RB Leipzig had a dream campaign last year, finishing second following their promotion into the German Bundesliga. This season has been a struggle for the club, though, as they currently sit in sixth place ahead of Sunday’s showdown with Bayern Munich.
The hosts are unbeaten in their last three matches, but have drawn their last two in league play. Timo Werner has 10 league goals this season after 21 the year prior. Bayern are fresh off booking their place in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals after an 8-1 aggregate success over Besiktas. The visitors have won their last three matches, allowing just one goal in that span. Robert Lewandowski leads the team with 23 league goals, and had a hat trick in last weekend’s 6-0 demolition of Hamburg.
Elsewhere this weekend, Lyon travels to Marseille on Sunday in the Ligue 1 showdown of the weekend, while PSG faces Nice earlier that day. The quarterfinals of the English F.A. Cup take place on Saturday and Sunday. Four matches will occur in the English Premier League, with Watford facing Liverpool in Saturday’s finale. Atletico Madrid face a tough test at Villarreal in La Liga play.
Here’s a closer look at all of this weekend’s European action:
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
With only four Premier League fixtures taking place this weekend, the must-watch one comes from Anfield on Saturday. Liverpool fell 2-1 at Manchester United last week, which snapped their seven match unbeaten run in all competitions. Mohamed Salah has 24 league goals this season, and scored in his side’s 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. Watford have won three of their last five in the league, defeating Chelsea, Everton, and West Brom along the way. Troy Deeney has five goals this season for Watford, with three coming in his last five appearances.
Here’s all of this weekend’s EPL fixtures:
Saturday
- AFC Bournemouth vs. West Bromwich Albion
- Huddersfield Town vs. Crystal Palace
- Stoke City vs. Everton
- Liverpool vs. Watford
ENGLISH F.A. CUP
The top F.A. Cup tie this weekend comes from the King Power Stadium as Leicester City welcome Chelsea to town. The Foxes are unbeaten in their last four matches, and eliminated Sheffield United 1-0 in the fifth round back in February. Nigerian international Kelechi Iheanacho leads the team with four goals in the competition so far. Chelsea were eliminated from Champions League play earlier this week, and know the F.A. Cup is their only chance at a trophy this season. The Blues rolled past Hull City 4-0 in the fifth round, thanks to a brace from Brazil winger Willian. The 29-year-old leads the team with two goals in the competition.
Here’s all of this weekend’s F.A. Cup fixtures:
Saturday
- Swansea City vs. Tottenham Hotspur
- Manchester United vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
Sunday
- Wigan Athletic vs. Southampton
- Leicester City vs. Chelsea
SPANISH LA LIGA
Saturday will see two top-six sides duke it out as Villarreal welcome Atletico Madrid to El Madrigal. The hosts are sitting on 44 points this season, most recently defeating Las Palmas 2-0 last Sunday. Colombian international Carlos Bacca leads the team with nine league goals this season, while midfielder Pablo Fornais has eight assists. Atletico Madrid blanked Celta Vigo 3-0 last weekend, thanks to goals from three different players. Diego Simeone’s men are eight points back of league leaders Barcelona and would like to keep their fight going. Antoine Griezmann has stepped up his play, leading Atletico with 16 goals.
Barcelona will look to increase their lead in top spot of La Liga, welcoming Athletic Bilbao to the Camp Nou. The Catalan side advanced to the UCL quarterfinals after a second leg win over Chelsea on Wednesday. In that win, Lionel Messi slotted home his 601st goal between his club and international career. Bilbao are in 12th place and snapped a three-match winless run a week ago. Aritz Adruiz has 19 goals in all competitions for the visitors, but only one in his last five appearances.
