What a weekend of football action

Opinion

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This article was published 25/10/2024 (318 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There must be a room somewhere, or a clandestine conference call, in which the schedule-makers of 10 or more leagues agree to book some of European football’s most important derbies on the very same weekend.

Given most phone calls could instead be emails, and that this is a sport whose powerbrokers prefer to do their business in person, it’s fun to imagine the group of them gathered at a villa on Lake Garda, or perhaps in a rooftop restaurant overlooking the Golden Horn, or at least on a yacht anchored in Christianshavn, their sole purpose being to deliver a jam-packed, must-see, can’t-miss couple of days for supporters.

On second thought, it’s almost impossible to picture any sort of meeting at which the fans are noted on the agenda. So we’ll chalk it up to coincidence. But what a coincidence!

Let’s count ‘em up.

Starting at 2 p.m. Saturday and concluding the same time Monday, nearly two dozen teams will face their city rivals, national rivals, archrivals or a combination of the three. Oh, and Arsenal will host Liverpool on Sunday (11:30 a.m., FuboTV). No derby there; merely a showdown between two of the Premier League’s title contenders.

It’ll all get going with the granddaddy of them all — El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona (Saturday, 2 p.m., TSN3). Inadvisably, the Lens vs. Lille Derby du Nord (FuboTV) will kick off at exactly the same time, though the die-hards in Hauts-de-France won’t much care.

A further seven derbies will be contested Sunday, starting with Brondby vs. Copenhagen and followed shortly by Edinburgh’s Hibs vs. Hearts and Belgium’s topper between Anderlecht and Club Brugge (7:30 a.m., DAZN). Inter Milan and Juventus will contest the second-biggest match of the weekend when they meet for the Derby d’Italia (noon, FuboTV) and France’s Classique will pit Marseille against PSG (2:45 p.m., FuboTV).

Elsewhere, Slavia Prague will host Dukla, FCSB will entertain Rapid Bucharest and, as a wrap, Istanbul’s European-side rivals Galatasaray and Besiktas will go head to head on Monday (2 p.m., FuboTV).

It’s a lot, and it’s awesome. As folks might also want to watch the weekend’s earlier, quieter matches (maybe Werder Bremen-Bayer Leverkusen or Manchester City-Southampton), we’ll limit our preview space to the three most consequential derbies of the next 48 hours.

El Clasico

Emotions are running high for this one, which is hardly unusual. What’s interesting is where the pressure is coming from, and why.

Real Madrid are unbeaten in La Liga through 10 rounds and are coming off a 5-2 win over Borussia Dortmund, who they also beat in last season’s Champions League Final. Not that you’d know it, what with the external criticism and internal squabbling that have dominated the headlines so far this term.

Los Blancos, say the critics, are playing boring football. They’re really not — it’s just that Barcelona have been more enjoyable to watch. Which is unacceptable. Right-back Dani Carvajal’s season-ending injury, meanwhile, has been framed as adversity unparalleled since the Reqonquista. And it’s the fault, apparently, of Antonio Pintus. For those who haven’t heard of him, it’s because he’s the fitness coach. Enough said.

Within the team, itself, there’s been some obvious on-field tension between Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr., and between Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe. Manager Carlo Ancelotti was never enthusiastic about Mbappe’s summer arrival, and getting the best out the Frenchman and the disillusioned Englishman will be a season-long challenge.

Vini Jr., however, seems completely unbothered and is set to win the prestigious Ballon d’Or — something else that doesn’t sit well with Bellingham. To sum it all up, Madrid’s greatest opponents are themselves.

Besides Barcelona, of course.

Once or twice each week, new Barca manager Hansi Flick sends out a lineup that includes a couple 17-year-olds, a few 21-year-olds and the 36-year-old Robert Lewandowski. The Polish striker aside, it’s as if the club can address every personnel issue, and paper over every crack, simply by sending a bus to La Masia to collect the academy’s latest batch of standout teenagers.

When El Clasico kicks off, Barcelona will have at least seven home-grown players on the pitch – two of whom aren’t yet 18, and one of whom is superstar and European Champion Lamine Yamal.

Having finished 10 points back of Real Madrid last season, no one really expected the Blaugrana to regain La Liga this time around, and certainly not so early in Flick’s tenure. A win today would put them six points clear of their archrivals, and even a loss would knot the two on 27 points. That would still be a triumph for the Catalans.

Where Madrid are nervous and grouchy, Barcelona are composed and in the best of moods. Their football is fresh and enjoyable to watch. In Vini Jr. and Yamal we might have a new Ronaldo-Messi on our hands.

Derby d’Italia

When they finished third in 2023-24, the Scudetto drought at Juventus reached four years. Notwithstanding the calciopoli period, the Turin giants have gone five years without a title only twice since the 1950s.

If they win on Sunday, the Bianconeri could ascend to top spot in Serie A (so long as leaders Napoli lose to Lecce). At the very worst, they’d come out of the weekend in second — crucially, above archrivals Inter Milan.

Inter, the reigning champions, have been over-relying on Marcus Thuram’s goals this season, and Lautaro Martinez is the only other Nerazzurri player with more than a single tally to date. They’ve also been defensively shaky.

Not so Juventus. Back on brand, they’ve conceded just once through eight rounds, effectively drilled by new manager Thiago Motta. Surprising French defender Pierre Kalulu has been a rock in defence and typically partners either Bremer or Federico Gatti.

Juve have also been starved for goals, with Dusan Vlahovic their only player with more than one in Serie A. This Derby d’Italia has all the makings of a scoreless draw.

Le Classique

France’s national derby should generate the offence that Italy’s doesn’t. Combined, Marseille and PSG have 46 goals through eight rounds while Inter and Juventus have 28.

Last Sunday, five different players found the back of the net for Les Olympiens – among them, former Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood, whose six tallies to date have him second on the Ligue 1 scoring chart.

The only player ahead of him is PSG winger Bradley Barcola, whose attacking teammates Ousmane Dembele and Lee Kang-in complete a young, versatile forward line. Les Parisiens seem almost relieved, or at least more free in their football since Mbappe’s move to Real Madrid.

PSG should be slightly favoured for this one, even though they’ll be away from home. That said, an upset could vault Marseille into a share of first place in the French top flight — a division they haven’t won since 2010.

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