Chelsea-Arsenal or Inter-Napoli? Lucky for You, They're Back-to-Back

Sunday Funday.

The pod is adjourned this week as the host is on the road, but top-shelf football is very much in session across England and the continent. CHELSEA hosting ARSENAL for a London derby at Stamford Bridge is enough on its own, but there’s another Top Six clash in LIVERPOOL vs ASTON VILLA, the Derby della Mole in Torino, and of course, second meets first in Serie A with INTER vs NAPOLI…..

SATURDAY

WOLVES vs SOUTHAMPTON

10am ET, 3pm UK

Relegation scrap! This one could be the end of Gary O’Neil if it goes the wrong way for Wolves, who are still without a win and have taken just three points from 10 matches. They’ve shipped an astonishing 27 goals, though they might breathe half a sigh of relief seeing their opponents here have only scored seven. Southampton are a poor outfit, too, after all, and how long will the goodwill from last season last for Russell Martin?

Or, if you’re looking for bigger clubs in slightly less trouble, there’s always WEST HAM vs EVERTON.

BRIGHTON vs MAN CITY

12:30pm ET, 5:30pm UK

The hosts have been causing the Premier League’s big boys all kinds of trouble, not least Liverpool last weekend at Anfield. Now they welcome a City side to the Amex who are in serious need of a result. Pep Guardiola has seen it all through his years in management, and the two points separating the Sky Blues from the top of the table won’t daunt, but he’ll need victory here and goals, again, from Erling Haaland. The Norwegian superstriker has missed eight big chances so far as the cape grows just a bit tattered.

JUVENTUS vs TORINO

2:45pm ET, 7:45pm UK

The Derby della Mole is the oldest city rivalry in Italian football and—historically—a class beef between the aristocrats of Juventus and the industrial working class of Torino. Those kinds of distinctions have tended to fade across most world derbies in the modern day, but these two still don’t like each other and it should be a crackling atmosphere. The Old Lady of Juve have the significant advantage in this fixture, winning far more of them through the years, but they’ve slipped to sixth in the table with six draws—though no losses—in their last 10.

LIVERPOOL vs ASTON VILLA

3pm ET, 8pm UK

Villa are facing down their first dip of the season, with three straight losses across all competitions. They’re without a win in the Premier League since October 19, as Unai Emery’s side are not scoring the goals to account for a lack of clean sheets that dates back to last season. The Jhon Durán magic show may be losing just a bit of its whizz and pop, while Ollie Watkins is the only player in this league who’s missed more big chances than Haaland. They’ll certainly need to find the net against a Liverpool side that’s likely to find it themselves, though the big story of Arne Slot’s first season thus far is the defense: Virgil Van Dijk and Co. have shipped just six goals all season. That’s how you go top of the league.

INTER MIAMI vs ATLANTA UNITED

8pm ET, 1am UK

The great one, Lionel Messi, is on the brink of elimination from the most prestigious tournament he’s ever contested: the MLS playoffs. It’s a best-of-three series format for Round One, and Miami dropped game two to leave themselves vulnerable to an early exit after a record-setting regular season. It’s not how the scriptwriters at Apple TV+ would draw it up—or maybe it is. My money here would be on one of those Messi performances where it looks like he’s playing FIFA on Semi-Pro.

SUNDAY

FOREST vs NEWCASTLE

9am ET, 2pm UK

After years of relegation risk, Nottingham Forest are pulling up trees in England’s top division. They’re third in the Premier League table after 10 matches with just seven goals conceded, a phenomenal improvement over last season’s defensive record. That’ll get a proper test from a Newcastle side who defeated Arsenal last weekend, though Eddie Howe’s outfit has not exactly been firing on all cylinders and there will be no St. James’ Park advantage here. Newcastle have defended decently enough themselves, not least last weekend, though Arsenal don’t have Chris Wood. The New Zealander is joint-second in the league with eight goals already—no wonder Forest are going well.

CHELSEA vs ARSENAL

11:30am ET, 4:30pm UK

It’s fourth against fifth, and a monumental London derby in the context of both these teams’ seasons. Arsenal Football Club are rattling off the losses at present and were already without a Premier League win in their last three before they tacked on a midweek Champions League reversal. That was 1-0 against Italian champions Inter at the San Siro on a questionable handball penalty—no big shame there—but Mikel Arteta’s side have been feckless going forward without their captain and conductor, Martin Ødegaard, who was injured playing a meaningless Nations League match a couple of international breaks back. He’s on his way back now, though it’s unclear whether he’ll be fit to start this one, and Arsenal’s issues go deeper anyway.

The Gunners’ vaunted defensive record, the league’s best last season, has melted away to start this one as they’ve shipped more than a goal a game to the opposition. Bush league red cards (and, in William Saliba’s case, earned ones) haven’t helped matters, and neither have extensive injuries at the fullback positions, but there’s something off about the midfield balance as well. The opposition has been able to get at their defensive line with relative ease. Pair that with an inability to create high-quality chances, in part because only 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri looks interested in picking up those pockets of space between the opposition midfield and defense, and you’ve got a recipe for some poor results.

The Blues are a somewhat different story, flowing forward under Enzo Maresca even if they’ve only scored three more goals than their opponents here. Nearly all of it flows through Cole Palmer, whose fitness is in question heading into this fixture. Without him, Chelsea may struggle to create: Enzo Fernández has been benched and wasn’t finding those progressive passes from deeper midfield anyway, and while Moisés Caicedo is finding a bit of the form that brought him to West London on a massive fee, he isn’t quite that player, either. They’ve got pace and talent in the wide areas—Pedro Neto in particular is a menace—but can they find those weapons early to create one-on-ones when Arsenal are in transitional retreat? It should be a fascinating encounter at Stamford Bridge.

INTER vs NAPOLI

2:45pm ET, 7:45pm UK

As mentioned, the Nerazzuri dispatched Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday with some first-half ambition going forward and some dogged defending to see out the second 45. At times, it was Italian football from the old school, though it wasn’t too representative of this team under Simone Inzaghi. They were banging in the goals last season on their way to a 19-point margin at the top of the table, and they’ve already got 25 in 11 matches this time. But they also know how to grind out a result, and that may be necessary here.

Their guests this weekend are reborn under Antonio Conte, the mad genius of defensive football who’s getting good stuff out of Romelu Lukaku and has the Georgian wizard, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, back near his best. The wide creator will slink around seeking the angle for a killer ball, gliding past opponents with timing and grace, and Inter’s solid back line will have their hands full even if Napoli were somehow destroyed last weekend, 3-0, by Atalanta. What a reminder of the parity and unpredictability in the upper echelons of Serie A. Here’s hoping we get another on Sunday.⚽︎