Football derbies to light up the weekend

ANKARA

European football will see three derbies this weekend as Chelsea will take on Arsenal, Roma will face Lazio, and Galatasaray will play against Besiktas.

In the English Premier League, Chelsea vs. Arsenal will be held on Sunday.

The match at Chelsea's home ground Stamford Bridge will start at 1200 GMT.

In the league table, Chelsea are 10 points behind leaders Arsenal, who have 31 points in 12 matches.


Chelsea’s French midfielder N'Golo Kante will miss the game as well as the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to a hamstring injury.

Reece James, another Chelsea player, will also not play against Arsenal due to a knee injury.

Meanwhile, Chelsea's summer signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is set to face his old teammates. The 33-year-old was an Arsenal forward from 2018 to 2022.

Aubameyang played for Barcelona for a short while this year.

Roma vs. Lazio

The Roma vs. Lazio derby is one of the oldest and biggest derbies in Italy.


Roma will miss several players in Sunday's derby at Olimpico.

Italian left-back Leonardo Spinazzola (Biceps femoris muscle injury), Argentine forward Paulo Dybala (Hamstring injury) and Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum (Tibia fracture) will not play against Lazio.

Lazio's Serbian star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has been suspended for this game.

Lazio's Italian forward Ciro Immobile has a Biceps femoris muscle injury and will not play in the derby.

Roma are in the fourth spot with 25 points in 12 matches, while Lazio have 24 points to come in fifth in the league led by Napoli, who have 32 points.

The Roma vs. Lazio derby will begin at 1700 GMT.

Galatasaray to face Besiktas

Turkish football fans cannot wait to watch the Galatasaray vs. Besiktas derby on Saturday.

Galatasaray's Austrian winger Yusuf Demir sustained a thigh muscle injury and he will be ineligible for the Istanbul derby at Nef Stadium, the home of Galatasaray.

Besiktas pair in midfield – Atiba Hutchinson from Canada and Algeria's Rachid Ghezzal – were troubled by injuries.

In the league table, Galatasaray are in the fifth position with 21 points, while Besiktas have 22 points to be in the fourth position.


Fenerbahce are the Turkish Spor Toto Super Lig leaders with 26 points.


The Istanbul derby between Galatasaray and Besiktas will start at 1700 GMT.