The weekend is around the corner, and that means one thing for footy fans, stacks of fixtures! And this weekend is a little bit special… because there’s not just one derby, but three!
Gettin’ Started at Goodison
To kick off the weekend’s Premier League action we have the Merseyside derby. Everton host Liverpool with a 12:30pm start on the Saturday.
It could be a tough task for Frank Lampard’s Toffees. They’re 17th in the table and have managed just three points from five games. They’re without a win this season and are limp in attack having only found the net four times.
By Liverpool’s high standards, they got off to a rocky start, too. Their opening three games saw them draw with newly promoted Fulham, then draw with Crystal Palace at Anfield and were beaten by a spirited Manchester United.
Jürgen Klopp clearly demanded more from his squad. In their next game, Liverpool appeared to be back to their ruthless best. Bournemouth were demolished 9-0.
A tougher test followed against Newcastle, but a revived Liverpool showed their grit and earned all three points. A last-minute winner from new boy, Fabio Carvalho, saw Anfield erupt into a sea of limbs.
The reason we love football is because it’s unpredictable and full of surprises. Could the Blue side of Merseyside get their first win of the season against their fiercest rivals? Don’t miss this one!
Old Firm
Kickin’ off at the same time is the Old Firm derby. Celtic Park is gonna’ be bouncing. The Green and White of Glasgow take on their bitter city rivals, Rangers, in a match that’ll be watched across the world.
It’s all to play for: Celtic sit at top of the table but are only ahead by two points; the Gers will be hungry for all three points.
The current Champions won’t roll over and they’re in fine form, too. In their last league outing, the Hoops stuck nine goals past Dundee United whilst keeping a clean sheet. Japanese international, Kyogo Furuhashi, netted four times with Liel Abada bagging himself a hattrick. That’s an attacking output sure to send shivers down the spine of any defence!
With that said, Giovanni van Bronckhorst has Rangers’ squad and fans buzzing after bringing them Champions League football. Not only will they be tussling with Europe’s elite, but their performances in the domestic league are impressive, too.
They’ve four wins from five, but a perfect record and 15 points was snatched away from them with a last-minute equaliser by Hibernian’s Josh Campbell. As all good sides do, Rangers responded in a ruthless manner in their following fixture. Ross County conceded four goals and failed to trouble the home side.
How does a game with two teams that are defensively sound with fluid, free-scoring forwards going head-to-head with the top of the table at stake play out? Hard to say, but you’re gonna’ want to buckle up for this one, it promises to be a belter.
Want More?
At 5:00pm, the Serie A brings us one of Europe’s greatest matches, the Derby della Madonnia. After a period of Juventus dominating the league with nine consecutive titles, the city of Milan has reclaimed the championship from Turin.
In the 2020/21 season, Inter Milan denied Juve a 10th straight league title by winning the Serie A for the first time since 2010. A fantastic campaign, I Nerazzurri amassed 91 points whilst their close rivals, I Rossoneri could only muster 79 points.
Staying in Milan but with the trophy changing hands, the next season AC Milan became champions. It was their 19th title, equalling the amount of Inter Milan. Stefano Pioli and Simone Inzaghi will be keen to steer their respective teams to their 20th league title and claim the bragging rights.
As it stands, current champions, AC Milan, are second in the league with Inter Milan trailing in third by one point. The home side, Milan, come into this game following a draw away to Sassuolo, whilst Inter got a win and put three past newly-promoted Cremonese.
Inter will be without Lukaku for this game, though they’ll still have prolific poachers in Dzeko and Martinez on the pitch. AC Milan will be hoping tricky winger Rafael Leao will be at his best and that the evergreen Olivier Giroud can use his experience to get on the scoresheet.
Goals are forecast, drama is more than likely, and an electric atmosphere is guaranteed! You probably can’t make it to the San Siro, so settle down on your sofa and soak in what’s bound to be a mega game of football.
JD Predicts…
Given Everton’s slow start to the season and their lack of options in forward positions, we can’t see them being a threat to Liverpool. We think it’ll be a comfortable 3-0 win for Klopp’s men.
It’s tight for a spot at the top of the Scottish Premiership, we reckon this will be reflected in the game and it’ll end in a 1-1 draw.
Much like the Old Firm derby, the match between AC and Inter is pretty difficult to call. Though with AC bein’ the home side and blessed with a handful of talented players, we think they can get a hard-fought 2-1 win.
Get followin’ us on @JDFootball for exclusive content and news around the beautiful game!
