Even Arsenal-Liverpool Takes a Back Seat to El Clásico
Paco Polit joins the show to preview the biggest match of a grand Football Weekend.
This is a target-rich environment, with MARSEILLE and PSG in Le Classique, INTER and JUVENTUS in the Derby d’Italia, and ARSENAL vs LIVERPOOL in a massive Premier League title clash. But the headliner needs no introduction.
It’s the Clásico, REAL MADRID vs BARCELONA, the top grudge match in world football. Lucky for us, it’s once again a showcase of the game’s biggest stars. A Brazilian forward from each side scored a hat trick in the Champions League this week: Ballon d’Or favorite Vinicius Jr. for Madrid, Raphinha for Barça. They’re joined at the sharp end of things by some guy named Kylian Mbappé—for whom this will be a first Clásico—and the 17-year-old sensation Lamine Yamal.
The stars are all over, and so is the intrigue with Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid three points behind a Barcelona side that has already kicked into high gear under new head coach Hansi Flick. This could be a classic indeed, and joining us to set the table is Paco Polit of La Liga Lowdown:
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SATURDAY
ASTON VILLA vs BOURNEMOUTH
10am ET, 3pm UK
Top of the Champions League and back in the Top Four, these are swell times for Aston Villa. They’re not bad for Bournemouth, either: they bludgeoned Arsenal 2-0 last week and are looking to scoot up into the top half of the Premier League table. Andoni Iraola looks properly legit, but fellow Spaniard Unai Emery is a serious tactical test.
BOLOGNA vs MILAN
12pm ET, 5pm UK
It’s been a poor start to life as a Champions League outfit for Bologna, though it’s never easy when you lose your star coach to Juventus. (More on Thiago Motta below.) The Greyhounds are winless in Europe and floating through some indifferent form in Serie A, too, with nine points from eight matches. The same cannot be said for the Milanisti, who are trying to cause some trouble again led by American star Christian Pulisic. Did you see his Olimpico this week?
REAL MADRID vs BARCELONA
3pm ET, 8pm UK
El Clásico needs no introduction—and yet Paco helps us introduce this one! Give it a listen above.
SUNDAY
CHELSEA vs NEWCASTLE
9am ET, 2pm UK
The Blues may have found their level last weekend when they discovered it was not as high as Liverpool’s. But is it higher than Newcastle’s? The Magpies come down to West London two points behind Chelsea, eager to get themselves back into the European places despite a defeat last time out to Brighton.
NICE vs MONACO
11am ET, 4pm UK
It’s the Derby de la Côte d'Azur, and doesn’t that sound nice? Monaco are joint-top of Ligue 1 with PSG, while Nice have hit some indifferent form. They’re without a win in a month since an 8-0(!) victory over St. Etienne, piling up the draws while sliding into midtable. This one could get spicy: fan clashes have occasionally turned nasty, and Monaco won a 3-2 thriller in this fixture back in February.
However, there’s some competition in this match window…
ARSENAL vs LIVERPOOL
11:30am ET, 4:30pm UK
The hosts are reeling after a disastrous defeat to Bournemouth last time out where they not only lost three points but also their cornerstone defender, William Saliba. The Frenchman is the foundation of Arsenal’s approach under Mikel Arteta, but he picked up a red card for a last-man challenge last weekend—the team’s third sending-off in eight league matches, and the first legitimate one—and he will not be available for this top-of-the-table affair. At just a quarter of the way through the season, it’s not quite a must-win for the Gunners, but after two title charges that came up short in the last two seasons, they surely came into this campaign believing that this was—had to be—their year.
Liverpool, on the other hand, might just be a bit ahead of schedule. The Merseyside faithful are chuffed at how quickly Arne Slot has settled into the big chair that Jürgen Klopp vacated in the summer, and they come into this one top of the league. Ryan Gravenberch looks a player reborn in midfield, Dominik Szoboszlai has been pushed forward into a more advanced position, and Luis Díaz looks nearly the threat to opposition defenses that Mo Salah does. (You can get the full rundown on this new-look Liverpool in last week’s episode with Beth Lindop.) They could be without their most effective center forward in Diogo Jota, however, who looks set to miss this one with injury, meaning Darwin Núñez could be unleashed to do…whatever it is Darwin might do.
The Reds have conceded just three goals this season, but they have had about as gentle a fixture list so far as they could’ve hoped for. Chelsea last week was the first big test—a prior trip to Old Trafford, of course, does not count—and this will be the second. Liverpool may have seized Arsenal’s mantle as regards fielding the league’s best defense, and Arsenal have injuries of their own to star attackers Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard. Even with the chance of a Saka return, the Gunners will likely just have to find a way to win. But they’ve done that already this season, particularly away at Tottenham. You get the feeling that Liverpool will not underestimate Arteta’s side—and if they do, it will be at their peril.
INTER vs JUVENTUS
12pm ET, 5pm UK
And 30 minutes after that, it’s the Derby d’Italia. Someday we will dig into this one on the podcast and figure out how A.C. Milan was cut out of the Italian National Derby discussion, but that’s been the title of this fixture since the 1960s. These two have won 16 of the last 19 league titles and 56 of 93 overall, so maybe there’s your answer. They both trail Napoli at the minute, however, and both will be chomping at the bit to make up some ground on the Neapolitans, who are reborn under Antonio Conte.
Juventus went into this past summer seeking a renaissance of their own, and they skipped down to Bologna to snatch away their manager for that very purpose. Thiago Motta spent the most glorious years of his career playing in deep midfield for Internazionale, but now he’s engineering a midfield rebuild for the Old Lady. American Weston McKennie has reclaimed a spot in the engine room after some time out at wing back, and he was joined for a Champions League bout with Stuttgart in midweek by Nicolò Fagioli and Khéphren Thuram. The latter is the son of Juve legend Lilian and brother of Inter’s Marcus, which makes this a family affair—the Derby della Thuram.
Marcus is second in the Serie A scoring charts on seven goals, taking on a new role after playing assistman to Lautaro Martínez and Co. last term. Inter are the free-scorers of this division once again, with 17 goals already, though they’ve also conceded nine. The Juventus goal has been breached just once all season.
MARSEILLE vs PSG
2:45pm ET, 7:45pm UK
Here’s another one from the Côte d’Azur, though it’s got little else to do with the Mediterranean. This is the biggest match on the French football calendar, Le Classique, a meeting of the two most successful clubs in the land. This fixture only really came to exist in the 1970s, when Paris Saint-Germain were established and gained promotion to Ligue 1. It didn’t heat up until 1986, when the Parisians won their first title, and it didn’t catch fire until the end of that decade, when the two were competing outright for league supremacy. By the time then-PSG president Francis Borelli accused Marseille and its owner, Bernard Tapie, of match-fixing in the 1988-89 season, things had kicked off in earnest.
It’s been pretty much all PSG since Qatar Sports Investments took over the club in summer 2011 and pumped however many millions in. Marseille have managed just three wins in this fixture since. There were plenty of 2-1s in there, though, and it’s a new era at PSG following the departure of Kylian Mbappé and the other Parisian Galácticos before him. Will this new-look, French-youthful side continue the 13-year theme over a similarly new-look Marseille under Roberto De Zerbi? Young PSG starlet Bradley Barcola is top of the Ligue 1 scoring charts, but un-disgraced forward Mason Greenwood is just one behind for OM. His attacking colleague, the Brazilian Luis Henrique, also looks the real deal with four goals and three assists. It should be a feisty one at the iconic Stade Vélodrome.⚽︎