It’s the German clásico, Der Klassiker, though BORUSSIA DORTMUND are not having a classic season. After a recent uptick in form, they’re still eighth and just trying to get a ticket — any ticket — to Europe next season. Come to think of it, that 4-0 thrashing from Barcelona in the Champions League quarterfinals this week might have put them off the whole business.

And then there’s BAYERN MUNICH, back to being Bayern domestically. They’re six points clear of current adversaries Bayer Leverkusen at the top of the Bundesliga, and they seem to be on pace to secure Harry Kane his first career trophy. But there are still questions swirling around manager Vincent Kompany, and a recent spate of injuries — especially to thrilling young star Jamal Musiala — might have just created an opening for Dortmund here.

Joining the show to chat about all that and more is Markus Fjørtoft, a former professional footballer who now hosts The Fussball Podcast with his dad, Jan Åge Fjørtoft, who was himself a pro in the Bundesliga and beyond. Get the lowdown above before it all kicks off at 12:30pm ET/5:30pm UK on Saturday.

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And as always, for kickoff times and storylines on all the other matches worth your time this weekend, check TheFootballWeekend.com.

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It’s the Manchester derby, UNITED against CITY, but it’s certainly a strange one. Both of these clubs are in a bad way, though that means something different to each of them. City have fallen from champion grace but are still battling for a Champions League place. United, on the other hand, are 13th in the league with eight matches left to play.

It’s an incredible state of affairs for one of Europe’s true superclubs, and on this week’s show, the brilliant Carl Anka of The Athletic suggests that United are becoming something like the Dallas Cowboys: a giant global sporting institution that’s lost its magic. We got into how the Red Devils spent their way into this mess, how City have become a team with a soft underbelly, and why this Sunday’s encounter may be a meeting of the legless midfields.

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And as always, for kickoff times and storylines on all the other matches worth your time this weekend, check TheFootballWeekend.com.

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The international break is over, and club football returns with the Gran Derbi: REAL BETIS vs SEVILLA.

This is one of the most vibrant rivalry matches in world football, Spain's greatest local spat, a true expression of Seville's colorful culture: the freewheeling social scene fueled by ubiquitous outdoor dining and Sevillanos who are impressively direct with one another; the searing heat of Andalusia; the close quarters in which the two sets of fans live, including in split households; and a rich history featuring the Romans, the Moors, Christian kings of all stripes, and the dictatorship of Francisco Franco after the Spanish Civil War.

This derby has boiled over at times, but more than anything it's defined by the (mostly) good-natured banter of the street, known as guasa, and a stubborn refusal from both sides to drift towards the corporatism that has come to define the modern game. They're desperate to beat each other and, perhaps as importantly, see each other suffer. In recent years, Sevilla have become the Europa League masters, seven times champions since 2006, in what is a considerable shakeup of the dynamic here. For a while, neither of them won much of anything, and the whole ethos of Real Betis is built around manque pierda — something like, "even when they lose." Betis are the better off this season, though, gunning for European football next season year behind the talismanic talents of Isco, who not so long ago had a short and disastrous spell at Sevilla. He could be the difference-maker this Sunday, though this week's guest predicts Betis could still fall prey to their own inferiority complex in this fixture.

That guest is Colin Millar, news writer for The Athletic and author of The Frying Pan of Spain, a book on the history of this rivalry. He lived in Seville himself and has all kinds of insight into what this one means.

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And as always, for kickoff times and storylines on all the other matches worth your time this weekend, check TheFootballWeekend.com.

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There's a Super Sunday on the horizon, with tasty matches back-to-back all day long. Arsenal-Chelsea, title clashes in Italy and Spain. As always, you can get the lowdown on all the matches worth your time this coming weekend at TheFootballWeekend.com.

But there’s one headliner here, because there's a trophy up for grabs: It's LIVERPOOL vs NEWCASTLE at Wembley Stadium, vying for the League Cup.

It could be a nice tonic for the Reds after their untimely exit from the Champions League in midweek, while a trophy — any trophy — would be extremely timely for the Magpies. Newcastle United have not won a piece of major silverware since 1969. Their victory in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup came a month before the moon landing.

Here to preview this one is Laurence McKenna, Liverpool fan and sharp football observer across all kinds of platforms, not least his channel on YouTube. You can find him on the socials @Lozcast.

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MANCHESTER UNITED vs ARSENAL is the essential Premier League rivalry for fans of a certain age. These two clubs battled for titles season after season in the early 2000s in what some might call the league’s greatest era. Then Arsène Wenger lost his magic touch, Sir Alex Ferguson won the war, and Arsenal fans had to listen to Patrice Evra come out after every encounter between the two and declare that it was "men against boys.” From there, it was a steady decline away from championship contention for the club from North London.

When Ferguson left, United had their own downfall, and now they've sunk farther than the eighth-place finish Arsenal endured towards the beginning of manager Mikel Arteta's reign. The Red Devils are in terrible shape after a decade of self-sabotage, cycling through managers and executives and even — with the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe — ownership structures. None of it’s helped, and now this week’s guest — Manchester United fan and host of Touchline Fracas, Morayo Bamidele — fears his team could be embarrassed at Old Trafford.

