Derby d’Italia, Ranieri comeback and more…

After last weekend’s break for International fixtures, we are back into the usual routine now with all the domestic European leagues back in action. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest fixtures this weekend!

The top divisions in France, Germany and Spain kick things off on Friday evening with the likes of PSG and Bayern Munich in action. Chelsea take on Leicester in the first PL match of the weekend but it is defending champions Manchester City’s match against Tottenham that is the most exciting match on offer this game round. In Italy, Inter take on Verona whereas the match of the weekend is surely AC Milan against Juventus, although both teams are outside the top five. League leaders Napoli take on an AS Roma side languishing down in twelfth place. Barcelona and Real Madrid both play away matches this weekend. Manchester United will welcome new coach Ruben Amorim for his first match in charge, an away match at Ipswich on Sunday. Here we take a look at our pick of the weekend’s top matches:

AC Milan vs Juventus

So far, AC Milan’s season has been one of inconsistency as they have managed impressive results such as the win over Real Madrid, but in contrast, they have struggled to beat teams such as Cagliari in the last round of league fixtures. They go into this match six points outside of the top six in Serie A, an unacceptable position for them to be in. Paulo Fonseca is, therefore, already under some pressure to improve results. AC Milan’s last home match was a defeat against leaders Napoli but prior to that they won three in a row at their home stadium so they will be hoping to return to winning ways in this important clash. That being said, AC Milan have a pretty poor home record against Juventus, only winning one of the last four matches at the San Siro and failing to score in two of the last three encounters. Rafael Leao is the man in form for the home side, having scored twice against Cagliari. Milan have a tendency to score more goals in the first half, with thirteen of the last twenty goals being scored before half time. 

Juventus are only one place above AC Milan going into this match and two points off league leaders Napoli. They are unbeaten in their opening twelve Serie A matches, with six wins and six draws so far. Their success has been based on a very well organised defence that has managed to keep an impressive nine clean sheets so far. Juventus’ last match was a 2-0 win over Torino and they go into this match with the joint best away record in Serie A so far. The only goal they have conceded so far on their travels was to Inter. 

AC Milan have won four of the last ten meetings between the two with Juventus winning three, so there is very little to choose between the two in recent history. 

Napoli vs AS Roma

First placed Napoli will be hoping to get back to winning ways as they take on a struggling AS Roma side at home, having failed to win their last two matches. Lack of European action has certainly helped Napoli, as they have been able to focus all their energy on league matters and have won eight of their twelve matches so far. Their success has been built on a very solid defence, only conceding nine goals so far but they have struggled somewhat at the other end of the pitch, only scoring nineteen goals themselves. That total is the lowest of any team in the top six, with second placed Atalanta, by comparison, managing thirty one goals already. Napoli’s loss at home to Atalanta brought an end to a seven game winning run at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, a record that included five clean sheets. 

AS Roma have turned to Claudio Ranieri in an attempt to salvage something from their season. They managed to lure him out of retirement with the goal of attempting to save something from their 2024/25 season. Whilst there is still plenty of time left, their start has been nothing short of horrendous and they have yet to win a single match on the road, five draws and three losses so far. They only have one win in their last six Serie A matches and were beaten at home by Bologna prior to the International break.

Given the form of the visiting team, it is hard to look past a home win here, even with the potential so called ‘new manager bounce’ that Ranieri might give the visitors. The odds favour a home win. Napoli have won five of the last ten meetings between the two whereas AS Roma have just the two wins.

Man City vs Tottenham

Neither of these two sides will be overly happy with their season so far as City find themselves five points behind leaders Liverpool and Tottenham are all the way down in tenth position with only five wins from their eleven matches so far this season. The chances of Manchester City winning their fifth title in a row took a significant blow when they lost their last two matches prior to the International break. The fact that these defeats were against Brighton and Bournemouth will be of particular concern and they formed part of a four game losing streak, a first for Guardiola in his managerial career. Next week the defending champions will be taking on leaders Liverpool so they will really want to go into that match on the back of a win against Tottenham. They will also want revenge having been dumped out of the EFL Cup by Spurs in the fourth round a few weeks back. They are unbeaten at the Etihad, so they will hope that home comforts will be able to drive them on to a much needed win that will allow them to remain within touching distance of Liverpool. Matches involving Manchester City have certainly not been short of goals as eight of the last ten have seen over 2.5 goals scored. 

Tottenham have a decent record at the Etihad, relatively speaking. They have left Manchester with points on five of the last nine visits and will really be hoping to do the same again, to ease the pressure on manager Ange Postecoglu. They will be desperate to get back to winning ways following their loss at the hands of Ipswich before the international break, a poor result. They are certainly battling with a long injury list with Richarlison and Van de Ven the latest players to be left doubtful for this match. Keeping clean sheets has been an issue for Tottenham and it is likely to be their biggest concern as they take on Manchester City. On the positive side, Son Heung-min scored in midweek, as he did in this fixture last season. Unfortunately, midfielder Rodrigo Bentancour has been banned for seven matches for comments he made to his own team mate, Son Heung-min.  Tottenham won the last meeting between the two but it is Manchester City that have the slight head to head advantage, with five wins in the last ten meetings compared to four for Tottenham.

PS: Odds might have changed since the writing and publication of this article.

Last updated: 22.11.24