{"id":1130,"date":"2026-04-26T19:28:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T19:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=1130"},"modified":"2026-04-26T19:28:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T19:28:37","slug":"5%ef%b8%8f%e2%83%a3-spicy-fixtures-you-must-watch-this-weekend-%f0%9f%8c%b6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=1130","title":{"rendered":"5\ufe0f\u20e3 spicy fixtures you must watch this weekend \ud83c\udf36"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Our five best fixtures to watch this weekend feature the FA Cup semi-finals, a clash between Serie A giants, and a fiery Turkish title-decider.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Five spicy fixtures you must watch this weekend:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h4><strong>Manchester City vs Southampton<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Manchester City have lurked in the shadows for much of the campaign, quietly allowing Arsenal social media to run away with quadruple talk. Now, there\u2019s a good chance the Citizens snatch three trophies from the Gunners\u2019 grasp. The League Cup is in the bag, while a win at Burnley in midweek took City top of the Premier League with five games to go.<\/p>\n<p>This weekend presents the FA Cup semi-finals, with Southampton the opponents at Wembley. The Saints stunned Arsenal in the last eight and are unbeaten in 17 Championship games. Underdogs, undoubtedly, but Southampton were a second-tier side the last time the club lifted this trophy\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kick-off:<\/strong> 5:15pm BST, Saturday 25th April<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where to watch: <\/strong>The match will be shown on TNT Sports, HBO Max, BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Spice Rating: <\/strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"emoji td-animation-stack-type0-2 td-animation-stack-type0-1\" role=\"img\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/16.0.1\/svg\/1f336.svg\" alt=\"\ud83c\udf36\"\/><\/h5>\n<h4><strong>Chelsea vs Leeds<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The historical rivalry between Chelsea and Leeds faces its biggest chapter in decades this weekend. The teams meet at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals, with a place in the decider on the line.<\/p>\n<p>Chelsea enter the contest in a state of chaos, with Liam Rosenior sacked after five straight league losses without scoring. Calum McFarlane has taken interim charge until the end of the campaign, and Chelsea have history of trophy wins under caretaker coaches\u2026<\/p>\n<blockquote data-service=\"twitter\" data-category=\"marketing\" data-placeholder-image=\"https:\/\/thefootballfaithful.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/complianz-gdpr-premium-DISABLED\/assets\/images\/placeholders\/twitter-minimal.jpg\" class=\"cmplz-placeholder-element twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Chelsea are winless this season against Leeds United \u274c<\/p>\n<p>The blues face Leeds again on Sunday, in the FA Cup Semi-Final \ud83c\udfc6\u2694\ufe0f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0Ug8XII76n\">pic.twitter.com\/0Ug8XII76n<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 LiveScore (@livescore) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/livescore\/status\/2047586341370655100?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Leeds, however, will feel this is too big an opportunity to miss against a fragile Chelsea side.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kick-off: <\/strong>8pm, Sunday 26th April<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where to watch: <\/strong>The game will be shown live in the UK on TNT Sports 1. Viewers in the UK can stream on HBO Max, provided they have the required subscription.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Spice Rating: \ud83c\udf36\ud83c\udf36<\/strong><\/h5>\n<h4><b>Arsenal vs Newcastle <\/b><\/h4>\n<p>This weekend is a defining fixture for Arsenal. Mikel Arteta\u2019s team have fallen short when the pressure has been on in recent weeks, losing to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final and Premier League.<\/p>\n<p>That latter loss has allowed the Citizens to replace them as Premier League leaders, a position Arsenal had held for 200 days. With only goals scored between them, there\u2019s no margin for error now.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal must win, though the North Londoners could hardly have opponents in poorer form. Newcastle have lost three in a row, and five of their last seven.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kick-off: <\/strong>5:30pm BST, Saturday 25th April<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where to watch: <\/strong>The match will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League in the UK.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Spice Rating: \ud83c\udf36\ud83c\udf36\ud83c\udf36<\/strong><\/h5>\n<h4><strong>AC Milan vs Juventus<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Two titans of Italian football meet this weekend as AC Milan face Juventus. Defeat for the home side could all but hand Inter Milan the Scudetto, and spread concern over their Champions League position.<\/p>\n<p>Juventus have roared into the top four in recent weeks, with five wins in their last six games. However, a setback at San Siro could leave Como and Roma within striking distance again.<\/p>\n<blockquote data-service=\"twitter\" data-category=\"marketing\" data-placeholder-image=\"https:\/\/thefootballfaithful.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/complianz-gdpr-premium-DISABLED\/assets\/images\/placeholders\/twitter-minimal.jpg\" class=\"cmplz-placeholder-element twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Juventus are STILL 21 major honours clear of any other Italian club when it comes to their jam-packed trophy collection \ud83d\ude2e\u200d\ud83d\udca8\ud83e\udd93\ud83c\udfc6<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019ve also won 16 more Serie A titles than Inter, and 17 more than Milan \ud83d\ude33<\/p>\n<p>This includes domestic, FIFA and UEFA competitions \ud83d\udd25 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ui7a3HzFC7\">pic.twitter.com\/ui7a3HzFC7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 OneFootball (@OneFootball) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OneFootball\/status\/2015368148841541763?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 25, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Kick-off: <\/strong>7:45pm BST, Sunday 26th April<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where to watch: <\/strong>TNT Sports 1, DAZN and HBO Max<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Spice Rating: \ud83c\udf36\ud83c\udf36\ud83c\udf36<\/strong><strong>\ud83c\udf36<\/strong><\/h5>\n<h4><strong>Galatasaray vs Fenerbahce<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>If there\u2019s ever a game that promises fireworks, it\u2019s this one. Even more so when the S\u00fcper Lig is on the line. Galatasaray will provide a hostile welcome to Fenerbahce this weekend, as the league leaders look to take a giant step towards another title.<\/p>\n<p>Only four points separate the teams with four games to go. A win for Gala would be all but decisive, while Fener must win to keep their dream alive.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kick-off: <\/strong>6pm, Sunday 26ht April<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where to watch: <\/strong>The fixture will not be televised in the UK. US fans can watch the game on beIN Sports.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Spice Rating: \ud83c\udf36<\/strong><strong>\ud83c\udf36\ud83c\udf36\ud83c\udf36<\/strong><strong>\ud83c\udf36<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Read \u2013\u00a0Fantasy Premier League: FPL players to target for Blank Gameweek 34<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>See Also \u2013\u00a0\ud83d\udcc8 Power Rankings: Juventus on the up, Man United return<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Follow the Football Faithful on Social Media:<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Facebook\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram\u00a0| <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FootyFaithful_\">Twitter<\/a> | YouTube | TikTok<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our five best fixtures to watch this weekend feature the FA Cup semi-finals, a clash&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}