Here's what our news editors have circled in their calendars over the weekend:
Saturday, April 4th
Manchester City vs Liverpool - 13:45 CET
This weekend’s FA Cup quarter-final action kicks off with a blockbuster meeting between Premier League heavyweights Manchester City and Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.
Pep Guardiola’s side - buoyed by their Carabao Cup success last time out - will be keen to return to Wembley as they target an eighth successive appearance in the FA Cup semi-finals.
City head into the match against Liverpool as favourites to achieve just that, having won their last 17 FA Cup ties at the Etihad Stadium.
As for the Reds, Saturday marks the start of Mohamed Salah’s farewell tour at the club, with the Egyptian facing one of his best opponents. He has a remarkable 21 goal contributions against the Cityzens (G13, A8).
Liverpool and Arne Slot are in desperate need of a victory to revive their faltering season, and they could be boosted by the timely return of Alexander Isak, who last featured on Boxing Day.
While Guardiola’s men have already completed the league double over the Reds this season, it’s worth noting they haven’t won three consecutive H2Hs since 1947. It certainly promises to be a thrilling affair!
Danny Clark
Stuttgart vs Borussia Dortmund - 18:30 CET
The standout clash in the Bundesliga’s return to action comes in Stuttgart, where the sides currently sat second and third in the league will face off.
Both the hosts and Borussia Dortmund are in fine form, having suffered just one loss each in their last 10 games. However, in that period, Dortmund picked up four points more than their opponents, meaning Stuttgart really need a win if they want to keep their hopes of a second top-two finish in three years alive.
The visitors, meanwhile, know a win of their own would put them nine points clear in the fight to be the best of the rest, and is the only result that would keep them in with a shot of becoming champions; victory could move them to within six points of Bayern Munich with six games to go.
Stuttgart and Dortmund shared the spoils in a 3-3 thriller last time they met, but both will very much have their sights firmly set on picking up all three points this time around.
Finley Crebolder
Top-of-the-table matches in Super Lig - 19:00 CET
A seismic and potentially season-defining week in the Turkish Super Lig season takes place this week, with two massive clashes that involve the top four teams in the league.
On Saturday evening, Trabzonspor host Galatasaray in a match that could essentially seal a fourth-straight title for the latter, or potentially shake up the race a bit and bring the former into the equation.
Galatasaray are four points ahead of Trabzonspor and Fenerbahce at the summit of the table, and also have a game in hand. They are in a mighty strong position, but a win for Trabzonspor would close that gap.
Galatasaray will also be without Victor Osimhen and Gabriel Sara, who are both out with injuries. Trabzonspor will be missing some key players too, but with the home fans behind them, they will be hoping to take the three points and continue what has been an excellent season for them.
The following day sees a mammoth derby meeting between two Istanbul giants, Fenerbahce and Besiktas.
Fenerbahce’s charge for a first Super Lig title in 12 years has really fizzled out in the last few weeks, winning just two of their last five games and losing to bottom-of-the-table Karagumruk. The pressure is huge on manager Domenico Tedesco, and they have no other option but to win this game.
Also importantly, even if they can’t win the league, they are in a battle with Trabzonspor for second place, which is a spot in the Champions League. With all the money they have spent, they simply cannot afford to miss out on Europe’s most prestigious competition.
For Besiktas, this is more about bragging rights. They sit in fourth, eight points behind third and nine points ahead of fifth. They could make a late dart at the spot above them, but they remain an inconsistent team who are miles away from being title contenders.
It is truly a blockbuster weekend in Turkey - and one with big ramifications.
Tolga Akdeniz
Sunday, April 5th
Arizona vs Michigan - 02:49 CET
It's a battle of the remaining No. 1 seeds in the March Madness Final Four as the winner moves on to the National Championship, where they will take on the winner between (3) Illinois and (2) UConn.
This is the first Final Four appearance for Arizona in 25 years. The last time they made it to this round was in 2001, when they would eventually go on to lose to Duke in the National Championship. As for Michigan, it's their first Final Four appearance since 2018.
Both Michigan and Arizona have beaten each of their opponents this tournament by double digits, with Michigan being the only team in the entire tournament to score at least 90 points in each of their games.
Arizona is coming off dominating performances against Arkansas (109-88) and Purdue (79-64), while Michigan is the same, as they dominated Tennessee (95-62) and held the No. 1 scoring team in the country, Alabama, to just 77 points in their 90-77 win.
Michigan's win over Tennessee was the largest margin of victory in a regional semi-finals matchup since 1989, when Michigan beat Virginia by 37 points - they went on to win the National Championship that year.
This game is so evenly matched that the spread is set at -1.5 in Michigan's favour. In their last 10 games, Arizona is 10-0, averaging 84.6 points, while Michigan is 9-1, averaging 83.7 points. This could potentially be the best basketball game all year, between both college and professional.
Eric Himmelheber
Inter Milan vs Roma - 20:45 CET
Following Italy’s disastrous week, the Serie A returns with a pair of thrilling matches, as Inter Milan play host to AS Roma, while Napoli battle AC Milan. The former is the Sunday night match, promising a cracking encounter at San Siro.
Inter looked to be cruising to yet another title, but have failed to win any of their last three league games. Across all competitions, the Nerazzurri have just one success in their last six. Suddenly, their lead at the top has gone down to six points, and should they falter once more, they could see their hopes of lifting the Scudetto fall apart.
They are not the only ones struggling, though. Roma’s 1-0 victory over Lecce just before the international break ended a run of five without a win. That also included their Europa League elimination at the hands of fellow Serie A side Bologna.
Having not featured in the UEFA Champions League since 2018/19, Roma have some work to do if they are to end that streak. As things stand, the Giallorossi are three points behind high-flying Como, who also beat them in a key match recently.
Interestingly enough, the last four head-to-heads between the pair have seen the visiting side come out on top. In the reverse fixture back in October, Ange-Yoan Bonny’s sixth-minute goal was enough for Inter to prevail 1-0. With that said, Roma’s struggles at the Stadio Olimpico versus Inter go a long way back. After all, the capital club have not come out on top at home to the Nerazzurri since 2016, with six of the subsequent nine matches ending in a loss.
There is no room for error for either team in this clash, and with the likes of Milan, Napoli, Como and Juventus all hoping for certain outcomes, there is a considerable amount on the line for both Inter and Roma. Anything less than three points, and the season could end up finishing badly for either team.
David Parkes