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Weekend Football: Manchester Derby, Der Klassiker & More

City vs United, Dortmund vs Bayern, Milan vs Juventus: It’s a weekend to whet the appetite of any football follower.

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Football
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After a gripping round of midweek matches in the UEFA Champions League, the attention of Europe’s supreme football forces shifts back to domestic action – and a sumptuous round of league fixtures awaits across the top-five European leagues. Borussia Dortmund against Bayern Munich in Germany, and AC Milan versus Juventus in Italy, are two of the most-anticipated match-ups on the calendar in either country. But it’s safe to say that the attention of the footballing world is going to be upon England – and in particular one city of around half a million people.

City vs United, Dortmund vs Bayern, Milan vs Juventus: It’s a weekend to whet the appetite of any football follower.
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A Clash of Contrasts in Manchester

Manchester City are unbeaten after 11 league games, Manchester United have lost thrice.

Manchester City have conceded only four times this season, Manchester United have kept a clean sheet just once.

Manchester City average three goals per game, Manchester United, well, let’s not go there.

This shouldn’t be a contest. This ALWAYS is a contest.

A late surge in Turin has the wind back in United’s sails, and it couldn’t have come better timed. No trip across town to the Etihad Stadium comes without expectation, and the nine-point deficit to the ‘noisy neighbours’ with not even a third of the season played only adds to the pressure ahead of the blue-chip clash on Sunday, 11 November.

Despite having to settle for a clear second-in-Manchester tag in recent years, Jose Mourinho’s side do hold a decent record on their recent trips to the Etihad – United have won three of the last six league meetings between the teams at the ground. Still, it would take a brave men to bet against Pep Guardiola’s high-fliers continuing their undefeated start to their title defense.

But City aren’t alone in not having tasted defeat in the Premier League so far. Chelsea’s unbeaten opening across competitions stretched to 15 with a Europa League win at BATE Borisov, and Maurizio Sarri’s side will look to extend that when they host Everton at Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool, too, are yet to suffer a loss in league action – although they do welcome Fulham to Anfield on the back of a shock Champions League defeat away to Red Star Belgrade. A draw against Arsenal last week has seen Jurgen Klopp’s Reds slip to third, behind Chelsea on goal difference.

Fourth-placed Arsenal are at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, while North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur make the short trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday, 10 November.

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Can Resurgent Real Catch Pace-Setting Barca?

City vs United, Dortmund vs Bayern, Milan vs Juventus: It’s a weekend to whet the appetite of any football follower.
Santiago Solari has 3/3 wins since replacing Julen Lopetegui as Real Madrid manager
(Photo: AP)

It’s been closer-to-usual times for Real Madrid in the last two weeks. The disaster that was Julen Lopetegui’s reign appears to be behind Los Blancos, and the three-time defending European champions have won three games in a row under interim coach Santiago Solari, without conceding a goal. It hasn’t been the stiffest competition, but to be fair to the former Real midfielder, he inherited a team which had seemingly forgotten to win altogether.

Real – 3-0, 2-0 and 5-0 winners in their three matches under Solari so far – will be favourites to continue their upward spiral when they visit Celta Vigo on Sunday.

Arch-rivals and league leaders Barcelona are seven points and five spots above Real as things stand. The Catalan giants host dwindling Real Betis at the Nou Camp, also on Sunday night, with no clarity on Lionel Messi’s return from a fractured arm.

Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, welcome Athletic Bilbao to the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday.

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Pressure on Bayern Ahead of German ‘Clasico’

Rarely does the red-letter day in Germany – Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich – arrive with Bayern chasing Dortmund in the league standings. But an indifferent start this season means the Bavarians trail their closest domestic rivals by four points ahead of their visit of Signal Iduna Park on Saturday, 10 November.

City vs United, Dortmund vs Bayern, Milan vs Juventus: It’s a weekend to whet the appetite of any football follower.
Bayern Munich have endured a difficult start to the season under new boss Niko Kovac
(Photo: AP)

Dortmund lost for the first time across competitions this season on their Champions League trip to Atletico Madrid earlier this week, but the Bundesliga’s usual bridesmaids have looked equipped to go the distance in the early running.

Barca loanee Paco Alcacer has been scoring for fun, but with five goals and eight assists so far, English teenager Jadon Sancho has been the find of the season. A resplendent showing against Bayern, though, could be seen as a double-edged sword. Stand-out performances from Dortmund players in this fixture quite often tend to result in a swap across to the German giants come the following summer.

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Beaten Juve Face Milan, PSG Test for Henry’s Monaco

Until the last five minutes of their Champions League tie against Manchester United on Wednesday, 7 November, Juventus had been near untouchable from the start of the season. Two late goals ended an unbeaten run of 14 games – 13 of them wins – but the seven-time defending Italian champions will still fancy their chances ahead of their visit to San Siro to take on AC Milan.

City vs United, Dortmund vs Bayern, Milan vs Juventus: It’s a weekend to whet the appetite of any football follower.
Cristiano Ronaldo is beginning to find his feet – and flair – in his first season at Juventus
(Photo: AP)

It’s a fixture which was a season-definer as of a decade ago, before varying downfalls for both clubs put it to the back-burners. Milan, however, are fourth in Serie A after a promising beginning, and an ‘upset’ will only further the league’s restoration of lost pride.

Elsewhere in Italy, Inter Milan and Napoli – level in second, six points behind Juve – face away trips to Genoa and Atalanta, respectively.

France sees a locking of horns between the champions of the last two seasons, but it couldn’t be a greater mismatch in the present day. 12 wins in 12 have given Paris St-Germain the best start in the history of Europe’s top-five leagues, but 2016/17 Ligue 1 winners Monaco are second-from-bottom – 29 points behind PSG, and without a win in five games under Thierry Henry.

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