Every Friday, I pick for you the best or most exciting games not to be missed in the world of football each weekend. From derbies to top of the table clashes, relegation six-pointers to world class players facing each other or other interesting tactical battles, there will be something for everyone to enjoy.
This week, we take you to England, Germany, Italy, Spain and Scotland for a first step towards a final, a huge Clásico, a heavyweight battle, some top of the table clashes, and some redemption needed.
- Champions League final early preview: PSG or Arsenal to win it all?
- Rice, Rodri, Olise: The players let go too early by big clubs
- Your guide to the Clasico: Storylines, key players, predictions, more
Two struggling teams still with a shot at Champions League
Liverpool vs. Chelsea
English Premier League, Matchday 36
Kickoff: Saturday, 7:30 a.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. BST
Which one of these teams needs a win the most? Arguably, we could say Chelsea as they have just lost six league games in a row, scoring just one goal in over nine hours of football. The Blues are in total disarray, a broken club where the players are lost, fans are unhappy and an inexperienced interim manager is trying to salvage the season. But Calum McFarlane is struggling and the heavy 3-1 defeat at home against Forest on Monday hurt massively.
Where do Chelsea go from here? They need to bounce back quickly, but this trip to Liverpool will be tricky. Cole Palmer is totally out of form and had a terrible performance on Monday, while goalkeeper Robert Sánchez came off injured too. They certainly can't get embarrassed again this weekend, although there is not too many other options for their young manager. He even chose to start Jesse Derry on Monday against Nottingham Forest for his Premier League debut. He might try something new again on Saturday at Anfield, but Chelsea need a win badly to stay in contention of a European spot next season. They are ninth in the table, four points behind Bournemouth in sixth with just three games remaining.
Liverpool also need points to guarantee their place in the Champions League next season. They were beaten by arch-rivals Manchester United last weekend and turned in a terrible performance; United gifted them a way back into the game with two cheap goals in the second half, but they looked disjointed and shaky the entire game. Virgil van Dijk cost his team a goal and has been poor all season. Manager Arne Slot is still under pressure despite looking like he will stay on next season, but he needs to find answers quickly when it comes to the balance of the team and the right positions and combinations for Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo and Alexis Mac Allister.
Alexander Isak is still a doubt up front after missing on the Old Trafford trip, but the fans expect a reaction at home against another big Premier League side.
MY PREDICTION: Liverpool 2-1 Chelsea. I think both teams will improve on their performances last weekend (it could not get much worse), but Liverpool will have too much for this Chelsea team in disarray after six straight losses. I expect Liverpool will make it seven in a row.
A late-season Clásico that will decide LaLiga
Barcelona vs. Real Madrid
Spanish LaLiga, Matchday 35
Kickoff: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. BST (stream LIVE on ESPN+)
Barcelona could make history on Sunday at the Camp Nou. Indeed, no team in the history of this great fixture has ever won the title due to a Clásico, but the Catalans can do it on Sunday. A draw would be enough for them to be crowned champions on the night they play their biggest foes. It would be extra special for the Blaugranas to retain their title against the Merengues and to write history.
Psychologically, they have a big advantage against Real Madrid as they have won six of the last seven Clásicos, home or away. At home, they haven't lost against Madrid since 2023. Even without Lamine Yamal (who is still injured) and with Raphinha only just back in the squad after his injury, they will be favourites to get at least a draw. Of course, their defensive flaws and high line could be exploited by Alvaro Arbeloa's players and tactics, but they will also create chances because they always do, especially in games between these two in recent months.
Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens debate Kylian Mbappé's decision to take a day off before El Clásico and discuss how Real Madrid should have handled it.
For the visitors, it is just about spoiling the party. It is more or less inevitable that Barcelona will win the title again, but the Real Madrid players will do everything they can to delay it for at least another week. They will have a massive boost with the return of Thibaut Courtois, who is expecting to be back on the pitch for the game. Kylian Mbappé is also trying to be back for the game. He has been training after his thigh injury but faces a race against time to be passed fit. Without him, we saw Vinícius Júnior carrying the team against Espanyol last weekend with a good performance from Jude Bellingham on the pitch as well. Mbappé's return cannot unbalance the team though so Arbeloa will have to find the right balance to make it work.
MY PREDICTION: Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid. There will be goals between these two teams. Barcelona at home with the title at stake will stack and Real Madrid will counter. I don't think they will be a winner though as a draw is still enough for the Catalans to be champions.
Old Firm game with genuine title implications
Celtic vs. Rangers
Scottish Premiership (championship group), Matchday 36
Kickoff: Sunday, 7 a.m. ET / 12 p.m. BST
With only three games to go, the Scottish title race is set to reach a new climax this weekend.
This has to be one of the most important Old Firm games in recent times. Hearts, the leaders, who travel to Motherwell on Saturday, are three points clear of Celtic and seven of Rangers after beating them 2-1 on Monday. For Celtic, who will host Hearts on the last day of the season, they have to beat their arch-rivals at Celtic Park on Sunday to still hope to be crowned champions.
For Rangers, it is a different story. They would need a huge miracle to overtake both Celtic and Hearts so for them, it is just about preventing Celtic from winning the title. They want to spoil the party, and even a draw would do.
This will also be the sixth time they face each other this season, with three draws so far, the last one in the Cup in March (Celtic, via a penalty shootout), and a victory each.
In terms of form, Celtic have won their last five games in all competitions while the visitors have just lost their last two matches back to back (Motherwell at home and Hearts away), basically costing them a shout at the title. They were unlucky in the first loss and should have won and a draw was probably the fair result against Hearts, who were just so clinical in the end. Celtic are the favourites and the atmosphere will be electric at the stadium.
