Premier League
12:30 Crystal Palace vs Liverpool
15:00 Brighton vs Leicester
15:00 West Bromwich Albion vs Burnley
15:00 Newcastle United vs Huddersfield
15:00 Watford vs Bournemouth
15:00 West Ham vs Southampton
15:00 Manchester United vs Swansea
17:30 Everton vs Manchester City
SUNDAY
Premier League
13:30 Arsenal vs Stoke
16:00 Chelsea vs Tottenham
BETTING TIPS
Crystal Palace – Liverpool-2/over/gg
Brighton – Leicester-X2
Man Utd – Swansea-1/Over
Newcastle – Huddersfield-1/gg
Watford – Bournemouth-1/over

Crystal Palace VS Liverpool (Saturday, 12.30PM)
The big talking point: Palace’s survival hopes. You expect – but probably shouldn’t assume – that Southampton and Stoke will improve before much longer, so Roy Hodgson’s players could really do with moving themselves away from the bottom three.

What will happen: Palace will return to something like full strength. Hodgson still has a few long-term absentees, but can now pick from Wilfried Zaha (hopefully), Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mamadou Sakho at a critical time.

What won’t happen: Jurgen Klopp will likely be without Andy Robertson, who picked up an injury on international duty, while Emre Can and Dejan Lovren are also doubts. Joe Gomez is out. The Robertson injury is particularly problematic as it’s not a coincidence that Liverpool’s good form has run parallel to his inclusion in the side.

Brighton vs Leicester (Saturday, 3pm)

The big talking point: By our estimate, one more win could see Brighton safe. Not mathematically, of course, but given the limitations of the sides below, a nine-point gap with seven games to go should be enough.

What will happen: Finally, finally, finally, Shinji Okazaki should return to the Leicester starting line-up. It’s strange but true: this team and the way it functions still isn’t the same without him and that’s a reality which has now transcended three different managers.

What won’t happen: Anthony Knockaert begins a suspension following his recent red card, so won’t face his old club. For Leicester, Kelechi Iheanacho (broken hand picked up on international duty) and Daniel Amartey are both injury concerns for Claude Puel.

Manchester United vs Swansea (Saturday, 3pm)
The big talking point: Is there one? Swansea will presumably have their mind on next week’s huge game with West Brom and United, you suspect, should have enough to get comfortably home.

What will happen: Jordan Ayew serves the second game of his suspension following his sending-off at Huddersfield, so Tammy Abraham will get the chance to lead the line. Interesting, because Abraham probably hasn’t done enough yet to convince anyone that he deserves to stay at Chelsea next season. The end of this campaign is important for him and this will be a good opportunity.

What won’t happen: Scott McTominay has returned from his first international break carrying a knock, so we’ll be denied the confected Paul Pogba controversy. Ashley Young is also a doubt, while Phil Jones, Ander Herrera and Daley Blind all remain out.

Newcastle vs Huddersfield (Saturday)
The big talking point: Relegation. Huddersfield will start three points off the relegation places, Newcastle four – this is not a game to lose.

What will happen: You just have more faith in Rafa Benitez, don’t you? The planning, the preparation, the experience – and in this instance, the better players too. Huddersfield have battled bravely this season, recording plenty of admirable results along the way, but they’ve looked exhausted over the last few weeks. Home win.

What won’t happen: Aaron Mooy withdrew from the Australia squad, so is a (critical) doubt here, but better news for Newcastle: Islam Slimani made his return from injury for Algeria this week and should finally feature for them.

Watford vs Bournemouth (Saturday)
The big talking point: The deadest of dead rubbers. Both of these sides are essentially safe; both know that they are too.

What will happen: Asmir Begovic is listed as doubtful for this one – and his form has been pretty dreadful anyway – so Artur Boruc and his many, many tattoos could reappear from the bench.

What won’t happen: An away win. Javi Gracia’s impact may not have been seismic – he did take over at a difficult time to be fair – but Watford have still won all of their last three home games (West Brom, Everton, Chelsea), and that in spite of a very long injury list.

