Crunch time for European soccer
Arsenal and PSG under pressure
The title race takes a back seat in England for the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.
For Arsenal, there’s a seemingly soft landing after being routed by Bayern Munich 10-2 on aggregate in the Champions League. The Gunners have a home match against fifthtier club Lincoln on Monday. Losing to the last remaining non-league side in the competition is unthinkable for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, with fans already calling for his departure at the end of the season.
The pick of the cup games sees Chelsea play host to Manchester United Monday. Chelsea is the runaway leader in the Premier League and United is 17 points behind in sixth place.
The other semifinals see Tottenham host third-tier club Millwall and an all-Premier League meeting between Manchester City and Middlesbrough.
There are four Premier League games this weekend, with Liverpool the highestplaced team in action. The Reds will remain fourth regardless of Sunday’s result against Burnley.
SPAIN
After the spectacular Champions League comeback against Paris Saint-Germain, it’s back to the Spanish title defence for Barcelona.
The defending champions have a difficult trip to Deportivo La Coruna, with a one-point lead over Real Madrid to protect. Despite the tight title race, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is expected to rest some regular starters on Sunday in La Coruna following the gruelling game against PSG.
Madrid will play host to Real Betis later Sunday. Madrid still has a game in hand, at Celta Vigo. Third-place Sevilla, unbeaten in six games and four points off the lead, is home to promoted Leganes on Saturday.
FRANCE
Things can get even worse for Paris Saint-Germain. After the humiliation of becoming the first club to be knocked out of the Champions League after winning the first leg 4-0, PSG travels to last-place Lorient in the French league Sunday.
Confidence is likely to be at rock-bottom following the 6-1 loss to Barcelona and Lorient desperately needs points in its fight against relegation. A loss combined with a win for leader Monaco would leave PSG six points behind in the title race, with only nine to play.
Monaco, which has scored a massive 121 goals in all competitions so far this season, is at home to a vastly improving Bordeaux side Saturday.
Nice, which is in third place but level on points with PSG, hosts struggling Caen Friday.
GERMANY
Bayern Munich heads into Saturday’s game against Eintracht Frankfurt with a seven-point lead.
Frankfurt has dropped from third to sixth after four straight losses, while Bayern is unbeaten in 17 games across all competitions and on course for an unprecedented fifth successive title.