MY PREDICTION: Celtic 2-1 Rangers. I think Celtic, at home, will seize this opportunity. They can't afford to drop points, especially knowing full well what Hearts did the night before. This is a huge Old Firm and it will be spectacular and intense but the home side will just edge it.
A blockbuster clash with promotion on the line
Middlesbrough vs. Southampton
English Championship playoff semifinal, first leg
Kickoff: Saturday, 7:30 a.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. BST
One of Middlesbrough, Southampton, Millwall or Hull will go up to the Premier League via the Championship playoffs, which start this weekend. They will join Ipswich Town and Coventry City in the top flight next season, and the general consensus is that the winner of this semifinal will be hugely favoured against one of the other two when they meet at Wembley on May 23.
Indeed, Millwall and Hull have been the big surprises of the season, to finish third and sixth respectively, but Middlesbrough and Southampton look stronger on paper, anyway. Southampton have had an incredible run since the arrival of 33-year-old German manager Tonda Eckert. He has won 24 games of his 38 in charge, losing only six after taking over the first team from the reserve side. His style of football -- built around a lot of verticality, running and movement -- suits his squad. Apart from two draws against Bristol and Ipswich, they have won eight games of their last 10, and their last loss in the league came against Hull at home in January.
Saints are full of confidence and momentum; they won't fear Middlesbrough at all, especially with the second leg at St Mary's.
Boro also have a young manager in 38-year-old Swede Kim Hellberg. He arrived once the season had started, following the departure of Rob Edwards, and he also made his team better. He did great at Hammarby and has bright, bold ideas on how his team should be playing. For most of the season, they were in the Top 2, on course for automatic promotion, but a terrible run of seven games without a win pushed them into the playoff mire. (Injury to their best player and arguably the league's best, midfielder Hayden Hackney, coincided with their bad results.) He will miss this first leg, but could be back for the second leg.
MY PREDICTION: Middlesbrough 1-1 Southampton. I think that both teams will cancel each other on Saturday. With the second leg only three days later in Southampton, neither team can take too many risks. They are both attacking sides, but I don't think many goals will be scored and I don't think we will have a winner either!
Milan looking to end their season on a high
AC Milan vs. Atalanta
Italian Serie A, Matchday 36
Kickoff: Sunday, 2:45 p.m. ET / 7:45 p.m. BST
This might not seem like a must-see game considering the mediocre form of both teams, but bear with me as the race for Champions League places in Serie A is fascinating and Milan are not guaranteed of anything.
After their loss at Sassuolo last weekend, Milan coach Max Allegri said that this was the team's worst performance of the season and ... well ... he was right. It was really poor and they played with 10 men for more than an hour; that said, his Milan side have never really played well this season and are seemingly limping to the finish line, picking up just seven points from their last seven games (two wins, one draw, four defeats). It's simply not good enough.
Without Luka Modric, they have no creativity and given how tight the race is for Champions League qualification -- Milan are two points above Juventus, three above Roma and five above Como with three games remaining in the season -- they can't afford any other mistakes. They certainly can't drop points cheaply like they did last weekend.
Atalanta did well in the Champions League by making it to the playoff round under manager Raffaelle Paladino, and they also narrowly missed out on a place in the Coppa Italia final. Their last four league results (two draws and two losses) have cost them massively in their quest for Europe places. They could get into the UEFA Conference League if Inter win the Cup against Lazio, so they will want to finish on a high in the league too.
MY PREDICTION: Milan 1-0 Atalanta. I don't think it will be pretty, but Allegri and his players will find a way to get a win against an Atalanta side that cannot realistically hope for better than seventh in the table.
A German giant tries to avoid relegation
Wolfsburg vs. Bayern Munich
German Bundesliga, Matchday 33
Kickoff: Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. BST (stream LIVE on ESPN+)
Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany reflects on his side's loss to PSG in the Champions League semifinal.
As Schalke 04 are just celebrating their promotion back to the Bundesliga, we might soon see another giant of German football going the other way. Wolfsburg are having a shockingly bad season and this game, and the next one too, away at St. Pauli, will decide their fate.
Despite having a strong squad on paper -- midfielder Christian Eriksen, wing back Joakim Maehle, playmaker Jesper Lindstrom, forward Mohamed Amoura and winger Jonas Wind, to name just five -- they have only won six games in the league all season. They have won only once since January, and have changed managers already too.
It has been so rocky for Wolfsburg that everyone thought their relegation would already be confirmed, as it has been for Heidenheim. But they are not. They are 16th, which would put them in the relegation playoff to be played against a team from the 2. Bundesliga. They are level on points with St. Pauli, too, which means there is a scenario where things go to the final game of the season, with the winner surviving for now.
In order for that game to matter, Wolfsburg must get a result against champions Bayern at home. (St. Pauli don't have an easy fixture either, visiting third-place RB Leipzig.) They will hope that Vincent Kompany plays his B or C team like he did against Mainz and Heidenheim, where Bayern were behind before coming back to win the first game and draw the second after the stars had come on.
Wolfsburg have the second-worst defence in the league (67 goals conceded in 32 games, an average of 2.1 per 90) and when you see the attacking power of Bayern, you have to worry for Wolfsburg. But they have to believe in themselves even though they lost the reverse fixture 8-1 in Munich.
MY PREDICTION: Wolfsburg 3-2 Bayern Munich. I expect Kompany to mixed his team again like he has done for the last few weeks and this will serve Wolfsburg. The home side have been struggling to score goals and keep clean sheets, but they are on a mission this weekend and will get the win they need to keep their hopes of staying up alive.
