While some leagues have a midweek rest, other competitions continue with ever-increasing drama! Just a few weeks to go!

A midweek break gives us a chance to catch our breath from the thrills of the German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, French Ligue 1 and many more competitions, but there are still some leagues that continue through the week as we head towards the final stages of the season! The Premier League and LaLiga have an action-packed midweek, full of games that can influence title races, battles for European qualification, and fights to avoid relegation. With only 3 games remaining, there really is no margin for error!

Not sure who to take a punt on? Then read our preview and place your bets wisely!

Contents:

1.       Premier League Title Race – Manchester City and Liverpool

2.       Premier League Relegation Battle – Everton and Leeds United

3.       Battle for Top 4 – Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal

4.       LaLiga Relegation Battle – Cádiz, Granada, Mallorca, Levante, Alavés

Premier League Title Race – Manchester City and Liverpool

It was a frustrating weekend for Liverpool after they could only manage a 1-1 draw at home against Tottenham Hotspur, giving a huge advantage to Manchester City in the title race. With Guardiola’s side thumping Newcastle 5-0 the following day, the Citizens have extended the gap between them and Liverpool to 3 points with just 3 games remaining. With both teams playing this midweek, Liverpool need to win and hope that City slip up, but if City win, they will only be 2 games away from retaining the Premier League title!

We’ll start with Liverpool who will play away to Aston Villa on Tuesday evening. Returning to Villa Park will bring back some bad memories for Jürgen Klopp and his players, as last season they fell to a colossal 7-2 defeat here. That loss was the exception in an otherwise brilliant head-to-head record, as Liverpool have won 7 of the last 8 Premier League meetings against Villa. The Reds haven’t lost a league game since December (against Leicester) but they will now face a much-improved Villa team that, after a rough run of form, have won their last 2 league games. Nevertheless, Liverpool will be hoping that a former legend of theirs, Steven Gerrard (now manager of Aston Villa) will do them a huge favour in keeping them in the title race. Would Gerrard let that happen?

Manchester City will play the following day, aware of what the result will be in Liverpool’s match, and if they win away against Wolves then it will be another vital 3 points towards the league title. Wolves did manage to be a bit of a bogey team for City, back in the 2019-20 season (where they won both matches against Man City), but since then the Citizens have won each of the following three. It’s a solid head-to-head record, and Pep Guardiola will be more encouraged knowing that his team are currently unbeaten in their last 16 Premier League away games (won 13, drawn 3). Wolves, currently in 8th, have an outside chance of qualifying for European football next season, so Bruno Lage and his players should bring a fight here. Don’t miss either of these games!

Premier League Relegation Battle – Everton and Leeds United

From one end of the league table to the other, this midweek brings us just as much drama in the Premier League relegation battle! With Burnley not playing this midweek, it is a chance for both Everton and Leeds to try and climb further away from them. The Toffees currently hold a slight advantage, only 1 point ahead of both Burnley and Leeds (with a game in hand), but the Whites are in an even more desperate situation, currently in the relegation zone thanks to a worse goal difference than Burnley. Both teams need victories here!

What a week it has been for Everton. At one point, they were 5 points away from safety, but victories at home against Chelsea (1-0) and Leicester away (2-1) have allowed Frank Lampard’s team to leapfrog over not one, but two teams in the table! It’s a remarkable turnaround that has seen them win the arguably ‘tougher’ games, and now they have a theoretically ‘easier’ match against already-relegated Watford. But, we know to expect nothing in football! We mustn’t forget that the reverse fixture earlier in the season, at Goodison Park, ended in a 5-2 victory for Watford. What’s more, Everton have lost 3 of their last 4 league visits to Vicarage Road, but they did win the most recent one in 2020. A win for the Toffees would edge them closer to survival!

