Here is a look at what’s happening in European soccer on Sunday:
ENGLAND
The first piece of domestic silverware is on the line when Manchester City plays Tottenham in the English League Cup final at Wembley Stadium. It pits one of the world’s most storied coaches, City’s Pep Guardiola, with a rookie counterpart in Tottenham’s Ryan Mason – the Premier League’s youngest manager at 29, taking charge of only his second senior game after replacing the fired Jose Mourinho.
Tottenham hasn’t won a major trophy since 2008. It could be the first of three trophies this season for City, which leads the Premier League by 11 points and is into the semifinals of the Champions League. There are fitness doubts over the best players in each team – Kevin De Bruyne of City and Harry Kane of Tottenham. ‘Second-placed Manchester United can be virtually assured of Champions League qualification in the Premier League by beating fierce rival Leeds away. Next-to-last, West Bromwich Albion needs to win at Aston Villa to keep alive any realistic hopes of staying up, and Burnley travels to Wolverhampton.
GERMANY
Leipzig hopes to make amends for a dip in form when it wishes Stuttgart, knowing another defeat, would hand Bayern Munich the Bundesliga title with three rounds to go. Second-placed Leipzig slumped to a surprise loss to relegation candidate Cologne in its last game and has fallen 10 points behind the Bavarian powerhouse after just one win in its previous four games. Stuttgart has lost its last three games and is still hoping to claim the point that would bring its tally to the 40 that sporting director Sven Mislintat said was the target for the season. Borussia Mönchengladbach hosts relegation-threatened Arminia Bielefeld in the late game. Gladbach also hopes to make amends after throwing a two-goal lead away in a 3-2 loss at Hoffenheim on Wednesday.
SPAIN
Atlético Madrid has had an excellent chance to take a big step toward its first title since 2014 when it visits Athletic Bilbao. A victory would lift Diego Simeone’s side five points from Real Madrid at the league’s top. Top scorer Luis Suárez and forwards João Félix and Thomas Lemar will all be back on Atlético’s squad after recovering from injury. If it wins at Villarreal, Barcelona can also pull level with Madrid, which drew with Real Betis 0-0 on Saturday. Lionel Messi leads the league with 25 goals, while Villarreal’s Gerard Moreno, with 20, is third on the scorers’ list behind Karim Benzema. Sevilla can keep its outside title bid alive with a win at Granada that would leave Madrid at one point. Also, Getafe is at Huesca, while Celta Vigo hosts Osasuna.
