2nd from bottom Burnley entertain 11th place Stoke in what could be the last chance for the hosts to bail themselves out of trouble. The visitors only need to maintain their mid-table status and nothing more.

Burnley accepted 13 goals in their last 4 EPL games. Naturally they lost them all with such a leaking defense, although they have scored 4 themselves.

Stoke may not be the best of travelers, but they are unbeaten in their last 2 visits to Burnley, and appear to know exactly what they’re doing, having gone 11 games without a defeat 9all competitions) before they finally conceded 2 on the trot (Arsenal in the league and Chelsea in the cup).

16th placed Sunderland welcome 13th on the table Bolton in what appears to be a 6-pointer, with both hovering just above the relegation zone and with only 2 points separating the two from eachother.

The Black Cats are winless in 7 EPL games plus one in the cup, letting in 3 times as much as the 5 goals they scored in all of them combined.

The Trotters made a good push forward with 2 successive wins and appear to be on their way to leave the danger zone further behind.

Rock bottom Pompey take on 9th placed Brum in a bid for the former to build on their last weekend win at Burnley, and also repeat this weekend cup win over Birmingham themselves. Brum have nothing to play for but pride, and maybe revenge.

The reinstalled points certainly brought life back into the Portsmouth squad, and having put 2 back-to-back wins certainly adds confidence.

Birmingham don’t like playing Pompey away much, as it was more than 11 years ago that they last won there. They are 0-5-3 from their last 8 visits and that includes defeats in their last 2 trips to the southern port.

The Hurt Locker is slight odds on favourite with the bookies while Avater just behind in the markets at slight odds against.

The other eight nominees have not been given much chance and usually the bookies get it spot on, it is rare for there to be an upset at The Oscars.

But it does happen and Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards has been touted in some quarters as a potential live outsider.

The Oscars kicks off Sunday evening in Los Angeles.

10th placed Everton play hosts to 18th placed Hull with the Toffies only playing for pride now. Hull though need points to escape relegation.

Everton lost in Europe and then again at the Lane last week, and now look to bounce back, but their motive may not be all that high.

Hull are fighting for their lives, but their away form is not at all helping. 0-4-10 certainly is worthy only of a relegation struggling side.

16th vs 6th, and both desperately need to win.

Wigan are only 1 point buoyant above relegation, and having not won in 7 consecutive games certainly doesn’t help them much.

Liverpool also need to win to stay in the run for the last CL seat available. They still have Man Utd, Birmingham and Burnley to visit, and Chelsea, West Ham and Fulham to host, so it’s likely they will be dropping points and it doesn’t look good at all. Furthermore, a trip to Lille in the midweek and suddenly the odds on the home win look attractive.

17th host 2nd and it would be interesting to see if the hosts can repeat their 2004 won over Man Utd and put a dent in their title defending campaign.

Wolves drew to Liverpool, won over Tottenham and lost to Chelsea for their last 3 home games. Nothing wrong about these results and they still don’t look like pushovers, although they are 1-1-7 vs United.

Man Utd certainly cannot afford to drp points now, but they also have AC Milan next up and cannot totally rely on their 3-2 slim lead from the away game.

13th vs 15th with just one point separating the two, so definitely a relegation dogfight 6-pointer. It should be interesting to see if Bolton can continue their flawless run against West Ham of late.

The Hammers have not conceded a single goal in any of their last 4 home games in EPL, and are 3-1-0 in them.

Bolton have not scored in either of their last 4 EPL games, nor even in the FA Cup replay fixture at the Lane.

Top of the table Inter play hosts to Genoa in a fixture they traditionally win.

Inter finally ended their drawing series and put 2 back-to-back wins from their last 2 games, but one of them was in the Champions League vs Chelsea, so just one win to build on in Serie A.

Genoa 0-2-6 on their travels since October, and they don’t seem to be a threat to the league leaders.

Rock bottom Siena take on 12th placed Parma with a chance to finally leave the foot of the table.

Siena collected 7 points from their last 3 games, but the 2 points they dropped were in the only game they played at home of these 3.

Parma went 9 games without a single win (0-2-7) before they took advantage at home of a severely depleted Sampdoria side last weekend and won 1-0.

7th placed Sampdoria look to find their way back to winning ways as they welcome 17th placed Lazio.

Sampdoria are 7-5-0 at home so to concede a home defeat now and against a team that is clearly out of all sorts on the travel is simply out of the question.

Lazio can only dream of salvaging a point if they can keep it tight at the back, with Sampdoria probably still missing their best strikers. However, Lazio are 1-5-8 on the road (all competitions) since the start of October, so even the draw is unlikely to be achieved.

