⚽︎Friday, November 3: Bayern Munich's Goliath Moment
⚽︎Friday, November 3: Bayern Munich's Goliath Moment
A midweek L to third-division Saarbrücken leaves the Bavarians thirsty for a result as they travel to Borussia Dortmund for Der Klassiker.
It’s a serious Saturday, with back-to-back match windows featuring simultaneous contests that will compete for your attention. Sunday is quieter, though Liverpool will make for famous guests at Luton Town’s quaint old stadium, and it all gets quite loud again with Tottenham-Chelsea on Monday. Cheers, it’s The Football Weekend.
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THE HEADLINES
➟ Bayern Munich were upset in the cup by German third division FC Saarbrücken after a 96th-minute goal from left back Marcel Gaus made it 2-1 on Wednesday. Thomas Müller opened the scoring with a clinical finish from 25 yards, and he would have made it 2-1 to the Bavarians on 89 minutes if not for some heroic last-ditch defending from Gaus and keeper Tim Schreiber. It was pandemonium when the whistle went for full-time at the Ludwigsparkstadion in the capital city of Saarland, a state on the border with France and Luxembourg that is one of Germany’s smallest. The last time these two met, in April 1993, Bayern won 6-0. But was it a case of Bayern looking beyond what was in front of them towards Saturday’s trip to Dortmund? More on Die Klassiker below.
➟ Lionel Messi secured his eighth Ballon d’Or on Monday night. His World Cup victory was a terrific story, and he was magnificent throughout, but he wasn’t the best player in the world last year.
➟ Next season should be a lot of fun in Miami, however, as Luis Suarez is reportedly taking his talents to South Beach. He’ll join the Ol’ Barça Bandwagon when he links up with Messi, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets. Together, they won the Champions League once and La Liga four times.
➟ The scrupulous always-do-wells at FIFA have announced that Saudi Arabia are the sole contenders to host the 2034 World Cup. They haven’t picked a location for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, mind you, and they just got done announcing the men’s 2030 would take place in six countries across three continents 6,000 miles apart. On October 4, the FIFA Council used the 2030 announcement to mention that “member associations from AFC and OFC [were] invited to launch bids” on the basis that it was only fair to rotate which continent gets the tournament. By October 31, FIFA had announced that only Saudi was in the running because Australia had declined to get involved. Oh, how the stars aligned for the Kingdom.
➟ Even before Manchester United’s 3-0 demolition by Newcastle on Wednesday, the second visiting team to drop that scoreline at Old Trafford in the space of a few days, the blaring headlines read “UNITED IN CRISIS.” They’ve now lost five of their last eight at home, and eight of their 15 games this season. Afterwards, manager Erik ten Hag acknowledged the club was in “a bad place.” He also talked up his credentials as “a fighter” who could lead them all out of this mess, but it’s hard to see this marriage going anywhere but south. Leaks criticizing his training methods—including the suggestion that they’ve exacerbated United’s injury woes—do not imply he still has a hold on the dressing room. It won’t fix much if he’s given his marching orders, but he’s spent money poorly and has them playing some woeful stuff.
➟ Lyon’s team bus was hit with stones and bricks on its way to Marseille’s Stade Vélodrome last weekend, and manager Fabio Grosso needed 12 stitches after his face was severely injured. The Choc des Olympiques was cancelled after the real clash played out in the city streets. "What happened on Sunday evening could have been a tragedy,” Grosso said, “and it certainly was for sport and for all those who love it.”
➟ A representative of the Colombian guerrilla group ELN said Thursday that they would release the father of Liverpool forward Luis Diaz “as soon as possible.”
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SATURDAY
ATALANTA vs INTER
1:00pm ET on Paramount+ / 5:00pm GMT on TNT Sports 1
It’s first visiting fourth in Serie A, as Internazionale make the short trip from Milan to Bergamo. The Nerazzuri are the team to beat in Italy at the moment, with 25 points and 25 goals from 10 league matches. They’ve conceded just five. Lautaro Martínez is in the form of his life up front with 11 of his own, but the threats are all over the pitch: Nicolò Barella in advanced midfield, Denzel Dumfries bombing down the right wing, Hakan Çalhanoğlu in a new deeper midfield role. They play some fluid stuff with lots of positional exchange. Even centerback Alessandro Bastoni will make runs forward.
