There is the Dutch Cup, the FA Cup, The Lisbon Derby, Le Classique, and many more coming up this weekend.
April 16.
Manchester City vs Liverpool (FA Cup) semifinal
April 17.
PSV Eindhoven vs Ajax (KNVB Cup -Final)
Paris St. Germain vs Marseille (Le Classique)
Sporting CP vs Benfica (Lisbon derby)
The FA Cup Semifinal
April 16.
Manchester City vs Liverpool
Six days after playing out a 2-2 draw in the Premier League, Manchester City and Liverpool will be back against each other.
Manchester City and Liverpool will face off in the FA Cup semifinals as UEFA Champions League semifinalists.
A draw is not an option this time around for Manchester City and Liverpool.
Manchester City or Liverpool will be playing in the FA Cup final at the expense of the other.
April 17.
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace.
In the other tie is a Chelsea side coming from a Champions League elimination.
Chelsea takes on Crystal Palace for the other FA Cup final spot.
May 14: FA Cup Final.
The KNVB CUP – Final
April 17.
PSV EINDHOVEN VS AJAX
The best way for PSV to relieve some of the pain of their midweek elimination from the Europa Conference League is to end a 10-year Dutch Cup drought.
It will be up to PSV Eindhoven to stop Ajax from winning a third KNVB Cup in a row.
March 2018 was the last time PSV managed a win against Ajax in any competition. In the Dutch Eredivisie this season, Ajax has done a league double of a 7-1 aggregate win on PSV.
Ajax also won the Super Cup at the start of the season, (4-0).
PSV Eindhoven will need their best efforts and better luck to come out of this with the silverware.
Lisbon Derby
April 17.
SPORTING CP VS BENFICA
Sporting CP has a 9-point lead after 29 matches played in the 2021/22 Portuguese Primeira Liga.
It was a 3-1 win for Sporting CP in the reverse fixture, and a 2-1 win for Sporting CP in the League Cup final but if Benfica manages to get revenge in this tie, they will put a dent in Sporting CP’s ambitions of defending the league title.
Benfica is out of the Champions League but a 3-3 draw at Anfield should be a boost for the weekend game against sporting CP.
The PREMIER LEAGUE – Round 33
April 16.
Tottenham vs Brighton
Manchester United vs Norwich City
Southampton vs Arsenal
Watford vs Brentford
April 17.
Newcastle vs Leicester City
West Ham vs Burnley
The top three (Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea) and Crystal Palace will not participate in the weekend festivities. Positionally, the results of this weekend won’t affect the top three.
There are 7 rounds left to go in the English Premier League and Manchester City and Liverpool are in a two-horse race for the league title.
Chelsea’s position in 3rd is not looking to be under any significant threat.
The chase for Champions League qualification is on for the TOTTENHAM, ARSENAL, MANCHESTER UNITED, and WOLVES.
Arsenal with a win from their game in hand will equal the points accumulated by Tottenham.
MANCHESTER UNITED VS NORWICH
Fortunately for Manchester United, they get to play bottom tabled Norwich City.
Norwich is coming from their first win in nine league games, while Manchester United has one win in the last five league games.[1 win in seven if Champions League games are added]
SOUTHAMPTON VS ARSENAL
A back-to-back defeat has stripped a lot from Arsenal’s advantage with the games in hand.
Arsenal must get points from a Southampton side that is coming into this game without a win in their last five league games, and a 6- 0 thrashing from Tottenham in the last round.
WATFORD vs BRENTFORD
Brentford can make it three league wins in a row at Watford; against a Watford side in desperate need of the points to beat relegation.
NEWCASTLE vs LEICESTER.
With the games they have in hand, Leicester City’s ambitions to qualify for a place in a continental cup competition through the league is very much alive. They were 4-0 winners in the reverse fixture against Newcastle. Both clubs will want the points to move closer to their most realistic target in the final standings. For Newcastle, the target is avoiding relegation. (looks likely)
WEST HAM VS BURNLEY
Even though they are three wins from winning the Europa League, West Ham will be looking for the points to qualify for a spot in one of the continental competitions through the league.
The FRENCH LIGUE – Round 32
April 15.
Rennes vs Monaco
April 16.
Saint-Etienne vs Brest
Lille vs Lens
April 17.
Nice vs Lorient
Metz vs Clermont Foot
Montpellier vs Reims
Nantes vs Angers
Troyes vs Strasbourg
Lyon vs Bordeaux
Paris St. Germain vs Marseille
Le Classique is next for a Marseille side that is not a Europa Conference League semifinalist.
In the last round, Marseille got a win against Montpellier to tag along with Paris St. Germain; keeping the gap at the top of the Ligue 1 standings at 12 points.
The top two in the French Ligue 1 standings will face each other this weekend in a match that will decide how fast the season will end.
April 17.
PARIS ST. GERMAIN VS MARSEILLE
Le Classique
The reverse fixture ended as a goalless draw.
An away victory in Paris will allow Marseille to cut the gap at the top of the table down to 9 points.
A win will move PSG to 15 points clear in the lead with a maximum of 18 points left in the season for each club.
April 15.
RENNES VS MONACO
Six points separate them.
Rennes looking for the points to challenge for second place, while Monaco looking for the points to challenge for a continental football competition.
CLERMONT FOOT, SAINT-ETIENNE, BORDEAUX, and METZ are battling relegation.
Metz and Clermont face each other. It was a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture.
Saint-Etienne host Brest, while Bordeaux is away against Lyon.
The GERMAN BUNDESLIGA – Round 30
April 16.
