THE PREDICTOR: City to make light work of derby, Pep to rub it on Klopp

Saturday Newcastle 1-3 Liverpool 2.45pm Brendan Rodgers believes his players are finally starting to gel on the pitch ahead of their Premier League clash with Newcastle at St James’ Park. Whatever is convincing, we cannot tell. What is clear is that Mario Balotelli finally scored in midweek against Swansea and justified his place in the starting lineup today. However, the bad news is that Liverpool are still without Daniel Sturridge, their would-be lead striker since the departure of Luis Suarez to Barcelona. To make things worse, the team has been conceding goals as much as they have been jeered for their ineptitude in the final-third. And the worse news is that they are away, not at home. The worst, of course, is that the Magpies have picked up the pieces after a disappointing start. Newcastle have won three on the trot, including last week’s fixture at Spurs. They have regained the kind of confidence they need to face Liverpool, a side that played out a draw at St James’ Park last season. Alan Pardew can smile again after surviving the sack. He will give a fitness test to striker Papiss Cisse and midfielder Cheick Tiote. Without Cisse, though, the Magpies could struggle. Saturday Hull City 0-0 Southampton 5pm The Saints are second on the table. This is a side that had been written off after selling the bulk of their star players, but it appears it sold them to Liverpool and bought the latter’s last season league position. Ronald Koeman’s side are well balanced, conceding less and scoring the needed goals. And when they travel to face the Tigers, Steve Bruce will be wary of a side playing for fun. Hull are difficult to tame at home and will provide the Saints the ultimate test of their mettle. Saturday Everton 3-1 Swansea 5pm Javier Martinez has described Samuel Eto’o as a gift from God after the Cameroonian striker became a hit in the last two fixtures. With Eto’o revival is Romelu Lukaku’s reawakening after the Belgian went into scoring drought only to return last week with a stellar performance. The two strikers will need to be in their best to ward off the challenge of Gary Monk’s side. Swansea started off well but begun to struggle after four games. However, they seem to have rediscovered their mojo. A trip to Merseyside to face the Toffees could be one difficult trip in the last few seasons, but Everton have been struggling at home this campaign. Everton must arrest the home wobbles now. Sunday Man City 4-2 Man United 3.30pm Defending champions City host United in the Manchester derby at odds. There were times United would have been walking this game to their dressing room. But these are times Manuel Pellegrini is hardly bothered by the doubt cast on playmaker David Silva, who picked up an injury last weekend, or the struggling Yaya Toure. City feel they have enough ammo in their firepower to shoot down the visiting Red Devils, a side who, despite lining up some of the most coveted forwards in world football, struggle to find the net. Wayne Rooney returns from three-game ban to wear the armband again. In his absence, United beat West Ham United and Everton in gritty encounters, then drew with West Bromwich Albion and leaders Chelsea. Pellegrini’s side, however, are nursing disappointments after going three games without a win, including last weekend’s comprehensive loss at Boleyn Grounds. To reassure themselves, they will need a sure derby victory and United with its suspect defence is the side to feast on. Pellegrini is aware Michael Carrick could start after sitting on the bench against Chelsea and West Brom; Jonny Evans, Antonio Valencia and Radamel Falcao are all fit again. Of course, there is also the element of history that favours United, but this is it for City or they will fight hard to find their footing this season. Bundesliga Saturday Hamburger 0-3 Leverkusen 4.30pm When Dortmund struggles, it is expected that Bayer would be the one to challenge Bayern. Not this season. Sure, they drew when they met, but the fifth place and top of the table are two different things. But the gap is not that wide, and Leverkusen will want to get maximum points when they visit Hamburger SV, a club struggling for form and tinkering with relegation. Saturday Bayern 3-2 Dortmund 7.30pm Borussia Dortmund veteran defender Sebastian Kehl believes the added pressure of visiting Allianz Arena can help them end an awful Bundesliga run that have seen them lose six times from their opening nine fixtures. Dortmund are virtually out of the title run but their performances in cups remain remarkable. Jurgen Klopp’s men are languishing in 15th place coming into today’s clash with defending champions Bayern Munich. Though suffering in the Bundesliga, Dortmund have won three in three in the Champions League, cruised through their DFB-Pokal second-round clash against St Pauli in midweek and overcame Bayern 2-0 in August’s DFL-Super Cup. Bayern have been their bridesmaid in the recent season, and this fixture could be one that Klopp can emerge from with smiles. The fixture comes at the height of tension between the two giants as a war of words at boardroom level hits the fans over a potential move for Marco Reus to Bavaria. A string of ankle injuries have hampered Reus this season, but his mental state will be under close scrutiny as he looks to sink a team he is ever-increasingly expected to join at the end of the campaign. Reus’ recent return has further boosted Klopp’s options with the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Shinji Kagawa also making comebacks from fitness issues. Bayern coach Pep Guardiola has been happy to see Franck Ribery back, which will add to the Munich side’s firepower. Can Klopp cope? The form book is bad. Saturday Ligue 1 Marseille 2-0 Lens 10pm Olympique Marseille face a test of their credentials as they try to bounce back from two defeats on the trot. The Ligue One leaders are still four points clear of champions PSG despite losing to Lyon last week and then being knocked out of the French Cup. Marcelo Bielsa’s side will hope that struggling Lens do not wear them out at home and winning this game would put them back in firm command of the league. Sunday La Liga Atletico 4-1 Cordoba 7pm Atleti were largely overlooked in Monday’s awards ceremony for the Spanish Football League, despite turning tables to end the domestic dominance of Barcelona and Real Madrid by lifting the Liga title last season. However, the team is not bothered by the snub and wants to focus on the defence of their title. Atleti have slowly crawled back to within two points of leaders Barcelona. The champions, who are likely to be without Tiago and Cristian Ansaldi, head into this clash at the Vicente Calderon on the back of three straight wins in all competitions. By contrast Cordoba, who have a doubt over full-back Jose Crespo, find themselves in the bottom three having taken five points from nine league matches and they are yet to win in La Liga. Cordoba’s poor start to the season saw Albert Ferrer pay the price with his job and he was replaced as head coach by former Valencia boss Miroslav Djukic. But can Miro outsmart the literally smart Diego Simeone, the La Liga coach of the year? Serie A Parma 2-1 Inter 9.45pm Under-pressure Parma coach Roberto Donadoni faces a potentially decisive clash against Inter at the Stadio Ennio Tardini. Donadoni’s side have slumped to the foot of Serie A after taking just three points from a possible 27 this season, leaving the former Italy boss on borrowed time. After their 3-1 defeat to Sassuolo last week, president Tommaso Ghirardi hinted that Donadoni’s reign could come to an end if he losses against Torino and Inter. Perhaps Donadoni can look up to Allan Pardew and clutch on this straw called Inter, another struggling side that have just started feeling themselves after going four games without defeat in all competitions. Donadoni is not concerned by the visit of Walter Mazzarri’s men and believes his squad have the battling capabilities to turn their season around. Parma is edging this tie.

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THE PREDICTOR: City to make light work of derby, Pep to rub it on Klopp