Premier League Action Dominate This Weekend's European Highlights

Sunderland vs Newcastle
Saturday 20th August - 12:00

Sunderland host fierce North East rivals Newcastle in the Tyne-Wear derby; the first significant local rivalry in this season's Premier League. Both sides picked up decent points on the opening weekend- Sunderland in a 1-1 draw away to Liverpool and Newcastle in a stalemate with Arsenal at St. James' Park.

The visitors will be confident on Saturday lunchtime having lost just 1 of their last 13 matches with Sunderland, romping to a 5-1 victory over the Black Cats in the reverse fixture last season. Another ominous statistic for the hosts has seen them fail to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 22 meetings with the Magpies in all competitions.

Steve Bruce will have been encouraged by a second half performance which saw his side pick up a point away to Liverpool and may keep faith in the side that managed the 1-1 draw, though Asamoah Gyan is a doubt ahead of the game. Alan Pardew could also stick with same XI, with Ryan Taylor continuing at left-back following the sale of Jose Enrique.

The home side still have a host of injury problems, with Campbell, Gordon and O'Shea all out, though fellow newcomers Sebastien Larsson and Wes Brown impressed on their debuts at Anfield. Newcastle are still without creative midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa, though have little injury concerns elsewhere, with Gabriel Obertan and Sylvain Marveaux hoping to start for the first time at their new club.

Arsenal vs Liverpool
Saturday 20th August - 12:45

Arsenal and Liverpool face one another having picked up somewhat disappointing draws against the aforementioned Newcastle and Sunderland respectively. While Liverpool, along with new signing Charlie Adam in particular, impressed in the most part last weekend, Arsenal looked troubled by the impending departure of Fabregas and Nasri, with the former now having been resolved following the Spaniard's return to Barcelona.

Last season’s meeting between these two sides saw the two latest goals in last season’s whole Premier League, Robin van Persie’s 98th minute penalty being cancelled out by Dirk Kuyt’s 102nd minute spot-kick equaliser. Indeed goals may not be hard to come by on Saturday- there have been more hat-tricks scored in this fixture than any other in Premier League history. However the game should be close, with Liverpool looking to overcome the Gunners for the first time in their last 8 outings, 6 of which were draws.

The visitors may not have a better chance to do so, with Arsenal looking shaky at the beginning of the season, due in no small part to the Fabregas and Nasri sagas, along with a growing list of injuries. Kieran Gibbs and his replacement Johan Djourou were both withdrawn with hamstring concerns in the narrow win over Udinese, meaning youngster Carl Jenkinson may start. Gervinho and Song are both suspended following ill-discipline in the opener with Newcastle, while Wilshere's lack of fitness could lead to a start for young Emmanuel Frimpong.

Kenny Dalglish is still without captain Steven Gerrard, while Johnson and Skrtel are both doubtful at the back. The Scot could name the same side he fielded against Sunderland that included all four of his new outfield signings, though if any, Jordan Henderson is most likely to make way with Dirk Kuyt waiting in the wings.

Bayern Munich vs Hamburg
Saturday 20th August - 14:30

Bayern Munich recovered from the shock of a 1-0 opening day defeat to MGladbach to record wins over Wolfsburg and FC Zurich in the league and Champions League qualification respectively. Hamburg have had a slow start to the new season, picking up just 1 point from their opening two matches, though their first defeat was at the hands of league champions Dortmund.

Their opening day defeat was Bayern's only league loss in their last 11 games, winning 8 of those. The home side haven't conceded a goal in the last 3 encounters between the two sides. Hamburg’s 0-6 drubbing in the most recent meeting at Munich in March of this year led to the sacking of former manager Armin Veh and the instalment of current manager Michael Oenning.

Arjen Robben could be back in the starting line-up having made a goalscoring return in the 2-0 win over FC Zurich in midweek. Midfielders Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller are competing for the central role in a three-pronged attacking midfield. Jeffrey Bruma and Michael Mancienne could start at centre-back again for Hamburg, allowing Heiko Westermann to start in defensive midfield alongside David Jarolim.

Hamburg had huge defensive problems in both of their first two games and the team still has not adapted to a clear system, while the hosts are inundated with attacking talent, most of which has failed to fire this season up to now.

