Weekend Preview: A Look Ahead to the Biggest Clashes in Europe this Weekend

The Premier League may be out of action due to the FA Cup this weekend but the rest of Europe’s top leagues resume as normal and there are a number of matches that serve up plenty of intrigue.

La Liga

The real showpiece event in Spain this weekend sees Atletico Madrid host Villarreal in Sunday’s late kick-off, with the Yellow Submarine directly below Diego Simeone’s men in the table. Marcelino’s Champions League hopefuls have made further progress after an excellent campaign back in the top-flight last time out and, high in confidence following a win over Napoli in midweek, the visitors could move to within two points of los Rojiblancos with a win. The fact that they played out such a demanding fixture on Thursday could take its toll though, in what is traditionally a tight affair, with just 7 goals in the last 6 encounters between these sides.

Elsewhere in the Primera Division Real Madrid will look to continue what has been steady but unspectacular progress under Zinedine Zidane. While a 2-0 away win at Roma was a strong result los Blancos were far from convincing and travel to a Malaga side that have proven tough to beat in recent meetings between the two. Indeed, Madrid failed to break down the Andalusians’ resolve in the reverse fixture back in September, and Malaga’s only defeat in five at home was a narrow 2-1 loss to leaders Barcelona, who will be overwhelming favourites to stretch their lead at the top ahead of Sunday’s match at La Rosaleda.

Another interesting clash sees Sevilla, who were also in European action on Thursday, make the trip to face a Rayo Vallecano side that have made strides since the turn of the year. Amazingly Unai Emery’s men sit fifth despite being one of only three sides in Europe’s top 5 leagues still without a win away from home. They’ll be desperate to buck that trend in Sunday’s early kick-off and needn’t be too wary of their upcoming Europa League second leg with a comfortable advantage established.

Bundesliga

While the distance between the two teams in terms of points is considerable, the battle of second and third in the Bundesliga is still a mouthwatering prospect. Bayer Leverkusen host Borussia Dortmund on Sunday with both teams coming into the game off the back of Europa League duties on Thursday. Nevertheless, Thomas Tuchel’s side have a slight advantage given that their hosts this weekend played in Lisbon in the week. The home side may also be more distracted by their upcoming second leg in Europe given that their tie with Sporting hangs in the balance despite an impressive result, winning 1-0.

Roger Schmidt’s men have a rather underwhelming home record this season but Dortmund have been patchy themselves on the road. However, die Schwarzgelben’s last defeat at the BayArena came back in 2007, with Leverkusen failing to get the better of Dortmund in 8 home matches since.

Stuttgart’s trip to Schalke is also worth keeping an eye on directly after the aforementioned clash, with the visitors having improved dramatically since the appointment of Jurgen Kramny. A familiar face to those at the club, the 44-year old served as assistant as well as youth and second team coach before taking the role on an interim basis, and was quickly given the permanent position of head coach. With 5 wins on the bounce die Roten top the Bundesliga form table and will surely pose problems to a Schalke side that made the trip to face Shakhtar on Thursday.

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Serie A

On paper there isn’t a great deal of interesting match-ups in Serie A this weekend but Monday night’s clash between title hopefuls Napoli and in form AC Milan should be worth the wait. Maurizio Sarri’s side fell behind Juventus for the first time this season following defeat to the Old Lady last time out and a loss in Spain against Villarreal may also have knocked the hosts’ confidence. However, their intentions for the season were made clear by the fact that Higuain and Insigne were left on the bench in the Europa League.

It will be a full strength line-up against Milan regardless of the return leg against Villarreal then, and that much may be a necessity facing an improving Milan. Sinisa Mihaijlovic has been under considerable pressure all season but is starting to get results, unbeaten in 7 in the league with Carlos Bacca finding his feet alongside youngster M’Baye Niang, who has made remarkable progress. In the last 7 matches the strike pairing have had a direct hand in 13 goals.

Ligue 1

One might argue that it’s hard to find much of interest in France given PSG’s domestic dominance but their are still some noteworthy matches this weekend. Sunday’s early kick-off between Marseille and Saint-Etienne would certainly fall into that bracket, though both are likely to have one eye on upcoming Europa League second legs. les Verts, currently fourth, will still be hoping to sneak into a Champions League qualification berth through their league finish, though only Toulouse, Troyes and Bastia have lost more matches on the road this season (7).

Marseille, while way down in 11th, are only five points adrift of third in what is a very competitive table below the rampant league leaders, though their record at the Stade Veledrome this season is abysmal. OM are without a win in 10 league matches as hosts, with only bottom club Troyes on a longer run without victory at home in Europe’s top 5 leagues.

Meanwhile, in the battle against the drop Toulouse’s reception of Gazalec Ajaccio may well have huge implications for both sides. Should the hosts lose they would fall 9 points adrift of their visitors and at least 8 away from safety, with Saturday night’s two opponents in the worst form in Ligue 1 (Ajaccio - 7 without win, Toulouse  - 6). Dominique Arribage faces an uphill task to keep TFC in the top-flight for a 13th successive season.

Click here to find previews of every match in Europe's top leagues and the FA Cup this weekend