Can't Miss: Italians and Spaniards Go Head to Head
Valencia look to give Italian manager a nice-to-meet-ya present, while Milan and Juve renew acquaintances and Sevilla and Atletico meet high up in LaLiga.
SATURDAY
Valencia 2 - Barcelona 3
Before the Match:
Valencia looking to Mestalla muscle memory for Barca visit
So far so good for Cesare Prandelli, the latest in a long line of Valencia coaches who are trying to impose a regime of "intensity, order and personality" on a club that possesses bags of the third attribute - although not always the good kind - but has been hugely lacking in the first two of late.
The veteran Italian manager took over in Mestalla during the recent international break with the mission of stopping the Valencia's slide into a relegation battle and dragging the much-troubled club towards the European places.
The first test was an away trip at Sporting, a challenge that was passed with a 2-1 victory. A Barcelona side, fresh from their energy-sapping adventure against Manchester City now awaits.
Although the challenge of the league champions may well seem daunting for a team needing quite the tune-up, the one strength is that Mestalla has been a happy hunting ground against Barcelona. Even temporary coach, Phil Neville, managed a draw against the Catalan club last December in the midst of another institutional crisis. Valencia fans will be wondering what could be possible on Saturday with a proper manager in charge.
SERIE A – MILAN V JUVENTUS: Live on beIN SPORTS from 2.40PM ET / 11.40AM PT
Milan 1 Juventus 0
Before the Game:
Milan’s high hopes of breaking Juve curse
Such is the purist, perfectionist nature of Serie A supporters, fans of both Milan and Juventus are in a grumbling mood despite their teams being positioned in the standings in third and first place respectively.
For Milanistas, this posture is arguably a self-defense mechanism, not wanting to grow overexcited at the movie trailer-like past five matches that has produced four victories, before the eventual disappointing main feature is released. Think Batman versus Superman, although the critics were a little harsh on the Ben Affleck-lead affair.
Juventus, on the other hand, are still whittling their way through their Serie A and Champions League campaigns, not being overly spectacular but still getting the job done nonetheless. To be fair that has been their vibe over the past few years and it is works well considering the Old Lady already has a five-point gap at the top of the table.
However, the league leaders will be wary of a Milan side that secretly fancies its chances of overturning a record that sees Juve having won the last nine encounters between the two teams.
SUNDAY
Sevilla 1 - 0 Atletico Madrid
Before the Match:
When neither of Spain's four big papers are trumpeting the fact that either Barcelona or Real Madrid are top of the table and looking deliciously invincible, you can tell that Atletico Madrid are almost certainly at the top of the table.
Heck, on this occasion Barcelona aren't even in second. Or third. But fourth. That's because Sevilla are nestled in third spot after a very sprightly campaign so far for a Sevilla side under Jorge Sampaoli, who is attempting the very challenging trick of morphing a team that is no great shakes on paper into his footballing dream of pressure, pace and power.
No such identity crisis for the relentless Atletico Madrid that has now managed to weld a fearsome attack onto a still steadfast defense, as proved with a 7-1 demolition of Granada last weekend. The game has numerous competing storylines, but the most intriguing of all is the tactical sideline battle between two of Argentina's coaching superstars at the Sanchez Pizjuan.