Occasionally throughout the European season we have a weekend full of top derbies. This weekend is a great example and we have some special games to enjoy, beginning with the Manchester Derby.
The Premier League fixtures conclude this weekend with Manchester United vs Manchester City at Old Trafford. The Red Devils are playing catch-up having had a poor start to the season while Manchester City are looking to avoid what would be their third league defeat of the 2023/24 campaign.
On the 12th anniversary of the 6-1 derby, let's revisit that memorable day at Old Trafford ⏪ pic.twitter.com/vM3ej3noep— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 23, 2023
On the 12th anniversary of the 6-1 derby, let's revisit that memorable day at Old Trafford ⏪ pic.twitter.com/vM3ej3noep
Manchester City lost only 5 Premier League matches all last season so a third defeat here could be a sign of some problems for the defending champions.
Manchester United have a good record of 34 undefeated games in their last 37 home encounters in all competitions but will need to up the level of their recent performances to take maximum points.
Moving to Spain and there is no bigger game than El Clásico in La Liga. The dropped points of Real Madrid at Sevilla last weekend means Barcelona are now just one point behind their bitter rivals in the title race.
The match will be played at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, giving Barcelona the home advantage and they have won 9 of their last 10 league fixtures on home soil. Real Madrid have won 5 of their 10 most recent away La Liga games, which is not convincing and only 1 of their last 3 on the road in the league.
Ajax have been having a tough time in the Netherlands and things could be about to get a lot worse as they meet PSV Eindhoven in De Topper on the weekend. Ajax have been struggling and they have achieved just 1 win in their 7 most recent games in the Eredivisie.
PSV on the other hand have not suffered any defeats in their 25 most recent Eredivisie matches, making them the huge favourites for this match. Ajax have lost each of their last 4 Eredivisie fixtures and they could be about to make it 5 defeats on the spin.
Switching to Serie A and this weekend we have the Derby of Central Italy between Lazio and Fiorentina. The visitors will be happy with the start they have made to the Serie A season and they sit in 4th place, 5 points off the leaders.
In their 25 most recent matches of Serie A, Fiorentina have been undefeated 21 times and they are undefeated in 6 of their last 7 league games on the road.
Lazio have made a stuttering start to the campaign but they have won 3 of their last 4 home Serie A fixtures. Lazio have seen plenty of goals when playing at home in the league and we should see more of the same in this match.
Finally, we head to Ligue 1 in France for the Choc des Olympiques between Marseille and Lyon. This is a massive game for both teams, with Marseille hoping not to lose touch with the leaders and Lyon aiming to reverse what has been a terrible start to the season.
Lyon come into this match bottom of Ligue 1 and they have recorded just a single victory from their last 11 league fixtures. Lyon have lost 5 of their last 6 away Ligue 1 matches while Marseille are undefeated in their last 4 at home, winning 3 of those games.
Overall, Marseille have been in poor recent form but such has been the disappointing start to the season for Lyon, the hosts must start as favourites to win.