Back to the clubs: International football Preview

After the international break, it’s back to the daily grind for European clubs. We have previewed the best of international football for the upcoming weekend. Immediately after the World Cup qualifiers, a number of top matches are scheduled.

Manchester City hosts Leicester City in the Premier League. Furthermore, Arsenal and Liverpool facing each other for important point in the race to international club football next season. In Germany and France, fans are looking forward to top of the league clashes, while in Serie A the Turin derby is on the agenda. Last but not least, the Basque classic will be played in the Copa del Rey final.

Leicester – Man City | City to win the Premier League title, close race for the Champions League spots

A top clash is on the agenda in the Premier League: Manchester City will win the championship. For Saturday’s opponents, Leicester City, on the other hand, important points are at stake in the fight for the Champions League spots. Leicester are in third place and only one point behind second-placed Manchester United.

City won the national treble with the national cups and the league in the 2018/19 season. This year, they are also still in the running for the Champions League title, and are considered the top favourite in the competition before the quarter-finals. The last English team to celebrate “The Treble of Trophies” (winning the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup in one season) was Manchester United in 1998/99.

Leicester can also still hope for an FA Cup title. In the Europa League, however, they were defeated by Slavia Prague. Leicester’s last games include a draw against Burnley, a defeat against Arsenal and a victory in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup against Man United.

Arsenal – Liverpool | Who will jump into the Premier League Top 4?

Both teams have disappointed in the current season. However, both sides still have hopes of finishing in the top four of the Premier League leading into the Champions League. Arsenal are 9 points behind current fourth-placed Chelsea and desperately need a winning streak. Liverpool currently have only 4 points to make up.

The Reds have lost three of their last five league games. They face their worst league finish under Klopp since 2015/16, when they finished the season in 8th place. For Arsenal, that same 8th place finish last year was their worst result since the Wenger era.

The Gunners recently beat both Tottenham and Leicester and drew against West Ham. They are in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, in which they are considered one of the main contenders. The winning team of the Europa League also qualifies for the Champions League.

Liverpool will face Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, a repeat of the 2018 final. The CL could save Liverpool’s season.

Dortmund – Eintracht Frankfurt | Clash for the Champions League

In the first Bundesliga top game of the week, the Champions League is at stake, too. With 8 matchdays remaining, Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt are separated by 4 points in the table.

BVB is in 5th place, which only entitles them to the Europa League. Dortmund are aiming for fourth place, where their opponents from Frankfurt are positioned and which leads to participation in the Champions League.

In the last 8 matches in which the teams have faced each other, there have been a four draws. Dortmund emerged victorious from each of the other 4 games. If Edin Terzic’s team wins, they will only be one point behind Eintracht. In the event of a defeat, they can probably give up on their Champions League hopes for the coming season.

Leipzig – Bayern | Can Leipzig challenge the record champion?

It could become the match of the Bundesliga season when Leipzig takes on Bayern at the Red Bull Arena on Saturday evening. RB is only 4 points behind and could make the title race open again with a win.

On both sides, key players are in danger of being absent. Bayern will have to do without their top goal scorer Robert Lewandowski, who is injured after being in action for Poland this week. He is expected to be out for 2-4 weeks. Süle is also still injured.

Angelino is still expected to be out for Leipzig, suffering from a muscle injury. Upamecano (muscle injury) and Halstenberg (quarantine) are also questionable. Above all, Upamecano’s appearance against his future employer is likely to be followed with explosiveness on both sides. Kampl is suspended on yellow cards.

PSG – Lille | Who will go into the final of the season as Ligue 1 leaders?

Saturday also sees the match between the best teams in Ligue 1 this season. Paris Saint-Germain and Lille are equal on points after 30 match days. The result of the top match could therefore be decisive in the race for the championship. After the duel, there are only 7 games left to play.

The teams played each other in the French Cup just a few weeks ago. PSG emerged victorious with a 3-0 win. Mbappe (2x) and Icardi scored for the capital club. Before that, they drew in the first match of the Ligue 1 campaign.

Paris is the clear favourite despite the tight situation in the standings. After a weak start to the season, Mauricio Pochettino’s team is back in form and only took over the top position in Ligue 1 on the last matchday. If they win, they have a great chance to claim their eighth league title in the past nine seasons.

Paris Saint-Germain also face Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, a rematch of the previous season’s final. For Lille, the international season is over after a defeat against Ajax in the last 16 of the Europa League.

Turin – Juventus | Derby della Mole

The last time Torino won this derby was in 2014/15. However, they came close in the first leg of the current season: N’Koulou scored early for Torino. But McKennie in the 77th minute and Bonucci (89th) turned the tables in favour of the record champions.

The Derby della Mole is one of several famous derbies in Italian football with roots going back over 100 years. Juventus, with 91 wins, is better off in the direct comparison with Torino (56). In addition, there have also been 56 draws between the two.

The visitors will be desperate for an underdog victory. Torino are in the middle of a difficult season and have only four wins in 27 games. Accordingly, only one point separates them from Cagliari, who is sitting on the first relegation spot. Torino has one more game to play.

Juventus, on the other hand, need a miracle if they want to clinch their tenth Serie A championship in a row. Inter have an enormous cushion of 10 points. Juve are therefore more likely to target second place in the table, where Milan sits with a four-point lead and one game more played. Atalanta (same number of points, one game more played) and Napoli (two points behind) are sitting behind.

Athletic Bilbao – Real Sociedad | Basque derby in the Copa del Rey final

For the first time, Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad will meet in the Copa del Rey final. The Copa del Rey 2020 match was originally scheduled to be played about a year ago. Due to the Corona pandemic, the match had to be postponed to the upcoming Saturday.

Real Sociedad won two of the last three meetings between the teams in the cup. They have also won five of their last six matches in the league. On Saturday, as well as in the La Liga second leg next Wednesday, Bilbao now have the chance to embellish that statistic in their favour.

Fun Fact: Athletic Bilbao can win the Spanish Cup twice in just over two weeks, as they also play the final of the 20/21 season against Barcelona on 17 April.

Real Sociedad are currently in 5th place in the league, 10 points behind Sevilla in 4th place. Athletic Bilbao are in 9th place and another 10 points behind.

More international football in Europe

Apart from these, there are other interesting games in the Europe leagues coming up this weekend. For example, Sevilla hosts Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Sunday. Atletico lead the table with four points ahead of Barcelona, while Sevilla are in 4th place with 5 points behind Real Madrid.

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