What Matches to Watch This Week: Friday, December 6, to Monday, December 9
December football in Europe may not be as snowy as what those words usually imply in North America, but this is the beginning of the end for the first half of these domestic seasons. There’s no shortage of excitement across these major leagues. We will start with reviewing my recommendations from last week.
Edoardo Bove
Nothing else matters from this match than the health of Edoardo Bove. Fiorentina hosted Inter but the match was abandoned because Bove needed immediate medical attention. It was a scary moment for everyone in Florence and watching at home. I wish him nothing but the best health and recovery. Thankfully, the latest reports provided the good news that he relatively quickly regained consciousness.
The Good
St. Pauli 3–1 Holstein Kiel
The first of last weekend’s recommendations is a crowd pleaser. The people’s champs St. Pauli pulled through in a relegation six pointer.
Watford 0–0 QPR
There are some scoreless draws where you watch and wonder how nobody scored?! Particularly in the second half, there were chances abound. Watford’s Imran Louza had two great strikes from distance, and QPR’s Zan Celar hit the post in point blank range.
Alaves 1–1 Leganés
A draw between these two clubs with similar sounding names isn’t gonna help people distinguish them (despite Leganés being in Madrid and Alaves in the Basque country). The game played out similarly to Watford and QPR except each side cashed in one of their chances. Alaves’s was particularly impressive with an outside of the box strike to get the home crowd jumping and headed home with a point.
England 0–0 USA
The first of two friendlies in this window to culminate Alyssa Naeher’s illustrious USA career, USA were threatening throughout this high profile encounter in Wembley Stadium. USA had a goal ruled out due to offsides. They also had a penalty rightfully called off via VAR as Alex Greenwood pulled her arm back to avoid handling.
While it could’ve been a more entertaining game, seeing these two great teams duke it out will surely inspire more girls to follow in their footsteps.
Dortmund 1–1 Bayern
The Yellow Wall always brings it but especially for Der Klassiker. No doubt they kept Dortmund’s spirits up even when Bayern dominated possession, because despite that domination, Jamie Gittens got on the scoresheet. Both goalkeepers Manuel Neuer and Gregor Kobel played their part but the young English midfielder shined among a sea of stars. Jamal Musiala supplied Bayern with a constant threat and got a deserved headed equalizer in the final 10 mins of regulation.
Bologna 3–0 Venezia
Bologna has struggled to cope with the strain competing in the Champions League has on a squad, and it wasn’t going to be easy against a scrappy Venezia that has the talent to survive in the Serie A but needs to start stacking results. It was a tight first half with Swiss international Dan Ndoye converting a penalty for a 1–0 Bologna lead at the break. Bologna put the game away in the second half with a Riccardo Orsolini penalty and Ndoye completing his brace. A strong showing for a team that still has potential despite their challenges this season.
Villarreal 2–2 Girona
Villarreal blew a 2 goal lead as scrappy Girona took the home side’s haymakers before landing theirs at the end. It’s going to be a crucial lesson for the Yellow Submarine that they’re going to have plenty of challengers for that 4th place spot and they need to be prepared. Both sides showed their ability to score in multiple ways and threaten on set pieces.
Roma 0–2 Atalanta
Though no goals occurred in the first half, that was probably the best 45 minute stretch by a Roma side this season in some time, let alone in the Claudio Rainieri era. Unfortunately, Roma’s fortune didn’t last much longer. Marten de Roon scored halfway through the second half, Mats Hummels and Bryan Cristante came off injured, and Atalanta held on. Former Roma winger Nicolo Zaniolo iced the game with a late goal. Misery continues for Roma but Atalanta continue to sharpen their ambitious nature by beating tough but worse off opponents.
The Mixed Bag
Real Sociedad 2–0 Real Betis
When both goals in the first half were an own goal and penalty conceded by Betis, it’s hard to be overly impressed by this game.
The Playoffs
Orlando City 0–1 New York Red Bulls
Los Angeles Galaxy 1–0 Seattle Sounders
You would think a 1–0 scoreline would’ve been the key to success for the Sounders, but instead LA Galaxy look like a well oiled machine in their quest for a 6th MLS Cup winning in all sorts of ways. The road warriors New York Red Bulls continue their trend of locking down the home team’s attacking options. It sets up a fun MLS Cup Final that I’ll preview further down the road.
