Matchday two of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League have got done and dusted and the focus now quickly shifts towards some weekend domestic club football once again. The Champions League’s second matchday saw teams like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich suffer shock defeats, whereas, in the Europa League, Manchester United’s struggles continued after they were forced to share spoils against FC Porto.

And as a result, there are more questions than answers for teams like Manchester United, heading to the first weekend of October. Let’s now take a look at five things to look forward to from the upcoming weekend:

Pressure mounts on Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United

We’re less than two months into the 2024-25 club football season, but Manchester United seem to be struggling for consistency already.
Following a 0-3 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League last weekend, United’s latest setback came in the
form of a 3-3 draw against FC Porto in the Europa League in midweek.

This was after the Red Devils had taken a 2-0 lead against the Portuguese club within the first 20 minutes, but a poor defensive display allowed Porto to bounce back. And a red card for Bruno Fernandes does not help their cause.

Next up for United, who are 13th in the Premier League, is a trip to Birmingham to face fifth-placed Aston Villa on Sunday. Villa are enjoying success in the Champions League with two wins in as many matches, their latest being a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich. United cannot take Unai Emery’s side lightly and it could very well be a make-or-break contest for ten Hag.

What will come as a positive for United is the fact that
Bruno Fernandes’ red card in the Premier League has been overturned. 

Inter vs Torino clash to heat up early Serie A title race

Fourth-placed Inter Milan and fifth-placed Torino are level on points (11) and go head-to-head in the Italian Serie A this weekend. Only three points separate first-placed Napoli (13 points) to eighth-placed Udinese (10), which means it’s pretty tight at the top half of the Serie A standings.

Having said that, Inter are on a three-match winning streak in the Serie A, whereas Torino have been hampered with consecutive losses, including a 1-2 defeat to Empoli in the Coppa Italia round of 32.

Inter might be favourites for this game, but they will continue to miss midfielder Nicolo Barella, who had sustained a thigh injury during the Milan derby in September. Up front, Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez could very well return to the starting XI. For Torino, Che Adams and Duvan Zapata will lead their attack.

Goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, who missed Torino’s 2-3 loss to Lazio last week due to a knee injury, is expected to return to the starting lineup.

Bayern vs Frankfurt in top of the table clash

League leaders Bayern Munich would have to be ready for another upset as they prepare to face second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Bayern are coming on the back of a 0-1 loss to Aston Villa in the Champions League.

Interestingly, this is only the fifth time Bayern Munich and Frankfurt go head-to-head in the Bundesliga when both teams occupy the first two spots. The last time was during the 1993/94 season when the two teams clashed on Matchday 30. Bayern were champions back then with Frankfurt finishing fifth.

Bayern would look to forget their 5-1 loss to Frankfurt away from home last season. Frankfurt are also one of the three Bundesliga sides to enjoy an unbeaten run at home, with the other two teams being Borussia Dortmund and Union Berlin.

Real Madrid hope to move on from Lille loss

Real Madrid, too, are coming from a defeat in the Champions League. The Los Blancos lost 1-0 to Lille in France, and have a difficult outing on paper against third-placed Villareal (17 points). Real are in second place with 18 points.

After securing five wins in a row in La Liga, Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid in the top flight last week. Kylian Mbappe made his return from injury in the Lille game but failed to find the back of the net. He is expected to start for Real Madrid on Sunday, alongside Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior.

Union Berlin face in-form Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund are flying high after a 7-1 win over Celtic in the Champions League and will begin favourites against Union Berlin. Union Berlin are in need of some inspiration after a 1-0 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach, but they might be motivated by the fact that Dortmund does not have an excellent record recently when it comes to away matches.

In their last four matches away from home in the Bundesliga, Dortmund have lost three and drawn one. They have only found the back of the net twice, and have conceded as many as 12 goals.

Karim Adeyemi, who scored a hat-trick in Dortmund’s win over Celtic, will miss this match due to a hamstring injury. The onus will now rely on Julian Brandt and Julien Duranville, along with striker Serhou Guirassy up front.