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European Weekend Preview: Tottenham hosts Man United, Juventus travel to Roma, and more

Even with a few weeks remaining across Europe’s top domestic leagues, that doesn’t see the mouth-watering fixtures come to an end.

In England, Tottenham welcomes Manchester United to White Hart Lane on Sunday. Mauricio Pochettino’s side is still look for a top-two finish and would like to continue their recent dominance at home. Despite seeing their title hopes all but end last weekend at West Ham, Tottenham has had a superb season nonetheless and would like to end the season on a strong note. Manchester United comes into this match sitting in sixth place and still fighting for a top four finish. Jose Mourinho’s side is four points behind rivals Manchester City, and will likely need to win out for a chance at a top four finish.

Elsewhere this weekend, Italian leaders Juventus travel to second place Roma, while Real Madrid welcomes Sevilla to the Bernabeu. Napoli faces a tricky test in Turin against Torino, while the top two sides in Germany square off as RB Leipzig hosts Bayern Munich on Saturday. In France, Monaco will look to strengthen their chance at hoisting the league title with a home match against Lille. Second place Paris Saint-Germain travels to Saint-Etienne looking to remain in the title race.

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

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Round 37 in the EPL kicks off on Friday with West Bromwich Albion hosting Chelsea at the Hawthorns. Antonio Conte’s side can clinch their second league title in the last three seasons with a win on Friday. After a 2-0 defeat at Manchester United in April, Chelsea has rolled off four straight wins in all competitions, most recently a 3-0 home win last Monday against Middlesbrough. West Brom has slipped in recent weeks, and could definitely use a win to end the season strong. Since their March 18 win over Arsenal, Tony Pulis’ side has gone 0-2-4 in their last six matches, despite remaining in the top-half of the table.

Saturday’s early contest takes place in Manchester as Manchester City welcomes defending champions Leicester City to town. Pep Guardiola’s side is coming off a 5-0 steamrolling of Crystal Palace a week ago, and would like another victory to strengthen their grip on a top four place. Since their Champions League exit back in April, Leicester has won two of their three league matches. A comfortable 3-0 victory over Watford last weekend saw the Foxes jump into ninth-place which would be a strong finish after a slow start this season.

Sunday’s early match pits two teams fighting to remain in the top flight next season. 16th-place Crystal Palace welcomes 18th-place Hull City to Selhurst Park, knowing a win would move them even closer to Premier League survival. Sam Allardyce’s side have lost three in a row, and will look to striker Christian Benteke (14 goals) to get them back on track. Hull sits a point from safety, and know Sunday’s match is a must-win. After a 2-0 defeat to already relegated Sunderland a week ago, Marco Silva’s side know a win plus a Swansea defeat this weekend would boost them out of the bottom three.

Here are all of this weekend’s Premier League fixtures:

Friday

  • Everton vs. Watford
  • West Bromwich Albion vs. Chelsea

Saturday

  • Manchester City vs. Leicester City
  • AFC Bournemouth vs. Burnley
  • Middlesbrough vs. Southampton
  • Sunderland vs. Swansea City
  • Stoke City vs. Arsenal

Sunday

  • Crystal Palace vs. Hull City
  • West Ham United vs. Liverpool
  • Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester United

SPANISH LA LIGA

League leaders Barcelona travel to Las Palmas on Sunday, looking to bolster their chances at lifting the La Liga crown. Luis Enrique’s side has rolled to four consecutive victories since their Champions League exit, and will be heavy favorites to win their last two matches. Lionel Messi leads the team with 35 league goals while Luis Suarez has 27. Las Palmas have been struggling to say the least, losing three in a row and four of their last five matches. Midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng leads the way with 10 goals this season.

The marquee matchup of the round in Spain takes place in Madrid, as Real Madrid hosts Sevilla in a top-four showdown. Zinedine Zidane’s side is coming off booking their place in the UEFA Champions League final after a 4-2 aggregate win over city rivals Atletico Madrid. However, Los Blancos remain in the title hunt, level on points with leaders Barcelona. Cristiano Ronaldo leads the team with 20 league goals this season, and will be expected to add to that tally. Sevilla sits in fourth-place, and could still finish as high as third this season. A victory for Sevilla on Sunday would see them sweep the season series from Real Madrid.

Here are all of this weekend’s La Liga fixtures:

Saturday

  • Espanyol vs. Valencia
  • Osasuna vs. Granada

Sunday

  • Alaves vs. Celta Vigo
  • Athletic Bilbao vs. Leganes
  • Real Betis vs. Atletico Madrid
  • Eibar vs. Sporting Gijon
  • Las Palmas vs. Barcelona
  • Villarreal vs. Deportivo
  • Real Madrid vs. Sevilla
  • Real Sociedad vs. Malaga

GERMAN BUNDESLIGA

Bayern Munich may have already clinched their fifth straight Bundesliga crown, but opponents RB Leipzig will look to earn a huge win on Sunday. The hosts are on a seven match unbeaten run, including five wins in that span. Leipzig crusied past Hertha Berlin last Saturday in a 4-1 beatdown at the Olympiastadion. 21-year-old Timo Werner leads the team with 19 goals, and will look to add to that total on Saturday. Bayern have won their last two matches, keeping clean sheets in both victories. Striker Robert Lewandowski has 28 goals this season, including two in his last two matches.

