Chris Maduewesi
Member
From #England to #Spain down to #Germany,three teams will be crowned champions of a trophy which will be decided tomorrow.
Bayern Munich will renew acquaintances with their perennial rivals Borussia Dortmund in the finals of the German Cup on Saturday.
Meanwhile,Arsenal have a date with destiny when they take on Hull City in the finals of the FA Cup at the Wembley stadium.
Well the biggest of all the games appears to be in the one at Camp Nou between #Barcelona and Atletico Madrid,a game which would ultimately decide the destination of the La Liga title.
In all evaluation,these three games matches box-office standards and certainly not the type you would wish to substitute for the other.
Expect some cliffhanger actions from the blast of the whistle to the end of these games tomorrow.
So in order of expectancy and magnitude of elevation,let's preview the three top games on offer this weekend.
Barcelona Vs Atletico Madrid
Somewhat surprising that the Spanish La Liga title came down to the last game of the season,more interesting that #RealMadrid is not even in the equation.
The game at the Camp Nou has been dubbed as the biggest game in #Atletico's season. Just a draw (as easy as it sounds) and they would be crowned champions.
Lose to Barcelona,and the Catalans would retain the title. Coach Tata Martino's team must be thanking their stars that they have been afforded an opportunity to salvage a season that seemed,well obviously in tatters.
Virtually all the key players in both camps have been certified fit for the clash.
Neymar, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba have all overcome their injuries and will see them be available for Barcelona,while Diego Costa will be available also for selection for Atletico.
Worthy of note is that,of the four times that Barcelona have played #Atletico this season,Diego Simeone's team have not lost even any one of them.
They have more or less mastered how they can stop Barcelona,importantly they have succeeded in stifling Lionel Messi in recent years from scoring against them.
Barcelona would be buoyed by the news that #Messi has agreed a new deal with them,albeit not cheaply,but it could be an extra incentive for them to rise to when the occasion is needed most this season.
It would be feisty and definitely lots of passion would be infused in the game with a lot would be as stake.
Perfect game for the neutrals who would want to see Atletico break that duopoly of the La Liga held strongly by Real Madrid and Barcelona since 2004.
It is a tough ask for #Simeone's team,more like an unthinkable task of going into the lion's den,but then Daniel went into the lion's den and came out.
Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund
A school of thought believes that there are only two teams in Germany: Bayern Munich and #BorussiaDortmund,all other make up the number.
Both teams will go up against each other in the German Cup final,which all but ends the German league.
No team can hurt each other's ambitions more like these two do to each other,as they compete on all fronts both on and off the pitch.
Dortmund always have an extra motivation to beat Bayern,more borne out of animosity which has seen the Bavarians poach their best players in recent season.
Mario Goetze last summer and now Robert #Lewandowski,the latter incidentally will be playing his last game against the club he has already signed for.
How committed Lewandowski would be in the match is left to be seen,knowing fully well that he would lining up for the guys in red next season.
However the battle would be won mainly on the dugout. Jurgen #Klopp seems to have perfected strategies to make Pep #Guardiola look less of a master tactician.
A record of two wins and a loss in the ties against Guardiola gives Klopp an edge over his counterpart in Bayern's bench.
Injuries might not help Bayern's course, Thiago #Alcantara and Bastian Schweinsteiger have both been ruled out of the tie. While Mario #Mandzukic has been left out the team entirely over disciplinary problems.
Might be an opportunity for Dortmund to take an advantage and land a trophy against their rivals,however despite the ground-breaking achievements in the Bundesliga, a failure would be a gloss on Bayern's season.
Arsenal vs Hull City
Every bookmaker seems to be backing Arsenal for the #FACup title and rightly so because they are playing against #HullCity in the finals.
Perhaps the most imbalance of the games that will be played today,maybe an injustice,but Hull deserves every plaudit for getting to this stage of the competition.
A game on paper that #Arsenal even if they field an under-strength team should win,right? There exist a gulf in class between these two teams which makes it look like a straightforward call to make.
But wait,we are talking about a Cup final here? anybody's game that can most likely tilt anyway.
Arsenal would have it at the back of their minds that there isn't a better opportunity to end their 9-year trophy drought than this.
However,wails of the 2011 League Cup final loss to Birmingham City still reverberates loud and succinct enough.
The Arsenal players insists that they are not complacent rather confident of an opportunity they have to make history.
There is an aura of uncertainty over the future of club manager Arsene #Wenger,with many claiming he would retire if they fail to win the trophy.
It also emerged on Friday that right back Bacary #Sagna has reached a deal with #ManchesterCity;not the right mentality they should have going into such games.
It would be shameful if Arsenal don't win,but to be fair to Hull,they equally deserve a shot at the Cup.
The worse thing Arsenal would do is to approach the game with arrogance,and just like Birmingham in 2011 that had Obafemi Martins,Hull this time around has another Nigerian: Omatsone Aluko