Der Klassiker, Arsenal vs. Chelsea, El Gran Derbi, and more

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This could be a decisive weekend in a number of Europe’s top leagues, with big derbies and title rivals all in play. And if you haven’t heard about Real Betis’ scratch and sniff kit, or the long awaited feature we’ve launched in the app, read on for more details.It’s all about the two two in the Premier League at the moment, with Mikel Arteta's Gunners holding a five point advantage over experienced chasers Manchester City.For their part, Arsenal don't play until Sunday, when they take on London rivals Chelsea at the Emirates. The two capital city clubs faced each other in the semifinals of the Carabao Cup only recently, with Arsenal victorious in both legs, results that set up the distraction of next month's final against City!Chelsea did hold the Gunners to a draw in the reverse fixture back in November and they boast the second best away record in the division having won six and drawn four of their 13 games on the road.In Viktor Gyökeres, though, Arsenal do appear to have a striker finding his form at just the right time of the season. No Premier League player has scored more goals than the Swede so far in 2026 (8 in all comps). If he can finally do it here, against a big side in the league itself, his critics may have to change their tune.Man City, who play on Saturday, do have the chance to cut Arsenal’s lead down to two points. And with a game in hand up their sleeves to come, a win at Leeds would heap a whole lot of pressure back on to the Gunners.This is a position that Pep Guardiola sides appear to thrive in, coming up on the rails, and eking out results. Whether this particular City side can do that in this title race remains to be seen, but the signs are there. The Cityzens have followed a patchy start to the year with wins in each of their last three league games, with Erling Haaland's new found ability to create goals as well as score them resulting in four goal contributions across those wins.Leeds United, under the lights at Elland Road, do pose a threat though, especially when you consider that Daniel Farke's team have lost just two of their last 12 league games. That's a run that has seen the Yorkshire club move up to 15th in the table and put six points between themselves and the relegation zone.They will undoubtedly make this one a tough slog for City.Borussia Dortmund head into a weekend showdown with Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich looking to defend a 16-game unbeaten run in the league that dates back to October.Sadly for Nico Kovač, there has been little fanfare about the side with the last unbeaten home record in the division because the last team to beat them, and indeed the only team to have beaten them anywhere all season, Bayern Munich, are still so far ahead of them in the standings.Dortmund have, of course, also just suffered a humiliating reverse in the Champions League, losing a two-goal aggregate lead in defeat to Atalanta.Conceding four goals in Europe was not ideal preparation for facing Vincent Kompany’s lethal attack. Bayern’s 85 goals in 23 games marks them out as the top scorers across all of Europe’s top five leagues. Harry Kane has 28 of those goals on his own.And should Bayern win again here, that would give them what is, presumably, an unassailable lead in the title race.We haven’t given much time to the current picture in LaLiga in recent newsletters, so we've saved this section to preview what’s coming up for Barcelona and eternal rivals Real Madrid.After two rounds where Madrid have played first and Barcelona have followed, knowing exactly what result they need to keep pace at the top of the table, the roles are reversed this weekend.With only a point separating the two opposing forces in LaLiga, the pressure is intense. Barcelona cracked two weeks ago, losing at Girona, then, last weekend, it was the turn of Álvaro Arbeloa’s side to suffer a defeat as they went down to a 90th minute dagger blow at Osasuna. Barca went on to beat Levante and go back to the top of the table.On paper, Hansi Flick’s defending champions have the harder fixture, as they face third placed Villarreal, a side who’ve beaten them on each of their last two visits to Barcelona.Madrid did prevail in their grudge match against Benfica in the Champions League during the week but the performance was again far from convincing. Luckily, though, Getafe are the visitors to the Bernabéu on Sunday. Madrid have won their last eight games against the side from the capital’s suburbs, conceding just once in the process.Last week, Real Betis wore the latest of their special edition Forever Green kits in celebration of their annual sustainability match. This kit is really rather special, with over 16% of the organic material used to make the shirts derived from orange peel, and even scratch and sniff technology that means when rubbed, the numbers give off the scent of oranges.With the citrus fruit synonymous with the Andalusian city of Seville, we think they really should have saved the kit for this weekend’s edition of ‘El Gran Derbi’ between Betis and Sevilla. With this being one of the most heated rivalries in Spanish football, the likelihood of some good ol’ argy-bargy, and thus, the release of a