England: Chelsea - Arsenal (Sunday, 14:00)
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Just over two years ago, when Arsenal played against Chelsea, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the story.
It happened in the FA Cup final at Wembley, the Gunners' striker scored twice, and Arsenal lifted the trophy at the expense of the city rival.
Those were the days when Aubameyang was Mikel Arteta's most valuable asset at Arsenal, but those days are over.
The property's value waned in the absence of goals, the relationship between the two fell apart and at one point Arteta stripped Aubameyang of the captain's armband and dropped him from the squad.
Parting was inevitable, and the Gabonese striker left in January for Barcelona leaving behind a video in which he says: "Arteta is not able to deal with great players with great character."
And here in the first, the two will meet again.
Aubameyang in a Chelsea uniform, and Arteta at the top of the table with a young and fresh team that plays spectacular football.
For the Spanish coach, there is no better proof than this that the decision to release Aubameyang was correct.
It's hard to imagine the 33-year-old striker fitting into Arsenal's frenetic, team-based football, but one can imagine him trying and succeeding in halting his former club's momentum.
After all, he has already scored twice this season against Milan, the team where he started his career as a player.
Arteta and Aubameyang.
it ends badly,
Italy: Rome - Lazio (Sunday, 19:00)
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Even though this cycle includes the derby d'Italia between Juventus and Inter, Roma's must come before it.
It's like that in the table when Roma vs. Lazio is 4 vs. 5 and Juve vs. Inter is 6 vs. 8, and that's how it is at the level of interest.
We received the introduction, not to mention the sting, already on Thursday.
After Lazio dropped into the Conference League playoffs and Roma went on to the Europa League playoffs, Jose Mourinho said: "I think Lazio is one of the candidates to win this title, and I say that honestly. They have the players and the coach to do it. Maybe their only problem is the professional manager Igli Tara who doesn't really like this factory."
In his own way, the Portuguese mentioned that Tara called the Conference League: "the factory of losers", after Roma won it last year.
This little beef spices up one of the biggest rivalries in Italy that the season could also be very significant when it comes to the teams position in the table and the European factory where they can play next season.
As it seems, Roma and Lazio will fight each other for a place in the top four, and the derby will provide the winner with, as always, city honor and this time maybe also a continental future.
Sarri and Mourinho.
An intriguing battle at the top of the Italian league, photo: Getty Images
Spain: Betis - Sevilla (Sunday, 22:00)
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Transformation is a process that takes time and requires a lot of work, but the moment that makes all the hard work worthwhile is when the transformation is complete.
For example, this goal that makes the 2:3 or 3:4, one second that closes the circle.
And in the city of Seville, the transformation in question is stretched over more than one game.
For years, Sevilla has been the most successful team in the city, the one that fights at the top and fights for titles, while Betis is unable to maintain stability, jumping between leagues and dreaming of the moment when it will regain the city's hegemony.
Since 2018, it has not defeated the city rival in the league, but last year's victory in the round of 16 of the Spanish Cup started the comeback of the green-whites.
Since then, and especially at the start of the current season, Betis are on the rise and Sevilla are in retreat.
Manuel Pellegrini's team skipped to the next stage of the Europa League, they are in fourth place in the league, they look great.
Sevilla, on the other hand, already fired coach Julen Lopetegui and brought back Jorge Sampaoli, they dropped from the Champions League to the Europa League and in the league they are in 18th place and below the red line.
Since 1998, the teams have not reached the derby when the gap between them is so great and for Betis this is exactly the opportunity to complete the transformation.
"We must win this derby," said Betis defender Alges Moreno, "this is our moment to turn the picture around."
Joaquin celebrates against the city rival.
Will Betis change the image in Seville?, Photo: IPA
Germany: Bayer Leverkusen - Union Berlin (Sunday, 16:30)
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Xavi Alonso discovered firsthand that the new coach effect is not an urban legend.
He can work on Bnei Lam, Barak Itzhaki and Sharon Mimer, and also on the one who was one of the best midfielders in the world.
In his first game as coach of Bayer Leverkusen, the Spaniard's team impressed with 0:4 against Schalke, but that was a long time ago, and against Schalke.
Since then, six games have passed, in the league and in the Champions League, and Alonso's record stands at three losses and three draws, 14 concedings and only five conquests.
Leverkusen is in 16th place in the Bundesliga, and in the first place is against the leader Union Berlin.
It could be that Alonso really is the next big thing in the coaching sector as many claim, it is very early to judge, but sometimes the problem of a team is not its coach but its team.
And Berkusen, despite the Spanish tie, is suffering from a lot of problems this season: leading players in bad form, injuries to key players Florian Wirtz and Charles Arangis, a bad purchase made before Alonso arrived and a certain indifference that characterizes this club that is not in a hurry to panic.
Leverkusen believe that this is an early stage of the season and I'm glad Spanish football will find a way to fix the team, but history proves that the first thing a coach needs to get a team back on track - long before spectacular football, double passes and passing attacks - is three points, and as soon as possible.
And better in front of the leader.
Alonso with chic.
The Spanish coach owes points,
France: Marseille - Lyon (Sunday, 21:45)
- Shortly after admitting that PSG was no longer a realistic opponent for them, and as evidenced by only one victory against the team from the capital city in the last decade, Marseille discovered that Lyon also began to be a little Big on her.
For reference, in the last 15 games between the teams in the league, Marseille won once.
And here in the first Marseille again meets Lyon, the big rival that should be in its size.
Igor Tudor's team is indeed ranked above Laurent Blanc's and may see itself as a favorite, but not only history proves that this is inaccurate - the present also.
Marseille's good start to the season came to a halt, and in the last four games in the league they collected only one point.
The crowd had their say, in the Champions League she had to play without the Ultras' stands, and against Tottenham she let a 0:1 lead slip away from her hands and with a 2:1 loss ended her journey in Europe.
Marseille will arrive at the hot meeting at the Stade Velodrome when they must make a stop and stop the decline.
"There is no Champions League, no European League, we only have a league," Chancellor Ambamba clarified, "we need to concentrate on this and get back to ourselves."
If so, Marseille can kill two birds in one game: both to finally beat Lyon, and also to return to the winning track.
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