Manchester United v Spurs
This game will go a long way in telling us where Mourinho’s head is at the moment. When the Portuguese gentleman is fed up with a club he starts to cause a lot of trouble, rub people the wrong way and just generally make a nuisance of himself.
The way United played against Brighton over the weekend was a sign things are not okay in the dressing room. Now if the players take the same lackadaisical approach to the game against Spurs, you won’t need a soothsayer to tell you this is the beginning of the end of Mourinho’s
relationship with Manchester United. You also won’t need a prophet to tell you that United will lose the match. But if Mourinho is still interested in being the Manchester United manager, you will notice the change in the players in this game. Mourinho knows how to win big games, if he is interested, he will push his boys to great heights. So, the result of this match up will be determined by whatever mood Mourinho is at kick-off time.
Arsenal v West Ham
Both teams have got new managers, both teams have brought in new players, both teams have not started the season well, losing their first two games. Â The season is likely to get worse for one of them this weekend, well, except they play a draw. Arsenal have
traditionally been good against West Ham. They have won more than they have lost, so if the Hammers end up winning this game, we should all know there’s something terribly wrong with the Gunners. I tip Arsenal to win this and it may just kick start their season.
Wolves v Manchester City
It will get to a time we won’t need to preview Manchester City’s games. We will just tick, win. Pep and his boys are so far ahead of the
rest that you can’t see any team beating them. Normal service is expected to be delivered in this game with City players going for another training session.
Liverpool v Brighton
Brighton players must be on a high now after beating Manchester United last Sunday. But they are about to be brought back down to earth where they belong. Liverpool are the only club close to City and the way they are set up, they will take some beating.
Wolves will try to make it hard for them but they needn’t bother. The result will still end in a win for Klopp and the Kop.
Newcastle v Chelsea
Chelsea have not really played well under new manager Maurizio Sarri, but they have been winning. This is sign of a strong and determined team. The players are just getting used to Sarri’s coaching methods and they can only get better. Whether they will
improve well enough to fight Manchester City for the premiership title is another matter, but they should be good enough to see off the Newcastle challenge this weekend.
Valladolid welcome Barca for first LaLiga home game in over four years
Real Valladolid are back in the top division of Spanish football and their first home fixture since they were relegated in 2014 is a very juicy one. Current LaLiga champions Barcelona will be the first visitors of the season to the Estadio José Zorrilla, where an electric atmosphere is expected on Saturday night. The Blanquivioletas have lost just one home match in all of 2018, so Ernesto Valverde’s superstars will have to work incredibly hard as they aim to pick up the three points.
Before that, the second weekend of the 2018/19 LaLiga season begins with two matches in the south of Madrid, as Getafe host Eibar and as Leganés welcome Real Sociedad on Friday evening. The two capital city sides suffered losses on the road in the opening round and won’t want to make it two defeats from two against their Basque guests.
Up in the Basque Country, Alavés’ first home game of the campaign will see them take on Real Betis in the first fixture of tomorrow. The team from Andalusia dominated possession in their opener against Levante, only to lose 3-0, so it’ll be fascinating to see how they respond against another side known for their explosive counter-attacking football.
A Madrid derby follows that clash, as newly promoted Rayo Vallecano visit Atlético Madrid’s new stadium, the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano, for the first time ever. Rayo haven’t managed to win away at Atlético in the league at all in the 21st century, but they’d love to travel back to Vallecas on Saturday evening with a 100 percent win rate at the ground which will host this season’s Champions League final.
Tomorrow’s action is rounded off with Valladolid’s clash against Barcelona, before Espanyol and Valencia get proceedings underway in Sunday’s first match. Both of these sides began their 2018/19 seasons with 1-1 draws and will hope to go one step further in week two to pick up a first victory of the campaign.
Sevilla and Villarreal, the two teams who finished seventh and fifth respectively last season, will meet in the Andalusian capital later on Sunday evening in a match that could turn out to have an impact on their European ambitions at the end of the season. Making the fixture all the more intriguing is the fact that Villarreal have just re-signed former Sevilla striker Carlos Bacca, who scored in both of his meetings with his former employers last season.
Girona and Real Madrid wrap up Sunday’s LaLiga activity, as Los Blancos travel to the Estadi Montilivi and to a stadium where they lost 2-1 last year. Both these teams have changed their coach since that match, but the majority of the players will be the same and the team from the capital city will surely target revenge for a result that was described as one of the biggest shocks of the 2017/18 season.
The round then ends with two Monday night matches, as Levante host Celta Vigo and as Athletic Club invite Huesca to San Mamés. The match in Bilbao will be very special as it’ll be Huesca’s first meeting with Athletic Club, meaning that their club captain Gonzalo Melero will offer a bouquet of flowers to the bust of legendary player Pichichi, something all clubs do when they visit Athletic Club for the first time.