West Brom vs Burnley (Saturday)
The big talking point: Doom. As in “West Brom are DOOMED”. It’s over, it has been for a while… there’s nothing more to say.

What will happen: Burnley will arrive having arrested their poor form and are now unbeaten in three games. Conversely, West Brom have won just once since…*scrolls*…. *scrolls again*… August. Away win, dagger in, party over.
What won’t happen: It seems unlikely that Tom Heaton will play. What an unfortunate situation this is: if Nick Pope is replaced now, his chance of going to the World Cup will disappear – but then, game time for Heaton would probably open the door for an opportunity that he too probably deserves. Very difficult for Sean Dyche.

West Ham vs Southampton (Saturday)
The big talking point: The London Stadium crowd. Because obviously. West Ham have made all the right noises following the Burnley debacle and banned all the right people, but should the team lose this and slip further towards the relegation zone, that anger won’t take long to reappear.

What will happen: A calming of the nerves. West Ham might not have quite enough to win this game, but they shouldn’t lose. Southampton have scored just once in their last three Premier League games and that’s descriptive of a problem they’ve had all season: they just don’t do enough around the opposition box. Charlie Austin may return, that would help, but Mark Hughes has big balance problems with this team.

What won’t happen: Manuel Lanzini collected an injury on international duty – during which he scored a fantastic goal, by the way – and James Collins is also a doubt. Pedro Obiang, Winston Reid and Cheick Kouyate all remain sidelined. Ryan Betrand will be missing for Southampton, so too Steven Davis.

Everton vs Manchester City (Saturday)
The big talking point: Two more wins for City should be enough to confirm their third Premier League title – and three points here is a virtual certainty.

What will happen: The kind of game which, were he to win, Sam Allardyce would revel in. All the normal stuff: grandstanding in the press conference, cupping his hand to the crowd. Et cetera. Unfortunately for him: no chance. City will be too quick, too smart and too powerful for an Everton team that – win against Stoke aside – barely look interested in keeping their manager employed beyond the end of the season.

What won’t happen: Mason Holgate has been added to Allardyce’s injury list, having pulled out of the England U21 camp last weekend. Gylfi Sigurdsson, Eliaquim Mangala and James McCarthy are all out for the rest of the season, while Ashley Williams serves the second game of his ban. Benjamin Mendy is nearing a comeback for City.

Arsenal vs Stoke (Sunday)
The big talking point: The issues at Stoke. Paul Lambert doesn’t seem to be making many friends or influencing anybody: Ibrahim Afellay has been ordered to stay away from the club and Erik Pieters recently broke a team curfew. If a revival is going to happen, we’re not sure where it’s going to come from.

What will happen: This is long way from being the Stoke team which Arsenal used to fear. Their forward threat is gone, they can’t seem to defend to anything like an acceptable standard, and this Arsenal team should run up a score without breaking a sweat. Stranger things have happened of course but, realistically, Stoke are circling the drain.

What won’t happen: Alexandre Lacazette should be fit enough to return to the Arsenal bench, but Jack Wilshere won’t be available after he was injured while away with England. Stoke will be missing Charlie Adam, banned for that ludicrous tackle against Everton, and Eric Choupo-Mouting is injured.

Chelsea vs Tottenham (Sunday, 4pm)
The big talking point: A game which speaks for itself. Even if they lose, Tottenham will stay ahead of Chelsea in the race for the Champions League, but a win could theoretically take them up above Liverpool and into third, while almost killing off Chelsea’s European ambitions.

What will happen: A draw. Both teams enter without a fit, recognised first-choice forward, meaning that it will likely be a battle of the false nines (Eden Hazard/Son Heung-min). Tottenham are stronger, they’re certainly in better form, but there’s something about Stamford Bridge which short-circuits their functionality. 0-0, 1-1… something like that – and, actually, that’s probably a result the visitors would take.

What won’t happen: Andreas Christensen and Thibaut Courtois are both unlikely to play for Chelsea, meaning recalls for Willy Caballero and – most likely – David Luiz.

