Europe's top leagues feature three major fixtures this weekend, including the English derby between Manchester United and Liverpool. In Italy, attention will be focused on the Roman derby between AS Roma and Lazio. Stuttgart host Dortmund in Germany.
Man United-Liverpool: The English classic
Manchester United host arch-rivals Liverpool this Sunday, April 7, in the 31st round of the Premier League. A match of great importance for both teams. The Mancunians (6th) are aiming to clinch a place in the Champions League, while the Reds (1st) are engaged in a mad title race.
In the race for 4th place, André Onana and his team-mates lost three precious points to Chelsea (4-3) on Thursday April 4.It was a hard defeat to take, especially as they led (2-3) until the 109th minute (10 minutes of added time). "This week, we lost five points in stoppage time and that's very expensive. Points are becoming very expensive. We have to catch up and we're now a lot of points behind," Erik Ten Hag reacted in the post-match press conference.
The Dutch coach believes in his team's ability to overcome Liverpool, whom they beat 4-3 in the FA Cup quarter-finals last March. "You've seen that we have quality. We have great players.We can play at a very high level. We saw it today (against Chelsea ed.) and we saw it against Liverpool (in the FA Cup). The team has character. Today was an example of that. They're resilient and I'm sure they'll be there on Sunday to face Liverpool," said the former Ajax Amsterdam coach.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are in good form. The Reds beat Sheffield United on Thursday April 4 (3-1) to consolidate their position as league leaders. What's more, Mohamed Salah and company are unbeaten in their last 7 Premier League games. Their last defeat came on February 4 against Arsenal (3-1). Since then, they have drawn with Manchester City (1-1) and beaten Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final (0-1). And all this despite the repeated absences of the Egyptian striker and Alexander Arnold. Two key elements in Jürgen Kloop's line-up.
The latter is calling for more vigilance against the Red Devils. "(Manchester) United are a great team who play at home. We all know that.But we can't just say: 'Let's do what we did from the 15th minute to, I don't know, something like 70'. Soccer isn't that simple. We have to find a way to cause United problems, and they'll try to do exactly the same.At this level, with this opponent, in this stadium, to be honest, we'd better put in a great performance if we want to get something out of it," he told the press conference.
The fixtures to look forward to this weekend 🤩 pic.twitter.com/YD4d8AkagF
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 5, 2024
After their disappointing 0-0 draw with Lecce on Monday, AS Roma host Lazio on Saturday April 6. The derby promises to be a thrilling affair, especially as 5th-placed Lazio are aiming for a place in the top 4 to qualify for next season's Champions League. The team led by former Roma boss Daniele De Rossi is determined to achieve just that. Roma have lost just once in their last ten league matches. And that was against Inter Milan (2-4), who have been unstoppable this season. Encouraging performances which they can build on if they are to beat their neighbors.
Lazio, runners-up last season, are struggling to repeat their Serie A form this season. The Biancocelesti are 7th in the league and have parted company with coach Mauricio Sarri, who has been replaced by Igor Tudor. In his first match with Lazio, the former Olympique de Marseille man beat Juventus 1-0. However, he was unable to follow up that performance against the same team in the Italian Cup semi-final (2-0). He will have another opportunity to shine in another special match.
It's the other match of the weekend in Europe's top leagues. Stuttgart (3rd) travel to Dortmund (4th) on Saturday April 6. The match is part of the 28th day of the Bundesliga.Both teams are fighting for a place on the podium. BVB are coming off an important away win against Bayern Munich (0-2) and will be hoping to build on this success. With Stuttgart 4 points off the pace, Sébastien Haller and company have an opportunity to put their opponents under even more pressure with a win."The most exciting weeks of the season are ahead of us.We want to take a lot of confidence from the game against Bayern," said Edin Terzić at a conference on April 4.
The German coach is also aware of the quality of his opponent. "VfB are also very stable away from home.Stuttgart are doing a good job this season. They are extremely flexible and always offer new tasks to their opponents.We want to be confident on Saturday," he explained. One of Stuttgart's main strengths this season is their in-house striker, Sehrou Guirassy. The Guinean international is his team's leading marksman. With 23 Bundesliga goals, he is second only to Harry Kane (31).Sehrou Guirassy weighs in up front.VFB will be counting on him again to bounce back from their 3-3 draw with Heidenheim on March 31.
