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This Weekend: Coupe de France Final, Madrid Derby and final day intrigue

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The best action to follow this weekend

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Saturday

??????? Four of the top six in the Premier League are in action, with Liverpool vs. Spurs, perhaps the pick of the fixtures. The Champions League finalists won’t be able to rest on their laurels, following their exploits at Villarreal – not with Spurs still chasing a qualification spot in next season’s competition.

Third-placed Chelsea entertain Wolves whilst Manchester United visit Brighton, in a late kick-off.

For the sides at the bottom, only a win at Crystal Palace will keep Watford mathematically safe – but even then, other results could see them relegated on Sunday. The resurgent Burnley will also be looking for maximum points, at home against Aston Villa.

? Fans of nail-biting, final day drama might be interested in following proceedings a little further down the English pyramid. The state of play in League 2 means we go in the last round of games with virtually everything still to be decided.

Two sides – Exeter and Forest Green are vying for the title. Any one, of another five teams can claim the third automatic promotion spot, whilst every team from third (Northampton) down to ninth (Tranmere) could still end up in the play-off positions.

?? In La Liga, with the title already gone, Barcelona will be looking to sure up their position in second place. But they’ll have to do so away, at Betis on Saturday night – a side with aspirations of breaking in to the top four before the season ends.

?? Ligue 1 takes a back seat this weekend, as we look forward instead, to the final of the Coupe de France. And in Nice and Nantes, we have two unlikely finalists. Positioned fifth, and ninth in the league respectively, neither side have made the final since Nantes won the tournament back in 2000. Nice’s last appearance came back in 1997.

A day in the spotlight beckons then, for one of the country’s sleepier giants.

?? It’s the penultimate weekend of the Portuguese season – and we’re in for a treat, with O Clássico scheduled for Saturday night. Benfica host national rivals Porto, with the latter looking for the point they need to win their 30th league title (Benfica lead the all-time list with 37).

The Dragões will feel they should be home and dry by now. But a first league defeat of the season, against Braga two weekends ago has delayed matters. That ended an unbeaten league run that went all the way back to October 2020!

? The CAF Champions League follows UEFA’s lead, and reaches the semi-final stage this weekend. Egyptian giants, and two-time reigning champions, Al Ahly meet ES Sétif in the first leg of their tie in Cairo. And Moroccan super club, Wydad – runners up in 2019, must go to relative upstarts, Petro Atlético. Angola’s most successful club have never made it this far in the competition.

Sunday

?? The Madrid Derby is this weekend’s headliner in La Liga, with last season’s title winners taking on the newly-anointed 2021/22 champions, from across the capital.

It’s been some week for Real Madrid. Having celebrated lifting the league trophy last Saturday, they backed that up with a comeback for the ages, against Manchester City in the Champions League. Bookending that, by winning in the Wanda Metropolitano would just be the icing on the cake. But don’t expect Diego Simeone’s side to roll over – the home side still need to secure their Champions League spot for next season.

??????? Premier League leaders, Manchester City now have to pick themselves up after that dramatic defeat – in time to face Newcastle United on Sunday. They’ll be playing catch-up too, with any points Liverpool pick up on Saturday meaning they’ll have slipped off top spot.

Similarly, West Ham – who missed out on a place in the Europa League Final on Thursday night are also in action, away at relegated-Norwich. In the day’s other games, fellow strugglers Everton and Leeds will be looking to better each other’s results at Leicester, and Arsenal respectively.

? There’s another day of drama in England as the WSL reaches its final round of games. In fact, there are two intriguing mini-battles to watch out for.

Defending champions Chelsea lead London rivals, Arsenal by a single point. Slip up, at home to Manchester United and Arsenal could steal the title with a win – in their game at West Ham.

For their part, United are vying for the third Champions League spot with their City neighbours. City have the upper hand in this one though, leading by two points, with mid-table Reading their final opponents.

?? At the time of writing, Milan have a two point lead in Serie A but that picture could easily have changed by the time they travel to Verona, on Sunday. Second-placed Inter play on Friday evening and will be confident of getting a result, at home against Empoli.

Milan though, are unbeaten in 13 league games and despite not being at their fluent best, they’re dragging out results. Last week’s win over Fiorentina, thanks to a late goal from Rafael Leão, being a case in point.

?? The Belgian title race is particularly poised, so we thought we’d highlight it this weekend as the top two – Union St. Gillioise and Club Brugge, prepare for back-to-back showdowns within the space of four days.

Union, who are enjoying a fairytale return to the top flight after 48 years away (!), lead last year’s winners by three points and it’s at their ground that the two meet first, on Sunday. They then go again on Wednesday night. A double win, for either side would pretty much decide who gets their hands on the title.

If you want to follow any of the games mentioned above, click on the relevant link and tap the bell icon to receive all the key match updates.

Or join us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to discuss all the important football going on this weekend!

