This weekend in Europe’s T-5 leagues.
There is a Berlin derby in the German Bundesliga.
Manchester City and Liverpool fight for the top spot in the English Premier League.
Bordeaux and Metz will face off for the points to help improve the odds of survival in the French Ligue 1.
There is no room for error for any of the clubs in the Italian Serie A.
PREMIER LEAGUE
MANCHESTER CITY vs LIVERPOOL
It’s virtually the Premier League title decider.
A modern-day classic.
Guardiola’s Manchester City vs Klopp’s Liverpool.
Different style of play. Similar efficiency.
The two most recent winners of the English Premier League title are separated by a point.
They were both 2-0 winners in the last round and are both coming to this fixture after winning the first-leg Champions League quarterfinal fixture (on Tuesday).
Manchester City is defending a title and they will be OK with a draw.
Liverpool is trying to get back the title and needs a win to be in charge of their destiny.
Manchester City pulls 4 points clear with a home win.
Liverpool will gain a two-point lead in the title race with a win.
The reverse meeting was a 2-2 draw.
Liverpool has not beaten Manchester City since their 2018-19 title-winning season.
The last game played at Etihad Stadium between the two ended in a 1-1 draw.
Manchester City’s most recent win at home against Liverpool was a 4-0 victory (July 2020).
Let’s go!
April 8.
Newcastle vs Wolves
April 9.
Everton vs Manchester United
Arsenal vs Brighton
Southampton vs Chelsea
Watford vs Leeds
Aston Villa vs Tottenham
April 10.
Brentford vs West Ham
Leicester City vs Crystal Palace
Norwich vs Burnley
Manchester City vs Liverpool
After losing heavily to Brentford in the last round and following it with a defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinal first leg, Chelsea will go away from home (vs Southampton) for a result to get them back on a winning track.
The North London teams are in a race for Champions League qualification. Arsenal host Brighton while Tottenham will be away against Aston Villa.
West Ham takes on an inspired Brentford side that is coming from a win against Chelsea.
It’s the right game for Manchester United to get some points from an Everton side that is sliding out of the Premier League at the moment.
SPANISH LA LIGA
April 8.
Sevilla vs Granada
April 9.
Cadiz vs Real Betis
Mallorca vs Atletico Madrid
Villarreal vs Athletic Club
Real Madrid vs Getafe
April 10.
Osasuna vs Alaves
Espanyol vs Celta Vigo
Elche vs Real Sociedad
Levante vs Barcelona
April 11.
Rayo Vallecano vs Valencia
Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid will be looking to amend the defeat they suffered in the reverse fixture of their weekend matches.
Real Madrid lost 1-0 in the reverse fixture against Getafe.
Atletico lost 2-1 in the reverse fixture against Mallorca.
Should we be praying for Levante? Barcelona has a game in hand to cup closer to the top of the table.
Since Koeman’s Barcelona were 3- 0 winners in the reverse fixture, not many will expect anything less from an in-form Barcelona side under Xavi vs a Levante side looking relegation bound.
Levante is contesting with Mallorca and Alaves for the points to avoid relegation. Mallorca’s fight Atletico Madrid for the points. Alaves will be away against Osasuna.
They beat Bayern Munich in their first leg tie of the Champions League quarterfinal but to keep 7th place in the Spanish La Liga standings, Villarreal must avoid defeat against Athletic Club.
ITALIAN SERIE A
The entire Seire A table leaves very little room for a team not to pay for a bad result with their position in the standings.
The last round ended with AC Milan exposed and vulnerable at the top of the league table after dropping two points in a goalless draw with Napoli.
Napoli is now a point away, and Inter Milan will also be a point away if they pick up the maximum points from the game they have in hand.
Napoli will take on Fiorentina in Naples, Inter Milan will be looking to follow up their win against Juventus with a home win against Hellas Verona, and AC Milan will be in Turin for the points from Torino.
Juventus will try and restart another unbeaten streak after their loss against Inter Milan. [Cagliari vs Juventus.]
April 9.
Empoli vs Spezia
Inter Milan vs Hellas Veron
Cagliari vs Juventus
April 10.
Genoa vs Lazio
Napoli vs Fiorentina
Sassuolo vs Atalanta
Venezia vs Udinese
Roma vs Salernitana
Torino vs AC Milan
April 11.
Bologna vs Sampdoria
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
Will Dortmund use Stuttgart to amend the 4-1 defeat against RB Leipzig and give Bayern Munich a good run for the Bundesliga title?
6 more matches left of the season for a team to stop Bayern Munich from becoming the league champions for the 10th successive year.
The chase for Champions League football remains a hot race for RB Leipzig, Freiburg, and Hoffenheim. RB Leipzig will host Hoffenheim.
There is a Berlin derby: Hertha vs Union.
There is a 15-point gap between relegation-zoned Hertha Berlin and a Union Berlin side that are in a position to dream of qualification for one of the continental cup competitions in Europe.
Union Berlin won the reverse fixture ‘2-0’ and also won ‘3-2’ to knock out Hertha from the DFB-Pokal in the ‘Round of 16’.
April 8.
Stuttgart vs Dortmund
April 9.
FC Koln vs Mainz
Bayern Munich vs Augsburg
Gruether Furth vs Monchengladbach
Wolfsburg vs Arminia Bielefeld
Hertha Berlin vs Union Berlin
April 10.
Bochum vs Leverkusen
Frankfurt vs Freiburg
RB Leipzig vs Hoffenheim
FRENCH LIGUE 1
With Paris St. Germain wrapping up the season, the race for second place/direct qualification to the Champions League group stage is what the likes of Marseille, Rennes, Strasbourg, Nice, and about 5 more hopefuls are in.
{Bordeaux vs Metz} The bottom two teams in the league standings will face off for the points to help improve the odds of their survival.
April 8.
Lorient vs Saint-Etienne
April 9.
Reims vs Rennes
Clermont Foot vs Paris St. Germain
April 10.
Bordeaux vs Metz
Angers vs Lille
Brest vs Nantes
Monaco vs Troyes
Lens vs Nice
Strasbourg vs Lyon
Marseille vs Montpeller
FENERBAHCE VS GALATASARAY
TURKISH SUPER LIG
The two most successful clubs in the history of the Turkish league.
Between the two teams are 51 league titles in a 63-year-old league.
There is a 15-point gap between the two sides after 31 rounds of the Turkish Super Lig but bragging rights from a derby win have never gone out of style.
Galatasaray can use the points as Fenerbahce were 2-1 winners in the reverse fixture.
