In this weekend bulletin, we selected eight matches from the Austrian Bundesliga, LaLiga, Liga Femenil, Serie A Women, Bundesliga, Jupiler Pro League, and Russian Premier League that caught our attention, and shared our predictions along with detailed analysis.
Rapid Vienna vs SC Austria Lustenau
Match Analysis
Rapid Vienna have turned their elimination from European competitions into an advantage by focusing entirely on the league, and they continue to maintain their position at the top of the table. After suffering a heavy defeat against Red Bull Salzburg, Rapid recovered immediately and have recorded comfortable, high-scoring victories in every match since.
Austria Lustenau, one of the league’s weaker teams who were only promoted this year, have shown serious defensive problems by losing their last two matches while conceding eight goals. Against a Rapid Vienna attack that plays with enormous motivation and dominance at home and has absolutely no trouble scoring, they look almost certain to struggle badly.
With LASK facing Salzburg and SK Sturm Graz taking on SV Ried in this crucial round of fixtures, Rapid Vienna are unlikely to miss the opportunity to extend their lead over their title rivals.
Prediction
Home Win
Atlético de Madrid vs Deportivo A Coruña
Match Analysis
Morale is high at Atlético after winning their last five league matches and joining the battle at the top of the table. Conceding just two goals during those five games demonstrates how strong they have become defensively. Diego Simeone’s side have also achieved positive results in the UEFA Champions League and are in excellent form.
Although newly promoted Deportivo have made a better start than expected, they have conceded in every league match except one. They are also winless in their last five games. The injury to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang represents a major loss that will make it even more difficult for them to score against Atlético’s strong defense.
Atlético know just how valuable three points can be during El Clásico week. With the morale and motivation provided by their excellent form, combined with the support of their home crowd, they should also defeat Deportivo.
Prediction
Home Win
CD Cruz Azul (W) vs Deportivo Toluca (W)
Match Analysis
Cruz Azul will enter this match determined to win in order to keep their hopes of qualifying for the Liga Femenil playoffs alive. If they fail to win, they will no longer have any chance of reaching the playoffs. Therefore, they will look to start aggressively, play at a high tempo, and push forward in search of goals. Exactly what Toluca would want.
Toluca, who are comfortably positioned in the playoff race, will look to exploit the spaces Cruz Azul leave behind when attacking and create goalscoring opportunities. Although they are already in a comfortable position, an away victory would allow them to mathematically secure their playoff place with two weeks to spare. Therefore, they will be eager to punish Cruz Azul through quick transitions.
Just like their previous meetings, we expect this match to produce plenty of goals, with the net being found at least three times.
Prediction
Over 2.5 Goals
Como 1907 (W) vs US Sassuolo (W)
Match Analysis
Despite only being promoted to Serie A Women this year, Como 1907 have made a flying start to the season. They have won all three of their league matches. Their 4–1 victory over AC Milan and impressive 4–2 away win against Juventus FC were particularly remarkable. Scoring ten goals in three matches also demonstrates just how productive and in-form they are.
And make no mistake, Como 1907 are not simply an ordinary newly promoted team enjoying a surprisingly good start. Important and experienced players such as Tessa Wullaert, Valentina Giacinti, Agnese Bonfantini, and Emilie Haavi have made significant contributions to this success. Therefore, it would be wrong to dismiss their current achievements as nothing more than a short-lived surprise.
Sassuolo, meanwhile, have made a terrible start to the season. They have lost all three of their league matches, conceding nine goals in the process, and have dropped to the bottom of the table. Scoring only twice shows that their problems are not limited to defense, as they are also struggling offensively.
Having found magnificent form by defeating some of the league’s biggest clubs, a confident and motivated Como 1907 side should also beat Sassuolo, who have made an extremely poor start to the season, and extend their winning streak.
Prediction
Home Win
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Match Analysis
Hoffenheim, who have one of the Bundesliga’s worst defensive records and a defense that can only be described as dreadful, have found themselves near the bottom of the table. However, they have shown signs of recovery by winning their last two matches. Their 3–0 victory over Olympique Lyon in the UEFA Europa League was particularly surprising.
