Home of football statistics and historyOctober 2021 is going to be filled with enthralling, action-packed club football, with some mouth-watering fixtures coming up across Europe’s most prominent leagues.
From the Bundesliga through the Premier League, Serie A and La Liga to Ligue 1, some of Europe’s best leagues will pick up full steam this month.
If you are looking for the right bet of the day to make when betting on football during this month, we have trimmed down the five most exciting matches to watch out for in October.
Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen vs Bayern Munich – October 17
BayArena will play host to an exciting Bundesliga showdown between high-flying Bayer Leverkusen and perennial German champions Bayern Munich on October 17.
Both sides have experienced identical fortunes in Germany’s top-flight this season, winning five of their first seven league fixtures while drawing and losing once apiece.
There is nothing but a goal difference to separate the sides heading into the international break, with Bayern scoring 24 Bundesliga goals this term compared to Leverkusen’s 20.
Each of the last four league encounters between these teams at BayArena has seen 3+ goals and both sides on the scoresheet, highlighting the potential for action-packed, end-to-end football.
Led by new manager Gerardo Seoane, Die Werkself will stake a claim for their first home H2H win since February 2019 when they thrashed Niko Kovac’s Bayern 3-1.
However, the Bavarians have since made light work of their Bundesliga visits to Leverkusen, winning two on the trot by an aggregate score of 6-3.
La Liga: Barcelona vs Real Madrid – October 24
Barcelona and Real Madrid will go head-to-head at Camp Nou in the first El Clasico of the season on October 24.
Arguably one of the most highly anticipated fixtures on the European football schedule will be an opportunity for Los Merengues to prove their La Liga title credentials against out-of-sorts rivals.
Ronald Koeman’s future at Camp Nou is hanging by a thread following Barcelona’s horrendous start to the season that culminated with back-to-back losses to Benfica and Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and La Liga, respectively.
Like their arch-rivals, Carlo Ancelotti’s men have suffered a massive dip in form recently, going from an eight-match unbeaten start in all competitions to consecutive defeats, including a humiliating 2-1 home loss to Sheriff Tiraspol in the Champions League.
So stakes will be high as both sides have a point to prove, though Madrid might have the upper hand here, having won their last three top-flight H2Hs in a row.
Premier League: Manchester United vs Liverpool – October 17
Familiar foes will trade tackles at Old Trafford on October 17, as Manchester United take on bitter rivals Liverpool in a blockbuster Premier League clash.
Despite blowing hot and cold in recent times, the Red Devils remain within touching distance from table-toppers Chelsea, lagging just two points behind Thomas Tuchel’s side in fourth.
Meanwhile, the Merseyside heavyweights have accrued one point more than their hosts so far. However, it’s worth mentioning that they went into the international window as the only side in the Premier League yet to lose a league match this season.
The scars from last season’s underwhelming 4-2 defeat in this exact fixture are still fresh, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men hope to inflict revenge on fierce rivals.
That result marked United’s first top-flight H2H reverse at Old Trafford since March 2014, halting their six-match unbeaten home run against Liverpool.
After acquiring the ammunition to win high-profile match-ups, Solskjaer will be under pressure to get his star-studded side back to winning ways, having returned just one point from his last two Premier League games.
Serie A: Inter Milan vs Juventus – October 24
The 177th Derby d’Italia edition in Serie A will be staged at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on October 24.
After dethroning Juventus last season, reigning Italian champions Inter Milan will be looking to add insult to injury and beat the Bianconeri in back-to-back league duels for the first time in the 21st century.
But the overall H2H stakes in Serie A massively favour the Turin powerhouse, as they’ve won 85 of their 176 top-flight matches against the Nerazzurri while losing just 47.
Antonio Conte’s Inter prevailed 2-0 in this exact fixture last season to claim their first Serie A victory against Juventus since September 2016.
Yet, you have to go back to 1991 to find the last time the Lombard giants won two home clashes against Juve in succession.
They will face an uphill task to achieve that feat here, especially considering the visitors’ recent renaissance under Massimiliano Allegri.
Although he endured a torrid start to his second managerial stint in Turin, Allegri has managed to get his side back on track, with the record-time Italian champions winning their last three league matches on the bounce.
Ligue 1: Olympique Marseille vs Paris Saint-Germain – October 24
Olympique Marseille’s sternest test in the 2021/22 Ligue 1 season so far will arrive in the shape of Mauricio Pochettino’s all-star Paris Saint-Germain side on October 24.
Jorge Sampaoli navigated his side to a six-game unbeaten top-flight start to get his managerial adventure at the Stade Velodrome to a flying beginning.
However, Les Olympiens have lost their last two Ligue 1 matches. They are already trailing pacesetters PSG by a staggering ten points, meaning another failure here might effectively kick them out of the title race.
Having won just two of their ten top-flight H2Hs at home since the Qatari takeover in 2011, Marseille will take the field as overwhelming outsiders.
But with Lionel Messi yet to click with his new teammates at the Parc des Princes, this could be a perfect chance for the hosts to pick up their first home league win over PSG in almost a decade.
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