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Arsenal vs. Spurs, Milan Derby, and Hulk up for the Cup
The Assist is back as club football returns to action following the international break
After an international window that saw some epic matches, and historic World Cup final places secured, it’s back to the day-to-day drama of league football this weekend, with big derbies in the Premier League and Serie A, plus playoffs in MLS, and silverware on offer in South America. Let FotMob guide you through it all here.
North London Derby
If there was one manager who would have been willing the international break to end, it would be Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta. With the Gunners top of the Premier League, unbeaten in Europe, and boasting a defence that has conceded just five goals in 15 competitive games, he’s got plenty to be excited about.
And the next week could be pivotal for his side. First up, it’s Sunday’s much anticipated North London Derby against Tottenham Hotspur. Then, on Wednesday, Arsenal host Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich, the only other side with a 100% record in the Champions League, before going on to face London rivals Chelsea next weekend.
But back to this Sunday. Arsenal haven’t lost a derby game for the last three seasons, and won both meetings in 2024/25, coming from behind at the Emirates in January, having won 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September 2024.
Spurs are unbeaten away from home in the league, and did beat the Gunners in preseason, with Pape Matar Sarr scoring the only goal of a game played in Hong Kong. But we’re not sure what impact, if any, that result will have on this weekend.
More likely, though, is the chance of seeing a goal scored from a set piece. Both Arsenal and Spurs are at the centre of a trend that is currently de rigueur, with Arsenal leading the league with 10 goals scored from set pieces, and Spurs third for that metric having scored six.
What Thomas Frank and Spurs fans would hate most, though, would be for Eberechi Eze to be on the end of one of those set piece goals. The now-Arsenal player snubbed a transfer to Spurs over the summer, apparently engineering a late alternative bid from the Gunners in the process.
Liverpool vs. Nottingham Forest
Continuing the theme of pivotal match ups, this one — between perhaps two of the Premier League’s most underachieving sides this season — seems like a big one.
Liverpool famously started out with five straight wins before going on to lose five of their next six, and go in to the weekend eighth in the table and eight points off leaders Arsenal. The aim for them now is to get their season back on track, and for Arne Slot to find a way to get his big summer signings gelling with those players who helped him lift the title last season.
Nottingham Forest, who were the only side to win at Anfield in the league as Liverpool marched to that title triumph, now find themselves in the relegation zone, and already on their third manager of the season. Since his appointment in October, current incumbent of the City Ground hot seat Sean Dyche has taken charge of five games and only lost once. In that run, Forest have picked up an impressive win over Porto in the Europa League, drawn 2-2 with Manchester United, and last time out, beat Leeds United in the league.
A result for either side on Saturday feels like it might be a statement.
Milan Derby
The first Derby della Madonnina of the campaign is being talked up as a good indicator as to which Milan club can go on and sustain a title challenge this season.
Inter, with Cristian Chivu maintaining the same formation and largely the same squad that he inherited from former manager Simone Inzaghi, has led them to the top of the table after something of a dodgy start. In fact, Inter have won seven of their last eight in the league.
The one major addition is Chivu pairing established Serie A-pedigree striker, Lautaro Martínez with new signing Ange-Yoan Bonny, who was picked up from Chivu’s former club Parma over the summer. Bonny has four league goals and three assists already, despite only starting five games.
On the other side of the corridors at San Siro, Milan have already shown great improvements on last season, with Maxi Allegri now back at the helm, and bringing with him the type of defensive resolve that both won games and infuriated fans during his time at Juventus! Milan are currently unbeaten in 10 games — since an opening weekend defeat to Cremonese — but draws have cost them, leaving them two points off their rivals.
For more on the this possibly season-defining game, hit the link below.
Barcelona vs. Athletic Club
This is one of the most played fixtures in Spanish football, with Athletic Club and hosts Barcelona two of the three clubs to have contested every season of LaLiga (the other being Real Madrid). They’ve also met in nine finals of the Copa Del Rey!
Despite that, relations between the two remain fairly cordial, with both clubs representing autonomous regions of the country that historically have always looked to foster aspirations of independence — Catalonia and the Basque Country.
This game, however, will stand out in the long history of this fixture, it being the first home game held at the refurbished Camp Nou. The much-delayed redevelopment is not fully completed yet, with this game seeing a reduced attendance of 45,401, while capacity will eventually rise to 105,000.
On the pitch, Hansi Flick’s champions start the weekend three points behind Madrid despite scoring 32 goals in their 12 matches. Athletic have been rather more frugal, as is common under the tutelage of Ernesto Valverde, and sit seventh, with their form rather more patchy now they are juggling domestic action with a first Champions League campaign since 2015.
