Tottenham hosts Liverpool in game between unbeaten sides, Mbappe fit for PSG
Football
By
Associated Press
| Sep 30, 2023
ENGLAND
Tottenham hosts Liverpool in the marquee game of the seventh round of the Premier League, a match between two sides who are unbeaten in the league so far and are both hoping to underline their status as top-four challengers following a disappointing last season.
Manchester City tries to extend its perfect start with a seventh straight victory when it travels to Wolverhampton, while Arsenal visits Bournemouth and Manchester United hosts Crystal Palace for the second time in five days - having also knocked Roy Hodgson's team out of the League Cup on Tuesday.
SPAIN
Girona, the surprise of the season in Spain, hosts Real Madrid with both hoping to move back in front of Barcelona. Girona has won six in a row after drawing its opener and led the league heading into the round.
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Barcelona now leads Girona by one point and Madrid by two after beating Sevilla on Friday. Madrid will be without defender David Alaba, who was ruled out with an injury, but center-back Antonio Rudiger is ready to return.
Fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao also visits Real Sociedad in a Basque Country derby, while Villarreal will try to win at Getafe after its poor start to the campaign. Rayo Vallecano is unbeaten in three rounds before visiting Mallorca.
GERMANY
Bayern Munich visits Leipzig in a game with added intrigue after Leipzig relieved its top sports executive Max Eberl of his duties Friday, claiming he wasn't committed to the club. Eberl had been linked with a possible move to Bayern in German media.
Bayern is looking for revenge after losing 3-0 to Leipzig in the season-opening German Super Cup last month.
Bayer Leverkusen remains unbeaten this season and Xabi Alonso's team could go top of the table with a win over Mainz, especially if Bayern doesn't beat Leipzig. Bundesliga top scorer Serhou Guirassy could add to his 10 goals from five games as his Stuttgart team visits Cologne.
Union Berlin seeks to halt its poor form against promoted Heidenheim, Wolfsburg hosts Eintracht Frankfurt and Bochum takes on Borussia Moenchengladbach.
FRANCE
Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe has shaken off a minor ankle injury and is available for the trip to last-place Clermont, where a win would put third-place PSG top of the league.
Mbappe limped off late in the first half of last Sunday's 4-0 rout of Marseille after taking a blow to the left ankle.
PSG coach Luis Enrique says treatment has gone well so Mbappe could play and add to his league-leading seven goals. In the other game Gennaro Gattuso's first game as Marseille coach is a tough away trip to Monaco, which is level on points with PSG.