The best action to follow this weekend
Saturday
? For the second time this April there is a Copa del Rey final taking place in Spain. And just as they were in the delayed 2020 final that was finally played two weekends ago, Athletic Club Bilbao are one of the sides taking part. This time they face Barcelona, who start as overwhelming favourites.
Athletic will need to overcome the disappointment of losing to arch-Basque rivals Real Sociedad in that previous edition of the final, if they are to rescue anything from this unique opportunity, playing two such important games virtually back-to-back. Perhaps they can channel the vigour they showed to beat Barcelona in the Supercopa tournament back in January, a result which came during a month in which they also played, and lost to Barça twice in La Liga.
It’s been a crazy season for scheduling in Spain!
??????? In England, we have reached the semi-final stage of the FA Cup, the world’s oldest national football competition. Today’s match up sees the country’s two remaining representatives in the Champions League go head-to-head at Wembley, Chelsea vs. Manchester City.
There are two other English fixtures that may be of interest. Firstly, in the Premier League West Ham United travel to Newcastle United knowing that a win will take them third in the table. And secondly, in the late Championship kick-off, Norwich City host Bournemouth looking for the three points that will guarantee their immediate return to the top flight, regardless of results earlier in the day.
?? Bayern München, whose defence of the Champions League title ended in defeat to PSG during the week will need to bounce back in the Bundesliga if they are to avoid the same happening in their domestic league. Today, they face third-placed Wolfsburg, easily their stiffest test remaining in the final six rounds of the season.
?? And in the United States, it’s the opening weekend of the new MLS season and later we’ll get to see the inaugural game for new expansion club Austin FC, who travel to LAFC. The side from the state capital of Texas formed back in 2018 so it’s been a long wait for an ownership group that includes Matthew McConaughey, to finally see them in competitive action.
Sunday
??????? There are two Premier League games tomorrow as both Manchester United and Arsenal, fresh from their exploits in the Europa League quarter-finals turn their attention to the bread and butter of the season. Arsenal go against fellow Londoners Fulham who will be desperate for points in their bid to avoid the drop. And further north, Manchester United welcome fellow Lancastrians Burnley to Old Trafford.
? In the Cup, it’s back to Wembley for the second semi-final between Leicester City and Southampton – two sides who can boast just FA Cup triumph between them, that being Southampton’s most famous hour way back in 1976.
??????? Sticking with Cup competition, we move to Scotland where Glasgow giants and age-old rivals Rangers and Celtic meet in the fourth round of the Scottish FA Cup.
?? Silverware will be on offer in the Netherlands tomorrow, with Ajax taking on Vitesse in the final of the KNVB Cup. With the cup not reaching a conclusion due the pandemic last season, Ajax are still technically the holders having won their 19th title back in 2019. Vitesse meanwhile won their solitary title in 2017.
?? In La Liga, the title race will no doubt take another twist due to results tomorrow. Atlético, who lead the table by a solitary point play Eibar at home whilst Real Madrid, the side trailing their cross-city rivals play away at Getafe. With Barcelona in Cup action, this is a chance for both sides to take the initiative in what looks like it’s going to be a very exciting run-in.
?? The battle for the Scudetto in Italy’s Serie A might not be as close but with eight rounds to play, the sides behind leaders Inter will be looking for them to start slipping up sooner rather than later. For their part, Inter won their tenth straight league game last time out and they’ll be hoping to boost their eleven point lead when they go to Napoli on Sunday evening. Earlier in the day, third meets fourth as Juventus battle it out with Atalanta, who are still the highest scoring side in the league this season.
?? Lastly, there’s the small matter of the Cairo Derby tomorrow night. One of, if not the biggest club game in Africa. Zamalek and bitter rivals Al Ahly have not played each other since the sides met in the CAF Champions League final back in November, a game in which Al Ahly came out on top.
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