5 games to watch: AC Milan vs. Roma hilights this weekend in soccer

Here are five of the best matches in Europe that you should watch this weekend, including a big Serie A matchup on Friday.

With all the big leagues across Europe now playing, there are some entertaining games this weekend. However, most of the biggest clubs in Europe have games against weak competition. Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain both play games against newly-promoted teams who have gotten off to surprisingly good starts to the season. Serie A and the Premier League continue to have the most interesting games with the competition for the top six spots extremely tight. Ligue 1 has a few intriguing games with a couple of matchups between traditional contenders who have gotten off to poor starts.

5. Lyon vs. Nice — Friday, Aug. 31, 2:45 p.m. ET (beIN Sports)

Lyon and Nice kick off the Ligue 1 weekend on Friday. The two clubs come into the game at opposite ends of the table. Lyon have won two of their first three games and are in their usual position inside the top four. Nice have struggled to start the season under new manager Patrick Vieira.

Lyon have a young talented squad. Lucas Tousart and Houssem Aouar are both key players in Lyon’s midfield despite Tousart being only 21 years old and Aouar having just turned 20. Nabil Fekir was a transfer target of Liverpool in the summer but remains with Lyon for now. Fekir is just working his way back into the lineup following an injury. The French international drives the attack for the club, creating chances for Memphis Depay, Bertrand Traore and Mariano Diaz. Last season, Fekir, Depay, Traore and Diaz combined for 68 goals.

In the first three games under Vieira, Nice have yet to win, picking up only one point. They lost 4-0 last weekend against Dijon and have scored only one goal this season. The Eaglets attack should be better this weekend with Mario Balotelli returning. The Italian striker had a proposed transfer fall apart and will play with Nice this season. Over the past two seasons, Balotelli has scored 33 Ligue 1 goals.

4. Monaco vs. Marseille — Sunday, Sept. 2, 3:00 p.m. ET (beIN Sports)

The last game this weekend in Ligue 1 sees Monaco host Marseille. Both clubs are expected to compete for a Champions League spot this season. Monaco have four points in their first three games but are coming off a lost to Bordeaux in their last game. Marseille have also started the season with four points in their first three games.

Monaco have reinvested the money from the sale of players such as Kylian Mbappe by buying some of the best young talents across Europe. The club signed 17-year-old Italian striker Pietro Pellegri as a future replacement for Falcao. Pellegri made his Serie A debut at 15 and scored his first goal just after his 16th birthday. It took only four minutes for Pellegri to score his first goal this season. In addition to Pellegri, Monaco signed Willem Geubbels, Aleksandr Golovin and Benjamin Henrichs this summer. All three players are under 22 years old and should play large roles for the club for the next few seasons.

Marseille made it to the Europa League final last season behind an incredible season from Florian Thauvin, who scored 22 goals and added 12 assists. Thauvin has already scored twice this season and could improve on his 2017-18 production. Despite turning 31 this year, Dimitri Payet doesn’t show signs of slowing down. Payet’s ability to thread passes and create chances makes him one of the better playmakers in Ligue 1. Marseille’s midfield could be even better this season after they signed Kevin Strootman earlier this week. The Netherlands international has struggled to stay healthy but is a quality addition to the Marseille midfield.

3. Schalke vs. Hertha Berlin — Sunday, Sept. 2, noon ET (FS1)

The most shocking result over the first weekend of the Bundesliga season was last season’s runners-up, Schalke, losing 2-1 to relegation playoff survivors Wolfsburg. The Royal Blues will look to bounce back against Hertha Berlin in the second game of the season. Hertha started the season with a 1-0 win against newly-promoted Nurnberg.

The result of Schalke’s opening season loss against Wolfsburg may have been different if two VAR decisions hadn’t gone against the club. Schalke center-back Matija Nastasic had a yellow-card upgraded to a red. While Wolfsburg’s Wout Weghorst had a straight red card downgraded to a yellow by VAR.

