Sheffield United may be resigned to relegation but Yorkshire pride should spur them on when visiting Leeds in Saturday’s Premier League derby. There has been only one goal between these teams in their last five meetings and another close encounter could be on the cards at Elland Road.
Chelsea are expected to continue Thomas Tuchel’s unbeaten run by brushing aside Premier League strugglers West Brom at Stamford Bridge. The Blues have registered 10 wins and four draws from his 14 games in charge, impressively keeping a clean sheet in a dozen of those fixtures.
It is first against second in Ligue 1 on Saturday as the French title race builds towards a thrilling conclusion. Defending champions PSG returned to the top of the table prior to the international break but are only above Lille on goal difference while Lyon are just three points further back.
The international break came at a good time for both of these teams and they will be looking to get their promotion bids back on track in Friday’s clash. Barnsley’s 12-match unbeaten run ended with a derby defeat against Sheffield Wednesday, while Reading have gone three matches without a win.
Brentford head into their final nine matches of the season trailing both Watford and Swansea in the race for the second automatic promotion place behind Norwich. After two successive draws and just three wins from nine matches, the pressure is on if they are to avoid having to go through the play-offs again.
Swansea’s Championship promotion push has suffered a bit of a blip but they are fancied to get back on track when visiting Birmingham. The Swans have been beaten by fellow top-six hopefuls Bournemouth and Cardiff but should find the relegation-threatened Blues more conducive company.
Republic of Ireland’s international friendly versus Qatar in Hungary has taken on added significance since their embarrassing loss to Luxembourg. There will be no World Cup qualifying points at stake here, but reputations are on the line following such a low point in Stephen Kenny’s winless reign.
Northern Ireland produced an encouraging performance against Italy on Thursday night but could be forgiven for easing off against the United States in Sunday’s friendly. The main focus for Ian Baraclough’s men will be their second World Cup qualifier against Bulgaria on Wednesday so the hosts are unlikely to be at full strength.
Wales will have one eye on Tuesday’s crucial World Cup qualifier against the Czech Republic when they host Mexico in an international friendly in Cardiff. Wednesday night’s 3-1 away defeat to Belgium was a disappointing start to their campaign, although it gave us three winning betting tips including an 11/1 correct score prediction!
Chelsea are on a high after reaching the last eight of the Champions League and it would be a major upset if Sheffield United are the ones to end their unbeaten record under Thomas Tuchel. The Blues face an exciting end to the season due to their form since Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard.
Southampton have a welcome distraction from their poor Premier League form when they face south coast neighbours Bournemouth in the FA Cup quarter-finals. Saints have lost 10 of their last 12 league games but should still have too much quality for a Bournemouth team sitting outside the play-off places in the Championship.
Manchester United’s first Europa League encounter with AC Milan at Old Trafford was a very even contest and few would argue 1-1 was a fair result. The return fixture in Italy promises to be another close contest, so we can’t see why the Red Devils have been made firm favourites to come out on top.
Arsenal were knocked out of the Europa League by Olympiacos last season despite winning the first leg so will be hoping lightning does not strike twice at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners are in control of their round-of-16 tie after a 3-1 win in Greece last week and their confidence was further boosted by Sunday’s derby victory against Tottenham.
Tottenham hold a 2-0 lead heading into the second leg against Dinamo Zagreb and should reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League without too much fuss. Harry Kane’s brace proved decisive in the first leg last week and another solid defensive display would see Spurs through.