Ronaldo’s Real to top Madrid derby
SPANISH LA LIGA
Real Madrid 2 Atletico 1
With their Champions League tie with Juventus as good as settled, Real Madrid will come all guns blazing. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone feels the Europa League offers his team’s best chance for silverware. The red-hot Cristiano Ronaldo will be Atletico Madrid’s tormentor.
Celta Vigo 2 Sevilla 1
Anticipate wholesale changes from Sevilla as Vincenzo Montella rotates with Bayern Munich in mind. Celta Vigo will take full advantage of Sevilla’s divided attention to inflict damage.
OTHER MATCHES
Barcelona 2-0 Leganes, Villarreal 2-1 Athletic Bilbao, Valencia 2-0 Espanyol, Deportivo 1-0 Malaga, Deportivo Alaves 1-0 Getafe, Real Betis 1-1 Eibar, Levante 1-0 Las Palmas, Real Sociedad 1-1 Girona.
FRENCH LIGUE ONE
Metz 1-2 Olympique Lyon.
Monaco 2-0 Nantes.
St Etienne 1-3 Paris St Germain.
Amiens 1-0 Caen.
Angers 1-1 Strasbourg.
Bordeaux 2-1 Lille.
Guingamp 2-1 Troyes.
Marseille 1-0 Montpellier. Toulouse 1-0 Dijon.
Nice 2-1 Rennes
ITALIAN SERIE A
Napoli 2 ChievoVerona 0
After a difficult March which saw them surrender the title initiative to Juventus, Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli will be aiming to make amends during the visit of ChievoVerona. This is a home banker.
AS Roma 2 Fiorentina 1
Despite a couple of draws, Eusebio di Francesco’s Romans are on course to securing Serie A’s third and final Champions League place. They will top a tight affair this weekend.
OTHER MATCHES
Benevento 0-2 Juventus, Sampdoria 2-1 Genoa, SPAL 1-1 Bergamo, AC Milan 2-0 Sassuolo, Crotone 1-1 Bologna, Hellas 2-2 Cagliari, Udinese 1-1 Lazio, Torino 2-2 Inter
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
B. Dortmund 2 Stuttgart 1
Borussia Dortmund were on the receiving end of a 6-0 walloping from Bayern Munich last weekend. Nevertheless, I am backing them to top a Stuttgart team that couldn’t get the better of basement club Hamburg in this German Bundesliga fixture.
OTHER BUNDESLIGA MATCHES
Augsburg 1-2 Bayern Munich, Hannover 1-1 Werder Bremen, Cologne 2-1 Mainz, RB Leipzig 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen, Frankfurt 1-1 Hoffenheim, Hamburg 1-2 Schalke, Gladbach 1-0 Hertha Berlin, Rasen 1-1 B. Leverkusen
ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP
Man City 1 Man Utd 1
Champion-elects Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has publicly stated his priority is the two-legged Champions League tie with Liverpool. We could thus see Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany, David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne rested. It’s the window of opportunity Manchester United need to force a stalemate in this derby.
Everton 2 Liverpool 2
Although Liverpool have traditionally bossed this fixture, Toffees boss Sam Allardyce is keen to avoid back-to-back home losses in the English Premier League. Expect rear-guard action as Everton exploit Liverpool’s focus on the Champions League. Another EPL derby and I reckon that will be another draw.
OTHER EPL MATCHES
Chelsea 2-1 West Ham United.
Arsenal 2-1 Southampton.
Stoke City 0-2 Tottenham.
Leicester 1-0 Newcastle Utd.
Brighton 2-1 Huddersfield Town.
Bournemouth 1-1 Crystal Palace.
Watford 1-1 Burnley.
West Brom 1-1 Swansea.
