Miranchuk vs Khvicha, Premier League championship showdown and other important matches of the weekend
Georgy Ilyushchenko March 29, 2024, 17:30 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Which matchup are you most looking forward to? The choice will not be easy.
Finally the teams have played! Club football is back and offers many interesting matches. The task is to determine which is the best without taking into account the RPL (we have a separate text on this). And the choice before us is difficult.
What is interesting about the Russian championship:
It is better not to play at Dynamo today, but problems await Spartak. Intrigues of matchday 22 of the RPL
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Rating: 10 most interesting matches from March 30 to 31
Photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Manchester City – Arsenal: Sunday, March 30, 18:30 Moscow time
Probably the main match not only of the weekend, but of the entire European season. In October, Mikel Arteta broke the curse and still beat Pep Guardiola at the eighth attempt. This will have to be done for the second time in a row, because in the fight for gold City hardly makes mistakes against weaker rivals. Arsenal have a real chance of winning their first championship in 20 years. If we manage not to lose against Manchester, it will be much more tangible. In words, the task seems quite realistic, but how will it play out in practice?
Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Bayern – Borussia D: Saturday, March 30, 8:30 p.m. Moscow time
The Munich team still has championship hopes. Yes, the difference with Bayer is 10 points. But you never know, what if he proves that he is “Neverkusen” again? Still, there are eight rounds left. Meanwhile, Borussia has four wins in a row: against Unión (2-0), Werder (2-1), PSV (2-0) and Eintracht (3-1). The team is in great shape. If they also defeat Bayern, they can already get the championship salad bowl. The case in which lovers of intrigue will be drowned by hegemony. When else has this happened?
Photo: Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images
Napoli – Atalanta: Saturday, March 30, 2:30 p.m. Moscow time
Can you name the main heroes of the Italian championship who previously did great things in Russia? Of course, these are Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Alexey Miranchuk (Nikola Vlasic, sorry). It is not surprising that they are former teammates at Lokomotiv. The Russian scored against the Serbian team and gave two assists in the match against Sporting (2-1), and the Georgian became one of the architects of Georgia’s debut in the European Championship. Although he did not participate in the penalty shootout that gave his team the ticket to Euro 2024. Both are on fire. And their head-to-head confrontation is clearly worth watching.
Photo: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images
Liverpool – Brighton: Sunday, March 30, 16:00 Moscow time
Brighton is kryptonite for Liverpool: in the last nine games, the underdog team has achieved three wins and four draws. Or is he still not a loser? Statistically you can’t say that for sure. Manchester City and Arsenal meet on Sunday, so the Reds have a great chance to take the lead in the title race. But it won’t be easy for them. It is not even clear which of the three leaders will face a greater test.
Photo: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images
Real Madrid – Athletic: Sunday, March 30, 10:00 p.m. Moscow time
Madrid lost Vinicius due to disqualification. But Eder Militao (broken centers) and Jude Bellingham (red card) returned. The match is very important in terms of championship intrigue: if Real stumbles here and in three weeks against Barcelona, Madrid’s first place will be threatened. The giants fans, of course, are against it, but the neutral fans will be happy. It is not only the Premier League and the RPL that indulge in the “golden” intrigue.
Photo: Marco Luzzani/Getty Images
Fiorentina – Milan: Saturday, March 30, 22:45 Moscow time
The violets have not lost since March 14, when they fell to Bologna (0-2). After that they have two wins and four draws. It’s not a bad series, right? But Milan’s is even better: five successful games in a row. Both teams are clearly in great shape. Both reached the quarterfinals of the European Cup: only the Milanese in the Europa League and the Florentines in the Conference League. Many people don’t see much difference between the tournaments. Now the opportunity has arisen to compare their representatives in strength.
Photo: Marco Rosi/Getty Images
“Lazio” – “Juventus”: March 30, Saturday, 8:00 p.m. Moscow time
Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, this game would have definitely become a weekend staple. But it’s still interesting now. Lazio recovered after four consecutive defeats and beat Frosinone (3-2), replacing Maurizio Sarri with Igor Tudor. The Romans are guaranteed an emotional surge with the appointment of a new coach, who will clearly help the team in the match against Juventus. Or rather, even in the matches, because in a couple of days they will also face each other in the semi-finals of the Italian Cup. Juve have only won once in their last eight games, so they don’t look like favorites. It will be interesing.
Photo: Ángel Martínez/Getty Images
“Barcelona” – “Las Palmas”: Saturday, March 30, 23:00 Moscow time
Las Palmas is a very comfortable rival for Barcelona: the last time they lost was 13 games ago, in 1991. Write in the comments if you are not born yet. I was born just a couple of years later. Then there were 11 victories for the Catalans and only one draw. In addition, Las Palmas did not win in the last five games. So what’s so intriguing about this? At least Barça knows how to surprise: either they draw with Granada or lose to Shakhtar and Antwerp. What if another sensation occurs?
Photo: Ben Hoskins/Getty Images
Newcastle – West Ham: Saturday March 30, 15:30 Moscow time
Newcastle and West Ham love to put on goal parades: in the last 10 Premier League head-to-heads they scored 38 goals. If you love scoring a lot of goals, these guys certainly won’t disappoint. Furthermore, they are the ones who miss out on the Premier League’s top 12 more than others: the Magpies, 48 times, the Hammers, 50. Almost a hundred between them! But it’s only been 29 rounds. The fun is in store. Well how can you miss this?
Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Brentford – Manchester United: Saturday, March 30, 11:00 p.m. Moscow time
The Mancunians are still clinging to the top 4: they are nine points ahead of Aston Villa with a game less. To jump into the championship zone, you need to click on rivals like Brentford. In addition, the Londoners have five defeats and one draw in their last six games. It seems that in England they have not heard the song “He who respects the bees does not bother them.” After the cup victory over Liverpool in extra time (4-3), the Manchester United players are probably in a very good mood. Now we need to achieve success in the championship.
