A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Wednesday:
ENGLAND
Arriving with the best attack in the Premier League, Liverpool looks primed to pile on the misery for local rival Everton in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. Everton hasn't won any of its last seven games and the pressure is increasing on manager Rafa Benitez, who is taking on his former club. Meanwhile, Liverpool great Steve Gerrard could do his old club a big favor by leading Aston Villa, where he has recently taken over as manager, to a win over Manchester City, one of Liverpool's main title contenders. Second-place City is a point ahead of third-place Liverpool and a point behind Chelsea, which is also in action at Watford. Fourth-place West Ham is at home to Brighton, third-to-last Burnley looks for just its second win of the season in a trip to Wolverhampton, and Leicester travels to Southampton.
SPAIN
Spanish league leader Real Madrid can increase its advantage at the top when it hosts Athletic Bilbao in a match postponed from the ninth round. Madrid is four points clear from both Atlético Madrid and Real Sociedad. Madrid is unbeaten against Athletic in 12 league matches, with eight wins and four losses. Eighth-place Athletic hasn't won in five consecutive league matches. In the Copa del Rey, Sevilla plays at Córdoba, Real Sociedad visits Panadería Pulido and Real Betis plays at CFI Alicante.
ITALY
After losing back-to-back Serie A matches, AC Milan will try to get back on track in the league when it visits relegation-threatened Genoa. Milan has slipped three points below league leader Napoli, which travels to Sassuolo. Inter Milan will be looking to take advantage of any slip up from the top two and hosts lowly Spezia. The defending champion is third, four points below Napoli. Also fifth-placed Roma visits Bologna.
FRANCE
It's Super Wednesday in Ligue 1 with 10 games in the evening. Leader Paris Saint-Germain will miss an injured Neymar when it hosts third-placed Nice. PSG will rely on Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi to crack the joint-tightest defense in the league. On a 13-game unbeaten run in all competitions, Rennes can consolidate second place against defending champion Lille. Expect goals in that game as it features Lille's Jonathan David, the league's top scorer, and Rennes' Gaetan Laborde, the second most prolific scorer. Marseille can make up ground in the race for Champions League spots with a win at mid-table Nantes. Lyon will host Reims without spectators after the league sanctioned Lyon for incidents at home on Nov. 21 when Dimitri Payet was hit on the head by a bottle of water thrown from the stands in a game that was abandoned.
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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.
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
