6 biggest fixtures to watch during the final weeks of Europe's 2018/19 season
We're well into the third week of April. And while it means the start of just another summer season for a few, calcio cranks are all agog about the final stretch of another enthralling season of European football.
With barely a handful of games now remaining in the top five leagues, the race towards the finish line is heating up, and we can only sit up and take note 'cause there's plenty more drama to come before the curtains are drawn.
Yes, we still have a plethora of high-profile games lined-up in the weeks leading to the finale, with some of them even potentially deciding the league winner. And you for one, do not want to miss this squeaky bum time, do you?
So keep an eye on these six 'big' games that are coming up in the home stretch of the 2018/19 season.
#6 Borussia Dortmund vs Schalke 04 (27/04)
The Ruhr derby is among the lesser glamorous crosstown rivalries, but remains an important one. Especially since the last two seasons, this particular fixture has produced plenty of drama, most memorably Schalke’s epic fightback from 4-0 down in the opening stanza to eventually draw 4-4. And the icing on the cake? They did it at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park!
This time around, the stakes have dipped again due to the former’s precipitous fall from grace after mounting an incredible surge under manager Domenico Tedesco during the second half of 2017/18 season. So much so that the Royal Blues have plummeted back into relegation scrap and are currently hovering just six points above the drop zone.
The Yellow Submarine drew the first blood at the Veltins-Arena in November after Jadon Sancho’s late winner earned a crucial 2-1 win, and would have to repeat the trick to keep their title hopes alive after relinquishing top spot to Bayern last week.