Two of the Bundesliga’s in-form sides will square off at the Weserstadion on Saturday. Fourth place Hoffenheim travels to eighth place Werder Bremen in an afternoon kickoff. Julian Nagelsmann’s side have only lost twice in the last two months, earning six wins in that span. Striker Andrei Kramaric has been a big influence to the team’s success, scoring 13 league goals. Bremen suffered their first loss since Feb. 11 last weekend, but will look to leading scorer Max Kruse (14 goals) to help them bounce back in a big way.

Borussia Dortmund jumped into third place a week ago, and would like to remain there following this weekend’s match against Augsburg. Thomas Tuchel’s side has flipflopped with Hoffenheim for most of the season for the third spot, but could clinch a third place finish with a win paired with a Hoffenheim defeat. Dortmund is unbeaten in their last three league fixtures, and will look to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (28 goals) to help make it four. Augsburg is sitting in 13th, but still aren’t mathematically safe from dropping into the relegation playoff place. Saturday’s match vs. Dortmund is the first of a tough last two matches, which sees Augsburg travel to Hoffenheim in Round 34.

Here are all of this weekend’s Bundesliga fixtures:

Saturday

  • Bayer Leverkusen vs. FC Koln
  • Schalke 04 vs. Hamburg SV
  • FSV Mainz vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
  • VfL Wolfsburg vs. Borussia Monchengladbach
  • FC Augsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund
  • Werder Bremen vs. 1899 Hoffenheim
  • SV Darmstadt vs. Hertha Berlin
  • SC Freiburg vs. Ingolstadt
  • RB Leipzig vs. Bayern Munich

ITALIAN SERIE A

Saturday’s early contest in Italy features Fiorentina welcoming Lazio to the Artemio Franchi. The hosts are coming off a 2-2 draw at Sassuolo, where they were able to earn a late equalizer. Fiorentina sits comfortably in eighth place, and most certainly would like to exact revenge after a 3-1 road loss in Rome back in December. Lazio have won their last three matches by a combined score of 16-6. Saturday’s line-up decisions could be interesting, especially with Lazio facing Juventus four days later in the Coppa Italia final. Strikers Ciro Immobile and Keita have combined for 36 league goals this season, more than Fiorentina’s strikers have combined for (30).

Third-place Napoli will continue to fight for a top-two finish as they travel to Torino on Sunday. Maurizio Sarri’s side is unbeaten in their last nine matches across all competitions, winning seven of those nine. Napoli has four players in double-digits this season for goals, with Dries Mertens (24) leading the way. Torino has drawn their last three matches, and five of their last seven. 23-year-old Andrea Belotti leads the team with 25 league goals, which has plenty of Europe’s top guns asking about his services for the future.

After booking their place in June’s UEFA Champions League final, Juventus can clinch their sixth straight Scudetto with at least a point against Roma. Massimiliano Allegri’s side is unbeaten in their last nine matches, including victories over Barcelona and Monaco in the UCL. Juve’s strikers have combined for 39 league goals this season, with Gonzalo Higuain leading the bunch with 24. After their 4-1 trouncing over AC Milan last weekend, Roma jumped back into second place, sitting a point ahead of Napoli. Roma won this fixture a season ago, 2-1, thanks to a game-winner from Edin Dzeko.

Here are all of this weekend’s Serie A fixtures:

Saturday

  • Fiorentina vs. Lazio
  • Atalanta vs. AC Milan

Sunday

  • Inter Milan vs. Sassuolo
  • Bologna vs. Pescara
  • Cagliari vs. Empoli
  • Crotone vs. Udinese
  • Palermo vs. Genoa
  • Sampdoria vs. Chievo Verona
  • Torino vs. Napoli
  • Roma vs. Juventus

FRENCH LIGUE 1

Paris Saint-Germain will look to keep their title hopes alive with a win at Saint-Etienne on Sunday. Unai Emery’s side cruised past Bastia, 5-0, with four different players getting on the scoresheet. Edinson Cavani leads the team with 33 league goals, with four in his last four matches. PSG also need league leaders Monaco to drop points in two of their last three matches. St. Etienne are unbeaten in their last three matches, sitting in seventh place in the table.

Despite being eliminated from the UCL semifinals earlier this week, Monaco could take another huge step towards a Ligue 1 title with a win over Lille on Sunday. Leonardo Jardim’s side are unbeaten in their last 17 league matches, with 15 of those being victories. Radamel Falcao leads the team with 19 league goals, while youngster Kylian Mbappe is second with 14. Lille saw a two-match winning run snapped last weekend vs. Metz, but will look to exact revenge after suffering a 4-1 defeat to Monaco back in September.

Here are all of this weekend’s Ligue 1 fixtures:

Sunday

  • Saint-Etienne vs. PSG
  • Bordeaux vs. Marseille
  • Montpellier vs. Lyon
  • Nice vs. Angers
  • Bastia vs. Lorient
  • Dijon vs. Nancy
  • Monaco vs. Lille
  • Nantes vs. Guingamp
  • Caen vs. Rennes
  • Metz vs. Toulouse

 

 

 

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