Sports Pundit’s Game of the Weekend
Real Mallorca v Real Madrid Spanish La Liga’‘Sunday, 9pm (Central European Time)’’
Don’t miss Jose Mourinho’s debut in Spain’s top flight.
‘The Special One’ begins life with the Galacticos at Mallorca’s ONO Estadi on Sunday evening. It’s not the easiest beginning for Mourinho against a Mallorca side who finished fifth last term and won 15 of the 19 games they played at home.
New to the Real Madrid camp is Ricardo Carvalho, Angel di Maria, Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira while Gonzalo Higuain is fresh from an excellent World Cup. Mallorca have had a summer of financial trouble and lost stars Mario Suarez and Aritz Aduriz, but made belated signings this week with a Brazilian pair from Bunyodkor along with Bordeaux’s Fernando Cavenaghi.
You’d fancy Real Madrid will win against a Mallorca side who appear weaker this season, but it’ll be interesting to see how Mourinho’s men function.
Inter Milan v Atletico Madrid European Super Cup’‘Friday, 8.45pm (CET)’’
Champions League winners Inter take on Europa League winners Atletico Madrid.
Inter – fresh from a rare treble - kick off their Serie A campaign at Bologna on Monday, while Atletico do the same in Spain against Gijon. For the European champions it’ll be the beginning of life post-Mourinho. Rafa Benitez replaces him, while besides for the departed Mario Balotelli, little else has changed for the Nerazzurri.
For Atletico – who had a miserable midtable finish in La Liga last term – this season is about returning towards the top of the Spanish game under Quique Sanchez Flores. Diego Forlan was the star for Los Colchoneros who have also added Diego Godin, Mario Suarez and Tiago.
AS Roma v Cesena Italian Serie A’‘Saturday, 8.45pm (CET)’’
Serie A kicks off on Saturday with last season’s runners-up AS Roma hosting newly promoted Cesena.
Expectations are high for Roma who impressed following manager Claudio Ranieri’s early season arrival last term. The Giallarosi will be excited about the prospect of Ranieri being in charge for the whole season and the return of Adriano to Italy will be keenly anticipated.
Cesena are in the top flight for the first time in almost 20 years, but following the departure of Pierpaolo Bisoli, the manager who masterminded their ascent to Serie A, it’s hard to know what to expect from them. They’ve also made plenty of new signings including Yuta Nagatomo, Stephen Appiah and goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri.
Liverpool v West Bromwich English Premier League’‘Sunday, 4pm (CET)’’
Liverpool have had a slow start to the season under new boss Roy Hodgson, so surely the visit of newly promoted West Brom is a timely one.
The Reds scraped into the Europa League group phase midweek with a late victory over Turkish side Trabzonspor. The result came in the wake of some shaky early season EPL form following the 1-1 home draw with Arsenal and 3-0 away defeat at Manchester City. Can Hodgson turn the tide?
For England’s yoyo club the Baggies this is a game they won’t expect to claim anything from, but following Peter Odemwingie’s winner over Sunderland last weekend, the mood at the Hawthorns is buoyant.
Bordeaux v Marseille French Ligue 1’‘Sunday, 9pm (CET)’’
France’s past two champions face off in a big Ligue 1 encounter.
Both sides have collected just three points each from their first three matches, but besides for Toulouse, no club is strongly suggesting they’ll be title favourites. This is a major opportunity for Bordeaux or Marseille to get back in the race.
The bad news for Bordeaux was their recent sale of superstar Yoann Gourcuff to Lyon, while Marseille are bolstered by last week’s acquisition of Loic Remy and Andre-Pierre Gignac to hint they’ve got the goods to retain their title.