Leicester are chasing a double over the leaders after a stunning 5-2 win at the Etihad Stadium in September. Former City striker Kelechi Iheanacho is in fine form after scoring seven goals in his last four games for Leicester.
John Stones opened the scoring for Manchester City in their 3-0 win over Fulham. AP
A look at what’s happening in European football on Saturday:
ENGLAND
Manchester City’s quadruple quest resumes with a difficult trip to third-place Leicester. Pep Guardiola’s City need only 14 points from their last eight games to wrap up a third Premier League title in four years.
Leicester are chasing a double over the leaders after a stunning 5-2 win at the Etihad Stadium in September. Former City striker Kelechi Iheanacho is in fine form after scoring seven goals in his last four games for Leicester.
Saturday also sees a rare meeting of Arsenal and Liverpool when neither team is in the top four. Liverpool’s hopes of retaining the title have not only been shattered since the turn of the year but, having slipped to seventh, the champions are now in serious danger of missing out on making the Champions League next season. That’s unless they lift the European Cup for a seventh time, with Real Madrid next up in the upcoming quarter-finals. Arsenal are four points behind Liverpool in ninth.
Sheffield United have seemed resigned to relegation for some time and West Bromwich Albion also now appear to be approaching the point of no return to stay in the league. Last-place Sheffield United take on Leeds, who are 11th. West Brom, who are 10 points from safety, travel to fourth-place Chelsea.
FRANCE
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti is out injured for the table-topping clash with second-place Lille, who trail defending champion PSG only on goal difference. Verratti hurt his left thigh playing for Italy, and PSG will reassess his fitness on Sunday.
PSG play at Bayern Munich on Wednesday in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League. PSG are also without striker Mauro Icardi, midfielder Danilo Pereira and left back Layvin Kurzawa through injury. The top four sides are all in action.
Monaco can move up to third place and drop Lyon down to fourth if they beat ninth-place Metz at home and Lyon does not win at fifth-place Lens. Lyon forward Memphis Depay scored twice for the Netherlands this week but must get his club form back after being the team’s best player for much of the season.
SPAIN
Athletic Bilbao will take on Real Sociedad in the much delayed Copa del Rey final. AP File photo
Real Madrid host Eibar in the Spanish league ahead of important matches against Liverpool and Barcelona. Madrid play Liverpool on Tuesday in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, and face Barcelona next weekend in a match key to their hopes of retaining the Spanish league title.
Madrid are in third place, six points behind leaders Atlético Madrid and two points behind Barcelona. Sergio Ramos will miss the upcoming matches due to a left-leg injury.
Also in the league, Villarreal visit Granada, while Getafe are at Osasuna.
Basque Country clubs Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad meet in the final of the 2020 Copa del Rey that was delayed from the end of last season due to the pandemic. The final will be played in Seville.
ITALY
AC Milan kick off a packed day in Serie A knowing that they need a win against Sampdoria to keep alive their faltering title challenge. All 10 Serie A matches are taking place on the same day due to Easter Sunday.
Milan are six points behind leaders Inter Milan and have played a match more than their city rivals. The Nerazzurri close the day when they visit Bologna.
Third-place Juventus are 10 points behind Inter and anything but a win in the derby at Torino would put first-time coach Andrea Pirlo under even more pressure.
Atalanta are level with Juve, although they have played a match more, and host Udinese.
Napoli, Roma and Lazio all still have hopes of finishing in the top four and they play Crotone, Sassuolo and Spezia, respectively.
Genoa host Fiorentina with neither side fully clear of danger, while relegation-threatened Parma visit Benevento. Cagliari are also in the drop zone and host Hellas Verona.
GERMANY
Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick has to make up for the absence of three players for a potential title-decider at Leipzig. Bayern are already four points clear of Leipzig in the Bundesliga and a win would put the defending champions on course for a record-extending ninth consecutive title with a seven-point cushion for the remaining seven games.
But top scorer Robert Lewandowski is out and so are the suspended Alphonso Davies and Jerome Boateng. Flick also needs to rally players returning from Germany’s surprise loss to North Macedonia in World Cup qualifying.
Leipzig’s Angeliño, Marcel Halstenberg and Kevin Kampl are all out, and Dayot Upamecano may miss the game against his future teammates.
Also Saturday, Borussia Dortmund host Eintracht Frankfurt for a duel with Champions League qualification at stake.
Among other games, Bayer Leverkusen welcome last-place Schalke, and Borussia Mönchengladbach host Freiburg.
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