Leeds have been dragged into this relegation battle in recent weeks, and all of a sudden it seems like everything is going wrong for Jesse Marsch’s team. Back-to-back defeats (albeit, against tough opponents in Manchester City and Arsenal) have meant that the Yorkshire side has dropped into the relegation zone, and it doesn’t get any easier now that they will play Chelsea this midweek. Leeds haven’t won in their last 7 matches against Chelsea (drawn 2, lost 5), and we must remember that Thomas Tuchel’s team still has a lot to play for. With a draw on the weekend against Wolves (2-2), Chelsea are still not guaranteed Champions League football next season. So, a win here is absolutely vital for them. It would be at the expense of Leeds, who really need points, especially with only 2 games remaining after this.

It’s one of the most exciting Premier League relegation battles in recent years, make sure to follow it until the end!

Battle for Top 4 – Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal

If there wasn’t enough drama already this midweek in the Premier League, then a North London derby that could determine the battle for Champions League qualification will only add to that! The advantage is with Arsenal, currently in 4th with 66 points, ahead of Tottenham in 5th with 62 points. A win for Arsenal would mathematically guarantee UCL football for next season but, if Tottenham win, then that really would make the remaining 2 games of the season interesting!

Spurs, despite trailing in the table, do have a few slight advantages going into this derby. Firstly, they will be at home, and secondly, their recent record against Arsenal in their own stadium is rather impressive: Tottenham are unbeaten in their last 7 home league games against Arsenal (winning 5, drawing 2). Having won the most recent two, they have the chance for 3 home derby wins in-a-row, and this one here would be by far the most important. A draw last weekend against Liverpool is always a well-earned point, but it did mean they lagged further behind Arsenal. Antonio Conte’s men simply have to win here if they want Champions League football for next season.

That’s the advantage that Arsenal have, they are 4 points clear of their North London rivals, and a win would guarantee Mikel Arteta a Top 4 finish. The Gunners did win the reverse fixture earlier in the season, 3-1, and if they were to win here then it would be the first time that Arsenal achieved the double over Spurs since 2013-14. Four victories in-a-row has led Arteta’s side to one of their best seasons in recent years, perhaps since their last Champions League qualification which occurred 6 years ago. What better way to achieve that here than defeating your city rivals?

LaLiga Relegation Battle – Cádiz, Granada, Mallorca, Levante, Alavés

These 5 teams are still within a chance of survival or relegation and, with just 3 games remaining in LaLiga, it shows you just how tight it is at the bottom of the table! Just when we think teams are certain to go down, they find victories from nowhere and give themselves a fighting chance!

Cádiz are the ‘most safe’ theoretically, in 16th place on 35 points (3 points above the relegation zone), largely thanks to an important 3-0 win over Elche last weekend. Los Piratas have shown incredible determination in recent weeks that has seen them win against Villarreal (1-0) and Barcelona (1-0 away win) and it’s likely they only need one more victory to feel sure of LaLiga football next season. It might not happen this midweek, against Real Sociedad, but they will hope that other results go their way.

Another team in great spirits is Granada, who just won an absolutely crucial six-pointer away at Mallorca, a resounding 6-2 victory which leaves Aitor Karanka’s side 2 points above the relegation zone. They are unbeaten in their last 3 league games (won 1, drawn 2), and now they host Athletic Club who still have an outside chance of qualifying for European football next season (currently 8th position).

Mallorca will be devastated following that huge defeat against Granada, but all they can do is move on and focus on the next game. The problem is that the next one is an away game to 3rd-place Sevilla! With their other remaining games being against Rayo Vallecano and Osasuna, perhaps this Sevilla match is one to write off, but even a draw would revitalise the team going into the final 2 fixtures.

Levante just won’t give up! A last-minute winner in their last game against Real Sociedad earned the Granotes a huge 3 points, but they still find themselves 5 points away from safety. With a match against Real Madrid this week, it won’t get any easier, but they will hope to win their final 2 matches (against Alavés and Rayo Vallecano) and hope that other results go their way.

Alavés are indeed the team needing the biggest miracle, 6 points away from safety and sitting rock bottom in the table. The only silver lining is that the Babazorros have the theoretically ‘easiest’ set of remaining fixtures, against Espanyol, Levante and Cádiz, which of course includes playing against some of the other teams in this relegation battle. If they were to win all of these, could they pull off the greatest of escapes?