Add categoryWeekend watch: La Liga, Serie A kick off

Beginning of Story Content

Every week, CBCSports.ca senior writer and soccer expert John F. Molinaro will preview the weekend's European soccer action, pointing out key things to watch out for in the continent's top leagues.

SPAIN

La Liga kicks off on Saturday with a trio of games, but the Spanish league's heavy hitters, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, have to wait until Sunday to begin their respective campaigns.

Los blancos begin the Jose Mourinho Era with a visit to Real Mallorca, who was the revelation of the Spanish league last season, coming achingly close to qualifying for the Champions League.

Real went on a major spending spree in the summer, splashing major cash on the likes of Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira, Angel di Maria and Ricardo Carvalho. The Madridistas have a stacked roster, so anything less than winning the Spanish title will be viewed as a major disappointment.

But they could find the going pretty tough in Palmas against a Mallorca side that is greater than the sum of its parts.

ITALY

Serie A also begins a new season this weekend, with the highlight of the round being the match between Sampdoria and Lazio. Expect big things from Giampaolo Pazzini this season - the Samp striker is one of the most exciting and talented Italian prospects, and he forms a killer 1-2 scoring punch with teammate Antonio Cassano.

With AC Milan in a rebuilding year (not even the possible capture of Zlatan Ibrahimovic can save their campaign) the race for the scudetto will be between a restocked Juventus, a hungry AS Roma and defending champions Inter Milan.

Who will break into the "big four" and take AC Milan's place? Keep an eye on Genoa, who signed a truckload of players in the summer, including attacking Brazilian fullback Rafinha and Italian striker Luca Toni. An opening-day win in Udinese would be an early statement of intentions from the Grifone that they should not be underestimated this season.

ENGLAND

Liverpool enters the third week of the Premiership season still looking for its first win. These are tough times for the Reds (what with the uncertainty of the club's ownership hanging over it) but a victory against West Brom on Sunday at Anfield seems like a sure thing. Then again...

Chelsea hosts Stoke City on Saturday at Stamford Bridge, a game that has 6-0 written all over it.

For me, the most interesting match will be at Bloomfield Road where Blackpool hosts Fulham. The Seasiders pulled off the shocker of the first week of the season when they thumped Wigan 4-0, only to come crashing down to earth the following week with a 6-0 loss to Chelsea.

It'll be interesting to see how Blackpool responds, especially against a Fulham team who, despite impressively battling to a 2-2 draw at home against Manchester United last week, earned only one victory away from Craven Cottage all of last season.

GERMANY

Week #2 of the Bundesliga got off to a wild start on Friday when newly promoted Kaiserslautern stunned defending champion Bayern Munich 2-0.

One game in particular this weekend should catch your eye.

On Saturday, Wolfsburg hosts Mainz in what could mark the return to the German first division of Diego. The Brazilian was sold to Wolfsburg earlier this week by Juventus, who signed him away from Werder Bremen a year ago.

Diego never really impressed at Turin (although the Bianconeri may regret giving up on him after one season), so it'll be interesting to see if a return to Germany will revive his career.

FRANCE

Yoann Gourcuff could be set for an emotional Lyon debut on Saturday when Lorient - the team coached by his father - visit the Stade Gerland.

Gourcuff, one of the best playmakers in European club soccer, signed a five-year deal with Lyon earlier this week following a transfer move from Bordeaux

The most promising match of the weekend is set for Sunday when the champions from the previous two seasons champions - Bordeaux and Marseille - do battle at the Stade Chaban Delmas.

Both clubs began the season with two losses before earning wins last week. Bordeaux stole three points with a 2-1 win at PSG, so there are still a lot of questions being asked of Jean Tigana's team after a lacklustre start of the campaign. A loss at home on Sunday would plunge the team into further chaos.

Follow John F. Molinaro on Twitter.

End of Story Content

Back to accessibility links