Loads of big games this weekend. Not big in the sense that they’ll decide titles—as established last week, most leagues in Europe are wrapped up now—but fixtures steeped in tradition. Huge derby matches all over the place.

There’s three of them to enjoy over the course of the next few days and they’re bookended by a couple of matches that are pretty significant in terms of the sides’ respective divisions. The top two in the Championship throw down on Friday, while there’s a big match in the race for a Champions League spot in Germany on Monday.

All kick offs are in Eastern time. Enjoy your weekend and enjoy the games.

 

CARDIFF CITY VS. WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Friday, April 6, 2:45 p.m. ET, ESPN3 and Sling Orange

With so many of Europe’s top five leagues lacking much in terms of excitement at the summit at this point in the campaign, we’ve branched out to the second tier in England for the first fixture this week.

Cardiff and Wolves are both in a tremendous position to secure automatic promotion to the Premier League this season. And victory here for either would go a long way to rubber stamping what have been brilliant terms for both.

Wolves, having invested heavily ahead of the season, have led the way for much of 2017-18 and are perched top of the table ahead of this trip to south Wales. Nuno Santo’s side, as many anticipated, have played some wonderful stuff and appear well equipped for what now appears to be an inevitable promotion.

Cardiff’s success has been more of a shock and Neil Warnock deserves praise for the remarkable job he’s done in the Welsh capital. Victory here would put them three points behind Wolves with a game in hand and dreams of a potential title win will gather more pace.

 

EVERTON VS. LIVERPOOL
Saturday, April 7, 7:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN, Universo, Sling Blue, DIRECTV NOW and fubo Premier

Liverpool will be out to cap off what has been an incredible week with another big win on Saturday, as they travel to rivals Everton in the Merseyside derby.

The Reds walloped Manchester City 3-0 in the Champions League in midweek at a white-hot Anfield and there’s a sense of tremendous momentum building around Jurgen Klopp’s side. While they will surely rest a few here with Tuesday’s second leg in mind, Liverpool will want to preserve the impetus they have.

The worry for Everton, without any win over Liverpool for eight years, is that the City team the Reds slapped aside in midweek were dominant at Goodison Park on Saturday. Not only do the Toffees need their local rivals to have an off day, they will need to make drastic improvements to their own performance.

It’s a match for which the buildup has been a little muted and arguably both sides would benefit from not having this fixture this weekend. Still, come kick off on Saturday lunchtime, Goodison Park should be abuzz with anticipation.

 

MANCHESTER CITY VS. MANCHESTER UNITED
Saturday, April 7, 12:30 p.m. ET, NBC, Telemundo, Sling Blue, DIRECTV NOW and fubo Premier

For City supporters still in a lull following their loss to Liverpool, Saturday has the potential to be the perfect antidote, as they can confirm their status as Premier League champions against rivals Manchester United.

Pep Guardiola’s side were uncharacteristically timid in midweek, as they appeared daunted by the big occasion at Anfield. At home, with the backing of their own supporters, they will fancy their chances of recovering. If they do, Saturday has the potential to be one of the biggest day’s in the club’s history.

United will be desperate to avoid seeing City celebrate at their expense. It means a big job will required by manager Jose Mourinho, who needs to come up with a plan to halt City on their own patch; it’s something no side have been able to do in the Premier League so far this season. United have only won of the last seven meetings between the teams too.

City are big favourites and on the rare occasions they have underperformed this season, Guardiola has ensured they’ve been on it from the off in the following game. The Red Devils may be on the end of a sky-blue backlash as a result.

 

REAL MADRID VS. ATLETICO MADRID
Sunday, April 8, 10:15 a.m. ET, beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Espanol, iGol, Sling World Sports, fubo Premier

With the title almost certainly gone in La Liga, both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are scrapping for the consolation prize of second place.

Real have the Champions League to fight for too of course. They will no doubt be emboldened by their excellent showing in midweek against Juventus too, as they won 3-0 in Turin thanks to an incredible performance from Cristiano Ronaldo; his overhead kick will live long in the memory.

As for Atletico, second place has been in their grasp for a long time now and ahead of this fixture they have a four-point gap to their rivals. Diego Simeone, while his side could still win the Europa League, will be desperate to finish the domestic season in front of the Spanish and European champions.

Real have been in excellent fettle in recent outings and have slipped into a familiarly ominous groove at the end of the campaign. They’ll take some stopping in front of their own supporters.

 

RB LEIPZIG VS. BAYER LEVERKUSEN
Monday, April 9, 2:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 2, DIRECTV NOW, Sling Blue and fubo Premier

The scrap for the top four in Germany is heating up, with RB Leipzig seeking to cling to their place in fourth and Bayer Leverkusen looking to muscle their way in.

The visitors can do exactly that if they win on Monday, as just a point separates the two sides as things stand. Leverkusen have lost some momentum late in the campaign and were extremely disappointing in their 0-0 draw to Augsburg last weekend. With the likes of Julian Brandt and Leon Bailey in their lineup, they should show more.

Leipzig, by contrast, have slowly been getting things together, following up their impressive win over Bayern Munich recently with a 3-2 win at Hannover. The challenge for coach Ralph Hasenhuttl will have to juggle their battle for the top four with the team’s tilt at the Europa League, though.

Both of these sides play with attacking intent, energy and inventiveness all over the pitch. Given what’s on the line too, this match should be a brilliant way to end the weekend.