5 games to watch: 2-3 December 2023

We've reached December which means festive celebrations for many of us, but also a whole lot of football. Get ready for club matches basically every single day throughout this month, and there are plenty of attractive fixtures taking place this weekend.

Here are 5 that I reckon you should keep an eye on while playing Superbru Football over the next couple of days.



Beginning in the Championship with the early lunchtime kick-off if you're in the UK like myself, this should be quite an encounter in the Championship as leaders and undoubtedly strongest side in the division Leicester visit the league's form team, West Brom.

Leicester are stronger than anyone in the Championship (and a few Premier League teams) on paper and they've shown it on the pitch too by racking up 43 points in 18 games, but after dropping points at bottom of the table Sheffield Wednesday in midweek, this is now a very difficult away fixture where we could see them fail to win again.

West Brom have won 5 of their last 6 and in their most recent home outing they defeated Ipswich who are the only team close to Leicester on the table as things stand. Will Leicester put down a marker after midweek slip? Or will West Brom find a result that actually pulls the Foxes right back towards the chasing pack? I think the Baggies might manage a point... Saturday: 12:30 (UK)



These two teams are examples of some of the Premier League sides that I mentioned Leicester are arguably stronger than, so this is a very different kind of fixture as it's an absolutely vital match in the top flight's relegation battle. Now I know many of you are thinking 'they'll both just get relegated anyway', and I certainly wouldn't bet against that, but there's no denying the winner of this game will be in a far better place going into the busy Christmas calendar with some momentum.

It's a tough pick (I'm saving mine for my predictions article), but that's what makes it so interesting and the stakes couldn't be much higher for both managers. Burnley are favourites at home, but is 'home advantage' really a thing when you've lost 7/7? Saturday: 15:00 KO (UK)



Bayer Leverkusen have been nothing short of absolutely sensational so far this season but the fact that they're in a league that has been won every single year by Bayern for as long as anyone can remember means there's huge pressure on every match they have while at the top of the table. This is obviously a fixture with even higher stakes, as Dortmund will still hope to be in the title race themselves, but so far they've been a far better Cup side this season than they have in the Bundesliga.

I don't think you can pick against Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen given their unbeaten start but this should be a great watch with Dortmund pumped by their impressive win at AC Milan on Tuesday. Leverkusen have been thrashing a lot of teams in this campaign but Dortmund are rarely thrashed by anyone other than Bayern so I think this will be entertaining. Sunday: 16:30 KO (UK)



Not long after that Bundesliga game, we have our final two 'matches to watch' this week and this one is yet another significant fixture in the Serie A title race as defending champions Napoli host current leaders Inter.

Walter Mazzarri's return to Napoli started well with a 1-2 win at Atalanta last weekend but they have since been beaten by Real Madrid in the Champions League with a fairly strong side out whereas Inter started with a B team at Benfica on Wednesday where they eventually came back from 3-0 to draw 3-3.

Inter have looked quite a bit better than any other side in Serie A so far this season which means I make them favourites here but it will be fascinating to see how Napoli go in Mazzarri's first home game back in charge. Currently 8 points behind Inter, a win would make the title race look very different if we suddenly see both Napoli and Milan within a few points of Inter and potentially Juve top of the table if they win at Monza. Sunday: 19:45 KO (UK)



Finally, we have a Sunday night belter in Barca as Xavi's men take on Diego Simeone's Atleti. These two teams are currently level on points and 4pts behind Real Madrid (Atleti have a game in hand) so a loss would be a real blow for either team and I think this is a very tough fixture at a fairly bad time for the hosts if Marc-Andre ter Stegen isn't fit to return in goal.

I've been very impressed with Atleti so far this season and Antoine Griezmann has been sublime for them so his return to Barca will be an intriguing battle within the war. Coming from behind to defeat Porto on Tuesday will give Barcelona some confidence after a couple of shaky recent results but I think Atleti can get at least a point having lost just 1 of their last 14 games. Sunday: 20:00 KO (UK)

Which games are you most looking forward to this week?