Here is what our editors will be watching this weekend:
Saturday, March 29th
Miami Open finals
After a thrilling couple of weeks in the women’s tournament, we’re left with a blockbuster final between top seed Aryna Sabalenka and world number four Jessica Pegula, in what is a repeat of last year’s US Open showpiece.
The Belarusian came out on top in that one, edging two fiercely competitive sets, but the American - who ended the remarkable run of Alexandra Eala in the semi-finals - will fancy her chances of an upset, having beaten Sabalenka twice in the past.
Meanwhile, on the men’s side of the draw, we’re at the semi-final stage with six-time Miami champion Novak Djokovic facing 2024 finalist Grigor Dimitrov and home favourite Taylor Fritz up against rising star Jakub Mensik.
While both matches promise to be intriguing contests, Djokovic remains the favourite to take the crown as the legendary Serb targets a historic 100th title on the ATP Tour.
Competition will be fierce though, with Fritz looking to claim a second Masters 1000 trophy, Dimitrov desperate to go one better after falling short in last year’s final and Mensik keen to secure a first career title on Tour.
Danny Clark
Besiktas vs Galatasaray - 18:30 CET
The title race in the Turkish Super Lig has reached crunch time, with two-time defending champions Galatasaray leading arch-rivals Fenerbahce at the top of the table by nine points - albeit with a game in hand.
This Saturday, Galatasaray face their toughest remaining task this season: an away trip to their other Istanbul rivals, Besiktas.
Okan Buruk's side are unbeaten in the league so far, with 22 wins and five draws from 27 games. Nigerian superstar Victor Osimhen has been in formidable form in recent weeks, scoring nine goals in his last five games for club and country.
As a result, they remain on course for a historic campaign and their 25th Super Lig title.
It has been an extremely tough season for Besiktas. The Turkish giants sacked manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst back in November and replaced him with former Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The Norwegian made a great start to life at Besiktas, but two dismal defeats back to back have seen them lose all their momentum ahead of the derby clash this weekend. They now sit in fourth place and a whopping 27 points behind Galatasaray.
Yet, in these types of matches, form often goes out the window. Besiktas will be determined to get back to winning ways in front of their home crowd, while Galatasaray will be looking to take a major step towards their third consecutive league title.
Tolga Akdeniz
Sunday, March 30th
We’re getting to the stage of the season where top-of-the-table clashes can decide title fights, and that’s certainly the case in the latest edition of De Topper.
Ajax head into it knowing a win would put them nine points clear at the top of the Eredivisie with seven games to go, and with most of those matches against relatively weak opponents, the title would be all but won. A victory for PSV, however, would cut the gap to three points, and it would very much be game on.
The Amsterdam side are in much better form, having won nine and drawn one of their last 10 league games; in the same period, PSV have amassed 12 points fewer and have won just three of their last 10 in all competitions.
That being said, the reigning champions do have home advantage and are a much more formidable attacking force than their opponents on their day, as shown by the fact that they’ve scored 23 more goals this season. Francesco Farioli has Ajax incredibly well-drilled at the other end of the pitch though, with the leaders only conceding 20 times in 26 games.
A fiery rivalry featuring a clash of styles and the highest of stakes. This is going to be good.
Finley Crebolder
Napoli vs AC Milan - 20:45 CET
Two Serie A giants face off this Sunday in a match which means more to the hosts than the visitors. Napoli are very much in a title race but trail AC's neighbours, Inter, by three points, so dropping more points simply isn't an option this weekend.
With Inter at home to Udinese earlier in the evening, Napoli might well be six points behind the holders by the time they kick off. Antonio Conte will, therefore, be demanding that his side pick up three points against an AC Milan team struggling for consistency under new coach Sergio Conceicao.
Napoli, however, are also struggling for form and have hit a bit of a road block lately after a sensational first half of the Serie A campaign. The 2022/23 Scudetto champions have won just one of their last seven games in Serie A, a run which included an underwhelming loss to newly promoted Como.
It has been a difficult run of fixtures though, with matches against Inter, Lazio and Fiorentina, and the defeat to Como was the only loss in that difficult period.
After the next two games against AC Milan and Bologna, the fixtures ease up for the remainder of the season, but if Napoli fail to win the next two, then it might be too little too late.
A win is paramount at a vital stage of a thrilling Serie A title race.
Harry Dunnett
If you’re looking for a match to watch in LaLiga this weekend, look no further than El Gran Derbi - the battle between Andalusian city rivals Sevilla and Real Betis.
Betis will be hosting this Sunday’s evening epic at the Estadio Benito Villamarín, and it’s safe to say they are heading into the tie in fantastic form.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men are on a three-match winning and six-match unbeaten run across all competitions and a five-match winning streak in the league, having been inspired by the red-hot resurgent duo Isco and Antony.
That league-leading form has seen Betis roar up the table in the last month and into the race for European places, they are currently sixth. Their bitter rivals Sevilla, meanwhile, are back in 10th and eight points further back but certainly not out of the race for the top six yet.
Sevilla edged the first derby of the season 1-0 back in October, while last season, both derbies were drawn. Despite having that recent win over Betis, the visitors will know they are heading to one of Europe’s in-form sides this weekend for what promises to be a captivating clash.
Pat Dempsey