The German Bundesliga kicks off this weekend to complete the commencement of the 2024/25 season for the top seven domestic leagues in Europe.
We head into the third round of the Dutch Eredivisie and the Portuguese Primeira Liga this weekend, while we enter the second round of the Spanish La Liga, English Premier League, French Ligue 1, and Italian Serie A.
Our pick of the weekend round of matches.
Friday, August 23, 2024
🎂 🇮🇹 Giuseppe Meazza would’ve been 114, 🇬🇷 Tasos Mitropoulos turns 67, 🇮🇹 Demetrio Albertini turns 53.
🇩🇪 Bundesliga
Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Bayer Leverkusen
The reigning champions, Bayer Leverkusen, will play in the German Bundesliga season-opening fixture against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Leverkusen’s race to defend their league title will start on the road.
🇪🇸 La Liga
Sevilla vs. Villarreal
Sevilla and Villarreal are both in search of their first league win of the new season after dropping two points each in the opening round of La Liga. Both teams ended up with a point from a 2-2 draw; Villarreal at home against Atlético Madrid, while Sevilla played away against Las Palmas.
🇫🇷 Ligue 1
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Montpellier
It took some time for the winning goal to come, but Paris Saint-Germain scored plenty to secure a 4-1 victory in their opening match of Ligue 1. They now play their first home game of the season and will look to secure a win against a Montpellier side that is coming off a 1-1 draw against Strasbourg.
🇵🇹 Primeira Liga
Farense vs. Sporting CP
Title defense is going according to plan for Sporting CP, as they’ve made it two wins in two games, scoring nine goals in the process and conceding one goal per game. The next challenge for Sporting CP is a Farense side looking to earn a league point.
Saturday, August 24, 2024
🎂 🇳🇬 Peter Rufai turns 61, 🇧🇷 Denílson turns 47, 🇸🇪 Kim Källström turns 42, 🇯🇵 Maya Yoshida turns 36, 🇺🇾 Matías Vecino turns 33.
🇩🇪 Bundesliga:
Borussia Dortmund vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
Wolfsburg vs. Bayern Munich
RB Leipzig vs. Bochum
The second day of the opening round of the Bundesliga season will feature Dortmund, Bayern Munich, and RB Leipzig. These are three teams we expect to be title challengers. Dortmund will start their campaign at home against Frankfurt, Leipzig will do the same against Bochum, while Bayern Munich will be in Wolfsburg. All three teams will be expecting a winning start, but it won’t be an easy task.
🇪🇸 La Liga:
Barcelona vs. Athletic Club
Real Madrid vs. Valladolid
Atlético Madrid vs. Girona
Barcelona and Valladolid are looking to maintain a 100% winning start by doubling their victories. They will face Athletic Club and Real Madrid, respectively. Both clubs are seeking their first win of the season after dropping points in a draw during the opening round of La Liga.
Atlético Madrid and Girona will face each other, with both teams looking for a win. If we use last season to make our judgment, these two sides should be among the prime contenders in the title race.
🏴 Premier League:
Aston Villa vs. Arsenal
Manchester City vs. Ipswich Town
Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Manchester United
Aston Villa and Arsenal got the winning start we expected of them after the seasons they had. They will now face each other for the next set of league points.
Brighton and Manchester United both have a lot to amend this season after their performances last year. They’ve both started the season with a win, so let’s see how long they can keep the points coming.
Defending champions Manchester City will face recently promoted Ipswich Town.
🇮🇹 Serie A:
Inter Milan vs. Lecce
Roma vs. Empoli
Napoli vs. Bologna
Parma vs. AC Milan
Roma and Empoli will face each other in search of their first league win. Napoli kicked off their season with a 3-0 defeat and will hope that playing at home in this round will help them achieve a positive result against Bologna.
Inter Milan and AC Milan both dropped points in a 2-2 draw in the opening round of the Serie A season. Reigning champions Inter Milan will have a chance to redeem themselves when they host Lecce, while AC Milan will be away against Parma.
🇫🇷 Ligue 1:
Lyon vs. Monaco
The pressure will surely be on Lyon to secure the best result from this tricky fixture.
Monaco will be looking to double their league wins by taking points from a Lyon side that is seeking its first league victory.
🇳🇱 Eredivisie
Almere City vs. PSV Eindhoven
The title defense season in Eredivisie is on track for PSV Eindhoven after two rounds, with 100% wins and an average of 4 goals per game. Next up for PSV Eindhoven is an Almere City side looking for its first win of the campaign.
🇵🇹 Primeira Liga:
Porto vs. Rio Ave
Benfica vs. Estrela da Amadora
Both Porto and Benfica play on this day.
Porto will look to maintain their 100% winning start to the season with a home win over Rio Ave, while Benfica will aim for a home victory against Estrela da Amadora to make amends for their poor start in the opening round.
Sunday, August 25, 2024
🎂 🇮🇹 Roberto Mussi turns 61, 🇨🇭 Ricardo Rodríguez turns 32.
🏴 Premier League:
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Chelsea
Liverpool vs. Brentford
Chelsea didn’t have the ideal start to their league campaign, but it was somewhat expected since their opponent was the reigning champions. Chelsea will now seek to bounce back from their opening-day defeat with a positive result against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Both teams share the commonality of opening-day defeats.
Liverpool will look to extend their winning start with a home victory over Brentford. Both teams have an opening-day victory in common.
🇫🇷 Ligue 1
Marseille vs. Reims
Marseille is at the top of the table after a 5-1 opening-round victory over Brest. They now take on Reims, who are looking for a result to bounce back from a losing start.
🇳🇱 Eredivisie:
Sparta Rotterdam vs. Feyenoord
Ajax vs. Fortuna Sittard
Ajax will need a positive result at home against Fortuna Sittard after losing 2-1 in the last round against recently promoted NAC Breda.
Feyenoord didn’t get the start they needed, dropping points against Willem II, but they will look to follow their 5-1 win over PEC Zwolle with another victory when they face a Sparta Rotterdam side that is seeking their first win of the season.
Monday, August 26, 2024
🎂 🇧🇦 Zlatko Vujović turns 66, 🇺🇸 Pablo Mastroeni turns 48, 🇧🇷 Felipe Melo turns 41, 🇭🇷 Marko Livaja turns 31.
🇮🇹 Serie A
Hellas Verona vs. Juventus
Both teams secured a 3-0 victory to kick off their Serie A campaign. Now they meet each other in the second round. Expectations are always higher for Juventus.
