The Football Faithful
·4 October 2024
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Yahoo sportsThe Football Faithful
·4 October 2024
The football fixtures you should not be missing this weekend, including a Championship cracker under the lights, the Seville Derby, and a pressure clash for Manchester United and Erik ten Hag.
Here are our five must-watch games of the weekend.
Sunderland have surged to the top of the Championship table with the Black Cats hoping their recent bad luck has run out. Régis Le Bris’ brilliant start in English football has those on Wearside dreaming of a Premier League return, as Sunderland battle against big-spending rivals backed by parachute payments.
Among those are Leeds United, who arrive at the Stadium of Light on Friday night. The visitors were stripped of their leading names in the summer but reinvested around £30m to build a squad expectant of an instant return to the top tier.
Real Madrid return to league action this weekend smarting from a shock defeat at Lille in the Champions League. It’s not been a picture perfect start for Carlo Ancelotti’s men, who have drawn three of their first eight games to trail Barcelona in the title race.
The visitors this weekend are Villarreal, just a point and place behind the Spanish champions in the table. Ayoze Perez has hit the ground running with six goals in seven games, while Alex Baena has provided more assists than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues since the start of last season.
Germany’s top two meet in the Bundesliga this weekend as Eintracht Frankfurt host Bayern Munich.
Frankfurt have bounced back from defeat on the opening weekend to record four straight wins, with summer signing Omar Marmoush in the goals. The Egyptian has six goals and three assists in five appearances, leading Harry Kane in the race for the Torjägerkanone as the league’s top scorer. The two go head-to-head this weekend.
Seville will pause this weekend for derby day as Sevilla and Real Betis collide at Estadio Ramon on Sunday evening.
Sevilla have improved after a tough start under García Pimienta, while Betis are eighth in La Liga and hovering just outside the European places. Recent fixtures between the neighbours have been hard-fought with each of the last four ending in draws. Betis have not claimed bragging rights since a 1-0 win in September 2018. Manuel Pellegrini will be out to change that record.
Erik ten Hag could have probably done with an easier fixture than this weekend’s trip to Aston Villa. The Dutchman appears in a perilous position as the pressure mounts on his role, with Manchester United 13th in the Premier League and leaking goals.
The mood could hardly be more contrasting at Aston Villa, who in midweek celebrated an upset of six-time European champions Bayern Munich to continue their perfect record in the Champions League.
With the international break offering time to mull things over, Ten Hag will want to ensure the board have reason to keep the faith.
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