Weekend predictions: Man City or Liverpool in FA Cup? Can Atléti play spoiler vs. Barça?

Every Friday, I pick for you the best or most exciting games not to be missed in the world of football each weekend. From derbies to top of the table clashes, relegation six-pointers to world-class players facing each other or other interesting tactical battles, there will be something for everyone to enjoy.

This week, we take you to England, France, Spain, Turkey and Germany for more Cup magic, two huge derbies, some top-of-the-table clashes and big battles for European places!

Manchester City logoLiverpool logoBig-club showdown in FA Cup Manchester City vs. Liverpool

FA Cup quarterfinals Kickoff: Saturday, 7:45 a.m. ET / 12:45 p.m. GMT (watch on ESPN+)

So far this season, it is advantage Manchester City in their clashes with Liverpool. Two wins: an easy one at the Etihad Stadium and an almost miraculous one at Anfield. The two teams are back at the Etihad for this highly anticipated FA Cup quarterfinal.

City beat Arsenal to win the Carabao Cup just before the international break with a tactical masterclass from manager Pep Guardiola. It will give them great confidence, especially in the title race, but their particular tactics in the final (4-2-4 out of possession, overloading the right side) could only work in that matchup.

Against Liverpool, Pep and his players will have to do something else. Guardiola is still trying to figure out his team's tactics and how best to use Rayan Cherki, while Erling Haaland is going through a worrying patch of form. But City are amazing in cup competitions under Guardiola. Liverpool will have to pull out something special to beat the Citizens.

Arne Slot's team has struggled for consistency. Mohamed Salah's form has been poor all season, and for his final game for Liverpool against City, he will want to do something special. Can he? He has 20 goals and assists against them in his nine seasons with the Reds. Florian Wirtz was outstanding with Germany in two games over the March international break, while Hugo Ekitike shone for France. This bodes well for the current Premier League champions, who face a massive task on Saturday as the discontent among their fans, especially against Slot, grows quickly.

MY PREDICTION: Manchester City 2-1 Liverpool. I don't think either team is doing great this season so far and both have been so inconsistent but City at home will be hard to beat for this Liverpool side. So I will go for a narrow Citizens' win.

Atletico Madrid logoBarcelona logoWill Atléti ruin Barcelona's title push? Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona

LaLiga, Matchday 30 Kickoff: Saturday, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. GMT

Atlético Madrid cannot win the title anymore; however, they can play a big part in determining who will win it. They were beaten by Real Madrid in the capital derby before the international break at the Bernabeu, and this time, they host Barcelona at the Metropolitano.

Barça have a four-point lead over Real Madrid (with the last Clásico coming up in May at the Camp Nou) but this is a tricky trip for them. They have lost Raphinha for five weeks after he picked up an injury with Brazil during the international break. It is a massive loss for them as he is arguably their best player overall (in and out of possession). Alejandro Baldé, Jules Koundé and Frenkie de Jong are also out. Once more, Barcelona manager Hansi Flick will have to find the right formula with a mixed side.

This clash comes just before the two teams meet again the next two weeks in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. We saw two amazing games between them in the Copa del Rey semifinals (4-0 win for Atléti at home, 3-0 for the Catalans), and this one should be no different. Atlético are also without some big players. Keeper Jan Oblak is still not back while Johnny Cardoso and Marco Pubill are doubtful and Marcos Llorente is suspended.

In the Copa del Rey first leg, Atlético knew exactly how to exploit Barcelona's high defensive line, creating numerous chances and putting their opponent under massive pressure. On the other hand, the league leaders will always create lots of chances against anyone, but the absence of Raphinha (who will probably replaced by Marcus Rashford in the starting lineup) will change their creativity.

MY PREDICTION: Atlético Madrid 2-2 Barcelona. This is going to be a very intense, open game as Atlético will want to a repeat of their dominant performance over Barca in the Copa del Rey. But Barcelona will be more prepared this time, even without Raphinha, and should take a point.

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AS Monaco logoMarseille logoAnother big derby in France AS Monaco vs. Marseille

French Ligue 1, Matchday 28 Kickoff: Sunday, 2:45 p.m. ET / 7:45 p.m. GMT

This game could mean a lot in the fight for European places, but it is first and foremost a massive derby -- one of the biggest in France, despite the 200 kilometers between the two cities. It has been a huge rivalry since the Bernard Tapie-Arsène Wenger eras in the 1980s and 90s. There is no love lost between the teams, and it will be even truer on Sunday with only three points separating them in the table.

Marseille are third but their form has been patchy (two wins, one draw and one loss in their last four games in all comps), while Monaco are in sixth place after six league wins in a row, including against Lens, Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon. The Monegasques are the most in-form team in Ligue 1 right now and at home against their archrivals, they will eye a seventh success in a row to continue their incredible push for a top-three finish. Not that long ago, manager Sébastien Pocognoli was under huge pressure, and it looked impossible for his team to make it to third place. But their superb form has changed everything. Their back three is very solid, while forwards Maghnes Akliouche, Folarin Balogun and Aleksandr Golovin are playing well

Marseille's last-minute loss at home against Lille, another contender for European places, before the international break was a really bad result. This team hasn't really gotten going since the arrival of Habib Beye on the bench (three wins, three draws in Ligue 1 and a loss in the French Cup). This game is massive for them, as another poor display could see Lyon and Lille (only two points behind them in fourth and fifth) overtake them in the table.

