By AYDIN REYHAN
Following a busy week of Champions League and Europa League action, the focus turns back to domestic leagues once again for this weekend’s contests.
With Champions League hopes on the line, Manchester United will host Tottenham this weekend in Premier League action as the visitors will look to catch the Red Devils in fourth with 53 points.
Real Madrid desperately needs a win against Levante after losing at Bilbao last weekend and dropping the lead atop the standings to Barcelona.
Meanwhile in France, Marseille will host Lyon and look to cut their four-point lead down to one as they are very much still in the Ligue 1 race.
Here is everything going on in European soccer this weekend:
ENGLAND
Chelsea will host Southampton following their elimination by 10-man Paris Saint-Germain in Champions League. Jose Mourinho’s side holds a five-point advantage ahead of second-place Manchester City while also maintaining a game in hand.
Manchester City will look to win on the road against Burnley, while Swansea hosts Liverpool on Monday afternoon as the Reds look to jump into third place for a Champions League spot.
Here is what you can look forward to watching this weekend in the Premier League:
SATURDAY
Crystal Palace vs. QPR
Arsenal vs. West Ham
Leicester vs. Hull
Sunderland vs. Aston Villa
West Brom vs. Stoke
Burnley vs. Manchester City
SUNDAY
Chelsea vs. Southampton
Everton vs. Newcastle
Manchester United vs. Tottenham
MONDAY
Swansea vs. Liverpool
SPAIN
Valencia will look to overlap Atletico Madrid into third when they welcome Deportivo La Coruna on Friday. The hosts drew 1-1 away to Atletico Madrid last weekend.
Barcelona visits Eibar, looking to build their lead atop the standings as they only are a point ahead of Real. Barca won 6-1 at home last weekend against Rayo Vallecano and are heavy favorites to win on Saturday.
Atletico Madrid faces Copa del Rey semifinalist RCD Espanyol on the road in a game they need to win in order to heap pressure on Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Here is everything happening in La Liga this weekend:
FRIDAY
Valencia vs. Deportivo La Coruna
SATURDAY
Espanyol vs. Atletico Madrid
Eibar vs. Barcelona
Rayo vs. Granada
Celta Vigo vs. Athletic Bilbao
SUNDAY
Almeria vs. Villarreal
Malaga vs. Cordoba
Sevilla vs. Elche
Real Madrid vs. Levante
MONDAY
Getafe vs. Real Sociedad
GERMANY
Bayer Leverkusen kicks off the weekend Friday when they welcome Stuttgart. A win for the home side could push them up to third if Moenchengladbach drop points against Hanover 96.
Wolfsburg looks to bounce back from their shocking 1-0 defeat at Augsburg last weekend when they face Freiburg on their own grass. They sit nine points behind Bayern Munich, but a win could bring them three points closer if the league leaders lose on the road to Werder Bremen.
Schalke 04 visits Hertha Berlin following their elimination at the hands of Real Madrid in the Round of 16 of the UCL. A win in the Bundesliga fixture could bump them all the way up to third.
Here are all of the German Bundesliga fixtures from this weekend:
FRIDAY
Bayer Leverkusen-Stuttgart
SATURDAY
Augsburg vs. Mainz
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Paderborn
Hertha Berlin vs. Schalke 04
Hoffenheim vs. Hamburg
Werder Bremen vs. Bayern Munich
Borussia Dortmund vs. Koln
SUNDAY
Wolfsburg vs. Freiburg
Moenchengladbach vs. Hanover 96
ITALY
Palermo will host Serie A champions Juventus on Saturday to kick off the weekend as Juve holds an 11-point advantage ahead of second-place Roma.
Inter Milan looks to climb up to seventh in the table when they host 19th-place Cesena on Sunday. This comes three days after a tough first-leg encounter against VFL Wolfsburg in Europa League.
Fiorentina hosts AC Milan as both teams look to climb back into contention. The best Fiorentina can do is pull within a point of fourth-place Napoli, which pays a visit to Hellas Verona.
Here is everything Serie A this weekend:
SATURDAY
Palermo vs. Juventus
Cagliari vs. Empoli
SUNDAY
Atalanta vs. Udinese
Genoa vs. Chievo
Sassuolo vs. Parma
Hellas Verona vs. Napoli
Inter vs. Cesena
MONDAY
Fiorentina vs. AC Milan
Torino vs. Lazio
Roma vs. Sampdoria
FRANCE
Bordeaux hosts PSG knowing that a win can bump them all the way up to third. If the visitors win, they could retake the lead atop the table, adding icing to their cake as they recently advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals.
Lille and Rennes are in eight and ninth place respectively in Ligue 1 and are level on 38 points. They face off this weekend looking to one-up the other in order to grab the upper spot.
Monaco hosts Bastia knowing that a win will solidify their fourth-place position and pull them within a point of Marseille if they go on to lose at home against Lyon.
Here is what is happening in Ligue 1 this weekend:
FRIDAY
Monaco vs. Bastia
Nice vs. Guingamp
SATURDAY
Metz vs. Saint Etienne
Lens vs. Toulouse
Lorient vs. Caen
Montpellier vs. Reims
Nantes vs. Evian
SUNDAY
Lille vs. Rennes
Bordeaux vs. PSG
Marseille vs. Lyon