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European Weekend Preview: Atletico hosts Barca, Roma travels to Inter, and more

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With the English Premier League resuming this weekend, European Soccer sees its top five domestic leagues all on the slate for some great action.

In Spain, the top-two teams face tough road tests in their battle at the top of the table. Second-place Barcelona travels to Atletico Madrid on Sunday who sit two places behind them, while sixth-place Villarreal hosts league leaders Real Madrid in the late match.

Tottenham hosts Stoke on Sunday in this weekend’s only top-half match in the Premier League, while Manchester City and Arsenal take the weekend off due to their opponents involvement in the EFL Cup final at Wembley. Middlesbrough travels to Crystal Palace on Saturday in a bottom-four match-up with huge implications on the relegation zone. The round concludes on Monday with Liverpool traveling to defending champions, Leicester City.

The Bundesliga sees five top-of-the-table matches with four taking place on Saturday. Third-place Borussia Dortmund travels to Freiburg, while second-place RB Leipzig hosts Koln looking to keep pace with league leaders Bayern Munich. Eintracht Frankfurt travel to Hertha Berlin in the 5 vs. 6 match on Saturday, while Schalke host Hoffenheim in the late match on Sunday.

In Italy, two-title contenders are in action on Saturday as third-place Napoli hosts Atalanta, while league leaders Juventus play host to Empoli, who are looking to avoid falling into the relegation zone. The mouth-watering match of the round takes place on Sunday as second-place Roma travels to fourth-place Inter, looking to keep pace with the leaders. Fiorentina hosts Torino in Monday’s round finale as the two sides sit only a place off in the table.

In Ligue 1, Nice hosts Montpellier on Friday in a battle of 3 vs. 11 as the hosts look to keep their surprising season going. League-leader Monaco travels to Guingamp on Saturday looking to bounce back after a 1-1 league draw at Bastia a week ago. The must-watch fixture of the round takes place Sunday afternoon as Paris Saint-Germain travels to Marseille in a battle of 2 vs. 6.

Here’s a closer look at this weekend European’s action:

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

The Premier League returns this weekend after last weekend off, with 16 of the 20 teams in action. League leaders Chelsea host a resurgent Swansea City side who have been in good form under new boss Paul Clement. Swansea has made their way out of the bottom-three, while Chelsea looks to keep sailing at the top of the table. Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth travels to mid-table West Bromwich Albion, needing some positive results to avoid falling into a relegation fight.

Sunday’s only fixture sees Tottenham Hotspur hosting Stoke City at White Hart Lane. Mauricio Pochettino’s side were eliminated from the UEFA Europa League on Thursday and will look to get that bad taste out of their mouths. Stoke is looking for the team’s first league win vs. Spurs since May 2015.

SATURDAY

  • Chelsea vs. Swansea City
  • Crystal Palace vs. Middlesbrough
  • Everton vs. Sunderland
  • Hull City vs. Burnley
  • West Bromwich Albion vs. Bournemouth
  • Watford vs. West Ham United

SUNDAY

  • Tottenham Hotspur vs. Stoke City

MONDAY

  • Leicester City vs. Liverpool

SPANISH LA LIGA

Las Palmas and Real Sociedad kick off this weekend’s action on Friday, looking to set the tone for the rest of the weekend.

Valencia travels to Alaves in Saturday’s early fixture looking to build off Wednesday’s league win over leaders Real Madrid. Seventh-place Eibar welcomes Malaga to the Estadio Municipal de Ipurua looking to keep their surprising campaign in the top-half going.

Atletico Madrid welcomes Barcelona to the Vicente Calderon on Sunday knowing a win would pull them closer to their opponents in the table. Real Madrid will look to bounce back after a 2-1 road loss at Valencia midweek by defeating sixth-place Villarreal in Sunday’s late match.

FRIDAY

  • Las Palmas vs. Real Sociedad

SATURDAY

  • Alaves vs. Valencia
  • Real Betis vs. Sevilla
  • Leganes vs. Deportivo
  • Eibar vs. Malaga

SUNDAY

  • Espanyol vs. Osasuna
  • Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona
  • Athletic Bilbao vs. Granada
  • Sporting Gijon vs. Celta Vigo
  • Villarreal vs. Real Madrid

GERMAN BUNDESLIGA

Werder Bremen travels to Wolfsburg on Friday in this weekend’s Bundesliga opener looking to make it three league wins in-a-row. Wolfsburg is looking to bounce back from a 3-0 loss at Dortmund last Saturday.

