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Excitement levels
are rising for fans of Marseille as the club is in contention for a
first French title in 18 years, if they can hold off the challenge of
Auxerre.

Led by the last man
to captain the side to the title, Didier Deschamps, the French side is
on the threshold of history. And if the joy that was witnessed in the
city following their domestic cup triumph over Bordeaux on April 17, is
anything to go by, then the unprecedented thought of a double might
just cause the city to explode.

Auxerre,second on
the log and five points behind leaders, Olympique Marseille head into
today’s match knowing a win will bring them two points with three games
to go.

Taye Taiwo,the
Nigerian defender, has played a pivotal part in getting Marseille to
this point and has justified his high rating two weeks ago when he
scored a last minute penalty to beat Boulogne and stay five points
ahead of the opposition.

Auxerre coach, Luiz
Fernandez proudly proclaimed that Auxerre could have sold 50,000
tickets for today’s game if they had a bigger stadium. Marseille fans
will form the bulk of the supporters in the stadium today.

Fernandez and Roux
both place huge importance on youth development and have both succeeded
in instilling a deadly counter-attacking style.

Though, it is still Marseille’s title to lose, but despite the five point lead, it is still a two-horse race.

Champions on the precipice

After losing out to
Inter Milan on Wednesday, Barcelona must make sure they do not
capitulate into defeat or a draw at the El Madrigal on Saturday. From
winning an unimaginable six trophies last season, Barca have only the
Liga title to aim for this season.

Their opponents,
Villarreal have not had the best of seasons but over the years have
always proven themselves as tricky customers for the Nou campers.

The stakes are very
high in this match but champions have always been known for the way
they will rebound from defeats. Villarreal are looking for a place in
the Champions League and after a shambolic start to the season, that
will be considered a successful season.

Barcelona must hold
their nerve as Real Madrid breathes down their backs. Lionel Messi has
not scored in five games but is due a goal very soon.

In the first leg at
the Nou Camp in January, Villarreal forced the Catalans to a pulsating
1-1 draw. Barca had to come from behind to get the draw and that was
the first points Barcelona were dropping at home this season.

The Yellow
Submarine submerged all the late pressure as Barcelona pressed hard for
the winner, but the Villarreal defence did an excellent job denying the
home side any great scoring chances for the remainder of the game.

Fast forward to
April and with four games to go, the margin for error has indeed become
slimmer. At any dropped points by Barcelona, Madrid will likely seize
the chance to go top and that may see the end of Barcelona’s reign in
Spain.

La Liga fixtures

Málaga vs. Gijón

Valladolid vs. Getafe

Tenerife vs. Santander

Xerez vs.Almería

Deportivo vs. Zaragoza

Espanyol vs. Valencia

Roma continue quest for Scudetto

Who will bet
against Inter winning a fifth consecutive title? Roma will have a hand
in answering this question when they go to Stadio Ennio Tardini to face
Parma.

Parma have their own agenda and that is to finish as high up the table as possible and maybe snag a Europa Cup place.

In the first stanza
of the season, Roma had beaten Parma 2-0 to leap into fourth position
with second half goals from Nicolas Burdisso and Matteo Brighi at the
Stadio Olimpico.

Over the past three
seasons, Roma have had their way with Parma; and if Saturday’s match
follows this script, then Inter will be put under enormous pressure to
beat Lazio on Sunday. That will not be an easy match for the Jose
Mourinho side who could still be suffering from the hangover of their
win against Barcelona on Wednesday.

The Romans must win
on Saturday if they are to keep up the slim chance of winning the
title. Inter, on the other hand, will play Lazio in Rome on Sunday.

AC Milan have to
consolidate third position but face tricky customers in Fiorentina and
will be losing their coach, Leonardo, at the end of the season, a fact
that has been confirmed by club patron, Silvio Berlusconi..

“Yes he will leave, we are working on a new coach,” Berlusconi told Il Corriere dello Sport.

“The new coach?
There are talks in place with others. Leonardo has been too tough
headed and the team has played badly this season.”

Leonardo has
privately expressed his desire to return home to Brazil where his
family still lives. Where that leaves this ageing Milan team cannot be
readily foreseen now.

Serie A fixtures

Parma vs Roma

Milan vs Fiorentina

Man-City, Villa in hot chase for fourth place

The battle for
fourth place in the English Premier League (EPL) and that all-important
last qualifying place for next season’s Champions League is heating up
as the season reaches its last two weeks in England.

