Szczesny set for Barca bow and Conte faces Fabregas

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has won 84 caps for Poland

Wojciech Szczesny is in line to make his Barcelona debut against Alaves in La Liga on Sunday - just over a month since he had announced his retirement.

Former Poland international Szczesny, 34, announced that he was hanging up his gloves after his contract with Juventus was terminated, but has now reversed that decision after Barca lost first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to a serious knee injury in their 5-1 win against Villarreal last month.

"He is not going for the money at Barcelona, I can tell you that much," Spanish football expert Guillem Balague said on the Euro Leagues podcast.

"They needed something after the injury to Marc-Andre ter Stegen. I get the impression he is coming to be the number one and play in the big games, and have an experience that will run until next summer."

Barca go into the game looking to bounce back from their 4-2 defeat by Osasuna, as reigning champions Real Madrid look to do the same after their 36-match unbeaten run in all competitions ended against Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Carlo Ancelotti's side play Villarreal at the Bernabeu and trail Hansi Flick’s Barca side by three points.

"Defeat is an opportunity, if we take it and react well," Ancelotti said.

"We are self-critical. There are times when you have to reconnect and you need to do it quickly.

"Sometimes a good run makes you think you're invincible, but a defeat brings you back to reality. We are still not at our level, we have players who are not at their best.

Kylian Mbappe returned as a substitute at Lille after a thigh injury and the France striker may start this weekend, with Andriy Lunin set to deputise in goal again for the injured Thibaut Courtois.

Girona and Atletico Madrid also suffered Champions League defeats on Wednesday and both are in action on Sunday, against Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad respectively.

Subplots galore as Bayern meet Eintracht Frankfurt

Omar Marmoush is upstaging Harry Kane in the Bundesliga goalscoring charts

Bayern Munich travel to in-form Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday for a battle between the top two in Bundesliga, as they look to return to winning ways.

Vincent Kompany’s side played out a hard-fought 1-1 draw against reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen last weekend and were then beaten 1-0 at Aston Villa in the Champions League in midweek.

Bayern are desperate to reclaim the league crown after finishing third last term, 18 points behind Xabi Alonso's side.

And this will be another early-season encounter that tests their title credentials against a club managed by a former Bayern assistant, who has crafted a reputation as one of the best young coaches in the game.

Dino Toppmoller's Frankfurt side have won their last four matches in the German top flight, after beginning the campaign with a defeat at Borussia Dortmund.

Frankfurt also boast the division’s top scorer in Omar Marmoush, who has scored six goals in five games - one more than Bayern’s England forward Harry Kane.

Bayern and Frankfurt are also the only two German sides to have won a European trophy this century, with each side winning three of their previous seven meetings - which have brought 25 goals.

Fourth-placed Leverkusen, fresh from their 1-0 win over AC Milan in the Champions League, host promoted Holstein Kiel on Saturday, while Dortmund, in fifth, head to Union Berlin looking for their first away win of the season.

RB Leipzig, the only other undefeated team aside from Bayern, visit Heidenheim on Sunday.

Tight at the top as Conte welcomes Fabregas

Antonio Conte and Cesc Fabregas enjoyed a successful relationship at Chelsea

Cesc Fabregas will renew acquaintances with his former boss Antonio Conte when his Como team travel to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on Friday to face Serie A leaders Napoli.

Fabregas won a Premier League title and the FA Cup as a player under the Italian at Chelsea, but will face a tough assignment in Naples against a side many are tipping to compete for the Scudetto.

Scott McTominay has impressed since his summer move from Manchester United, while Conte also has star winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia at his disposal - and says Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku is nearing full match fitness.

However, the 55-year-old, who has already won the Italian title four times as a coach with Juventus and Inter Milan, is managing excitement levels around the club for now.

"I know there are high expectations for me because I have done important things," Conte said.

"Let's let the fans dream, but I have to keep my feet on the ground. I hear people talking who know nothing about Scudettos."

Como, meanwhile, come into the game on the back of wins over Atalanta and Verona.

"The pieces are starting to get together and you know the team has a clear identity now, a clear style of play," Fabregas told the Planet Premier League podcast.

"Of course, we are at the beginning. I know that. But the most important, most pleasing thing to see is that I see my team the way I think about it, the way I imagine it and I think this is also very, very important for me.”

Napoli won their third Scudetto in 2022-23

Second-placed Juventus are yet to concede a goal in the league this term but have injury problems to contend with prior to the arrival of lowly Cagliari on Sunday.

Brazil centre-back Gleison Bremer may be out for the season after picking up a serious knee injury in Juve’s 3-2 win at RB Leipzig in the Champions League, while on-loan Fiorentina winger Nicolas Gonzalez went off with a thigh problem in the same game.

AC Milan, Inter and Torino, who play on Saturday, sit just two points adrift of pacesetters Napoli and one behind Thiago Motta's team.

The Rossoneri go to mid-table Fiorentina buoyed by the likely return of centre forward Alvaro Morata, who has scored two goals in his first four league games for the club since arriving from Atletico Madrid in the summer.

Elsewhere in Europe

Monaco go to Rennes on Saturday hoping to go top of Ligue 1, with Paris St-Germain, who currently lead on goal difference, playing at Nice almost 24 hours later.

English boss Liam Rosenior's young Strasbourg side will also hope to follow-up their victory over Marseille in positive fashion when they play Lens.

All 10 of the outfield players to start against Marseille were aged 22 or under.

"It is a learning process for these players. I believe in them. I don't talk about age," said Rosenior.

In Austria, Sturm Graz play Red Bull Salzburg on Sunday in a meeting between first and third.

PSV Eindhoven will look to continue their 100% record in the Dutch Eredivisie against Sparta Rotterdam and Sporting will aim for the same, when they play Casa Pia in the Portuguese Primeira Liga.