Liverpool trail 3-0 to Barcelona from the opening leg of their Champions League semi-final and have been rocked by injury problems ahead of the return fixture. Jurgen Klopp’s side looked the better team for long periods of the game at Camp Nou, but ultimately had to bow down to the magic of Lionel Messi.
Huddersfield have lost eight straight Premier League matches but will hope to stop the rot against a nervous Manchester United outfit on Sunday. The Red Devils have tasted defeat in their last five away fixtures and Town enjoyed a famous 2-1 triumph over them at John Smith’s Stadium last season.
Crystal Palace are fancied to send Cardiff down by coming out on top in Saturday evening’s Premier League clash in south Wales. The Bluebirds had a decent home record over the first two thirds of the season but have since lost four of their last five fixtures at this venue.
Sheffield United are fancied to celebrate their promotion to the Premier League by closing the season on a high note with victory at Stoke. The Blades still have an outside chance of winning the Championship title on goal difference, if they beat the Potters and Norwich lose at Aston Villa.
There is no such thing as a certainty in the Premier League, but Liverpool to beat Huddersfield at Anfield looks as close to it as you will get. The title-chasing Reds are on a nine-match winning run, whereas the already-relegated Terriers travel to Merseyside on the back of seven consecutive defeats.
Sheffield United should briefly go top of the Championship table by easing past already-relegated Ipswich at Bramall Lane on Saturday evening. The red-hot Blades go into this game just three points behind Norwich and have a better goal difference, while City do not play until later the same night.
Cardiff boosted their Premier League survival hopes in midweek but now face a tough task when entertaining title-chasing Liverpool in Wales. The Reds are coming off a 4-1 Champions League win at Porto, prevailing 6-1 on aggregate, and have rattled off five straight victories in this competition.
Watford again impressed in defeat against Arsenal on Monday night and can return to winning ways when visiting Huddersfield at John Smith’s Stadium. The Terriers are already relegated after suffering six straight defeats and were beaten 3-0 by the Hornets at Vicarage Road earlier this season.
Bournemouth secured another season in the Premier League with a 5-0 romp at Brighton and can celebrate by claiming victory over Fulham at Vitality Stadium. The Cottagers enjoyed a 2-0 home win over Everton last time out but are already relegated after previously suffering nine straight defeats.
Arsenal made a strong start to their Europa League quarter-final with a composed 2-0 first-leg victory at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners took control during the opening 45 minutes in north London courtesy of Aaron Ramsey’s neat finish and a Kalidou Koulibaly own goal ahead of the trip to Naples.
Chelsea took a giant step towards the Europa League semi-finals with a 1-0 first-leg win over Slavia Prague. A clean sheet and an away goal in the Czech Republic should set the Blues up for a straight forward return game at Stamford Bridge.
Joao Felix stole the show with a hat-trick in the first leg of Benfica’s Europa League quarter-final against 10-man Frankfurt. Ruben Dias was also on target as the Portuguese side claimed a dominant 4-2 victory in Lisbon and they can progress, despite losing the return fixture in Germany.
Valencia left it late to put one foot in the Europa League semi-finals with a 3-1 victory at Villarreal in the first leg but are expected to confirm that superiority. Goals from Goncalo Guedes and Daniel Wass in added time put Marcelino’s side in control of the all-La Liga tie.
Norwich can close in on Championship title glory by brushing aside a Sheffield Wednesday outfit that seems to have run out of steam. The Canaries have already beaten the Owls 4-0 at Hillsborough this season and are unbeaten on home turf in this division since the turn of the year.