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 and 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, France and Scotland for a place in a final, a league finale, a huge derby, a potential coronation, and big fights for titles and European places!
– How Premier League’s sixth place could earn a Champions League spot
– Championship promotion race: who’s going up to the Premier League?
– Hearts, Celtic, Rangers? Who’s going to win the Scottish Premiership?
Premier League, Matchday 35
Kickoff: Sunday, 10:30 a.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. BST
There are only three points between these huge rivals from the north west of England. United are third after a superb interim stint in charge for Michael Carrick. He would further cement his candidacy for the permanent job with a win against United’s old enemy, especially at Old Trafford where the crowd loves him so much already and where most fans want him on the bench for next season.
The Red Devils are 11 points clear of sixth place (fifth place is guaranteed UEFA Champions League for next season), and they can seal their return to the top European competition next season on Sunday after a three-year absence.
Even if they are not playing great at the moment and their performances have not been too convincing, they are still winning and have Bruno Fernandes on the verge of history with one more assist needed to equal the Premier League record of 20.
For Liverpool, they are eight points clear of sixth and winning at Old Trafford would give back manager Arne Slot some credit that he lost earlier in the season with poor results and performances. The aim now is for a top-five finish, and Liverpool look on course to do it. However, a defeat in Manchester would sting.
Mohamed Salah is doubtful for the visitors, like Matheus Cunha is for the hosts. Both Benjamin Sesko and Alexander Isak scored last weekend for their respective teams, and they could again have a big role to play in this hugely anticipated game.
MY PREDICTION: Man United 2-2 Liverpool. I expect United to play better than against Brentford last Monday, where they were second-best despite their win. I think Liverpool will raise their level too, so we should have a really good game that I think will end in a draw.
UEFA Women’s Champions League semifinal, second leg
Kickoff: Saturday, 9 a.m. ET / 2 p.m. BST
The first leg at the Emirates last weekend was of a great quality. Both OL Lyonnes and Arsenal had their moments and displayed their class, despite the two costly mistakes made by Lyonnes’ goalkeeper Christiane Endler.
Arsenal won the first game 2-1 after turning it around in the second half, thanks to more intensity and aggression, though they were ultimately gifted their opportunities.
OL have a great team — the first-leg defeat was only their second all season — and they will have to go for it on Saturday. They lost their way against Wolfsburg (1-0) in the first leg before beating them convincingly in the second leg (4-0 after extra time) to qualify for the semifinal. Manager Jonatan Giráldez has a superb squad, stacked with talent, and he has many options on the bench.
There will be a sense of déjà vu. These two teams met in last season’s semifinal — Lyon won the first leg at the Emirates before Arsenal stormed back to beat them 4-1 back in France. This time, Arsenal are in an even better position. They are the reigning European champions and that experience will be very valuable. The Lyonnaises cannot make any mistakes like in the first leg and will have to be very efficient if they are to reach their first Champions League final since 2024.
MY PREDICTION: Lyonnes 2-1 Arsenal, Lyonnes win on 4-3 penalties. The atmosphere will be great in Lyon on Saturday at the Groupama Stadium, and the French giants will cause a lot of problems for the Arsenal defense. It will go to extra time and then penalties, with the hosts winning it.
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Krieger backs Arsenal to see off OL Lyonnes
Ali Krieger and Lianne Sanderson preview the second leg of Arsenal’s UEFA Women’s Champions League semifinal clash with OL Lyonnes.
EFL Championship, Matchday 46
Kickoff: Saturday, 7:30 a.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. BST
What a finale this is going to be! The last gameweek of an exhaustive hampionship season is upon us, and there are still so many things to be decided.
First and foremost — and the most important of them all — who will accompany Coventry City to be directly promoted to the Premier League? Ipswich, who are in second place, are in the strongest position, hosting a QPR side with nothing to play for but pride. Lurking in the shadow behind Ipswich are Millwall, just a point behind (and facing already relegated Oxford United at home), and Middlesbrough, two points behind (and traveling to Wrexham on Saturday).
The Welsh side can still make it to the playoffs. They are battling with Hull City (level on points with Wrexham) and Derby County (just a point behind). Hull play Norwich City, while Derby have Sheffield United. It is all finished, however, at the bottom of the table with the three relegated already known (Oxford, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday).
All Ipswich have to do now is match or better the results of Millwall and Middlesbrough and they will be back again in the Premier League next season, a year after being relegated from there. They deserve to go through and back up despite only winning one of their last five league games (one win, three draws and one loss).
