MATCHDAY: Tottenham visits Crystal Palace in Premier League. Girona and Nice eye first place
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Friday:
ENGLAND
Premier League leader Tottenham will try to extend its hot start when it travels to south London to play Crystal Palace in a match that opens the 10th round of games. Spurs are one of two unbeaten teams — along with Arsenal — after winning seven matches and drawing the other two. They have 23 points under recently hired manager Ange Postecoglou, the most any coach has gained from his first nine games in charge in the Premier League. Second-place Manchester City is two points back and doesn’t play until Sunday. Left-back Destiny Udogie is a doubt for Tottenham after coming off in the 56th minute of the 2-0 win over Fulham with a muscle injury. Mid-table Palace lost 4-0 at Newcastle in its last match and is still without playmaker Eberechi Eze.
SPAIN
Girona has a chance to retake the lead of the Spanish league — for a day anyway — when it hosts Celta Vigo. Girona has won eight of 10 so far and its only loss was to current leader Real Madrid, which plays at Barcelona on Saturday. Girona and Madrid both have 25 points, and third-place Barcelona has 24. Rafa Benítez is under growing pressure at Celta, which is in the relegation zone with just one win.
ITALY
After marking his return to Serie A with a draw, new Salernitana coach Filippo Inzaghi will be looking to do one better when his team visits Genoa. Salernitana twice came from behind to draw 2-2 against Cagliari last weekend in Inzaghi’s first match in charge since replacing the fired Paulo Sousa. World Cup winning forward Inzaghi started his coaching career at AC Milan — the team where he had a glittering 11-year playing career. Salernitana, which had lost its previous four matches without scoring a goal, is a point above last-place Cagliari. Genoa has just four more points than Inzaghi’s team and has lost its past two matches, although those were against Milan and Atalanta.
GERMANY
The bottom two in the Bundesliga meet as Bochum hosts Mainz, with both teams searching for their first win of the season. Alarm bells are ringing at Mainz, whose 15-season run in the Bundesliga is at stake after a terrible start. Bo Svensson’s team has conceded 12 goals in four away league games so far. Bochum has managed to draw three of its four home games. Mainz won 5-2 when the two teams last played in January.
FRANCE
Monaco and Paris Saint-German don’t play until Sunday, so second-place Nice can move to the top of the standings when it visits struggling Clermont. Nice, the only team still unbeaten in the French league, is one point behind Monaco and one point ahead of PSG. Nice recorded its sixth clean sheet of the season in a 1-0 win over Marseille last week. In total, Nice has conceded just four goals — fewest in the big European leagues. Clermont has claimed just one win so far and has failed to score at home since mid-August.
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