Bundesliga: Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund
Tonight 5.30 pm
FORGET READING VERSUS Manchester United, find a way to watch the best two teams in Germany go head to head at tea-time tonight.
Bayern Munich are out to break their losing streak against defending champions Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga clash described as Germany’s ’El Clasico’.
Bayern extended their lead at the top of the league to 10 points on Wednesday with a 2-0 win at Freiburg while Dortmund, who have won the title for the last two years, lag behind in third and are 11 points adrift.
Munich managed a 2-1 pre-season victory at home to Dortmund in August’s Super Cup, but the Bavarian giants are eager to break a Bundesliga run of four defeats in their last four league meetings with Borussia.
Bayern midfielder Javi Martinez, who joined from Athletic Bilbao in August, has likened the Dortmund-Bayern clash to the Real Madrid-Barcelona El Clasico in Spain.
“I have followed the duel in Spain and it is a bit like the Clasico,” said the 24-year-old.
“There have always been problems against Dortmund and we have to change that.”
Bayern have already lost to second-placed Bayer Leverkusen at home this season and must make home advantage count, said Munich midfielder Toni Kroos.
“Dortmund are the team with the highest quality after us,” he said. ”We know they are a strong opponent against whom we have had big problems in the last two years. We want to show we can do better against them.”
Bayern will have virtually a full strength squad to choose from with only Luiz Gustavo and Arjen Robben out with injury.
Dortmund have a few concerns of their own with midfield pair Mario Goetze and Ilkay Gundogan and defender Mats Hummels all facing a race to be fit.
Ligue 1: Nice v Paris Saint Germain
Tonight 7.0 pm
While table-toppers Lyon host the struggling reigning champions Montpelier, our attention – like a pup’s early encounters with a squirrel - is whisked away by the carnival that is PSG.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s return from a two-match suspension inspired the nouveau riche to a 4-0 rout of Troyes last Saturday, but the Parisians’ dreams of a domestic treble were dashed in midweek as they suffered an agonising penalty shootout defeat at the hands of Saint-Etienne in the League Cup.
“The result wasn’t what we expected, but this performance will give us confidence for the next match,” a defiant Carlo Ancelotti said after his side’s quarter-final stage exit.
PSG will turn their focus back to the club’s “number one” objective — a third Ligue 1 title — when they travel to Nice on Saturday.
Victorious in three of their last four league matches, Claude Puel’s Cote d’Azur outfit are enjoying a purple patch of form that has fuelled their climb to 10th in the table after a barren run of just one win from their opening 10 fixtures.
Serie A: Juventus v Torino
Tonight 7.45
French football not your thing? One of Serie A’s biggest derbies headlines the Italian football weekend when Torino visit Juventus Stadium with the unlikely hope of denting the Old Lady’s bid for a successful title defence.
‘Il Grand Torino’ were once one of Italy’s biggest teams and their history hangs over the city, no more so than at the Superga hill where virtually the entire team was wiped out in a plane crash in May 1949.
Juve are unbeaten against Torino in the sides’ last 12 games and on home soil have chalked up 33 wins, 18 draws and 16 defeats over the years.
Indeed the last time Torino beat the Bianconeri was in 1995, when the visitors took all three points in a 2-1 win at the Delle Alpi.
Juve, however, have injury worries over Giorgio Chiellini, Arturo Vidal and Martin Caceres, with Vidal a doubt and Caceres ruled out.
Chiellini may start on the bench, and a week after a controversial 1-0 reverse to AC Milan, only their second of the season, some believe Juve could be there for the taking.
La Liga: Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid
Tonight 9.0 pm
The Madrid derby represents an opportunity for Atletico to upstage their city rivals and defending champions, Real. But the showdown also provides a chance for Radamel Falcao to outshine Cristiano Ronaldo.
The record goalscoring feats of Ronaldo and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi have largely overshadowed Falcao’s prolific 15 months at the Vicente Calderon, but the Colombian will take centre stage alongside Ronaldo at the Santiago Bernabeu this weekend.
Despite Barcelona’s remarkable start to the season, Atletico are just three points adrift of the Catalan giants after 13 matches, thanks in no small part to Falcao.
Not short on confidence, he admitted only victory would suffice on Saturday.
“We’re not thinking about whether a draw would be a good result. We always want to win and deal with the challenges we encounter. It’s a certain desire to win and beat your rivals,” he said.
After all that, take Sunday off.
