Day of Reckoning As The Domestic Leagues End
By Tanko Bauka
This weekend is definitely going to be a day of reckoning in the Premier League, the Spanish LA Liga and the Italian Serie A as the domestic leagues end.
In the Premier League, the battle is for the remaining three spots reserved for the Champions League place, and five teams, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Aston Villa, and Nottingham Forest, are all in the run for a spot.
This weekend, the star match is the match between Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea, Manchester United vs Aston Villa, Newcastle United vs Everton and Fulham vs Manchester City.
The remaining matches see AFC Bournemouth taking on relegated Leicester City while another relegated side, Ipswich Town, host West Ham.
Liverpool FC welcome Crystal Palace, Wolves entertain Brentford, Tottenham Hotspur host Brighton and Albion while relegated Southampton welcome Arsenal.
In the Spanish LA Liga, the fight for the remaining one spot for the Champions League slot is between Athletic Bilbao, Villarreal and Real Betis and this weekend, the match to look out for is the encounter between Athletic Bilbao vs FC Barcelona and Real Betis vs Valencia.
Real Madrid already guaranteed a place in the Champions League next season, host Real Sociedad; Laganes engage Real Valladolid as Espanyol entertain Las Palmas.
Rayo Vallacano ambush Mallorca as Deportivo Alaves battle Osasuna, while Girona seek revenge against Atletico Madrid as Villarreal entertain Sevilla.
The battle in the Italian Serie A is very interesting to football watchers as Como and Cagliari stand between Napoli and Inter Milan in their quest to see who will lift the Serie A crown, while Juventus, Lazio, A S Roma and Bologna, are all in the chase for a Champions League spot for the two remaining slots.
Como welcome Inter Milan on 78 points while Napoli, on 79 points, host Cagliari.
Bologna host Genoa, Venezia engage Juventus, AC Milan hosts AC Monza, and Torino welcome AS Roma.
Lazio welcome Lecce while Ademola Lookman Atalanta entertain Parma.
Fixtures across Europe
English Barclays Premier League
Sunday
Bournemouth vs Leicester City
Fulham vs Manchester City
Ipswich Town vs West Ham
Liverpool vs Crystal Palace
Manchester United vs Aston Villa
Newcastle United vs Everton
Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea
Southampton vs Arsenal
Tottenham vs Brighton
Wolves vs Brentford
Spanish LA Liga
Friday
Real Betis vs Valencia
Saturday
Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad
Laganes vs Real Valladolid
Espanyol vs Las Palmas
Rayo Vallacano vs Mallorca
Deportivo Alaves vs Osasuna
Getafe vs Celta Vigo
Sunday
Girona vs Atletico Madrid
Villarreal vs Sevilla
Athletic Bilbao vs FC Barcelona
Italian Serie A
Friday
Como vs Inter Milan
Napoli vs Cagliari
Saturday
Bologna vs Genoa
AC Milan vs AC Monza
Sunday
Atalanta vs Parma
Empoli vs Hellas Verona
Lazio vs Lacce
Torino vs AS Roma
Udinese vs Fiorentina
Venezia vs Juventus
