MATCHDAY: Everton seeks 4th straight win; Man City at Leeds
A look at what’s happening around European soccer on Saturday:
ENGLAND
Everton hosts Brighton seeking a fourth successive victory to start the Premier League. The astute management of Carlo Ancelotti, the quality of James Rodriguez, and the goalscoring form of Dominic Calvert-Lewin has fueled the strong start for the club whose highest finishes since winning the English championship in 1987 are fourth the following year and in 2005. It’s been a mixed start, though, for England’s biggest spender in the summer transfer window at over $280 million for Chelsea. Frank Lampard’s side hosts Crystal Palace with only four points out of a possible nine but with Christian Pulisic fit enough to make the squad for the first time. Pep Guardiola comes up against mentor Marcelo Bielsa as Manchester City travels to Leeds. Guardiola has been a disciple of Bielsa since 2006, when he flew to Argentina in the latter stages of his playing career to discuss a move into coaching. Saturday’s action is completed by Newcastle hosting Burnley, which is still without a point. Newcastle has managed only three shots on target in the league in as many games, although all three have resulted in goals to collect four points.
SPAIN
Luis Suárez looks to rekindle the excitement generated from his strong debut with Atlético Madrid when it hosts Villarreal. Suárez scored twice as a late substitute in a 6-1 victory over Granada in his first match with Diego Simeone’s club after transferring from Barcelona. But he and his teammates failed to finish their chances midweek at newly promoted Huesca in a 0-0 draw. Unai Emery’s Villarreal has lost only one of four matches. Also, Getafe has yet to concede a goal in three matches before visiting Real Sociedad.
GERMANY
Borussia Dortmund aims to atone for a shock defeat at Augsburg last weekend with a convincing performance at home against Freiburg in the Bundesliga. “They were three lost points that we’ll miss in the end,” Dortmund forward Marco Reus said of losing in Augsburg 2-0. Dortmund coach Lucien Favre will be hoping for an early goal to settle any nerves among his young players. Gio Reyna and Jude Bellingham are 17, while Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland are 20. Cologne hosts Borussia Mönchengladbach for the Rhine derby, and the pressure is on as neither side has started the season as planned. Gladbach has one point and Cologne none after two games. Hoffenheim, which started with two wins, visits Eintracht Frankfurt. Promoted sides Arminia Bielefeld and Stuttgart face Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen, respectively. Schalke’s new coach Manual Baum faces a tough start at Leipzig. Schalke is already on an18-game run without a win.
ITALY
Roma seeks its first win of the season when it visits Udinese, which lost its opening two matches. Roma was stripped of a point following its opening-round draw at Hellas Verona for using an ineligible player, then drew at home with Juventus. Promoted Crotona visits Sassuolo seeking its first points of the season. The Genoa-Torino match was postponed due to a large outbreak of the coronavirus within Genoa’s squad, with nearly 20 players and staff members testing positive.
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