It doesn't really matter what the context is, el Clasico is always gonna be a big deal. But of course that's just a naive interpretation in a year such as this one. Real is 1st in the league and Barcelona 3rd with just 10 games left, making this occasion a clear must-win for Barca, and not much less so for the Madridistas. This game won't determine the title by itself, especially not with Atletico still firmly in the picture, but that doesn't diminish its importance one bit. Barcelona are not completely over their rough patch, and every passing day brings more questions about Martino's future. Madrid have issues of their own to deal with, not least of which is Jese's season-ending injury. The young Spaniard had been a mainstay off the bench all season, and there were more and more whispers of including him on the loaded national team for this summer's jaunt in Brazil before his injury.

Over in the EPL we're about to hit a very interesting 10 days, with two gamedays (sort of) to account for some of the FA Cup delays. The big highlight is the first of the bunch, as Chelsea host the Gunners in the early game tomorrow. History seems to say that Arsenal will have its work cut out for it, what with Wenger never having beat Mourinho, who himself has never lost of league game at Stamford Bridge. But history has been known to be a fickle lass, so let's hope we get a more exciting outcome than their previous meeting (0-0). The other title hopefuls don't really face much of a challenge this week, what with Liverpool going to Cardiff and City hosting Fulham. Many eyes will still be on United who have to take on a Hammers squad with its version of Thor, Andy Carroll, finally fit. Much much more important for the Reds though will be the Manchester derby on Tuesday, although realistically this one is just for pride at this point. They are playing for the Champions League now first and foremost. The bottom of the table presents its own share of drama with Norwich-Sunderland and Hull v West Brom.

Spain: the above-mentioned game will attract all the attention, and then some, which should suit Atleti just fine as they travel to last-place Real Betis. All the teams will have a short turnaround as there is another gameday on Mon-Thurs

Italy: the pressure on Clarence Seedorf's job at Milan is already close to overwhelming, with the 4-2 loss to Parma serving to exacerbate the flames of recriminations from fans. This week's trip to Lazio doesn't help matters any more, as word of a switch to Pippo Inzaghi or Roberto Donadoni on the touchline becomes even louder

Germany: Bayern could mathematically become champions this weekend, which is just absurd. Of course for all intents and purposes they already are the champs, which will only help their focus on the Champions League as they try to go for the all elusive repeat

France: Monaco messed up Lyon's Champions League chances last week, they'll be hoping to do the same this time with 3rd place Lille's

EPL
SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014
8:45 ET Chelsea v Arsenal
11:00 ET Cardiff City v Liverpool
11:00 ET Everton v Swansea City
11:00 ET Hull City v West Bromwich Albion
11:00 ET Manchester City v Fulham
11:00 ET Newcastle United v Crystal Palace
11:00 ET Norwich City v Sunderland
1:30 ET West Ham United v Manchester United
SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2014
9:30 ET Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton
12:00 ET Aston Villa v Stoke City

LA LIGA
FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014
4:00 ET Celta Vigo v Malaga
SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014
11:00 ET Granada v Elche
1:00 ET Espanyol v Levante
3:00 ET Real Valladolid v Rayo Vallecano
5:00 ET Athletic Bilbao v Getafe
SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2014
7:00 ET Osasuna v Sevilla FC
12:00 ET Real Betis v Atletico Madrid
2:00 ET Valencia v Villarreal
4:00 ET Real Madrid v Barcelona

SERIE A
SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014
1:00 ET Torino v Livorno
3:45 ET Chievo Verona v AS Roma Bentegodi
SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2014
7:30 ET Parma v Genoa
10:00 ET Bologna v Cagliari
10:00 ET Internazionale v Atalanta
10:00 ET Sampdoria v Hellas Verona
10:00 ET Udinese v Sassuolo
1:30 ET Napoli v Fiorentina
3:45 ET Catania v Juventus
3:45 ET Lazio v AC Milan

BUNDESLIGA
FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014
3:30 ET SC Freiburg v Werder Bremen
SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014
10:30 ET Hannover 96 v Borussia Dortmund
10:30 ET Mainz v Bayern Munich
10:30 ET Schalke 04 v TSV Eintracht
10:30 ET VfB Stuttgart v Hamburg SV
10:30 ET VfL Wolfsburg v FC Augsburg
1:30 ET Borussia Monchengladbach v Hertha Berlin
SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2014
10:30 ET Nurnberg v Eintracht Frankfurt
12:30 ET Bayer Leverkusen v TSG Hoffenheim

LIGUE 1
FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014
3:30 ET Lorient v Paris Saint-Germain
SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014
12:00 ET Marseille v Stade Rennes
3:00 ET Bastia v Stade de Reims
3:00 ET Bordeaux v Nice
3:00 ET Nantes v Montpellier
3:00 ET Toulouse v Evian Thonon Gaillard
3:00 ET Valenciennes v AC Ajaccio
SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2014
9:00 ET St Etienne v Sochaux
12:00 ET Guingamp v Lyon
4:00 ET AS Monaco v Lille

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For the record, my teams:
MLB: Mets / Soccer: PSG
NCAA BB: Arizona / NCAA FB: Michigan
NBA: Spurs / NFL: Jets