Cover Image from IMAGO

This Weekend: Coupe de France Final, Madrid Derby and final day intrigue

The best action to follow this weekend

If you would like to receive this weekly preview direct to your inbox, sign up to our FREE mailing list by clicking here.

Saturday

??????? Four of the top six in the Premier League are in action, with Liverpool vs. Spurs, perhaps the pick of the fixtures. The Champions League finalists won’t be able to rest on their laurels, following their exploits at Villarreal – not with Spurs still chasing a qualification spot in next season’s competition.

Third-placed Chelsea entertain Wolves whilst Manchester United visit Brighton, in a late kick-off.

For the sides at the bottom, only a win at Crystal Palace will keep Watford mathematically safe – but even then, other results could see them relegated on Sunday. The resurgent Burnley will also be looking for maximum points, at home against Aston Villa.

? Fans of nail-biting, final day drama might be interested in following proceedings a little further down the English pyramid. The state of play in League 2 means we go in the last round of games with virtually everything still to be decided.

Two sides – Exeter and Forest Green are vying for the title. Any one, of another five teams can claim the third automatic promotion spot, whilst every team from third (Northampton) down to ninth (Tranmere) could still end up in the play-off positions.

?? In La Liga, with the title already gone, Barcelona will be looking to sure up their position in second place. But they’ll have to do so away, at Betis on Saturday night – a side with aspirations of breaking in to the top four before the season ends.

?? Ligue 1 takes a back seat this weekend, as we look forward instead, to the final of the Coupe de France. And in Nice and Nantes, we have two unlikely finalists. Positioned fifth, and ninth in the league respectively, neither side have made the final since Nantes won the tournament back in 2000. Nice’s last appearance came back in 1997.

A day in the spotlight beckons then, for one of the country’s sleepier giants.

?? It’s the penultimate weekend of the Portuguese season – and we’re in for a treat, with O Clássico scheduled for Saturday night. Benfica host national rivals Porto, with the latter looking for the point they need to win their 30th league title (Benfica lead the all-time list with 37).

The Dragões will feel they should be home and dry by now. But a first league defeat of the season, against Braga two weekends ago has delayed matters. That ended an unbeaten league run that went all the way back to October 2020!

? The CAF Champions League follows UEFA’s lead, and reaches the semi-final stage this weekend. Egyptian giants, and two-time reigning champions, Al Ahly meet ES Sétif in the first leg of their tie in Cairo. And Moroccan super club, Wydad – runners up in 2019, must go to relative upstarts, Petro Atlético. Angola’s most successful club have never made it this far in the competition.

Sunday

?? The Madrid Derby is this weekend’s headliner in La Liga, with last season’s title winners taking on the newly-anointed 2021/22 champions, from across the capital.

It’s been some week for Real Madrid. Having celebrated lifting the league trophy last Saturday, they backed that up with a comeback for the ages, against Manchester City in the Champions League. Bookending that, by winning in the Wanda Metropolitano would just be the icing on the cake. But don’t expect Diego Simeone’s side to roll over – the home side still need to secure their Champions League spot for next season.

??????? Premier League leaders, Manchester City now have to pick themselves up after that dramatic defeat – in time to face Newcastle United on Sunday. They’ll be playing catch-up too, with any points Liverpool pick up on Saturday meaning they’ll have slipped off top spot.

Similarly, West Ham – who missed out on a place in the Europa League Final on Thursday night are also in action, away at relegated-Norwich. In the day’s other games, fellow strugglers Everton and Leeds will be looking to better each other’s results at Leicester, and Arsenal respectively.

? There’s another day of drama in England as the WSL reaches its final round of games. In fact, there are two intriguing mini-battles to watch out for.

Defending champions Chelsea lead London rivals, Arsenal by a single point. Slip up, at home to Manchester United and Arsenal could steal the title with a win – in their game at West Ham.

For their part, United are vying for the third Champions League spot with their City neighbours. City have the upper hand in this one though, leading by two points, with mid-table Reading their final opponents.

?? At the time of writing, Milan have a two point lead in Serie A but that picture could easily have changed by the time they travel to Verona, on Sunday. Second-placed Inter play on Friday evening and will be confident of getting a result, at home against Empoli.

Milan though, are unbeaten in 13 league games and despite not being at their fluent best, they’re dragging out results. Last week’s win over Fiorentina, thanks to a late goal from Rafael Leão, being a case in point.

?? The Belgian title race is particularly poised, so we thought we’d highlight it this weekend as the top two – Union St. Gillioise and Club Brugge, prepare for back-to-back showdowns within the space of four days.

Union, who are enjoying a fairytale return to the top flight after 48 years away (!), lead last year’s winners by three points and it’s at their ground that the two meet first, on Sunday. They then go again on Wednesday night. A double win, for either side would pretty much decide who gets their hands on the title.

If you want to follow any of the games mentioned above, click on the relevant link and tap the bell icon to receive all the key match updates.

Or join us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to discuss all the important football going on this weekend!

Cover Image from IMAGO