Europa League Round 2 + Premier Saturday + crunch round in the Nile League

⚽ Tonight brings the 2nd round of the Europa League’s league phase, with these standout matches on our agenda:

• Roma vs. Lille (7:45pm);
• Fenerbahçe vs. Nice (7:45pm);
• Lyon vs. Salzburg (10pm);
• Nottingham Forest vs. Midtjylland (10pm);
• Porto vs. Red Star Belgrade (10pm);
• Feyenoord vs. Aston Villa (10pm).

The Premier League’s seventh round kicks off Friday with Bournemouth hosting Fulham at 10pm, and continues through Saturday and Sunday.

The Gunners eye the summit: Arsenal will be welcoming West Ham at the Emirates Stadium at 5pm on Saturday. The Gunners sit second on the leaderboard with 13 points, just two behind league leaders Liverpool, and hope to capitalize on their strong form in both the Premier League and the Champions League to temporarily claim the top spot before the Reds play.

The clash of the round: Liverpool is on the road to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea at 7:30pm on Saturday. The Reds lead the table with 15 points, but need to bounce back after defeats both in the league and in Europe. Meanwhile, the Blues languish in eighth place with as many points, in desperate need of a victory to improve their position and stay in the title conversation after back-to-back league defeats.

Also on Saturday:

• Tottenham Hotspur vs. Leeds (2pm);
• Manchester United vs. Sunderland (5pm).

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Los Blancos look to build on European momentum: Real Madrid is set to host Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabéu for the eighth round of La Liga at 10pm on Saturday. Los Merengues walk on the pitch in second place with 18 points to their name, one behind tentative leaders Barcelona — but still chasing the summit after their recent Atlético stumble, with a little bit of confidence restored after their thumping 5-0 Champions League W over Kairat Almaty.

European league matches we’ll be following on Saturday:

• Dortmund vs. Leipzig — Bundesliga (4:30pm);
• Bayer Leverkusen vs. Union Berlin — Bundesliga (4:30pm);
• Girona vs. Valencia — La Liga (5:15pm);
• Inter Milan vs. Cremonese — Serie A (7pm);
• Frankfurt vs. Bayern Munich — Bundesliga (7:30pm).

The 10th round of the Egyptian Premier League kicks off tomorrow through Sunday, with Pyramids notably absent.

The wounded Zamalek will be hosting Ghazl El Mahallah at 5pm on Saturday. The White Knights lost the derby to Al Ahly 2-1, but still remain on top of the scoreboard with 17 points, looking to restore their confidence and maintain their lead with a victory.

Al Ahly, riding high after their derby win, visit Ismailia Electricity at 8pm on Saturday. The Red Devils currently sit in third with 15 points and a game under their sleeve — seeking to extend their victory streak to four after finding their way back to top form.

Other Egyptian League weekend fixtures to flip through:

• Smouha vs. Ismaily (Friday 5pm);
• Al Ittihad vs. Arab Contractors (Friday 8pm);
• National Bank vs. Al Masry (Friday 8pm);
• Haras El Hodood vs. Ceramica Cleopatra (Saturday 8pm).

The last chance for the Young Pharaohs: Our homegrown U-20 team will be playing their final group match at the 2025 World Cup in Chile, facing the hosts at 2am on Saturday. They currently sit at the bottom of Group A with no points after defeats from Japan and New Zealand. Japan currently leads with six points, followed by Chile and New Zealand with three each. But hope remains for qualification — the Egyptian team needs a two-goal victory and a New Zealandian loss to Japan to grab a second place spot. A victory by any margin could see them squeeze through as one of the best third-placed teams, as per the new rules.