WEEKEND
FIXTURES
Club football returns after a weekend of “international football”.
There are …
12 rounds left of Spanish La Liga.
11 rounds left of Italian Serie A.
About 10 rounds left of the English Premier League.
10 rounds left of the French Ligue 1.
9 rounds left of the German Bundesliga and the Portuguese Primeira Liga.
8 rounds left of the Dutch Eredivisie.
We enter the weekend with Paris St. Germain as the only defending champion at the top of the league table.
Napoli is looking to end a 33-year wait for a league title in Serie A.
Arsenal is looking to end a 19-year wait for a league title in the Premier League.
Dortmund is hoping to hold on to their narrow lead and win the Bundesliga and end an 11-year wait for the league title.
Barcelona (12 points clear) is looking to end a 4-year La Liga title drought.
Benfica (10 points clear) is looking to end a 4-year wait in the Primeira Liga.
Feyenoord (6-point lead) is looking to end a 5-year wait for the Eredivisie.
SPANISH LA LIGA
At the top of the table : Barcelona
In the relegation zone : Espanyol, Valencia, Almería, Elche
Under relegation threat : Mallorca, Girona
In the relegation avoidance race : Getafe, Sevilla, Cádiz, Valladolid, Espanyol, Valencia, Almería, Elche
Sevilla, and Cadiz will be fighting for the points to escape the relegation threat.
Barcelona will follow their El Clasico victory with a game against bottom-tabled Elche.
Real Madrid will hope to bounce back from El Clasico defeat with a win over a struggling Valladolid.
It’s a chase for the ‘top four’ between Villarreal and Real Sociedad.
Atletico Madrid is on a good run but not yet comfortable in the ‘top 4’ to slip some points without a high risk of losing their ground. They will play against a Real Betis team sitting at the entrance of the ‘top 4’; just 6 points away from Atletico Madrid.
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
At the top of the table : Arsenal
In the relegation zone : West Ham United, Bournemouth, and Southampton
In the relegation avoidance race : Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leeds United, Everton, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, West Ham United, Bournemouth, and Southampton
Arsenal will be tightening their grip on the title with a win against Leeds United; and hopefully, Liverpool will do them a favor.
Many pre-season predictions would’ve predicted a two-horse race between Manchester City and Liverpool; so far, this is not what we’ve gotten.
Manchester City and Liverpool have different but similar ambitions at this stage of the season. Manchester City is searching for the results to keep alive their hope of defending the league title, while Liverpool is looking for a result to help their chances of Champions League qualification.
Chelsea and Aston Villa are on equal points after 27 rounds played. Their league position isn’t under any threat at the moment. Chelsea and Aston Villa are both midtable teams looking to advance into the top half of the league standings. They face each other on equal points after playing 27 rounds of the season.
West Ham and Southampton will play each other for the points to help their relegation battles.
Newcastle United lost the League Cup final to Manchester United and will hope to use the backing of their home support to make amends. It was a goalless draw in the reverse fixture. Finishing in the ‘top four’ is the target for both teams. Manchester United has the Europa League route to qualify for next season’s Champions League football but Newcastle only has the ‘top 4’ finish to get Champions League football.
ITALIAN SERIE A
At the top of the table : Napoli
In the relegation zone : Hellas Verona, Sampdoria, and Cremonese
In the relegation avoidance race : Empoli, Lecce, Salernitana, Spezia, Hellas Verona, Sampdoria, and Cremonese
After a Derby della Capitale win against Roma and a recent win in Naples over Napoli, Lazio will travel to Monza for the points to hold on to second place in the league standings.
It has been consecutive league defeats (including a Derby della Capitale defeat) for Roma as they sit outside the ‘top four’. Facing a Sampdoria side that is looking like a prime relegation candidate is a perfect game for Roma to pick up a win.
Inter Milan has been without a win in their last three matches (including 2 league defeats). Inter Milan’s league position will be under threat (by AC Milan and Roma) if they fail to get maximum points against a Fiorentina side that has won their last 4 league games and are currently unbeaten in their last 9 matches in all competitions.
Despite points deduction, Juventus is climbing their way up the standings. A win against relegation-zoned Hellas Verona will come in handy for Juventus.
Udinese will be looking for their 3rd league win in a row when they face a Bologna side that is without a win in their last three league games.
Spezia and Salernitana have a small point gap between them and the relegation zone. Both sides will be planning not to keep that gap when they meet.
