Shocks are in store this weekend in the European leagues.But the must-watch matches are virtually all scheduled for Sunday.In the Bundesliga, leaders Bayer Leverkusen host Dortmund (16:30 GMT), who are driving Bayern Munich from the front. In the Premier League, City and Tottenham, two former leaders in the doldrums, will be looking to revive their fortunes at the same time. In La Liga, FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, who have the same number of points, go head-to-head and aim for victory to avoid being dropped by Girona and Real Madrid (20:00 GMT).
Leverkusen-Dortmund, can BVB withstand the shock?
To measure Leverkusen's achievement at the start of the season, it's simple to say that, despite their outrageous domination of the German championship for ages, Bayern have never scored so many points after 12 rounds. When Bayer (34 pts) host Dortmund on Sunday December 3, they have dropped just two points. Two points dropped at the Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich (2-2).
Apart from this draw on Matchday 4, all other opponents, whether home or away and regardless of status (promoted or historic Bundesliga team), suffered the fury of Victor Boniface and his team-mates. Leipzig (3-2), Gladbach (3-0), Union Berlin (4-0) and Werder (3-0) have all had their fill. Will the same be true for Borussia? If it were Bayern on the other side of the table, we'd have bet straight away on a Dortmund reverse, given that the yellow wall collapses every time the Munich outfit come up against them. On top form in the Champions League, with a 3rd win in a row and an early qualification for the last 8 in the group of death, Marc Rose's men must slow down Leverkusen if they are not to fall behind. Fourth in the standings, they are already ten points behind the leaders.
Barça-Atletico Madrid: the end of a series dating back to 2006?
At the top of La Liga, there's a fierce battle between a club from Madrid and one from Catalonia. Real Madrid and Girona each have 35 points and lead the race. Just behind this duo, another Madrid club and another Catalan club are pulling at each other's heels. They are Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona.They have the same number of points (31 pts) and meet this Sunday in Catalonia for the 15th day of La Liga.
Simeone's men are in fine form, with four wins in a row in all competitions and Griezmann in fine form. But is that enough to win in Catalonia, where they haven't recorded a La Liga success since 2006? In any case, Barça are highly unpredictable this season. Inconsistent, the Catalans are capable of being very convincing one week and very disappointing the next. Or even showing these two faces in two periods of the same match.
City-Tottenham, Spurs back on track at the Ettihad?
Ange Postecoglou got off to an angelic start with Tottenham. After arriving on the Spurs bench during the off-season, he quickly managed to make Spurs very attractive. Very effective too, despite the departure of star Harry Kane to Bayern Munich but the fairytale is coming to an end.Unbeaten leaders after 10 games (8v, 2n), the Londoners have now suffered 3 straight defeats at the hands of Chelsea (4-1), Wolverhampton (2-1) and Aston Villa (2-1). This terrible fall relegates them to 5th place in the league, three points behind Sunday's opponents, Manchester City (29 pts).
The three-time English champions are not at their best either. Pep Guardiola's men have just conceded two draws in a row. The Skyblues have been imperious at the Ettihad Stadium, winning 15 and drawing 2 of their last 17 Premier League games, but now host one of the few teams capable of ending that run.Spurs won at the Ettihad in 2022 (3-2).
