3 To See: Everton v Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich, Manchester City v Spurs is a post from: Just Football
This weekend’s Three to See, brought to you by Just Football:
Everton vs Liverpool (Premier League)
Saturday 23rd November 2013 – Kickoff 12:45 BST
Saturday lunchtime sees the 221st instalment of the Merseyside Derby and as per recent meetings this one is of extreme importance. Three points separate the two sides and if Everton win they’ll move level with Liverpool, whereas if the Anfield side win they can go temporarily top of the league.
When Roberto Martinez was appointed as Everton manager many pundits commented that it would be a near impossible task to improve on the job that David Moyes had done. It would appear though, as if Martinez is actually surpassing all expectations.
Everton, not the strongest starters traditionally, have begun this campaign well and seem on course for a European spot if they can keep this form up.
The Toffees have benefited from an extremely competitive first 11 that includes Leighton Baines, Ross Barkley and the on loan Romelu Lukaku. Roberto Martinez made it very clear early on his tenure that he wasn’t going to lose both Marouane Fellaini and Baines in the same window and he kept his word. He sold Fellaini on the last day of the window but midfield signings such as James McCarthy and Gareth Barry (on loan) look like very astute signings.
Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool have won plenty of plaudits for the way they’ve been playing this year and despite a recent set back against Arsenal they still sit second in the table.
Of course much of that has been down to the performances of “SAS” or Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, as they’re more commonly known. The pair have been lethal so far this season, scoring eight each in the league.
This week Liverpool moved to sack academy director Frank McParland and academy technical director Rodolfo Borrell. They’ve been responsible for bringing through a number of talented youngsters and it would appear as if this is a power move from Rodgers. The question is whether it is too much of gamble? It would be a great irony if one of McParland’s graduates were to score the winner of Saturday.
Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich (Bundesliga)
Saturday 23rd November 2013 – Kickoff 17:30 BST
The second Der Klassiker of the season couldn’t have come at a worse time for Borussia Dortmund. Before the international break Neven Subotic was ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury and then this week both Mats Hummels and Marcel Schmelzer were ruled out of Saturday’s match.
Combine this with Lukasz Piszczek not having played since the Champions League final and Jurgen Klopp’s men are clearly in a bad way. They know that if they were to lose this match the gap between the two sides will open up to seven points, a possibly insurmountable task.
If, however they manage to get the three points the difference between the two sides will be down to just one point and the race will be back on. This will rely greatly on the performances of the make shift defenders and the attacking talents of Marco Reus and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. If Klopp can get his team gelling together and solid at the back they can still be a match for anyone.
Which is probably a good thing given that Dortmund will be up against one of the best sides in the world right now. Bayern’s transition under Pep Guardiola has been understandably far from smooth but recently they’ve started to look more impressive. Reclaiming their title is on the agenda and a victory against their title rivals could all but confirm it.
Their domination of the Bundesliga is hardly surprising when you cast an eye over their squad list. Unlike Dortmund Bayern have a squad depth that is the envy of the rest of Europe with at least two or three players per position. Ironically they are particularly strong at centre-back, the very position where Dortmund are struggling at the moment.
Of course there will be one player for whom this fixture will have increased significance. Mario Gotze’s transfer to Bayern from Dortmund was one of the more controversial moves of the summer and the player has already spoken about his return to Dortmund and how it will tricky for him.
Franck Ribéry’s injury means that Gotze could well end up starting against his old club. Will old alliances resurface? Can Klopp hold off his former starlet? Can Pep keep Bayern’s run going? Everything will be answered on Saturday afternoon.
Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League)
Sunday 24th November 2013 – Kickoff 13:30 BST
On Sunday Manchester City and Tottenham do battle for the first time this season, clashes between these two have become less significant as recently as Manchester City have stepped up a gear. Tottenham will be hoping to avoid defeat in order to keep them ahead of the 2011/12 champions.
If Tottenham are going to get anything out of this match they’ll need to stop the division’s joint top scorer, Sergio Aguero. City’s diminutive Argentine has been in sparkling form so far this season and even when they struggle there is a feeling if he fires he is more than capable of dragging them to three points.
Obviously at the back there have been concerns over Joe Hart’s form but he gave a solid display for England against Germany, blemished only by one rush of blood. City boss Manuel Pellegrini has spoken about how he feels his goalkeeper’s time on the sidelines has been good for him and how he thinks it’ll improve Hart’s performances.
City will still be with captain Vincent Kompany, a severe miss at the back whilst David Silva will also be unfit for the match. Both of these players had starring roles in City’s title win and in their absence the onus will be on Aguero and vice-captain Yaya Toure to lead City on the pitch.
Tottenham meanwhile enter this match one point above their opponents despite having scored 19 goals fewer. Only Southampton have conceded fewer goals than Tottenham but up front there are real concerns.
Roberto Soldado hasn’t been an overwhelming hit since his move from Valencia and despite calls for a change Andre Villas-Boas is still persisting with the Spaniard over Jermain Defoe. It is easy to forget as well that Emmanuel Adebayor is still contracted to Tottenham and available for selection but Villas-Boas must be hoping that Soldado starts firing soon.
Last time out Tottenham were undone by Tim Krul’s magnificence in the Newcastle goal and they’ll be hoping they don’t encounter Hart in similarly inspired form. The Newcastle game does have the air of a match that could have been won by a Gareth Bale goal last season. Nevertheless the Welshman has moved on and so too must Tottenham – if they don’t they could find themselves back in the Europa League, again.
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The post 3 To See: Everton v Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich, Manchester City v Spurs appeared first on Just Football.