League leaders Bayern Munich welcome Hamburg SV to the Allianz Arena on Saturday looking to win their fourth match out of their last five in all competitions. After a 1-1 draw at Hertha Berlin a week ago, Carlo Ancelotti’s side will look to bolster their lead at the top of the table. Bayer Leverkusen welcomes Mainz to the BayArena looking to make in three league wins in-a-row.

Sunday sees the round conclude with fourth-from-bottom Ingolstadt hosting Borussia Monchengladbach in the early fixture. The hosts will look to build off last weekend’s road win at Frankfurt, while the visitors will look to win their third match out of their last five in all comps. Fourth-place Hoffenheim travels to Schalke in the late match looking to keep pace with the top-three.

FRIDAY

  • Wolfsburg vs. Werder Bremen

SATURDAY

  • Bayern Munich vs. Hamburg SV
  • Bayer Leverkusen vs. Mainz 05
  • SV Darmstadt 98 vs. FC Augsburg
  • Freiburg vs. Borussia Dortmund
  • RB Leipzig vs. FC Koln
  • Hertha Berlin vs. Eintracht Frankfurt

SUNDAY

  • Ingolstadt vs. Borussia Monchengladbach
  • Schalke 04 vs. Hoffenheim

ITALIAN SERIE A

Napoli welcomes Atalanta to the Stadio San Paolo in Saturday’s Serie A opener looking to win their fifth league fixture out of their last six matches. League leaders Juventus host Empoli at the Juventus Stadium hoping to win their ninth consecutive match in all competitions.

Sunday features a lot of top sides in action with sixth-place Lazio hosting Udinese at the Olimpico. Seventh place Milan travels to Sassuolo looking to make it four matches unbeaten in league-play. In a top-four clash at the Giuseppe Meazza, Inter Milan host Roma looking to make it three wins in-a-row. Despite losing their second leg in the Europa League 1-0 on Thursday against Villarreal, Roma has had a nearly perfect month winning six of their seven previous matches in all comps.

Monday sees Fiorentina host Torino at the Artemio Franchi looking to bounce back from Thursday’s elimination from the UEFA Europa League.

SATURDAY

  • Napoli vs. Atalanta
  • Juventus vs. Empoli

SUNDAY

  • Palermo vs. Sampdoria
  • Chievo vs. Pescara
  • Crotone vs. Cagliari
  • Genoa vs. Bologna
  • Lazio vs. Udinese
  • Sassuolo vs. A.C. Milan
  • Inter Milan vs. Roma

MONDAY

  • Fiorentina vs. Torino

FRENCH LIGUE 1

Nantes kicked off the round by defeating Dijon 3-1 on Friday at the La Beaujoire-Louis-Fonteneau. Goals by Yacine Bammou, Emiliano Sala, Felipe Pardo gave the hosts a huge home win. Nice also travel to Montpellier on Friday looking to stay in distance with the top-two.

Saturday’s action kicks off with Monaco traveling to Guingamp looking to bounce back from Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League first leg defeat at Manchester City. Lille welcomes Bordeaux to the Stade Pierre Mauroy looking for back-to-back league wins for the first time since December. Angers also hosts Bastia, while last-place Lorient travel to Rennes.

Sunday’s action starts with fifth-place Saint-Etienne welcoming Caen to the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. The hosts have lost their last three in all competitions, including two defeats to Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League. Caen ended a run of three consecutive losses with a win over Nancy last weekend.

Marseille welcome Paris Saint-Germain to the Stade Velodrome in Sunday’s finale looking for their first league win over the visitors since 2011. PSG have won four of their last five matches in all comps, and will look to keep pace with leaders Monaco.

FRIDAY

  • Nantes 3 – Dijon 1
  • Nice vs. Montpellier

SATURDAY

  • Guingamp vs. Monaco
  • Nancy vs. Toulouse
  • Lille vs. Bordeaux
  • Angers vs. Bastia
  • Rennes vs. Lorient

SUNDAY

  • Saint-Etienne vs. Caen
  • Lyon vs. Metz
  • Marseille vs. PSG

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