A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Saturday:
ENGLAND
Manchester City hosts Fulham in one of six Premier League games on tap. Pep Guardiola's team has made a perfect start to its title defense with three victories. Chelsea looks for back-to-back wins when Nottingham Forest visits Stamford Bridge. Bournemouth is at Brentford. Burnley hosts Tottenham. In the early game, Everton visits Sheffield United in a matchup of struggling teams. Both have opened the season with three straight losses. Everton has yet to score but hopes new signing Beto can change that. The Portuguese striker scored in a midweek win in the League Cup. Newcastle travels south to Brighton in the evening game for what figures to be another tough match for Eddie Howe's team, which is coming off losses to Liverpool and City.
SPAIN
Real Madrid hosts Getafe with Jude Bellingham on a scoring streak since he joined the powerhouse. The England midfielder leads the league with four goals in three games. The game against Getafe will be Bellingham’s home debut for his new team. Real Sociedad hosts Granada needing to kickstart its season after three straight draws. Valencia also visits Alaves, while Real Betis welcomes Rayo Vallecano.
ITALY
Champion Napoli hosts Lazio and former coach Maurizio Sarri looking to extend its perfect start. Napoli striker Victor Osimhen scored three goals in the opening two matches. Lazio finished second last season – albeit a distant 16 points behind Napoli – but has lost its opening two games this campaign. Also, there’s Bologna vs. Cagliari, Udinese vs. Frosinone, and Atalanta vs. Monza.
GERMANY
Bayern Munich visits Borussia Mönchengladbach for one of the Bundesliga’s oldest rivalries. Gladbach and Bayern used to tussle for titles during Gladbach’s heyday in the 1970s. Bayern has since established its dominance but the 11-time defending champion has struggled against Gladbach in recent seasons. Bayern lost 3-2 on its last visit and has failed to beat Gladbach in their last four meetings – five including Gladbach’s 5-0 rout in the German Cup two years ago. Also, in-form Bayer Leverkusen welcomes promoted Darmstadt, Stuttgart hosts Freiburg, Mainz visits Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg plays at Hoffenheim and Augsburg plays Bochum.
FRANCE
High-flier Monaco looks to extend its unbeaten run to four matches when it hosts Lens. Monaco is also the league top scorer with 10, four of those from veteran striker Wissam Ben Yedder and three from rejuvenated winger Takumi Minamino. Lens finished second in the league last season but has made a poor start and has only one point. In the other game, unbeaten Rennes is at Brest.
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