This weekend, the top match is coming out of St.James’ Park, but the most exciting action overall will be coming from Italy.  The top eight clubs in Serie A will all play each other this weekend, with three matches featuring all six of the clubs fighting over the final three UCL spots coming from Italy.  We also have the final of the Copa del Rey and a battle for second place in France’s Ligue 1.  Of course, the battle is still red hot in the German Bundesliga and that is represented in the list below as well.  As the season hits its final month, the matches just keep getting hotter and hotter.

Top Ten Matches and Predictions - Weekend of May 6-8, 2023

1 - (9) Newcastle United vs (7) Arsenal (Eng) (Sunday)

I’ve been waiting for a while for St. James’ Park to host a WCR Match of the Weekend and here we finally are.  Newcastle United and Manchester United are doing a good job of holding on to the final two UCL spots in the English Premier League, but Liverpool is playing extremely well (and getting extremely lucky - looking at you Spurs) and keeping the pressure up on both of them.  Arsenal is trying to keep the same type of pressure on Manchester City for the top spot but in all likelihood, that ship has sailed.  A week or two later in the season, I would put a lot of money on the Magpies to win this at home, but I’m afraid Arsenal still believes they might get lucky with a Man City stumble, so they’ll come to play.  We think the two best English goalkeepers around will put on a show and for both of these clubs to suffer a little bit because of that.  Our Prediction:  Newcastle United 0 Arsenal 0.

2 - (22) Roma vs (11) Inter Milan (Ita) (Saturday)

This is a battle between fourth place (Inter) and seventh place (Roma) in Serie A.  That means it’s a battle between making next season’s Champions League and not playing in Europe at all next season.  AND THERE ARE JUST TWO POINTS SEPARATING THEM!!!  The fight from second through seventh place is just plain crazy.  Roma is struggling at the moment, picking up only one point in their last three Serie A matches.  Inter is faring better, with three straight victories in the league, and that’s not even counting their victory over Juventus in the Coppa Italia.  But Roma has three wins and a draw in their last four matches at home, including a draw against AC Milan.  We are betting on the same outcome this weekend.  Our Prediction:  Roma 1 Inter Milan 1.

3 - Lens vs Marseille (Fra) (Saturday)

.This is our only match on the list that does not involve any ranked clubs, but it is a big one with respect to France’s Ligue 1.  Under the current structure, the second place club goes straight into the Group Stage of next season’s Champions League, while the third place club goes into the qualifiers.  Currently, Marseille is in second place, but only by a single point over Lens.  These clubs are evenly matched and neither gives up a lot of goals, but we believe the home field advantage will point towards a Lens victory, seeing as Lens has not lost a home match since early February.  Our Prediction:  Lens 1 Marseille 0.

4 - SC Freiburg vs (17) RB Leipzig (Ger) (Saturday)

This is a rematch of clubs that faced off in the DFB Pokal semifinals at midweek, with RB Leipzig running away with that one 5-1.  Leipzig definitely looked like they prioritized that match, so we’ll see how that affects Saturday’s match, which is arguably more important.  Freiburg is currently in the fourth and final UCL position in the German Bundesliga, tied on points with third-place Union Berlin, but behind on goal differential.  Leipzig is currently fifth in the Bundesliga, two points behind Freiburg, so a victory on Saturday would put them back in a UCL position.  Is that going to happen?  We’re betting that it will.  It’s hard to see Leipzig’s confidence getting much higher than after their Tuesday night win over the same club.  Our Prediction:  Freiburg 1 Leipzig 2.

5 - West Ham vs (10) Manchester United (Eng) (Sunday)

West Ham has hit a tough part of their schedule, having faced Newcastle United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City (all current WCR Top Ten teams) since April 6.  Well, there’s one more Top Ten club from England, and that’s who they get to play this weekend, so it’s not getting any easier.  We don’t expect the results to improve either, as West Ham managed only one point in their previous four encounters against the top clubs.  Manchester United, on the other hand, has been handling the pressure well, picking up thirteen points in four league matches since their loss to Newcastle United a month ago.  Based on their low goal differential, we don’t expect United to blow West Ham away, but we do expect them to win in a comfortable manner.  Our Prediction:  West Ham 1 Manchester United 2.

6 - Atalanta vs (19) Juventus (Ita) (Sunday)

This is the battle between third place Juventus and fifth place Atalanta, and they are separated by five points.  A win by Atalanta will make everything just that much tighter.  How likely is it?  Well, Atalanta is playing some of its best ball of the season, with three straight victories, including one at home against Roma.  Meanwhile, Juventus has won only one of their last five matches in Serie A and that was a lot closer than most people expected.  We’re thinking these trends are going to continue and it will set up even more excitement as we get to the close of the season.  Our Prediction:  Atalanta 2 Juventus 1.

7 - (14) AC Milan vs Lazio (Ita) (Saturday)

Lazio is in second place in Serie A, six points above fifth place, and FiveThirtyEight gives them an 87% chance of finishing in the top four in Serie A, yet they are the one of only a few clubs (the other being Atalanta) near the top of the table that aren’t ranked.  Why aren’t they getting respect?  Well, they got some respect and were ranked for a little while, but their victory over mid-table Sassuolo at midweek followed back-to-back defeats to Torino and Internazionale.  Meanwhile, although they have dropped a lot of points in draws, Milan hasn’t lost in their last six Serie A matches.  We may take some heat for continuing to not give Lazio credit, but we are going with a solid Milan victory at the San Siro.  Our Prediction:  Milan 2 Lazio 0.

8 - (3) Real Madrid vs Osasuna (Esp) (Copa del Rey final) (Saturday)

A mismatch is expected in this match, but it could be quite historic.  Real Madrid breaks a tie with Athletic Bilbao playing in its 40th Copa del Rey final, second only to Barcelona (42) and will be trying to win for the 20th time.  Osasuna, meanwhile, is trying to win its first ever Copa del Rey in only its second final, having lost to Real Betis in the 2005 final.  Both clubs rested a lot of players in their midweek matches, and subsequently lost away matches after going down to ten men and not scoring a goal.  No matter, though - this is the big one.  Real Madrid all season has been struggling more than expected in La Liga but playing some of the best football in the world in their cup tournaments.  We expect them to score at will this weekend and the big issue will be how soon they will let off the gas.  Our Prediction:  Real Madrid 4 Osasuna 1.

9 - (12) Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Wolfsburg (Ger) (Sunday)

We are still in our group of matches that involve two good clubs, but one should outshine the other.  Wolfsburg is only two points behind Bayer Leverkusen for the Bundesliga’s Conference League spot and they have played decently all season.  Dortmund, of course, finds themselves back in second place again, a point from Bayern Munich, after choking against VfL Bochum.  Can they bounce back or have they lost their mojo?  We’ll see on Sunday.  Our Prediction:  Dortmund 4 Wolfsburg 1.

10 - (5) Liverpool vs Brentford (Eng) (Saturday)

Since suffering back-to-back draws against Chelsea and Arsenal about a month ago, Liverpool has pulled off five straight victories, mostly against weaker clubs, and is making an interesting run towards the top four in the Premier League, though FiveThirtyEight still gives them only a 12% chance of accomplishing that goal.  Still, they are keeping the pressure up on Newcastle and Man United.  Brentford has picked up seven points in their last three matches, including a win over Chelsea and a draw against Aston Villa.  Still, with little to play for at this point, we don’t believe they will be able to stop the train coming out of Merseyside.  Our Prediction:  Liverpool 3 Brentford 0.