Editors' Picks: Title favourites clash in Spain and Germany as MLB regular season ends
Check out the sporting events our editors will be watching this weekend:
Friday, September 27th
MLB playoff chase - All weekend
It’s the end of September, which if you are a baseball fan, means it’s the climax of the regular season. With a handful of games in the 162-game season left to go, it always feels miraculous, given the amount of competition we have in a year, that there are still spots for the play-offs up for grabs.
In the 15-team American League, there are four teams vying for two spots, whilst over in the National League it’s a two-horse race between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Atlanta Braves with the New York Mets looking over their shoulder.
With the Braves and the Mets set for an incredible Monday double-header after Hurricane Helene postponed two games earlier this week, it’s all set for last season’s World Series runners-up Arizona to put the pressure on.
They face fellow NL West side, the San Diego Padres, in their final three games of the season, knowing they need at least two wins to secure their spot in the post-season. Meanwhile, at the time of writing, the Padres are still - just about - in touch for the NL West title alongside the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the pair playing early on Friday morning (CET).
The D’Backs and the Padres have a head-to-head record of five wins apiece this season, meaning this series will have a play-off feel a few days before it all begins on Tuesday.
The final weekend of the MLB season always has chaos running through its veins, make sure to catch what you can.
Josh Donaldson
Saturday, September 28th
Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen - 18:30 CET
The Bundesliga season might only be four games in, but Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen have already established themselves in the top two positions ahead of a blockbuster head-to-head clash on Saturday evening.
The Bavarians have made a brilliant start to life under new manager Vincent Kompany, winning all six of their matches across all competitions while scoring a mammoth 29 goals in the process.
That blistering early-season form has propelled them to the Bundesliga summit, three points ahead of defending champions Leverkusen, whose only slip-up so far has been a home defeat to RB Leipzig.
Xabi Alonso’s men needed a stoppage-time winner from Victor Boniface to beat Wolfsburg last weekend, so they’ll be keen to raise their game once again to stem Bayern’s growing momentum.
Can Die Werkself channel last season’s form to draw level on points or will Bayern lay down an early marker as they fight to regain the Bundesliga crown? Be sure to tune in!
Danny Clark
Sunday, September 29th
Manchester United vs Tottenham - 17:30 CET
Manchester United and Tottenham are two clubs in similar positions. They both have made slow starts to the Premier League season with two wins, one draw and two losses from their opening five games.
And despite being early on in the campaign, Erik ten Hag and Ange Postecoglou are already under pressure to produce results after both sides missed out on Champions League football last campaign.
When you look past the surface though, you’ll notice that Tottenham have been dropping points in matches they have been dominating both in terms of possession and chances created. They were unlucky to come away with nothing from tough matches against Newcastle United and North London rivals Arsenal.
Manchester United, on the other hand, still seem to be a team struggling to find consistency in full 90-minute performances. They have often dominated and failed to take first-half chances and then look disjointed in the second period.
After much talk in the media from Postecoglou and ten Hag, the pressure is on to start producing positive results - another defeat on Sunday for either manager and criticism will be rife.
Harry Dunnett
Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid - 21:00 CET
Madrid rivals Atletico and Real face off this weekend in Spain, as the the pair look to keep pace with a flawless Barcelona side at the top of LaLiga.
Real sit four points adrift of Hansi Flick’s men, despite winning five games and drawing two. It has been a bright start for Los Blancos, but they will want to avoid any dropped points on Sunday with the possibility of Barcelona going seven points clear already at this stage of the season.
They will be without a certain Kylian Mbappe though, who is sidelined for a few weeks with a thigh problem. Carlo Ancelotti will still be confident that his side have more than enough attacking quality to win the game.
It hasn’t been as straightforward for Atletico, however. Los Rojiblancos are also unbeaten, but have drawn three out of their seven games. New signing Conor Gallagher has settled into life superbly in Madrid, scoring two goals in his last three games.
But big-money acquisition Julian Alvarez also finally found his goalscoring touch, bagging a crucial late winner against Celta Vigo on Thursday night.
Diego Simeone can also take some confidence in the fact that they were unbeaten against their rivals in the league last season, picking up four points. They also beat them 4-2 in the Copa del Rey.
A game where both teams will be desperate to claim three points, as a draw may not be good enough for either side.
Tolga Akdeniz