La Liga
12:00 Girona vs Levante
15:15 Athletic Bilbao vs Celta Vigo
17:30 Las Palmas vs Real Madrid
19:45 Sevilla vs Barcelona
SUNDAY
11:00 Espanyol vs Alaves
15:15 Leganes vs Valencia
17:30 Malaga vs Villarreal
17:30 Eibar vs Real Sociedad
19:45 Atletico Madrid vs Deportivo La Coruna
BETTING TIPS
Girona – Levante-1/over
Ath Bilbao – Celts Vigo-1/over
Sevilla – Barcelona-2/over/gg

Barcelona can maintain winning run

Sevilla have an abysmal recent league record against Barcelona (one win and 16 defeats in the last 21 meetings) and there’s no reason to upset the apple cart when they welcome the Catalans to the Sánchez Pizjuán on Saturday night.
The Rojiblancos have been impressive in Europe and will be looking forward to the midweek visit of Bayern Munich, but their league form has been decidedly iffy. They’ve only won two in five and have been on the wrong end of some eye-catching results since the arrival of Vincenzo Montella: a 5-1 reversal at Eibar, a 5-2 home defeat to Atleti. They were poor against Leganés before the international break, and they could really do without this dress rehearsal for the Copa del Rey final.
Barça made short work of Chelsea and Athletic before the pause, and look in fantastic shape. Yes, there is a small asterisk to be added here, regarding the fitness of Lionel Messi, who sat out both of Argentina’s friendlies, but he returned to training on Thursday and is expected to be available here. Whether Valverde risks him is another matter; one suspects that another afternoon off might be on the cards.
Barça should be fine either way, with Philippe Coutinho and Paco Alcácer ready to shoulder some of the attacking burden, and the defence getting more solid by the week (five straight clean sheets coming into this game). The same cannot be said of Sevilla and, with Bayern on the horizon, they are likely to come unstuck.

Las Palmas v Real Madrid

The international break arrived at an inconvenient juncture for Real Madrid, who were just beginning to build up a head of steam. The 6-3 success over Girona was their ninth win in 10 games, and with Paris Saint-Germain among their victims (twice over), there is a growing feeling that there could yet be a happy ending to a mixed season.
Juventus are hardly dream opponents, of course, and the trip to Turin on Tuesday will no doubt shape Zinedine Zidane’s thinking this weekend. The Frenchman will have been delighted that all of his players made it through the last fortnight unscathed, and there’s every chance that he will leave a number of them at home as Madrid head to Gran Canaria. This game simply isn’t a priority.
That brings the goalscorer market into play, with back-up striker Borja Mayoral the most compelling option in the likely event that he starts. The 20-year-old only has five goals to his name this season, but he’s started just six games and will be hopeful of making a mark against the division’s second-worst defence.
Las Palmas have shown some fighting spirit in recent weeks, picking up points against Valencia, Athletic Club and Barcelona, but it looks like being too little, too late as far as the battle against the drop is concerned. Paco Jémez’s charges just don’t have enough cutting edge in attack, and may struggle here even if Zidane plays only squad players and kids.

Toothless Depor no match for Atleti
Atlético Madrid are also in European action in midweek – albeit in the Europa League rather than the Champions League – but they still look solid bets to take care of business against Deportivo La Coruña, even without the suspended Antoine Griezmann.
Los Colchoneros are a force to be reckoned with at the Wanda Metropolitano: they are unbeaten in their new home in the league, with only four teams even managing a goal as visitors so far. The last five wins (and nine of 10 overall) have been to nil, which does not bode well for a toothless Depor side.
Clarence Seedorf has helped the Galicians tighten up a bit at home – three draws on the spin – but the story has been different on the road, with two goals scored in eight away games. That is likely to become two in nine against Diego Simeone’s frugal fighters.
Serie A
11:30 Bologna vs Roma
14:00 Genoa vs SPAL 2013
14:00 Atalanta vs Udinese
14:00 Fiorentina vs Crotone
14:00 Inter vs Verona
14:00 Lazio vs Benevento
14:00 Cagliari vs Torino
17:00 Sassuolo vs Napoli
17:00 Chievo vs Sampdoria
19:45 Juventus vs AC Milan
BETTING TIPS
Bologna – AS Roma-2/over
Atalanta – Udinese-1/gg
Cagliari – Torino-2/over
Fiorentina – Crotone-1/gg
Juventus – AC Milan-1/gg