MY PREDICTION: AS Monaco 2-0 Marseille. Mason Greenwood is suspended for Marseille, which will be a huge loss as he is their best player this season. Monaco are full of confidence and have great momentum going into this game; I expect them to be too strong to handle.

Fenerbahce logoBesiktas logoAn Istanbul derby with title implications Fenerbahçe vs. Besiktas

Turkish Super Lig Kickoff: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. GMT

It's second vs. fourth in the Istanbul derby between these two giants, but this is a much bigger game for the hosts. Fenerbahçe are four points behind the leaders Galatasaray, who have a game in hand but who travel to Trabzon this weekend to face a Trabzonspor side currently third in the table, level on points with Fener.

Fenerbahçe manager Domenico Tedesco will hope that Gala drop points in their game while his team wins at home against their city rivals. Fener have lost points cheaply lately with a loss at Karagumruk (2-0) and a draw at Antalyaspor (2-2). If they want to win their first league title since 2014, they will have to be perfect. They have finished second for four straight seasons! Marco Asensio and Talisca have been their best players while young Frenchman Sidiki Cherif has already had an impact after arriving in January like N'Golo Kanté and Matteo Guendouzi.

Fenerbahçe have only lost one game all season, but their nine draws are costing them dearly. Galatasaray have two losses but only four draws. Besiktas are far behind, eight points behind Trabzonspor and Fener. They can't win the title and will qualify for the UEFA Conference League, but they would love to prevent Fenerbahçe from winning the title. They are in good form, too, with six wins out of their last seven games in all competitions, only losing to Galatasaray along the way (1-0) despite a good performance.

Tammy Abraham is still the top goal scorer in the league despite leaving for Aston Villa in January, but Orkun Kökçü will be the key player for the Eagles until the end of the season. He has six goals and six assists so far in the Super Lig and is Besiktas' most influential player.

MY PREDICTION: Fenerbahce 2-1 Besiktas. I think that despite Besiktas' good form, this is a crucial game for Fenerbahçe and they won't miss this opportunity. They will get the win on Sunday at home.

Inter Milan logoAS Roma logoInter need to turn things around -- and quickly Inter Milan vs. AS Roma

Italian Serie A, Matchday 31 Kickoff: Sunday, 2:45 p.m. ET / 7:45 p.m. GMT

Believe it or not, Inter Milan have won only one of their last six games in all competitions. This includes being knocked out of the Champions League by Bodo/Glimt, being beaten by AC Milan in the derby (again) and drawing twice in the row against Atalanta and Fiorentina (both 1-1) after twice taking the lead, too. Inter are misfiring at the worst time of the season, and now Milan are just six points behind them, ready to pounce in case their rivals drop more points.

While Inter play this huge game on Sunday, Milan will travel to Napoli on Monday for a super tough game. At least Inter are at home, where they have only lost twice and drawn twice all season. But they need to recover their best form quickly. The absence of Lautaro Martínez has been the biggest problem for them, and the main reason for their recent poor form. Fortunately for them, Hakan Calhanoglou is finally back in midfield, and he is making the team better instantly.

This is a massive game for Roma, too. They are currently sixth in the table, level on points with Juventus in fifth and just three behind Como in fourth. While we wait to find out if Serie A will have four or five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma need points after a bad run of their own. Apart from beating Lecce (1-0) in the last game before the international break, they had won only one of their previous seven in all competitions. Manager Gian Piero Gasperini is struggling to find form for his team. Roma are struggling to score goals quite often despite the good form of Donyell Malen since joining in January from Aston Villa (seven goals in 10 games in Serie A).

MY PREDICTION: Inter Milan 2-1 AS Roma. I think Inter Milan will get back to winning ways on Sunday. It is a massive game, one they will approach with the mindset of champions.

Feyenoord logoAjax logoA top-of-the-table (almost) clash in Germany VfB Stuttgart vs. Borussia Dortmund

German Bundesliga, Matchday 28 Kickoff: Saturday, 12:30 p.m ET / 5:30 p.m. GMT

It is third vs. second in the Bundesliga this weekend as Stuttgart host Borussia Dortmund. There are currently eight points between the two teams in the table, so a win for Sebastian Hoeness's side would bridge the cap to five and give them a chance to try to catch their opponent before the end of the season. Dortmund are still chasing Bayern, but with a nine-point gap and the two Klassikers played already, it looked almost like mission impossible. So Niko Kovac and his team can focus on securing second place.

Apart from the loss against Bayern a month ago, Dortmund have been excellent for a while now with nine wins and just one draw (at Leipzig) in their 10 games besides the Bayern match. The only two games they have lost this season so far have been against Bayern, and they are unbeaten against the rest of the league. Dortmund's defense, the second best in the league, just behind Bayern's, will be put to the test by this Stuttgart team with great attacking potential.

At 29, Deniz Undav has become one of the best strikers in the league, with 18 goals already. He has been unstoppable lately with 11 goals and seven assists in his last 15 games in all competitions with his club. Undav has been on fire and even scored for Germany during the international break. It will be a great battle against Dortmund's prolific No. 9: Sehrou Guirassy, who has 13 goals this season. More importantly, Guirassy has scored eight times (and provided one assist) in his last 10 games in all competitions for Dortmund.

MY PREDICTION: Stuttgart 2-2 Dortmund. I think this will be a high-scoring game between two teams that have in-form goal scorers. Stuttgart are not guaranteed a Champions League place yet, but a win on Saturday would increase their chances massively; I just don't expect BVB to let them get it.