It’s really getting to crunch time and despite La Liga taking a break this weekend for the Copa del Ray final there is a lot of action to watch as the Old Firm derby and some key Championship matches add themselves to the mix. Here’s what we’re watching:
Friday
Eintracht Frankfurt v Werder Bremen – 2:30p on ESPN+
Timothy Chandler has appeared in three straight matches and four of the past five for Eintracht Frankfurt though all four appearances have been with under five minutes remaining in the match. Frankfurt drew with Union Berlin last weekend and remain in sixth place on a little tier by themselves; they are nine points back of fifth place RB Leipzig and five points ahead of seventh place Augsburg.
Saturday
Norwich City v Ipswich Town – 7:30a on ESPN+
We’re keeping an eye on the English Championship as well this weekend where Josh Sargent and Norwich City take on league leading Ipswich Town. There are a couple of tight races in the promotion hunt with three teams, including Ipswich Town separated by just two points and battling for the top two spots and automatic promotion. Sargent and Norwich city are involved in the second race which is for sixth place and the final promotion playoff position. Currently Norwich hold the position by four points over Haji Wright’s Coventry City but Coventry have a game in hand so it’s still a wide open race with six matches to play and there are three other teams just two points removed from Coventry as well that will be looking to sneak in.
Crystal Palace v Manchester City – 7:30a on USA Network
Chris Richards picked up a knock last weekend against Nottingham Forest and is expected to miss a couple of weeks for Crystal Palace who take on Manchester City on Saturday morning. Palace are coming off a 1-0 loss to Bournemouth and their recent run of form has included draws to relegation candidates Forest and Luton Town but they remain eight points out of the relegation scrap heading into a brutal final stretch of the season that will see them play five of their seven matches against top eight opponents including City and league leading Liverpool.
AC Milan v Lecce – 9a on CBSSN
Coming off of International break Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah were both substitutes last weekend, typical for Musah but an extra rest for Pulisic after long travel. Milan defeated Fiorentina 2-1 and hold a six point advantage over Juventus for second place in Serie A. This weekend’s opponent is Lecce who are five spots, but just four points, removed from relegation in what is a tight lower third of the Serie A table.
Union Berlin v Bayer Leverkusen – 9:30a on ESPN+
Brenden Aaronson saw a second straight start last weekend as Union Berlin played Eintracht Frankfurt to a scoreless draw. After their incredibly rough start to the season Berlin have straightened things out a bit and are now nine points clear of relegation but things will be quite challenging this weekend as they face a Bayer Leverkusen side that is running away with the Bundesliga title and undefeated in 40 straight matches.
Heidenheim v Bayern Munich – 9:30a on ESPN+
Lennard Maloney returned from injury last weekend and saw a minute off the bench in Heidenheim’s 3-3 draw with Stuttgart after missing the past three matches due to injury. Heidenheim have avoided the relegation scrap in their first year following promotion but are winless in their past six matches heading into their fixture against Bayern Munich who are having a down year but handled Heidenheim 4-2 in the first meeting between the clubs this season.
Fulham v Newcastle United – 10a on Peacock
Tim Ream has not been seeing minutes recently but Antonee Robinson continues to play nearly every minute for the EPL side, he’s over 3,100 minutes for the club across all competitions this season with seven matches (and 630 minutes) still remaining to play. Fulham are coming off a bad loss to Nottingham Forest but remain in thirteenth place, five points behind their opponent this weekend Newcastle, who are in eighth.
Luton Town v Bournemouth – 10a on Peacock
Tyler Adams was back in a big way last weekend, picking up man of the match honors while going the full 90’ in Bournemouth’s 2-1 win over Everton. Adams received an understandable break mid-week given that he’s just returned from injury as Bournemouth defeated Crystal Palace 1-0. Bournemouth have won three straight and the nine points has they well clear of the relegation zone and in the middle of the table as they take on a Luton Town side that currently sit in the relegation zone, three points from safety and are looking for their first win in twelve matches.
PSV Eindhoven v AZ Alkmaar – 12:45p on ESPN+
Sergino Dest, Malik Tillman, Ricardo Pepi, and PSV saw their undefeated Eredivisie campaign come to an end last weekend with a 3-1 loss to NEC Nijmegen but bounced back midweek with a 2-0 win over Excelsior. PSV still hold a nine point lead for the league title with six matches remaining. They take on fourth place AZ Alkmaar who they defeated 4-0 in December which included Malik Tillman assisting on a Sergino Dest goal.
LAFC v LA Galaxy – 7:30p on Fox
Timothy Tillman and Aaron Long will start for LAFC as they take on the LA Galaxy in the most recent edition of el Traffico. The Galaxy are currently leading the Western Conference while last years champions, LAFC, are off to a slower start, currently in 9th place.
Sunday
Rangers v Celtic – 7a on CBSSN
Cameron Carter-Vickers and Celtic have a one point lead over Rangers who have a game in hand as they head to Ibrox Stadium for the latest edition of the Old Firm Derby with huge title implications. Carter-Vickers has dealt with some injury issues this season but has started four straight for Celtic including wearing the captains armband in the last three.
Hoffenheim v Augsburg – 9:30a on ESPN+
John Brooks has returned from his red card suspension and will be available for Hoffenheim as they take on Augsburg who are three points ahead of them in the table, with both teams looking unlikely to threaten for European qualification nor be threatened by relegation. It remains to be seen whether Brooks will return immediately to the starting lineup, he has been in and out of the lineup a bit this season and cards have been a bit of an issue recently; in addition to his early red card that led to his suspension Brooks has received a yellow card in three of his previous four matches.
Monaco v Rennes – 11:05a on beIN Sports
Folarin Balogun didn’t get the start last weekend but came on as a sub and netted two goals in Monaco’s 5-2 win over Metz last weekend. With the win Monaco remained within a point of second place and three points ahead of Lille in the race for the final Champions League spot.
Wolfsburg v Borussia Monchengladbach – 11:30a on ESPN+
Wolfsburg snapped an eleven match winless streak last weekend as they defeated Werder Bremen 2-0 with Kevin Paredes starting yet again. The win gives Wolfsburg an eight point cushion over Mainz for relegation and leaves them tied with Joe Scally, Jordan Pefok, and Borussia Monchengladbach who fell to Freiburg 3-0 last weekend.
Sheffield United v Chelsea – 12:30p on NBC
Auston Trusty started at left-wingback for Sheffield United on Thursday in the team’s 3-1 loss to league leading Liverpool. The loss leaves Sheffield on track for both relegation and a historic goals-allowed number. On Sunday they face Chelsea who broke back into the top ten with a 4-3 win over Manchester United on Thursday.
Tottenham Hotspur v Nottingham Forest – 1p on USA Network
Matt Turner wasn’t on the field but he did make it into the refs book on Tuesday as he picked up a yellow card for kicking a ball onto the field to delay a Fulham restart as Nottingham Forest needed a full team effort to pull off the 3-1 win. Giovanni Reyna saw minutes as a substitute for the second straight match, coming on in relief of Morgan Gibbs-White who had already picked up a goal and an assist in the match.
Juventus v Fiorentina – 2:45p on Paramount+
Weston McKennie was also given a bit of a rest coming out of the international break and was brought on as a halftime substitute in Juventus’ 1-0 loss to Lazio in league play. Midweek Juventus bounced back to win the first leg of their Copa Italia semi-final matchup, also against Lazio, 2-0. Timothy Weah came on as a late substitute in both matches and picked up a yellow card in each one as well. On Sunday Juventus will take on tenth place Fiorentina who are also coming off a midweek Copa Italia win, 1-0 over Atalanta.
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