delicious sweet orangey smell would have added something to proceedings!Both sides come in to the derby on a good run of form having lost one of their last five in the league, but neither have a lot to play for in terms of table position. Betis sit fifth but are comfortably occupying the Europa League qualification spot - six points down on Atlético Madrid above them, and five above sixth placed Celta Vigo. They will also find out their Round of 16 opponents in this year’s Europa League at today's draw.Sevilla are midtable, five points clear of a congested relegation scrap, but still with work to do to avoid being dragged into it, as they were last season. They've been steady but unspectacular under Argentine boss Matias Almeyda but even that has been some improvement on the turbulence of the past few years.Sticking with Spanish football but dropping down a division, we'd like to bring the LaLiga2 title race to your attention. Here, just four points separate the top four, and there's some classic names involved in the battle.Obviously, the news that Cristiano Ronaldo has taken out a 25% stake in Saudi-backed Almería means a lot more eyes will be on the league during the run in, but this weekend sees a meeting between the top two, Racing Santander and Castellón.Castellón haven’t played in LaLiga since they suffered relegation at the end of the 1990/91 season, and have spent more time in the third and fourth tiers than they have this division in the intervening 35 years. After narrowly avoiding relegation last season, Castellón know a win over leaders Racing would be their ninth in a row at home, and take them to the top of the table.The current leaders, Racing Santander, will be a much more familiar name for those of you of a certain age. Former top flight stalwarts in the 1990s and 2000s, Racing have themselves been in the wilderness since relegation in 2011. Financial issues even saw them drop to the third tier amid protests and suspensions from the Copa Del Rey in the not too distant past.Now, though, with a successful Copa run that was ended by Barcelona in the quarter-finals behind them, Racing can concentrate on the final 15 games of the league campaign.Looking ahead to the latest Old Firm DerbyWith Hearts currently boasting a four point lead over Rangers, and Celtic a further two points back in third, it's now or never for the Old Firm if one of them wants to wrestle back control in the Scottish title race. The two meet on Sunday so click through for our match preview. Rangers beat their Glasgow rivals 3-1 in January, with Celtic winning by the same margin in November’s League Cup semifinal, so we’re expecting goals.Dro Fernández is getting his chance at PSGThe 18-year-old graduate of Barcelona's La Masia didn't really get a look in this season, with Hansi Flick even questioning the youngster’s desire. Since moving to PSG, though, Fernández has already featured four times and clocked up more minutes in Ligue 1 than he did in LaLiga.Viktor Gyökeres is coming good just in timeWith 10 Premier League goals to his name, Arsenal's Swedish frontman is hitting form at a crucial time in the season. Of all the big name strikers signed by team in the league last summer, only João Pedro has scored more. And the two should face off against each other this weekend.Wrexham are the Championship’s entertainersAfter a slow start to life back in England's second tier, the Welsh club's meteoric rise up the divisions continues, with Phil Parkinson’s side currently occupying a playoff spot and dreaming of a fourth promotion in four years. The manager's usual pragmatic style has gone out the window as 29 goals have flown in over their last 12 games!We finally went and did it. After years of requests from users, and months of design work behind the scenes, we've brought heatmaps to FotMob.If you haven’t already updated your app this week, check your app store now, and make sure you install our latest release. Or check it out on the web, right here.You can then check any game with advanced data coverage and better understand how each player has impacted the action by clicking on their icon in the line-up page to view their heatmap. The example shown above comes from Bodø/Glimt’s famous victory at San Siro in the Champions League, where ex-AC Milan player Jens Petter Hauge tormented Inter.Pro Tip: Click on any of the matches below, then tap the star in the right hand side of the match page to add them to your Following section.Saturday: Liverpool vs. West Ham and Newcastle vs. Everton are the pick of the games in England that we haven’t covered elsewhere. Inter need to pick themselves up after that Champions League shock vs. Bodø/Glimt as they face Genoa back in Serie A. Hearts face Aberdeen as they look to build on their points lead in Scotland, and fairytale Swiss Pro League champions elect FC Thun are also in action. Back in Ligue 1, PSG visit Le Havre.Sunday: Michael Carrick tests his unbeaten start as Manchester United welcome Crystal Palace to Old Trafford. Marseille vs. Lyon and Roma vs. Juventus are some heavyweight games in France and Italy, respectively. Ángel Di María's Rosario Central take on archrivals Newell’s Old Boys in the first major clásico of the Argentine season, and there’s an all-Floridian clash in MLS as Orlando City face Inter Miami.