FIVE games to follow this weekend: Copa del Rey Final, Superclásicos, and more
In this weekend preview we summarise the best five games to follow on your match feed. And make a couple of suggestions for matches that you may otherwise miss.
🇪🇸 Real Madrid vs. Osasuna
Saturday sees the 121st Final of the Copa Del Rey, Spain’s biggest cup competition. Which will be played at the Estadio La Cartuja in Seville. It features, for the first time since 2014, 19-time winners Real Madrid against Osasuna, who have reached the showpiece game for just the second time in their history.
The side from Pamplona sit mid-table in LaLiga having just lost to champions elect, Barcelona, in the week but they have punched above their weight in the Copa. They beat regular finalists Athletic Club in the semis and saw off both clubs from the final’s host city in previous rounds – Seville and Real Betis.
For Madrid, this match comes at the start of a three week period that will determine their season. With Barcelona now needing just one win to confirm the league title – thanks, in part, to Madrid’s defeat at Real Sociedad on Tuesday, that’s one piece of silverware they won’t be winning. But they do still have this cup final, a game for which they start as overwhelming favourites. And then the two-legged Champions League semi-final against Manchester City to come. The first leg of which takes place at the Bernabéu this coming Tuesday.
🏴 Manchester City vs. Leeds United
This is one of two Premier League games we’ve chosen to highlight this weekend, and not just because it features current leaders Manchester City. No, we think the return of Big Sam Allardyce to the touchline on Saturday definitely warrants its inclusion. Out of work since his West Brom side were relegated in 2021, the 68-year-old was appointed as a replacement for Javi Gracia during the week, and now has four games to keep Leeds United in the top flight.
As first games go, a trip to title-chasing Manchester City couldn’t be tougher. And with fixtures against Allardyce’s former clubs Newcastle and West Ham, plus Spurs to come, Leeds fans are in for one hell of a ride.
For their part, Manchester City ended the week where they started: Top of the table. They were briefly deposed following Arsenal’s convincing win over Chelsea but quickly reestablished themselves following Wednesday’s 3-0 victory against West Ham. A game in which Erling Haaland scored his 35th goal of the league campaign, setting a new record for a single season in the Premier League era.
🏴 Newcastle United vs. Arsenal
The Premier League title race will be a hot topic all through the weekend with chasers Arsenal set to meet third placed Newcastle United on Sunday. Gunners’ fans longing for their first title in almost a decade have good cause to be nervous heading into this one. While Arsenal’s defence has been leaking goals – at least – that is until Tuesday’s 3-1 win over London rivals Chelsea, Newcastle have found their shooting boots. Eddie Howe’s side followed up the 6-1 and 5-1 thrashings of Spurs and Everton with a 3-1 win of their own, against bottom side Southampton, last weekend.
One point currently separates City and Arsenal but will that still be the case come Sunday evening?
🇦🇷 River Plate vs. Boca Juniors
Perhaps the world’s most famous footballing rivalry bar the Spanish Clásico, Argentina’s Superclásico, between Buenos Aires giants River Plate and Boca Juniors, takes place on Sunday.
This will be their first meeting of 2023 and it comes 15 rounds in to the new season. River have been dominant so far and it’s they who lead the table by six points having lost just twice so far. That contrasts to the fortunes of defending champions Boca, who sit down in 13th, and well off the pace.
Boca do however have recent history on their side – they won both match-ups on the way to the title last season. And they’re also fairing better in the ongoing continental cup tournament, the Copa Libertadores. Boca lead their group after three matches having won at Chilean side Colo-Colo during the week while River were smashed 5-1 by Brazil’s Fluminense. That’s the most goals they’ve ever conceded in a single match played in South America’s biggest club tournament.
Watch out for fireworks in this one.
🇮🇹 Napoli vs. Fiorentina
If, like us, you’ve spent the last few matchdays waiting for Napoli to finally get over the line and confirm the club’s first Scudetto since 1990, you may have found yourself trawling social media watching video after video of the celebrations that have engulfed the city of Naples. And from Thursday’s away game, both at Udinese, and the watch-along back at Stadio Diego Maradona.
Well, following that 1-1 draw, we now get to enjoy the club’s homecoming, where surely they’ll be a party atmosphere for the visit of Fiorentina on Sunday.
Plus two hidden gems from deep in your match feed…
🇦🇺 Western Sydney Wanderers vs. Sydney
The A-League Men’s season in Australia has reached the post-season finals series and we’re gearing up for a historic Sydney Derby. This Saturday’s quarter-final will be the first such finals game between the two Sydney clubs, and marks Western Sydney’s return to these play-offs for the first time since 2017.
For the sky blues of Sydney, who’ve made four of the six Grand Finals since then (winning two), this campaign has been something of a disappointment. And the last meeting between the rivals perhaps sums that up – the red and blacks of Western Sydney ran out 4-0 winners that day and ended the regular season three points better off than their opponents. A fact that also means that this play-off takes place at their home stadium, and not Sydney’s.
🏴 Notts County vs. Boreham Wood
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few weeks, you’ll know all about Wrexham’s promotion back to the Football League from the fifth tier of the English pyramid. But spare a thought for Notts County, who pushed them so close, and would, in any other season, have won the league at a canter – especially with the goalscoring exploits of Macauley Langstaff, who provided 42 of their massive haul of 117 scored across the regular campaign.
But in this division, second doesn’t mean automatic promotion and instead it’s the lottery of the play-offs for Notts County where, on Sunday, they’ll meet Boreham Wood at what is the semi-final stage of the competition. As you can see below, Boreham Wood finished sixth and over 30 points down on the Magpies but now have the same shot at promotion.
The Wood won at fifth placed finishers Barnet during the week to set up this game while Notts County did, at least, get a bye through to the final four.
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Cover Image from IMAGO