European Weekly – Third Edition
Over the last week we have seen the start of the English Premier League, the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup (1-1 Draw) and Monaco getting thumped 4 – 1 away to league leaders Bordeaux.
Elsewhere there was the Champions League playoffs where English giants Arsenal were held to a bore draw with Istanbul’s Besiktas. It’s worth noting that half of the ten playoff first leg matches finished in draws.
Now to this week… We have the second legs of the Champions League playoffs and Spanish Super Cup. The Bundesliga and La Liga commence and the continuation the English Premier League and French Ligue 1.
German Bundesliga
One of the most followed leagues in the world begins for the 52nd season this weekend. Bayern Munich will be in pursuit of their third league title in a row starting the campaign as overwhelming favourites. However Borussia Dortmund, off the back of their Super Cup victory over Bayern will be looking to claim a third title in five seasons. Jurgan Klopp stating Dortmund is the favourite for the title.
The opening match is Bayern at home to VfL Wolfsburg at 4:30 am on Saturday morning. Wolfsburg finished 5th last season however will face a fired up Bayern team determined to make a strong start to the league season. Also on Saturday Hannover 96 face Schalke 04 with Schalke one of only two teams outside Bayern and Dortmund of any real chance of league glory.
On Sunday morning at 2:30 am Borussia Dortmund hosts Bayer Leverkusen, the other team who could shake things up in the league. This game could feature three Socceroos with Dortmund goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak a chance after an impressive match against Bayern in the Super Cup and midfielder Mustafa Amini who is said to be in Jurgen Klopp’s plans this season (yes, Amini isn’t a Socceroo, YET). Leverkusen could start with Robbie Kruse, who missed the World Cup due to an injury he suffered last season.
The round finishes with Borussia Moenchengladbach at home to VfB Stuttgart. Moenchengladbach will be looking to build on a decent 6th place finish last season while Stuttgart will be hoping for an improvement on last season’s 15th place finish. New Zealander and former A-League star Marco Rojas could feature.
English Premier League
The first matchday of the EPL had a few surprises, none bigger than Manchester United’s shock loss to Welsh club, Swansea City. Louis Van Gaal is already under pressure with some questionable selections. Elsewhere Mile Jedinak Crystal Palace went down to Arsenal in a valiant 2 – 1 defeat at the Emirates.
This week’s early game is Aston Villa at home to Newcastle. Villa was solid in the 1-0 win over Stoke and will be hoping for another win over a Newcastle side that went down 2-0 to Manchester City. Chris Herd is set for a place in Paul Lambert’s match day squad after he was clear to play last week and on the back of a Socceroos call up.
The pick of the midnight games is Chelsea vs. Leicester City after last season’s Championship winners held Everton to a 2-2 draw on the opening weekend with All White Chris Wood scoring the equalizer. Chelsea looked as fluid as ever under Jose Mourinho in their 3 – 1 win over Burnley and the Londoners will be expecting more of the same. Jason Davidson will start on the bench for West Bromwich Albion as his team travel to Southampton.
The game at 2:30 am on Sunday morning is Arsenal at home to Everton. Arsenal weren’t overly convincing in their 2 – 1 win over the managerless Crystal Palace and will be looking to play the silky brand of football Arsene Wenger has instilled in his sides. Everton will be looking for an improvement on their performance last week and three points in front of the expectant home fans.
Sunday night has Spurs hosting former manager Harry Redknapp’s QPR at 10:30 pm before Sunderland vs. Manchester United at the Stadium of Light at 1 am on Monday morning. It is expected that new signing Marco Rojo will start for United in defence and another loss or even a draw for the Red Devil could have the whole club under intense scrutiny.
The weekend finishes off with the match of the round (almost the game of the week) with Manchester City hosting Liverpool in a battle of last season’s top two teams. Manchester City will go into the match as favourites after relatively comfortably beating Newcastle 2 – 0. Liverpool also managed to get the three points against Southampton and while it was a tough match, they didn’t seem to be dominating the match. You can expect goals in this match but it will be hard to see Liverpool getting a win. This one kicks off a 5 am, Tuesday morning.
Spanish La Liga
La Liga is fast becoming the home of the very cream of the crop when it comes to superstars with Luis Suarez, Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez joining a list of the world’s best that included Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Gareth Bale and countless others. This weekend La Liga kicks off with Real Madrid and Barcelona the clear favourites with Atletico not fancied for back to back titles.
The season opens at 3 am on Sunday morning with south coast club Malaga hosting Athletic Bilbao. Athletic finished an impressive 4th last season and will do well to finish any higher but a win against Qatari owned Malaga would put them on the right path. The pick of the Sunday morning games would have to be Sevilla at home to Valencia in a replay of last season’s Europa League semi final, that match starts at 5 am.
On Monday morning at 3 am Liga Segunda champions Eibar host Real Sociedad in what will be a tough initiation to the big time while Barcelona play at home to Elche on the back of their failed attempt to overturn their transfer embargo. Barcelona look stronger this season on the pitch however manager Luis Enrique comes into the job with little experience with only short stays at AS Roma and Celta Vigo on his CV.
