MATCHDAY: Arsenal under pressure at West Ham; Getafe v Barça
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Sunday:
ENGLAND
Arsenal needs to react to another win by Manchester City in the Premier League title race. The leaders visit fellow London club West Ham, a day after City beat Leicester 3-1 to trim the gap to three points. In the day's other game, Manchester United can move into third place by not losing at relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest. United, which is again set to be without top scorer Marcus Rashford, is tied for points with third-place Newcastle and three clear of fifth-place Tottenham with two games in hand.
SPAIN
Barcelona visits Getafe aiming to take another step toward its first Spanish league title since 2019. A win would restore Barcelona’s 13-point lead over second-place Real Madrid. Barcelona was held 0-0 by Girona last round. Third-place Atletico Madrid is undefeated in 12 straight rounds and will seek a sixth straight victory when it hosts Almeria. Diego Simeone’s side can still overtake Madrid to finish runner-up with its crosstown rival focused on defending its Champions League title and next month’s Copa del Rey final against Osasuna. Relegation-threatened Valencia hosts Sevilla. Girona plays last-place Elche.
GERMANY
In-form Bayer Leverkusen visits Wolfsburg in the late Bundesliga game. Leverkusen is unbeaten in nine games across all competitions. Union Berlin hopes to bounce back from two defeats in a row with a win over relegation-threatened Bochum. Union can keep third spot after the round by avoiding defeat against the visitors, but a victory would boost its chances of Champions League qualification – a remarkable achievement for a team that was targeting survival at the beginning of the season. Freiburg is another team challenging for a top-four position as it visits Werder Bremen.
ITALY
Roma hosts Udinese without Paulo Dybala and Tammy Abraham, who are both injured. The Giallorossi are in the middle of a tight fight with AC Milan and Inter Milan for Italy’s final two Champions League places. Seventh-place Juventus visits Sassuolo looking to get back into the Europe spots despite a 15-point penalty for false accounting. Also, it's: Lecce vs. Sampdoria and Torino vs. Salernitana.
FRANCE
Third-place Marseille needs to rediscover its home form when it hosts relegation-threatened Troyes. Coach Igor Tudor's side has been the best in the league away from home but dropped far too many points at Stade Velodrome, where it has not won for the last five games. Tudor's team can ill afford a slip against a side in 18th place. Fourth-place Monaco is only three points behind Marseille in the chase for a Champions League place next season and hosts midtable Lorient at Stade Louis II.
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