Here’s all of this weekend’s La Liga fixtures:
Friday
- Levante vs. Eibar
Saturday
- Deportivo vs. Las Palmas
- Valencia vs. Alaves
- Real Sociedad vs. Getafe
- Real Betis vs. Espanyol
Sunday
- Leganes vs. Sevilla
- Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao
- Villarreal vs. Atletico Madrid
- Celta Vigo vs. Malaga
- Real Madrid vs. Girona
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
Saturday’s action gets underway early with Borussia Monchengladbach facing Hoffenheim at home. The hosts have only won twice since the start of 2018, losing six matches overall. They currently sit in ninth place but will hope to inch further away from a possible relegation scrap. Brazilian striker Raffael leads the team with eight goals in all competitions. Hoffenheim are in seventh place, miles behind their finish in 2017. However a pair of wins have Julian Nagelsmann’s side seeing the light after back-to-back clean sheets. German international Mark Uth leads the team with 10 league goals, but has none in his last appearances.
Here’s all of this weekend’s Bundesliga fixtures:
Friday
- SC Freiburg vs. VfB Stuttgart
Saturday
- Borussia Monchengladbach vs. 1899 Hoffenheim
- Eintracht Frankfurt vs. FSV Mainz
- FC Augsburg vs. Werder Bremen
- Hamburg SV vs. Hertha Berlin
- VfL Wolfsburg vs. Schalke 04
Sunday
- Borussia Dortmund vs. Hannover 96
- FC Koln vs. Bayer Leverkusen
- RB Leipzig vs. Bayern Munich
ITALIAN SERIE A
A pair of top-half sides square off in Round 29 of Italian’s top-flight as Sampdoria welcomes Inter Milan to the Luigi Ferraris on Sunday. Eight points separate the teams who seem to be heading in different directions. Sampdoria are 2-1-2 in their last five matches, most recently losing to Crotone. Fabio Quagliarella leads the bunch with 17 league goals, five more than he netted all last season. Inter drew 0-0 with Napoli their last time out, and are 2-2-1 in their last five matches. Mauro Icardi has 18 goals this season, and will look to break a three-match scoreless run in the league.
Here’s all of this weekend’s Serie A fixtures:
Saturday
- Udinese vs. Sassuolo
- Spal vs. Juventus
Sunday
- Sampdoria vs. Inter Milan
- Hellas Verona vs. Atalanta
- Benevento vs. Cagliari
- AC Milan vs. Chievo Verona
- Torino vs. Fiorentina
- Crotone vs. AS Roma
- Lazio vs. Bologna
- Napoli vs. Genoa
FRENCH LIGUE 1
Third and fourth place will square off in Ligue 1 this weekend as Marseille welcomes Lyon to town on Sunday. Marseille are five points clear of their opponents ahead of their showdown at the Stade Velodrome. Rudi Garcia’s men are unbeaten in three straight, tying Nantes and defeating Toulouse in the process. Florian Thauvin has been a one-man wrecking crew for Marseille this campaign, totaling 18 goals and 14 assists in all competitions. Lyon are unbeaten in seven straight, snapping a three-match winless run in league play last weekend vs. Caen. Nabil Fekir’s 19 goals in all competitions lead Lyon this season, while the 24-year-old Frenchman continues to improve overall.
Another pair of top-half sides face off on Sunday as Nice welcomes league leaders Paris Saint-Germain to the Allianz Riviera. Nice are unbeaten in their last three matches, defeating Lille and Guingamp respectively. Alassane Plea (10 goals) and Mario Balotelli (14 goals) have been a nice 1-2 punch for Lucien Favre’s team this season. Following their elimination from Europe, PSG have rolled past Metz and Angers by a combined score of 7-1. Kylian Mbappe netted a brace in their midweek win over Angers, giving him 13 goals in league play this season.
Here’s all of this weekend’s Ligue 1 fixtures:
Friday
- AS Monaco vs. Lille
Saturday
- Bordeaux vs. Rennes
- Amiens vs. Troyes
- Angers vs. Caen
- Montpellier vs. Dijon
- Toulouse vs. Strasbourg
Sunday
- Nice vs. PSG
- Metz vs. Nantes
- St. Etienne vs. Guingamp
- Marseille vs. Lyon