Tuesday morning sees Real Madrid host newly promoted Cordoba at 4 am in what could end up being a rout if the Andalusian club are not careful. At 6 am Atletico Madrid host Rayo Vallecano who finished 12th last season. Both Madrid clubs could rest players after their Super Cup clashed on Saturday morning giving their opposition an enhanced chance of an upset.
UEFA Champions League Playoff Round Second Leg – Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th
The last 10 teams to make it through to the group stage of this seasons Champions League will be decided over the next week with all 20 teams still in with a shout of progressing. The first match on Wednesday morning kicks off at 2 am with Russian side Zenit hosting Standard Liege. Andre Villas Boas side beat the Belgian side 1 nil in the first leg and will be happy enough to shut them out in the second.
The four remaining games on Wednesday all kick off at 4:45 am. Porto host Lille with the same scenario as Zenit after beating Lille 1 nil in France. The other games include BATE at home to SK Slovan Bratislava, Apoel Nicosia host AaB Aalborg and Celtic host Maribor, all three of these ties finished 1 all in the first legs so it is three cases of winner takes all.
All the Thursday action kicks off at 4:45 am with the most anticipated clash being Arsenal at home to Besiktas. It is not an overstatement to say that the pressure will be thrown onto Arsene Wenger if Arsenal are not a part of this seasons Champions League proper as it is seen as the bare minimum for the London based club. They will go in as favourites but will their big game mentality be there because this is a big game for the Gunners.
Many will have their eyes on Athletic Bilbao at home to Napoli as both sides are well backed in their respective nations. Napoli performed the best out of the 3 Italian teams in the last Champions League despite not making it out of their group. The tie is poised at 1 all and this game could be a cracker with both sides capable of playing free flowing attacking football.
The three remaining fixtures are Ludogorets Razgrad vs Steaua Bucuresti with the Romanian Steaua holding a 1 goal to nil advantage. Malmo host Red Bull Salzburg needing to overturn the 2 – 1 defeat in the first leg and Bayer Leverkusen host Kobenhavn with a 3 – 2 advantage.
Spanish Super Cup Second Leg – Saturday 23rd *Game of The Week*
The first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu finished 1 – 1 and I believe the both managers will be happy enough with the result. Colombian star, James Rodriguez opened the scoring in the 81st minute after coming on at half time for Cristiano Ronaldo. In typical dogged Atleti fashion they were able to equalise with a minute to go thanks to midfielder Raul Garcia.
This match will be played right before the start of La Liga so all eyes will be on the Madrid giants as they go out to battle in the Vicente Calderon Stadium. Both sides know that there is a long season ahead of them but they will be desperate to claim victory over their local rivals and gain the upper hand.
For Real, this would just be another trophy but of Atletico this could be sustain or brake. After a monumental season last time around, Simeone’s squad has lost key players and a lose in this match could derail their season before it has begun.
French Ligue 1
After two matchdays, Bordeaux find themselves at the top of Ligue 1 after two impressive victories over Montpellier and Monaco. PSG got their first win of the season at home to Bastia while Saint Etienne dispatched Reims 3 – 1 to move into second. Early days but 3 points in the opening matches are worth as much as 3 points in the last.
PSG host Evian at 4:30 am on Saturday morning with Evian coming into the match in last place after a 3 nil defeat and a 6 – 2 defeat in their first two games. PSG will be expected to put a hatful past the Swiss bordering club who are short odds favourites to go down.
On Sunday morning at 4 am, 4th place Nice host 1st place Bordeaux while Lille who are still in the running for a Champions League group stage spot host Loriant. On Monday Saint Etienne host Rennes who managed to score 6 goals against a hapless Evian before the round is complete at 5 am that morning with Monaco away to Nantes. A defeat to Nantes will have manager Leonardo Jardim under immense pressure as the cash rich club currently sits in second last place.
Best of the Rest
– Inverness vs Celtic on Saturday at 9:30 pm in the Scottish Premiership
– Wolverhampton vs Cardiff on Sunday at 12 am in the English Championship
– Feyenoord vs FC Utrecht on Sunday at 10:30 pm in the Dutch Eredivisie
– Ajax vs PSV Eindhoven on Monday at 12:45 am in the Dutch Eredivisie
– Boavista vs Benfica on Monday at 4:30 am in the Portuguese Primeira Liga
Who says there is no money in football? (Bet365 odds which fluctuate)
Mega Multi
If you are thinking about placing a multi this week, you will be able to get some healthy returns backing this lot.
– Arsenal to beat Everton @2.60
– Sevilla to beat Valencia @2.05
– Borussia Monchengladbach to beat VfB Stuttgart @1.90
– Monaco to beat Nantes @2.10
– Napoli to beat Athletic Bilbao @3.50
Return = $74.78
Best Bet
PSG to beat Evian by 4+ @7
There is some amazing action going on over the next seven days. I am pumped to have the major leagues back up and running in Germany and Spain. The next week will have more silverware awarded as well as the mandatory thrills and spills that come with the beautiful world game. Enjoy the football and see you next week.
Be sure to follow me on Twitter @dylaneloiarvela
Google+