Perhaps the loss in the first weekend should have been more predictable for Schalke. The club had significant roster turnover this summer. Thilo Kehrer and Leon Goretzka headlined the list of outgoing players, while the club added Salif Sane, Suat Serdar and Sebastian Rudy among others. Sane struggled to form a partnership with Naldo in their first game together. Part of the poor debut from Sane can be attributed to Nastasic’s red card. The red card also had a negative effect on the midfield that was forced to shuffle. After signing with Schalke on Monday, Rudy will likely make his Royal Blue debut on Sunday after spending one season with Bayern Munich. Rudy should help stabilize the midfield playing above the back three.

Hertha needed an 85th-minute penalty save from Rune Jarstein to pick up all three points against Nurnberg. They were relatively quiet in the transfer market, but their biggest signing, Valentino Lazaro, had a good debut. Lazaro found Vedad Ibisevic wide open in the box for the winning goal. Pal Dardai’s side could struggle to score goals with Davie Selke injured but should be improved defensively this season.

2. Leicester vs. Liverpool — Saturday, Sept. 1, 7:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN)

The way Liverpool have started the season, they might be playing at the highest level of any club in Europe. Jurgen Klopp’s side are one of four Premier League teams to win their first three games of the season. Liverpool have scored seven goals and have yet to concede a goal. On Saturday, Liverpool travel to the King Power Stadium to play Leicester. After losing on the opening day of the season to Manchester United, Leicester have rebounded with two straight wins.

Leicester defeated Wolves 2-0 last weekend. However, after picking up a red card, Jamie Vardy will miss the next three games. The loss of Vardy is a major blow for Leicester, who have relied on their top goalscorer for the past few seasons. Vardy’s suspension opens the door for Kelechi Iheanacho, who will likely get the start up top. Iheanacho has always shown promise but has never put it together for long stretches. The next three games will be a big chance to breakthrough for the Nigerian international.

Liverpool will look to continue their great start to the season. Klopp and Liverpool deserve a lot of credit for the way they have handled their past few transfer windows. The Reds have successfully signed all of their major targets and helped build up strong depth. The Reds front three is among the best in Europe. Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have combined for five goals this season and along with Roberto Firmino will test the Leicester back four.

Honorable mention: Chelsea vs. Bournemouth – Saturday, Sept. 1, 10 a.m. ET (NBC Sports Gold)

Chelsea are one of four teams to start the season with three wins. On Saturday, Chelsea play Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge. The Cherries have gotten off to a surprisingly good start, picking up seven points in their first three games.

1. AC Milan vs. Roma — Friday, Aug. 31, 2:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

The best game of the weekend comes from Serie A, with AC Milan hosting Roma at the San Siro. Milan opened their season last weekend against Napoli. After going up 2-0 early into the second half, Milan collapsed. Napoli scored three goals to steal all three points. Roma got off to a fantastic start against Atalanta on Monday, scoring in the second minute. However, by halftime, Roma were losing 3-1. The club were able to fight their way back into the game, stealing a point from Atalanta.

The race for the top four spots in Serie A should be one of the tightest races in Europe. Juventus, Inter Milan, Lazio, Napoli, AC Milan and Roma are all jockeying for position. Every game against another one of the top six teams can shift the standing in one club’s direction.

For the second summer in a row, Milan spent money looking to qualify for Champions League again. Gonzalo Higuain and Tiemoue Bakayoko did not play a large role in their debut for the club against Napoli. The two will look to be better in their San Siro debut. Gennaro Gattuso will have to make changes to his team to prevent another three-goal collapse. Milan’s midfield and defense struggled to maintain possession and turned the ball over inside of their own half. Napoli’s Piotr Zielinski had an incredible game, scoring two goals and winning the ball back from Milan when they tried playing out from the back. Mattia Caldara did not play against Napoli but should start against Roma and that should help solve some of Milan’s problems.

Roma are loaded with great attacking players such as Edin Dzeko, Cengiz Under and Stephan El Shaarawy. The same can’t be said about their defenders. Outside of 32-year-old Aleksandar Kolarov and Konstantinos Manolas, Roma don’t have any defender they can count on. The problems at the back for Roma have been made worse by the decline of Daniele De Rossi. The Roma captain is a club legend but at 35 years old has lost more than one step and can’t cover the same ground he once did. De Rossi’s inability to win the ball back is giving opposing teams more time and space to run at goal. Roma signed Steven Nzonzi this summer, but the Frenchman will need time to settle in.