October 31, (THEWILL) – With the majority of the weekend’s English Premier League fixtures already concluded on Saturday that saw Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace upset the League champions at the Etihad and the Red Devils ease some pressure off Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer while Brighton and Hove Albion resiliently came back to draw with Liverpool, there are only two matches left for Sunday.
The struggling Norwich welcome Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds to their Carrow Road grounds hoping to ignite their season to life after a truly horrendous return to the top flight. However, Leeds are also struggling and there is all to play for. In the other tie, David Moyes’ sensational West Ham go to Villa Park seeking to continue in their strong vein of form to go level of points with City in third place.
In Italy, Inter Milan hosted Udinese in the early afternoon kickoff of all Sunday’s fixtures. Later in the evening, Victor Osimhen will seek to keep his scoring boots on fire and his side at the top of Serie A in Napoli’s trip to Simy Nwankwo’s Salernitana while Roma trade tackles with joint leaders AC Milan.
Over in Spain, Diego Simeone’s defending champions will try to catch up with the leading pack of clubs in La Liga when they take on Real Betis in the evening kickoff just as the fairy tale form of Real Sociedad can take them to the summit of the League with victory in the home game against Athletic Club in the late La Liga fixture of Sunday.
Here are THEWILL previews for Sunday’s schedule of matches across Europe that football fans can anticipate to satisfy their action-packed cravings.
Norwich Versus Leeds – 3 pm
Leeds have won only one of their nine games this season, and have only managed a point against Wolves last week thanks to a stoppage time penalty. They will have chances against a winless Norwich side that has only taken two points from 27 available and has conceded 23 goals, but they must take advantage of them.
In reality, Leeds have not fared much better this season. With only one win in nine league games, they are one place and three points above relegation. And if Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds side falters today, serious questions will be asked of him, even if they are without star man Patrick Bamford up top.
Aston Villa Versus West Ham – 5:30 pm
Despite their summer expenditure, Aston Villa have lost three games in a row as the late Summer departure of Jack Grealish begins to bite. It bodes well for West Ham, who have won three of their previous four league games and are very much in contention for a place in the top four.
Moyes has instilled in the Hammers the kind of stability and game-changing factors that characterised his best years in charge of Everton, and it is difficult to imagine them failing to take three points back home from Villa.
Inter Milan Versus Udinese – 12:30 pm
Some players are anticipated to be rested by Simone Inzaghi ahead of their Champions League match next week. After little playing time owing to recent injuries, Joaqun Correa is one of those who could start on Sunday instead. In their midweek tie, Inter handily defeated Empoli with ten men earning only their second clean sheet of the season.
For the visitors, after dominating vast portions of the game, Udinese were unlucky to only draw with Verona in midweek. Inzaghi, on the other hand, needs to regain Inter’s defensive prowess from last season if they are to defend their title. On Sunday, they should expect a difficult game.
Salernitana Versus Napoli – 6 pm
Napoli are undefeated in their last 19 Serie A matches with Nigeria’s Osimhen playing a major role in keeping his side joint top in Italy with his performance and goals, which he hopes to continue against the hosts who have another Nigerian Simy Nwankwo in their attack.
Salernitana took advantage of Ethan Ampadu’s red card to defeat Venezia and gain their second win of the season the last time out. In their own last fixture, Napoli rebounded from a goalless stalemate in Rome on Thursday night with a strong display against Bologna. But, on the strength and form of both teams, it is difficult to see Napoli losing this derby.
Roma Versus AC Milan – 8:45 pm
Jose Mourinho is expected to field an unchanged starting lineup against an AC Milan side that has scored at least two goals in 26 of their last 30 away matches. The manager will be encouraged by the fact that his Roma side has kept a clean sheet in five of their last seven home matches.
Roma earned three crucial and well-deserved points in Cagliari earlier this week thanks to a fantastic free-kick from Lorenzo Pellegrini. Meanwhile, AC Milan consolidated their joint league-leading position with a 1-0 victory over Torino.
From a tactical standpoint, this could be an intriguing match, especially for Roma, who have yet to win against other top-six opponents.
Atletico Madrid Versus Real Betis – 4:15 pm
Diego Simeone, Atletico Madrid’s manager, is suspended after being sent off against Levante, and the team is anxious to win after going three games without a win in all competitions.
They are presently five points behind the leaders, albeit they still have a game in hand. Los Rojiblancos are likewise worried after conceding seven goals in their last three games. Betis, on the other hand, are soaring and are two points ahead of Atleti on the table heading into the match.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side will fancy their chances of a win and with Atletico struggling to preserve a clean sheet, a point might be on the cards.
Real Sociedad Versus Athletic Club – 9 pm
So far, Real Sociedad’s 2021/2022 form has left them in cloud nine, going 13 games unbeaten in all competitions. Imanol Alguacil’s team is tied for first place with Sevilla and Real Madrid, and though they will have played a game more than the other two on Sunday, they can take the lead with a victory.
Athletic Club, on the other hand, settled for a point against Espanyol last time out after Inaki Williams’ equaliser. Marcelino Garcia’s team has only lost once this season, and they will have to be at their best to avoid defeat here, though they are more than capable of a point at home.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
