Five games to watch this weekend: Le Clasique, LFC vs Man City, Clássico & more

From Japan to England 

As we do every week, we feature five games to keep an eye on over the weekend. This weekend offers a massive slate of exciting games across several continents. Liverpool take on Man City, the Clásscio takes place in Portugal, América take on Monterrey in Mexico, PSG face OM in France, and the J.League opens in Japan. In other words, there are once again exciting games to watch across the globe, and with the expertise of our global team, Transfermarkt takes you around the world to highlight five games you should watch this weekend.

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Takako Maruga (Area Manager Japan):

This summer, the J.League will align its calendar with Europe’s. Utilising the adjustment period since last season, the J.League 100 Year Vision League commences on 6 February. In J1, the 20 clubs will initially compete in regional leagues divided into eastern and western groups.

The highlight in the Western Group is the “Peace Match” between V-Varen Nagasaki and Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Both teams share a common ground: they are based in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, cities that suffered atomic bombings at the end of the Second World War and have championed post-war peace. With V-Varen Nagasaki’s promotion to J1, this marks the first time the match has been held in eight years.

The venue, Nagasaki City’s Peace Stadium, opened in October 2024. Alongside Sanfrecce’s Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima, which opened in February of the same year, it stands as one of Japan’s most successful stadiums.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima saw the departure of manager Michael Skibbe and the appointment of Bartosz Gaul, a German-Polish manager. Japanese football fans are eagerly anticipating what style of football he will bring

Clássico: Porto vs Sporting CP

Gonçalo Tristão Santos (Transfermarkt Area Manager Portugal):

This Clássico between FC Porto and Sporting could not come at a better time. After all, the match takes place right after FC Porto suffered their first defeat in the Portuguese League this season, losing 2-1 away to Casa Pia. This result reduced the gap between the two teams in the league from seven to four points, reigniting the title race.

Sporting, on the other hand, are going through a good moment, but the truth is that they have won their last four matches with goals scored in the 90th minute or already in stoppage time. In addition, Sporting have not won at the Estádio do Dragão since the 2015/16 season (across all competitions), underscoring how difficult it has been for Sporting to win at FC Porto’s home ground.

Facing each other will be the two best teams in Portugal right now. FC Porto have been the stronger side so far, but a defeat in the Clássico would allow Sporting to close the gap to just one point. A victory, on the other hand, would restore a comfortable lead at the top of the table.

For all these reasons, this Clássico is being eagerly anticipated by all supporters. We are talking about a match that could prove decisive in the fight for the Portuguese League title.

Giants clash in Liga MX: América vs Monterrey

Osvaldo González Camacho (Transfermarkt Area Manager Mexico):

With matchday 5 on the horizon, the storylines around América keep multiplying. The defending champions ended their Liga MX drought and then opened their CONCACAF Champions Cup campaign with a dramatic 2-1 away win over Olimpia in Tegucigalpa. That continental triumph sits against the backdrop of a major shake-up: midfield metronome Álvaro Fidalgo has already been sold to Real Betis, French winger Allan Saint-Maximin left the club, and Brazilian playmaker Raphael Veiga has just arrived from Palmeiras to fill the creative void. América’s core is shifting, yet the side is suddenly showing signs of life.

Rayados arrive in a very different mood. Germán Berterame’s reported €12.6M move to Inter Miami has stripped Monterrey of its most reliable scorer, and coach Domènec Torrent has openly said they lack important people up front and need reinforcements. The club will open its own Champions Cup tie away to Guatemala’s Xelajú Mario Camposeco before travelling to face América, and reports suggest a deal for Atlas striker Uroš Djurdjević is almost done. Until Djurdjević’s signing is official, the pressure falls on Anthony Martial and Monterrey’s midfield to carry the attack against a retooled América. Two giants with very different trajectories and plenty of off-field drama make this weekend’s showdown as compelling as it gets.

Le Clasique: PSG vs Olympique Marseille

Ronan Caroff (Transfermarkt Content Manager France):

Both PSG and OM are still getting over their Champions League disappointments from around ten days ago: the Parisians missed the top eight, and Marseille was the first team eliminated, in 25th place by goal difference. As they are out of the Coupe de France, Luis Enrique’s team can now focus on Ligue 1 where they just took back the lead from RC Lens. But they will have to be cautious against a team that is third in the ranking, and won the last encounter 1-0 in September, and made them struggle in the Trophée des Champions a month ago. Achraf Hakimi will be missing the game with a red card suspension, while Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is doubtful after being taken off early against Newcastle.

Marseille are still in the cup, beating Rennes easily on Tuesday to continue towards the quarterfinals. Focused now entirely on national competitions, Roberto De Zerbi’s team must regain the trust of its fans, who were angry over the early Champions League exit. They would like to close the gap to PSG, which currently is nine points. They should have an almost full team, with Emerson just back from injury, and many winter signings who want to make an impact on one of this season’s biggest games: Ethan Nwaneri and Quinten Timber already had a bit of time to settle in, while this could also be Himad Abdelli and Tochukwu Nnadi’s debuts with their new club.

Premier League: Liverpool vs Manchester City

Ben Littlemore (Transfermarkt Content Manager England):

Liverpool vs Manchester City was once THE fixture in English football, maybe in world football, when it came to quality. Although there was never much animosity between the two title rivals, their matches were usually always highly entertaining. However, right now neither side are the teams they were a few years ago. Manchester City have threatened to show some of the glimpses of attacking quality we have so closely associated with Guardiola’s team, but their defence has been anything but, epitomised by the two goals they conceded when throwing a lead away at Tottenham last weekend.

Liverpool are showing signs of resurgence after their meagre title defence, and their 4-1 drubbing of Newcastle last weekend was arguably their best performance of the season. City simply can’t afford to drop many more points in the title race, and could find themselves nine behind Arsenal as they walk out of the tunnel at Anfield, should the Gunners beat Sunderland on Saturday. For Liverpool, the Premier League aim is now securing a top-five finish. It should be a great watch at Anfield.

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