5 games to watch: City and Spurs clash again

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 09: Heung-Min Son of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring the opening goal during the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final first leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 09, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 09: Heung-Min Son of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring the opening goal during the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final first leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 09, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images) /
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Here are five of the best matches from Europe this weekend, headlined by Manchester City hosting Tottenham for the second time this week.

Following midweek Champions League games, league play resumes with teams battling for spots in the Champions League next season. In addition to incredibly close top four races in La Liga and Serie A, the title races in the Premier League and Bundesliga are neck and neck. With the top two teams in both leagues so close, one bad result could determine who wins the title.

5. Getafe vs. Sevilla — Sunday, April 21, 8 a.m. ET (BeIN Sports)

The top three spots in La Liga are set. Barcelona are clear leaders, with Atletico and Real Madrid behind them. The race for fourth place, however, is extremely close and likely won’t be decided until the final game. Sevilla are currently in fourth place after winning five of their last six games. On Sunday, they travel to play fifth-place Getafe. Only one point separates the two clubs. The Deep Blues have been on a great run lately, losing only once over their last 11 games, picking up 20 points.

The race for fourth is more than a two-horse race in Spain. Valencia have been red-hot after a terrible start to the season. The Bats were 14th at the start of November with 11 points in their first 12 games. In their last 14 games, Valencia have lost only one game but have only picked up 27 of a possible 42 points.

The Bats could have run away with fourth if they didn’t settle for 16 draws. Valencia could tie the record for most draws in La Liga history if they record draws in two of their final six games.

4. Borussia Monchengladbach vs. RB Leipzig — Saturday, April 20, 12:30 p.m. ET (FS1)

Honorable mention: Bayern Munich vs. Werder Bremen – Saturday, April 20 (FS1) 9:30 AM

The Bundesliga schedule-makers did an excellent job ensuring the biggest clubs all played each other down the stretch. On Saturday, Bayern Munich play seventh-place Werder Bremen. Bayern can’t afford to drop points with Borussia Dortmund only one point behind them. Werder are chasing a Europa League spot. Bremen are one of three teams chasing sixth-place Hoffenheim. Werder are only one point behind Hoffenheim. A loss could drop them to ninth and out of the race for Europe.

The Bundesliga also pits third and fifth on Saturday. Third-place RB Leipzig go to Borussia-Park to play Borussia Monchengladbach. Outside of Bayern, no team in Germany have been playing better than Leipzig. The Red Bulls have not lost since Jan. 19, picking up 27 of 33 points over their last 11 games. Gladbach are one point behind Eintracht Frankfurt for fourth place. The Foals have been terrible lately. Over the last nine games, Monchengladbach have only nine points. The late-season collapse is likely one of the reasons why Dieter Hecking will not return as the manager next season.

3. Napoli vs. Atalanta — Monday, April 22, 1 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Napoli are second in the Serie A table for the second year in a row. On Monday, the Donkeys host Atalanta at the San Paolo in a game that should be filled with goals. Only Juventus have scored more this season than Atalanta and Napoli, who are second and third, respectively, in scoring. While Napoli are all but assured a spot in the Champions League next season, Atalanta are fighting for the final spot. The Goddess are two points behind AC Milan for fourth but will have to jump over Roma too. Monday’s game could be a revenge game for Duvan Zapata, who played two seasons for Napoli scoring 11 goals. In his first season with Atalanta, Zapata has had a breakout season, scoring 20 goals, the third most in Serie A.

2. Inter Milan vs. Roma — Saturday, April 20, 2:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

The race for fourth in Serie A is going to come down to the final game of the season. AC Milan are currently fourth with 55 points but only three points separate fourth and seventh. Roma are only one point behind Milan in the table. On Saturday, Roma go to the San Siro to play third-place Inter Milan. With AC Milan playing a weaker Parma side, Roma need to beat Inter if they are going to keep pace. That won’t be an easy task. Inter have 13 points in their last six games and have not lost since Mauro Icardi returned to the team.

In their hopes of finishing in the top four, Roma are taking extreme precautions, banning players from taking pictures with Canadian rapper Drake. The Drake curse has inflicted the sports world, causing whichever team he supports to lose.

The Toronto Maple Leafs wished they had a similar policy after becoming the most recent victims of the Drake curse. The Boston Bruins won Game 4 of their best of seven series 6-4 after Drake was shown on TV wearing a Maple Leafs jersey.

1. Manchester City vs. Tottenham — Saturday, April 20, 7:30 a.m. ET (NBCSN)

On Wednesday, Manchester City and Tottenham played one of the most exciting games of the season in the Champions League quarterfinals. The Citizens won 4-3 but Spurs advanced to the semifinal on away goals. The game featured five goals in the first 21 minutes but was not without controversy. Fernando Llorente’s late goal appeared to go off his arm before hitting his hip and in. The goal was reviewed by VAR but was ultimately upheld. In injury time, Raheem Sterling thought he had scored the goal that would have put City through but it was correctly ruled offside, taking the goal off the board.

After playing on Wednesday, the two teams again play in Manchester on Saturday. Saturday’s game also carries high stakes. City need to win if they’re going to win the league title. After ruining the Citizens dreams of European glory, Tottenham can crush their dreams of repeating as Premier League champions.

However, if City are able to exact some revenge and beat Spurs, it could drop Tottenham from third to fifth place and out of a Champions League spot. With Arsenal and Chelsea only one point behind Spurs in the table, Mauricio Pochettino’s side also have plenty to play for.