Big Game Previews: 3rd Weekend of October

1. Manchester City vs Arsenal, 17th Oct, 10 pm IST

Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta square off for the first time since Arteta overcame his former boss with a 2-0 victory in last season’s FA Cup Semi-Final. Manchester City have started the season in an underwhelming fashion, with only 4 points from the first 3 games, and will be looking to bounce back and put together a string of wins, but it will be a difficult task for Guardiola’s side as Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus are all ruled out of the fixture due to injury. Although previous league meetings between the two sides heavily favor Manchester City, Arsenal under Arteta have shown significant development in recent months and should provide us with an excellent match-up.

2. Everton vs Liverpool, 17th Oct, 5 pm IST

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side will be itching to bounce back from their worst ever league defeat against Aston Villa last time around, but they face bitter rivals Everton, who sit on top of the table having begun the season in scintillating form. Liverpool will be boosted by the return of Thiago Alcantara and Sadio Mane after recovering from coronavirus, but they will still miss the services of star goalkeeper Alisson Becker. On the other hand, Carlo Ancelotti’s men will be hoping to lead Everton to it’s first Derby victory in 10 years and will be optimistic about their chances courtesy of a free-flowing attack bolstered by James Rodriguez’s arrival this season. Recent Merseyside Derbys at Goodison Park have seen a lack of goals from both sides, but this could change this time around as we are guaranteed a fascinating encounter.

3. Inter vs Milan, 17th Oct, 9:30 pm IST

Saturday evening at the Historic San Siro sees the first Derby della Modonnina of the season, where Interplay hosts to Milan. Inter, one of the favorites to challenge Juventus for the title, have to deal with some injury concerns as key players such as Alessandro Bastoni, Milan Skriniar, Radja Nianggolan, and Ashley Young have tested positive for the coronavirus; whereas Milan has to work with a makeshift backline with center-backs Matteo Gabbia & Mateo Musacchio as well as right-back Andrea Conti have been all ruled out of the match. Recent Derbys suggest that Inter will continue their dominance, but Stefano Pioli’s resurgent Milan side with a flawless start to the Serie A season will be a serious threat to Antonio Conte’s Inter side and we can expect a ton of goals in an entertaining derby.

4. Napoli vs Atalanta, 17th Oct, 6:30 pm IST

Napoli returns to action after suffering a controversial loss to Juventus the previous matchday, where they were handed a 3-0 loss and an extra point deduction for not turning up due to an outbreak of coronavirus in their squad. They host an in-form Atalanta side who are off to a flying start in the Serie A and are playing a beautiful attacking brand of football. Napoli have failed to beat Atalanta in any of their previous 3 meetings, and Gattuso’s men will be keen on breaking that streak but face an uphill task as several key players such as Piotr Zielinski, Lorenzo Insigne, and North Macedonia international Elif Elmas look set to miss the game. Meanwhile, Atalanta are on a four-game win streak and will look to continue that while fighting their own defensive woes, as they are yet to keep a clean sheet this season. We can expect plenty of goals in this encounter, which is an extremely important one for both sides early in the season.