A Feast of Top-Flight Action:
International football is over, and club football returns with blockbuster clashes.
The Borussia derby in the Bundesliga between Dortmund and Mönchengladbach, Manchester City against Liverpool feature in the Premier League, Juventus and Inter Milan face off in Serie A, and Paris St.-Germain and Monaco go at it in Ligue 1.
Bayern Munich will aim to maintain pace with Leverkusen in the Bundesliga title race by securing a win in Cologne.
Girona will strive to stay atop the La Liga table with a win, while Real Madrid targets points in Cadiz. Barcelona is poised for a challenge against Rayo Vallecano.
The Eredivisie promises excitement as PSV Eindhoven seeks to extend its 100% winning record, AZ Alkmaar looks to bounce back against relegation-threatened Volendam, and Ajax aims to revive their season with a positive result against relegation-zoned Vitesse.
Everton is eager to start the process of overcoming their 10-point deduction in the Premier League when they face a Manchester United side with no room to drop points either.
Nov 24.
FC Köln vs. Bayern Munich (german bundesliga)
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Monaco (french ligue 1)
Nov 25.
Rayo Vallecano vs. Barcelona (spanish la liga)
Atlético Madrid vs. Mallorca (spanish la liga)
Manchester City vs. Liverpool (english premier league)
Newcastle United vs. Chelsea (english premier league)
Brentford vs. Arsenal (english premier league)
Salernitana vs. Lazio (italian serie a)
Atalanta vs. Napoli (italian serie a)
AC Milan vs. Fiorentina (italian serie a)
Borussia Dortmund vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach (german bundesliga)
Werder Bremen vs. Bayer Leverkusen (german bundesliga)
Wolfsburg vs. RB Leipzig (german bundesliga)
Strasbourg vs. Marseille (french ligue 1)
Excelsior vs. Feyenoord (dutch eredivisie)
Twente vs. PSV Eindhoven (dutch eredivisie)
Ajax vs. Vitesse (dutch eredivisie)
Nov 26.
Real Sociedad vs. Sevilla (spanish la liga)
Cádiz vs. Real Madrid (spanish la liga)
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Aston Villa (english premier league)
Everton vs. Manchester United (english premier league)
Roma vs. Udinese (italian serie a)
Juventus vs. Inter Milan (italian serie a)
Lyon vs. Lille (french ligue 1)
AZ Alkmaar vs. Volendam (dutch eredivisie)
Nov 27.
Girona vs. Athletic Club (spanish la liga)
NOVEMBER 24.
FC Köln vs. Bayern Munich (german bundesliga): Bayern Munich will go to Cologne for the points to keep pace with, or do better against Leverkusen in the Bundesliga title race. Bayern Munich is two points from the top of the table, while only Union Berlin is doing worse that FC Koln.
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Monaco (french ligue 1): Paris Saint-Germain is currently at the top of the Ligue 1 standings, three points ahead of Monaco. Paris Saint-Germain can double the gap with a win, while Monaco can move level on points. The last time these two teams met, Monaco won 3-1, but the previous meeting in Paris was a 1-1 draw. Nice, who are just one point behind the leaders, will look to take advantage of the result by winning their match against Toulouse.
NOVEMBER 25.
Rayo Vallecano vs. Barcelona (spanish la liga): A tough test for Barcelona against a midtable Rayo Vallecano side.
Barcelona lost 2-1 to Rayo Vallecano the last time they met, and have not won against them in the league in two seasons, with Rayo Vallecano having won three of the last four meetings.
Atlético Madrid vs. Mallorca (spanish la liga): Atletico Madrid, who are six points behind the league leaders with a game in hand, will be looking to keep their title hopes alive by beating relegation-threatened Mallorca this weekend.
Manchester City vs. Liverpool (english premier league): Manchester City and Liverpool, who are only one point apart in the standings, will meet. With three teams (Arsenal, Tottenham, and Aston Villa) hot on their heels, both teams cannot afford to drop points if they want to maintain their league position.
Newcastle United vs. Chelsea (english premier league): Pre-season ambitions and expectations were high for both Newcastle United and Chelsea. Newcastle United has been performing poorly lately, losing 2-0 to Bournemouth and 2-0 to Dortmund in the Champions League. Chelsea, on the other hand, has been improving, drawing 4-4 with Manchester City and beating Tottenham 4-1.
Brentford vs. Arsenal (english premier league): Arsenal will travel to Brentford in search of three points to take advantage of the results of the other teams around them. Arsenal are currently in third place after 12 games, and the two teams above them are playing each other, as are the two teams below them. A win would be very helpful for Arsenal.
Salernitana vs. Lazio (italian serie a): Salernitana searches for their first league win of the season against a Lazio side looking for the points to bounce back for the two points dropped in the Rome derby.
Atalanta vs. Napoli (italian serie a): Napoli won both of their league meetings with Atalanta last season, but their title defense has not been going to plan so far.Atalanta is in hot pursuit of a top-four finish in Serie A, sitting just one point and one place behind Napoli after 12 games. With both teams vying for a place in the Champions League, there is no room for error.
