The most exciting game of the European weekend will kicks off at the Vicente Calderon on Sunday as Barcelona look to maintain pressure on Real Madrid in match week 24 of the Spanish La Liga. Real Madrid, on the other hand, must win away at Villareal to ensure their advantage at the top is not nullified after such a strong showing in the first half of the season.
Bayern Munich play hosts to Hamburg as they hope to maintain their intimidating form against the side and Dortmund will try and get a landmark victory for their manager. Over in Italy, it is a battle between the old guard as Inter host Roma at the San Siro late on Sunday night.
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In anticipation of an action-packed weekend, here are the best statistics going into the European gameweek:
Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona
- Messi could potentially win his 400th game in a Barcelona shirt as the defending champions travel to the Spanish capital to take on Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon. In his 565 appearances for the club so far, he has 399 wins, 64 losses and 102 draws. Considering the Rojiblancos are his favourite opponents, having scored 26 goals against them, this is another milestone the Argentine is sure to achieve.
- With Atletico Madrid set to move to a new home at the start of the next season, this could be Barcelona’s final game at the Calderon. In case they win or even draw the game, the Catalan club will record their longest unbeaten run there which currently stands at five wins and a draw.
Villareal vs. Real Madrid
- Zinedine Zidane will be wary of their trip to Villareal this Sunday after their shock defeat to Valencia in midweek. The Los Blancos have won just four of their last 12 encounters with the side at El Madrigal.
- Neither does their away form look good at the present moment with Barcelona all set to take advantage of any slip-up by the side. Real Madrid have managed to win just one away game out of five across all competitions.
Bayern Munich vs. Hamburger SV
- Hamburg have been a favourite punching bag of sorts for the Bavarians. Bayern Munich are unbeaten in 16 games against the visitors and have won all seven of their previous encounters with them at the Allianz Arena. The scoreline from those matches reads a little like this: 5-0, 8-0, 9-2, 5-0 and 6-0.
- The fixture on Saturday is the 104th time these two sides face each other in the Bundesliga. Bayern have won 62 times in those matches and scored an astounding 232 goals both of which are record results in the German league.
Freiburg vs. Borussia Dortmund
- Freiburg have been no match for Borussia losing all 11 of their previous encounters with the side. The only time they have lost more games in the top flight against a single club was Bayern Munich when they lost 12 consecutive fixtures ending in 2010-11.
- The game against Freiburg could potentially be a landmark moment for Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel. A victory would earn him his 100th win as a manager in the Bundesliga.
Inter Milan vs. Roma
- Inter Milan have recorded 71 victories against Roma, more than any other side in the top division of Italian football. Roma, on the other hand, have won just 48 games against the Milan side.
- While Inter have won both of their previous games against the Giallorossi at the San Siro, they won just as many in their 12 games against the side prior to that while drawing six and losing four.
