THE OLD FIRM (Feat. Chris McLaughlin)
CELTIC vs RANGERS is up there with the Superclásico for sheer, unbridled animosity.
Yes, it’s MAN UNITED vs LIVERPOOL this weekend, but what about the Old Firm?
Fortunately, you don’t have to choose. The fixture gods have seen fit to place these matches one after the other on Sunday, and what an opportunity it presents to delve deep into the past and present of CELTIC vs RANGERS, the battle of Glasgow. This one’s about Scottish identity. It’s tied up in sectarian strife and the Troubles in Northern Ireland. And it’s also partly about football.
Joining us to trace the history of this match and preview this particular encounter is CHRIS McLAUGHLIN, Sports News Correspondent at BBC Scotland and a man of Glasgow:
You can also check out the show on Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon, and Acast.
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FRIDAY
INTER vs ATALANTA
2:45pm ET, 7:45pm UK
The Scudetto holders host the Europa League champions for The Early Weekend. Such was Inter’s dominance last term—they finished 19 points clear at the top of the table—that four points from their first two games will be a disappointment. Victory over Gian Piero Gasperini’s side would be a fine way to get back to imperious ways, even if the team from Bergamo are a bit of a wounded animal at the moment: they lost Teun Koopmeiners to Juventus this week for a cool €50 million.
SATURDAY
ARSENAL vs BRIGHTON
7:30am ET, 12:30pm UK
Brighton’s disturbingly youthful manager, Fabian Hürzeler, has enjoyed a dream start at the Seagulls helm with six points from six. That includes a stunning late victory over Manchester United last weekend, but a trip to the Emirates Stadium is a different proposition entirely. The Gunners have had a couple shaky moments across their first two games, but they’ve rattled off consecutive 2-0 wins and will be hungry for points with a gauntlet of a schedule after the international break. It’s the North London Derby and a trip to Manchester City to follow.
IPSWICH TOWN vs FULHAM
10am ET, 3pm UK
This was a close call, with a Midlands derby on the menu at the same time in LEICESTER CITY vs ASTON VILLA. But we’re still in the honeymoon period with Portman Road, a new addition to the Premier League stadium circuit, and Ipswich have looked a decent outfit besides. So have Fulham, where Emile Smith Rowe is settling in following a big-money move from Arsenal. With Joachim Andersen and Sander Berge, it’s been a fine transfer window for the West London up-and-comers even with the loss of João Palhinha to Bayern Munich.
BAYER LEVERKUSEN vs RB LEIPZIG
12:30pm ET, 5:30pm UK
The German heavyweights get the nod over WEST HAM vs MAN CITY—same kickoff time—primarily due to the sheer inevitability of City in these early days of 2024/25. Leverkusen were inevitable last season, but it often came down to last-minute winners and the trend has continued into this new term. Florian Wirtz dispatched a penalty on 101 minutes to snatch three points from Borussia Mönchengladbach last weekend, but Leipzig are the next level, even if they’ve shipped star attacker Dani Olmo to Barcelona for a hefty fee.
ATHLETIC CLUB vs ATLÉTICO MADRID
1pm ET, 6pm UK
A seriously athletic encounter in La Liga’s upper echelons. The Basques of Athletic Club followed up 2-1 defeat to Barcelona last weekend by taking three points off Valencia in midweek, while their opponents here battered last season’s surprise package Girona 3-0 on Sunday before a disappointing 0-0 draw with Espanyol a few days later. Perhaps the Atlético from the Spanish capital ought to be favorites here considering their stunning transfer outlay this summer—around €183 million on four major signings—but numbers don’t win matches.
SPORTING LISBON vs PORTO
3:30pm ET, 8:30pm UK
Here’s a heavyweight clash out of Portugal, with a rematch of the domestic cup final in May. Porto won that one and the Supertaça earlier this month, but Sporting won the league at a canter in 23/24 and despite all the speculation, they’ve (so far) kept hold of star striker Viktor Gyökeres.
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INTERMISSION
Gaze in awe at the Champions League draw:
Honestly, I can’t be arsed to give you the full rundown. Proceed forthwith to The Athletic.
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SUNDAY
CELTIC vs RANGERS
7:30am ET, 12:30pm UK
The Old Firm. I can’t tell you anything better than Chris did in this week’s podcast!
FEYENOORD vs AJAX
8:30am ET, 1:30pm UK
These are two of the Dutch powers, though neither took the league last season and both have new managers. Arne Slot departed Feyenoord for Liverpool—no shame there—but Ajax had a dismal season last time round, finishing 35 points off champions PSV. Francesco Farioli was brought in this summer to right the ship, but defeat to NAC last weekend was not what the doctor ordered.
If you’re in more of a Premier League mood, however, NEWCASTLE vs TOTTENHAM is a hot one and CHELSEA vs CRYSTAL PALACE is potentially a very juicy London derby. They’re all at the same time.
MANCHESTER UNITED vs LIVERPOOL
11am ET, 4pm UK
The two biggest clubs in English football square off at Old Trafford, though this is certainly not the Manchester United of old. The Red Devils scratched out a 1-0 win here over Fulham on the opening matchday, but defeat at Brighton last weekend took the wind out of these particular sails. United are on the brink of patching up a massive leak in the ship with the signing of Manuel Ugarte, who could consign Casemiro to the bench after the Brazilian went off a cliff last season. Erik ten Hag still must prove he can impose patterns of play on this team beyond “get it to Bruno Fernandes on the half-turn to spark a counterattack,” because 78 league matches into the Dutchman’s reign, there hasn’t often been much more to it than that.
On the other side, another Dutchman has enjoyed a calm and quiet start in his quest to replace the legend, Jürgen Klopp. Arne Slot’s Liverpool have rattled off consecutive 2-0 victories to begin the league season, but a trip to their eternal enemies will provide a significantly sterner test than Brentford or Ipswich. They’ve made a canny signing of their own this week in Federico Chiesa, however. When he’s fit and firing, the Italian is a genius in the final third, the one who can pick the locks.
JUVENTUS vs ROMA
2:45pm ET, 7:45pm UK
The Old Lady wants to get her groove back with a new boss in Thiago Motta, fresh off a stunningly successful spell with Bologna. His Juventus side are top of Serie A after two matches, with six goals scored and none conceded. The aforementioned Koopmeiners has arrived to help along with Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa and Khéphren Thuram—son of Juve great Lilian—from Nice. Francisco Conceição has also arrived on loan after a bright season last term with Porto.
For Roma, club legend Daniele De Rossi is settling into his first full season in the managerial hot seat. This is a city that has chewed up and spit out coaches even of José Mourinho’s caliber and confidence, but De Rossi has brought in last season’s La Liga top scorer, the Ukrainian Artem Dobvyk, along with Matías Soulé from…Juventus. Can he make the Old Lady pay? Roma forked over €25 million.⚽︎