The football weekend brings forth the following matches:
๐ช๐ธ A cup final in Spain, where Athletic Club and Mallorca compete for the Copa del Rey title.
๐ฎ๐น The Rome derby, as Roma seeks to widen the gap on Lazio in Serie A.
๐ณ๐ฑ De Klassieker, as Feyenoord aims to secure points against Ajax to aid their slim chance of retaining the Eredivisie title.
๐ต๐น A Lisbon derby, which is bound to influence the Primeira Liga title race.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ The Northwest derby, as Liverpool searches for the points from Manchester United to help their Premier League title race.
There are no ๐ช๐ธ La Liga games scheduled for the weekend.
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THE SHOTS TO TAKE THIS WEEKEND
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Friday, April 5, 2024
๐ช๐ธ Fernando Morientes turns 48, ๐ฉ๐ช Thomas Hitzlsperger turns 42, ๐ฒ๐ฆ Yassine Bounou (Morocco) – 33.
๐ฎ๐น Salernitana vs. Sassuolo (italian serie a)
The bottom two teams in Serie A will face off, with Salernitana trailing Sassuolo by 10 points. While hope may seem futile for Salernitana in the relegation battles, Sassuolo remains in a position to maintain optimism. These points are crucial for both clubs to improve their chances, but it’s likely that Sassuolo will make the stronger push for maximum points.
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Saturday, April 6, 2024
๐บ๐ธ Herculez Gomez turns 42, ๐ฆ๐ท Nahuel Molina turns 26.
๐ณ๐ฑ PSV Eindhoven vs. AZ Alkmaar (dutch eredivisie)
Both teams are coming off midweek league games, each experiencing different outcomes. PSV Eindhoven secured a 2-0 victory on Tuesday against Excelsior, rebounding from their first league defeat of the season. Meanwhile, AZ Alkmaar endured a shocking 5-0 loss to Excelsior, a team struggling to gather points to stave off relegation on Wednesday. PSV emerged victorious with a 4-0 win in the previous encounter between the two sides.
๐ต๐น Sporting CP vs. Benfica (portuguese primeira liga)
Lisbon Derby – It’s a two-horse title race in the Portuguese Primeira Liga. The contenders meet again for the second time in five days. They clashed on Tuesday, resulting in a 2-2 draw which was sufficient for Sporting CP to secure a spot in the Taca de Portugal final with a 4-3 aggregate victory. Another draw would suffice for Sporting CP, as they currently lead the title race by a point and also have a game in hand.
In the reverse fixture, Benfica emerged as 2-1 winners. They require another victory here to climb to the top of the league standings and narrow the advantage Sporting CP holds with their game in hand.
๐ฎ๐น Roma vs. Lazio (italian serie a)
Rome derby : Lazio eliminated Roma from this yearโs Coppa Italia with a 1-0 victory in the quarterfinals, and their previous league encounter resulted in a goalless draw.
Roma recently played to a goalless draw with Lecce in their last league fixture, while Lazio secured a 1-0 win against Juventus. Despite this, Roma currently holds a six-point lead over Lazio in the Serie A standings, with eight more rounds remaining in the season.
๐ฉ๐ช Borussia Dortmund vs. Stuttgart (german bundesliga)
A victory for Dortmund would narrow the gap between them and Stuttgart to just one point. For Dortmund, winning is also the sole means to secure their league position, unless RB Leipzig fails to secure a win against Freiburg.
๐ช๐ธ Athletic Club vs. Mallorca (copa del rey final)
Although Mallorca is the more recent winner of the competition, Athletic Club boasts a significantly superior history of success in the tournament. Athletic Club seeks their 23rd Copa del Rey title, while Mallorca pursues their second.
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Sunday, April 7, 2024
๐ฎ๐น Marco Delvecchio turns 51, ๐ซ๐ท Franck Ribรฉry turns 41, ๐บ๐พ Martรญn Cรกceres turns 37, ๐ต๐น William Carvalho turns 32, ๐ณ๐ฑ Andries Noppert turns 30.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Manchester United vs. Liverpool (english premier league)
An English classic – Manchester United will host Liverpool for the Premier League point.
The reverse fixture ended in a goalless draw, while their recent meeting in the FA Cup quarter final saw Manchester United emerge victorious with a 4-3 win after extra time.
