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- The Assist: Issue 1, Sunday is football day
The Assist: Issue 1, Sunday is football day
Old Firm, Carabao Cup Final, LaLiga title race
Arsenal vs. Chelsea
Arsenal enter Sunday’s London Derby unbeaten in six league games against Chelsea. And if Mikel Arteta is serious about chasing Liverpool down, extending that run against Chelsea is the only place to start. It’s the first of two league matches the Gunners will play before Liverpool next feature in the Premier League (when the Reds play Everton on 2 April). This is Arsenal’s opportunity to put a serious dent in the 15 point deficit that currently separates first and second.
Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona
Just a single point separates the big three in LaLiga. Barca are top, but Real Madrid are level on 57 points, with Atlético Madrid in third on 56. This is the closest the LaLiga title race has been this late in the season since 2013/14, a year in which Atlético eventually came out on top.
You could argue that Hansi Flick holds all the cards, with Barca having played a game less, and another Clásico against Real coming up later in the season. Now though, Barcelona’s free-scoring ways (2.7 goals per game) are set to clash with Atleti’s rigid defence (0.7 goals conceded per game).
The problem for Diego Simeone is how to pick his side up after Wednesday’s heartbreak in the Champions League.
Atalanta vs. Inter
The sides sat first and third in Serie A also go head-to-head this weekend. Defending champions Inter hold a one point lead over Napoli, with Atalanta sat a further two points further back.
Inter cruised into the Champions League quarterfinals during the week but La Dea should prove a stiff test, especially with Mateo Retegui — Serie A’s top scorer — leading the line. Retegui is two short of an Atalanta club record 24 goals this season, a record held by Pippo Inzaghi, brother of Inter coach Simone Inzaghi.
Liverpool vs. Newcastle United
Can Sunday’s Carabao Cup final provide the required tonic after Liverpool’s Champions League disappointment against PSG? The record winners of the English League Cup are looking for an 11th title — which would mark the first trophy of Arne Slot’s reign on Merseyside.
For Newcastle, this is another chance for them to end their 70-year wait for a domestic honour. Their last trophy win of any kind came in the now defunct Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (1968-69).
Did you know no team has ever gone a full Ligue 1 season unbeaten? Not even the galactico-heavy PSG teams of the past!
But Luis Enrique’s current crop do stand a chance of changing that - they are still unbeaten after 25 rounds of the season, and face one of their toughest remaining tasks on Sunday evening - Le Classique, France’s biggest derby against traditional rivals Marseille.
The Parisians haven’t conceded so much as a goal in their last five league meetings with L’OM, now managed by Roberto De Zerbi, and are closing in on Nantes’ all-time record of 30 games unbeaten in a single Ligue 1 season. Could France have their first Invincibles?
You may not be familiar with Peru’s Liga 1, but we’re pretty sure you’ll recognise a familiar face on the club crest of newly promoted ADC Juan Pablo II.
That’s right, it’s Pope John Paul II on a badge, at a club named in his honour and founded as recently as 2015! So far, ‘El Equipo Papal’ have lost all four of their first-ever games in the top flight. Keep them in your prayers.
Did you know that FotMob have been hitting up last season’s global FPL champion for fresh Fantasy football advice every gameweek? You can read the thoughts of Jonas Sand Låbakk in the app every Friday.
Ahead of PSG’s epic second leg triumph at Liverpool, Graham Ruthven explored the importance of the Portuguese duo to the Parisians success this season, both domestically and in Europe.
Broadcaster Sanny Rudravajhala brings you all the important context around another big derby taking place this weekend - the battle between Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United, a game that could be crucial to the Championship title race.
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