What Matches to Watch This Week: Friday, October 4 through Sunday, October 6, 2024
The first week of October means the beginning of scary hours. Who will be frightened and who will be doing the scaring? The matches I’ll recommend you watch will tell you that.
Note that times are listed in Eastern and Pacific standard times and broadcasting/streaming information applies to the United States.
The Good
Real Valladolid 1–2 Mallorca: This was a finely balanced game for much of the contest until Cyle Larin scored his first goal in four months for club and country. Of course he had to end the drought in his return to his former club’s stadium. Mallorca took a 2–0 lead late where Real Valladolid pulled one late, but they fell just short of a dramatic tie.
Gladbach 1–0 Union Berlin: 24-year old Czech striker Thomas Cvancara scored his first Bundesliga goal since November to provide a dramatic later winner in front of the Borussia Park crowd!
Bayern 1–1 Leverkusen: It says a lot about the talent both clubs have offensively and defensively when it required a brilliant goal apiece to breach the opposition defense. A draw is a fair result on the balance of play in Munich. I did feel old watching Vincent Kompany vs Xabi Alonso as a managerial matchup.
Bologna 1–1 Atalanta: After a sleepy first half, the game comes to life in the second with Santiago Castro continuing his goalscoring form but then Jhon Lucumi got sent off for a rash challenge just outside the box on Charles de Ketelaere. Raoul Bellanova with last ditch defending to put a dangerous shot from Atalanta off of the crossbar rather than in the net. De Ketelaere would hit woodwork again late in the second half. Lazar Samardzic equalized late on despite Bologna’s heroic defensive efforts.
New York Red Bulls 1–5 New York City: An explosive first half featured four goals in the first 30 minutes. New York City played like they needed the win more (they did) and they got their just reward. If the stars align, we could be in for an exciting playoff rematch! With revenge on their mind, it’ll surely be a closer game.
Seattle Sounders 1–0 Houston Dynamo: Sounders teams of old that found success did what this team is doing: finding their best form at the business end of the season. Paul Rothrock was the unlikely hero that made the difference in this matchup.
Roma 2–1 Venezia: Time will tell is this is a new manager bounce or a new era at the Italian capital. Taking care of business against an upstart Venezia is a good sign of this Roma’s side’s ability.
Sacramento Republic 4–0 New Mexico United: Sacramento Republic set the tone early with a 7th minute goal. Former San Jose Earthquakes player Luis Felipe was one of the stars of this Sacramento performance. Establishing yourself as a title contender on ESPN2 earns this game a spot on this list.
Villarreal 3–1 Las Palmas: Croatian shot stopper Dinko Horkas, in for the injured Jasper Cillessen, made a point blank save to keep Las Palmas level in the first half, until Nicolas Pepe’s purple patch continued. Las Palmas responded very early at halftime, showing that even the lowest ranked team in La Liga is a worthy adversary. However, the first half hero quickly became a zero when he brought down Pepe in the box to concede a penalty. Horkas then went back to hero by saving that penalty. What a fun game to watch with Villarreal getting a deserved winning goal late through Thierno Barry in the second half. Alex Baena provided the assist and later scored the third in stoppage time.
The Bad
Manchester United 0–3 Tottenham: A 3rd minute Brennan Johnson goal and a first half Bruno Fernandes red card killed any intrigue this highly anticipated match had. Erik ten Hag is on borrowed time unless he can turn things around.
Atlético Madrid 1–1 Real Madrid: It usually takes something special to beat Jan Oblak, and Eder Militao’s strike certainly was special. Unfortunately some Atlético supporters in the stadium began acting out by throwing objects at Thibaut Courtois and play had to be halted. Drama on the pitch resumed with Angel Correa’s late equalizer and Marcos Llorente’s even later red card. The match itself could’ve been fine had it not interrupted.
The European Games I Suggested for This Past Week (Writing on 10/1)
Tuesday, October 1st
Stuttgart 1–1 Sparta Prague, Arsenal 2–0 Paris Saint-Germain
Wednesday, October 2nd
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Atalanta, Aston Villa vs Bayern Munich
Thursday, October 3rd
Europa: Lazio vs Nice, Porto vs Manchester United
Conference: Legia Warsaw vs Real Betis, Chelsea vs Gent
Now let’s get into this weekend’s recommendations!
Friday, October 4
9:30 am P/12:30 pm E: Napoli (1st/13 pts) vs Como (10th/8 pts) Paramount+
Napoli will feel like they’re back where they belong, and with a world class player in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia leading the charge, contending for titles is an expectation. However, Como are figuring things out under Cesc Fàbregas and could put Serie A on notice with a stunning result in Naples.
12 pm P/3 pm E: Leganés (16th/7 pts) vs Valencia (18th/5 pts) ESPN+
No more excuses for Giorgi Mamardashvili and the rest of the Valencia squad. It’s true they’ve faced stiff opposition to start La Liga this term, including their most recent outing a 3–0 loss to Real Sociedad. Right now, the focus is on getting their heads above water. A win at Leganés is paramount. Leganés will hope Sebastien Haller can get on the scoresheet and take at least a point here because their next fixture after the break is away at Atlético Madrid.
