WEEKEND BANGERS
There are 11 rounds left of the La Liga season and about the same in the Premier League.
10 rounds left of the Serie A, 9 rounds left of Ligue 1, 8 more rounds left of the Bundesliga and Primeira Liga, and 7 rounds left of the Eredivisie
Benfica vs Porto in the Portuguese Primeira Liga on Friday.
Lazio vs Juventus in the Italian Serie A on Saturday.
Liverpool vs Arsenal in the English Premier League on Sunday.
The title race is pretty much over in Italy and in Spain.
Porto will need a win in Lisbon (against Benfica) to make an intriguing end to the race in Portugal.
Feyenoord had enough gap in the Eredivisie title race to win it.
Arsenal is almost at the finish line in the Premier League.
Paris St Germain has stumbled in recent games but they still have some cushion in the title race in Ligue 1.
The tightest race is in the Bundesliga.
April 7.
Benfica [ vs. ] Porto - (Portuguese Primeira Liga)
Salernitana [ vs. ] Inter Milan - (ITALIAN SERIE A)
AC Milan [ vs. ] Empoli - (ITALIAN SERIE A)
Lecce [ vs. ] Napoli - (ITALIAN SERIE A)
Sevilla [ vs. ] Celta Vigo - (SPANISH LA LIGA)
April 8.
Manchester United [ vs. ] Everton - (ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE)
Brentford [ vs. ] Newcastle United - (ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE)
Tottenham Hotspur [ vs. ] Brighton & Hove Albion - (ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE)
Wolverhampton Wanderers [ vs. ] Chelsea - (ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE)
Southampton [ vs. ] Manchester City - (ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE)
Nice [ vs. ] Paris Saint-Germain - (FRENCH LIGUE 1)
Freiburg [ vs. ] Bayern Munich - (GERMAN BUNDESLIGA)
Bayer Leverkusen [ vs. ] Eintracht Frankfurt - (GERMAN BUNDESLIGA)
Hertha Berlin [ vs. ] RB Leipzig - (GERMAN BUNDESLIGA)
Borussia Dortmund [ vs. ] Union Berlin - (GERMAN BUNDESLIGA)
Lazio [ vs. ] Juventus - (ITALIAN SERIE A)
Torino [ vs. ] Roma - (ITALIAN SERIE A)
Atalanta [ vs. ] Bologna - (ITALIAN SERIE A)
Real Madrid [ vs. ] Villarreal - (SPANISH LA LIGA)
April 9.
Hoffenheim [ vs. ] Schalke - (GERMAN BUNDESLIGA)
Liverpool [ vs. ] Arsenal - (ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE)
April 10.
Barcelona [ vs. ] Girona - (SPANISH LA LIGA)
APRIL 7. BENFICA [ VS. ] PORTO (PORTUGUESE PRIMEIRA LIGA)
(O Classico) – Benfica were ‘1-0’ winners over Porto in the reverse fixture. Porto will need to amend that to stop Benfica from keeping or widening a 10-point lead that the top of the Portuguese Primeira Liga standings. There will be 7 rounds of the season left after this fixture. Porto has had the better of Benfica in recent years. They will need to do that again on Friday.
APRIL 9. LIVERPOOL [ VS. ] ARSENAL (ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE)
Arsenal will be at Anfield for the points to help them tighten their grip on the Premier League title. It’s been years since Arsenal faced Liverpool with the ‘favorite’ tag. Liverpool is not at risk of dropping out of the top half of the table but a defeat will likely put them on the brink.
APRIL 8. MANCHESTER UNITED [ VS. ] EVERTON (ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE)
Manchester United is looking for the points to secure a place in the ‘top 4’, while Everton will be looking for the points to help them avoid relegation.
APRIL 8. BRENTFORD [ VS. ] NEWCASTLE UNITED (ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE)
Newcastle United is coming from a 5-1 win against West Ham to face a Brentford side that they beat by 5 goals to 1 in the reverse meeting. Newcastle needs the points to secure the ‘top 4’, while Brentford is looking to work their way up from midtable.
APRIL 8. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR [ VS. ] BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION (ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE)
Brighton were ‘1-0’ winner on their last visit. A repeat of that will move them a point away from Tottenham in the league standings while having 2 games in hand. With that said, the reverse fixture was a ‘1-0’ win for Tottenham.
APRIL 8. WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS [ VS. ] CHELSEA (ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE)
Chelsea is looking at 4 straight matches without a win, the same as Wolverhampton Wanderers.