Mainz 05 vs Schalke 04
Sunday 21st August - 14:30

Mainz have picked up where they left off after an excellent season last term, winning their first two matches of the new campaign against Leverkusen and Freiburg respectively. Schalke followed a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Stuttgart with a resounding 5-1 victory over bottom side Cologne, though a dismal 2-0 defeat to Helsinki in Europa League qualification will have dented their confidence.

Mainz have won their last five games in the German top flight and are unbeaten in seven Bundesliga games – currently the longest run in the league - failing to concede more than a single goal in any of those fixtures. In comparison, Schalke have conceded 13 goals in their last five league games and have won only one of their last nine away games in the competition.

The hosts are without Florian Heller, Eugen Gopko and Adam Szalai for the match, while the visitors are without Christoph Metzelder, Levan Kenia, Peer Kluge, Tim Hoogland and Sergio Escudero. Jefferson Farfan could return from injury and start on the bench for Schalke, while the future of veteran forward Raul remains uncertain after he was linked with a move away from the club last week.

Mainz's system works well and offensively they have a lot of options in the final third, while Schalke's defence looks shaky. It will be interesting to see how home manager Tuchel is adapts his side and formation to combat Schalke's 4-2-3-1.

Marseille vs St. Etienne
Sunday 21st August - 20:00

While Marseille have had a somewhat slow start to the Ligue 1 season, notching two 2-2 draws against Sochaux and Auxerre respectively, St. Etienne are sitting pretty as one of 4 sides to have won both of their opening clashes, over Bordeaux and Nancy.

Despite the away side’s improved form into the new season, Marseille will be confident having not lost in the last 7 league meetings between the sides, winning 5 times. An even more remarkable statistic shows that St. Etienne have failed to pick up all three points at the Velodrome since 1979, when Michel Platini was on the scoresheet!

The hosts are without defensive midfielder Stephane Mbia and French international front-man Andre-Pierre Gignac, though their front 4 have 4 goals between them so far (Loic Remy 2, Andre Ayew and Lucho Gonzalez 1). Mathieu Valbuena has supplied 3 assists already in just 2 matches. St. Etienne are looking far less threatening in front of goal, with only Pierre Aubameyang having netted from their forward line thus far.

Marseille's leaky defence will give the away strikers and fans more cause for confidence, having shipped 2 goals in each game thus far, though St. Etienne will travel south without Alejandro Alonso, Albin Ebondo and Yann Andreu, while forward Gonzalo Bergessio is thought to be close to sealing a move to Serie A side Catania.

Manchester United vs Tottenham
Monday 22nd August - 20:00

Manchester United play their first game at Old Trafford, a fortress last season, against Tottenham. The champions dropped just two points at home over the entirety of the 2010/11 season, meaning Harry Redknapp's first league game couldn't be tougher. Spurs are playing catch-up having had their season opener against Everton postponed due to the riots in the area, but looked impressive in a 5-0 thrashing of Hearts in the Europa League qualifying stages on Thursday.

United will be looking to extend an unbeaten run of 20 Premier League matches against Tottenham, winning 15, with Spurs last claiming all 3 points in 1989. Tottenham will be hoping that the hosts fail to fire as they did last weekend, hitting just 1 shot on target (Rooney's opener) despite going on to win 2-1 courtesy of an own goal.

The home side have injury problems aplenty, particularly in defence after both Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand pulled up last time out. The duo's absence could see England Under-21 international pairing Chris Smalling and new signing Phil Jones partnered at the back. Rafael is also out at right-back with Evra a doubt on the left, while Darren Fletcher, Antonio Valencia and Javier Hernandez are also still missing, meaning Dimitar Berbatov could line-up against his  old club.

Tottenham's worries lay in midfield, though both Ledley King and William Gallas are unavailable at the back. Redknapp is definitely without Sandro and Pienaar and will be sweating on the fitness of Luka Modric, Jermaine Jenas and Tom Huddlestone to boot. Young duo Kyle Walker and Jake Livermore could both start having impressed in the midweek victory over Hearts, though the latter's inclusion may be determined by the fitness of want away Luka Modric.