The Euro Preview: Barcelona on the verge of history, Juve look to extend lead

Barcelona will look to smash La Liga’s unbeaten streak against Leganes, while Juventus can extend their Serie A lead when they play last-place Benevento.

La Liga

Can anyone in Spain defeat Barcelona? The Catalan giants answered that question last Saturday, pulling off a pre-Easter miracle after tying Sevilla 2-2, scoring two unanswered goals in a span of 54 seconds, to keep their unbeaten streak alive.

Lionel Messi, who recently missed two international friendlies with Argentina because of a leg muscle problem, scored in the 89th minute to bring the score level. Sevilla had jumped out to a 2-0 lead until the 88th minute, when Luis Suarez scored. Messi, who came on late in the game, left his mark a minute later to extend the team’s unbeaten run to 30 matches.

“Most people thought [the streak] was over, but we showed it wasn’t,” Suarez told reporters after the game. “We showed that we’re strong.”

Barca have been strong. They lost only three games this season — two against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup and to city-rivals Espanyol in the Copa del Rey. Barca now find themselves just a game away from equaling the record streak achieved by Real Sociedad during the 1979-80 season. Barca’s streak stretches to last season, when they went undefeated in their last seven matches.

Barcelona will need to defeat or draw 14th-place Leganes Saturday at the Camp Nou. They currently hold a nine-point lead over Atletico Madrid atop the table.

Serie A

With Juventus in first place with a four-point lead over Napoli (and seven games left to play), the Bianconeri could extend that lead further thanks to a favorable matchday. Juve host last-place Benevento on Saturday, a very likely three points for the league leaders. Napoli play the following day, hosting 15th-place Chievo Verona in what traditionally has been a banana-skin match for the Partneopei.

If Barcelona have Messi to rely on each week, then Juventus’ talisman is his countryman, Paulo Dybala. The Argentine playmaker has had a phenomenal season. While a hamstring injury kept him sidelined for a stretch halfway through the season, Dybala is back and scoring goals. His stunning strike in Juve’s 3-1 victory against AC Milan this past Saturday was further proof of that.

“We scored, then ground to a halt,” Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri noted after the match. “The lads did well to bring the result home in a difficult fixture and to increase our lead at the top of the table. Wins like this send a signal.”

Juventus, coming off a 3-0 loss in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid, are aiming to win a seventh straight scudetto. Juventus are also looking to capture a treble since they remain in contention for the Champions League and Coppa Italia.

Next: Why is the Bundesliga so easy for Bayern?

Bundesliga

While Bayern Munich continue their victory tour when they play at 10th-place Augsburg on Saturday, the battle for second place remains heated with five teams still in the hunt.

After Bayern routed Borussia Dortmund 6-0 last Saturday in Der Klassiker, Schalke emerged as the team most likely to finish runners up this season. Schalke have 52 points, ahead of Dortmund, who have 48. In fourth place are RB Leipzig on 46 points, followed Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankurt, both deadlocked at 45.

Schalke travel to Hamburg on Saturday to take on last-place Hamburg. Dortmund will be looking to rebound at home against eighth-place Stuttgart on Sunday.

In another tasty game to close matchday 29, RB Leipzig host Bayer Leverkusen on Monday night in a game that could once again change the makeup near the top of the table.