Football Previews

Borussia Dortmund must get past old foes Bayern Munich in this week’s DFB-Pokal semi-final at the Allianz Arena if they are to keep alive Jurgen Klopp’s hopes of bowing out with silverware. Klopp will leave Dortmund at the end of the season – with former Mainz boss Thomas Tuchel already confirmed as his replacement – and is set to take ...

Hull boss Steve Bruce has called for Barclays Premier League officials to act to curb rising ticket prices ahead of his side’s KC Stadium clash with Liverpool on Tuesday. Visiting fans’ group Spirit of Shankly is organising a boycott of the game in protest at the B£50 admission charge, and Bruce echoed his Liverpool counterpart Brendan Rodgers in backing its ...

Levante coach Lucas Alcaraz has called on his players to take confidence from their performance at Getafe as their Primera Division survival fight reaches a critical point against bottom-side Cordoba on Tuesday. The Valencia-based outfit ended a three-match winless run with a 1-0 triumph at Getafe on Sunday. The victory, Levante’s eighth of the campaign, lifted them to 15th place ...

Athletic Bilbao could not have picked a better time to face Real Sociedad and get a rare win against their Basque rivals with the two sides squaring off on Tuesday at the San Mames stadium. Real Sociedad, who have not lost to Athletic since 2012, have won three of the last five derbies and are in the midst of a ...

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique believes Tuesday’s game against Getafe is one his team must win to capture the Primera Division title. The league leaders go into the encounter at the Nou Camp on the back of last weekend’s 2-0 triumph at city rivals Espanyol. The result kept Barca two points clear of Real Madrid with five games remaining. “The three ...

Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini has warned his players to expect a very difficult game at Udinese on Tuesday. The Nerazzurri travel to the Friuli stadium having collected seven points of a possible nine in their last three games. Saturday’s 2-1 triumph over Roma lifted Inter to ninth in the standings. “We have to continue to work because we are ...

Laurent Blanc is remaining cool under pressure after Paris St Germain were once again overtaken by Lyon in the race for the Ligue 1 title. Back in the autumn, the capital club took their time to dislodge early leaders Marseille, and they soon found themselves usurped by Lyon, who are targeting a first championship in seven years. Les Gones bumped ...

Valuable points will be at stake for Champions League-chasing Valencia and relegation-threatened Granada when the teams square off on Monday at the Mestalla stadium. Los Che, who have won just one of their last four league games and saw a 10-match unbeaten run halted in last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at league leaders Barcelona, are looking to strengthen their grip on ...

Napoli coach Rafa Benitez firmly believes his team can finish second in Serie A and clinch direct qualification to next season’s Champions League. The Naples outfit go into Sunday’s home game against Sampdoria in fourth place in the standings, five points adrift of Lazio, who are second. With seven games remaining and Napoli hosting Lazio in their final game of ...

New Cagliari coach Gianluca Festa has set his sights on masterminding a great escape for the Sardinian club over the last seven games of the season, starting with Sunday’s match at Fiorentina. The former Middlesbrough and Cagliari player this past week replaced Zenek Zeman, who resigned, and his Serie A coaching debut will be at Fiorentina. Cagliari are 19th in ...

Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal believes he and his team-mates must concentrate on domestic matters before worrying about Europe again. The Turin giants go into Sunday’s game at city rivals Torino having reached the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time since the 2002-03 campaign. Juve held Monaco to a goalless draw in Monte Carlo on Wednesday to progress ...

Bottom-side Parma host Palermo on Sunday knowing they will all but need a miracle to play in Serie A next season. The Ducale club is 17 points adrift of safety with seven games remaining. “We are going to take it one game at a time,” Parma coach Roberto Donadoni said on his club’s official website. “From here until the end ...

Lazio midfielder Eddy Onazi admits he and his team-mates feel a sense of urgency to win at home against Chievo after falling at Juventus last time out. The Biancoceleste are in second place but level on 58 points with city rivals Roma, who are third and hold the last Champions League qualifying spot. Lazio will be keen to increase that ...

Hellas Verona coach Andrea Mandorlini has warned his team not to lose focus ahead of Sunday’s home game against Sassuolo. Mandorlini and his players are in celebratory mood after Monday’s 1-0 triumph at Fiorentina. Mounir Obbadi’s last-gasp goal halted Hellas’ three-match winless run and lifted the Verona outfit to 14th place. With seven games remaining and Hellas 13 points clear ...

Genoa coach Gian Piero Gasperini has told his players they must move on quickly from the disappointment of last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Palermo if they are to retain their European ambitions. The Grifoni host third-bottom Cesena on Sunday with a six-point gap between them and the last Europa League qualifying place and only seven games left to play. Their ...