European football: Bayern Munich and Mainz meet in Bundesliga
This weekend it’s the Bundesliga that’s set to host the weekend’s stand-out fixture, as European heavyweights Bayern Munich take on high-flying Mainz.
While last season’s Champions League finalists languish in mid-table, Mainz have been outstanding, winning all five of their opening league fixtures and netting 12 goals.
The surprise package of this year’s Bundesliga, Mainz have exceeded expectations over in Germany and have already beaten some top-quality opposition including Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg. But Bayern are finally beginning to hit some form, and if they can produce their best, then Mainz could well have their 100% winning record blemished at the Allianz Arena this weekend.
Over in Italy, Inter Milan and AC Milan are both in action on Saturday.
Rafael Benitez’s Inter are top of the league following their 4-0 demolition of Bari on Wednesday night. Samuel Eto’o has been sensational for the Nerazzurri so far this season and will pose a constant threat to the AS Roma defence this weekend.
Roma are struggling badly at the foot of Serie A. With a paltry two points from their first four matches, manager Claudio Ranieri is now beginning to feel the heat. A 2-1 defeat against Brescia in mid-week was another embarrassing result for the 2001 Italian champions, and it might not be too much longer until the former Chelsea boss parts company with the Stadio Olimpico outfit.
Meanwhile, Inter’s big rivals AC take on big-spenders Genoa at the San Siro. The Rossoneri are still getting to grips with life under Massimiliano Allegri and have failed to shine so far. However, Genoa haven’t fared much better with their latest acquisitions, which makes this particular fixture rather difficult to call.
And there’s potential for upset over in Spain’s Primera Liga as both Real Madrid and Barcelona face tricky away fixtures.
Barça’s task against Athletic Bilbao will be rather more difficult without the mercurial talents of one Lionel Messi. Pep Guardiola’s side scraped past Sporting Gijon on Wednesday without the Argentina international, who is currently nursing a sprained ankle. Fortunately for Guardiola, David Villa was on hand to seal all three points for the Catalan giants in mid-week.
But the task to beat Bilbao at the Estadio San Mamés would be difficult enough without Messi. The way Bilbao disposed of Mallorca on Tuesday would have concerned Guardiola, who may take the unusual step of deploying a defensive-minded team against Los Leones.
However, José Mourinho’s Real Madrid should retain top spot with an away win over stragglers Levante. Having won promotion in pre-season for the umpteenth time, it looks set to be another nine months of torture inside the top-flight for the Valencia-based club.
Real have averaged three goals against Levante in their last six meetings, although the smaller outfit did record a famous win over the Galacticos back in February 2007.
With Cristiano Ronaldo fit and the club already enjoying life under Mourinho, expect nothing less than a resounding Real Madrid victory.
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