Four football games to watch this weekend

These are very important games before club football takes a two week hiatus for the international window.

Atletico Madrid v Barcelona @Wanda Metropolitano @ 8pm October 2

Barcelona’s embarrassing season could continue at Wanda on Saturday when they visit defending champions Atletico, fortified by two forwards from the Catalan squad in the past two seasons.

Luiz Suarez and Antoine Griezmann could line up together while Ronald Koeman calls on Luuk De Jong and Memphis Depay to lead the line of a falling Barcelona side after a 3-0 humiliation at Benfica in the Champions League.

If there was one must-have for Koeman, this is it. Diego Simeone has almost a full squad to choose from with Koke and Joao Felix again available while Koeman must continue without Jordi Alba, Martin Braithwaite although Frenkie De Jong is back from suspension. Will this be the game that marks the end of Koeman’s turbulent period?

Current form: Atlético [W-L-W-D-D]; Barcelona [L-W-D-D-L]

Face-to-face

05/08/21 LAL Barcelona 0 Р0 Atl̩tico

11/21/20 LAL Atl̩tico 1 Р0 Barcelona

06/30/20 LAL Barcelona 2 Р2 Atl̩tico

01/09/20 SUC Barcelona 2 Р3 Atl̩tico

12/01/19 LAL Atl̩tico 0 Р1 Barcelona

Prediction: Atlético 2-1 Barcelona

Liverpool against Man. Ville @Anfield @ 4:30 p.m. on October 3

The Reds are in compelling form, scoring for fun and tight at the back as Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City look to bounce back from a humble 2-0 loss in Paris to PSG midweek.

It will be a real test for the credentials of both teams as they stick together in the pursuit of the EPL title. Jürgen Klopp has yet to taste defeat this season, but he will be without Trent Alexander-Arnold.

City continue to play with a fluid offensive structure that doesn’t rely on a rigid No.9 position, which seems to be costing them dearly. Ilkay Gündogan is still injured and based on Raheem Sterling’s performance he could be benched in favor of Ferran Torres who has already scored two goals in four league appearances. Will Liverpool taste a first defeat or will it be back-to-back defeats for City?

Current form: Liverpool [W-D-W-W-W]; Man. City [L-W-W-D-W]

Face-to-face

02/07/21 PRL Liverpool 1 – 4 Man. City

08/11/20 PRL Man. City 1 – 1 Liverpool

07/02/20 PRL Man. City 4 – 0 Liverpool

11/10/19 PRL Liverpool 3 – 1 Man. City

04/08/19 COS Liverpool 1 – 1 Man. City

Prediction: Liverpool 1-2 Man. City

Atalanta vs. AC Milan @Gewiss Stadium at 7:45 p.m. on October 3

Five points separate these two heading into Sunday’s clash with the two in good form. Atalanta were very good against Inter Milan in their last Serie A game and could easily have won at San Siro.

Meanwhile, AC Milan have been “stolen” from Atletico Madrid with a very harsh red card and a phantom penalty in the seventh minute of added time and will be looking to bounce back against a team that is also looking for Premier League football. champions at the end of the season.

Gian Piero Gasperini has lost two defenders to injury – Robin Gosens and Hans Hateboer, which means a change in formation and tactics while Stefano Pioli must continue to juggle his team with the absences of Tiemoue Bakayoko, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alessandro Florenzi. Can AC Milan win to keep pace with Napoli or will Atalanta show they are ready to fight for the title?

Current form: Atalanta [L-W-W-L-D]; AC Milan [D-L-D-W-D]

Face-to-face

05/23/21 SEA Atalante 0 – 2 AC Milan

01/23/21 SEA AC Milan 0 – 3 Atalanta

07/24/20 SEA AC Milan 1 – 1 Atalanta

12/22/19 SEA Atalante 5 – 0 AC Milan

02/16/19 SEA Atalante 1 – 3 AC Milan

Prediction: Atalante 2-1 AC Milan

Lille v Marseille @Stade Pierre-Mauroy @ 4 p.m. on Oct. 3

Lille’s defense of their Ligue 1 title has been disastrous, but has recently resurfaced, winning their last two league games despite losing to Salzburg in the Champions League.

New boss Jocelyn Gourvennec continues to be deprived of Renato Sanches and Leo Jardim while Burak Yilmaz’s scoring form is cause for concern.

Marseille are third in the standings and their coach Jorge Sampaoli is confident of being able to beat Lille.

“The state of mind of the team allows me to remain calm, we will resume the path of victory. “

Three of their last one-on-one clashes have ended 2-1 and it looks like the kind of game that will be emotionally motivated with a late goal as the winner.

Current form: Atalanta [L-W-W-L-D]; AC Milan [D-L-D-W-D]

Face-to-face

03/03/21 LI1 Lille 2 – 0 Marseille

09/20/20 LI1 Marseille 1 – 1 Lille

02/16/20 LI1 Lille 1 – 2 Marseille

02/11/19 LI1 Marseille 2 – 1 Lille

01/25/19 LI1 Marseille 1 – 2 Lille

Prediction: Lille 2 – 2 Marseille