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The Euro Preview: Barca near title, championship hopes vs. drop woes in Germany

By Clemente Lisi

Barcelona's Spanish defender Jordi Alba celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on April 20, 2019. (Photo by PAU BARRENA / AFP) (Photo credit should read PAU BARRENA/AFP/Getty Images)
Barcelona's Spanish defender Jordi Alba celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on April 20, 2019. (Photo by PAU BARRENA / AFP) (Photo credit should read PAU BARRENA/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Barcelona are on the precipice of clinching another league title in Spain, while Bayern maintain their lead over BVB with four matchdays left to play.

La Liga

Barcelona remain on track to win it all this season. After reaching the semifinals of the Champions League and final of the Copa del Rey, Barca will be looking to wrap up the league title this weekend following another favorable midweek result.

The Blaugrana, who currently lead second-placed Atletico Madrid by nine points and a better head-to-head record, play at home Saturday against 14th-place Levante.

Atletico Madrid, plagued by injuries and suspensions but still hoping to catch Barcelona, host 16th-place Valladolid on Saturday. An Atleti defeat, and Barcelona clinch the title. The Rojiblancos currently have a comfortable cushion over Real Madrid, who play on the road Sunday against last-place Rayo Vallecano.

“It’s the final phase of the season and everything is definitive, but the opposition oblige us to be at our best all the time,” Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde told reporters last Saturday. “No one is going to give us anything.”

With an eye on next week’s Champions League semifinal against Liverpool, Barcelona are coming off a road win 2-0 against Alaves on Tuesday and are likely to rest some players heading into this weekend.

Valverde put the next few weeks into perspective, saying his side “are still in contention to win three titles, but at the same time we might end up with none.”

Bundesliga

Bayern Munich, winners of the last six domestic championships, and Borussia Dortmund continue to battle for the league title with just four matchdays left to go.

Dortmund play first this weekend when they play at home Saturday against 15th-place Schalke, who are trying to avoid relegation. Bayern, led by striker Robert Lewandowski, play the following day on the road against 17th-place Nurnberg, another team struggling to avoid the drop.

“The pressure is there, we’re feeling it as we all desperately want to win the Bundesliga title,” Bayern star Tomas Muller told bundesliga.com.

The top two teams drop to the second division. The third team from the bottom faces a second-division club for the right to play in the Bundesliga next season.

“You always have to be wary of a wounded animal,” BVB defender Abdou Diallo told German sports daily Kicker. “Schalke can rescue their season in this game. They’ll give everything they have to be at 200%. We have to be ready to counter everything they throw at us. The most important thing for us, like in all derby matches, is to get the win.”

In the battle to finish in the top four, third-place RB Leipzig take on 13th-place Freiburg on Saturday, while Eintracht Frankfurt, who are currently in fourth at 50 points and just a point behind Borussia Monchengladbach, play the same day at home against 11th-place Hertha Berlin. Monchengladbach, meanwhile, play on Saturday at 16th-place Stuttgart, another team looking to get points in order to avoid getting sucked further into the relegation zone.

Next. Liverpool’s Porto triumph is ripe with symbolic power. dark

Serie A

With Juventus winning their eighth consecutive scudetto last Saturday and sucking all the air out of the title race this season, all eyes remain affixed to what other three teams will finish in the top four.

With four games left in the season, Napoli, in second place, have a six-point lead over third-place Inter Milan. AC Milan, winners of just one of their last six league matches, are in fourth with 56 points, tied with Atalanta. Roma are at 55 and Torino have 53.

Gattuso blamed himself for the poor streak, saying, “Maybe I’m not good enough to make people understand these little things. We expected to do something more, we knew the difficulties of the opponent … We have to look ahead.”

Napoli play on Sunday at 19th-place Frosinone, while third-place Inter Milan host Juve the previous day. Belgian international Dries Mertens needs a goal to tie former Napoli star Diego Maradona at 81 goals for the club in Italy’s top flight.

Torino-AC Milan, scheduled for Sunday, is the matchday’s biggest game. A Torino win and a potential Atalanta defeat (on Monday against Udinese) would mean a three-way tie for fourth place.

Roma, meanwhile, host 10th-place Cagliari at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday in a must-win game in order to keep pace with the others vying for a Champions League spot for next season.

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