Editors' picks: Milan clash with Roma, India meet Pakistan

It’s shaping up to be a delightful weekend in terms of sports action so sit back and check out the four matches and events we are advising you to follow closely.

Friday, September 1st 

Roma - Milan (20:45 CET)

Roma have recently been in the headlines for the purchase of Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku. Much speculation has surrounded the Belgian for quite some time now, and Jose Mourinho’s men will be hoping to see the forward make an instant impact as they are still looking for their first victory of the season. A loss to Verona last week, preceded by a draw at home to Salernitana, has left the Giallorossi supporters disappointed to say the least.

Meanwhile, Milan are already benefiting from their own Chelsea signing Christian Pulisic. The American has helped them to two comfortable victories so far and has scored a goal in each encounter. Olivier Giroud is a man in form as well and will be bringing his momentum to the Olimpico on Friday after finding the net three times already.

Saturday, September 2nd

Pakistan - India (11:30 CET)

Pakistan and India are two of the most passionate cricketing nations in the world, so when they go head-to-head, you are guaranteed an atmosphere simply like no other. In addition to the fierce rivalry between the countries, and the fact that they play each other so rarely due to political tensions, this weekend's clash promises to be scintillating.

The two teams were drawn in the same group for the Asia Cup - a tournament which pits the best Asian teams against each other to see who comes out victorious. India are the reigning champions in the ODI format of this competition, so Pakistan will be looking to deal them an early blow.

In all likelihood, both India and Pakistan will make it out of the group. So the next question is: Will we see these two meet in a potential blockbuster final?

Sunday, September 3rd

Arsenal - Manchester United (17:30 CET)

Arsenal’s transfer window had gotten their faithful excited about this season, especially after getting so close to the Premier League title last year. That said, their opening few matches were far from impressive: two one-goal margin victories and a 2-2 draw at the Emirates to Fulham. A win against rivals Manchester United would alleviate some of the slowly increasing pressure on Mikel Arteta.

On the other end, the grass isn’t much greener. United have been struggling to dominate since the beginning of the season despite being expected to do so with a fairly positive window as well. They have started the campaign with a hard-fought victory against Wolves and a dramatic win against Nottingham Forest last weekend- one that shouldn’t have been that dramatic. And of course, an embarrassing loss to Spurs.

Both sides have something to prove and this fixture will be the perfect opportunity to get much-needed momentum for a long and hard season ahead. 

Lyon - PSG (20:45 CET)

Once again, an instance of both teams really needing a win, perhaps one more than the other. With an international break looming, every manager will be hoping to leave things on a positive note for the short stoppage.

Lyon have lost many of their important players; the likes of Moussa Dembele, Toko Ekambi, Thiago Mendes, Malo Gusto, and Houssem Aouar, all names who would’ve made a difference this season. A humiliating 10-men, 4-1 loss to Montpellier at home and another at Strasbourg to begin the campaign gave Lyon one of their worst Ligue 1 starts in recent years. A match against PSG is likely to be a problem that they do not want to be dealing with right now.

The Parisians could be doing better themselves. An exodus of stars raised a lot of questions around the club and with the recurring Kylian Mbappe drama, everything seemed unstable with new manager Luis Enrique has been settling in. Nevertheless, the arrival of Marco Asensio, Lucas Hernandez, Ousmane Dembele and some other new names seem to have shaken things up and with Mbappe now staying, the team seems more focussed.

The 3-1 victory against Lens at home gave an impression that they were starting to find their feet. An away triumph against their rivals next would be perfect ahead of the international break.