By: Tanko Bauka
The English Barclays Premier League will be paused to pave the way for the FA Cup this weekend but there will be action in the Spanish La Liga, the Italian Serie A and the German Bundesliga.
In the Spanish La Liga, Celta Vigo welcomed Real Madrid who had missed the opportunity to reduce the gap between them and the defending Champions, FC Barcelona following their 1-0 loss to Gatafe and have another chance to put more pressure on their title rival.
Real Madrid have not been consistent and the time to salvage what is left of their faltering season is now or else FC Barcelona will run away with the title again.
Osasuna would take on responsibilities Mallorca while Atletico Madrid tackled Real Sociedad and Levante welcomed Girona.
The defending Champions FC Barcelona make a short trip to take on Athletic Bilbao and the league leader need to be at their best because Athletic Bilbao have improved significantly.
Villarreal battle Elche while Gatafe host Real Betis and Sevilla take on Rayo Vallecano with Valencia hosting Deportivo Alaves.
Espanyol take on Real Oviedo on Monday night football.
In the Italian Serie A, the league defending Champions Napoli take on Torino with Cagliari welcoming Cesc Fabregas Como and Atalanta hosting Udinese, and Juventus tackling Pisa SC.
Lacce host Cremonese and Fiorentina battle Parma to continue to fight off the relegation starring them in the face with Bologna hosting relegation-bound Hellas Verona as Genoa takes on AS Roma.
Attention would definitely shift to the Milan derby as AC Milan took on the league leader Inter Milan while Lazio hosted Sassuolo in the Monday night football.
In the German Bundesliga Bayern host Monchengladbach as Heidenheim tackled Hoffenheim with Wolfsburg welcoming Hamburger.
RB Leipzig hosts FC Augsburg while Mainz 05 battles Stuttgart with SC Freiburg hosting Bayer Leverkusen, and Koln takes on Borussia Dortmund.
FC St Pauli welcomed Eintracht Frankfurt as Union Berlin confronted Werder Bremen.
In the FA Cup, Mansfield town tackled Arsenal and the encounter would definitely attract more attention looking at the way and manners Mansfield had been taking out the so called big teams.
Wrexham AFC host Chelsea and Chelsea needsm to be weary of Wrexham AFC because they too are giant killers.
Newcastle United and Manchester City would meet again at Saints James’ Park stadium and Newcastle United would definitely be thinking of revenge as they have already been beaten in the league and the Carabao Cup by Manchester City.
Fulham host Southampton while Port Vale entertain Sunderland with Leeds United confronting Norwich City.
West Ham United take on Brentford on Monday in the FA Cup.
Fixtures across Europe and the FA Cup
Spanish La Liga
Friday
Celta Vigo Vs Real Madrid
Saturday
Osasuna Vs Mallorca
Lavente Vs Girona
Atletico Madrid Vs Real Sociedad
Athletic Bilbao Vs FC Barcelona
Sunday
Villarreal Vs Elche
Gatafe Vs Real Betis
Sevilla Vs Rayo Vallecano
Valencia Vs Deportivo Alaves
Monday
Espanyol Vs Real Oviedo
Italian Serie A
Friday
Napoli Vs France Torino
Saturday
Cagliari Vs Como
Atalanta Vs Udinese
Juventus Vs Pisa SC
Sunday
Lacce Vs Cremonese
Fiorentina Vs Parma
Bologna Vs Hellas Verona
Genoa Vs AS Roma
AC Milan Vs Inter Milan
Monday
Lazio vs Sassuolo
German Bundesliga
Friday
Bayern Munich vs Monchengladbach
Saturday
Heidenheim Vs Hoffenheim
Wolfsburg Vs Hamburger
RB Leipzig Vs FC Augsburg
Mainz 05 Vs Stuttgart
SC Freiburg Vs Bayer Leverkusen
Koln vs Borussia Dortmund
Sunday
FC St Pauli Vs Eintrach Frankfurt
Union Berlin Vs Werder Bremen
FA Cup
Saturday
Mansfield Town Vs Arsenal
Wrexham AFC Vs Chelsea
Newcastle Vs Manchester City
Sunday
Fulham Vs Southampton
Port Vale Vs Sunderland
Leeds United Vs Norwich City
Monday
West Ham United Vs Brentford
(Echo Express)
