Around the World: Chelsea Host Liverpool, Juventus Welcome Inter, Osasuna Visit Athletic Bilbao

England

Chelsea plays its first game since the departure of manager Graham Potter when Liverpool visits Stamford Bridge for a Premier League match between two underperforming teams. Liverpool is in eighth place and Chelsea is in 11th. Both clubs are struggling to qualify for next season’s Champions League. Potter was fired on Sunday, a day after a 2-0 home loss to Aston Villa. Liverpool is coming off a 4-1 loss at Manchester City. Chelsea will be led by interim manager Bruno Saltor. Leicester also fired its manager on Sunday, with Brendan Rodgers leaving after four years, so first-team coaches Adam Sadler and Mike Stowell will take charge for a home game against Villa. Two relegation-threatened teams meet when Leeds hosts Nottingham Forest and another, Bournemouth, is at home to Brighton.

IPL 2023 Full Coverage | IPL 2023 Schedule | IPL 2023 Results | IPL Orange Cap | IPL Purple Cap

Spain

Osasuna is a draw away from making it to the Copa del Rey final for the first time since 2005. It visits Athletic Bilbao after having won the first leg 1-0 at home. Osasuna’s lone final appearance in the Copa was nearly two decades ago. Athletic, the second most successful club in the competition behind Barcelona, is making its fourth straight semifinal appearance. The Basque Country club was runner-up in 2020 and 2021. Barcelona hosts Real Madrid on Wednesday looking to defend a 1-0 lead from the first leg in Madrid.

Italy

In a repeat of last year’s final, Juventus hosts Inter Milan in the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinals. Inter beat Juventus 4-2 after extra time last year to win its eighth Italian Cup. Juventus holds the record in that competition, having lifted the trophy 14 times. Inter lost at home to Juventus 1-0 in the league just over two weeks ago. It lost in Turin 2-0 earlier in the season. Federico Chiesa is returning from injury and Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri confirmed he will be fit to start from the bench against Inter. Cremonese plays Fiorentina in the other semifinal. The second legs will be on April 26-27.

Germany

Bayern Munich hosts Freiburg and Union Berlin visits Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarterfinals of the German Cup. Bayern is bidding to win the competition for the first time in three years and atone for embarrassing exits in the last two seasons. Borussia Mönchengladbach routed Bayern 5-0 in the second round last season and Holsten Kiel knocked out the Bavarian powerhouse at the same stage the season before. Freiburg reached the final last year but faces a tall task in Munich for what will be Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel’s second game in charge. Jamal Musiala is likely to start. In Frankfurt, the home team will be looking for its first win in any competition at the eighth attempt. Union, third in the Bundesliga, is full of confidence but can expect another tough encounter after riding its luck to win their league encounter 2-0 last month. “The 90 minutes showed what quality Frankfurt has,” Union coach Urs Fischer said.

Read all the Latest Sports NewsCheck OutOrange Cap and Purple Cap holder details here