In this weekend preview we summarise the best five games to follow on your match feed. And make a couple of suggestions for matches that you may otherwise miss.
🏴 Premier League – Spurs vs. Arsenal
The English league leaders go to near-neighbours and arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday knowing that only a victory will do if they are to finally end a 20-year wait for a title. Lose, and Arsenal will likely concede top spot to Manchester City, who play at Forest later in the day, and could move two points clear with a game still in hand on the sides around them.
That will be easier said than done, though, with Arsenal winning just once at the home of Spurs since 2015. And Spurs will be particular determined to undermine their rival’s title chances while they still have a shot at qualifying for next season’s Champions League. Ange Postecoglou’s side sit fifth, six points down on four placed Aston Villa, but with two games in hand.
Current form slightly favours Arsenal in this one, with the Gunners bouncing back from defeat to Aston Villa, and being knocked out of the Champions League, by winning at Wolves, and then annihilating Chelsea at the Emirates, on Tuesday. They scored five unanswered goals in that one, something that has become a bit of a habit for Mikel Arteta’s side this season, with no fewer than six games being won by that score, or more, in all competitions.
Spurs lost heavily at Newcastle last weekend (4-0) and appear to be going unbeaten in small sequences of two to three games before something of a surprise defeat. That trip to Newcastle being one, a loss at Fulham back in March being the last, and a home defeat to Wolves in February being the one before that.
🇪🇸 LaLiga: Real Betis vs. Sevilla
On paper, including a game in this column that is between the sides sat seventh and twelfth in the league might be a strange one, but then, they don’t call this game El Gran Derbi for nothing! One of Spanish football’s greatest rivalries takes place in Seville, on Sunday, and city pride is pretty much all that is left to fight for, for both sides this season.
That said, Betis, who are still under the stewardship of Manuel Pellegrini, do have a chance of taking the Europa Conference League spot from Real Sociedad. They sit just three points below them with six games to play at the time of the writing. Sevilla, who are on to their third manager of the season, have at least steadied the ship. Quique Sánchez Flores took over in December, and has slowly got his side up the table. Since a narrow 1-0 defeat at league leaders Real Madrid (who play on Friday this weekend) in February, Sevilla have won four of their consequent six games, losing only once.
And despite their struggles in recent times, Sevilla are unbeaten in the last five derbies, with Betis’ last victory coming in a cup game back in 2022. Matches between the two have been low scoring, but hard fought, and the atmosphere is always top notch.
🇫🇷 Ligue 1: PSG vs. Le Havre
PSG missed the chance to seal a record-extending 12th Ligue 1 title in midweek, but that was through no fault of their own. The Parisians did their part, with Kylian Mbappé front and centre of a 4-1 victory at Lorient. However, they then needed nearest rivals Monaco to drop points in a later kick-off. But that did not happen.
On Saturday, though, it’s all in their own hands. They just need to beat relegation-threatened Le Havre in Paris. A draw could be enough for them to seal the deal, but it would then be a case of waiting to see whether Monaco slip up at Lyon on Sunday evening. Better to get it done. And we’re sure Luis Enrique will agree.
If we include PSG’s matches in the Champions League and the Coupe de France, which have seen them progress to the semi-finals in Europe, and the final of the domestic cup, then they have been beaten just once since November. A run of one defeat in 31 games and that defeat only came in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona, in which they still scored twice and won on aggregate.
For Le Havre, it’s a different story. Promoted for this season, their form has tailed off dramatically in recent weeks and they find themselves in the relegation play-off place staring at the possibility of an instant return to Ligue 2. Crucially, their last two results have been 1-0 defeats to both Metz and Nantes, the two sides directly above them in the table.
🏆 Women’s Champions League Semi-Final, Second legs
PSG’s women’s side are also involved in some top level action this weekend, as they look to overturn a 3-2 deficit in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against arch-rivals Lyon on Sunday night.
