U21 Matchday Duel: Jules Koundé vs. Takefusa Kubo

Our second weekly Duel sees Sevilla’s defender Jules Koundé face Japanese wonderkid Takefusa Kubo for the thirty-sixth fixture of La Liga.

After a consistently successful rise through Bordeaux’s ranks, Koundé rattled the transfer world last year, moving from Ligue 1 to La Liga for a hefty 25M. If anyone doubted whether the French defender was worth all that money, by now all doubts have been cleared: ever since he set foot on the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, Koundé has been a towering and permanent presence in Sevilla’s XI.

Representing Mallorca is the 19-year-old Asian sensation Takefusa Kubo, loaned by Real Madrid to the Balearic club. Despite Mallorca’s poor perfomances – the team struggles to avoid relegation, while Sevilla seeks to secure a spot in next season’s Champions League – the young player from Japan has been nothing short of extraordinary. He has proven this season that he’s more than ready to play for Los Merengues, and will probably do so again on Sunday, against the Andalusian team.

You know it’s going to be one of best games of the week when you have two extremely talented youngsters playing for two teams that desperately need another three points. Will Koundé be the defensive anchor that gives Sevilla the edge? Or will Kubo be able to propel Mallorca to an unlikely, yet much-needed win?

Other duels you can’t miss this weekend

SATURDAY, JULY 11

• João Félix (Atlético Madrid) vs. Emerson (Real Betis)

• Sandro Tonali (Brescia) vs. Justin Kluivert (AS Roma)

SUNDAY, JULY 12

• Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina) vs. Marash Kumbulla (Hellas Verona)

• Ben Wilmot (Swansea City) vs. Tyler Roberts (Leeds United)

• Valentin Mihaila (Universitatea Craiova) vs. Dennis Man (Steaua Bucuresti)

• Mohammed Daramy (FC Copenhagen) vs. Morten Frendrup (Brondby IF)

MONDAY, JULY 13

• Mason Greenwood (Manchester United) vs. Michael Obafemi (Southampton)