A look at what’s happening around European soccer on Saturday:
ENGLAND
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is looking to get his once-prolific attack firing again amid a benign run of fixtures in the Premier League, starting with a home match against Burnley. City has scored 303 times over the past three seasons and has regularly been the top scorer in the league, but has netted only 10 in eight games so far. Burnley has typically been an obliging opponent for City, however, and Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero are available again for Guardiola ahead of upcoming home games against Fulham, West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle. Liverpool faces a quick turnaround, heading to Brighton for the lunchtime kickoff having played Atalanta in the Champions League on Wednesday evening. West Brom and Sheffield United meet in a battle of the bottom two, with neither side having won a game this season. Leeds travels to Everton, which is without left back Lucas Digne until next year because of an ankle ligament injury.
SPAIN
Real Madrid will try to end a two-game winless streak in the Spanish league when it hosts Alavés, while Atlético Madrid will go for its sixth league victory in a row when it visits midtable Valencia. Atlético is three points behind leader Real Sociedad with two games in hand. Real Madrid is in fourth place, six points off the lead with a game in hand. Seventh-placed Sevilla visits second-to-last-place Huesca.
ITALY
Last in its Champions League group and struggling to find continuity in Serie A, Inter Milan is under pressure going to unbeaten Sassuolo, which is surprisingly second. Atalanta looks to build on its stunning Champions League victory at Liverpool when it hosts Hellas Verona, and boosted by the goal-scoring return of Josip Ilicic. His goal against Liverpool was his 50th for Atalanta. Nine-time defending champion Juventus visits promoted Benevento, which is coached by former Juventus and AC Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi.
GERMANY
Crisis-hit Schalke visits Borussia Mönchengladbach, the last team it beat in the Bundesliga in January, hoping to bring an end to its club-record run of 24 league games without a victory. The odds are not good. Schalke has a host of injuries, an unnamed player with the coronavirus, and suspended three players on Tuesday after internal disagreements. Two of the three, Vedad Ibisevic and Nabil Bentaleb, are to leave the club. Technical director Michael Reschke also left by mutual consent. Coach Manuel Baum is finding it hard to put a side together for the game but he says the club’s disciplinary actions were necessary. League leader Bayern Munich visits promoted Stuttgart, second-placed Borussia Dortmund hosts winless Cologne, and Leipzig hosts promoted Arminia Bielefeld. Fifth-placed Union Berlin hosts Eintracht Frankfurt.
FRANCE
League leader Paris Saint-Germain hosts Bordeaux with winger Hatem Ben Arfa returning to face his former club after an unhappy two-year spell at PSG saw him cut from training with the first team. He has a good record at Parc des Princes, though, having netted four times when on the visiting team. Meanwhile, Brazil star Neymar looks to become the quickest PSG player to reach 50 league goals. If he does, it will be in his 58th game, one less than former club star Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Marseille takes on Nantes in the other game needing to bounce back from a record 13th straight defeat in the Champions League. If Marseille wins at its Stade Velodrome it will move up to third place with two games in hand on the other sides in the top six.
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A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Saturday:
GERMANY
Bayern Munich can seal a record 10th consecutive Bundesliga title in style with three games remaining with a victory at home over second-placed Borussia Dortmund. Bayern is hoping to continue its strong record against Dortmund after winning their last seven encounters. In Europe’s top five leagues, Bayern is tied for the record of nine consecutive titles with Juventus, which won Serie A every season from 2012 to 2020. For Dortmund, Erling Haaland ended a goal drought by scoring twice against Wolfsburg last week amid speculation over his future. Elsewhere, Leipzig hosts Union Berlin for the second time this week after winning their German Cup semifinal, and Champions League-chasing Freiburg hosts Borussia Mönchengladbach. Bayer Leverkusen visits last-placed Greuther Fürth, Eintracht Frankfurt takes on Hoffenheim, and Cologne plays Arminia Bielefeld.
PSG's Kylian Mbappe, center right, celebrates his goal with teammates during the League One soccer match between Angers and Paris Saint Germain, at the Raymond-Kopa stadium in Angers, western France, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP PhotoJeremias Gonzalez)
FRANCE
Paris Saint-Germain is just one point away from sealing a record-equaling 10th league title. With five matches left to play this season, Mauricio Pochettino’s players have the opportunity to wrap up their dominant campaign in front of their home fans against Lens at the Parc des Princes. PSG has a 15-point lead over Marseille and can be crowned even if it loses against Lens on the condition that Marseille does not beat Reims on Sunday. PSG is set to move level with Saint-Etienne, which won its 10th title in 1981 and is fighting to stay up this season. Only two of PSG's previous titles — in 1986 and 1994 — were conquered before Qatar Sports Investments took over PSG in 2011 with the aim of turning it into a world-class club. Also, Saint-Etienne hosts in-form Monaco and Montpellier travels to Lyon.
ENGLAND
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola gestures during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP PhotoDave Thompson)
Manchester City can move four points clear of second-placed Liverpool in the back-and-forth Premier League title race with a home win over relegation-threatened Watford. A victory for City would put pressure on Liverpool ahead of its Merseyside derby against Everton on Sunday. More intrigue this weekend might lie in the race for Champions League qualification, with two candidates meeting at Emirates Stadium when fifth-placed Arsenal hosts sixth-placed Manchester United. Arsenal is tied on points with fourth-placed Tottenham, with United three points back. Tottenham visits Brentford in a match between Christian Eriksen's past and present clubs. Last-placed Norwich is eight points from safety heading into a home match against Newcastle, and Leicester hosts Aston Villa in the other game.
SPAIN
Real Betis and Valencia play the final of Spain’s Copa del Rey in Betis’ hometown of Seville. The match will be at Estadio La Cartuja, a neutral ground where Spain’s national team played its group phase matches for last year’s European Championship. Valencia will be seeking its ninth Copa del Rey after winning No. 8 in 2019. Betis’ second and last cup title came back in 2005. The winner will also earn a Europa League berth.
ITALY
Inter Milan forward Edin Džeko could bring up a century of Serie A goals by scoring twice against his former club as the defending champion hosts Roma. Džeko has a total of 98 goals in the Italian league — 13 for Inter this season and the rest in five years at Roma. A win would send Inter to the top of Serie A, with current leader AC Milan playing at Lazio on Sunday. Inter will also be buoyed after beating Milan 3-0 midweek to reach the Italian Cup final. A win could reignite Roma’s challenge for a Champions League berth. Atalanta has seen its hopes of a top-four finish evaporate following a run of three straight defeats and it visits relegation-threatened Venezia. Two other sides battling the drop, Sampdoria and Spezia, travel to Hellas Verona and Torino respectively.
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