Augsburg vs Hertha Berlin
Dortmund vs Wolfsburg
Freiburg vs Bochum
Mainz vs Stuttgart
Mönchengladbach vs FC Koln
April 17.
Arminia Bielefeld vs Bayern Munich
Hoffenheim vs Greuther Furth
Union Berlin vs Frankfurt
Leverkusen vs RB Leipzig
FIVE more matches left of the season for a team to stop Bayern Munich from becoming the league champions for the 10th successive year.
ARMINIA BIELEFELD VS BAYERN MUNICH
After getting knocked out of the Champions League on Tuesday (by Villarreal), Bayern Munich will go away from home for the points to close out the German Bundesliga season.
It was a narrow 1-0 win for Bayern Munich in the reverse fixture against Arminia Bielefeld and it was a narrow ‘1-0’ win for Bayern Munich in their last Bundesliga fixture (vs Augsburg).
A win by a big margin will be the recommendation for Bayern Munich against a Arminia Bielefeld side that is coming from a 4-0 defeat to Wolfsburg.
LEVERKUSEN vs RB LEIPZIG
The objective is clear. {3rd vs 4th}
Leverkusen – 52 points
RB Leipzig – 51 points
After becoming a Europa League semifinalist, RB Leipzig will go to Leverkusen for points from a win to move a position up (to 3rd).
We doubt Leverkusen will make it easy for Leipzig. Leverkusen were 3-1 winners in the revere fixture.
FREIBURG, HOFFENEHIM, UNION BERLIN, and FC KOLN are currently the main contestants for the Europa League/Conference League in the Bundesliga. Freiburg will have ambitions of making it further and getting into a Champions League qualifying spot.
9th-place EINTRACHT FRANKFURT might not be in the running (yet) but after becoming a Europa League semifinalist by knocking out Barcelona at the Camp Nou, it is fair to think that Frankfurt might be inspired to challenge for the best finish in the Bundesliga.
STUTTGART, ARMINIA BIELEFELD, HERTHA BERLIN, and GREUTHER FURTH are fighting relegation.
Stuttgart is away against Mainz.
Arminia Bielefeld are home against Bayern Munich.
Hertha Berlin are in Augsburg.
Greuther Furth are away against Hoffenheim.
The ITALIAN SERIE A – Round 32
April 15.
Spezia vs Inter Milan
AC Milan vs Genoa
April 16.
Cagliari vs Sassuolo
Sampdoria vs Salernitana
Udinese vs Empoli
Fiorentina vs Venezia
Juventus vs Bologna
Lazio vs Torino
April 18.
Napoli vs Roma
Atalanta vs Hellas Verona
Both Milan teams play on Friday.
SPEZIA VS INTER MILAN
AC MILAN vs GENOA
AC Milan can’t slip up and drop any more points after successive draws.
Inter Milan has a second chance to claim the top spot and defend the league title.
NAPOLI VS ROMA.
A must-win for Napoli to keep up with the Milan teams in the title race.
A must-win for Roma to stay within some reach of the Champions League qualification.
CAGLIARI, VENEZIA, GENOA, and SALERNITANA are in the Serie A relegation battle.
Cagliari vs Sassuolo
Fiorentina vs Venezia
AC Milan vs Genoa
Sampdoria vs Salernitana
The SPANISH LA LIGA – Round 32
April 15.
Real Sociedad vs Real Betis
April 16.
Elche vs Mallorca
Alaves vs Rayo Vallecano
Valencia vs Osasuna
Getafe vs Villarreal
April 17.
Granada vs Levante
Atletico Madrid vs Espanyol
Athletic Club vs Celta Vigo
Sevilla vs Real Madrid
April 18.
Barcelona vs Cadiz
SEVILLA VS REAL MADRID
Barcelona does not need any favors but they might get one from Real Madrid if they hand Sevilla a defeat. The reverse fixture was a 2-1 victory for Real Madrid.
Despite being on equal points (60) with Barcelona, Sevilla needed an extra game to accumulate those points. Failing to beat Real Madrid will hand the advantage (for second place) to Barcelona.
BARCELONA vs CADIZ
Barcelona will be hosting relegation-zoned Cadiz.
Cadiz has had a 2-1 win, a 1-1 draw, and a goalless draw in the reverse fixture.
Since their promotion to the top flight in the 2020/21 season, Cadiz has remained unbeaten against Barcelona.
Being the team closest to the exit of the relegation zone, Cadiz will take any positive result from this tie. For Barcelona, their elimination from the Europa League will require a win to avoid any unnecessary panic.
ATLETICO MADRID, REAL BETIS, and REAL SOCIEDAD are in the contest for fourth place.
SOCIEDAD AND BETIS ARE IN A POSITION TO CRASH THE ‘TOP 4’.
Real Sociedad vs Real Betis
Real Sociedad will hope to use home advantage to wipe out the two points between them and Real Betis.
Real Sociedad were 4- 0 winners in the reverse fixture and also in their Copa del Rey quarterfinal tie.
Atletico Madrid vs Espanyol
Despite being out of the Champions League, Atletico Madrid will find the encouragement from their performance on Wednesday. A win against Espanyol is needed to guarantee the top four unless Real Betis is beaten by Real Sociedad.
The RELEGATION BATTLE in the Spanish La Liga
Levante and Alaves occupy the bottom two with 22 points each.
Levante is away against Granada, while bottom-table Alaves will search for point(s) away against Alaves.
Alaves vs Rayo Vallecano
Granada vs Levante
