The Football Faithful
·13 September 2024
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Yahoo sportsThe Football Faithful
·13 September 2024
After a brief pause for the first international break of the season, we’re back with the best selections for football fans to watch this weekend.
Here are our five must-watch games.
Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney has predicted his side’s Monday night showdown with big-spending Birmingham City will be an ‘absolute banger’.
The two teams have attracted plenty of interest despite their League One standing, with celebrity owners and substantial investment. The ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ docuseries has transformed a small welsh town into the centre of attention stateside, after documenting the ownership journey of actor McElhenney and Hollywood A-lister Ryan Reynolds.
At Birmingham, NFL legend Tom Brady is on the board and the Blues have broken transfer records after relegation last season. Birmingham spent over £20m on new signings, including the £15m recruit of Jay Stansfield from Fulham.
Girona shook things up in Spain last season to secure a top-three finish and Champions League qualification. In just their fourth season in La Liga, the Catalans emerged as the closest contenders to Spanish football’s top two and certainly bloodied the noses of their notorious neighbours.
Both league fixtures against Barcelona ended in 4-2 wins for Girona last season, though their talented team has since been ripped apart. Barcelona, meanwhile, have started the season in superb form and entered the international break after a 7-0 thrashing of Valladolid.
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Championship promotion hopefuls Leeds and Burnley collide at Elland Road on Saturday lunchtime with both teams in the early mix at the top of the table. After a false start with consecutive draws, Leeds have recorded back-to-back wins over Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday and Hull to climb to fourth.
Burnley began with a bang but have since dropped points in their last two games. However, Scott Parker’s team are the joint-highest scorers in the Championship so far.
Leeds will start as slight favourites and are unbeaten in their last five meetings against Burnley.
Real Madrid will not want to lose more ground on Barcelona with a gap having already opened up between the champions and their eternal rivals. Carlo Ancelotti’s side have drawn two of their first four games and next make the tough trip to San Sebastien.
Sociedad, however, have had a shaky start as La Real look to combat the summer losses of Mikel Merino and Robin Le Normand – arguably there most important pair. Defeat would condemn Sociedad to a fourth consecutive league loss in front of their own fans, but Real Madrid should not predict a walkover.
In Martin Zubimendi, Takefusa Kubo and Mikel Oyarzabal, Sociedad have the talent to trouble the champions.
All eyes will be fixed on North London on Sunday as Tottenham and Arsenal meet in a local grudge match. Clashes between these teams have often had great consequence on their respective fortunes in recent campaigns, as both teams look to tussle at the top of the table.
Each are aiming to bounce back from disappointing results before the break and contests between them rarely disappoint. Arsenal, however, have issues with both Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard expected to be out. Spurs will smell blood.
Given the animosity and evenness of past occasions, the NLD is arguably the Premier League’s must-watch fixture.
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