Kevin Hatchard's European Football Tips: Mbappé can dominate capital clash | OneFootball

Saturday 27 September, 15:15

Atletico Madrid lost out to their city rivals Real Madrid by the narrowest of margins in the last 16 of the Champions League last term, and that heroic failure set the tone for the rest of Atleti's campaign. Julian Alvarez's illegal "double-touch" penalty in the shootout was so important that IFAB changed the rules as a result, but that's cold comfort for Atletico, who saw it contribute to a defeat that was probably unwarranted.

Atleti were knocked out of the Copa Del Rey by Barcelona, and having been part of the title race in the first half of the campaign, Diego Simeone's men ended up third, the best of the rest behind the two undisputed giants of the Spanish game. Atletico have tried to change that dynamic by spending heavily in two successive summers, but Los Colchoneros are already nine points behind Real Madrid.

That gap would have been wider had Julian Alvarez not inspired a stirring comeback on Wednesday night against Rayo Vallecano. Going into the 80th minute at the Metropolitano, Atleti were 2-1 down, but Alvarez poached his second of the night, and then scored a stunning winner eight minutes later. Simeone ran down the touchline with glee, delighted that he was for once this season on the right end of a dramatic fightback.

Atleti now have the challenge of bringing down a Real Madrid team that has won all six league games under Xabi Alonso. The Basque is only the second Real Madrid coach to win his first six league games in charge (the oft-forgotten Vanderlei Luxemburgo was the first), and a little like Liverpool in the Premier League, there is a sense that they are winning games without hitting top gear.

While plenty of column inches have been devoted to Vinicius Junior being in and out of the team, and his various degrees of frustration, Kylian Mbappé has quietly become the undroppable leader of the attack under the new coach. Having been laid low by a stomach infection during the Club World Cup, the France captain has been utterly stellar at the start of this season.

Mbappé has netted nine goals in seven games for Real Madrid, and he scored in both World Cup qualifiers for France. His first campaign as a Real Madrid player was record-breaking (he netted 43 goals in all competitions, more than any other player in their maiden season with the club), and this term could be just as good, if not better.

Atletico aren't the snarling defensive giants of old, and they have only kept one clean sheet this term. They have conceded twice against Espanyol, Rayo Vallecano and Liverpool, and I can't see them containing Mbappé and company here.

Bayern Munich v Werder Bremen - King Kane can reach his century

Friday 26 September, 19:30Live on BBC iPlayer

There has been talk this week about whether Harry Kane would return to Tottenham next summer, and the rather disarming response from current Spurs boss Thomas Frank was to question why he would do that. Kane is part of one of the most turbo-charged attacking units in Europe, he will most likely add another league title to his cv this season, and if Bayern can fix their defensive issues he could compete for the Champions League.

Kane has already netted an extraordinary nine Bundesliga hat-tricks, including two in the first four games of this season. If he scores twice against leaky Werder Bremen on Friday he'll reach 100 Bayern goals, and will become the fastest player to reach a century for a club in Europe's top five leagues. Cristiano Ronaldo and Erling Haaland did it in 105 games for Real Madrid and Manchester City respectively.

Bayern have won all of their competitive games, and face a young Werder Bremen team that has already leaked ten goals. This feels like a hammering in the making, and I'll back Kane to score twice or more at 8/5.

Milan v Napoli - Conte can avoid defeat in battle of super-coaches

Sunday 28 September, 19:45

Live on TNT Sports

Considering how long Max Allegri and Antonio Conte have been operating at the top level, it's remarkable that this will be their first head-to-head for 12 years. Conte has only lost once to Allegri, and that was their first clash back in 2009, as Allegri's Cagliari overcame Conte's Atalanta 3-0.

Since then Allegri has won six Serie A titles across his time with Milan and Juventus, while Conte has won the Scudetto with three different clubs and has delivered the Premier League title with Chelsea. Now Allegri is back in the Milan dugout, with Conte going for back-to-back Scudetti at Napoli.

Milan have started the season well, racking up three straight league wins after a disastrous opening-weekend defeat against Cremonese. However, it's been a modest challenge in terms of the fixtures, and they face a Napoli team that has won all four league games so far.

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