5️⃣ spicy fixtures you must watch this weekend 🌶 | OneFootball

The weekend is here again and it’s a big one, just before we head into the international break.

Here’s our guide to the fixtures you should be watching this weekend, but only if you like it spicy.

Can PSG and Monaco finish the season on a high?

Spice rating: Mild 🌶

It has been a difficult couple of weeks for Paris Saint-Germain and the optimism generated by last summer’s flurry of exciting transfer activity is now a distant memory.

The club’s ultras made their feelings clear when they jeered the players during last week’s win over Bordeaux but with 10 matches of the season remaining and a 15-point lead at the top, it’s just a matter of time before they are crowned champions of Ligue 1.

Whether Monaco can put an obstacle in their way this weekend remains to be seen. The principality club have flattered to deceive this season and the dismissal of Niko Kovač followed by the appointment of Philippe Clement is yet to have the desired effect, as they remain stuck in mid-table and were knocked out of the Europa League by Braga on Thursday.

What was the biggest fixture in France a few seasons ago is this weekend little more than a pride-salvaging mission for both teams.

Dortmund attempt to keep unlikely title race alive

Spice rating: Medium 🌶 🌶

The Bundesliga title race has died and come back to life more times than South Park’s Kenny McCormick this season.

A few weeks ago it seemed like Bayern Munich had it all sewn up, but Julian Nagelsmann’s side have taken their foot off the gas and dropped points in recent matches, leaving Borussia Dortmund just four points behind the leaders with a faint hope of catching them.

Bayern host Union Berlin on Saturday evening and if they were to drop more points, Dortmund’s trip to Köln on Sunday would suddenly take on monumental importance.

Not that a win at RheinEnergieStadion is by any means a given for Marco Rose’s side, with Köln still very much in the conversation for European qualification after winning their derby with Bayer Leverkusen last weekend.

Epic Eredivisie encounter between two Dutch giants

Spice rating: Hot 🌶 🌶 🌶

Over in the Netherlands and there’s a massive fixture at the top of the table when Ajax host Feyenoord on Sunday.

Erik ten Hag’s side remain in pole position to claim a third consecutive Eredivisie title but with PSV just two points behind them, they can ill afford any slip-ups and must bounce back quickly from their Champions League elimination at the hands of Benfica.

Feyenoord, meanwhile, sit third in the table and eight points behind Ajax, and will be buoyed by a 3-1 victory over Partizan in the Conference League on Thursday.

They call this fixture De Klassieker and it’s a rivalry which transcends football as the cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam duke it out for bragging rights. It should be a cracker.

Who will emerge as emperors of Rome?

Spice rating: Fire 🌶 🌶 🌶 🌶

If you’ve got plans on Sunday evening, cancel them, because there’s an incredible night of football in store.

It begins in Rome, where Roma will be the home side as they take on fierce rivals Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.

José Mourinho’s Roma are currently on a seven-match unbeaten run and booked their spot in the Conference League quarter-finals courtesy of a late equaliser from Tammy Abraham against Vitesse on Thursday.

But an inability to convert draws into victories has been a been a problem for the Giallorossi this season and they go into the Derby della Capitale as slight underdogs with Lazio a point ahead of them in the table.

This match could have a big say in the race for European football in Serie A and Mourinho started the mind games early with a reference to Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri’s love for cigarettes in his post-match interview on Thursday.

He sure knows how to stoke the fire.

The Big One

Spice rating: Insane 🌶 🌶 🌶 🌶 🌶

And to round off the weekend we’ve got what remains and probably always will be the biggest fixture in world football, when Real Madrid host Barcelona in El Clásico.

Los Blancos were victorious when the two sides met at Camp Nou back in October – a result which hammered one of the final nails into ex-Barça coach Ronald Koeman’s coffin.

But things are different this time around, and the Blaugrana’s Europa League victory over Galatasaray was their 11th successive unbeaten match in all competitions.

They are a club revitalised under Xavi and a Clásico victory at the Bernabéu this weekend would be the crowning achievement of the former midfield maestro’s managerial career so far.

LaLiga leaders Real Madrid will be doing everything in their power to dampen Barça’s spirits, but the question mark over Karim Benzema’s fitness could harm their chances of extending their run of Clásico victories to six in all competitions.

As always, this will be an absolute must-watch.