European Football Today: Liverpool, Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Dortmund Headline Saturday’s Action

Saturday brings a packed programme of European football, with the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 all providing plenty of matches for fans to follow.

Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus are among the major clubs in action, while France also has a busy evening schedule.

Here are the key matches to watch today.

Premier League: Liverpool and Tottenham Headline the Day  

Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest – 12:30
Bournemouth vs Everton – 15:00
Coventry City vs Hull City – 15:00
Tottenham Hotspur vs Newcastle United – 17:30

Liverpool kick things off with their first home league game of the season against a Nottingham Forest side desperate to avoid a third straight defeat. It's also a first home league match in charge for new boss Andoni Iraola, who took over from Arne Slot. The Reds needed a stoppage-time Dominik Szoboszlai penalty just to draw 2-2 away at Newcastle last time out, and questions have been asked about their defensive setup, with Ryan Gravenberch and Szoboszlai both taking criticism. Still, history favours Iraola, since Liverpool have won their opening home league game in 12 of the last 13 seasons. Forest, meanwhile, are struggling under new boss Oliver Glasner, their fifth manager in under a year, having lost their first two games of the season without scoring in four of their last six matches overall.

Later in the day, Tottenham host Newcastle in North London with both teams looking to bounce back after shaky starts. Spurs were thumped 3-0 at Brentford on opening weekend but looked much sharper in a 5-1 EFL Cup win over Charlton in midweek, with new £85 million signing Savio impressing off the bench. Spurs have strong home form to lean on, having won their opening home league match in each of the last five seasons by a combined score of 14-1, but Newcastle have been a bogey team lately, winning six of the last eight meetings between the sides. Newcastle come in full of confidence after a wild EFL Cup win over West Brom, with new signings Nico Gonzalez and Bazoumana Toure both making a mark. Given that all 62 previous league meetings between these two have produced at least one goal, another entertaining, high-scoring draw feels likely.

Elsewhere, Bournemouth host Everton and Coventry City take on Hull City in an all-day feast of football.

[ Click here for today’s Premier League games and kick-off times ]

La Liga: Atletico Madrid Face Sevilla Test

Levante vs Real Betis – 16:00
Real Sociedad vs Espanyol – 18:00
Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid – 20:30

The headline clash sees Sevilla host Atletico Madrid at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, and it's a proper early-season statement match. Sevilla are chasing a third straight win to open the campaign, having beaten Rayo Vallecano 2-1 and thrashed Athletic Bilbao 3-1 in their first two outings, a run that's put them second in the table. That's a big shift for a club that hasn't finished in the top four since 2021-22.

Atletico, meanwhile, are coming off a 2-2 draw with Villarreal where defensive mistakes cost them two penalties despite going into that game with a one-goal lead. Diego Simeone's side have made some notable additions this summer, bringing in the likes of Cristian Romero and Alejandro Grimaldo, and they'll be keen to tighten things up on the road.

History leans toward the visitors here. Atletico have won seven of the last nine meetings between these two sides, though Sevilla have actually won six of the last seven at home against them. Expect goals at both ends.

Bundesliga: Leverkusen, Leipzig and Dortmund in Action

Elversberg vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen – 14:30
Köln vs Hoffenheim – 14:30
Mainz 05 vs Paderborn – 14:30
RB Leipzig vs Borussia M'gladbach – 14:30
Union Berlin vs Eintracht Frankfurt – 14:30
Borussia Dortmund vs Hamburger SV – 17:30

The pick of the German fixtures is Dortmund's league opener against newly-promoted Hamburger SV at Signal Iduna Park. Dortmund finished second in the Bundesliga last season, though they were still well behind champions Bayern Munich, and they ended the campaign as the league's best defensive side, conceding just 34 goals. They go into this one off the back of a Supercup final defeat to Bayern, but that came before the competitive season had really started.

Hamburg, back in the top flight after years away, will have belief after securing their Bundesliga survival last season by finishing 13th and beating third-tier SC Verl 3-0 in the DFB-Pokal first round last weekend. But the history at this venue isn't kind to them. Hamburg haven't won at Signal Iduna Park since 2014, and Dortmund haven't lost to Hamburg in their last seven meetings. Most pundits are backing the hosts to win comfortably.

Serie A: Juventus Lead the Italian Action

Fiorentina vs Frosinone – 17:30
Monza vs Udinese – 17:30
Sassuolo vs Torino – 17:30
Juventus vs Parma – 19:45

In Turin, Juventus host Parma looking to build on a solid, if unconvincing, start to the season. Luciano Spalletti's side scraped past newly-promoted Frosinone 1-0 last weekend thanks to a Gleison Bremer header, though they wasted a number of clear chances and were nearly made to pay for it. A win here would give Juve back-to-back opening wins without conceding for the third season running.

Parma, on the other hand, endured a rough start, losing 1-0 at home to Cagliari after conceding late. They'll have it tough in Turin, where Juventus lost just twice in the entire league season at the Allianz Stadium last year. Juventus have also dominated this fixture recently, having won both meetings last season, including a 4-1 thrashing away at Parma in February. The Bianconeri go in as strong favourites to make it three wins on the bounce over the Crusaders.

Ligue 1: Lyon and Lens Among the Teams in Action

Strasbourg vs Lens – 16:15
Auxerre vs Angers – 19:45
Brest vs Toulouse – 19:45
Lorient vs Troyes – 19:45
Olympique Lyonnais vs Le Havre – 19:45

The standout fixture in France sees Strasbourg host Lens at the Stade de la Meinau, with both sides looking to turn the page after very different openers. Strasbourg's season could hardly have started worse, thumped 4-0 away at Marseille after having a man sent off, a result that leaves them bottom of the table. New boss Hugo Oliveira will be hoping home comforts help spark a response.

Lens, on the other hand, are flying. They followed up winning the Trophée des Champions against PSG with a 5-2 demolition of Auxerre to open their league campaign, taking full advantage after Auxerre had a player sent off. That's three wins in a row for Dino Toppmöller's side, and veteran forward Florian Thauvin is already among the goals after converting two penalties last time out. 

The head-to-head record also favours the visitors, with Strasbourg winning just one of their last seven meetings with Lens. Lens will be without the suspended Kyllian Antonio, but they still go in as favourites to make it four wins on the spin.