It’s a genuine Super Saturday across Europe, with the Premier League’s top-four race reaching fever pitch, and it could also be a day of coronation in Germany and France.
Here’s a preview of the action.
🏴 Arsenal vs Man United
Manchester United’s hundreds of millions of fans across the globe hardly need reminding of the club’s current plight, but there will be a renewed buzz around the place after confirmation that Erik ten Hag will be at the helm from the start of next season. That being said, United has won just one of their last four, a narrow 3-2 success against bottom club Norwich, and they arrive here fresh off a 4-0 drubbing at Liverpool.
Arsenal duo Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka have both scored 10 goals in the Premier League this season; it’s just the third time two players aged 21 or under have hit double figures for the same team in a campaign (Bridges & Kewell for Leeds in 1999-00, Rooney & Ronaldo for Man United in 2006-07).
Arsenal’s timely 4-2 win at Chelsea followed a trio of defeats against Crystal Palace, Brighton and Southampton, and it’s a win that’s renewed their interest in the hunt for Champions League football. Smith Rowe and Saka will again be central to the Gunners’ hopes of another win against illustrious opposition. If they claim all three points, the pressure shifts back to Tottenham in what’s becoming a thrillingly unpredictable top-four race.
💰 Follow Arsenal vs Man United
🇮🇹 Inter vs Roma
The Nerazzurri are determined to retain their Serie A crown, and a win here would help them leapfrog city rivals Milan and see them lead the standings with five matches to play. They’re unbeaten in 10 H2Hs with Roma, and they’ve also not lost any of their last 10 matches across all competitons.
Red-hot Argentine Lautaro Martínez netted a brace in midweek Coppa Italia action against Milan, taking his tally of direct goal contributions in his last two matches to four, even though he’s played just 100 minutes in those matches. Inter can take a big step towards another Scudetto.
🏴 Brentford vs Spurs
There’s so much riding on this for Tottenham, who currently occupies fourth place in the Premier League, a placing that would guarantee Champions League football. Brentford’s maiden season in the Premier League has been a mightily impressive one although it’s been far from plain sailing. The Bees had to endure a rocky spell in January and February where they lost seven out of eight Premier League matches, drawing the other 0-0 with Crystal Palace, but now they’ve won five of their last six, including each of their last three. The icing on that cake was a superb 4-1 win away to Chelsea.
Spurs have won eight of their last 11 Premier League matches, scoring 28 goals in that sequence, but they need a response after a disappointing 0-1 home defeat to Brighton last time out, a result which was compounded by Arsenal’s surprise win at Chelsea in midweek which drew the Gunners level with their North London rivals on 57 points after 32 matches.
Thomas Frank’s Bees have amassed 39 points and are all but safe from relegation with plenty of time to spare, so they’ll have no fear. Their recent upturn in form has coincided with the arrival of Tottenham old boy Christian Eriksen, whose playmaking class has taken them to a new level. Can the creative Dane sting Antonio Conte’s top-four ambitions in this London Derby? It’s a match that really could go either way, but regardless of the outcome, there should be goals.
🇩🇪 Bayern vs Dortmund
Der Klassiker is always a special occasion on the Bundesliga calendar, and Bayern can make it a glorious day with a win over their old rivals. The Bavarians are nine points clear at the summit of the table and can mathematically secure their 10th consecutive title with three points on Saturday.
Bayern has scored 3+ goals in each of their last five meetings with Dortmund across all competitions, and they should have BVB’s number once more to spark a set of annual celebrations that are becoming a bit of a formality in these parts. Robert Lewandowski continues to score goals at an abnormal rate; he’s got 32 in 30 league outings this season and it would be foolish to bet against him adding to that tally against his old club.
🇫🇷 PSG vs Lens
Mauricio Pochettino’s Parisians will wrap up the Ligue 1 title with a win here against Lens. There is still no clear indication that the Argentine manager will be in charge next season, much of that owing to their early elimination from the Champions League, a failure that isn’t being tolerated by the club’s board or its legions of supporters.
Kylian Mbappe has scored 22 goals and supplied 14 assists in another sparkling Ligue 1 campaign, and he’ll be the man to watch once more as rumours of his potential move to Real Madrid continue to swirl around the 23-year-old.
🏆 Real Betis vs Valencia
It’ll be an unusual sight when a Copa del Rey final features neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid, but we are very much here for it.
Valencia hasn’t scored more than once in any of their last four matches across all competitions, and Betis has failed to score in each of their last two, so we’re expecting a nervy, low-scoring encounter. Both sides will approach this with a “win at all costs” philosophy. It’s not going to be pretty.
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