Editors' Picks: Copa Libertadores, Der Klassiker and WTA Finals head the weekend's action
Here's what we're watching this weekend.
Saturday, November 4th
Der Klassiker (18:30 CET)
Arguably the biggest fixture in the Bundesliga's calendar is the meeting between heavyweights Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. This derby is known as ‘Der Klassiker’ - ‘the classic.’ And that is exactly what the encounter between these two could be this Saturday.
Last season, Dortmund came within a whisker of winning the title only to slip up on the final day and open the way for Bayern to clinch another title - their 11th in a row. It was a crushing blow for Dortmund, who were the last team to win the title before Bayern back in 2011/12.
This year they will want revenge and to claim the title again, finally. After nine rounds of the league, however, Bayer Leverkusen have emerged as the early pacesetters with Bayern, Stuttgart, Dortmund and Leipzig following closely. It’s shaping up to be a tense title race in Germany and Saturday’s meeting could be telling for the fortunes of both clubs involved.
Bayern bashed Darmstadt 8-0 last weekend in the league but then suffered a shock loss in the cup to third-tier Saarbrucken on Wednesday. It’s never a good time to face them but they are under pressure to perform in Der Klassiker, that's for sure. This one could be a belter.
If you want to learn more about this weekend’s derbies around the world, read our weekly feature Derby Week.
Copa Libertadores Final (21:00 CET)
CONMEBOL’s Copa Libertadores is the highest level of competition in South American club football and this Saturday sees the final taking place in Rio De Janeiro’s iconic Maracana stadium. It will be contested between Argentine club Boca Juniors of Buenos Aires and Brazil's Fluminense of Rio. The road to the final was long and winding. After six group-stage games, each side had to pass through three rounds of double-legged knock-out fixtures to reach the decider.
Fluminense are looking to win their first-ever title, having only ever appeared in the final once before (in 2008). They’ve got a little edge with the match being held not just in their city but their stadium! On the other side, Boca are looking to lift this trophy for the seventh time. Should they win, they will equal Argentine club Independiente’s record for Libertadores titles. They certainly have history on their side and they also have a reported 100,000 fans behind them in the Brazilian city.
Fluminense will be going into the match as the slight favourites, however. Not just because of the home-ground advantage but on form, too. Boca needed penalties to squeeze through each of the three knock-out stages and are struggling domestically while the Brazilians have been a bit more free-flowing in the competition but are also not in the best form domestically.
There will be some familiar faces on show for the European football fans out there with Real Madrid legend Marcelo experiencing an Indian summer at Fluminense and Boca Juniors relying on Edinson Cavani for goals.
In South America, this game is simply enormous and the one to watch if you want to absorb some football from outside of Europe this weekend.
Sunday, November 5th
India vs South Africa (09:30 CET)
The Cricket World Cup group stage is nearing its conclusion which means the battle for the top four spots is heating up. India have already secured progression while second-place South Africa have all but done so as well, which means two of New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan and Afghanistan will need to squeeze into the next two semi-final berths.
There are actually three good games to look forward to this weekend with New Zealand facing Pakistan on Saturday in what could be quite an intereting clash. The Kiwis are coming off a loss and Pakistan have everything to play for. Later, England take on their old enemy Australia. Any other time, this match would be the one to look out for but with England essentially out of the running already, it has lost a little bit of sparkle.
If you’re going to watch just one cricket match this weekend, wait for Sunday when the two best sides in the competition go head-to-head in Kolkata.
India have won seven from as many and South Africa, six from seven. The hosts have been in incredible form and the Proteas, with arguably the most explosive batting lineup in the world, seem to be the only side capable of derailing them. Quinton de Kock can’t stop scoring but he hasn’t come up against Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami yet. This should be the game of the tournament so far and could well be a dress rehearsal for the final.
The conclusion of the WTA Finals (late)
After countless tournaments in a season that does not stop, the world rankings do not lie. The cream does rise to the top and the WTA Finals in Cancun are currently showcasing the best ladies on the circuit, except for Karolina Muchova of course, who had to pull out pre-tournament.
The group stage is already underway and set to finish on Friday with the semi-finals scheduled for Saturday and the deciders on Sunday. The doubles final will start at about 22:30 CET on Sunday night with the singles a couple hours later at around 1 a.m. in the morning. If you’re game for staying up or just love top-class tennis, this will be worth it.
Aryna Sabalenka is the world number one but she lost one of her group matches to fifth seed Jessica Pegula. In the other group, co-favourite Iga Swiatek is looking menacing, having downed US Open champion Coco Gauff with relative ease on Wednesday.
Who’s going to stamp their authority on the tournament and say: ‘This is my season!’? It’s been close all year between the top women in tennis and it will be no different as the event in Cancun comes to a conclusion on Sunday.
Monday, November 6th
Tottenham vs Chelsea (21:00)
Perhaps the standout Premier League fixture this round is the very last one as current table-toppers Tottenham host cross-London rivals Chelsea on Monday evening. There are many reasons this one sticks out and it’s not just because Spurs are one of Europe’s form teams with an unbeaten league record after 10 rounds. There is added spice to this fixture, as Chelsea, suffering from a stuttering start to the campaign, are now under the management of former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.
Pochettino was a much-loved figure in North London, having taken Spurs to the Champions League final in 2019 with a high-energy brand of football. But while his tenure cast a long shadow across the sparkling new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for some time after his departure, it is now being eclipsed, and quickly, by the football Spurs are playing under new boss Ange Postecoglou.
Postecoglou has been nothing short of a revelation at Spurs and has turned the loss of long-term talisman Harry Kane in the last transfer window into a distant memory. With some canny additions and a dynamic brand of attacking play, Spurs have surged to the top of the standings. Chelsea, on the other hand, have struggled to gel (once again) after spending eye-watering sums (once again) on a squad packed full of talent. Can Pochettino spoil Big Ange’s revolution? It’s going to be interesting!
We named Postecoglou as our Data-driven Manager of the Month for October. Find out why here.