Liverpool is contending for the league title, making the points in this match vital for their pursuit. Manchester United’s season has been marked by inconsistency, with unpredictability becoming the only consistent aspect. Anything other than a heavy defeat will be considered progress for them.
๐ณ๐ฑ Feyenoord vs. Ajax (dutch eredivisie)
De Klassieker – The last two Eredivisie champions face off, with Ajax far from being a contender, and Feyenoord struggling to maintain their title defense against the impressive season PSV Eindhoven has had.
Feyenoord were 4-0 winners in Amsterdam in the reverse fixture. It is up to Ajax to respond.
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Monday, April 8, 2024
๐ต๐ฑ Grzegorz Lato turns 74, ๐ท๐บ Aleksandr Chivadze turns 69, ๐ง๐ท Mazinho turns 58, ๐น๐ณ Khaled Badra turns 51, ๐ท๐บ Igor Akinfeev turns 38, ๐ฆ๐บ Mathew Ryan turns 32.
๐ฎ๐น Udinese vs. Inter Milan (italian serie a)
Another opportunity for Inter Milan to close out the title race. They will be away against Udinese.
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(STANDINGS) THE TITLE RACE IN THE TOP 7 LEAGUES:
๐ฎ๐น Serie A: Inter Milan with a 14-point lead.
๐ฉ๐ช Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen with a 13-point lead.
๐ซ๐ท Ligue 1: Paris Saint-Germain with a 12-point lead.
๐ณ๐ฑ Eredivisie: PSV Eindhoven with a 9-point lead.
๐ช๐ธ La Liga: Real Madrid with a 8-point lead.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Premier League: Liverpool with a 2-point lead.
๐ต๐น Primeira Liga: Sporting CP with a 1-point lead and a game in hand.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Premier League
1st | Liverpool (30) – 70 points
2nd | Arsenal (30) – 68 points
3rd | Manchester City (30) – 67 points
4th | Aston Villa (31) – 59 points
5th | Tottenham Hotspur (30) – 57 points
๐ฉ๐ช Bundesliga
1st | Real Madrid (30) – 75 points
2nd | Barcelona (30) – 67 points
3rd | Girona (30) – 65 points
4th | Atlรฉtico Madrid (30) – 58 points
5th | Athletic Club (30) – 56 points
๐ฎ๐น Serie A:
1st | Inter Milan (30) – 79 points
2nd | AC Milan (30) – 65 points
3rd | Juventus (30) – 59 points
4th | Bologna (30) – 57 points
๐ฉ๐ช Bundesliga
1st | Bayer Leverkusen (27) – 73 points
2nd | Bayern Munich (27) – 60 points
3rd | Stuttgart (27) – 57 points
4th | Borussia Dortmund (27) – 53 points
5th | RB Leipzig (27) – 50 points
๐ซ๐ท Ligue 1
1st | Paris Saint-Germain (27) – 62 points
2nd | Brest (27) – 50 points
3rd | Monaco (27) – 49 points
4th | Lille (27) – 46 points
5th | Nice (27) – 43 points
6th | Lens (27) – 42 points
๐ณ๐ฑ Eredivisie
1st | PSV Eindhoven (28) – 75 points
2nd | Feyenoord (28) – 66 points
3rd | Twente (28) – 57 points
4th | AZ Alkmaar (28) – 52 points
5th | Ajax (28) – 45 points
๐ต๐น Primeira Liga
1st | Sporting CP (26) – 68 points
2nd | Benfica (27) – 67 points
3rd | Porto (27) – 58 points
4th | Braga (27) – 56 points
5th | Vitรณria de Guimarรฃes (27) – 53 points
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THE FIXTURES INVOLVING THE LEAGUE LEADERS:
Apr 6.
๐ฉ๐ช Union Berlin vs. Bayer Leverkusen (german bundesliga)
๐ซ๐ท Paris Saint-Germain vs. Clermont (french ligue 1)
๐ณ๐ฑ PSV Eindhoven vs. AZ Alkmaar (dutch eredivisie)
๐ต๐น Sporting CP vs. Benfica (portuguese primeira liga)
Apr 7.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Manchester United vs. Liverpool (english premier league)
Apr 8.
