5 games to watch: 28-29 October 2023
We're set for another huge weekend of sport here on Superbru with the Cricket World Cup continuing and the Rugby World Cup Final taking place, but as always there's also headline football fixtures taking place across Europe and this week's lineup looks particularly tasty.
Here are 5 of the most interesting matches to keep an eye on while playing Superbru Football this weekend.
Let's start with the most obvious one, shall we? The first Clasico of the season takes place tomorrow with Real Madrid travelling to Barcelona to try and protect the 1 point lead they currently have over their rivals on the LaLiga table.
I'm sure I don't need to sell this one to you. El Clasicos are always great and while these clubs aren't quite at the heavyweight status we saw when Messi and Ronaldo would do battle season after season, there are plenty of exciting stories on both sides with Jude Bellingham very much the star of Real Madrid's season so far and a fresh generation of La Masia graduates starting to shine for Barca.
Due to Barca's injuries, I make Madrid narrow favourites but it could of course go either way. Saturday: 15:15 KO (UK)
Next, a rather different occasion as we turn the spotlight on to the Championship relegation zone! Sheffield Wednesday are having a nightmare season with their off-field chaos clearly impacting results, and they head into this derby with Rotherham still in search of a first win of the campaign.
Rotherham are also struggling but a 2-0 win for them over Coventry in midweek means they head to Hillsborough 6 points above Wednesday (but still 5 points from safety). This is an absolute must win for Wednesday but also a golden opportunity for Rotherham. It's hard to pick the hosts considering they've scored only 5 goals in 13 games, but I'm very interested to see if this is the game where they can finally register a win. Sunday: 13:00 KO (UK)
Sunday's headline game is the Manchester derby and just as for El Clasico on Saturday, the world will be tuning in. City have been dominating this derby in recent years, but United did manage a win in this fixture last season and though their performances have been very ordinary of late, they have been finding ways to win.
That's not to say I think they'll do so here (my Premier League predictions piece will be out later!) but it's always an interesting affair between these two and Manchester derbies are not to be missed. Both teams have scored in each of the last four meetings. Sunday: 15:30 KO (UK)
An hour after kick-off in Manchester, an intriguing Bundesliga clash gets underway in Leverkusen as the league leaders will host Freiburg. Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen could feature in this article every week to be honest because they are absolutely great fun to watch but Freiburg are also a strong side and there's been just one Leverkusen win in the last 6 meetings between these sides.
Just two points separate the top four in the Bundesliga right now so it's a fascinating league to watch and this should be a great test of how likely Leverkusen are to maintain their current position. Sunday: 16:30 KO (UK)
Finally, as is so often the case, we have a lovely bit of Sunday night Serie A action to round off the weekend. The fact that there's a number of different clubs who are very capable of making the top four in Italy means there's a headline fixture most weeks and this weekend is no different with champions Napoli hosting Milan and looking to close the 4 point gap between the teams.
Last season, despite Napoli's magnificent title win, Milan had the better of them both in this fixture and in the Champions League quarter-finals, so it will be interesting to see if that continues in 2023/24. The Rossoneri have had a couple of defeats in their last two matches so this might be a good time for Napoli to get themselves right back into the title race. Sunday: 19:45 KO (UK)
Which games are you most looking forward to this week?
Here are 5 of the most interesting matches to keep an eye on while playing Superbru Football this weekend.
Let's start with the most obvious one, shall we? The first Clasico of the season takes place tomorrow with Real Madrid travelling to Barcelona to try and protect the 1 point lead they currently have over their rivals on the LaLiga table.
I'm sure I don't need to sell this one to you. El Clasicos are always great and while these clubs aren't quite at the heavyweight status we saw when Messi and Ronaldo would do battle season after season, there are plenty of exciting stories on both sides with Jude Bellingham very much the star of Real Madrid's season so far and a fresh generation of La Masia graduates starting to shine for Barca.
Due to Barca's injuries, I make Madrid narrow favourites but it could of course go either way. Saturday: 15:15 KO (UK)
Next, a rather different occasion as we turn the spotlight on to the Championship relegation zone! Sheffield Wednesday are having a nightmare season with their off-field chaos clearly impacting results, and they head into this derby with Rotherham still in search of a first win of the campaign.
Rotherham are also struggling but a 2-0 win for them over Coventry in midweek means they head to Hillsborough 6 points above Wednesday (but still 5 points from safety). This is an absolute must win for Wednesday but also a golden opportunity for Rotherham. It's hard to pick the hosts considering they've scored only 5 goals in 13 games, but I'm very interested to see if this is the game where they can finally register a win. Sunday: 13:00 KO (UK)
Sunday's headline game is the Manchester derby and just as for El Clasico on Saturday, the world will be tuning in. City have been dominating this derby in recent years, but United did manage a win in this fixture last season and though their performances have been very ordinary of late, they have been finding ways to win.
That's not to say I think they'll do so here (my Premier League predictions piece will be out later!) but it's always an interesting affair between these two and Manchester derbies are not to be missed. Both teams have scored in each of the last four meetings. Sunday: 15:30 KO (UK)
An hour after kick-off in Manchester, an intriguing Bundesliga clash gets underway in Leverkusen as the league leaders will host Freiburg. Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen could feature in this article every week to be honest because they are absolutely great fun to watch but Freiburg are also a strong side and there's been just one Leverkusen win in the last 6 meetings between these sides.
Just two points separate the top four in the Bundesliga right now so it's a fascinating league to watch and this should be a great test of how likely Leverkusen are to maintain their current position. Sunday: 16:30 KO (UK)
Finally, as is so often the case, we have a lovely bit of Sunday night Serie A action to round off the weekend. The fact that there's a number of different clubs who are very capable of making the top four in Italy means there's a headline fixture most weeks and this weekend is no different with champions Napoli hosting Milan and looking to close the 4 point gap between the teams.
Last season, despite Napoli's magnificent title win, Milan had the better of them both in this fixture and in the Champions League quarter-finals, so it will be interesting to see if that continues in 2023/24. The Rossoneri have had a couple of defeats in their last two matches so this might be a good time for Napoli to get themselves right back into the title race. Sunday: 19:45 KO (UK)
Which games are you most looking forward to this week?
This article is part of a fresh regular feature on the brand new Superbru Football app, which is the best place to make your football predictions across all of the tournaments we cover. If you're yet to try out the new app, you can do so now by downloading it here.
Kyle fryer
2,475 caps
Jude bellingham the goat
30 Oct 15:37
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