Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is under fire at Manchester United. (AP Photo)
From Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United to Barcelona’s first game after Ronald Koeman sacking, here are the big matches in Europe on Saturday.
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Saturday:
ENGLAND
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is fighting to keep his job heading into an away match at Tottenham in the Premier League. Solskjaer’s position has come under heavy scrutiny after a 5-0 home loss to Liverpool that left United in seventh place. Tottenham is a point and a place higher in the standings. Chelsea takes a one-point lead into a match at Newcastle, still without a win since coming under new Saudi ownership and still without a permanent manager after firing Steve Bruce. Second-place Liverpool hosts Brighton and third-place Manchester City hosts Crystal Palace. Arsenal travels to Leicester in one of the three other games.
SPAIN
Barcelona caretaker coach Sergi Barjuan will guide his team at Camp Nou for its game against Alavés while the club works on finding a permanent replacement for Ronald Koeman. Barcelona has fallen to ninth place in the standings after back-to-back losses to Rayo Vallecano and Real Madrid that cost Koeman his job. Reports say former midfielder Xavi Hernández is the leading candidate to become Barcelona’s new coach. Ansu Fati is doubtful for the Alavés match after right-knee pain kept him out of the loss at Rayo this week. Real Madrid is at Elche also needing a victory after only winning one of its last four league games. It is in second place level on points with Sevilla and Real Betis at three points behind leader Real Sociedad. Sevilla faces a surprising Osasuna side that is undefeated on the road with four wins and a draw, while Villarreal is at Valencia in a regional derby.
ITALY
Juventus visits Hellas Verona looking to bounce back from a home loss to Sassuolo that prompted coach Massimiliano Allegri to question the dedication of his players. The Bianconeri trail Serie A leader Napoli by 13 points through 10 matches and don’t have room for many more missteps if they want to revive their pursuit of the Serie A title. Also, fifth-place Atalanta hosts sixth-place Lazio and Torino plays Sampdoria.
GERMANY
Union Berlin’s 21-game unbeaten run at home in the Bundesliga is tested when Bayern Munich visits. Bayern is smarting after its heaviest defeat for 43 years and will be looking for a reaction to Wednesday’s 5-0 loss at Borussia Mönchengladbach in the German Cup. Union is a tough opponent, however. The team is fifth with only one loss in nine games, and was the only Bundesliga team Bayern failed to beat last season. Borussia Dortmund will be without top scorer Erling Haaland again when it hosts Cologne, and Florian Kohfeldt makes his debut as Wolfsburg coach at a Bayer Leverkusen side going through its first dip in form under new coach Gerardo Seoane. High-flying Freiburg hosts last-place Greuther Fürth, which has been hit by coronavirus infections after making the worst start of any team to the Bundesliga.
FRANCE
Second-place Lens visits a Lyon side which is looking to bounce back from a 3-2 loss to Nice and will miss winger Tino Kadewere through suspension and striker Moussa Dembele through injury. Metz and Saint-Etienne meet for a game between teams in the relegation zone. Saint-Etienne is still chasing its first win of the season while Metz has lost its last three games.
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