AC Milan vs. Fiorentina (italian serie a): AC Milan have gone four league games without a win, losing two. They will host Fiorentina with just three points gap betweetn the two teams in the Serie A standing after 12 rounds.
Borussia Dortmund vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach (german bundesliga): Dortmund will host Mönchengladbach in a Borussia derby. Dortmund need a win to bounce back from back-to-back league defeats to Bayern Munich and Stuttgart, while Mönchengladbach will hope to make it three games unbeaten after beating Wolfsburg 4-0. Dortmund won the last meeting between the two sides 5-2.
Werder Bremen vs. Bayer Leverkusen (german bundesliga): Bayer Leverkusen will be looking to maintain their lead at the top of the Bundesliga table when they travel to Werder Bremen. Leverkusen won the reverse fixture 3-2, and Werder Bremen have only won one of their last six league games, against struggling Union Berlin.
Wolfsburg vs. RB Leipzig (german bundesliga): RB Leipzig was knocked out of the second round of the DFB-Pokal on their most recent to Wolfsburg (October 31st). They will be back in Wolfsburg this weekend for league points. Leipzig need to avoid defeat to stay in the top four, while Wolfsburg are looking for a result to move further away from the relegation zone.
Strasbourg vs. Marseille (french ligue 1): Marseille and Strasbourg drew 2-2 in both of their matches last season, but they will both be looking for a win this time around to help them move further away from the relegation zone. Marseille are currently just one point ahead of Strasbourg in the table.
Excelsior vs. Feyenoord (dutch eredivisie): Feyenoord’s title defense is looking bleak as PSV Eindhoven picks up maximum points from every round, but they must do their part by winning their games. Their next match is an away game against Excelsior.
Twente vs. PSV Eindhoven (dutch eredivisie): PSV Eindhoven is still unbeaten in the Eredivisie, with 12 wins in 12 rounds. They have a 7-point lead in the title race and a 9-point lead over Twente. If Twente wants to close the gap, they will have to be the first team to take points off PSV Eindhoven this season.
Ajax vs. Vitesse (dutch eredivisie): A home game against bottom-of-the-table Vitesse is exactly what Ajax needs. The Dutch giants have endured a difficult start to the Eredivisie season, and currently sit in the bottom half of the table, just three points above the relegation playoff spot. A win against Vitesse would be a much-needed boost for Ajax, and would help them to build towards the heights that they are expected to reach this season.
NOVEMBER 26.
Real Sociedad vs. Sevilla (spanish la liga): Real Sociedad have a good track record against Sevilla in recent matches. If this trend continues, Sociedad will be in a good position to finish in the top 5 of the league. Sevilla have not won in their last 6 league matches, with 5 draws and a loss to Barcelona. Their last league win was against Almeria by a score of 5-1.
Cádiz vs. Real Madrid (spanish la liga): Real Madrid will shop for La Liga points in Cadiz to keep pace with Girona in the title race.
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Aston Villa (english premier league): While Manchester City and Liverpool battle for the top spot, Tottenham and Aston Villa will also be vying for points to capitalize on the outcome of the Manchester City vs. Liverpool match. Both teams are in a position to move into the top two with a win, if results go their way. Tottenham, in particular, could move to the top of the table.
Everton vs. Manchester United (english premier league): Everton is in a precarious position after being penalized 10 points for breaking financial regulations. The decision is being appealed, but as of now, Everton has dropped from 14th place with 14 points to 19th place with 4 points, just above Burnely in the relegation. They have 22 games left to avoid relegation, and the first of those games will be at home against Manchester United, who are also in need of points to show signs of recovery from their poor start to the season.
Roma vs. Udinese (italian serie a): Udinese’s only victory this season was against AC Milan. They will travel to face Roma, who are looking for a win to bounce back from their goalless draw in the Rome derby.
Juventus vs. Inter Milan (italian serie a): The top two teams in Serie A, Juventus and Inter Milan, will face off in a match that could see Juventus wipe the two-point gap between them and their rivals. Both teams are in good form, so it promises to be an exciting game. The last time these two teams met, Juventus won 2-0.
Lyon vs. Lille (french ligue 1): Lyon will look to build on their first league win of the season when they host Lille, who are four points outside the top four. Lille are unbeaten in their last nine games, but have not won in their last three, two of which were in Ligue 1. They come into this game after drawing 1-1 at home to Toulouse.
AZ Alkmaar vs. Volendam (dutch eredivisie): AZ Alkmaar, who had gone unbeaten in the Eredivisie since the start of the season, have not won in their last two league games, drawing with Excelsior and then losing to Feyenoord. Fortunately for AZ Alkmaar, their next game is at home to Volendam, who are in the relegation zone.
NOVEMBER 27.
Girona vs. Athletic Club (spanish la liga): Girona is having an amazing season in La Liga. They have guarantee their top spot for another round with a win against Athletic Club, who are 10 points behind them.
