There are no international breaks until March.
There’s loads of good domestic football to come this weekend.
That’s nice isn’t it?
Dominating the weekend is the Copa Libertadores final, as two excellent managers will pit their exciting sides against one another.
Meanwhile, Saturday promises to be a dramatic day in the Premier League, with the lunchtime and evening kick-offs catching the eye. In La Liga, one of the bonafide title favorites goes up against the league’s great entertainers. The final selection comes between two of Serie A’s best.
All kick offs are Eastern time. Enjoy your weekend and enjoy the games.
West Ham United vs. Tottenham
Saturday, November 21, 7:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN, Universo, fuboTV, Hulu Live, Sling Blue and AT&T TV Now (free trial)
Well, this fixture suddenly looks a lot more appealing after Tottenham’s win this week doesn’t it?
Jose Mourinho—it’s still a bit weird—will be in the dugout for Spurs at the London Stadium, after the north London club made the bold decision to cut ties with Mauricio Pochettino. The Portuguese will be seeking to steer Tottenham to their first win on the road in the top flight since January.
It’ll be fascinating to see how the Spurs players respond to their new boss. Regardless of whether or not you think the decision to sack Pochettino was the right one, you sense a new face in training and some new tactical ideas will trigger a response from the team. That’d be bad news for a toiling West Ham outfit.
The Hammers have failed to build on a strong start to the season and are now six games without a win. Before the international break they were beaten 3-0 by Burnley and a repeat of that performance will surely see Spurs capitalise.
Atalanta vs. Juventus
Saturday, November 21, 9 a.m. ET, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, Sling Orange, Hulu Live and AT&T TV Now (free trial)
Juventus face a challenging resumption of their domestic schedule at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia against Atalanta.
The Italian champions have been typically professional in the opening weeks of the season, accumulating 32 points from 12 games. However, unlike in many previous years, they appear to have a genuine rival in the form of Inter, who sit a point further back.
It means anything other than a win would for Juve in the early kick off on Saturday would potentially see them knocked off top spot, with Inter traveling to Torino later in the day. By contrast, Maurizio Sarri will be thinking about the significance of a win and the pressure that’d apply to their challengers.
That’s no mean feat against La Dea, albeit they have been inconsistent this season. At their best, Atalanta have the attacking class to harm any side in the division; keeping opponents out at the other end has been a challenge.
Manchester City vs. Chelsea
Saturday, November 21, 12:30 p.m ET, NBC, Telemundo, fuboTV, Hulu Live, Sling Blue and AT&T TV Now (free trial)
With Liverpool playing at Crystal Palace earlier in the day, there’s a chance City will trail the Reds by a whopping 12 points come kick off. They can’t afford to slip up against Chelsea.
The Blues actually go into this game above the champions in the table, with the team blossoming under Frank Lampard as of late. In the Premier League, it’s six wins on the bounce and the side are playing some thrilling attacking football.
It will be intriguing to see how Lampard approaches this encounter, as many sides in the league would be wary about going toe-to-toe with a team as talented as City. However, after such a strong start to 2019-20, Chelsea may be in a “nothing to lose” mindset.
As for City, the pressure is firmly on after their 3-1 loss at Anfield before the international break. Pep Guardiola has seen his team respond under the pump previously and even though the Manchester club have a number of injury issues to contend with, the manager will be expecting a much improved performance from his players.
Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad
Saturday, November 21, 3 p.m. ET, beIN SPORTS, fuboTV, Sling Latino, Sling World Sports, Fanatiz and Vidgo (free trial)
After their rocky beginning to the campaign, there have been positive steps made by Real Madrid as of late.
Zinedine Zidane’s side suddenly look like genuine challengers for the title again, as they’ve shored up in defence and started to find more consistency in attack. Their 4-0 win at Eibar before the break was their standout performance of the season so far, with Karim Benzema and Eden Hazard showing encouraging signs in attack.
Los Blancos are level on points with Barcelona, who play at Leganes earlier in the day, meaning there’s little room to slip up. Madrid arguably have the more challenging fixture too, with an enterprising Real Sociedad, who sit fifth in the table, heading to the Santiago Bernabeu.
For the visitors, all eyes will be on Martin Odegaard, who is at Sociedad on loan from Los Blancos. The Norwegian forward has shone this term and will be desperate to turn in an eye-catching performance in front of the supporters of his parent club.
River Plate vs. Flamengo
Saturday, November 21, 3 p.m. ET, beIN SPORTS en Español, Sling Latino, Sling World Sports, Fanatiz, fuboTV and Vidgo (free trial)
If South America football is more to your taste, the biggest game on that continent takes place on Saturday night, with River Plate and Flamengo going toe-to-toe in the Copa Libertadores final.
River won a memorable game with rivals Boca Juniors in this fixture a year ago, with the match moved to the Bernabeu in Madrid. This time, the match will be played in what’s anticipated to be an 80,000-strong crowd at the Estadio Monumental in Lima, Peru.
Once again, River have proven themselves difficult to beat under the guidance of the impressive Marcelo Gallardo, as he steered them past Boca in the semis. Given they have experienced the intensity and pressure of this fixture so recently.
Flamengo are a force to be reckoned with though and are in possession of two of the most prolific forwards in the competition in Gabriel Barbosa and Bruno Henrique. The former has been particularly lethal, with a brace in their emphatic 5-0 win over Gremio in the second leg of the semi-final.
from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/2pLBklS
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