AC Milan will go to Naples to try and get something from a Napoli side that has the most comfortable lead in the title race of all of the top leagues in Europe. (If Lazio could do it, then AC Milan can hope to do the same.)
Sassuolo and Torino will be looking for the points that will hopefully help them get into the top half of the league table.
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
At the top of the table : Borussia Dortmund
In the tile race : Bayern Munich
League title contenders : Union Berlin and Freiburg
In the relegation zone : Schalke and Stuttgart
Under relegation threat : Augsburg, FC Köln, and Bochum
In the relegation avoidance race : Hoffenheim, Hertha Berlin, Schalke, and Stuttgart
Coming from a league defeat, losing the top spot, and making managerial changes. Der Klassiker couldn’t have come at a better time for Bayern Munich.
Borussia Dortmund took the top spot from Bayern Munich in the last round with a win comfortable win over FC Koln to take full advantage of Bayern Munich’s defeat at Leverkusen.
Bayern Munich will have the opportunity in front of home supporters to quickly restore order, or Borussia Dortmund will make a statement with a positive result in Munich.
Dortmund won their most recent league title 9 seasons ago after holding it for two seasons. The Bundesliga title has been with Bayern Munich since they took it from Dortmund in 2013.
It ended a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture.
Dortmund were 3-1 losers the last time they were at the Allianz Arena.
The 2019 German Super Cup was the last time Dortmund won Der Klassiker.
2018 was the last time Dortmund won a league game against Bayern Munich (3-2 at home).
A lot will be required from Dortmund to stop Bayern Munich from being champions for the 11th straight season.
On the sideline for Bayern Munich will be their new manager Thomas Tuchel; who was Dortmund’s manager between 2015 and 2017.
FRENCH LIGUE 1
At the top of the table : Paris Saint-Germain
League title contenders : Marseille
In the relegation zone : Troyes, Ajaccio, and Angers
Under relegation threat : Nantes
In the relegation avoidance race : Strasbourg, Brest, Auxerre, and Troyes
Auxerre and Troyes will go for points to help their relegation battles..
After a win in Paris, Rennes will host a Lens side that is looking to make it three league wins in a row after a dip in form in recent weeks.
After a defeat at home to Rennes, Paris St. Germain will be hoping to get back to a win when they host Lyon this weekend.
Paris St. Germain were 1-0 winners in the reverse meeting.
HIGHLIGHTED FIXTURES
April 1.
Manchester City [ vs. ] Liverpool {Premier League}
Bayern Munich [ vs. ] Borussia Dortmund {Bundesliga}
Flamengo [ vs. ] Fluminense {Campeonato Carioca – Final (First Leg)}
April 2.
Newcastle United [ vs. ] Manchester United {Premier League}
Fenerbahce [ vs. ] Besiktas {Super Lig}
Paris Saint-Germain [ vs ] Lyon {Ligue 1}
Napoli [ vs. ] AC Milan {Serie A}
Atlético Madrid [ vs. ] Real Betis {La Liga}
Sparta Rotterdam [ vs. ] Feyenoord (Rotterdam derby) {Eredivisie}
INTERESTING FIXTURES TO FOLLOW
March 31.
Mallorca [ vs. ] Osasuna {La Liga}
April 1.
Cádiz [ vs. ] Sevilla {La Liga}
Arsenal [ vs. ] Leeds United {Premier League}
Brighton & Hove Albion [ vs. ] Brentford {Premier League}
Nottingham Forest [ vs. ] Wolverhampton Wanderers {Premier League}
Chelsea [ vs. ] Aston Villa {Premier League}
Auxerre [ vs. ] Troyes {Ligue 1}
April 2.
Villarreal [ vs. ] Real Sociedad {La Liga}
West Ham United [ vs. ] Southampton {Premier League}
Bologna [ vs. ] Udinese {Serie A}
Spezia [ vs. ] Salernitana {Serie A}
FC Köln [ vs. ] Borussia Mönchengladbach {Bundesliga}
Lille [ vs. ] Lorient {Ligue 1}
Go Ahead Eagles [ vs. ] Ajax {Eredivisie}
Rio Ave [ vs. ] Benfica {Primeira Liga}
April 3.
Empoli [ vs. ] Lecce {Serie A}
Sassuolo [ vs. ] Torino {Serie A}
Everton [ vs. ] Tottenham Hotspur {Premier League}