Although Lyon rotated heavily and produced an awful performance, it would be wrong to underestimate Hoffenheim’s 3–0 victory. That result gave the squad a significant boost in morale and confidence. They will now look to use that confidence to cause problems for Leverkusen.
Despite opening the season with a shocking defeat against SV 07 Elversberg, Leverkusen have since established their style of play and won their last six competitive matches. They are in excellent form, with Patrik Schick’s goalscoring performances standing out in particular. They also look very likely to find the net once or more against a Hoffenheim side with defensive problems.
Encouraged by their last two victories, Hoffenheim will probably approach the Leverkusen match with plenty of courage. However, that could also allow Leverkusen’s attacking line to exploit the spaces left behind and repeatedly create clear goalscoring opportunities.
We expect a high-tempo, high-scoring encounter.
Prediction
Over 2.5 Goals
Club Brugge KV vs Sint-Truidense VV
Match Analysis
Club Brugge are in excellent form after winning their last six competitive matches. Their remarkable 4–3 away victory over Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League, followed by an emphatic 3–0 home win against RC Lens at Jan Breydelstadion, took the team’s momentum to an entirely different level. They will now look to continue their magnificent run by defeating Sint-Truidense.
Sint-Truidense’s defensive problems have reached alarming levels after losing their last three league matches while conceding eight goals. Interestingly, they recently surprised everyone by securing an unexpected away victory against FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Conference League. However, the Danish side completely controlled that match, and Sint-Truidense allowed numerous goalscoring opportunities. In other words, they were extremely fortunate against Midtjylland. Club Brugge, who have scored 18 goals in their last six matches, are not the kind of team likely to waste chances the way Midtjylland did.
Club Brugge have won every home league match this season while conceding just once, demonstrating how strong they are on their own ground. With KAA Gent facing RSC Anderlecht in this crucial round of fixtures, Club Brugge should avoid any mistakes and secure all three points.
Prediction
Home Win
Zenit St. Petersburg vs Dinamo Makhachkala
Match Analysis
Zenit have recovered from the points they dropped at the beginning of the season and firmly rejoined the title race. Their highly productive attacking approach has been particularly impressive. Zenit have won their last five competitive matches, and although they have experienced some defensive problems and conceded goals recently, their in-form attacking line has been able to compensate for those weaknesses with relative ease.
It is also worth remembering that CSKA Moscow will face Spartak Moscow this week. Therefore, three points could give Zenit a significant advantage in the battle at the top of the table. They will enter the match against Dinamo Makhachkala determined to win.
Dinamo Makhachkala continue to struggle, having conceded 11 goals and suffered three defeats in their last four league matches. As the team with the second-worst defensive record in the league, Dinamo Makhachkala look likely to have an extremely difficult time containing Zenit’s in-form attacking line.
Zenit have already defeated Dinamo Makhachkala twice in the Russian Cup this season. They should beat them once again and maintain their position in the title race.
Prediction
Home Win
FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid
Match Analysis
If El Clásico had taken place around 15 days ago, almost all of us, apart from the most die-hard Real Madrid supporters, would have agreed that Barcelona were going to secure a comfortable and convincing victory. However, recent developments have changed the situation somewhat.
We do not know how much Barcelona’s 4–2 away defeat to Paris Saint-Germain will affect the mentality of a Barça side that had been operating like a machine. We also saw that Hansi Flick’s defensive approach completely failed in its first elite-level Champions League test of the season. Although we do not expect Flick to make any major changes to his defensive philosophy, we still do not know exactly how he will respond to what happened.
At Real Madrid, meanwhile, Vinícius Júnior’s irresponsible red card and the lengthy suspension that followed have actually had a significantly positive impact on the club. Since then, they have become more productive offensively and started playing more like a team. A series of comfortable victories has also given them a considerable boost in morale and motivation.
Therefore, we can no longer consider Barça the clear favorites for the first El Clásico of the season. Recent developments have suddenly brought Real Madrid firmly back into contention. Arda Güler and Kylian Mbappé in particular have enormous potential to catch Barcelona’s defense off guard, especially now that serious questions have begun to emerge about that defensive structure following the defeat to PSG.
Considering all of these factors, along with the elite and highly effective attacking lines of both teams, backing at least three goals in the match seems much more logical than choosing a winner.
Prediction
Over 2.5 Goals