We could have three more champions crowned in Europe this weekend, with Juventus, FC Porto and Lokomotiv Moscow all within a whisker of securing domestic glory.
Elsewhere, there remains plenty to play for on the continent. We bring you the top matches and the ideal schedule for you to sink your teeth into this weekend.
PREMIER LEAGUE
There are four huge matches at the bottom of the Premier League, with Stoke kicking things off against Crystal Palace in Saturday’s early match up. The Potters are currently three points from safety and have struggled under Paul Lambert. If results go against them this weekend, they could be relegated, so victory is mandatory. Elsewhere, Swansea and West Brom are both in action against Bournemouth and Tottenham, respectively, while Southampton travel to Everton for the evening kick off.
On Sunday, Chelsea host Liverpool as the duo resume rivalries in the race for a top-4 finish. The Blues have been in good form of late, winning their last three, and victory at Stamford Bridge will see them move to within three points of Liverpool with a game in hand. Across London, Arsene Wenger takes charge of his final home game as Arsenal manager and he’ll be looking to end it with a win against a Burnley side just three points behind the Gunners in seventh.
LA LIGA
The big game at the weekend comes from Camp Nou. Yes, Real Madrid may be 15 points behind Barcelona, who were crowned La Liga champions last week, but El Clasico is always a nervy battle between Spain’s dominant duo. All attention will be on the weekend’s massive match in La Liga, with little to play for among the rest in Spain’s top tier
SERIE A
After clawing themselves back to within a point of Juventus, Napoli shot themselves in the foot as they fell to defeat to Fiorentina. With the Old Lady overcoming Inter the previous day, they can open up a seven-point gap between themselves and Napoli should they defeat Bologna on Saturday before Napoli welcome Torino on Sunday.
Juventus are favourites to defeat Bologna on Saturday evening, so anything less than a Napoli victory on Sunday is mandatory for the Partenopei. At the other end of the table, the relegation battle is hotting up nicely, with just three points separating the five teams between 14th and 18th. SPAL and Crotone earned crucial wins last week and there are crunch games at the foot of the table, with the former hosting already relegated Benevento and the latter travelling to 18th-placed Chievo; there are just two points between the pair. What’s Italian for ‘squeeky bum time’?
BUNDESLIGA
RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt are battling for a top-6 finish. Wolfsburg and Hamburg are looking to avoid the drop. RB Leipzig welcome Wolfsburg on Saturday and are in the midst of a four-match winless run, though the Wolves aren’t faring much better after a run of one win in 12. Defeat to Hamburg last week dragged them right back into the relegation scrap.
Hamburg are doing what they do best as they look to avoid relegation for the first time in their history. They’ve won three of their last four to give themselves a fighting chance of survival and come up against a Frankfurt side that has lost four of their last five.
.png "Weekend Schedule: Attention turns to El Clasico")
LIGUE 1
Marseille still have a chance of finishing second, while Nice can still finish fifth and the pair meet at the Velodrome on Sunday. It remains to be seen how the hosts react after securing their Europa League final spot on Thursday night, while they have won just one of their last four home league matches. Away from home, Nice haven’t overly impressed, winning only two of their last nine matches on the road.
At the foot of the table, Lille travel to Toulouse with just two points separating the duo in the battle to avoid the drop. Lille gave themselves a fighting chance of clawing their way out of the bottom two with a 3-1 win over Metz last time out, though Troyes’ 3-1 win over Caen denied Lille the opportunity to move into the relegation playoff spot. Troyes travel to in-form Lyon at the wrong time, with OL winning their last seven league matches to help move into second.
BEST OF THE REST
The Championship draws to a close this weekend, with Cardiff and Fulham both keen on the second automatic promotion place. In the race for a playoff finish, Derby host Barnsley, while Preston welcome Burton, with those two matches key in the race against relegation. Barnsely, Burton, Bolton, Reading and Birmingham are all in danger of dropping into League One, the latter duo of which are up against Cardiff and Fulham, respectively.
.jpg "Weekend Schedule: Attention turns to El Clasico")
FC Porto will be crowned champions with a win over Feirense on Sunday night, but could even lift the trophy without playing a game as Sporting and Benfica face off in the Derby de Lisboa. A draw would see FC Porto lift their 28th title.
In Russia, Lokomotiv Moscow blew the chance to win the league last weekend as they fell to a 2-0 loss at FC Krasnodar. There has been a bit of a wobble at the top in recent weeks, with Lokomotiv mired on a three-match winless run as they gear up for Saturday’s welcome of Roberto Mancini’s Zenit St. Petersburg. Spartak Moscow, who welcome relegation threatened FC Rostov in Saturday’s late kick off, would jump at the chance of any slip up, despite having lost two of their last three matches.