Lyon, the record winners of this tournament, came from two goals down to win the first leg, with all three of their goals coming in the final 10 minutes of the game. The two French giants have been direct competitors for years now, having finished first and second in the league for the past six seasons – this time round, Lyon lead PSG by 11 points with one regular season game to go. In a break from previous years, a four-team play-off round will decide the eventual league champions.
In the meantime, Lyon will be looking to secure an appearance in what would be their 11th Champions League Final.
Before that, though, it’s the turn of Chelsea and Barcelona to face off in London on Saturday. The Blues celebrated a famous win in the first leg of this tie, last weekend’s 1-0 victory marking a first home defeat for Barcelona since 2019, and their first since 2022 anywhere in this competition. The defending Spanish and European champions complained about Chelsea’s heavy-handed tactics in that first leg but then, coach Emma Hayes is looking to find any advantage necessary to change the narrative of recent clashes between the two sides.
Barcelona beat Chelsea easily in the 2021 Final, and beat them again, at this stage of last season’s competition.
🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Stuttgart
Ignoring Bayern for a second, this Saturday afternoon clash pits together the two best sides in Germany this season. A good time, then, to celebrate their respective successes.
Leverkusen, famously, have ditched their ‘Neverkusen’ nickname, lifting their first ever Bundesliga title with weeks to spare, while remaining unbeaten in all competitions through 2023/24 ( a run of 45 games and counting!), and are in to the final of the DFB Pokal, and the semi-finals of the Europa League.
For Stuttgart, the change in fortunes this season has been almost as stark. They only retained their top flight status thanks to a victory in the relegation play-off last year, and this year are looking like they’ll qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2010. And in Serhou Guirassy, they boast a striker with 25 goals in 24 league games, a record only bettered by Bayern’s Harry Kane.
Whether Stuttgart have what it takes to finally ruin Leverkusen’s ‘invisible’ season remains to be seen but certainly, this game looks like being a late-season classic in a league that has for so long been dominated by one side.
Plus two further suggestions from a little deeper in your match feed…
🇵🇹 Liga Portugal: Porto vs. Sporting
With a lot of the big title races in Europe having been decided (Italy, Germany), or all but done (France, Netherlands), we thought we’d use this section to highlight a couple of leagues where there’s still something to play for. And in Portugal, that means the focus goes to Rúben Amorim and his Sporting side as the much in-demand manager hones in on what would be a second title in charge of the Lisbon club.
Since winning the league in 2021/22, Sporting have watched Benfica and Porto attempt to reassert the dominance that they had seen them share the trophy between them for the best part of 20 years. And while they’ve each won a title since, this campaign has been all about league leaders Sporting. Amorim’s side have won 26 of their 30 league games, losing just twice, and can boast a goal difference of +60 with four games to go.
Presuming chasers Benfica don’t slip up when they play on Saturday, Sporting require two wins to make sure of the title, and getting one of them against third-placed Porto would be some statement. Especially with the two sides also set to meet again in the Cup final next month.
For Porto, it’s been a season of disappointments as they find themselves off the pace, 11 points down on second placed Benfica with 12 points available.
🇦🇹 Austrian Bundesliga: RB Salzburg vs. Sturm Graz
Similarly, and although nothing will be decided mathematically this week, Sunday’s clash between the top two in Austria could have huge implications in another league that has long been dominated by one side.
Salzburg have won 10 titles in a row, and 13 of the last 15 but with four games to go in the league’s Championship Group, the Red Bull side find themselves three points down on their Sunday opponents. Sturm Graz have finished as runners-up in each of the last two seasons but a current run of form that has seen them lose just once since the league resumed following the winter break has propelled them in to pole position.
Sturm Graz come in to the game fresh from back-to-back wins over Rapid, the latest coming on Wednesday, the same night Salzburg were shocked by Austria Klagenfurt, losing 4-3 away from home. In fact, they’ve lost three of their last five in all competitions.
Graz’s only domestic defeat in 2024 did come against Salzburg but they did get their revenge earlier this month, beating Salzburg 4-3 in the semi-finals of the Austrian Cup. Which only adds to the expectations around this game.
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Images from IMAGO