What to Look Out for in This Weekend's Top Football Games?
by Steve Ashfield | by Steve Ashfield
Tottenham Out to End Losing Run
Tottenham are having a tough time at present and on Saturday they travel to the Etihad to take on Manchester City. It was all going so well for them in the early part of the new English Premier League. After ten games they were unbeaten and top of the Premier League table. Tottenham fans were delighted with the new playing style adopted by recently appointed Ange Postecoglou. Then came that manic Monday game at home to Chelsea.
Tottenham lost that 4-1 but the worst news was the injury sustained by new signing James Maddison. More injuries have followed as have two more league losses. A 1-0 lead at Wolverhampton Wanderers going into the 91st minute but ended up losing 2-1. Last Sunday saw them take the lead for the third successive league fixture but again lose, this time 2-1 at home to Aston Villa. Son will hope for better luck this weekend after three disallowed goals against Villa.
That defeat has left Tottenham in fifth place but only three points behind their opponents and four adrift of leaders Arsenal. They still have the best away record in the Premier League but will do well to maintain that away at Manchester City.
Manchester City come into this match having drawn their last two Premier League fixtures. A draw at Chelsea was followed by another at home to Liverpool last Saturday. City led in both of those games and are now second in the table, a point behind Arsenal.
The draw with Liverpool saw them drop home league points for the first time in this calendar year. Pep Guardiola will be keen to see his team get back into winning ways in the Premier League. That's particularly the case with this game followed by a difficult trip to Aston Villa on December 6. Games against Tottenham usually see a few goals scored with 12 in the last three played and it should be another great game this weekend. Keep in touch with all the action on our Football Livescore.
Napoli Have to Improve Their Home Form
Napoli's Serie A title defence has not gone well. This Sunday sees the side fourth in the league host the Serie A leaders Inter Milan. The defending champions begin the weekend eight points behind their opponents. A fourth league loss of the season would take the gap into double figures.
Last season, Napoli won 14 home games in Serie A, losing just two. This term has seen only two out of six won in Serie A with three home games already having been lost. Only one point has been earned from their last three at home with defeats inflicted by both Fiorentina and Empoli. Now on their third coach of the year, Napoli need to get a win this weekend to stay in touch with the league leaders. Matteo Politano (above) already has five league goals this season, Napoli will hope he's on target again against Inter Milan.
Inter lost seven away league games last season. This weekend they head to Napoli having earned 16 points from six away games in Serie A. 10 out of 13 games in Italy's top flight have been won by Inter with just seven goals conceded and 30 scored. On the road, only two goals in six matches have been conceded and Napoli will find it difficult to break them down this weekend. Remember you can check all the Football Odds.
Leverkusen Flying High
Bayer Leverkusen host Borussia Dortmund on Sunday and may well need a win to go top of the Bundesliga. They begin the weekend two points clear of Bayern Munich who host Union Berlin the day before.
Leverkusen have won 11 of their 12 Bundesliga fixtures this season. The only points dropped were when drawing 2-2 at Bayern in mid-September. Since then, they have won eight league games in a row, scoring at least twice in every fixture. Home form has seen them win all six of their Bundesliga matches with 21 goals scored and only five conceded. They may not have Harry Kane but Victor Boniface (above) and Alex Grimaldo both have seven goals in the Bundesliga this season. Four other players have at least three league goals.
Borussia Dortmund came so close to winning the Bundesliga last season. It's not going so well this time around though. The weekend starts with them in fourth place but already ten points behind Leverkusen. For them to retain any real hope of winning the title, they simply cannot afford to lose this important match.
While they have won five home Bundesliga games this season, only two have been achieved on the road. Away form simply has to be improved if they are to get anywhere near Leverkusen. It's looking as if this season will be more about securing a top four finish than winning the Bundesliga title. Make sure you read all our highly researched and totally free experts' betting tips.