Saturday, October 5
5 am P/8 am E: Espanyol (17th/7 pts) vs Mallorca (6th/14 pts) ESPN+
Begin your morning with what should be an evenly contested La Liga matchup despite the visitors Mallorca having double as many points as Espanyol. Espanyol used to be a staple in La Liga but are currently suffering a three game losing streak, albeit all against tough opponents (Real Madrid, Villarreal, Real Betis). It won’t get any easier after this with Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla, and Barcelona upcoming. Mallorca will look to capitalize on their poor run of form, especially now that Cyle Larin rediscovered his shooting boots.
7 am P/10 am E: West Ham United (14th/5 pts) vs Ipswich Town (15th/4 pts) NBC Universo/USA
Ipswich have drawn their last five fixtures (including a penalty loss to Wimbledon in the EFL Cup back in August) after losing to Liverpool and Manchester City, which was expected. Whatever it takes to get their first Premier League win is the goal here, and 21-year-old Liam Delap getting a brace against Villa will only boost their confidence. Confidence has been in short supply for Julen Lopetegui’s hammers. Long time West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek supplied the only goal in their 1–1 draw to Brentford. If Lucas Paqueta, Mohamed Kudus, and Jarrod Bowen can’t inspire this West Ham side to a win over Ipswich, Lopetegui’s hot seat gets warmer.
9:30 am P/12:30 pm E: St. Pauli (14th/4 pts) vs Mainz (12th/5 pts) ESPN+
Mainz are currently in their 16th consecutive Bundesliga season but often find themselves as suspects to get relegated because of their conventional (dull?) style of play. Goalkeeper Robin Zentner didn’t have a lot of support from his defense in their 2–0 loss to Heidenheim. Meanwhile, St. Pauli built on their home draw to Leipzig to beat Freiburg 3–0 on the road. A brace from Tunisian winger Elias Saad gets this attack force in gear in what could be an early relegation six pointer.
12 pm P/3 pm E: Real Madrid (2nd/18 pts) vs Villarreal (3rd/17 pts) ESPN+
Second vs third is an automatic green light for your viewing pleasure. Real Madrid being in this scenario is not unusual, and they’ll be happy that the gap to leaders Barcelona is only 3 points. Villarreal are the surprise package here, currently one point ahead of Atlético Madrid in 3rd. They made hard work of bottom placed Las Palmas in their last fixture, so they need to step up their game against Los Blancos.
6 pm P/9 pm E: Chivas de Guadalajara (8th/15 pts) vs Atlas (9th/14 pts) Telemundo
El Clásico Tapatío dates back to 1916, making it the oldest rivalry in Mexican soccer. With their greater historical success, Chivas is the dominant fanbase within Jalisco and among the global Mexican diaspora compared to Atlas. However, Atlas have won two league titles in the last three years compared to Chivas’s most recent success coming in 2018. For either to be considered title contenders this season, a statement win in this derby is required.
Sunday, October 6
6:00 am P/9:00 am E: Aston Villa (5th/13 pts) vs Manchester United (13th/7 pts) Telemundo/USA
For the past two seasons now, Aston Villa are having the domestic campaigns that should be considered the bare minimum for Manchester United’s once lofty standards. In reality, this could be Erik Ten Hag’s last game in charge of the Red Devils. When you compare the two lineups, how many Manchester United players get into the Villa side? Andre Onana doesn’t displace Emiliano Martinez, Diogo Dalot is the only shoe-in in defense, and it’s hard to argue midfielders and forwards when they’re getting production out of Morgan Rogers and Jhon Duran, let alone their bigger stars. Aston Villa can prove it on the pitch in this matchup.
9:30 am P/12:30 pm E: Sevilla (13th/9 pts) vs Real Betis (8th/12 pts) ESPN+
With all due respect to my Chivas, Sevilla vs Real Betis takes the title of most heated derby of the weekend. If it was Chivas vs America, maybe we’d have a conversation. But these Seville based rivals HATE each other. Sevilla can claim recent silverware, especially through their Europa League successes, but right now Real Betis are higher in the table. Who will come out on top: Dodi Lubebakio’s Sevilla or Giovani Lo Celso’s Real Betis?
11:45 am P/2:45 pm E: Fiorentina (11th/7 pts) vs AC Milan (3rd/11 pts) Paramount+
Fiorentina are suffering a Europa League final loss hangover, and one must wonder if they’re regressing back to the norm after a few seasons of overachieving. Meanwhile, AC Milan are starting to look like title contenders with Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao revving up the attack and Mike Maignan and Theo Hernandez shoring up the back.
4:15 pm P/7:15 pm E: Portland Timbers (9th West/45 pts) vs FC Dallas (10th West/37 pts)
Not much else to say about this matchup other than FC Dallas need to beat Portland to have ANY chance of sneaking into the playoffs. In all likelihood, it’s too little too late. But let’s see what these two teams can bring to the table.
That’s all for this week as we lead into the International Break! Maybe the biggest thing fans fear in October is injuries while representing their countries…
