After last weekend’s action saw a number of alpha outfits in their respective leagues reassert their dominance in the race for titles, the potential pretenders for prizes will be out to fight back.

That’ll certainly be the case in Italy, where the long-time leaders face a testing away game after a heavy loss on Sunday. Elsewhere, the battle for the Champions League spots will be on the agenda in two games in Spain and one in Italy.

Major League Soccer also features in our selection for the first time this year, as two teams with serious playoff hopes meet early on.

All kick-off times are in Eastern time. Enjoy your weekend and enjoy the games.

 

EIBAR VS. REAL MADRID
Saturday, March 10, 7 a.m. ET, beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Espanol, iGol, Sling Latino, Sling World Sports and fubo Premier

After their midweek heroics in the Champions League, it’s back to the La Liga grind for Real Madrid on Saturday. And a trip to Eibar is always a grueller.

The minnows have enjoyed a brilliant campaign to this point, as they sit in eighth place with 11 games to go. For Eibar, European football remains a possibility this term, as they sit just one point behind Girona and two short of Villarreal.

After a rocky domestic start, a big recent upturn in form has ended any realistic fears Madridistas held about the team failing to reach the top four this season. They will be buoyed by their brilliant performance in midweek too, as they tamed a raucous atmosphere at the Parc des Princes to win 2-1 on the night.

Following such a draining encounter, manager Zinedine Zidane may opt to rest a number of key players for this one. However, Eibar have shown throughout this season that if a visiting team has weakpoints, they will seize upon them.

 

MANCHESTER UNITED VS. LIVERPOOL
Saturday, March 10, 7:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN, Telemundo, Sling Blue, DIRECTV NOW and fubo Premier

Matches between Manchester United and Liverpool are always big. But this one doesn’t feel quite as big as usual.

Both teams will be keen to finish in second place behind Manchester City this season and the winner on Thursday will end the weekend in the runners-up berth. However, Liverpool have their Champions League exploits to focus on, as will United, who are also in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

An intriguing game does appear to be in store nonetheless, especially given the respective form of the two sides. In the buildup to this one Liverpool have been sweeping sides aside with their free-flowing attacking play, whereas United have dug in to come from behind in their last two, securing big wins over Chelsea and Crystal Palace.

Despite morale-boosting efforts in their previous outings, you sense there will be a sense of caution from both teams as they gear up for this one. Liverpool will be desperate for an early goal, though, as they’ll feel as though they’re capable of taking the game away from United on the counter.

 

SEVILLA VS. VALENCIA
Saturday, March 10, 10:15 a.m. ET, beIN SPORTS en Espanol, iGol, Sling Latino, Sling World Sports and fubo Premier

It’s a pivotal few days in the season of Sevilla, as they face two enormous games in the space of a few days. It starts with this one on Saturday.

Next week they head to Manchester United in the Champions League with the tie on a knife edge, as they drew the first leg 0-0 at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. This is the first, as the Andalusian side sit in fifth place in the table, eight points behind their opponents on Sunday.

Sevilla may have been hammered by Atletico Madrid 5-1 recently in front of their own fans, but they’ve responded well to that setback to keep the pressure up on Valencia. Still, with 11 games to go, eight points feels like a big deficit. Five? Not quite so much.

For Valencia, they can effectively achieve their ambition of qualifying for the Champions League with a draw at least here. And given the way in which the team has been set up under Marcelino so far this season, they should be confident of giving Sevilla big issues on the break. Still, for a big game, Sevilla is always one of the toughest places to go in the top flight.

 

INTER MILAN VS. NAPOLI
Sunday, March 11, 2:45 p.m. ET, beIN SPORTS, iGol, Sling Latino, Sling World Sports and fubo Premier

Now’s the time to respond for Napoli, as their title charge hit a huge roadblock last weekend. Inter Milan will hope to knock it completely off course at the San Siro.

After Paulo Dybala struck late on for Juventus at Lazio to heap the pressure on Napoli, manager Maurizio Sarri saw his team slump to a 4-2 loss at home to Roma. And while there were moments in the game when Napoli performed well and squandered chances, to fall to defeat in such fashion will have left them on the floor.

For Sarri and key figures in the dressing room like Marek Hamsik, the challenge now will be to haul this team up off their haunches. After all, Napoli remain top of the pile despite Juve having a game in hand. Given the Bianconeri’s involvement in European competition, this title race is far from run yet.

Inter looked capable of getting involved in the Scudetto scrap earlier in the campaign, the summit of their ambitions now is a third place finish. And at home, Luciano Spalletti will fancy his side to get the better of any visitors.

 

NEW YORK CITY VS. LOS ANGELES GALAXY
Sunday, March 11, 4 p.m. ET, MLSsoccer.com

After wins in Week 1 for both of these sides, a fascinating showdown is in store between these two sides at Yankees Stadium.

New York flew out of the blocks in their opening match, as goals from Maximiliano Moralez and Jesus Medina gave NYCFC a crucial victory. In their first home of the campaign, they’ll be desperate to make a big statement in front of their own supporters.

Galaxy also got off to a perfect start and will be keen to improve on their disappointing away form from last season. Sigi Schmid’s team dug a win out in Seattle in their opener, with Carlos Vela impressing on his debut.

There’s always intrigue when two high-profile sides like this meet and while it’s early in the campaign, this is potentially crucial for momentum for each sides. And given how much of a boost three points may be, an entertaining encounter is surely on the cards in New York.