Arsenal have the opportunity to take the lead in the Premier League even further on Matchday 28. The Gunners welcome Crystal Palace on Sunday (3:00 p.m.), which has still not won in 2023 and where Patrick Vieira is increasingly under pressure with only three points ahead of the red zone. If successful, they would be eight points ahead and one game more than Manchester City which receives Saturday (6:45 p.m.) Burnley, undisputed leader of the Championship (D2) led by the former captain of the Citizens, Vincent Kompany, in the quarterfinals. FA Cup final.
Manchester United, third with 50 points, will also be exempt from the championship and will receive Fulham on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in the cup, which could benefit Tottenham, fourth by two points, but with one more game, traveling to the red lantern, Southampton , Saturday (4 p.m.). Newcastle (5th), who travels to Nottingham Forest on Friday (9:00 p.m.) could come back to within three points of the Red Devils if successful. Chelsea, still tenth but who have just had three consecutive successes in the league and the Champions League, will host Everton (15th) to try to confirm their improvement.
Spain: a Clasico with a view on the title
FC Barcelona receives Real Madrid on Sunday (9:00 p.m.) at Camp Nou as part of the clasico return counting for the 26th day of La Liga. After Madrid’s 3-1 first leg success at the Bernabéu in October, the Catalans took control of the table. With a victory over their best enemies on Sunday, they would take a twelve-point lead twelve days from the end of the season, an almost definitive gap. For the occasion, the Catalans should recover their midfield prodigy, Pedri, but not Ousmane Dembélé, not yet fully recovered.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men validated their ticket for the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday against Liverpool, but intend to take their revenge, after being beaten twice in the last two clasicos, in the Supercup final. of Spain in Saudi Arabia in January (3-1), and in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg at the Bernabéu, 1-0, on March 2. Atlético Madrid, for its part, receives Valencia CF on Saturday at 9:00 p.m.
Italy: two derbies for a podium
The countdown to the announced scudetto of Naples passes Sunday (3:00 p.m.) by the ground of Torino (8th), candidate for the European folding seats. But the interest of the 27th day of Serie A will focus on the podium, in the heart of the “Italian derby” Inter-Juventus and the derby of the capital between Lazio and Roma.
If Inter are second, dropped to 18 points from Naples, Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri recalls every week that his team is also “in the field”, setting aside the fifteen penalty points for accounting fraud. . The Old Lady is formally seventh, twelve points behind the Nerazzurri, but does not give up hope that her appeal to the Olympic Committee (Coni) will bring her back into play within a few weeks. In Rome, the threat is more immediate for Lazio, third with 49 points, against Roma, 5th by two lengths.
The Giallorossi will try to erase the defeat of the first leg (1-0), in the absence on the bench of José Mourinho, who will serve his second game of suspension after being excluded at the end of February against Cremonese (1-2 ). Also a candidate for the podium in the event of victory, AC Milan (4th) moves for its part to Udine (10th) on Saturday without Olivier Giroud, suspended. Perhaps the opportunity for a first tenure this season for Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
Germany: Xabi Alonso joins Bayern
Appointed coach of Bayer Leverkusen in early October, Xabi Alonso will return to Bayern on Sunday (5:30 p.m.), his last club as a player (2014-2017). Since taking office, Xabi Alonso’s Bayer has left the relegation zone (17th) and has almost ensured maintenance (9th, 34 pts). In his Bayarena, he will challenge a Bayern sure of his strength, who finally occupy the leader’s chair alone (52 pts).
Forced to a draw (2-2) in Gelsenkirchen against Schalke, Borussia Dortmund (2nd, 50 pts) receives Cologne (12th, 27 pts) on Saturday (6:30 p.m.) and will have to win so as not to let Bayern escape before the international truce. Corrected in the middle of the week in the Champions League, respectively in Manchester City (7-0) and Naples (3-0), RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt will seek the parade in the league, in Bochum (14th, 22 points) Saturday (3:30 p.m.) and at Union Berlin (4th, 45 pts) Sunday (3:30 p.m.).