This Saturday, two
of the contenders go head to head at Eastlands in a match that neither
Manchester City nor Aston Villa can afford to drop points.

For Villa, winning at Eastlands is not going to be easy as only Everton and Manchester United have achieved this feat so far.

However with
previous away wins at Anfield and Old Trafford earlier in the season,
one would fancy the chance of Villa going out to do the same tomorrow,
especially when one considers that City will be without their first
choice goalkeeper, Shay Given.

The coveted fourth spot is currently occupied by Tottenham Hotspur with 64 points and three games to play.

While Villa is
Fifth with the same number of points but with only two matches to go,
City are behind in sixth place with a point behind and with three
matches to go.

On current
form,Villa has won its last three matches, while City have been
inconsistent winning one and churning out a draw and a loss.

Elsewhere,
Tottenham will look to put last weekend’s defeat at Old Trafford behind
them when they welcome Bolton Wanderers to White Hart Lane.

The Spurs fans will
also be keeping a close eye on the score coming from Eastlands where
their two main rivals for fourth, Manchester City and Aston Villa, go
head to head. Interestingly, the kick off for both matches is at the
same time.

Spurs had an up and
down April starting with a defeat away at Sunderland and being knocked
out of the FA Cup by bottom club Portsmouth before rallying with
excellent back-to-back wins against Arsenal and Chelsea. They couldn’t
keep the momentum going though and lost 3-1 last week at Old Trafford
to Manchester United.

Other Games

The remaining three
games on Saturday have little importance or stake on them with
Birmingham facing already relegated Burnley, Stoke entertaining Everton
and Portsmouth, whose financial worries continue to develop, taking on
Wolves, who had their survival confirmed last weekend.

Fixtures

Manchester City vs. Aston Villa

Portsmouth vs. Wolverhampton

Stoke vs. Everton

Tottenham vs. Bolton

Shooting Stars hoping to shoot down Kwara in Ibadan

Shooting Stars’
return to the Nigerian Premier League at the start of the current
campaign was a big boost for the domestic game due to their immense fan
base and popularity.

But their stay in
the top flight division looks set to be a short-lived one unless there
is a dramatic turnaround in the team’s fortune between now and the end
of the season as they currently find themselves in the relegation zone.

A lot can happen to
the Ibadan-based club side between now and the next nine games leading
up to the end of the season, starting with tomorrow’s encounter against
Kwara United taking place at the Lekan Salami Stadium.

But a lot has
already happened within the fold of the former league and FA Cup
champions, the latest of which is the appointment of former Nigeria
international, Fatai Amoo, as the team’s new helmsman.

Amoo, who was a
member of the Super Eagles’ technical crew to the recently concluded
WAFU Nations Cup, is the third coach to handle Shooting Stars this
season after Philip Boamah and Mutiu Adepoju, who can now concentrate
full time on his job as the club’s general manager.

His first
competitive game took place last weekend against Shooting Stars’ fierce
domestic rivals Enugu Rangers but it wasn’t the sort of start he had
hoped for as the Ibadan side succumbed to a late Fred Okwara goal at
the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium.

But Amoo, whose
contract will elapse at the end of the season, believes there is ample
time to save the club from relegation, a major priority for now.

“I don’t think
there’s need to panic about anything now. We still have time to save
the situation on ground and I am sure that by the end of the season
Shooting Stars will remain in the Premier League,” assured Amoo in an
interview with Naijaligue.blogspot.com.

Rescue job

The task of saving
the club begins tomorrow with the visit of Kwara United to Ibadan in a
match that the Ilorin side feels can end in their favour, which will
actually do a lot to their title-seeking ambitions.

“The league is
still quite open and I believe we have a chance but to do that we need
to win a few away matches, and if we play to our potentials I think we
can win in Ibadan,” said Kwara United captain Isiaka Olawale in a chat
with NEXTSports.

But Shooting Stars
must win to remain ahead of Ocean Boys who are also neck deep in the
murky waters of relegation. The Bayelsa based club will be hosting
Zamfara United tomorrow at the Samson Siasia Stadium, Yenagoa and
appear favourites to emerge victorious against a side that has
struggled to get a result away from home.

The third and final
game scheduled for Saturday will see Dolphins playing hosts to
neighbouring Bayelsa United at the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt.

Fixtures

Shooting Stars Vs Kwara United

Ocean Boys Vs Zamfara United

Dolphins Vs Bayelsa United