Man City vs Newcastle, four other big matches to watch this weekend

Football league actions return this weekend after the curtains were raised last week. Several football fixtures will be underway from Friday till Monday across Europe’s top five leagues, not to leave out the ongoing 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup climaxing on Sunday.

However, a few fixtures are expected to be treated as “big” given the sporting aura that surround them. Below are some of the meetings that will make for a blockbuster

Pep Guardiola’s men are coming from a Super Cup victory after a penalty shootout decided their fate against Sevilla, in Athens.

However, the team seemed to have lost a big chunk of their mojo with the absence of several key players to exits and injuries. Although, the Citizyens trashed Burnley by three goals to nil in the opening match, the same feat might seem difficult against a reformed Newcastle.

Eddie Howe’s men’s win versus Aston Villa is a writing on the wall that last season’s brilliance wasn’t a fluke. Having added the likes of Sandro Tonali and Harvey Barnes to the pack, they stand a chance to test the powers of Man City.

Manchester United vs Tottenham – Saturday, August 19

After both teams scraped out from their opponents’ tenacity last week, they will pit it out against each other on Saturday afternoon. Manchester United escaped a last-minute penalty off their goalkeeper’s error to ensure that their 76th minute goal proved suffice for the first three points of the season. However, it was a different case for Spurs who had to respond after Brentford overturned a goal deficit from a early Romero’s goal.

Each team will aim to get away with three points even though that won’t come easy for either side. On paper, Manchester United project a better team given their decisive play(s) versus resilient Wolves. While Spurs, though scored two goals, seemed to be struggling with finding the back of the net, and with the loss of legend Harry Kane, it doesn’t get any easier.

West Ham vs Chelsea – Sunday, August 20

Now that David Moyes has added James Ward-Prowse and Ederson Alvarez to his squad this season, there seems to be in a more balanced position after they lost core man Declan Rice to Arsenal. A meeting against Chelsea will prove instructive for the Conference League winners after drawing their opening match at Bournemouth.

Of course, Chelsea faired well last week when they faced Liverpool, much will be expected from the Blues now that they have strengthened well with new signers Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Axel Disasi, Nicolas Jackson and a few others. No doubt, the Blues will go all out to prove that they can take their place again as England’s top-four.

Barcelona vs Cadiz – Sunday, August 20

As it stands, Barcelona will have no choice but forget what happened in the first match and focus on Cadiz. Xavi Hernandez’s men suffered bouts of dark arts from Bordalas’s ensemble at Getafe. Summarily, the game was fraught with 10 yellow cards and three red cards.

In the past, Cadiz have proved that they are a hard nut to crack. They finished off Deportivo Alaves on Monday and will do well to at least salvage a draw against an angry Barcelona side.

Spain vs England – Sunday, August 20

All eyes are fixed on what team will lift the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy on Sunday. If anything, a first-time Champion will be crowned as both finalists have never lifted the trophy before in history.

England’s route to the final was rather interesting. After Lauren James’s suspension versus Nigeria, it seemed that was the end but the team survived the round of 16 tussle and proceeded to beat Colombia and co-hosts, Australia.

Spain, on the other hand, had big wins in their first two matches and the round of 16 before tricky wins against Netherlands and Sweden in the quarter and semi finals respectively.

It will, no doubt, be a very intense match from both sides. Fingers are crossed.