European soccer continues
Manchester United battles Arsenal on Nov. 10
The Champions League resumed earlier this week with some great matchups including Juventus-Real Madrid, Dortmund-Arsenal and Barcelona-Milan, but now fans have to wait until November 26 to watch Champions League soccer once again. In the meantime, the domestic European leagues will showcase some very interesting match-ups that will definitely delight soccer fans. Here are some matches to look forward to this weekend:
1. Juventus-Napoli (Nov. 10)
Both Juventus and Napoli are coming into this matchup with 29 points each with nine wins, one draw and one loss each. Napoli sit in second place and Juventus is in third place. Juventus had tied Inter 1-1 early on in the season (match day 3) and lost against Fiorentina, 4-2, on match day 8. Napoli tied Sassuolo 1-1 on match day 5 and suffered a loss against Roma, 2-0 on match day 8. Napoli scored 24 and conceded 8 goals while Juventus scored 23 goals and conceded 10.
Both teams are similar form-wise, so the match will definitely be a close one. Furthermore, both teams are only two points behind leader Roma (who has 31 points). Roma will be playing Sassuolo, who is in relegation zone, a match that Roma will surely win. Neither Napoli nor Juventus will want to lose the match and let the point gap between them and Roma increase even more, thus a tie is more than possible.
In addition, both teams will be coming off of Champions League matches (Juventus played against Real Madrid and Napoli played against Olympique de Marseille), so both teams will be slightly tired. Nevertheless, this match of two equal teams and two of Italy’s greatest clubs will definitely provide a good show.
2. Manchester United-Arsenal (Nov. 10)
The Premier League will be showcasing two of its most respectable clubs this Sunday as Manchester United and Arsenal will battle it out in Old Trafford. In previous years, Manchester United would generally have gone into the match as leaders and Arsenal trying to push for third or fourth, but this year the tables are turned as Arsenal sits comfortably on top of the league with 25 points and Manchester United is in eighth place with 17 points. David Moyes’ Manchester United has not fared well against other top level clubs of England as they lost to Manchester City (4-1) and Liverpool (1-0) and tied Chelsea (0-0).
Arsenal, on the other hand, has only played Liverpool in the league and beat them 2-0 while also beating Tottenham 1-0. Their only loss came during opening week against Aston Villa and since then they have won all their matches except for a tie against West Bromwich. Arsenal suffered a loss against Chelsea in the Capital One Cup.
However, this league is different and Arsenal has been in their best form for the most of it. Manchester United, on the other hand, has had their troubles. Arsenal will not want their opponents to close the point gap, so they will not want to lose this match. Manchester United will look to win as their only option as David Moyes will want to take this opportunity to show the United fans that he has what it takes to fare against the major clubs of England. In such a case, Arsenal’s first thought may be to tie, but if they see the opportunity to seize a win, they will. Whatever the score, it will definitely be a great match-up.
3. Fenerbahce-Galatasaray (Nov. 10)
For those of you that may not know, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray are two of Turkey’s biggest clubs. The matches between them are the most anticipated match-ups of the soccer season and they will be playing each other this Sunday. Galatasaray did not start the league well and have not put on the performances that won them two championships the last two seasons. Their managerial change of replacing Fatih Terim with Roberto Mancini was a big move, but it seems as if Mancini has yet to make his presence fully felt on the field.
Fenerbahce, on the other hand, is in first place as they managed to pull of stunning wins week after week with some last minute goals even if they did not play too well. Thus, the momentum points in Fenerbahce’s way.
However, in the recent years Galatasaray has established dominance over the match-up. They won against Fenerbahce in the Super Cup (i.e. the match between the league champion and the cup winner) this year already, so it is not possible to simply state that Fenerbahce are favorites for the match. Fenerbahce’s advantage will be the fact that its team does not compete in any European Cup, so the players have only one goal to work towards and are less tired. Galatasaray, on the other hand, suffered a loss against Copenhagen this week in the Champions League and they will look to try to bounce back. Fenerbahce will also have their fans behind them to push the team forward.
This match will be filled with passion, emotion and great soccer. Don’t miss out.