Juventus Host Milan As Napoli Continue To Chase

This Saturday sees Serie A return after the international break and several key games as the end of the season draws ever closer. Napoli have chance to close the two-point gap to Juventus as the Bianconeri face a tough test versus Milan in the last match of the weekend in Turin.

The Partenopei play Sassuolo at 17:00 UK time, giving Maurizio Sarri’s side opportunity to move to the top of the table by one point before Juventus play at 19:45, should they take all three points in their fixture. It doesn’t look good for the Neroverdi, the side hovering just above the relegation zone having lost all of their previous five encounters at the Mapei stadium, while Napoli are undefeated in 27 on the road having kept clean sheets in all of the last five.

“I’m calm, I’m ready for a great end to the season,” said forward Lorenzo Insigne to Corriere dello Sport. “Now only one thing counts: to play well and win at Sassuolo. Now there’s the League and it’s important to do well. Saturday’s match is very important. It’s true, I repeat: we have to play well in order to win.”

Juventus must recover from a disappointing 0-0 draw with relegation candidates SPAL before the break as they face a tough few days with fixtures at home to Milan and Real Madrid in the Champions League in midweek. The Rossoneri – rejuvenated under boss Gennaro Gattuso – have won eight from their last nine matches in the league, including their last three away from home and have their own objectives to complete.

Sitting just five points behind cross-city rivals Inter, with a rearranged derby fixture still to play in midweek, Milan still have an outside chance of reaching the Champions League places this year, giving their clash with Juve even more added spice. “We’ll be facing a great team and we can’t afford to make anymore mistakes if we want to qualify for the Champions League,” said Gattuso to his pre-match press conference.”

Juventus are always tough to beat at home however, Milan having lost their last six away matches versus the reigning champions. Their last triumph on the road versus the Old Lady dates back to 2011, their current boss Gattuso scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win.

Things are also tight at the bottom of the table. It’s fairly safe to say that Benevento will not be able to escape the drop come the end of the campaign, the newcomers with just ten points on the board from 28 matches. Which teams finish in 18th and 19th place is still very much undecided however, just eight points separating second-from-bottom Hellas Verona and Genoa in 13th.

Crotone, SPAL, Chievo, Sassuolo and Cagliari are sandwiched in between, Hellas facing a tough match away to Inter and Sassuolo in action in the aforementioned clash with Napoli. Meanwhile Roma host Bologna in the 11:30am kick off, the latter one of the only sides not to be competing for Europe nor in danger of relegation.

The Giallorossi may rotate with one eye on their midweek Champions League clash with Barcelona, but boss Eusebio Di Francesco is keen not to take this too far. “We have four huge matches in ten days,” said the former Sassuolo boss. “I have to shuffle my deck a little. Not making any changes would be mad. There will be some for sure, but in terms of tomorrow’s game I will look to strike the right balance, and not get carried away. In terms of physical fitness the biggest problems may come in the following matches.”

