By AYDIN REYHAN
Domestic action resumes all around Europe this weekend with a handful of games plenty on the line as the season winds to a close..
In pursuit of a Champions League spot, second-placed Arsenal are now tasked with taking on league leaders Chelsea in a London Derby, offering a chance to close what is a 10 point gap with six games remaining.
Borussia Moenchengladbach could jump three points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen into a UCL spot when they host second-placed Wolfsburg who sit only seven points ahead prior to the match in the standings.
In other action, Barcelona takes on Espanyol, Real Madrid faces Celta Vigo and Bayern Munich plays host to Hertha Berlin.
Here is all of the action coming up this weekend in Europe’s top five leagues:
ENGLAND
Arsenal hosts league-leading Chelsea in this week’s most mouthwatering match. Even with a win, the Gunners will only cut their opponent’s lead down to seven with a handful of games left to be played.
Manchester City is only one point behind third-placed Man United so a win against Aston Villa could make that happen if Man United are to drop points at Everton.
Burnley hosts Leicester City in a game which both sides need the win to jump out of the bottom-three.
Here are the fixtures scheduled in the Premier League for this weekend:
Southampton-Tottenham
Burnley-Leicester
Crystal Palace-Hull
Newcastle-Swansea
Queens Park Rangers-West Ham
Stoke-Sunderland
West Brom-Liverpool
Man City-Aston Villa
Everton-United
Arsenal-Chelsea
SPAIN
Espanyol hosting Barcelona may turn out to be lopsided in favor of the visitors, but nonetheless it is still one of the better derbies Spanish soccer has to offer. With a win, Barca will guarantee to stay top of La Liga by at least two points, depending on what happens with Real Madrid.
Real Madrid themselves will travel to Celta Vigo, a team they dropped all three points against last season when they suffered a 2-0 defeat. This season, the team is slightly more focused than they were then so a win is possible.
Sevilla will look to break into the top-four when they host Rayo Vallecano. This is important to the hosts as that fourth is the final spot to claim a position in the Champions League.
Here is what the schedule looks like in La Liga this weekend:
Cordoba-Bilbao
Espanyol-Barca
Atletico-Elche
Getafe-Levante
Sociedad-Villarreal
Malaga-Deportivo
Almeria-Eibar
Sevilla-Rayo
Celta-Real Madrid
Valencia-Granada
GERMANY
Eintracht Frankfurt visits Borussia Dortmund, a team that is exactly level with them on points with 36. A win for either side cements ninth in the standings at the very least.
Stuttgart could finally jump out from the relegation zone with a win over Freiburg at home. Currently, the 17th-placed side has 26 points.
Schalke will look to stay in fifth with a win at Mainz as Augsburg is in sixth with the same amount of points, 42. A slip-up from either side gives the other sole possession of fifth, a guaranteed Europa League spot.
Finally, league leaders Bayern Munich look to build off the team’s resounding Champions League victory in a matchup with John Brooks and Hertha Berlin.
Here are the games to be played in the Bundesliga this weekend:
Mainz-Schalke
Dortmund-Frankfurt
Koln-Leverkusen
Hamburg-Augsburg
Hannover-Hoffenheim
Stuttgart-Freiburg
Bayern Munich-Hertha Berlin
Paderborn-Werder Bremen
Moenchengladbach-Wolfsburg
ITALY
Inter Milan’s matchup with Roma is going to be more important for the latter as they look to overlap Lazio back into second due to a current tie on 58 points. The blue side of the capital currently maintains a superior goal differential.
Napoli hosts Sampdoria in a game where the hosts will look to protect fourth place as they have 53 points whereas the visitors have 50. Fourth is a guaranteed Europa League spot while fifth is a Europa qualification one. Clearly, Sampdoria will look to attack more than defend, which will make it easier for the Naples-based side to attack on the counter as that is their specialty.
Meanwhile, Fiorentina could jump into fifth themselves with a home-win over Cagliari.
Here is the schedule for the Serie A this weekend:
Udinese-AC Milan
Inter-Roma
Atalanta-Empoli
Genoa-Cesena
Hellas Verona-Sassuolo
Lazio-Chievo
Parma-Palermo
Torino-Juventus
Fiorentina-Cagliari
Napoli-Sampdoria
FRANCE
Marseille hosts Lorient, who is in the relegation zone, while the hosts could jump into third, a UCL qualification spot. Therefore, this will be one to watch in Ligue 1 this weekend with a lot at stake for both sides on the opposite ends of the table.
Saint Etienne hosts Montpellier with a five-point lead above them in fifth. A win will bump them into fourth or even third, depending on what happens to Marseille and Monaco.
Monaco will visit Lens, who sit in the relegation zone. The third-placed side will look to protect third which is the last UCL spot.
Here is the set of fixtures to be played in Ligue 1 this weekend:
Marseille-Lorient
PSG-Lille
Bordeaux-Metz
Caen-Guingamp
Evian-Bastia
Rennes-Nice
Toulouse-Nantes
Saint Etienne-Montpellier
Lens-Monaco
Reims-Lyon