England’s Steel City Derby, the meeting between Sheffield clubs Wednesday and United comes at a difficult time, with both currently in the relegation zone of the EFL Championship.
In fact, there hasn’t been a Derby where the two have started so low in the English pyramid since the 2011/12 season, when both found themselves in League 1. Wednesday finished second and got themselves out of the third tier that year, but United, who came third, went on to miss out on promotion, losing a Wembley playoff final on penalties.
This season, Wednesday are rooted to the bottom of the table, placed in administration and deducted 12 points, following the much-longed for departure of nightmare owner Dejphon Chansiri. While their form may not have improved since the end of that particular era, with the squad now heavily depleted, the fanbase can at least now rally around whatever comes next. They’ll be hoping a victory over their hated city rivals can be a starting point.
The Blades are also struggling on the pitch. Chris Wilder, who oversaw the games in which United did the double over Wednesday last season, was dismissed at the end of the campaign. After a terrible start under Rubén Sellés, the club admitted they got that decision horribly wrong, reappointing Wilder in September. In his 10 games, however, Wilder has overseen just three victories to date. He’d love another one here.
After a somewhat nomadic career that took in clubs in Russia, China, Japan, and Portugal, former Brazilian international Hulk is now in his fifth year back home with Atlético Mineiro.
And although he has reached the grand old age of 39, Hulk remains a much-valued asset for the Belo Horizonte-based club. In four of those five years, including this one, Hulk has made more that 50 appearances across all competitions, and has only failed to reach 20 goals on one occasion. In 2021, his first year, he hit 39 goals as he led them to a famous league and cup double - their first national league title for 50 years.
Since then, despite his consistency, there have been disappointments. Galo finished last season by losing in the final of both the Copa do Brasil and the Copa Libertadores, South America’s Champions League.
This Saturday’s final of the Copa Sudameiricana, the continent’s Europa League equivalent, is therefore a shot at redemption. Galo won’t have it easy, with Argentine side Lanús boasting a good record in the competition (winning in 2013, runners-up in 2020), but what a chance for Hulk and co. to make amends for last year’s double heartache.
With a home AFCON on the horizon, a run of positive tournament performances at various age groups both in men’s and women’s football, Morocco are working hard to be the strongest footballing nation on the African continent.
After more than doubling his career tally of international goals in the November window, scoring both goals in the win over Portugal, and the hattrick in Hungary that took Ireland through to the World Cup qualifying playoffs, Troy Parrott is having a moment. But it’s one that has been deserved for a striker honing his trade on an unbeaten path.
Two of MLS’s biggest ever international imports clash in the Western Conference playoff semifinals as Son’s LAFC travel to Müller’s Vancouver Whitecaps this weekend. While both have had a huge impact on their sides since joining mid-season, this article highlights exactly what Son Heung-min in particular has brought to to the Hollywood Club.
Big Jacket season is coming! And with it, we have the release of a new weather feature in your favourite football app. That’s right, on every upcoming match, you should be able to check for rain before you head to the game, or settle down to watch it from the comfort of your own home.
And post-match, you can see exactly what conditions the game was played in. Perfect for those armchair managers looking to make excuses, and for those conversations we’re all going to be having about the heat and extreme weather delays when the 2026 World Cup kicks off in North America next summer.
Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page. This will automatically bring them to the top of your main feed in the app.
Friday: Valencia meet Levante in a fierce city derby in LaLiga, something we’ve taken to calling the Bat Derby, with both club crests featuring the flying mammals. Nice host Marseille in the south of France, with L’OM looking to move top of Ligue 1. And Bodø/Glimt play their penultimate game in Norway as they hunt down league leaders Viking at the top of the Eliteserien.
Saturday: Manchester City go to Newcastle United, and Chelsea travel to Burnley in perhaps the biggest Premier League games not mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter. Napoli play Atalanta as Antonio Conte attempts to get their title defence back on track. Bayern Munich test their unbeaten start to the campaign at home to Freiburg. Then there’s the playoff game between Vancouver Whitecaps and LAFC - one of these two favourites will not be lifting the MLS Cup next month!
Sunday: LaLiga leaders Real Madrid head to Elche looking to reopen a lead over Barcelona, who play Saturday. Inter Miami’s dream of a first MLS Cup rest on getting past FC Cincinnati in their Conference semifinal, highflying Roma visit Jamie Vardy’s Cremonese in Serie A, and it’s Derby Day in Copenhagen, where FC København face Brøndby.