A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Saturday:
ENGLAND
Manchester United is looking to avoid losing three straight games at Old Trafford in an eight-day span when Brentford visits in the Premier League. The pressure is ramping up on manager Erik ten Hag and his team after defeats to Crystal Palace in the league last weekend and Galatasaray in the Champions League. United has lost three of its last four league games and is languishing in 10th place, nine points behind leader Manchester City. Brentford's form is even more worrying after winning just one of its nine games in all competitions this season. Second-place Tottenham can go top, even if just overnight, by winning at Luton in the lunchtime kickoff and Chelsea looks to build on a victory at Fulham by beating Burnley away.
SPAIN
Coach Carlo Ancelotti may have to improvise in defense when Real Madrid hosts Osasuna looking to stay at the top of the Spanish league standings. Ancelotti could end up using one of his fullbacks — likely Ferland Mendy — in the middle of the defense along with Antonio Rüdiger because David Alaba is not expected to recover from an injury. Nacho is serving a red-card suspension and Éder Militão is out for a long period because of a knee injury. Madrid has won seven of its eight league games, with the only setback a 3-1 loss at Atletico Madrid. Third-place Girona, one point behind Barcelona and two points behind Madrid, visits Cadiz. Mallorca hosts Valencia, while Rayo Vallecano visits Sevilla.
ITALY
Serie A leader Inter Milan hosts Bologna fresh off a 1-0 win over Benfica in the Champions League. Marcus Thuram, who scored the only goal against Benfica, could be rested in favor of Alexis Sanchez. AC Milan, which is level on points with Inter but trails its city rival on head-to-head after a lopsided 5-1 derby loss last month, visits promoted Genoa, which is coached by World Cup winner Alberto Gilardino. Also, Juventus faces Torino in a derby.
GERMANY
Union Berlin is looking to end a six-game losing steak across all competitions, but faces a difficult visit to Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund is one of only three teams still unbeaten in the Bundesliga and it has won in each of Union's previous four visits in the league. Union has been playing well but no longer has the same defensive stability of old, and the team’s confidence has been battered by conceding late goals. Also, Stuttgart hosts Wolfsburg for a meeting of two of the league’s best forwards. Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy has 10 goals in six games so far, while Wolfsburg counterpart Jonas Wind has scored seven. Elsewhere, Bochum hosts Leipzig, Darmstadt visits Augsburg and Werder Bremen welcomes Hoffenheim.
FRANCE
Reims can move to the top of the league with a home win against current leader Monaco, which is only one point ahead. But a draw would give Nice a chance to move into first place with a victory at Metz, which is near the relegation zone. Heading into this weekend's games Nice was the only side still unbeaten along with Rennes.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
