Whilst there might be no Champions League or Europa League action this week that does not take away from the fact that it’s another very busy schedule ahead of us over the next few days across Europe.

Many of the top nations are using this break from European competition to squeeze in a round of domestic cup matches before another full round of league fixtures at the weekend. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are largely dominated by fixtures from the EFL Cup in England, the DFB Pokal in Germany and the Copa del Rey in Spain.

There is also early cup action from Turkey, with qualification matches taking place for the Turkish Cup. The only exception across Europe’s top divisions is the Serie A in Italy, which sees a full schedule of ten matches taking place from Tuesday to Thursday. 

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English Football Highlights

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Starting off with the EFL Cup, there are a number of top matches for fans of English football to follow in the ⅛ final stage. The highlight is Wednesday evening’s clash between Tottenham and Manchester City. Whilst the final league position is of paramount importance, a club like Tottenham should surely prioritise winning some silverware after such a long time without lifting any trophy.

Manchester City might decide to make some changes as this will be low down on their list of priorities so surely fans of the North London team will be hoping that they put out a strong team and make a real effort at getting through to the next round.

Liverpool face a tricky away tie at Brighton, although they have made easy work of most opponents so far this season and manager Arne Slot will look at this competition as the ideal way to get his hands on his first trophy as Liverpool manager.

Another interesting clash is Chelsea’s trip up to Newcastle, especially as these two only played each other at the weekend, with Chelsea winning 2-1, so this is an ideal opportunity for revenge for Newcastle. Manchester United are down in 14th position in the league and lost again at the weekend, they face Leicester at home and will surely have to get back to winning in what will be Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s first match in charge following the dismissal of Erik Ten Hag. 

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Italian Football

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Over in Italy, there is a full schedule of Serie A matches to be played throughout the week with games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The exciting draw between Inter and Juventus on Sunday means that Napoli opened up a four point lead at the top of the table and they will be hoping to maintain that, although they face a tricky trip to AC Milan on Tuesday evening.

Defending champions Inter are also away from home, travelling to mid table Empoli whereas third placed Juventus play at home to Parma on Wednesday looking to build on the point they gained against Inter on Sunday.

Struggling Genoa will be hoping to pick up what is only their second win of the season at home to Fiorentina but they are the worst form team of the league, along with bottom side Lecce, who face Verona. 

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German Football

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There are sixteen matches scheduled in the DFB Pokal Cup with a number of standout clashes to look forward to for fans of German Football. Dortmund travel to Wolfsburg on Tuesday evening and RB Leipzig welcome St Pauli in one of the earlier kick offs. On Wednesday Bayern Munich are on their travels as they head to Mainz whilst there is another interesting clash between Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Monchengladbach as teams look to make it through to the ⅛ finals which will take place on the 3rd of December. 

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This Week’s Match Previews

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Elsewhere there are lots of games from the early rounds of the Copa del Rey and Turkish Cup as well as a round of fixtures from the Scottish Premiership.

Fixtures at the weekend aren’t as eye catching as they were last week but there are still some excellent match ups to watch. The Premier League starts with Newcastle against Arsenal in the early kick off on Saturday and arguably the clash of the weekend is Sunday’s match between Manchester United and Chelsea, with the home side desperate to start making their way up the table and hoping for a new manager boost under their former striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy. 

League leaders in France, PSG welcome Lens to Paris in one of three matches on Saturday and second placed Monaco will have hoped to be equal on points with them by winning their Friday night match against lowly Angers. Lille and Lyon is another interesting clash on Friday evening and Marseille travel to midtable Nantes on Sunday evening.

The Bundesliga starts on Friday with a clash between third placed Leverkusen and eight placed Stuttgart with the home team needing three points to keep up with the top two, Bayern and RB Leipzig, who are both five points ahead of last year’s champions.

The Bavarian league leaders face a tricky match against Union Berlin, who are currently fourth and having another good season so far. The clash of the weekend is likely to be Dortmund’s tie against RB Leipzig, with the home team struggling down in seventh spot with only thirteen points from eight games played.

There is no respite in Italy for Serie A teams as they are in action again after their midweek round of fixtures. The toughest looking match looks to be league leaders Napoli against Atalanta, who are currently just outside the top four. Inter are home to struggling Venezia whereas AC Milan travel to Monza and Juventus play away at Udinese.

Barcelona have a six point lead at the top of the table following their win over Real at the weekend and they will be optimistic about gaining another three points against local rivals Espanyol, who are down in seventeenth spot.

Real will look to get back to winning ways when they take on Valencia, who are currently bottom of the table with only one win and seven points to their name after eleven matches. Atletico Madrid take on Las Palmas and Villareal are at home to Rayo Vallecano.

There is a big midweek clash in Turkey between Galatasaray and Besiktas with the home team already holding a five point lead over their rivals. Samsunspor are currently second and they will take on Antalyaspor on Monday as they look to keep up the pace with the big three at the top of the table. 

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