Weekend Wanderings: Manchester City look to bounce back against Leeds, while Pirlo faces ex-teammate Gattuso on the touchline in Serie A

With games coming thick and fast in this condensed season, important fixtures are popping up everywhere you turn.

This weekend is no different – particularly on Sunday, with several clashes taking place between rival clubs.

Here are the games you can look forward to this week, in Alasdair Hooper’s Weekend Wanderings.

Leeds United v Manchester City (Saturday, 5.30pm)

If Leeds’s exploits against Liverpool on the opening day are anything to go by, this match could well be a cracker.

Combine that with Manchester City’s defence, which shipped five goals last weekend against Leicester, and this could really be a high-scoring game.

Of course, as well as the action on the pitch there’s also the storyline between the two managers to get caught up in: Marcelo Bielsa is one of Pep Guardiola’s biggest inspirations in coaching.

The two enjoyed plenty of tactical battles when they were managing Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona respectively in La Liga, and this match should be no different.

Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur (Sunday, 4.30pm)

Understandably much of the attention here will be on Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho, whose stint at Manchester United seems to be best remembered as some sort of dark comedy.

Any time he returns to Old Trafford there is added spice – will he get one over his former employers? – but on the pitch there’s also a lot of intrigue.

Tottenham managed to scrape through on penalties in the Carabao Cup in midweek and, like Manchester United, haven’t had the smoothest of starts in the Premier League this season.

But this game could well be complicated by Tottenham playing yet another game on Thursday night – against Maccabi Haifa in the Europa League.

On paper this looks a really well-matched battle, but will fatigue be a factor?

Barcelona v Sevilla (Sunday, 8pm)

Both Barcelona and Sevilla go head-to-head in their third game of the La Liga season on Sunday, with both clubs also in action on Thursday night.

Despite the summer turmoil at Barcelona and the cloud hanging over the club, they understandably remain one of the favourites for the league title this season.

But if any team in La Liga can cause them trouble it’s Sevilla, who certainly mean business.

Obviously, their Europa League victory last season is something to point to – but the side has looked assured, even in their loss to Bayern Munich in the Super Cup.

Currently Sevilla are fourth favourites for the league title but, even with Ronald Koeman’s Barcelona team putting four past Villareal on matchday one, there are still doubts over the Catalan side.

This could be the ideal time to catch them off guard.

Juventus v Napoli (Sunday, 7.45pm)

With Lazio also playing Inter this Sunday in Serie A, it’s been tough to narrow down this list of fixtures for Weekend Wanderings – but there is real intrigue around the game between Juventus and Napoli.

Understandably Andrea Pirlo’s first managerial job at Juventus will be scrutinised at every moment and, after a solid first outing against Sampdoria, things didn’t quite go to plan last weekend against Roma in a 2-2 draw.

Napoli, meanwhile, under the management of Pirlo’s long-time midfield partner at Milan Gennaro Gattuso, have been flying. They won 6-0 last weekend at Genoa, and currently sit top of Serie A.

However, all of this may have to be put on hold, with the game currently in doubt depending on how quickly Napoli can return their coronavirus tests.

That’s because 14 players and members of staff at Genoa tested positive after the game last weekend. Napoli’s test results are due on Saturday.

Lyon v Marseille (Sunday, 8pm)

Much was expected of both Lyon and Marseille this season – particularly after Lyon’s Champions League exploits and Marseille’s second-placed finish last season.

However, both have had disappointing starts and sit in mid-table after five games. Lyon have just one league win to their name, while Marseille have two.

The two teams go against each other this Sunday night and it represents a real opportunity for the victor to build some momentum, while also doing damage to one of their rival clubs.

We are still in the early stages of the season but both sides will need to pick up their form sooner rather than later.

You can follow Alasdair on Twitter @adjhooper1992