The summit of the Bundesliga table is in sight of Brandon Borrello’s Freiburg SC heading into Sunday morning’s (AEDT) home clash with RB Leipzig.
Borrello is set to feature for the high-flying club, who have surprised many to sit in sixth spot after eight games, just two points off the top.
The clash with Champions League outfit Leipzig – which kicks off at 12.30am – won’t be easy for Christian Streich’s side, with the visitors sitting one place and one point ahead of Freiburg.
But it does present Borrello’s outfit with the chance to claim another big scalp and move further up the Bundesliga ladder.
“I’m in a winning side at the moment and it can’t be much better,” Borrello told The World Game recently.
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“It’s early days but we’re playing some really good football and, in the Bundesliga, anything is possible because there’s no such thing as an easy game.
“We’ve started with a bang and we now need to build on that throughout the season.”
Elsewhere, Matthew Leckie’s Hertha Berlin host Hoffenheim at the same time, needing a win to jump into the top half of the table.
Over in England…
Aaron Mooy will have to watch his Brighton and Hove Albion side from the stands for their home clash against Everton on Sunday morning at 1am.
While Mat Ryan will start in goal for the Seagulls, Mooy is serving a suspension after his red card in the loss to Aston Villa last weekend.
In the Championship, Massimo Luongo is hoping to shrug off an injury to play in Sheffield Wednesday’s huge clash with Leeds United.
Luongo, who scored the winner in the 1-0 triumph over Stoke City in midweek, will be after a third goal in four starts if he features against the Whites at Hillsborough at 10.30pm on Saturday night.
Jackson Irvine’s Hull City are at home against Derby County at 1am on Sunday, while Bailey Wright’s Bristol City will be favourites to take all three points when they host Wigan Athletic at 12.30am on Monday.
In League One, Harry Souttar’s Fleetwood Town can consolidate their spot in the top six when they welcome lowly MK Dons to Highbury Stadium at 1am on Monday.
Mark Milligan’s Southend United – currently second from bottom – take on high-flying Ipswich at the same time.
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In the rest of Europe...
Awer Mabil’s FC Midtjylland can move further clear at the top of the Danish Superliga when they start the latest round against Esbjerg at 4am on Saturday.
Midtjylland’s nearest rivals FC Copenhagen aren’t in action until Tuesday (5am), when they do battle with Caltex Socceroos duo Mustafa Amini and Alex Gersbach’s AGF.
Milos Degenek’s Red Star Belgrade will be looking to bounce back from their midweek Champions League defeat against Tottenham when they travel to Radnik Surdulica in Serbia at 12.30am on Sunday.
In Scotland, Tom Rogic could start for Celtic again as they travel to Aberdeen at 11.15pm on Sunday, looking to pull away from Rangers at the top of the SPL table.
It’s a top-of-the-table clash for Aziz Behich’s fourth-place Istanbul Basaksehir, who host second-place Trabzonspor on Tuesday morning (4am) knowing a win will see them leapfrog the visitors on the ladder. The Turkish side claimed a 1-0 win against Wolfsburg in the UEFA Europa League on Friday morning AEDT.
Elsewhere, Jimmy Jeggo’s Austria Vienna take on Swarovski Tirol at 2am on Sunday, while in Israel, Trent Sainsbury and his Maccabi Haifa travel to Hapoel Kfar Saba at 4.30am.
In the Eredivisie, Ajdin Hrustic and his Groningen side take on Heerenveen at 10.15pm on Sunday, while Apostolos Giannou will be chasing more goals for AEK Larnaca as they host Enosis in Cyprus at 2am on Monday.
Over in Asia…
Caltex Socceroos hitman Adam Taggart is chasing his 18th goal of the campaign when Suwon Bluewings head to Incheon United in the K-League Relegation Play Offs at 6pm on Sunday.
Taggart scored his 17th goal of a sensational campaign as Suwon started the playoffs last weekend by beating Gyeongnam 2-1.
Craig Goodwin's Al-Wehda were in Saudi Pro League action on Friday morning AEDT, going down 2-0 at Al Shabab and dropping to third in the ladder.