Atalanta will have their hands full, but they’ve got plenty of punch. Gianluca Scamacca is enjoying a resurgence after a tough time striking for West Ham last season, and fellow ex-Premier Leaguer Ademola Lookman also has three goals. So does Teun Koopmeiners in deeper midfield, which suggests both blue-and-black outfits are dangerously unpredictable.
DORTMUND vs BAYERN
1:30pm ET on ESPN+ / 5:30pm GMT on SKY Sports Football
The German champions weren’t horrendous in Saarbrücken, but they failed to take their chances. That means Harry Kane has one less trophy available this season as he looks to secure the first of his career. The world’s second-best central striker has been in formidable form since his move from Tottenham this summer, with 12 goals in nine Bundesliga matches culminating in an outrageous lob from the halfway line last weekend.
He had a hat trick in Bayern’s 8-0 second-half demolition of poor Darmstadt, and when you consider Joshua Kimmich was sent off in the fourth minute—he’ll miss this match—it all points to the idea that Bayern aren’t in bad shape at all. They’ve scored 34 goals in nine Bundesliga matches, though seven of those came in another blowout of Bochum. Leroy Sané is still a major threat to use his pace and smarts to run in behind and set the defense scrambling, and Jamal Musiala is up there with Jude Bellingham, Pedri, and Gavi as the best young attacking midfielders in Europe. Thomas Müller remains Thomas Müller, even at 34.
Bayern’s other big summer signing, Kim Min-jae, was exposed for Saarbrücken’s first goal in midweek. But while they can be got at, it hasn’t happened often in the league: the Bavarians are undefeated with seven goals conceded, tied for the fewest in the division. They’re still second behind Xabi Alonso’s similarly undefeated Bayer Leverkusen outfit, however, and they’ll need a result against their more traditional title challengers: 26 of the last 30 Bundesligas have gone to Munich or Dortmund, and last season these two battled it out to the final day when the yellow and blacks threw the championship away.
Bellingham’s departure to Madrid has been a massive loss, but they’ve begun to grind out results—lots of 1-0s, including a gutsy one away to Newcastle in the Champions League—and can occasionally fire up the cannons with Julian Brandt, Donyell Malen, and the legend Marco Reus operating in attacking midfield. The young American Gio Reyna is working himself back into form in those same areas, but Niclas Füllkrug has not exactly continued Robert Lewandowski’s legacy up front.
The Polish striker is one of many who’ve represented both these clubs, often making their name at Dortmund before heading for the bigger pastures of Bavaria to do their title-winning thing. There are some Bayern reclamation projects in the Dortmund team—Marcel Sabitzer, Mats Hummels, Niklas Süle—and while they call this one Der Klassiker, it doesn’t have all the hallmarks of a classic derby. This rivalry really came to the fore in the 1990s, when Borussia Dortmund arrived properly on the scene, and while players have been known to switch allegiances between Italy’s powers, it’s rare to see this kind of frequency. It’s primarily down to Bayern’s utter dominance in Germany, and the inability of anyone to resist.
But in recent decades, Dortmund have put up the best fight. They even came close—very close—to defeating Bayern in a Champions League final under Jürgen Klopp back in 2013. But they haven’t beaten them in a Bundesliga match since 2018, and Bayern have won eight of their nine meetings since. Dortmund will need a bit of luck and the strength of the towering Yellow Wall, one of the great institutions of the world’s game, to carry them through to a result.
NEWCASTLE UNITED vs ARSENAL
1:30pm ET on NBC / 5:30PM GMT on SKY Sports Main Event
The visitors will have mixed feelings about St. James’ Park, having come to this ground towards the end of recent seasons to reiterate their membership in a Top Two (2023) and pick out a gravestone for their Top Four push (2022). Arsenal stormed out 2-0 victors in May, but it could have been different when Jacob Murphy slammed a shot off Aaron Ramsdale’s post in the fourth minute. The Englishman’s replacement by David Raya has been a self-infused headache for Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal, though for all the jeepers keepers, their defensive record is improved this season.