๐ฎ๐น Udinese vs. Inter Milan (italian serie a)
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HIGHLIGHTED FIXTURES
Your football watchlist for this weekend:
Apr 5.
๐ซ๐ท Lille vs. Marseille (french ligue 1)
Apr 6.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City (english premier league)
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Aston Villa vs. Brentford (english premier league)
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Arsenal (english premier league)
๐ฎ๐น AC Milan vs. Lecce (italian serie a)
๐ฎ๐น Roma vs. Lazio (italian serie a)
๐ฉ๐ช Heidenheim vs. Bayern Munich (german bundesliga)
๐ฉ๐ช Freiburg vs. RB Leipzig (german bundesliga)
๐ฉ๐ช Union Berlin vs. Bayer Leverkusen (german bundesliga)
๐ฉ๐ช Borussia Dortmund vs. Stuttgart (german bundesliga)
๐ซ๐ท Paris Saint-Germain vs. Clermont (french ligue 1)
๐ณ๐ฑ PSV Eindhoven vs. AZ Alkmaar (dutch eredivisie)
๐ณ๐ฑ Twente vs. Fortuna Sittard (dutch eredivisie)
๐ต๐น Braga vs. Arouca (portuguese primeira liga)
๐ต๐น Sporting CP vs. Benfica (portuguese primeira liga)
Apr 7.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Manchester United vs. Liverpool (english premier league)
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Sheffield United vs. Chelsea (english premier league)
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Tottenham Hotspur vs. Nottingham Forest (english premier league)
๐ฎ๐น Monza vs. Napoli (italian serie a)
๐ฎ๐น Juventus vs. Fiorentina (italian serie a)
๐ซ๐ท Brest vs. Metz (french ligue 1)
๐ซ๐ท Monaco vs. Rennes (french ligue 1)
๐ซ๐ท Nantes vs. Lyon (french ligue 1)
๐ณ๐ฑ Feyenoord vs. Ajax (dutch eredivisie)
๐ต๐น Porto vs. Vitรณria de Guimarรฃes (portuguese primeira liga)
Apr 8.
๐ฎ๐น Udinese vs. Inter Milan (italian serie a)
๐ช๐ธ ๐ Athletic Club vs. Mallorca: Copa del Rey Final Showdown
Athletic Club earned their spot in the final through a challenging path, eliminating Barcelona in the quarterfinals and overcoming Atletico Madrid in the two-legged semifinals.
In contrast, Mallorca’s journey to the final was less straightforward. They narrowly edged past Girona in the quarterfinals and survived a penalty shootout against Real Sociedad in the semifinals.
Regardless of their differing paths, both teams have earned their place in the 2024 Copa del Rey final. The ultimate champion will be decided on Saturday.
Although Mallorca is the more recent winner of the competition, Athletic Club boasts a significantly superior history of success in the tournament. Athletic Club seeks their 23rd Copa del Rey title, while Mallorca pursues their second.
FC Barcelona (31), is the only club with more Copa del Rey titles than Athletic Club.
Athletic Club’s history in the Copa del Rey final has been marked by heartbreak in recent years. Their last appearance was in 2021, where they suffered a 4-0 defeat to Barcelona, continuing a streak of consecutive final defeats after losing to Basque rival Real Sociedad the previous year with a score of 1-0.
This upcoming final will be Athletic Club’s third Copa del Rey final in the last five years, yet they have not managed to secure a victory. Their most recent title win dates back to 1984, and despite reaching the final on six occasions since then, they have been unable to claim the trophy. The plan will be to finally end the drought by winning the title in their seventh final since their last Copa del Rey title success.
Mallorca clinched their only Copa del Rey title in 2003, marking their sole triumph in the competition to date. This victory came in their last appearance in the final, where they emerged victorious with a 3-0 win against Recreativo de Huelva. The Copa del Rey triumph in 2003 stands as arguably the most prestigious trophy in Mallorca’s history.
Athletic Club have secured the Spanish Super Cup on three occasions since 1984: in 1985, 2016, and most recently in 2021, but 1984 marked the last successful year in Athletic Club’s history. They achieved a domestic double by clinching both the league title (8th) and the Copa del Rey (23rd).
