La Liga: Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid
Sunday, 4pm
This Madrid derby takes on added importance with both teams riding high in the La Liga table. Real Madrid are currently three points clear of their city rivals and Barcelona with 13 games to go.
Atletico need to bounce back from last week’s 3-0 defeat to Osasuna but will take inspiration from the fact that they triumphed 1-0 in the reverse fixture last September thanks to Diego Costa’s goal.
Atletico can end a 63-year wait for a league double on Sunday. But will have to end a run of six successive league defeats to Real on their own patch, and claim a first home Liga triumph over the Bernabeu outfit since a 3-1 victory in 1999.
Real head into the encounter on the back of a 6-1 demolition of Schalke in their UEFA Champions League last-16 first-leg encounter on Wednesday. Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo all notched twice in that match, and the Portuguese star returns to league action after serving a three-match ban for a red card in the 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao at the start of February.
That means Sami Khedira (knee) remains the only absentee for Real, while Atletico have no any fresh injury worries
On TV? Sky Sports 4
Serie A: Roma v Inter Milan and AC Milan v Juventus
Saturday, 7.45pm and Sunday, 7.45pm
It’s a big weekend in Italian football with second playing fifth tomorrow night at the Stadio Olimpico. Roma enter the game on the back of a 1-0 win against Bologna last weekend whereas Inter drew 1-1 at home to Cagliari. Roma are currently 17 points clear of Inter, who badly need a victory if they are to get back into the Champions League race.
On Sunday, two traditional superpowers clash when AC Milan entertain Juventus. Yet there is no doubt who is faring better at present with Juventus top of the table and currently enjoying a nine-point lead over Roma.
They are 31 points clear of AC Milan, who rest in ninth place. Juventus won 1-0 at home to Torino last weekend while AC Milan triumphed 2-0 away to Sampdoria.
On TV? BT Sport 1
Bundesliga: Bayern Munich v Schalke 04
Saturday, 5.30pm
Pep Guardiola’s men have been untouchable in the league this season, winning 20 of their 22 games and drawing the other two to open up a 19-point lead at the top of the table. Fourth-placed Schalke have also been impressive in the German top flight recently, and sit just two points adrift of Bayer Leverkusen in second on the back of a seven-match unbeaten run.
Both clubs are also in the UEFA Champions League last 16, although Schalke head to the Allianz Arena on the back of a chastening 6-1 home defeat to Real Madrid in their first leg. Bayern also thumped Jens Keller’s side 4-0 away in September, meaning the form book points to a comfortable win for the champions.
However, former Barcelona boss Guardiola has insisted there can be no room for complacency among his squad this weekend. “I don’t know what will happen tomorrow,” he said. “But we’ve been training incredibly hard. Schalke are one of the best teams in the league. They’ve done very well so far.”
On TV? BT Sport 1
Ligue 1: Paris Saint-Germain v Marseille
Sunday, 8pm
Laurent Blanc can heap misery on former club Marseille by guiding Paris Saint-Germain to a first league double in Le Classique since 2003. Blanc’s side head into Sunday’s clash with their fierce rivals in blistering form, having lost just one of their 12 games since the end of the mid-season break.
10-man PSG came from behind to win 2-1 at the Stade Velodrome last October, a result that marked the capital club’s first triumph in Marseille since 2008. PSG have failed to score in just one game all season and in Zlatan Ibrahimovic they possess arguably the form striker in world football. Ibrahimovic has 37 goals this campaign, with six of those coming in the last three games.
Marseille are unbeaten in five league games, with the likes of Andre-Pierre Gignac, Florian Thauvin, Dimitri Payet and Mathieu Valbuena beginning to fire on all cylinders to bring the 10-time champions within three points of third-placed Lille. The visitors will be boosted by the return of midfielder Jacques-Alaixys Romao, who is set to return from suspension and give Anigo a fully-fit squad to choose from.
Meanwhile, PSG striker Edinson Cavani’s participation is still in doubt because of a thigh problem, and Christophe Jallet (back) remains on the sidelines.
On TV? ESPN
Additional reporting by OmniSport