Ligue 1
16:00 Dijon vs Marseille
SUNDAY
14:00 Guingamp vs Bordeaux
16:00 Strasbourg vs Metz
16:00 Caen vs Montpellier
16:00 Troyes vs Nice
16:00 Lille vs Amiens
16:00 Nantes vs Saint-Etienne
20:00 Lyon vs Toulouse
BETTING TIPS
Dijon – Marseille-2/over/gg

League Cup Final: PSG v Monaco
PSG and Monaco play off in Bordeaux for the first piece of domestic silverware of the French season on Saturday night.
PSG won both of the previous meetings between the sides by a 2-1 scoreline this season, and such was their dominance they could have won more comfortably on both occasions.
Monaco have improved since their 2-1 home defeat to PSG last November but if Paris play anywhere near to their potential they ought to claim the silverware in normal time.
Kylian Mbappe goes into the game in tremendous scoring form having found the net four times in his last four Ligue 1 starts.
He was also on target twice for France in their 3-1 international friendly win in Russia on Tuesday and has had ample time to recover since that trip.
He’s stepped up impressively to take on greater responsibility since the injury that sidelined Neymar in February, and will be determined to score against his former club.
Nantes v St Etienne (6th v 9th)
St Etienne are one of Ligue 1’s form teams right now.
Les Verts overhauled their squad during the January transfer window and have reaped the benefits with a string of improved results that have seen the climb the table.
Mathieu Debuchy, Neven Subotic, Yann Mvila and Robert Beric have made St Etienne a much stronger line-up, their presence explaining the team’s eight-match unbeaten run (W4-D4-L0) heading into the weekend.
Having picked up points against top-four sides Lyon (1-1) and Marseille (2-2) this trip to face a Nantes team whose form has faltered will hold no fears.
Nantes may be well-placed in the Ligue 1 standings but they’ve won just two of their 11 games (W2-D5-L4) since the start of the year. Those victories came against Troyes (1-0) and Guingamp (3-0), two teams whose form is far less impressive than St Etienne’s.
Guingamp v Bordeaux (14th v 11th)
and Lille v Amiens (19th v 16th)
Four teams that are struggling for goals meet up on Sunday.
Guingamp have lost their last three matches so their priority at home to Bordeaux on Sunday afternoon will be defending better.
Guingamp have averaged just one goal a game across their 30 matches this season, while opponents Bordeaux have lost their way in front of goal recently, too: les Girondins have failed to find the net in four of their last five matches and there’s no reason to believe they’ll do much better this weekend.
Relegation rivals Lille and Amiens go head-to-head in a game that will be played behind closed doors because of crowd trouble at a Lille home game against Montpellier in mid-March. Both these sides have averaged fewer than a goal a game this season, and the desire to avoid defeat may be stronger than the drive to take the risks needed to win.
Les Verts overhauled their squad during the January transfer window and have reaped the benefits with a string of improved results that have seen the climb the table.

BUNDESLIGA

14:30 Hoffenheim vs FC Cologne
14:30 Hannover 96 vs RasenBallsport Leipzig
14:30 Bayer Leverkusen vs Augsburg
14:30 Schalke 04 vs Freiburg
14:30 VfB Stuttgart vs Hamburger SV
17:30 Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund
19:30 Hertha Berlin vs Wolfsburg
SUNDAY
14:30 Werder Bremen vs Eintracht Frankfurt
17:00 Mainz 05 vs Borussia M.Gladbach
BETTING TIPS
Leverkusen – Augsburg-1/gg
Hannover – RB Leipzig-2/gg
Hoffenheim – FC Koln-1
Bayern – Dortmund-1/over

Bayern Munich Closes in on Bundesliga Title vs. Dortmund

Bayern Munich will host Borussia Dortmund for the second time this campaign on Saturday in the 2017/18 season’s third installment of Der Klassiker.
The Bavarians have already tasted victory over Dortmund in the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal this season, two results which have them on course to win a domestic double this year.
Three points are vital for Borussia Dortmund if they want to bolster their chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season, while Bayern could be crowned German champions for a sixth consecutive year with a result this weekend – depending on how Schalke 04 get on against SC Freiburg.
Here’s everything you need to know about this highly anticipated Der Klassiker.

