This weekend we have some mouth-watering fixtures around Europe and two that have caught TIBS News’ eyes are a vicious derby in France and bitter battle between two teams who hate each other in Italy.
Marseille have gone from title contenders to a club in crisis following an angry fan protest. This was followed by manager Andre Villas-Boas announcing he has handed in his resignation over a dispute with the board after the signing of Oliver Nitcham.
But the latest is that Villas-Boas has since been sacked by Les Olympiens and they face their bitter rivals, Paris Saint-Germain in the 100th La Classique on Sunday night, after a run of six games without a win.
PSG currently sit third in Ligue 1 with new manager Mauricio Pochettino looking to secure his new club’s fourth league title on the bounce after the Parisians’ rocky start to the season under Thomas Tuchel.
Pochettino’s side can go into this weekend’s game confident, after just one defeat in 10 but they will look to get revenge after the last fixture between these sides this season saw Marseille run out 1-0 winners.
September’s tie also saw a last-minute brawl produce five red cards in stoppage time… so expect Sunday’s La Classique to be dramatic and one you will not want to miss.
Now from Ligue 1 to Serie A where the title race could go down to the wire.
Juventus host Roma on Saturday as both sides will look to bolster their title hopes.
After a shaky start to the season Andrea Pirlo’s Juventus have started to find their grove after five wins in a row, including victories against Napoli in the Supercoppa and Inter Milan in the first leg of the Coppa Italia.
Despite sitting in fourth, the Old Lady are only seven points behind league leader’s AC Milan with a game-in-hand against Napoli after their opponents failed to travel to Turin due to Covid-19 restrictions.
They will look to star man Cristiano Ronaldo, who enjoyed his 36th birthday on Friday, to add to his two goals last week against Inter Milan.
Looking to keep the Portugal international quiet will be one of the surprise packages of the season Roma.
Despite many people not backing Paulo Fonseca’s side at the start of the season they are currently in a title race. The Giallorossi have been consistent this campaign and find themselves just six points off top spot.
The resurgence of former Manchester United and Arsenal attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan has also been a revelation this season as the side from the Italian capital boast the third best attack in the league.
The Armenian international has contributed to 17 league goals and Roma fans will hope he can keep up his stellar form to help push for their first title in 20 years.
To add spice to this fixture both sets of fans hate each other – which goes back to 1980s when Roma players were furious after a referee decision they disagreed with led to Juventus winning the title.
Also, in the 1990s Zdenek Zemen accused some Juventus players of doping – but they were later cleared of any wrong-doing.
Some of the most attacking football has come out of the Serie A this season and, with the talent these two sides have up top it looks to be an exiting one for the neutrals.
By Bryce Densham
