The Gran Derbi Is Spain's Greatest Local Spat
The international break is over, and REAL BETIS vs SEVILLA welcomes us back to clubworld.
Every Friday morning, a special guest drops by to preview the biggest match across world football over the coming weekend.
Plus: a map of all the other matches worth your time this weekend, LONG READS worth reading, and some stylish football GEAR worth your dollar or pound.
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The international break is toast and we’re back to club football. For this week’s show, we’re stopping by Andalusia for one of the world’s most vibrant derbies, REAL BETIS vs SEVILLA, the game that many folks will tell you is Spain’s greatest local spat.
Here to set the stage before it all kicks off on Sunday (3pm ET/8pm UK) is Colin Millar, news writer for The Athletic and author of The Frying Pan of Spain: Sevilla v Real Betis. He lived in Seville himself and has all kinds of insight into what this one means:
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LONG READS
⚽︎ The Athletic has an investigation into the details of one of those Man City sponsorship payments, and the results may not surprise you.
⚽︎ On Substack, explores “Manchester United’s $2.6 billion gamble” on a new stadium.
⚽︎ Also on the ‘Stack, wonders, “Who is to blame for Trent Alexander-Arnold leaving Liverpool?”
⚽︎ After a somewhat disastrous season that could still be salvaged with Europa League triumph, The Athletic reports Tottenham are eyeing up Andoni Iraola as a possible replacement for Ange Postecoglou. Thom Harris digs into whether the Basque’s tactics would play in North London.
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MORE MATCHES
FULHAM vs CRYSTAL PALACE
Sat @ 8:15am ET, 12:15pm UK
This is the first FA Cup quarterfinal of the weekend, featuring two London clubs who have not met in this competition since 1907. Now they’re both Premier League stalwarts, with Palace in mid-table and Fulham very much in the mix for Europe next season. The Cottagers will have to make the league their priority with that in mind, but their guests may well throw everything at this one. Their record at this ground is strong: Fulham haven’t beaten Palace at Craven Cottage since 2005.
BAYERN MUNICH vs ST PAULI
Sat @ 10:30am ET, 2:30pm UK
Here’s one for the romantics, as the giants of Bayern host the scrappy outsiders of St. Pauli. The visitors have a well-earned reputation as a different kind of outfit, a “Kult” club brimming with anti-establishment fervor (and left-wing politics). It’s not to say their Bavarian opponents here are right-wing, but they’re certainly The Establishment. Germany’s biggest and richest club is now cruising towards a 12th Bundesliga title in 13 years. They’d like to declare last season an aberration and secure Harry Kane his first career trophy.
BRIGHTON vs NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Sat @ 1:15pm ET, 5:15pm UK
Forest have been one of the best teams in England this season, full stop. They’re third in the Premier League, and an FA Cup semifinal is within reach if they can prevail here. Brighton are no joke, though — they’re two points off Chelsea in fourth and very much in the mix for a Champions League place. This could be a quality encounter and a contrast of styles, if indeed the Seagulls take hold of possession and the Tricky Trees are, as ever, happy to play on the lightning counterattack.
MONACO vs NICE
Sat @ 4:05pm ET, 8:05pm UK
It’s not every week we recommend you tune into Ligue 1, but this is the Derby de la Côte d'Azur and these two are tied on 47 points. That puts them third and fourth in the league, and whoever wins out will play Champions League football next season if they can keep hold of third place across seven more matches. A derby with those stakes? This should get feisty.
PRESTON NORTH END vs ASTON VILLA
Sun @ 8:30am ET, 1:30pm UK
This here’s a proper FA Cup encounter pitting Championship against Premier League. Preston North End have slid down the second-division table after taking seven points from the last 21 available, but they are one of the world’s oldest clubs and, once upon a time, England’s most dominant. They won the first-ever Football League title without losing a match in 1889-90, and they won this competition that season, too — without conceding a goal. They could use a clean sheet here as Villa come to Deepdale (by some accounts the oldest continuously operated football stadium in the world) with some serious attacking firepower.
BOURNEMOUTH vs MAN CITY
Sun @ 11:30am ET, 4:30pm UK
This is a fairly heavyweight encounter in the FA Cup quarters, and it should be pretty evenly matched. City are not City this season, capable of faltering at any moment, while Bournemouth are quite a good side. Some poor recent form has seen them fall down to 10th in the Premier League, but Andoni Iraola is a clever coach who might just relish the challenge of welcoming Pep Guardiola to the Vitality Stadium. It’s a tight venue, built in close, and the locals are sure to make it a cauldron. City still have quality in the side and will be hunting a consolation prize for this season, so this could truly go either way.
NAPOLI vs A.C. MILAN
Sun @ 2:45pm ET, 7:45pm UK
This is a title chaser against an also-ran, to the point that Milan are really only a spoiler here. They won’t want to hand Inter a boost in the title race, but new-ish Rossoneri boss Sérgio Conceição can’t afford to drop any further down the Serie A table, either. They’re only five points off Juventus in fifth, to be fair, but Milan are ninth, and they could find themselves holding on for dear life in this one. Antonio Conte’s side have really gone off the boil recently, taking just seven points from the last 18 available, but they’ve looked levels above Milan this season. Can the gladiatorial atmosphere of the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona empower them to pulverize their guests?
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GEAR
👕 Here’s a Kappa “Authentics” number that suggests the storied brand still wishes it was cranking out hits for Venezia. That partnership ushered in a whole new era in football fashion.
👕 There’s also a new Kappa joint out for Genoa to honor their longtime affiliation with Boca Juniors. The Buenos Aires outfit is celebrating the 120-year anniversary of their founding by Genovese immigrants.⚽︎