Classic Encounter
Borussia Dortmund haven’t won at the Allianz Arena – in the Bundesliga at least – since the 2013/14 season, where two of the best managers currently in the Premier League squared off in Bavaria.
Jürgen Klopp’s fairly impressive career record against Pep Guardiola received a huge boost when his Dortmund side secured a 3-0 win over the Spaniard’s Bayern Munich.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s goal just after the 20-minute mark had Die Schwarzgelben in front at half time and when Bayern’s Manuel Neuer was replaced by Lukas Raeder at the break, their lead was soon doubled by Marco Reus.
The game was put well beyond Bayern’s reach when Jonas Hoffman found the back of the net late on and things only got worse for Guardiola’s side when Rafinha was needlessly sent off for violent conduct in the 91st minute.

Team News
Borussia Dortmund manager Peter Stöger confirmed that star man Marco Reus was a “doubt” for the game on Saturday, dealing the travelling side a hammer blow to their attacking threat.
Dan-Axel Zagadou and Shinji Kagawa could also be missing for Dortmund this weekend, as well as long-term absentees Sebastian Rode and Erik Durm.
For Bayern, Manuel Neuer and Kingsley Coman are the only senior players that are expected to be forced out of action at the Allianz Arena.

Potential Bayern Munich Starting Lineup: Ulreich, Kimmich, Boateng, Hummels, Alaba, Martínez, Vidal, Müller, Robben, Ribéry, Lewandowski.
Potential Borussia Dortmund Starting Lineup: Bürki, Piszczek, Akanji, Toprak, Schmelzer, Weigl, Dahoud, Götze, Pulisic, Schürrle, Batshuayi.

Eredivisie
17:30 PEC Zwolle vs Sparta Rotterdam
17:30 Vitesse vs Roda
18:45 PSV Eindhoven vs NAC Breda
19:45 Willem II vs FC Utrecht
19:45 ADO Den Haag vs AZ Alkmaar
SUNDAY
11:30 VVV-Venlo vs Twente
13:30 FC Groningen vs Ajax
13:30 Heracles vs SC Heerenveen
15:45 Feyenoord vs Excelsior
BETTING TIPS
NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie
Vitesse – Roda-1/gg
Zwolle – Sparta Rotterdam-1/over
PSV – Breda-1/over
Den Haag – AZ ALkmaar-2/over
Willem II – Urecth-2

Super Lig
11:30 Yeni Malatyaspor vs Genclerbirligi
14:00 Antalyaspor vs Bursaspor
17:00 Besiktas vs Alanyaspor
SUNDAY
11:30 Goztepe vs Kasimpasa
11:30 Osmanlispor FK vs Konyaspor
14:00 Akhisarspor vs Istanbul Basaksehir
17:00 Galatasaray vs Trabzonspor

Premiership
12:30 Motherwell vs Rangers
15:00 Celtic vs Ross County
15:00 Aberdeen vs St.Johnstone
15:00 Hibernian vs Partick Thistle
15:00 Kilmarnock vs Hamilton Academical
SUNDAY
12:30 Dundee FC vs Hearts
BETING TIPS
Motherwell – Rangers-2/over
Aberdeen St Johnstone-1
Celtic – Ross County-1

Premier League
12:00 Amkar vs Lokomotiv Moscow
12:00 FK Akhmat vs SKA-Khabarovsk
14:30 Dinamo Moscow vs Arsenal Tula
17:00 Spartak Moscow vs Tosno
SUNDAY
12:00 Ural vs Rubin Kazan
14:30 FC Ufa vs Zenit St. Petersburg
17:00 FC Rostov vs CSKA Moscow
17:00 FC Krasnodar vs Anzhi Makhachkala
BETTING TIPS
Akhmat Grozny – SKA Khabarousk-1
Amkar – Lokomotiv Moscow-2/over
Dynamo Moscow – Arsenal Tula-2/over
Spartan Moscow – Tonsno-1/over/gg

Liga NOS
16:00 Pacos de Ferreira vs Chaves
16:00 Portimonense vs Moreirense
18:15 Benfica vs Vitoria de Guimaraes
20:30 Braga vs Sporting CP

BETTING TIPS
Ferreira – Chaves-2/over
Portimonense – Moreirense-1/gg
Benfica – Guimaraes-1/over
Braga – Sporting-2/gg