Der Klassiker and Barcelona v Atletico Madrid headline action-packed weekend

BUNDESLIGA

Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund

WHERE: Allianz Arena

WHEN: Saturday April 6, 8:30pm GST

The latest staging of Der Klassiker is set to be one of the biggest fixtures in the recent history of the Bundesliga. Bayern Munich have had it all their own way during their run of six straight league titles, rarely having a title challenger worthy of the description.

Not this time. Borussia Dortmund go into this game two points ahead of their rivals, a welcome position to be in after they’d spent the early part of 2019 squandering a seven-point lead over Bayern and even fall behind the Bavarians on goal difference at one stage.

Now, a win in Munich would see Dortmund go home with a five-point cushion, and even a draw would leave them with renewed confidence over their title push. The pressure is entirely on Lucien Favre’s side, because they know a Bayern win would make the one-point lead the champions would take seem like much more. But the Black and Yellow can also take a giant stride to winning a first league title since 2012 by beating Niko Kovac’s resurgent Bayern.

LA LIGA

Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid

WHERE: Camp Nou

WHEN: Saturday, April 6, 10:45pm GST

The title race in Spain is not as close as the one going on in Germany, but Atletico Madrid can change that this weekend. They travel to the Camp Nou knowing that a win would cut the gap to Barcelona down to a manageable five points, and a title race that had fizzled out by December would be back on.

Barca did their rivals a favour by dropping points in midweek, though it could have been worse: La Blaugrana went into the 90th minute of Tuesday’s fixture against Villarreal down 4-2, only for Lionel Messi – who else – and Luis Suarez to score twice in injury time and rescue a point.

Still, that was two points gained for Atletico, and picking up another three could give Diego Simeone’s side some momentum and make even the Messi-inspired La Liga leaders seem vulnerable. Barcelona may also have one eye on next week’s Champions League game against Manchester United, and Atletico will punish any lapse in concentration.

SERIE A

Juventus vs Milan

WHERE: Allianz Stadium

WHEN: Saturday, April 6, 8pm GST

There’s no title race to speak of in Serie A, with Juventus well clear at the top, but no meeting between Juve and Milan comes without the tension and drama befitting one of Italy’s fiercest rivalries.

Sadly, there won’t be a duel between two of the league’s top scorers, with Cristiano Ronaldo likely to miss this fixture through injury and allowing Milan’s Krzysztof Piatek to take centre stage and perhaps extend his lead over the Juventus man in the Capocannoniere race as both chase Sampdoria’s Fabio Quagliarella for that particular crown.

Milan have had a dip in form at the worst possible moment, taking just one point from their last three fixtures heading into Saturday’s game to drop out of third place and leave their top-four hopes in peril. They face fifth-place Lazio, who are four points behind with two games in hand, right after this, and with Juventus possibly more focused on next week’s Champions League clash against Ajax, the Rossoneri could use a positive result against Italy’s best team as a springboard for the rest of the season.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Everton vs Arsenal

WHERE: Goodison Park

WHEN: Sunday, April 7, 5:05pm GST

England’s top-four race is just as close as Italy’s, with four teams contesting for two spots as they head into the Premier League run-in. Arsenal look like the favourites among those two teams, with the kindest fixture list remaining, but their poor away form this season makes Sunday’s trip to Everton a tricky prospect.

The Toffees have turned a corner in recent weeks, having beaten Chelsea and then outclassed West Ham last week to boost their claim for a seventh-place finish, with the unofficial “best of the rest” tag and potential Europa League spot that will come with it.

For both teams, this is an opportunity to take advantage of two rivals not playing during the weekend thanks to the FA Cup scheduling; Arsenal’s top-four rivals Tottenham and Manchester United have the weekend off, as do Everton’s close competitors Wolves and Watford, who face each other in the cup semi-final.

LIGUE 1

Stade Reims vs Lille

WHERE: Stade Auguste-Delaune

WHEN: Sunday, April 7, 5pm GST

Lille’s impressive season got its latest boost last weekend as they came back from 2-0 down away from home against Nantes to pick up a vital 3-2 win. That result kept them four points ahead of third-place Lyon in the race to finish second and avoid the qualifying round for next season’s Champions League.

Sunday’s opponents Stade Reims are locked in a European race of their own, currently in sixth place, three points behind St Etienne in fourth and two behind Marseille, who occupy the final Europa League place. Beating out either to get into Europe would be a huge achievement David Guion’s side.

This fixture also has implications on the Ligue 1 title calculations, as Paris Saint-Germain will be confirmed as champions if they win and Lille draw or lose.