An Early Title Indicator?
Liverpool 2–0 Manchester City
While these two exchanging league titles is not fun for me as a Manchester United fan, I’ll take a new champion than Manchester City extending their streak. A lot can still happen in the final 6 months of the season but it’s Liverpool’s title to lose now. Mohamed Salah redeem his penalty miss vs Real Madrid to score the dagger from 12 yards out in this encounter.
Overall, despite the numbers of draws and the low scoring nature of this game, the tactics and the near misses made up for that. Maybe I’m being kind, but you can’t have goalfests all the time, right?
Note that for this weekend’s recommendations, positions and points totals are reflective of league results as of Monday, December 1st. At the time this is published, some teams may have played a midweek league fixture that alters that total.
Friday, December 6
9:30 am P/12:30 pm E: Inter (3rd/28 pts) vs Parma (11th/15 pts) Paramount+
11:45 am P/2:45 pm E: Atalanta (2nd/31 pts) vs AC Milan (7th/22 pts) Paramount+
Both Milan clubs are featured in the opening stages of this weekend’s slate. However, the highest positioned club of these four is Atalanta, which few people would’ve expected at the start of the season. Inter can’t afford to underestimate Parma after their remarkable 3–1 win over Lazio, but Lautaro Martinez will be a difficult test for 17 year old center back Giovanni Leoni and goalkeeper Zion Suzuki.
Saturday, December 7
4:30 am P/7:30 am E: Everton (15th/11 pts) vs Liverpool (1st/34 pts) USA
Even if Everton just got trounced 4–0 by the new look Manchester United under Ruben Amorim, the Merseyside Derby is still an interesting clash. Sometimes the most likely club to halt some searing momentum is their local rivals. Or Liverpool will probably win this by a similar scoreline as their red-clad Manchester counterparts. It’s worth the gamble, but I understand if the West Coast readers who don’t support Liverpool decide to wake up to the score instead.
6:30 am P/9:30 am E: Vfl Bochum (18th/2 pts) vs Werder Bremen (12th/16 pts) ESPN+
This might be one of the last few times I consider watching Bochum because if they don’t start picking up points fast, they could be dead to rights even in a league where third from bottom is a relegation playoff. Nonetheless, they’re a Bundesliga club still and I figure this could be an interesting opportunity. Werder Bremen have the ability to pull off an impressive result like beating Borussia Dortmund this season, but we’ll be having a different conversation if they lost to Bochum.
9:30 am P/12:30 pm E: Manchester United (9th/19 pts) vs Nottingham Forest (6th/22 pts) NBC
The club recently reenergized vs the biggest surprise package of the Premier League this season. Chris Wood should be full of confidence not just because of his goalscoring form but because of the absences the Red Devils will have due to injuries and suspensions. However, if we are to buy that Manchester United are turning over a new leaf, no excuses: find a way to win.
12 pm P/3 pm E: Girona (8th/22 pts) vs Real Madrid (2nd/33 pts) ESPN+
Real Madrid are a bit more optimistic about the La Liga title race now that Barcelona slipped up against Las Palmas. Girona are a tricky customer and are still hanging around the top half of the table within striking distance of the European spots. A player to watch for Real Madrid is 21 year old center back Raul Asencio (not to be confused with former Real Madrid mainstay Marcos Asensio). A big test for the young defender awaits against the in form Thierno Barry.
1 pm P/4 pm E: MLS Cup Final: LA Galaxy vs New York Red Bulls FOX/MLS Season Pass
A matchup that surprisingly never happened during the Thierry Henry era of the New York Red Bulls. LA Galaxy did their part back then as Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane, and David Beckham added several stars to their crest. However, the Red Bulls would come up short of reaching the final. That changed this year despite facing a gauntlet of Columbus Crew, New York City, and Orlando City. LA Galaxy were favored to crush their competition until a narrow victory over the Seattle Sounders booked their spot. Marco Reus vs Emil Forsberg will be the headlines for this final, in part unfortunately because of Riqui Puig’s Torn ACL. However their paths looked, it doesn’t matter now.
