Editors' Picks: The Masters takes centre stage as Leverkusen close in on maiden title
Here's what our editors are watching this weekend:
All weekend
Monte Carlo Masters semis & final - from 13:30 CET, Saturday
In the world of tennis, the beginning of the clay-court season is coming to an end at the weekend with four of the world's best battling it out at the Monte Carlo Masters, one of the sport's biggest - and best looking - tournaments.
First up, man of the moment Jannik Sinner (22) will face Stefanos Tsitsipas (25), and while the Italian may be the best in the world right now, this will be one of his biggest tests of the year. His opponent takes things to another level on the clay of Monte Carlo, with the Greek player winning the tournament in 2021 and 2022 before seeing off world number five Alexander Zverev this year. This feels like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.
After that, Novak Djokovic (36) will look to reach his first final of the season by beating clay-court specialist Casper Ruud (25). The Serb will be the favourite given his 5-0 H2H record, but it may well be a much closer contest than you'd expect considering he hasn't looked at his best in Monaco and Ruud is a force to be reckoned with on this surface - nine of his 10 career titles have come on clay and he's won more matches on it than anyone since 2020, and it's not even close.
The winners of these two matches will fight for the title on Sunday and there's a good chance that we'll get the match we all want, a rematch of the Australian Open semi-final between Sinner and Djokovic. While seeing whether the Serb still stands alone at the top of the game or whether Sinner has well and truly dethroned him is a mouth-watering prospect though, it's sure to be a final to remember either way with how good Tsitsipas and Ruud have looked.
Finley Crebolder
The Masters - from 15:00 CET, Saturday
One of the biggest few days in sports is well underway, with golf's most prestigious tournament, The Masters, heading to its climax this weekend.
Augusta National plays host to the tournament, and come Sunday night, one golfer will reign victorious, donning the famous Green Jacket after ousting 88 other competitors.
The Masters is one of the toughest tests for golfers, with its treacherous putting greens meaning you have to have ice-cold precision around the pin, with your short game really tested.
Bryson DeChambeau and in-form man Scottie Scheffler are currently leading the way, having got off to absolute flyers on Thursday.
Jon Rahm is the defending champion, but the LIV Golf man is currently some way down the leaderboard. Rory McIlroy is poised quite well ahead of the weekend, as he looks to complete the Grand Slam.
Should the rain keep away, it is going to be a captivating weekend at August National. Things can change very quickly, and that's the beauty of the unpredictability of The Masters.
Tolga Akdeniz
Sunday, April 14th
Arsenal vs Aston Villa - 17:30 CET
Going into the weekend top of the Premier League table, Arsenal know seven wins from their final seven matches (barring a drastic swing in goal difference) will be enough to secure a first title since 2003/04.
Mikel’s Arteta’s side will be sure to use that incentive on Sunday afternoon against top-four hopefuls Aston Villa, as the Gunners look to return to winning ways after sharing the spoils with Bayern Munich in a blockbuster Champions League tie on Tuesday.
Arsenal could well find themselves down in third by the time the game kicks off on Sunday afternoon, with title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City playing earlier on in the weekend. What’s more, a home fixture against a tricky Aston Villa side promises to be another stern test of the Gunners’ title credentials.
Having won the reverse fixture back in December, Unai Emery’s men will travel to North London full of belief, and with Ollie Watkins in the form of his life, they have plenty of firepower to cause even the best defence in the league problems.
Given the stakes for both sides, it promises to be a fascinating clash at the Emirates. Make sure you don’t miss it!
Danny Clark
Bayer Leverkusen vs Werder Bremen - 17:30 CET
Barring Bayern Munich and Stuttgart both losing on Saturday, Bayer Leverkusen will win their first-ever Bundesliga title on Sunday with a win against Werder Bremen.
This incredible achievement could be completed with five games to spare, a ludicrous feat and surely not one Xabi Alonso's men would have expected at the start of the season. Not only could they win the title, but they are on track to do it unbeaten. They are yet to lose at all during the 2023/2024 campaign, showing just how dominant they have been.
Standing in their way is Werder Bremen. They are firmly ensconced in mid-table but will be motivated by the fact they can spoil the party on Sunday. The reverse fixture went the way, unsurprisingly, of Leverkusen with a 3-0 win and they will also be buoyed by knowing that their opponents haven't won any of their last five, losing four of them.
All the pre-match talk has Leverkusen winning the game and the title at a canter, but stranger things have happened in football!
Josh Donaldson