A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Saturday:
ENGLAND
Chelsea leads Manchester City in the Premier League by a point but manager Thomas Tuchel has not been happy with his side’s last two performances. Chelsea is at West Ham in the lunchtime kickoff and City plays at Watford in the late game. Between the fixtures, Liverpool, which is in third place two points behind Chelsea, plays Wolverhampton. Pep Guardiola's City is almost back at full strength with Kevin De Bruyne back in training after contracting coronavirus. Ilkay Gundogan, John Stones and Kyle Walker, who missed Wednesday’s win for the defending champions at Aston Villa with knocks, are back in contention. Last-placed Newcastle hosts Burnley, which is also in the relegation zone, still searching for its first win after 14 rounds. Southampton, which is two places but five points above the drop zone, plays ninth-placed Brighton.
GERMANY
Borussia Dortmund hosts Bayern Munich for the “Klassiker” with one point separating leader Bayern from second-placed Dortmund in the Bundesliga table. Erling Haaland is back in action for Dortmund and scored on his return from a hip muscle injury last week. Bayern has won its last six games against Dortmund going back to 2019 but has some players still out after a recent coronavirus outbreak, and midfielder Leon Goretzka is an injury doubt. On-form Bayer Leverkusen hosts Greuther Fürth, and Hoffenheim can break into the Champions League places with a win over Eintracht Frankfurt. Mainz hosts Wolfsburg, Augsburg plays Bochum and Arminia Bielefeld takes on Cologne. All Bundesliga games are being played with sharply reduced crowds because of a rise in virus infections in Germany. Leading politicians agreed on a cap on crowds of 15,000 people but some states are using their own, lower limits.
SPAIN
The top teams are in action with one eye on important upcoming Champions League’s matches. Leader Real Madrid visits San Sebastián with the goal of dealing a serious blow to surprise contender Real Sociedad. The Basque Country club is level with Atlético Madrid as the closest chaser to Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid at seven points off the lead. Madrid has won seven in a row across all competitions. Atlético hosts Mallorca and fourth-placed Sevilla welcomes Villarreal with both hoping for Madrid to stumble. Seventh-placed Barcelona has a test against fifth-placed Real Betis at Camp Nou. Only Madrid has qualified for the Champions League knockout rounds. Barcelona, Atlético, Sevilla and Villarreal all need favorable results in their final group phase games next week to reach the round of 16.
ITALY
Roma coach José Mourinho faces his former team as Inter Milan visits the Italian capital. Mourinho steered Inter to the treble of Serie A, Italian Cup and Champions League success in 2010. Inter is third, just two points below league leader Napoli, which hosts fourth-placed Atalanta. AC Milan is only a point behind Napoli and entertains bottom-placed Salernitana. That comes just three days before a must-win Champions League match against Liverpool but Milan coach Stefano Pioli can’t afford to rest players with an-ever lengthening injury list.
FRANCE
League leader Paris Saint-Germain travels to fifth-placed Lens without Neymar, who won't play again this year after an ankle injury last weekend. Neymar's ligament damage is expected to rule him out for six to eight weeks. In his absence, PSG lacked an attacking spark midweek in a goalless draw with Nice. Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria, who were particularly disappointing in that game, are, however, expected to start at Lens. Also, second-placed Marseille hosts Brest looking for a third straight win, and Lille takes on Troyes.
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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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