European football preview: Fenerbahce v Galatasaray
A straw poll of the most heated derbies in European football would see Fenerbahçe v Galatasaray rank high up the list.
When the two biggest clubs in Turkey come head-to-head, it can often be ferocious. And with 17 league titles apiece, this season’s meetings are guaranteed to provide fireworks, starting on Sunday afternoon.
The task to win a derby of this magnitude is hard enough at the best of times, let alone when your manager resigns just days before it kicks off. Former Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard had his contract mutually terminated this week after the squad had failed to gel under his leadership, paving the way for an icon of Turkish football. Step forward, Gheorghe Hagi.
Fenerbahçe will be wary of Hagi’s influence on Sunday. The impact a new manager can have in his first match in charge shouldn’t be underestimated, and Cim Bom could claw their way back to the top four should they seal maximum points in their rival’s back yard.
It promises to be an action-packed weekend across all of Europe’s major domestic leagues, with a host of fascinating fixtures due to take place over the forthcoming days, starting this evening in Germany.
There was never any doubt that Bayern Munich would turn their fortunes around after a shaky start to the campaign. A 3-0 win against Hannover last weekend was the club’s first three points in almost a month, and Louis van Gaal’s side followed that up with a 3-2 win against Cluj on Tuesday. Tonight they travel to fifth place Hamburg, who became the first Bundesliga side to take points off Mainz last weekend.
At the opposite end of the league table, Stuttgart take on everyone’s favourite newly-promoted side, St. Pauli, at the Mercedes-Benz Arena on Sunday. New Stuttgart coach, Jens Keller, has a difficult task on his hands to clean up the mess left by Cristian Gross, who was sacked earlier this month. The 2007 German champions have picked up a paltry four points from eight matches, and are braced for another tough afternoon against their high-flying opponents.
Also in Germany, Mainz will be looking to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat and reclaim their spot at the top of the Bundesliga with a difficult away trip to Bayer Leverkusen. Victory at the BayArena would confirm Mainz’s status as shock, championship-winning contenders. And league leaders Borussia Dortmund face Hoffenheim in another fascinating top-of-the-table clash.
In Spain, both Real Madrid and Barcelona are currently cruising both domestically and in Europe. With just over a month until the first El Clasico of the season, the emphasis is on the pair to enter the eagerly-awaited derby in top spot.
José Mourinho’s undefeated Real Madrid currently lead the pack with 17 points from seven matches. It should be another routine victory against 16th-placed Racing Santander on Saturday evening, while Barça appear in store for a similarly straight-forward evening against the Primera Liga’s bottom club, Real Zaragoza.
The most intriguing match in Spain will take place at El Madrigal on Sunday, between Villarreal and Atletico Madrid. Almost two years to the day this fixture produced a classic 4-4 thriller, and none of the matches between the two clubs has ever ended goalless. The Yellow Submarine are currently going great guns so far this season and could finish the weekend in top spot if results go their way.
Meanwhile, in Serie A, Inter Milan v Sampdoria is far and away the standout tie of the weekend. The Nerazzurri almost allowed a 4-0 lead to slip against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, eventually winning the match 4-3, and Sampdoria will provide another stern test for them at the San Siro on Sunday night.
And in France, Lyon look set to continue their revival with an easy looking match on paper against bottom side Arles on Sunday, while on the same day, Lille and Marseille square up in a bid to keep the pressure up on league leaders, Rennes.
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