It wasn’t bad last season, either, particularly away from home, but Oleksandr Zinchenko was beaten by Murphy on that occasion and it wasn’t the only case where gaps in the defensive side of his game were exploited. He’s made the traditional left-backing a bigger part of his hybrid role this time around, though Takehiro Tomiyasu could get the nod here for his size and 1-on-1 defensive capabilities. William Saliba and Gabriel are the twin towers at the back, with Ben White and Declan Rice providing significant size elsewhere.
It’s a reminder that this is not the Arsenal of yesteryear but yesteryesteryear, when teams would line up next to Patrick Vieira and Tony Adams and Sol Campbell in the tunnel and the doubt would start to creep in. Last year’s stellar away jerseys from Adidas completed the trick. Arsenal were a scary team to play, and they remain so. They’re undefeated in the league, and it’s not just big stature. Gabriel Jesus, the 5’9” Brazilian #9, is a warrior in his own way, though he’ll likely miss this one through injury just when he was getting back to his very best.
What Arsenal have not demonstrated this time around is the kind of fluid passing patterns that defined them in their most dominant days in the first half of last season. The preferred front three of Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, and Bukayo Saka have scarcely played together—though Eddie Nketiah did smash in a hat trick last weekend—but the biggest questions are in midfield. Granit Xhaka’s departure for Bayer Leverkusen this summer has been felt, and while Declan Rice has often played that role—and others—and excelled, Kai Havertz has not stood out when asked to do the more offensive interpretation of the Left Eight role. He could play the nine in Jesus’s absence, and how the midfield will line up with Thomas Partey’s now-routine absence is a mystery. Could it be Jorginho with Rice a bit more advanced for another big game? Could Leandro Trossard get a start at eight or false nine, stalking the middle parts of the pitch where he operates best?
Arteta needs answers, because he’ll feel he needs a win after midweek’s 3-1 drubbing by West Ham in the Buffalo Cup. That was a happier hunting ground for Newcastle United, who wiped the floor with a poor Manchester United side and will march into this one feeling they can get a result. The Magpies have hosted PSG and Dortmund in the Champions League now, gone to Milan. They’ve begun to bring that same energy domestically in recent weeks, but they’ve lost Alexander Isak and his languid genius up front.
Callum Wilson will be asked to fill in with his hunter’s instinct and stout hold-up play, and behind him Miguel Almirón and Anthony Gordon will go to work on service from Bruno Guimarães. Newcastle are always a threat from set pieces and long balls through Kieran Trippier, though they shipped one to Wolves from a corner—and were cut open by a fantastic passing move on the second equalizer—last weekend. They have the physicality to compete in aerial duels and get around the midfield to match Arsenal, particularly if it’s Jorginho in there with Rice. Arteta picked a middle triumvirate that lacked physical power against West Ham and was punished.
BOCA JUNIORS vs FLUMINENSE
4:00pm ET on beIN Sports / 9:00pm GMT on BBC3
It’s the final of the Copa Libertadores, the South American Champions League, and they’re anticipating 110,000 fans will show up at the famed Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. It’s home-field advantage for Fluminense, one of the continent’s biggest clubs never to win a continental title. Their young starlet, André, has been linked with a move to Liverpool and elsewhere, while Argentine striker Germán Cano is the tournament’s top scorer. He’ll be shooting it out with Edison Cavani, the deadly past hitman for Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and Uruguay. Despite their poor form domestically back in Argentina, Boca will believe they can take a seventh Copa Libertadores title. That would tie the record.
REAL SOCIEDAD vs BARCELONA
4:00pm ET on ESPN+ / 9:00pm GMT on LaLigaTV
Fifth against fourth in La Liga, with Barcelona still smarting from an ignominious defeat in El Clásico. They allowed Real Madrid back into the game from 1-0 up—well, Jude Bellingham forced them back into it with a brace—and they’ll be desperate to put things right against the squad from San Sebastián. Sociedad is no joke, with Basque local Mikel Oyarzabal tied for third in the league scoring charts and Japanese winger Takefusa Kubo among the most exciting players in Spain. He’s got five goals and two assists.
