Manchester City look to build on momentum, Arsenal want to retain Premier League top spot, Atletico Madrid have very small room for error, PSG are still running away in France and Juventus aim for 11th straight league victory. Graham Caygill looks at the best football matches to watch this weekend.
West Ham United v Manchester City, Sunday, 9.30pm, beIN Sports
Manuel Pellegrini’s side appear to be finally finding some momentum after an inconsistent start to the season. Last weekend’s 4-0 demolition of Crystal Palace sends an ominous message to their Premier League title rivals, especially with Sergio Aguero looking to be finding his best form again in attack. But sixth-placed West Ham will be tricky opponents today. Slaven Bilic’s side know how to cause City problems. They won 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium in September and have consistently played their best stuff this campaign against the top sides. With Dimitri Payet back fit and firing for West Ham, the London side will ask questions of City’s backline.
Paris Saint-Germain v Angers, Sunday, 8pm, beIN Sports
On paper, first against third in a league fixture should be an intriguing match-up. Not this year in France’s Ligue 1 as third-placed Angers trail PSG by 23 points going into Sunday’s clash. Angers, under the leadership of Stephane Moulin have been the surprise package of the season so far despite struggling for goals with 20 in 21 games so far. Regardless, they have proven hard to beat, and that will come in handy against a dominant PSG, who have picked up 25 points out of 27 on home turf so far this season. Laurent Blanc’s men will again look to the goals of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has 16 already, to fire them to victory.
Atletico Madrid v Sevilla, Sunday, 7pm, beIN Sports
With Real Madrid looking revitalised and scoring lots of goals under new coach Zinedine Zidane, and Barcelona are being, well Barcelona, by continuing to win, there is little margin for error for Spanish Primera Liga leaders Atletico Madrid. Seventh-placed Sevilla should be a test of Atletico’s title credentials, but Diego Simeone’s men will be confident of a fifth successive league win, with Antoine Griezmann in good form, finding the net twice in last weekend’s 3-0 victory at Las Palmas. Also going in their favour is they have only lost once at home this season so far, and that was against Barcelona, while Sevilla have yet to prevail away from home in 2015/16, drawing five and losing four on their travels.
Arsenal v Chelsea, Sunday, 8pm, beIN Sports
Arsenal go into the Premier League weekend top of the table, but really need a victory on Sunday to try to rebuild some momentum in their bid to be champions for the first time since 2004. A last-minute equaliser cost them two points at Liverpool and they were fortunate to survive some late pressure to earn a point at Stoke City on Sunday. Neither were defeats, but it has allowed Manchester City to close to within a point of them, and Arsene Wenger’s really need to get three points for the first time since January 2. Arsenal have not beaten Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium since December 2010, but they will never have a better chance here with Guus Hiddink’s side still failing to convince, and only four points clear of the bottom three.
Juventus v Roma, Sunday, 11.40pm, beIN Sports
When these two sides first met in August it was Roma who prevailed 2-1. A lot has changed since then. Defending champions Juventus have recovered from a slow start to the season, and they will aim for a 11th successive victory in Serie A on Sunday. Roma, on the otherhand, have slipped down the table thanks to a run of six draws from their past eight. The drop in form was such that Alberto De Rossi was fired last week and Luciano Spalletti was back for a second spell in charge. Spalletti’s side are nine points behind leaders Napoli and seven off Juventus and cannot afford to lose farther ground here if they are to keep their title hopes alive.
