5 Big Sports Matches You Need to Watch this Weekend

The weekend is here, and there are some colossal encounters going down — and we’ve got a handy guide to the biggest of them all, so you don’t miss a thing.

Manchester City v Arsenal

Saturday, 15:30

This fixture is likely to be a shootout between two of the league’s most fluid attacks. One the one side, there’s Guardiola’s high flying City, currently getting full benefit out of their star-studded attacking line-up, and on the other side Wenger’s slick-passing Arsenal. Unfortunately, Arsenal haven’t had a very promising season so far, least not in comparison to City, and at the Emirates one has to imagine Arsenal’s occasionally leaky defence will be put to the sword in emphatic fashion. That being said, the Gunners have upset confident City sides in recent history, so if they’re going to claw their way back into contention for top 4 spots, doing it against the strongest side in the league will be a massive confidence booster.

Predicted Score: Manchester City 3 – 1 Arsenal. You can bet on the game here.

Barbarians v All Blacks

Saturday, 17:00

In what will arguably be the most entertaining game of the year, a star-studded Barbarians face the World Champions at Twickenham, following New Zealand’s recent loss to the Wallabies last week. The Barbarians are full of exciting talent, with South African standouts Robert du Preez and Kwagga Smith making an appearance. It should be a loose encounter, and one which the Barbarians have found themselves pulling a shock win out of.

Predicted Score: Barbarians by 7. You can bet on the game here.

Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich

Saturday, 18:30

The Bundesliga’s mostly hotly-contested fixture is made even more compelling due to Bayern and Dortmund occupying first and second spot on the log respectively, with a narrow three point margin separating the two sides. Due to injury and patchy form, Dortmund are a picture of inconsistency right now though, having registered only a single victory in their last six matches in all competitions. Dortmund’s home support has a legendary reputation around Europe, which could get their free-scoring side in the mood to put one over on their long-time Bavarian rivals. Bayern are unbeaten in six Bundesliga matches, which will likely make it a tough encounter, but both sides appear to have better attacks than defences so it may be quite an entertaining match. If all goes well for Dortmund, they could be level on points with Bayern by the end of the weekend, if not the gap will open up to six points, which they can’t afford.

Predicted Score: Bayern Munich 2 – 1 Borssia Dortmund. You can bet on the game here.

Barcelona v Sevilla

Saturday, 20:45

Barcelona has enjoyed a solid start to their league campaign, registering nine victories and a single draw in their unbeaten run. Valverde’s tactics and set up have been a lot more utilitarian and less pleasing to the eye, but he’s getting the best out of the players available, and more importantly, he’s getting wins. Sevilla are fifth on the log, but they’ve suffered three defeats in their last six matches in what has been an inconsistent season for them so far. Additionally, they’ve only scored 11 goals while conceding 9, and they’ll need a better showing in front of goal if they’re going to get past Barcelona’s iron-clad defence that has only conceded three all season. There appears to be only one winner in it, but La Liga has had a few surprises this season so far.

Predicted Score: Barcelona 2 – 0 Sevilla. You can bet on the game here.

Chelsea v Manchester United

Sunday, 17:30

Antonio Conte’s Chelsea team are mired in a slump of bad form, a fact that the Italian manager seems disconcerted and perplexed by in his match interviews. Usually when a manager begins losing the ability to motivate his players, it spells the beginning of the end, and Mourinho could heap more pressure onto Conte’s shoulders if he masterminds another victory against Chelsea like he did last season. United are on the up after a close win against Spurs last week, so the confidence and advantage will likely be with them in what is likely to be a tightly contested game.

Predicted Score: Chelsea 0 -1 Manchester United. You can bet on the game here.

If you’re looking to earn your weekend drinks off the guys at Sportingbet (it wouldn’t be the first time), you can place your bets on the upcoming sporting clashes here.

What are your predictions for this weekend? Which teams will come out on top in the respective encounters? Let us know by tweeting us @MenStuffZA!

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