5️⃣ spicy fixtures you must watch this weekend 🌶 | OneFootball

What a weekend we have in store.

So rich is the fixture list that we couldn’t even include Dutch football’s biggest derby, Feyenoord-Ajax, nor Norwich City and Ipswich Town renewing their fierce rivalry or even El Traffico from MLS which sees Los Angeles’ city rivals square off.

Here are the five games you cannot afford to miss.

Sporting v Benfica

Need any more proof of how good the games are across the next few days?

Look no further than this slot being allocated to the always fiery Lisbon derby with huge title implications. Gulp.

Sporting come into it with the advantage, in several ways. They play host, are a point clear at the top and also have a game in hand – and have the outstanding Viktor Gyökeres leading the line as he enjoys one of the most memorable debut goalscoring seasons the league has ever witnessed.

All that means a home victory would leave them perfectly poised to claim just their second title from the last 22 years. But Benfica will be smarting from their recent cup semi-final exit at the hands of their rivalries and desperate to put themselves back on top of the pile with a win.

Spice rating: Mild 🌶️

Galatasaray v Fenerbahçe

Two more inter-city rivals between whom there is no love lost? Bring it on.

Unlike in Lisbon, this showdown between Turkey’s top two will see silverware handed out come full-time as Istanbul’s eternal enemies meet in the country’s Super Cup final and comes amid a very interesting backdrop from the Fenerbahçe side of things.

An extraordinary member vote took place this week after the club threatened to withdraw from the Süper Lig in the wake of their players being attacked last month by Trabzonspor fans but the club’s president has since confirmed they will not follow through on their threat.

As part of their protests, they do not plan to compete in the Turkish Cup for the next two seasons and will field their U19 side in Sunday’s derby against Galatasaray after submitting a motion to have the game postponed for a second time (with the fixture originally set for last December).

Part of that application also saw Fenerbahçe request a foreign officiating team for the game which is scheduled to take place in the southeastern city of Şanliurfa. It is undoubtedly one of the strangest build-ups this fixture has ever witnessed – and that’s saying something.

Spice rating: Medium 🌶️ 🌶️

Manchester United v Liverpool

Having ended hated rivals Liverpool’s quadruple ambitions at Old Trafford a few weeks ago, Manchester United welcome them back across the M62 aiming to repeat the feat and this time deal a devastating shot to their Premier League title hopes.

With Amad Diallo’s last gasp extra-time winner settling a thriller still being fresh in the minds of both sides, it adds an extra layer of intrigue to an already spicy contest.

Some of the distasteful scenes from the stands from both sets of supporters will not be forgotten either when they return to the melting pot on Sunday.

Everything is at stake for Liverpool, which by definition means there is plenty at stake for United, who would love nothing more than to land a lethal blow to the Reds’ prospects. If they can’t take the title home themselves, denying Jürgen Klopp a memorable swan song is the next best thing.

Spice rating: Hot 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️

Roma v Lazio

There may be no greater implications other than Eternal City bragging rights for this one but that’s a mark of the intensity of this fixture that that is all you need.

And a lot has changed at the Stadio Olimpico in a short space of time. When these sides last met, José Mourinho was in the red corner and Maurizio Sarri in the blue as Lazio eliminated their rivals from the Coppa Italia in January in an ill-tempered affair.

It will be just the second league game in charge for new Biancocelesti boss Igor Tudor (he started well with victory on his managerial bow against former club Juventus) as he faces off against a man who knows a thing or two about success in this fixture and how much it means: Daniele De Rossi.

Only Francesco Totti appeared in more derbies than him as a player but it is as a promising young coach that he is now making his name and there would be no better audition for the top job on a long-term basis than by delivering a result that Romanisti crave more than any other, although they will need to keep a very close eye on Lazio captain and danger man Ciro Immobile as he aims to go out on a high in what is likely to be his final derby appearance.

This one usually gets tasty and keeps the referee busy. Only Lecce come close to them, Lazio (79) and Roma (78) for their card count in Serie A season, with the Giallorossi’s 76 yellows an unwanted league record – and both are absolutely certain to add to that tally on Saturday evening.

Spice rating: Fire 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️

Rangers v Celtic

It hasn’t always been the case over the last decade that this hated rivalry carried with it major title implications given Celtic’s dominance but that cannot be levelled at one of world football’s must-see fixtures this weekend.

Ibrox plays host this weekend (as it did two years ago for the most recent meeting of such significance at this stage of the season) as defending champions Celtic across the city to take on a Rangers outfit who may be a point behind but who crucially still have a midweek trip to Dundee in hand.

They may have lost both derbies already this season to inspired winners home and away from danger man and their scourge in this fixture, Kyogo Furuhashi, but Philippe Clement’s side are the team in form in 2024 – having accumulated seven more points so far this year than their rivals.

But the Bhoys have a fixture trump card up their sleeve with boss Brendan Rodgers back on the touchline after serving a ban last week and no manager on either side has a better record in this fixture than the Irishman, whose 80% win record eclipses all others.

Nerves will be fraught and this particular meeting hasn’t just dominated the discourse in Scotland for the past week – it has been pencilled in from the moment December’s derby ended. There will be chaos, cards and nerve-shredding tension as both aim to take a significant stride towards title glory.

Spice rating: Insane 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️