The ten matches on this week’s list come from six countries (ties a record), seven competitions (new record) and has FIVE matches featuring a pair of WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World (new record).  And, as it turns out, all five of the matches featuring two ranked clubs are taking place on Sunday.  If you time it right, you can watch three of them live in their entirety, or you can just set your DVR.  (Are DVRs still a thing?  I stream everything.  I don’t even know what other football watching technology exists anymore.)

This promises to be one of the best weekends for football in a while, which of course should continue as the battles for championships, European spots and relegation continue to get hotter and hotter.

As is our custom here, our list is compiled based not only on how highly ranked the participating clubs are, but also on how competitive we expect the matches to be.  Our list is based on power ratings and win probabilities determined by FiveThirtyEight, and it is their numbers that we use for this column.  So, with so many matches every weekend, if you don’t know what to watch, we are here to help!!!

Top Ten Matches and Predictions - Weekend of April 22-24 2023

1 - (19) Juventus vs (7) Napoli (Ita) (Sunday)

As far as importance to domestic league finishes, this match doesn’t have much to offer.  Napoli is going to win Serie A and Juventus almost certainly will not qualify for a European position due to their fifteen-point penalty.  If it wasn’t or that penalty, however, Juventus would be in third place in Serie A and both Milanese clubs would be in a position in which they would have to win the Champions League to qualify for that tournament next season.  All of that is to say that there will be so much talent on the pitch during this match that it will be must-watch television regardless of the outcome.  Our Prediction:  Juventus 1 Napoli 1.

2 - (16) Brighton vs (8) Manchester United (Eng - FA Cup Semifinal) (Sunday)

This is the first time we have put a non-league game in our rankings, but hey, it’s a weekend match and this column is about the best football matches of the weekend, so there you go.  The importance of this match is obvious - it’s an FA Cup Semifinal, people!!  The winner gets the right to lose to Manchester City in the FA Cup final in about a month’s time!!  How exciting!!  As far as the matchup goes, United seems to have returned to form after their loss to Newcastle a few weeks ago, and Brighton is also playing very well, their recent loss to Spurs notwithstanding.  Cup matches are kind of hard to predict, but given the fact that United already has the League Cup and will be coming off an important match in the Europa League just a few days earlier, we will go with Brighton to win this and become cannon fodder for the Manchester City machine.  Our Prediction:  Brighton 3 Manchester United 2.

3 - (22) Bayer Leverkusen vs (17) RB Leipzig (Ger) (Sunday)

This should be a great battle between two WCR Top 25 Clubs, and is of vital importance to Leverkusen, who have not lost in their last eleven matches in all competitions.  Leverkusen is currently in the Bundesliga’s Conference League position, seven points out of the final UCL spot with six matches left.  That may seem too much to overcome, but the team that is seven points ahead of them is Leipzig, so they can cut three off in one night.  Any other result likely leaves Leverkusen facing a season-ending Bundesliga finish of no higher than sixth.  We expect them to make the season interesting.  Our Prediction:  Bayer Leverkusen 3 Leipzig 2.

4 - (4) Barcelona vs (10) Atletico Madrid (Esp) (Sunday)

Like the match at the top of the list, this is a match between two great clubs that, at the end of the day, doesn’t really mean much, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a great match.  With nine matches remaining, Barcelona has an eleven point lead over Real Madrid and are hands-down favorites to win La Liga.  Likewise, Atletico is up nine points on fourth place Real Sociedad and is as good as locked into a Champions League Group Stage spot for next season.  Atletico has looked as good as they have all season recently, while Barce appears to be going through the motions, scoring back-to-back goalless draws.  If Barcelona comes out to play this week, this should be a great match.  Our prediction is reflecting our hope that that will be the case.  Our Prediction:  Barcelona 2 Atletico Madrid 0.

5 - Brentford vs Aston Villa (Eng) (Saturday)

This is a battle of two clubs going in opposite directions.  Brentford has seen their once high European hopes crash with no victories in their last five matches.  Aston Villa, on the other hand, have risen from the ashes, with seven wins and a draw in their last eight.  Seeing them snatch a European spot from some struggling club (looking at you Spurs) isn’t far-fetched at all.  All the mojo is telling me that this should be an easy victory for Aston Villa, but the mathematicians are telling me that Brentford is still a slight favorite.  We’ll split the baby and predict a draw.  Our Prediction:  Brentford 1 Aston Villa 1.

6 - PSV vs (24) Ajax (Ned) (Sunday)

We always love it when clubs from outside the Big Five make it onto our lists.  This matchup is one with major implications.  Feyenoord is going to win the Eredivisie, and the Netherlands only gets two UCL spots, with PSV and Ajax battling for the qualification spot.  Both teams are playing well currently, and they are tied on points for second place.  Since Ajax has a healthy goal differential lead, they would benefit most from a draw, but the match will be in Eindhoven so, with clubs so evenly matched, it seems like the advantage should go to the home club.  We are going to say that the only team that wins at the end of 90 minutes in this match will be Feyenoord.  Our Prediction:  PSV 1 Ajax 1.

7 - Atalanta vs Roma (Ita) (Monday)

This will be the final big match played over the weekend and it should be a doozy.  Unlike the Juventus-Napoli match discussed earlier, this one has all kinds of European implications.  These two clubs are currently bookending the Milanese clubs, with Roma in third and Atalanta in sixth, with the Boys from Bergamo only four points out of Italy’s final UCL spot.  Roma has won three in a row, while Atalanta has only pulled out one point from their last two matches.  One point sounds about right for this one too.  Our Prediction:  Atalanta 1 Roma 1.

8 - Lyon vs Marseille (Fra) (Sunday)

Marseille is in a tough battle with Lens and Monaco for the final two UCL spots for France, with just seven matches remaining.  Lyon has, at best, a fighter’s chance of qualifying for the Conference League next year, if that matters to them.  Nevertheless, both clubs are hot.  Marseille has not lost in their last six Ligue Un matches, and Lyon has not lost in their last seven.  There could be a draw this week to keep both streaks alive, but we are putting our money on the home club to pull out a victory this week.  Our Prediction:  Lyon 2 Marseille 1.

9 - Mainz vs (2) Bayern Munich (Ger) (Saturday)

Mainz has a nine match non-losing streak going into this weekend’s match with Bayern Munich.  To the extent the Conference League is something to get excited about, Mainz can have some of that excitement because their recent streak has put them only two points behind Bayer Leverkusen for Germany’s spot in that tournament for next season.  Bayern is of course Bayern.  Their recent form may be disappointing, but they are still fighting for a Bundesliga title, so it will be very interesting to see how the Manchester City result in midweek affects them.  (As of this writing, the second leg of the City/Bayern tie has not been played.)  Our Prediction:  Mainz 1 Bayern Munich 3.

10 - (13) Newcastle United vs (21) Tottenham Hotspur (Eng)  (Sunday)

This is a matchup among WCR Top 25 Clubs and would normally rate higher than this, but we have our doubts about how competitive it will be.  Newcastle’s recent road loss to Aston Villa notwithstanding, they have looked to be in good form recently, especially at St. James’ Park.  Spurs on the other hand, have not.  They do have a recent victory over Brighton, which was great for them and keeps them in the UCL position hunt.  That being said, in their last six away matches in all competitions, they have only two points - and those two draws came against Southampton and Everton.  The losses during that period have included a pair against Leicester and Sheffield United.  Much, much stranger things have happened, but we are going Toon Army all the way with this’n.  Our Prediction:  Newcastle United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 0.