problems, particularly in the final third given that no team has managed to stop them scoring yet this season.

If City are to avoid losing any further ground in the title race, victory is vital.

Spice rating: Mild 🌶

PSG v Monaco

“This has the feel of a Champions League game,” Monaco boss Adi Hütter said earlier this week as he stoked the fires ahead of this top-of-the-table clash.

It isn’t hard to see why he shared that sentiment, given this will take place under the Friday night lights of the Parc des Princes.

And just three points separate Hütter’s side in third from the defending champions at the top of the table, with Nice sandwiched between them.

They may also be getting the potentially vulnerable Parisians at a good time too, given the injuries to Warren Zaïre-Emery and Marquinhos, although Monaco aren’t without their own issues and will be without the suspended Youssouf Fofana, who was France’s star man over the international break.

There is still plenty of star power on show though without them in a fixture not to be missed in France on Friday.

Spice rating: Medium 🌶 🌶

Everton v Manchester United

On any other weekend, this would be a serious contender for top spot.

Goodison Park on Sunday is set to play host one of the fieriest, formidable atmospheres in Premier League history.

It is the first fixture the Toffees will contest since their 10 point deduction and fans are furious, intent on channeling their anger and frustration at the league towards Sunday’s game.

Manchester United are the unfortunate visitors in town who are set to also bare some of the brunt of an incensed fanbase’s ire.

Protests are planned throughout, making this one captivating more so for what happens off the field as anything that occurs on it.

Spice rating: Hot 🌶 🌶 🌶

Juventus v Inter

The only fixtures capable of potentially topping Everton for spiciness this weekend are due to the potential title ramifications that comes with them.

Firstly, one of the biggest Derby d’Italia fixtures to take place in years is on the slate in Serie A on Sunday night, with the league’s top two sides facing off.

Both Juventus and Inter have, even at this early stage, already left the rest of the chasing pack in their dust, making the significance of their direct duels against each other all the more important.

The Nerazzurri currently lead their old rivals by two points but Turin traditionally has not been an enjoyable trip for them of late.

Juve have won 11 and drawn four of their last 17 home meetings with Inter and kept them scoreless in nine of those games, something they’ve been very adept at again this season. Can Inter get that monkey off their back and open up a five-point gap?

Spice rating: Fire 🌶 🌶 🌶 🌶

Manchester City v Liverpool

There could only be one game to top the weekend bill.

Like Italy, it is first against second as Manchester City welcome Liverpool for Saturday’s early kick-off – a fixture time Jürgen Klopp has become all too accustomed to after international breaks.

A single point separates these sides in echoes of those captivating title races from the not too distant past, with both looking to be in that ominous kind of old form early on.

Liverpool haven’t won at the Etihad in the league for eight years and ending that barren spell would send them to the top of the pile.

Both sides thankfully also appear to be entering with as close to a clean bill of health as you could ask for (minor concerns around Erling Haaland aside) for such a blockbuster fixture. We can’t wait.

Spice rating: Insane 🌶 🌶 🌶 🌶 🌶