MATCHDAY: Gattuso faces AC Milan as opponent for first time

A look at what’s happening around European soccer on Sunday:

ITALY

Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso revisits his past when he faces AC Milan as an opponent for the first time. Milan, of course, is the team with which Gattuso won two Serie As and two Champions Leagues as a player. Milan was also the team that Gattuso coached from 2017 to 2019 before he left by mutual consent at the end of last season. Both Napoli and Milan have performed well lately, with Napoli having won the Italian Cup and Milan coming off a comeback win over Juventus. In other games, it’s: Genoa vs. Spal; Cagliari vs. Lecce; Fiorentina vs. Hellas Verona; Parma vs. Bologna; and Udinese vs. Sampdoria.

ENGLAND

Leicester can move back into third place in the Premier League with a win at Bournemouth, which is looking increasingly likely to be relegated. Chelsea’s loss at Sheffield United has given Leicester the opportunity to reclaim third spot with three matches remaining in the race for Champions League qualification. Bournemouth is six points adrift of safety after Watford and West Ham won on Saturday. Tottenham hosts Arsenal in a north London derby with consequences for Europa League qualification. One point separates the rivals who are realistically out of the running for the Champions League places. Wolverhampton hosts Everton and second-to-last Aston Villa desperately needs to beat Crystal Palace at home if it is to stay up.

SPAIN

Julen Lopetegui’s Sevilla hosts a relegation-threatened Mallorca seeking a win to clinch Spain’s last Champions League berth for next season. Sevilla is undefeated in 12 straight Spanish league games and is finishing the season strong with three wins in a row. It will be without injured goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik, meaning Yassine Bounou will defend the net. Athletic Bilbao and Valencia are trying to stay in the fight for a Europa League berth in their respective matches at Levante and relegation-threatened Leganés. Eibar faces the already-relegated Espanyol trying not to slip into the drop zone.

Image credits: AP