Malta Independent

What to watch in main competitio­ns

-

What to watch in the leading soccer leagues in Europe this weekend:

ENGLAND

Arsenal has already made its worst start to a Premier League season, although it was handed one of its toughest starts with games against defending champion Manchester City and then Chelsea. Losing a third successive game, when West Ham visits north London on Saturday, would make life even more uncomforta­ble for new manager Unai Emery.

Arsene Wenger's successor is trying to introduce a high pressing game, with the Gunners playing out from the back. But those two losses have shown Emery it will take time to transform the team that finished sixth in Wenger's last season.

Six teams have opened the season with back-to-back wins. It's no surprise Manchester City is in that group. City plays at promoted Wolverhamp­ton on Saturday. More noteworthy has been the buoyant start by Bournemout­h, which hosts Everton and is chasing a third straight win.

The biggest shock of the season so far was Brighton beating Manchester United. The south-coast side has another challengin­g assignment on Saturday with a trip to Liverpool.

United has to wait until Monday to play again. With murmurings of discontent around Jose Mourinho, United hosts Tottenham, which has opened its season with two wins.

GERMANY

Bayern Munich begins its quest for a record-extending seventh straight Bundesliga title at home to Hoffenheim in the seasonopen­er on Friday.

The Bavarian powerhouse has a new coach in Niko Kovac following Jupp Heynckes' retirement, but otherwise changes have been kept to a minimum. Arturo Vidal's departure for Barcelona is the only major movement in the squad. Striker Serge Gnabry is back from a loan spell at Hoffenheim but injury will keep him from playing against his former club, which finished third last season.

Schalke, runner-up in May, starts the new campaign on Saturday at Wolfsburg, while Borussia Dortmund hosts Leipzig on Sunday.

ITALY

Cristiano Ronaldo will have his second attempt at scoring in Serie A in his home debut for Juventus on Saturday against Lazio.

Juventus needed an injury-time winner to open the season with a victory at Chievo Verona, while Lazio lost 2-1 at home to Napoli.

After its first match against Genoa was postponed because of the bridge tragedy, AC Milan kicks off its season against Napoli in a reunion with former coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Ancelotti coached Milan for eight years and guided it to the Serie A title and two Champions League trophies. Inter Milan hosts Torino on Sunday and Roma welcomes Atalanta on Monday.

SPAIN

As the summer transfer market nears its close, Real Madrid visits Girona on Sunday hoping that its forwards can produce enough goals without Cristiano Ronaldo to avoid another shock loss at the modest Catalan club.

Madrid was stunned last season when Girona fought back from a goal down to beat the then defending champions at its Montilivi Stadium.

While Madrid has since lost both Ronaldo and coach Zinedine Zidane, Girona has changed coaches while managing to keep most of its squad intact. Former Real Sociedad coach Eusebio Sacristan replaced Pablo Machin after he took a job with Sevilla.

Girona drew 0-0 with Valladolid at home in the opening round. Madrid got goals from Dani Carvajal and Gareth Bale to beat visitors Getafe 2-0.

A slip by Madrid would add extra pressure for the club to sign a forward before the transfer window closes at the end of the month to help make up for Ronaldo's exit to Juventus.

Barcelona will look to follow up on its 3-0 victory over Alaves in its trip to promoted Valladolid on Saturday. Atletico Madrid hosts Rayo Vallecano after drawing 1-1 at Valencia.

FRANCE

Considerin­g the damage Kylian Mbappe did as a substitute last weekend, Angers should be dreading the trip to play Paris Saint-Germain this weekend.

The 19-year-old Mbappe, who came off the bench to score two expertly-taken goals in a 3-1 win at Guingamp, is set to start Saturday's match at Parc des Princes alongside Brazil star Neymar as PSG gets closer to full strength after the World Cup.

Only striker Edinson Cavani, top scorer for the last two years, has yet to play for PSG this season.

Things are more complicate­d for Monaco, Lyon and Marseille. They were all in the top four last season but have already dropped points.

Lyon has a home match against Strasbourg on Friday night. On Sunday, Monaco travels to play a struggling Bordeaux side which is set to fire coach Gus Poyet. Former France forward Thierry Henry is widely reported to be his replacemen­t.

Yesterday Bayern Munich-Hoffenheim ............. 3-1 Today 15:30 Dusseldorf-Augsburg 15:30 Freiburg-Eintracht Frankfurt 15:30 Hertha Berlin-Nurnberg 15:30 Werder Bremen-Hannover 15:30 Wolfsburg-Schalke 18:30 B. M’gladbach-Bayer Leverkusen Tomorrow 15:30 Mainz-Stuttgart 18:00 Dortmund-RB Leipzig Premiershi­p

Today 16:00 Hibernian-Aberdeen 16:00 Kilmarnock-Hearts 16:00 St Johnstone-Dundee FC 16:00 St. Mirren-Livingston Tomorrow 13:15 Motherwell-Rangers 16:00 Celtic-Hamilton

Championsh­ip

Today 16:00 Ayr-Dunfermlin­e 16:00 Dundee Utd-Partick Thistle 16:00 Falkirk-Queen of South 16:00 Inverness-Alloa 16:00 Morton-Ross County

League One

Today 16:00 Airdrieoni­ans-Raith 16:00 Brechin-Dumbarton 16:00 East Fife-Arbroath 16:00 Forfar Athletic-Stenhousem­uir 16:00 Stranraer-Montrose

League Two

Today 16:00 Berwick-Annan 16:00 Clyde-Edinburgh City 16:00 Elgin City-Cowdenbeat­h 16:00 Queen's Park-Albion Rovers 16:00 Stirling-Peterhead League One

Today 16:00 AFC Wimbledon-Sunderland 16:00 Blackpool-Accrington 16:00 Bradford City-Wycombe 16:00 Bristol Rovers-Southend 16:00 Charlton-Fleetwood Town 16:00 Doncaster-Portsmouth 16:00 Gillingham-Coventry 16:00 Luton-Shrewsbury 16:00 Oxford Utd-Burton 16:00 Plymouth-Peterborou­gh 16:00 Rochdale-Walsall 16:00 Scunthorpe-Barnsley

SCOTLAND

League Two

Today 16:00 Cambridge Utd-Cheltenham 16:00 Carlisle-Crewe 16:00 Colchester-Northampto­n 16:00 Crawley Town-Bury 16:00 Forest Green-Swindon 16:00 Lincoln City-Notts County 16:00 Macclesfie­ld-Mansfield 16:00 Milton Keynes Dons-Exeter 16:00 Morecambe-Oldham 16:00 Newport-Grimsby Town 16:00 Tranmere-Port Vale 16:00 Yeovil-Stevenage

SPAIN

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Malta