Whatever your plans were for this weekend cancel them. Steve Luckings picks out five games not to be missed.
EUROPA LEAGUE: Tottenham Hotspur v Fiorentina, Round of 32, Thursday, 10pm
This may be the Uefa Champions League’s ugly cousin, but there are some cracking match-ups in the round of 32. Arguably the tie of the round is Tottenham Hotspur, hot off a streak in the English Premier League that last week saw them vanquish Manchester City, against Fiorentina, the Italian team who eliminated them from the competition last season and currently third in Serie A. The winner of the Europa League is guaranteed qualification for the 2016/17 Champions League, so there is plenty of incentive in these ties. Other mouthwatering matches include Borussia Dortmund, second in the German Bundesliga, against Porto, third in Portugal’s Primeira Liga. None of them float your boat? How about Villarreal v Napoli, Galatasaray v Lazio or Sporting of Lisbon against Bayer Leverkusen? No? You lot are a hard bunch to please.
ARABIAN GULF LEAGUE: Al Ahli v Al Wahda, Friday, 8.15pm
Al Ahli proved in their last fixture that they are prepared to fight till the death to keep pace with leaders Al Ain. With the match against Sharjah last Saturday looking destined to end in a stalemate, Senegalese forward Moussa Sow rose highest to head home Ciel’s cross deep into stoppage time to secure another vital three points for the Dubai club. But Cosmin Olaroiu’s men face a resurgent Al Wahda side steadily climbing the table under the radar of their rivals. A win against high-flying Al Nasr in Round 18 moved Javier Aguirre’s side up to fifth in the standings, three points off Nasr in third. Pull off an upset at the Rasheed Stadium on Friday and we will have to start seriously considering the Abu Dhabi club as contenders for that third Asian Champions League spot.
FA CUP: Chelsea v Manchester City, fifth round, Sunday, 8pm
With Chelsea having played the first leg of their last-16 match in the Champions League in midweek, focus returns to domestic matters in the FA Cup. Chelsea interim coach Guus Hiddink has fond memories of this competition, having successfully guided the West London club to the trophy in 2008/09 during his first stint in charge. Chelsea suffered their first defeat in 12 games of the Dutchman's second spell in charge on Tuesday when they lost 2-1 at Paris Saint-Germain but they face a City side reeling from two successive home league defeats – to Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur – that has put a serious dent in their title hopes. With a League Cup final against Liverpool on the horizon, and the Champions League and the Premier League still more than a possibility for City, the FA Cup may be low on their list of priorities, giving Chelsea a chance to progress.
BUNDESLIGA: Bayer Leverkusen v Borussia Dortmund, Sunday, 6.30pm
Dortmund are leading the charge to close Bayern Munich's lead at the top of the Bundesliga, which stands at eight points but could be extended if the Bavarians can beat Darmstadt on Saturday, and face a Bayer Leverkusen team on a six-match unbeaten run. In Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Javier Hernandez, Dortmund and Leverkusen boast two of the German league's most potent strikers. Aubameyang has scored 20 league goals so far this term, while Hernandez's 13 strikes have helped steer Roger Schmidt's team to third in the table, although they trail their opponents by a massive 13 points and Bayern by an even bigger margin of 21 points. Both Dortmund and Leverkusen are in Europa League action on Thursday, so it could be a case of which team can recover quicker from their European exploits. But we love a punt here at The National, so let's go for a Leverkusen upset at the Westfalenstadion.
SERIE A: Napoli v AC Milan, Monday, midnight
Napoli’s defeat in the top-of-the-table clash to Juventus last weekend brought their eight-game winning streak to a shuddering halt. With Juve in imperious form, it is vital Maurizio Sarri’s side get back in the saddle and keep pace with the Serie A leaders if they are to deny them a fifth-straight scudetto. But they face a Milan side in decent form since the turn of the year; Sinisa Mihajlovic’s men are unbeaten in their last seven fixtures and were 2-1 winners over Genoa last time out and are finally heading in the right direction in the table after a disappointing start to the campaign. Both clubs possess strikers capable of turning a match with a moment of brilliance: Gonzalo Higuain has been a machine for Napoli this season, and will look to add to his 24 Serie A goals, while Carlos Bacca has plundered 13 during his debut campaign in Italy. Expect a hard-fought match likely to be decided by the odd goal, most likely in Napoli’s favour.
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