APRIL 8. SOUTHAMPTON [ VS. ] MANCHESTER CITY (ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE)
Manchester City will be looking for an away victory against bottom-tabled Southampton to put some pressure on Arsenal in the title race. Southampton needs every point they can get to help their fight against relegation. The most recent meeting between the two clubs was a 2-0 Southampton win in the EFL Cup quarter-final, but the reverse fixture was a 4-0 win for Manchester City.
APRIL 8. NICE [ VS. ] PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN (FRENCH LIGUE 1)
After back-to-back league defeats at home, Paris St. Germain will be at Nice to get a result that puts an end to a losing streak. Nice is unbeaten in their last 12 league matches.
APRIL 8. FREIBURG [ VS. ] BAYERN MUNICH (GERMAN BUNDESLIGA)
Freiburg knocked Bayern Munich out of the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday (in Munich). They meet again this Saturday (in Freiburg) for the league points that is bound to impact the order of the ‘top four’ at the end of the round. Freiburg has a 2-point cushion in the top 4, and Bayern Munich has a 2-point cushion at the top of the league. A win is the only way the two clubs can guarantee they keep hold of their league position. Bayern Munich will be looking to avenge Tuesday’s exit, while Freiburg should be inspired by the result. With that said, the reverse fixture was a 5-0 win for Bayern Munich.
APRIL 8. BAYER LEVERKUSEN [ VS. ] EINTRACHT FRANKFURT (GERMAN BUNDESLIGA)
Leverkusen and Frankfurt are a point apart and chasing continental football.
APRIL 9. HOFFENHEIM [ VS. ] SCHALKE (GERMAN BUNDESLIGA)
Hoffenheim and Schalke will fight for the points to help their relegation battle in the Bundesliga.
APRIL 8. HERTHA BERLIN [ VS. ] RB LEIPZIG (GERMAN BUNDESLIGA)
RB Leipzig has suffered defeat in their last two league matches. They go to Berlin to see if they can end the poor streak against a Hertha Berlin side that is also without a league win from their last four matches. Leipzig is gunning for Champions League football. Hertha is looking to survive the league.
APRIL 8. BORUSSIA DORTMUND [ VS. ] UNION BERLIN (GERMAN BUNDESLIGA)
Dortmund and Union Berlin were both eliminated from the German Cup this week. They face each other on Saturday for the points to help their title race against Bayern Munich. Union Berlin were 2-0 winners in the reverse fixture but were 4-2 losers on their most recent visit to Dortmund.
APRIL 8. LAZIO [ VS. ] JUVENTUS (ITALIAN SERIE A)
Lazio has an 11-point lead over Juventus with 4 teams between them in the league standings. However, the two teams have a target to end the season by qualifying for a continental cup tournament. Both clubs will want Champions League football in the coming season. Juventus has had the better of Lazio. They knocked them out of the Coppa Italia and were also 3-0 winners in the reverse fixture.
APRIL 7. SALERNITANA [ VS. ] INTER MILAN (ITALIAN SERIE A)
APRIL 7. AC MILAN [ VS. ] EMPOLI (ITALIAN SERIE A)
AC Milan and Inter Milan will go for the points to hold on to their place in the ‘top four’, AC Milan is home against Empoli, while Inter Milan will be away against Salernitana.
APRIL 8. TORINO [ VS. ] ROMA (ITALIAN SERIE A)
APRIL 8. ATALANTA [ VS. ] BOLOGNA (ITALIAN SERIE A)
Roma and Atalanta will be looking for the points to hopefully get themselves in the ‘top four’ if the Milan clubs fail to do the necessary. Roma will be in Turin to face Torino, while Atalanta will host Bologna.
APRIL 7. LECCE [ VS. ] NAPOLI (ITALIAN SERIE A)
Napoli will be at Lecce for the points to bounce back from a 4-0 defeat against AC Milan.
APRIL 8. REAL MADRID [ VS. ] VILLARREAL (SPANISH LA LIGA)
After knocking out Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semifinal (4-0) at Camp Nou, Real Madrid will host Villarreal for the points to try and keep tabs on Barcelona in the league title race. It’s highly improbable that Real Madrid can stop Barcelona from winning the league with 10 rounds left of the season after the weekend. Villarreal is 4 points from the Champions League football qualification at the moment.
APRIL 10. BARCELONA [ VS. ] GIRONA (SPANISH LA LIGA)
Barcelona will look to complete their La Liga season after their elimination from the Copa del Rey (by Real Madrid). They will be home against midtable Girona.
