beIN SPORTS

SATURDAY

BARCELONA V VILLARREAL: Live on beIN SPORTS from 2:40PM ET / 11:40AM PT

Submarine out to torpedo Barca's title hopes

It’s time for “Barcelona / Real Madrid could lose La Liga this weekend. Honest. No diggity.”

And quite rightfully, as in these final matches of the campaign, the league title has swung between Real Madrid and Barcelona from minute-to-minute. Just think of all those times when it looked like the gig was up for Zinedine Zidane and a Sergio Ramos or Isco has popped up to save their Bernabeu bacon.

While Madrid should be able to polish off already-relegated Granada, Barcelona are facing the stubborn Villarreal in the Camp Nou, a side whose defensive record is second only to Atletico Madrid in La Liga this season and who are also on the hunt for a potential Champions League spot, should Sevilla slip up, one place above in third. Indeed, the Yellow Submarine have been sailing in sunny shores recently, having won five in six in La Liga, and are looking…yes, let’s go for it…to up periscope and torpedo Barcelona’s title hopes. Even with Roberto Soldado up front.

SUNDAY

CHAMPIONSHIP – ASTON VILLA V BRIGHTON: Live on BEINSPORTS CONNECT from 7AM ET / 4AM PT

D-Day in England’s second tier as European Champions fight for their futures

After 45 rounds of slogging around England from Bristol to Brentford, the league that is officially the hardest in the world – officially, because as we say so – is coming to the final day of the regular season. But for some clubs the end of the regular season is just the beginning of the end of a physically torturous campign. That ‘some’ is the teams in the end-of-season Championship play-offs – Reading, Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield Town and Fulham. Those four should stay the same, barring Fulham losing by a 10-goal margin.

This leaves a big day of business for those teams who now have an awful lot riding on a single match. Current league-leaders, Brighton and Hove Albion, have already secured promotion to the Premier League, so are very happy campers already. However, the Seagulls have the chance to secure the Championship title by equaling or bettering the result of second-placed Newcastle United. Brighton are away at nothing-to-play-for Aston Villa whilst the Magpies under Rafa Benitez are hosting Barnsley.

The really big juice is down at the bottom of the division. Rotherham and Wigan have already taken two of the relegation spots to League One. The current occupant of the third spot is Blackburn Rovers, a team that once won the Premier League but have since been run appallingly. They are battling for survival against Nottingham Forest, who are twice winners of the European Cup and Birmingham City, but have since been run appallingly. Not too much in the trophy cabinet there, but for many this is the club that most deserves to go down for pointlessly firing Gary Rowett as manager while the club was in seventh and then hiring Gianfranco Zola who left after just two wins from 22 games. It goes to say that they too have been run appallingly and may be about to get their just footballing deserts.

SERIE A – MILAN V ROMA: Live on beIN SPORTS from 2:40PM ET / 11:40AM PT

Roma need win to keep Scudetto title hopes alive

So, there are one or things to play for in this particular encounter, to go all Millennial-speak. Let’s start with Roma. This is the match that could see Juventus winning the Serie A, something that has largely been on the cards since August to be fair. If the Old Lady beats Torino on a Saturday derby day and Roma does not grab three points in San Siro, then Juventus are one step closer to a possible Treble this season, what with the Champions League looking snug and comfy against Monaco, Vincenzo Montella’s men are involved in a rather unseemly battle for the Europa League places.

Milan? Oh dear, rather like the other Serie A side in the city, Vincenzo Montella’s men are involved in a rather unseemly battle for a Europa League spot. But matters are not looking too hot at the moment, never mind if Roma hold them at San Siro – or worse. Atalanta are currently in fifth, five-points ahead of

Milan with four games to go. What’s more, Sunday’s hosts for the big showdown are not in the best of form with just the single win in the past five Serie A matches. Something has to give on Sunday..and that involves three of Italy’s biggest teams.