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A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Sunday:
ENGLAND
Premier League leader Arsenal looks to extend its lead with a win at Southampton. The team managed by Mikel Arteta has won nine of its 10 games this season to top the table and will be expected to add to that impressive record at struggling Saints. Wolves hosts Leicester in a Midland's derby that is also an early relegation battle between two teams in the bottom three. Tottenham will look to recover from its loss to Manchester United earlier in the week when it faces Newcastle. Aston Villa plays Brentford after firing Steven Gerrard as manager and Leeds play Fulham at home in the day's other game.
SPAIN
Xavi Hernández says he will rotate his lineup when Barcelona hosts Athletic Bilbao ahead of its must-win Champions League game against Bayern Munich next week. Barcelona has to beat Bayern and hope for Inter Milan to slip to keep alive its chances of avoiding elimination from the group phase for a second consecutive season. Barcelona is in second place at six points behind Real Madrid while Bilbao is in sixth place in the Spanish league. The game is the first for Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde at Camp Nou since he was fired from Barcelona in January 2020. Valverde led Barcelona to two Spanish league titles, the last the club has won. Atlético Madrid visits Real Betis with both level on points in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Villarreal hosts Almería after sliding down the standings following just one win in six rounds. Osasuna plays at relegation-threatened Girona looking for a second straight win to remain in the hunt for a Europa League berth, while last-place Elche visits Espanyol.
ITALY
Title rivals Napoli and Atalanta both have tough matches as they vie for top spot in Serie A. Napoli visits José Mourinho’s Roma and will be looking to move back three points clear at the top of the standings with an 11th straight win in all competitions. Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti used to manage Roma, which is currently fourth. Atalanta is also unbeaten and just two points below Napoli. It hosts fifth-placed Lazio. Udinese is level on points with Lazio and will be looking to get back on track at home to Torino after two draws, although they came against Lazio and Atalanta. At the other end of the table, Lecce visits fellow struggler Bologna with both sides desperate for points to inch away from the relegation zone.
GERMANY
Bundesliga leader Union Berlin visits last-place Bochum before city rival Hertha Berlin welcomes Schalke for the visitors’ first game since firing their coach. Matthias Kreutzer is Schalke’s interim coach after five consecutive defeats across all competitions proved too many for Frank Kramer on Wednesday. Schalke, which was promoted last season, is second from bottom but could move above Hertha with a win as the home team hasn’t won any of its last five games. But Hertha has been showing signs of progress and should be able to claim its first home win of the season. Union is also on a five-game run – all victories – but can expect a fighting performance from Bochum, which won in the German Cup on Tuesday and can move above Schalke with a win over the surprise league leaders. Union can restore its four-point lead over Bayern Munich by beating Bochum.
FRANCE
Lorient needs to win at midtable Troyes to reclaim second place from Lens after it won at Marseille. But Lorient's top scorer Torem Moffi, who has netted eight league goals this season, misses the game as he recovers from a right ankle injury. Both fifth-place Rennes and sixth-place Monaco can both move above Marseille if they win. Rennes is at 19th-place Angers and Monaco travels to play seventh-place Lille. Canada striker Jonathan David has scored in his past four games for Lille and needs one goal to move level at the top of the scoring charts with Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappé on 10.
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