The best action to follow this weekend
Saturday
?? Serie A, like all good TV drama understands the importance of the penultimate episode in a season. Which is why they’ve scheduled not only the Derby d’Italia, Juventus vs. Inter but also the Rome Derby between Roma and Lazio for today.
It’s just a shame there isn’t more riding on it, Inter having already wrapped up the league and Lazio (currently 6th) guaranteed to finish above Roma (7th). There is of course the battle for Champions League qualification, with outgoing champions Juventus desperate for points as they look to finish in the top four.
??????? Today is also one of the biggest days in the English football calendar as the final of the FA Cup, the world’s oldest national football competition takes place at Wembley. Chelsea meet Leicester City in what is the 140th edition of the showpiece fixture.
And despite that weight of history, there’s still the chance of a first if Jamie Vardy’s name appears on the Leicester teamsheet. Should he be selected, he will become the first player ever to appear in each of the qualifying rounds and the main competition – 14 rounds in total across his playing career.
?? If they got it slightly wrong in Italy, the scriptwriters have set us up perfectly for the final day in Turkey. All three of Istanbul’s giant clubs could still win the title! And obviously, all three kick-off at the same time so make sure you keep an eye on all the drama as it unfolds!
Beşiktaş go to Göztepe and start as leaders, level on points with rivals Galatasaray who face Yeni Malatyaspor. Trailing them by two points are Fenerbahçe, also on their travels at Kayserispor.
?? Earlier this week, Sporting Lisbon ended 18 seasons of hurt by claiming their first Portuguese title since 2002. Having watched either their city rivals, Benfica or national rivals FC Porto pick up the trophy every year, it’s perhaps fitting that they make the trip across town to Benfica for what is their penultimate game.
And don’t think Sporting will put their feet up for this one, they still have the chance of going the full season unbeaten having won 25 games and drawn 7 so far.
Sunday
? Tomorrow, Chelsea will meet Barcelona in the final of the Women’s Champions League, being held in Gothenburg, Sweden. Neither club have previously won the competition at the pinnacle of the women’s game but for both, who have seen heavy investment in recent seasons – this is undoubtably the goal.
Already domestic champions in England and Spain, each side features an array of the world’s best attacking talent – players like Sam Kerr, Pernille Harder, Caroline Graham Hansen, Jennifer Hermoso, Lieke Martens and Fran Kirby. Definitely worth a watch.
?? Sunday also tells us whether Barcelona’s mens team will finally see their feint title hopes extinguished in La Liga. With two rounds to play, Barça trail leaders Atlético Madrid by four points and sit two down on Real Madrid in third. In fact, should Real Madrid drop points, the title will go to Atleti if they beat Osasuna.
Real Madrid perhaps have the toughest assignment, going to Athletic Club whilst Barcelona are at home to Celta Vigo.
?? We see a similar situation in France where up to three sides are still realistically in the running for the Ligue 1 title. But tomorrow, as in Spain should either PSG or Monaco slip up LOSC can claim their first league triumph since 2011, as long as they themselves beat Saint-Etienne.
PSG won’t want to hand over the trophy they’ve picked up for the past three seasons just yet but they are already reliant on Lille losing one of their two remaining games whilst picking up two wins themselves. Which is not something they’ve been guaranteed to do consistently this season.
?? In Germany, with Bayern already crowned champions we’ll be interested in the battle behind them tomorrow afternoon. Second meets third as RB Leipzig face Wolfsburg in a game likely to decide the runners-up spot. And fourth placed Borussia Dortmund will be looking to cling on to the last Champions League spot when they go to Mainz 05, hopefully hangover free after their big midweek win over Leipzig in the final of the DFB Pokal.
If you are particularly interested in German football, we’re currently giving away a Wolfsburg kit belonging to their Belgian goalkeeper Koen Casteels. Head over to to our twitter for your chance to win!
?? And last, but not least tomorrow also features perhaps the biggest club rivalry of them all – Boca Juniors against River Plate in Argentina. With the top flight currently on hiatus, the last two short seasons played in the country have been on a league cup format and with Boca the defending champions, this game will feature as one of this year’s quarter-finals.
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