10 Players to Watch in World Football This Weekend of November 7-9
The weekend games are rapidly approaching, as clubs turn their attentions to big domestic fixtures at the top and bottom of leagues that are largely now a quarter of the way through their seasons—if not drawing to a close.
We've taken our usual look around the globe for you to pick out 10 of the key players to watch in big games this weekend from leagues as distant and different as the Liga MX and the Bundesliga and La Liga and the Ukrainian Premier League.
Here's our 10—feel free to add your own below.
Antoine Griezmann
1 of 10
Atletico Madrid attacker Antoine Griezmann is just starting to find consistency and comfort at his new club, playing in a range of positions so far and alternating good performances with slightly marginalised ones.
He found form last weekend, hitting two goals from a much more advanced, second-striker role. He came on as sub in midweek too.
This time, his Atleti side face his former employers, Real Sociedad, who have struggled badly this term without him—they're in the relegation zone and without a manager at present. Atleti are third and will expect Griezmann to help them hunt down leaders and rivals Real Madrid with another win here.
Max Kruse
2 of 10
Borussia Monchengladbach have been largely excellent this term. They are still unbeaten in the Bundesliga after 10 matches and sit in third place. They face another enormous test this weekend, albeit against a side in the relegation zone: Borussia Dortmund.
How BVB are in the bottom two is one of football's mysteries, but Gladbach won't be bothered about that—just about trying to extend their unbeaten run. Max Kruse will be one of their key players again, a vital runner and outlet for their counter-attacks and a source of goals too.
He has five in league play this term; another goal at Signal Iduna Park could keep his own team in the top three and his opponents in the bottom three.
Kolo Toure
3 of 10
The biggest Premier League game of the weekend sees Liverpool play host to table-toppers Chelsea; one team is in great form, the other is decidedly not.
Reds boss Brendan Rodgers made a host of changes to his team for the Champions League game against Real Madrid. Kolo Toure was one of those who came in and put in a very good performance, offering Liverpool much-improved defensive strength and organisation at the back compared to recent weeks.
Not normally a regular, Toure will hope to—deservedly—keep his place this weekend and will be charged with keeping out Chelsea's attacking talent to help Liverpool avoid a third successive defeat.
Jose Callejon
4 of 10
Serie A's top scorer this season, Jose Callejon has eight goals to his name in the league already, helping Napoli up to fifth place with a good recent run of form.
Last season's third-place side will hope to get back into the Champions League spots quickly, so a positive result from a tough away fixture against Fiorentina is imperative. La Viola have won just one of their last four, though, so Napoli—with three wins and two draws from their last five—could be catching them at the right time.
Callejon will once more be the man to carry the positivity and optimism of the Napoli side and hope to fire them to three more points.
Luiz Adriano
5 of 10
To Ukraine now, the very edge of Europe before we leap beyond.
Two of the top three play each other again this weekend, as they did last week, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk—defeated at home by Dynamo Kyiv a week ago—this time take on Shakhtar Donetsk, who themselves lost the Donetsk derby last time out.
Shakhtar will be desperate to take victory here and close the gap on Dynamo at the top, so they'll be looking to in-form forward Luiz Adriano to continue his hot streak. Shakhtar have scored a whopping 23 goals in their last five matches, with the Brazilian attacker netting 10 of them.
Eight of those have come in two games against BATE Borisov in the Champions League. More of the same domestically would be a welcome sight for Shakhtar.
Marquinhos
6 of 10
Out of Europe for a spell now and to Gameweek 33 in the Brazilian Serie A, which is closing in on the end of the season.
Cruzeiro are top of the league by five points, despite winning just once in their last three games, but they face the chance to rack up a few goals and ensure the points gap doesn't get any smaller this weekend when they face bottom-of-the-table Criciuma, a team with the second-worst defensive record in the league—Cruzeiro have scored the most goals.
Forward Marquinhos hasn't been prolific all season long, but he has recently hit a rich vein of form, scoring in his last two matches and also netting the crucial winner against Internacional a few weeks back. The 25-year-old will hope to get his share against weaker opposition this weekend .
Alfredo Talavera
7 of 10
To Mexico now, where Liga MX's top two are set to do battle in what is perhaps too early to be a title decider, but a game that will certainly shape the intensity and pressure around the championship chase.
Second-place Toluca play host to leaders America, with just two points separating the teams following the league leaders managing just one win out of the last four.
We'll opt for Toluca 'keeper Alfredo Talavera as the man to watch in the game; both teams share the best defence in the league at present, and Talavera has kept clean sheets in each of Toluca's last two wins. Another clean sheet at home against the top club this weekend could see his own side switch places with them.
Wilfried Bony
8 of 10
Back to the Premier League now and a key fixture on Sunday sees Swansea City play host to Arsenal.
The Gunners are in the top four largely thanks to a very mixed bag in the Premier League this season among their rivals; Arsenal have only won four from their opening 10 games and continue to display weaknesses that teams attempt to exploit.
Swansea can do just that with one player in particular. Wilfried Bony has shown himself more than capable of taking on the top defenders and scoring goals regularly. Swansea are only just outside the top four themselves; don't be surprised to see an "unexpected" result go their way this weekend.
Pablo Piatti
9 of 10
Over in La Liga, Valencia take on a slightly resurgent Athletic Bilbao this weekend, with the Basque side unbeaten in three and having risen to mid-table. Los Che are still in second after beating Villarreal last week.
Pablo Piatti has been in tremendous form for Valencia over the past few weeks, with the left-sided Argentine forward showing all his creative talents to lay on chances and keep opponents on the back foot.
It's a big game in the context of the top-four battle, and Piatti has the form and quality to make a telling difference.
Giannelli Imbula
10 of 10
Our final choice comes from what is possibly the most anticipated game of the weekend: Ligue 1's top two, PSG vs. Marseille. PSG are the title holders and the slightly more in-form side over the past few weeks, but Marseille are top of the table and have plenty to fight for.
Manager Marcelo Bielsa has given l'OM a tremendous desire and aggressive style of play, with their energetic midfield proving crucial to that.
Giannelli Imbula has been impressive at the heart of the team, and he'll face a major test this weekend against the likes of Thiago Motta and Blaise Matuidi. Can he still stem the creativity and energy of those players to help his side function? If he can, not only will he call more attention to himself as a top talent, he'll also be contributing to helping his side stay top of the league.
