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After a thrilling week of European football where we saw three magical comebacks and Rennes causing a huge upset by beating Arsenal, we are back to league action where we are approaching the business end of the season and some pretty interesting fixtures are lined up.
With the title almost wrapped up in La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1, the race has quite heated up in the English Premier League and the Bundesliga. In the EPL, Liverpool is just one point behind leaders Manchester City, and both have a Champions League match coming up next week. In Bundesliga, both Bayern Munchen and Dortmund have equal points.
Let's look at their mouth-watering fixtures this weekend.
#1 Liverpool vs Burnley
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Having last won the league 30 years back, Liverpool fans have waited for far too long to see their team lift the coveted title. After a promising run to the Champions League final last season and signings of star players like Allison and Fabinho, Liverpool fans were certain of a change in fortunes when the Reds were cruising with a 10-point lead at the top.
But some poor performances and a run in with injuries have left them 1 point adrift of defending champions Man city and a very inferior goal difference.
Up comes a test against Burnley at Anfield with a tricky fixture against Bayern on the horizon. Klopp has some good news as there are no major injuries except to Joe Gomez and Chamberlain. But Salah's and their team's form on a whole has been a worrying factor. They have drawn two of their last three games and losing further points would be highly detrimental to their title hopes.
Burnley, much like their opponents have been going through a rough patch as they have lost their last two fixtures after two impressive wins. But their ability to surprise big teams cannot be overlooked as they showed when they drew with Man United and defeated Tottenham.
They are an extremely physical side and highly effective in winning in ariel duels. Van Dijk and Allison would have to be on their toes to stop Burnley from taking advantage of any set-pieces and their attackers have to finish whatever chances they get.
#2 Manchester City vs Watford
Man City is set to face Watford who are in a rich vein of form after getting 10 points in the last 5 matches. Pep on the other hand has some decisions to make with multiple injuries to the squad and a tricky fixture against Schalke coming up.
With a thin lead of just 1 point on the top, Man city must make sure they do not lose any points if they are to defend their title and remain in the race for the quadruple. But with injuries to defenders Laporte and Stones and midfielder De Bruyne, and suspensions for Otamendi and Fernandinho, Pep has some tough decisions to make. Who gets to partner Kompany? Would there be a change in formation for the Citizens?
While goalscoring isn't a big problem for Man City, they have trudged on with two 1-0 victories in their last two games. They must be careful of thwarting the centralized play of Watford and containing the pace of their forwards, especially Deulofeu. A win here would be a huge morale booster ahead of their cramped schedule in which they fight for 4 trophies simultaneously.
#3 Arsenal vs Manchester United
On the other side of the country in North London is an exciting clash between the Gunners and the Red Devils, two teams engaged in a tight fight for a place in the top 4. Both sides have had mixed fortunes till now: While Man Utd look a rejuvenated side under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and are on the seventh heaven after defeating PSG with their almost reserve side, Unai Emery's side have their task cut out after slipping their early season form and crashing to a 3-1 defeat against French opponents Rennes in the Europa League.
Form-wise in the league, Man Utd have won 4 out of their last 5 games while Arsenal have won 3 games. While Ole has been outstanding against other PL teams, how he fairs against the big 6 of the league remains to be a seen after their injury-filled clash against Liverpool.
Speaking of injuries, Arsenal would be missing the services of Bellerin and Lichtsteiner due to injuries and Lucas Torreira and Sokratis due to suspension. On the other hand, Man Utd would be without nearly half the main team as Mata, Lingard, Matic, Herrera, Martial and Alexis Sanchez all miss out due to injuries. But as shown in their clash against PSG it would be perilous to consider them weaker opponents.
This clash would go in a long way in describing the success of the season for both sides as qualification to Champions League would prove to be a solitary consolation in an otherwise trophyless season. Qualification, though, for Man Utd would help Ole secure a permanent job at the Old Trafford after a massive improvement in Man Utd's fortunes after their initial struggles under Mourinho.
#4 Bayern Munich vs Wolfsburg
Next up is the big game in Germany where title holders Bayern Munich go up against Wolfsburg after an impressive run of performances which has seen them win the last 4 league games and score an impressive 12 goals, thereby coming on terms with Dortmund which they now trail only by a goal difference of 2 goals.
Bayern have a tough fixture against Liverpool coming up in the midweek and would be without the services of Muller and Kimmich who miss out due to suspension, and also Robben, Coman, Goretzka, and Alaba due to injuries.
Wolfsburg are on a high after defeating Borussia M.Gladbach and Hertha Berlin, and their long balls and counter-attacks could be a threat to the Bayern defence.
Bayern need to win this fixture to cap an impressive run and take advantage of any possible slip-up by their rivals Dortmund.
#5 Borussia Dortmund vs VFB Stuttgart
Dortmund, the only team that has no European obligation left among the aforementioned teams after crashing out of the Champions league has all to play for as the League is their only hope of earning a silverware after what was an stupendous start to the season.
But Dortmund's fortunes have gone down so quickly: they have crashed out of the DFB Pokal and Champions League and have just won once in their last 5 league games.
With Marco Reus back in the squad, Favre has one less thing to worry about. But still, Favre would have to motivate his forwards Alcacer and Sancho to hit back the form they showed at the start of the season.
Luckily for them, their relegation-threatened opponents have won just one of their previous 6 league fixtures and are weak against fast attacking teams such as Dortmund. Dortmund must be careful that they do not slip up any further otherwise this season would prove to be trophyless for them after all the initial excitement and promise.