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For kickoff times and storylines on all the matches worth your time this weekend, check TheFootballWeekend.com.

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After a frankly disastrous title defense last term, NAPOLI steamed back into contention over the first half of this season under their brilliant and tempestuous new boss, Antonio Conte. But after a bizarre January transfer window where they sold key attacker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to PSG and brought in nobody to replace him, they’ve lost their way and dropped nine of the last 12 points available.

Reigning champions INTER, meanwhile, are in unabashed pursuit of a treble, and boss Simone Inzaghi has been rotating his teams like mad to deal with the matchload associated with all of their obligations. Still, they’ve been grinding out those three points, like the 1-0 over Genoa last time out in the league — and they've zipped into first place just in time for this encounter, one point clear of the Neapolitans.

Joining us to preview the match on Saturday (12pm ET, 5pm UK) is Nima Tavallaey (@NimaTavRood) co-host of the Italian Football Podcast (@ItaFootPod). He broke down how Napoli’s mismanagement goes farther back than the January transfer window and goes all the way to the top; why it's a three- or even four-horse title race in Serie A; and whether, if this goes the wrong way, Conte might erupt like the nearby Mount Vesuvius.

For kickoff times and storylines on all the good matches this weekend, check TheFootballWeekend.com.

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This was once the match in the Premier League, the perennial title bout, but MANCHESTER CITY have veered perilously off-course this season. LIVERPOOL have cruised to the top of the table, but they’ve started coughing up points in recent weeks and Arsenal have become more than just a speck in the rearview mirror. By kickoff here, it could be a five-point advantage at the top. If City find a way to dash Liverpool’s dreams yet again, there could be a title race after all.

Joining us to preview the big match on Sunday (11:30am ET, 4:30pm UK) is Andy Jones, a staff writer for The Athletic covering Liverpool.

For kickoff times and storylines on all the matches worth your time this weekend, check TheFootballWeekend.com

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BAYER LEVERKUSEN are no longer invincible. In fact, they’re eight points behind perennial powers BAYERN MUNICH in the Bundesliga table.

The Werkself need victory when Bayern come to the BayArena on Saturday if they want to keep the title race a race, and there are a few points in their favor: Xabi Alonso has not lost any of his five matches managed against his old employers, and the visitors have not been particularly good away from home in big games recently. Bayern have rattled off seven Bundesliga wins in a row, however, and they bring with them the frankly ridiculous attack of Jamal Musiala, Michael Olisé, Harry Kane and more.

Meanwhile, honorary Bayern president Uli Hoeneß is making noises in the buildup about the Bavarians luring away Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz. I asked this week's guest, Nik Wildhagen of Talking Fussball, whether this is a classic pre-match mind game from the Bayern hierarchy. Plus: as a supporter of another Bundesliga club, how does Nik feel about FC Hollywood's dominance of the competition for years on end, and is there any prospect that Germany's (relatively) empowered fans could rally to change the dynamic?

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It’s first against second in La Liga, as REAL MADRID lead ATLÉTICO MADRID by just a point at the top of the table. Barcelona have fallen away somewhat from their hot start under new boss Hansi Flick, and now Spain’s capital quarrel may answer quite a few questions around who will be crowned champions in May.

It’s all happening just as managers Diego Simeone and Carlo Ancelotti—egged on by the tempestuous football media in Spain—trade barbs over refereeing controversies and Real Madrid’s repeated shattering of Atléti hearts in recent times. This one goes way further back, though. It's a dispute with roots in Spanish football’s earliest history and then—crucially—the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

For much of the ‘60s and ‘70s, as now, Atléti fought their way into the reckoning at the summit of Spanish football, forcing Real Madrid and Barcelona to take notice. The Colchoneros started out as a satellite of Athletic Club de Bilbao, gained then shedded associations with the Spanish military, and then the Madrid derby took on its modern shape: Real Madrid as the establishment club, the continental giants and serial winners. Atléti as the leftist, working-class outfit that proudly embraced a spirit of rebellion.

Here to trace it all and preview this weekend’s encounter is Graham Hunter, storied scribe of Spanish football for ESPN.

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It’s a title clash—well, it was the last two seasons. ARSENAL and MANCHESTER CITY duked it out for the Premier League crown from 2022 to 2024, but now the Citizens have gone off a cliff and the North Londoners have had their struggles, too. Injuries have played a role for both, while poor refereeing decisions and bad luck have hampered Arsenal just as Liverpool have gone steaming to the top of the league.

One of those questionable officiating moments came in the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium, when Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard was shown a harsh second yellow card for kicking the ball away and City got back into the match thanks to their numerical advantage. A last-minute equalizer—after which Erling Haaland launched the ball at the back of Gabriel’s head and told Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to “stay humble”—made for a very contentious affair.

Now they’re back in battle, and Tom Canton joins the show to preview the festivities. As the chief Arsenal writer for Football.London, he also offers some insight into the North London club’s desperate search for a forward as the January transfer window begins to close.

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