MATCHDAY: West Ham hosts Aston Villa. Barcelona welcomes Bilbao
Sat, Oct 21, 2023
Soccer News (AP)
ENGLAND
West Ham's summer signing Mohammed Kudus could make his first league start for the club after manager David Moyes said the Ghana winger is "very close to playing" ahead of Aston Villa's visit in Sunday's only Premier League game. Villa, meanwhile, will have its Italian winger Nicolo Zaniolo available for selection despite being involved in a betting investigation in his home country. Villa is trying to keep up its charge for a top-four spot as a win would put it just one point behind third-place Liverpool. West Ham is ninth, but only two points behind Villa.
SPAIN
Barcelona hosts Athletic Bilbao to start a demanding week that includes a Champions League game against Shahktar Donetsk and a "clasico" against Real Madrid. Against Bilbao, Barcelona will be without striker Robert Lewandowski, midfielders Pedri Gonzalez and Frenkie de Jong, forward Raphinha and defenders Jules Kounde and Sergi Roberto all due to injury. Barcelona is in fourth place and trails leader Madrid by four points. Girona is three points behind Madrid and can draw level at the top of La Liga if it wins at home against last-place Almeria. Villarreal also hosts Alaves, while Rayo Vallecano is at Las Palmas.
GERMANY
Struggling Cologne hosts Borussia Monchengladbach for the Rhine derby in the Bundesliga. Cologne is still waiting for its first win of the season and it has lost all three home games so far. It has never before lost its opening four home games in the Bundesliga. Gladbach is unbeaten away from home this season and will be grateful to be playing in Cologne - like its rival, Gladbach has lost each its three home games so far. Cologne has only one point from its opening seven games. Jess Thorup makes his debut as Augsburg coach against promoted Heidenheim in the late game. Thorup was appointed a week before to replace the fired Enrico Maaßen.
ITALY
AC Milan will be without two key players as it hosts title rival Juventus looking to reclaim top spot in Serie A. Goalkeeper Mike Maignan and defender Theo Hernandez are both suspended for the game. Juventus will be without Nicolo Fagioli after the midfielder was banned for seven months earlier this week for his part in a betting scandal. Milan is one point behind city rival Inter, which won 3-0 at Torino on Saturday, and four above Juventus. Roma has seemingly recovered from a poor start to the season and will be seeking a fourth straight win in all competition when it hosts Monza, which is a point above it in the table. Atalanta can also close in on the top four with a win over promoted Genoa. Filippo Inzaghi takes charge of his first match back in Serie A as his Salernitana side hosts bottom club Cagliari. Promoted Frosinone visits Bologna looking to continue its impressive start to the season.
FRANCE
Monaco has emerged as a title contender by having the most prolific attack in the French league. It will rely on strikers Folarin Balogun and Wissam Ben Yedder and midfielder Takumi Minamino to retain the lead when it hosts promoted Metz, which has lost its last three games. The surprise this season has been Brest, which has lost just once to rise to fourth place. Brest visits Lille, a contender for European spots. Lille hopes to get a result at home despite a field badly damaged by Rugby World Cup games and the recent soccer friendly between France and Scotland. Lyon and Clermont square off with both teams looking for its first win.
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