Tips for Around Europe This Weekend - 28/08/21

Marco Rose’s Borussia Dortmund will want to bounce back quickly after their 2-1 loss against SC Freiburg last Saturday. The hosts took the lead through a Vincenzo Grifo free kick in the sixth minute before doubling their lead in the 53rd minute thanks to a Roland Sallai volley from a counterattack, while Dortmund were able to grab a goal back six minutes later through a Yannik Keitel own goal.

Hoffenheim, on the other hand, finished the weekend with a point, after initially going a goal down against Union Berlin, they were able to take the lead through Kevin Akpoguma and Jacob Bruun Larsen in the first half. A Taiwo Awoniyi goal just after half time saw the teams share the points.

The previous games between these teams last season saw Dortmund prevail in their first meeting thanks to a Marco Reus goal at the Rhein Neckar Arena, before the points were shared at the Signal Iduna Park in a 2-2 draw which saw Dortmund take the lead through Jadon Sancho before Munas Dabbur and Ihlas Bebou goals took the lead for Hoffenheim. Then late on in the 81st minute Erling Haland scored to rescue a point for Dortmund.

PSG are coming off a 4-2 win against Brest last Friday night, where they were 2-0 up within 36 minutes thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappe and Ander Herrera before Brest grabbed a goal back. However, PSG were able to extend their lead back to two goals thanks to a great strike by Idrissa Gana Gueye.

Reims are coming off a 1-1 draw with Metz where they opened the scoring in the seventh minute through Marshall Munetsi, but Metz were able to immediately grab a goal back in the 14th minute as Habib Maiga scored.

PSG won both games last season. The first was a 2-0 win away from home thanks to a brace from Mauro Icardi before the return at the Parc des Princes. The return game saw PSG win 4-0.

PSG are the obvious tip to win the game as the likelihood of Messi making his debut

Bayern Munich are coming off their first win of the season as last Sunday they beat FC Koln 3-2 at the Allianz Arena. After a quiet first half, Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring in the 50th minute before Serge Gnabry doubled Bayern’s lead nine minutes later. However, immediately Anthony Modeste and Mark Uth would score for Koln for them to level the game. Then in the 71st minute, Gnabry would score again to win the game for Bayern.

Hertha, on the other hand, were on course to win their game against Wolfsburg thanks to a Dodi Lukebakio penalty. However, in the 73rd minute, Ridle Baku would equalise before in the 88th minute Lukas Nmecha would score his first goal for Wolfsburg to win them the game and send them top of the Bundesliga.

Both games last season saw Bayern prevail. The first game was a goal fest as Bayern won 4-3 thanks to a 93rd minute Robert Lewandowski penalty, but in the return game, the Polish striker would miss a penalty as Bayern won 1-0 thanks to a Kingsley Coman goal.

The player to look out for will be Thomas Muller, the German international has not shown any signs of decline in recent years, and as he is yet to get off the mark this season, so he will want to open his account this weekend.

Real Madrid will be wanting to bounce back after their disappointing 3-3 draw with Levante last weekend.

Los Blancos opened the scoring through Gareth Bale in the fifth minute and would hold on until half time. Just after the break, however, Levante would score two quick goals to through Roger Marti and Jose Campana to take the lead. Vinicius Junior would equalise in the 73rd minute before Rober would give Levante the lead again in the 79th minute. Finally, an 85th-minute goal by Vinicius would complete his double and rescue a point for Real.

Betis are also coming off a draw as they shared the points with Cadiz in a 1-1 draw. Cadiz would take the lead in the 11th minute through an Alvaro Negredo penalty, but 11 minutes later, Juanmi would equalise.

The previous games between the two sides have been close affairs. In the first game last season, Real won 3-2 thanks to a late Sergio Ramos penalty to secure the three points, while the return in Madrid finished 0-0.

In each of their opening two games both teams have struggled to have a tight defence, the loss of Ramos and Raphael Varane are obvious in the Madrid defence, while Betis have had a leaky defence for a while.

Therefore, it is likely to end with both teams scoring, but Real should win.

Inter Milan will be coming off their first win under Simeone Inzaghi as they swept aside Genoa 4-0 in the perfect start to their title defence. Milan Skriniar would open the scoring with a header within six minutes before Hakan Calhanoglu would double the lead within 14 minutes. In the 74th minute, Arturo Vidal would add the third before Edin Dzeko would score his first goal for Inter in the 87th minute.

Hellas Verona are coming off a close 3-2 loss to Sassuolo. Verona would go two goals down as Giacomo Raspadori and Filip Djuricic scored in the 32nd and 51st minutes. A Mattia Zaccagni penalty would cut the deficit in the 71st minute, however, Hamed Traore would score in the 77th minute to secure the win for Sassuolo. Mattia Zaccagni would score in the 90th minute but that proved to be a consolation.

The previous games between these two teams have been close ties. Both games last season ended closely, with Inter winning both. They would win the first game in Verona 2-1 thanks to a Skriniar goal in the 69th minute, hile the return in Milan saw Inter win 1-0 through Matteo Darmian’s goal.

By Jack Meenan