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We're well into the third week of April. And while it means the start of just another summer season for a few, calcio cranks are all agog about the final stretch of another enthralling season of European football.
With barely a handful of games now remaining in the top five leagues, the race towards the finish line is heating up, and we can only sit up and take note 'cause there's plenty more drama to come before the curtains are drawn.
Yes, we still have a plethora of high-profile games lined-up in the weeks leading to the finale, with some of them even potentially deciding the league winner. And you for one, do not want to miss this squeaky bum time, do you?
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So keep an eye on these six 'big' games that are coming up in the home stretch of the 2018/19 season.
#6 Borussia Dortmund vs Schalke 04 (27/04)
The Ruhr derby is among the lesser glamorous crosstown rivalries, but remains an important one. Especially since the last two seasons, this particular fixture has produced plenty of drama, most memorably Schalke’s epic fightback from 4-0 down in the opening stanza to eventually draw 4-4. And the icing on the cake? They did it at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park!
This time around, the stakes have dipped again due to the former’s precipitous fall from grace after mounting an incredible surge under manager Domenico Tedesco during the second half of 2017/18 season. So much so that the Royal Blues have plummeted back into relegation scrap and are currently hovering just six points above the drop zone.
The Yellow Submarine drew the first blood at the Veltins-Arena in November after Jadon Sancho’s late winner earned a crucial 2-1 win, and would have to repeat the trick to keep their title hopes alive after relinquishing top spot to Bayern last week.
#5 AS Roma vs Juventus (12/05)
Until recently, this was billed as the clash of the Italian titans as AS Roma and Juventus fought tooth and nail for domestic supremacy. Even though the Giallorossis never really succeeded besides an odd win hither and a meaningless victory tither, a dramatic decline in standards since the start of last season has seen them upended by Napoli as the second best side in the division.
Roma have had a poorer campaign this time, with results especially dreadful since the turn of the year. They have also leaked a staggering 45 goals in 32 games so far - the most since the disastrous year of 2013. And now, are left staring down the barrel of their Champions League prospects which is getting slimmer by the week.
Fifth in the Serie A table and just a point above the in-form Atalanta, another slip-up hereafter would obliterate all possibilities of a Champions League football next season. Juventus on the other hand, would have well celebrated their eighth successive league trophy by the time these sides clash on matchday 36, but aren’t going to do Roma any favours given their historic rivalry.
#4 Atletico Madrid vs Sevilla (12/5)
While both Los Rojiblancos and the Sevillistas couldn’t deliver on the promise with which each of them kick-started the campaign, their meeting in the penultimate week of the season would however have bearings on how the top four would finish.
Sevilla are currently fourth in the table with 52 points from 32 games with Getafe and Valencia breathing right under their necks as the race for the fourth and final Champions League spot looks set to go down to the wire. But the Nervionenses have the toughest run-in than any of the three teams.
Tomorrow, they travel to Madrid to take on Getafe, followed by trips to Girona and Bilbao which are interspersed between the visit of the Colchoneros on matchday 38. And this fixture has produced plenty of action in the recent times, especially last year when these sides played each other thrice in four weeks and witnessed 14 goals in total!
#3 Inter Milan vs Juventus (27/4)
By this time next weekend, the Serie A would be reduced to dead rubber as the Old Lady would have wrapped up an unprecedented eighth Scudetto on the trot: Juventus need just a point from their next match to consolidate their hegemony. But the outcome of this match would certainly have consequences for the Nerazzurris and their Champions League ambitions.
Having only returned to the holy grail last year after a five-year sabbatical, Inter are well on course to qualify once again. But city rivals AC Milan as well as AS Roma are lurking around the corner, adrift by only five and six points in the table respectively with only six more games to go.
What’s damning is this fixture comes right after Inter host Roma this weekend, so that’s two big games in a span of just six days and all could be lost by then if Luciano Spalletti’s side are on the losing end on both occasions.
Inter Milan’s erratic run of late - just four wins from the last eight games - doesn’t do enough to boost their confidence either, ahead of a tough week. But Juve’s own disappointing displays in the recent weeks offers them a chance to sneak something out of this.
#2 Manchester United vs Chelsea (28/4)
These Premier League greats had plenty of hopes going into this season. But things have unfolded in a very anti-climatic fashion for both of them.
Whilst Chelsea’s campaign has receded mightily in the recent weeks after a series of atrocious results, the Red Devils have slumped back to mediocrity again after peaking under Ole Gunner Solskjaer.
Now, both teams are left vying for the all-important Champions League spot: the Blues are fifth with 66 points whereas their Mancunian rivals are just two points worse off, albeit with a game in hand. Moral? Sparks set to fly when they collide at Old Trafford in nine days’ time.
Pressure’s really on United than Chelsea as their Champions League run came to a conclusion against Barcelona earlier in the week, whereas Maurizio Sarri’s men are still alive and kicking in the Europa League. In fact, they are now the competition favourites, though Arsenal would pose a challenge if they progress to the finals.
So whilst their rivals at least have another option, United are left with nothing but to swedge to their last drop of sweat and achieve a top four finish. The outcome of this fixture would serve up a hint of whether it’s going to happen.
#1 Manchester United vs Manchester City (24/4)
Come next week, it’s going to be a fight for the championship against a scramble for a top four finish. And mind you, it’s going to be epic.
The 178th Manchester derby is perfectly poised to completely alter the appearance of the top four standings as fortunes of other teams depend on it too. For once, Liverpool would be watching this match with a keen eye as City’s slip-up would allow them to reclaim top spot, whereas a Manchester United defeat would be detrimental to their Champions League hopes.
This has not only propelled the fixture’s billing further by a notch, but also turned it into potentially the match of the season.
The Cityzens ran 3-1 victors at the Etihad in the first leg, but would be wary this time after a run of difficult results. And the historic comeback that they mounted in the derby last year gives United hope.
Either way, don’t miss this one. Not for all the tea in China.