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SUNDAY
LUTON TOWN vs LIVERPOOL
11:30am ET on USA (NBC Sports) / 4:30pm GMT on SKY Sports
Kenilworth Road plays host to its most illustrious visitors yet this season, as Liverpool come to town eyeing up a title charge. These are the matches Luton supporters will have longed to see at “the old girl,” though there’s been no Premier League honeymoon for the top division’s smallest club. The Hatters are down in the relegation zone with fellow promoted sides Burnley and Sheffield United, but with Bournemouth looking weak and Everton looking at a 12-point deduction, Luton may feel they have a fighting chance of securing more matches like this for next season.
They’ll need to score more goals, but right now forward Elijah Adebayo is looking like their only threat in the league. Ex-Tottenham and Crystal Palace man Andros Townsend knows this competition, and he signed with Luton this month following a failed move to the aforementioned Burnley this summer. He and Ross Barkley have done it at this level, but have they got what’s needed to score more goals than the Reds from Merseyside? It’s not just Mo Salah, who’s got eight goals and four assists in 10 league matches. Darwin Nuñez is finding his feet in England and has three assists and a goal in his last three. It will be scary times for Liverpool’s enemies at the top (and bottom) of the table if the Uruguayan finds his composure in and around the opposition box.
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THE FPL STOCK MARKET
↗️Hwang Hee-chan (£5.5m, Wolves): The South Korean had a goal or an assist in each of his last four matches, and he’s the 12th-ranked midfielder overall this season at a bargain price. Pedro Neto’s injury could cut into his production, as the Portuguese winger destabilizes defenses. Still, Wolves’ upcoming fixtures are favorable, particularly with the sad boys of Sheffield United this weekend.
↘️ Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Pedro Porro (Spurs): This will be a contentious one, but I think Spurs will start leaking some goals over their upcoming fixtures against Chelsea, Wolves, Aston Villa, Man City, West Ham, and Newcastle. That’s a gauntlet. If you’re going to keep one, van de Ven is the cheapest at £4.7m.
↘️ Raheem Sterling (£6.9m, Chelsea): The veteran forward is a boom-or-bust candidate, to use the NFL fantasy parlance. He seems to be good for a hat trick or not much at all, and it’s been mostly the latter. Chelsea’s brutal fixture list tips the scales towards dropping him.
↗️Douglas Luiz (£5.6m, Aston Villa): A defensive midfielder’s price, but he’s getting into scoring positions and takes penalties for the league’s joint-highest scoring side.
↗️Moussa Diaby (£6.8m, Aston Villa): With Nottingham Forest and Fulham coming up, there’s opportunity with anyone you can grab at Villa. See also: Ollie Watkins.
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MONDAY
TOTTENHAM vs CHELSEA
3:00pm ET on Peacock / 8:00pm GMT on SKY Sports
This one’s a real blood feud, with the kind of animosity that only blossoms from deep and bitter roots. So why can’t the powers that be arrange for this match to be played on the weekend? Never mind all that now, it’s a Monday derby, and the Americans will just need to tune in on a second screen during their Zoom meetings. Tottenham are top of the league, though they could be fourth by kickoff if Arsenal, Man City, and Liverpool all take care of business. It’s crowded at the top—this Top Four has garnered more points across the first 10 matchweeks than any that came before—and Spurs will need to dispatch a club accustomed to breathing that rarified air if they’re to keep their place in it. James Maddison and Son Heung-min will be key as usual, and Dejan Kulusevski has quietly been creating boatloads of chances for the Lilywhites. But have you had a look at Spurs’ defensive record?
Chelsea aren’t as free-flowing as their opponents—Mauricio Pochettino’s teams are known less for their patterns of play than for winning the ball high up the pitch—but while they’re 10 places behind Tottenham in the table, they’ve conceded just two more goals. The West Londoners’ problem is that they don’t have a goalscorer. Raheem Sterling is, as mentioned, boom-or-bust. Cole Palmer has a couple of penalties (one of which he had to see off Sterling to take) and Mykhailo Mudryk has two goals, both of which he totally meant. But Nicolas Jackson does not look the part up front, and Armando Broja has a lot to prove amid some continuous injury struggles. Is it safe to conclude that Todd Boehly has already fired up the money cannon for January?⚽︎