By AYDIN REYHAN
After suffering losses in midweek European action, Liverpool and Manchester City can give their domestic campaigns a boost when they face off in Premier League play.
The reigning Premier League winners and runners-up collide Sunday, as Manchester City looks to rebound from a loss to Barcelona while Liverpool is fresh off Europa League elimination at the hands of Besiktas.
A victory by Liverpool could potentially lift the Reds into the top four, while Manchester City can close the gap atop the table to two points with a victory and Chelsea loss.
In other action, Borussia Dortmund welcomes Schalke in the Revierderby, Real Madrid looks to extend their lead in La Liga when they host Villarreal, and Roma hosts Juventus in a battle between Serie A’s top sides.
Here is a deeper look at the action in the top leagues this weekend:
ENGLAND
Liverpool looks to overcome a devastating elimination from the Europa League against Besiktas as they host the reigning champions of the EPL, Manchester City. After missing out on the midweek action, Phillipe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson will be available this weekend after being left behind for the trip to Turkey.
In addition, Manchester United hosts Sunderland, while Arsenal hosts Everton following 3-1 home loss to Monaco in midweek Champions League play. Finally, Newcastle United hosts Aston Villa in a game where Jonas Gutierrez could make his return to first-team action after overcoming his battle with testicular cancer.
Here are the games in the EPL this weekend:
Saturday:
West Ham United vs. Crystal Palace
Burnley vs. Swansea
Manchester United vs. Sunderland
Newcastle United vs. Aston Villa
Stoke City vs. Hull City
West Bromwich Albion vs. Southampton
Leicester City vs. Chelsea
Sunday:
Liverpool vs. Manchester City
Arsenal vs. Everton
GERMANY
Borussia Dortmund will look to shake off the midweek UCL Round of 16 first-leg loss to Juventus when they host Schalke in the Revierderby. A victory will give BVB a chance to move as high as ninth from their current position of 12th.
In addition, Bayern Munich hosts Koln, Wolfsburg visits Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen looks to build on their midweek triumph over Atletico Madrid when they take on Freiburg.
Here is a look at everything going on in the Bundeslgia this weekend:
Friday:
Bayern Munich vs. FC Koln
Saturday:
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Freiburg
Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke 04
Hanover 96 vs. Stuttgart
Hertha BSC vs. Augsburg
Hoffenheim vs. Mainz
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Hamburg
Sunday:
Borussia Moenchengladbach vs. Paderborn
Werder Bremen vs. Wolfsburg
SPAIN:
Barcelona hopes to bounce back from last weekend’s loss to Malaga with a win at Granada while Real Madrid looks to extend, or at least maintain, a four-point lead atop La Liga with a victory over Villarreal at home.
Atletico Madrid travels to Sevilla, while Valencia hosts Real Sociedad in this weekend’s best games to watch in La Liga.
Here is every game happening in Spain top-flight this weekend:
Friday:
Espanyol vs. Cordoba
Saturday:
Granada vs. Barcelona
Rayo Vallecano vs. Levante
Almeria vs. Deportivo La Coruna
Malaga vs. Getafe
Sunday:
Valencia vs. Real Sociedad
Eibar vs. Athletic Club Bilbao
Sevilla vs. Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid vs. Villarreal
ITALY:
Roma will host Juventus with hopes of cutting into Juve’s nine-point lead atop the league.
In addition, Inter Milan host Fiorentina as both teams look to build on their mideweek Europa League success, while AC Milan aims to rise up to sixth in the standings when they visit Chievo.
Here are all the games to be played in the Serie A this weekend:
Saturday:
Chievo vs. AC Milan
Sunday:
Cagliari vs. Hellas Verona
Palermo vs. Empoli
Genoa vs. Parma
Atalanta vs. Sampdoria
Cesena vs. Udinese
Sassuolo vs. Lazio
Inter Milan vs. Fiorentina
Torino vs. Napoli
FRANCE:
Fresh off their victory over Arsenal, Monaco hosts Paris Saint-Germain as they look to cut the second-place side’s lead down to six.
Marseille hosts Caen looking for a win and hoping for a PSG loss so they could leap into second over the Parisians.
Other games in France include Saint Etienne battling Toulouse on the road and Lille hosting Lyon.
Here is all the action in Ligue 1 this weekend:
Friday:
Marseille vs. Caen
Saturday:
Lille vs. Lyon
Bordeaux vs. Reims
Lens vs. Rennes
Lorient vs. Bastia
Metz vs. Evian
Toulouse vs. Saint Etienne