Aussies Abroad: Socceroos gear up for season openers, Boyle's blockbuster clash
Mathew Leckie and Brandon Borrello are in action this for their respective clubs this weekend as Germany’s professional leagues commence while Martin Boyle’s Hibernian have a meeting with top of the table Rangers.
Read on below for the full Aussies Abroad Preview!
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Mathew Leckie’s Bundesliga campaign will get underway when his Hertha Berlin travel to Werder Bremen on Saturday with kick off scheduled for 11:30pm.
Leckie has been in fine form for Hertha over preseason and has placed himself in reckoning for a starting spot under coach Bruno Labbadia.
Brandon Borrello started for Fortuna Dusseldorf in their first 2. Bundesliga season match away to Hamburg, and played 73 minutes in the 2-1 defeat.
Martin Boyle will be involved in a blockbuster clash in the Scottish Premiership as his Hibernian go head to head against league leaders Rangers at Easter Road on Sunday at 9pm.
This will be Boyle’s side biggest challenge yet with the Glasgow outfit sitting top of the table – undefeated this season and yet to concede a goal.
The Socceroos winger was instrumental in his side’s 3-0 victory against St Mirren last time out and will be looking to put in another outstanding shift as they look to inflict the first defeat of the campaign on Steven Gerrard’s side.
Over to the English Premier League where Maty Ryan’s Brighton & Hove Albion are set to take on Newcastle United at 11pm on Sunday.
Brighton suffered a 3-1 defeat to Chelsea in their season opener on Tuesday morning and will not want to back that up with a second straight defeat at St James Park.
Newcastle claimed a 2-0 win against West Ham last weekend and have shown some positive signs with two of their new signings getting on the scoresheet in that win.
In the J League, Thomas Deng’s Urawa Red Diamonds will have to be at their best when they come up against top of the table Kawasaki Frontale at 8pm on Sunday.
A frantic finale saw Urawa escape with a 4-3 win at Consadole Sapporo last time out which helped them retain sixth spot on the ladder ahead of this crucial clash.
Mitch Langerak will be in between the sticks for Nagoya Grampus on Saturday when they face off against Vissel Kobe at 6pm.
Grampus’ league form has faltered of late with just two wins picked up from their last five league fixtures.
However, they still sit in a highly respectable fourth spot and will be favourites to take all three points against 11th placed Kobe.
Aziz Behich’s Istanbul Basaksehir will be hoping to put last week’s loss behind them when they host Galatasaray in their latest Turkish SuperLig encounter at 2am on Monday.
Behich was absent for Istanbul as they lost their first match as defending champions – going down 2-0 to newly promoted Hatayspor.
They will need to refocus this weekend as they prepare to come up against a fellow Turkish heavyweight who will be keen to add more misery to the reigning champions’ campaign.
Awer Mabil and his FC Midtylland will be in action at 11:30pm on Saturday when they host Lyngby in the Danish Superligaen.
In the Greek Super League, James Jeggo’s Aris Thessaloniki will be looking to make it two wins on the bounce when they face off against NFC Volos at 3:30am on Monday.
Jeggo played a key role in his debut against Lamia last time out as his side raced to a 3-1 victory.
Over to Belgium where Danny Vukovic will be in between the sticks for Genk when they entertain KV Mechelen in the Belgian Pro League at 2:15am on Monday.
Genk have endured a slow start to the season and have five points from as many games.
They sit in 14th place in the 18 team competition while their upcoming opponents occupy 15th position.
In the English Championship, Massimo Luongo will be in action for Sheffield Wednesday when they host Watford at 12am on Sunday.
Sheffield opened their season with a 2-0 win against Cardiff last time out and will be eager to keep another cleansheet against relegated Watford.
Harry Souttar could be lining up for Stoke City when they meet Bristol City at 11pm on Sunday.
The Potters began their campaign with a 0-0 stalemate away to Millwall.
In League One, Bailey Wright will take to the pitch for Sunderland when they face Oxford United at 12am on Sunday.
Wright was at the centre of attention in their 1-1 draw last Saturday with the Socceroos defender putting his body on the line on multiple occasions for the Black Cats.
Over to Serbia where Milos Degenek will be featuring for FK Crvena Zvezda when they play Vozdovac at 3am on Sunday.
Degenek’s side have a five point lead at the top of the table while their opponents are situated in 9th ahead of their meeting.