MY PREDICTION: Ipswich Town 3-0 QPR. I think that the occasion is too big and happy for Ipswich not to take it. They will win this game comfortably, and then they will celebrate their return to the top flight after being relegated just last year.
Serie A, Matchday 35
Kickoff: Sunday, 2:45 p.m. ET / 7:45 p.m. BST
We could have a new Italian champion on Sunday night as Inter could be crowned Serie A winners with a win against Parma or with other results going their way.
They are 10 points clear of holders Napoli with four games to play. A win would show once more that they are the best team in the country and the most successful one by a mile, too.
It was not supposed to be an easy season for the Nerazzuri with Cristian Chivu as the new manager, and a squad led largely by aging stars. Despite some lows (in the derby against AC Milan or the elimination by Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League), Lautaro Martínez and his teammates have been the strongest domestically. They will also face Lazio in the Coppa Italia final to dream of winning the double.
Chivu has done a good job for his first year on the bench over there and he deserves a lot of credit. Marcus Thuram has also been clutch lately, especially in the absence through injury of the Argentine striker.
Parma, on the other hand, are already safe and under Carlos Cuesta, Mikel Arteta’s former assistant at Arsenal, has done a brilliant job in his first-ever managerial role. They are 12th in the table and guaranteed to be in Serie A next season.
MY PREDICTION: Inter 3-0 Parma. Inter will be highly motivated to win the league at home, and it will be impossible for a Parma side to deny them, given that they have nothing to play for.
Bundesliga, Matchday 32 (stream on ESPN+)
Kickoff: Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. BST
It is sixth against third in the Bundesliga table this weekend in a huge game for the Champions League positions next season. We still don’t know if fifth place will qualify for the Champions League, but the race for fourth and fifth place is heating up!
Leipzig look safe in third with a five-point cushion on fourth-place Stuttgart at the moment, with three games to go. However, Stuttgart will have to fight hard to stay where they are as Hoffenheim are level on points and just behind on goal difference (+20 to +16), while Bayer Leverkusen are only two points behind.
Also, Hoffenheim and Stuttgart face each other on Saturday, three hours before this game. Someone will drop points there, which could benefit Leverkusen. They have to put on another top performance, as they did at Cologne last weekend, with Patrik Schick scoring a brace in a 2-1 win. They are still a bit inconsistent, but they are very much still in the mix and firmly believe they can make the top four. On their day, they could beat anyone.
Leipzig have won five league games in a row now, and in Yan Diomande, they have one of the European season’s biggest breakout stars. The Ivory Coast winger has been excellent this season for the team. They had an impressive win at Eintracht Frankfurt two weeks ago, and they will try to play the same way in Leverkusen on Saturday. This game, as well as the Hoffenheim one, is huge this weekend for the race for Champions League spots.
MY PREDICTION: Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 RB Leipzig. Once again, this game will be really fun. It is often the case with Leipzig, who have scored 14 goals in their last five league games. But this is Leverkusen’s last chance to have a good go at finishing fourth, and they will take advantage of it with a win.
Scottish Premiership, Matchday 35
Kickoff: Monday 12:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. BST
We are now 34 games into the Scottish season, and are firmly in the second set of fixtures known as the Championship group: the top six teams in the league over the first 33 games of the season now play in a mini-league against each other to determine the overall champions.
Hearts are still top of the table, three points clear of Celtic (who play Hibernian this weekend) and four points clear of Rangers, who visit Tynecastle Park on Monday.
They have been the best team in the league by far this season and deserve the title, but there is still a lot of work for manager Derek McInnes & Co. to do before they can celebrate, as they still face Celtic on the last day of the season at Celtic Park. In the meantime, a win at home on Monday would put Rangers seven points behind with just three games to go and would surely eliminate them from the title race.
Hearts got a late winner again last weekend in the derby at Hibs thanks to Blair Spittal’s strike. Scoring and winning games late is something they have done a lot this season. It is not so much the case for Rangers, who themselves lost at home to Motherwell in the 90th minute last weekend.
They had been on a great run of results and scoring goals for fun, but it was their defense that let them down last weekend. They have to beat Hearts now if they want to win the title. It is a must-win game for them. They won their last encounter (4-2) at home back in February, but before that, Hearts won twice — home and away — in the league.
MY PREDICTION: Hearts 2-2 Rangers. This will be another tight affair, and there won’t be much between two attacking sides. But Rangers have their backs to the wall and have to win this game at all costs. Any other result would drop them out of the title race, so I expect them to go for it only to fall short.