Sunday, December 8
5 am P/8 am E: Leganes (15th/15 pts) vs Sociedad (9th/21 pts) ESPN+
Leganés are proving to be a tough team to beat. Their goalkeeper Marko Dimitrovic is coming off of a great game against Alaves, and his life is made easier with strong showings from defenders like Valentin Rosier. Real Sociedad can’t rely on another pair of gifts like the ones Real Betis provided to collect 3 points here in Madrid. Real Madrid have a solid goalkeeper and backline but they’ll need their forwards like Mikel Oyarzabal to get back into the groove.
7:15 am P/10:15 am E: Athletic Bilbao (4th/26 pts) vs Villarreal (5th/26 pts) ESPN+
I’ll be keeping an eye on both of the big Basque clubs this week as Athletic Bilbao face off against Villarreal in the biggest Spanish league match of the weekend. The narrative in Spain is the Big Two/Three (Atlético Madrid’s distance from the El Clasico duo will vary), and if that holds true again, this is a huge six point swing for that final Champions League place. Oihan Sancet currently plays a rotational role for Athletic Bilbao. Part of that is their busy fixture list, but whenever he is linking up play with the Williams brothers, that’s when Bilbao are at their best.
8:30 am P/11:30 am E: Tottenham Hotspur (7th/20 pts) vs Chelsea (3rd/25 pts) Telemundo/USA
Tottenham have been dubbed Robinhood FC this season as they will drop points to the likes of Ipswich Town but pull off massive wins like crushing Manchester City 4–0. If that pattern continues, Chelsea are in trouble. Fortunately for the West London outfit, they’ll make the short drive to the north of England’s capital with many of their midfielders being productive this season. Pedro Neto vs Pedro Porro could be an interesting matchup depending on how the Chelsea winger lines up.
11:45 am P/2:45 pm: Napoli (1st/32 pts) vs Lazio (5th/28 pts) Paramount+
Serie A has the best title race among the major European leagues this season, and the latest heavyweight fight pits Khvica Khvaratskhelia’s Napolia against Valentin Castellanos’s Lazio. Napoli narrowly beat Torino 1–0 but Lazio lost a foothold in this race losing to Parma 3–1. If Napoli comes out on top at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, then they can start to dream about their second Serie A title in 3 years, even with such a long way still to go.
Monday, December 9
11:45 am P/2:45 pm E: Monza (19th/10 pts) vs Udinese (9th/17 pts) Paramount+
The last fixture on offer pits relegation zone occupants Monza against a sturdy and talented Udinese side. Monza have shown some resilience themselves, but you could also argue a lack of cutting edge in their consecutive 1–1 draws in the Serie A against Torino and Como respectively. Especially since the Como draw required a Gianluca Caprari penalty. Udinese could use a bounce back performance after losing 2–0 to Genoa, but that could be chalked up to Souleymane Touré’s red card and Lautaro Gianetti’s own goal. As long as the center back pairing in front of Maduka Okoye doesn’t shoot themselves in the feet this time, Udinese have a good chance to get back on track here.
European Competition Recommendation Lightning Round
Tuesday, December 10
9:45 am P/12 pm E: Girona (30th/3 pts) vs Liverpool (1st/15 pts)
12 pm P/3 pm E: Leverkusen (6th/10 pts) vs Inter (2nd/13 pts)
Wednesday, December 11
9:45 am P/12 pm E: Lille (12th/10 pts) vs Sturm Graz (29th/3 pts)
12 pm P/3 pm E: Dortmund (4th/12 pts) vs Barcelona (3rd/12 pts)
Thursday, December 12
Europa
9:45 am P/12 pm E: Roma (21st/6 pts) vs Braga (18th/7 pts)
12 pm P/3 pm E: Lyon (7th/10 pts) vs Frankfurt (3rd/13 pts)
Conference
9:45 am P/12 pm E: Fiorentina (6th/9 pts) vs LASK (32nd/2 pts)
12 pm P/3 pm E: St. Gallen (25th/4 pts) vs Vitoria (5th/10 pts)
Thank you for reading! Please let me know which matches you’re most looking forward to!