4th placed Palermo look all but guaranteed a win at home over 18th placed Livorno here.

The hosts are 9-4-0 at home and they managed to win over Juve in Turin for their last game, so they are certainly on a high.

Livorno lost all of their last 3, and 2 of these were at home vs fellow strugglers Bologna and Siena. They remain winless in 7 and have collected just a point from their last 4 on the road, and with the weakest attack –by far- in this division they cannot hope to change that today.

8th vs 15th but it looks like Cagliari may continue to struggle for form, while the guests are finding theirs more often lately.

Cagliari are still a strong side at home though and remain unbeaten in 10 (7-3-0) at home, so maybe they will win after all.

Catania certainly could use a point here, and having only lost once in their last 5 they may get one. If they can beat Juve, Genoa (Cup) and Lazio all on the road they certainly stand a not-so-dismal chance of even winning here.

14th placed Bologna play hosts to 6th placed Napoli in what looks like a bore draw bound-to-be game.

Although Bologna are 3-1-0 from their last 4 away games, at home they have only won once in their last 5 (1-2-2). They also failed to beat Napoli in any of their last 5 H2H games anywhere.

Napoli don’t seem to care who they play, as they draw to Inter and Roma as well as Siena and Genoa (at Napoli) alike. 1-5-1 from their last 7 anywhere and 11 from 26 games all season pretty much says it all. The only other side that drew that much is Lazio down at 17th spot.

13th placed Bari may continue their slide down the table as they host 11th placed Chievo who seem to have some kind of form of late.

Bari lost all their last 4 including defeats to fellow strugglers Atalanta and Catania, and half only scored once in all 4 games combined.

Chievo may not be world beaters but their defense is only 2nd to Inter Milan’s (tied with AC Milan). It’s their offense they should be worried about as only 3 other sides in Serie A scored less than them.

19th vs 16th in a true relegation dogfight 6-pointer. Neither side can afford to lose here, although Udinese may consider it a good result to get a draw.

Atalanta are 5 points adrift from safety line, and 6 points behind their guests. Having already won at Udine earlier this season they may fancy their chances of taking all 3 points and taking a step towards the light at the end of their tunnel.

Udinese continue to stutter and may soon find themselves inside the relegation zone. Occasional good displays won’t do them any good, as it’s the result that really matters, and that they do not seem to be getting much of late.

3rd vs 2nd and it could not have come in a worse time for either side. No matter what the outcome maybe, Inter is the only side that will benefit from it.

Roma crashed out of the Europa League, and dropped 2 points to Napoli in the league all in the same week. They maybe there for the taking, although they are 11-0-2 at home and also hold the upper hand in the H2H vs Milan.

Milan have an important trip to Old Trafford next, but their domestic campaign is gaining momentum and with 4 straight wins they have now come as close as 4 points behind Inter at the top.

3rd placed Valencia welcome 16th placed Racing with with both needing the points albeit for different reasons.

Valencia play to defending their spot on the table, with one eye on their upcoming European clash vs Bremen in the midweek.

Racing are a mere 5 points hovering over the relegation zone, and 2 bad results could see them sucked into the relegating trio zone if other results do not go their way.

17th placed Zaragoza look to build on their 3-1-1 from their last 5 games to continue their escapade from the relegation battles at the expense of ‘mysterious’ Atletico who excel in Europe but still seem to struggle on the domestic scene.

Zaragoza though won only one of their last 6 home games, so they may still be short of confidence. On the other hand they should take heart from the fact they beat Atletico in the last 2 games they played them as hosts.

Atletico have just managed to beat Galatasaray in Turkey, and we all know what it means to win in Istanbul. Still, they won only one of their last 5 on the road in La Liga, and it remains a mystery as to why they fail to get the results in Spain.

7th vs 18th and it looks like a guaranteed home win.

Bilbao are ready to go for another European adventure after they had just crashed out of this season’s Europe League at the hands of Anderlecht. They also look to complete the triangle after already having beaten both Xerez and Tenerife for their last 2 home games, but it’s not only the bottom sides they beat here, for they also gave Real Madrid their last domestic defeat 7 weeks ago. Bilbao are on a 4-games winning streak at home.

The visitors can only hope for a draw at best, but seeing as they struggle on the road and especially against sides from the top half it still could be a step further than their reach.

Although this is 12th vs 9th it could very well be affecting relegation come the end of the season. These two are in bad shape currently, with each earning just one point from their erspective last 3.

Osasuna extended their home unbeaten run to 4 games through the draw to Valladolid.2 weeks ago. Good enough -you may think- as they kept their 10 points buoyancy margin over the relegation zone, but things can change quickly in Spain and in 3-4 weeks it may not look as comfortable as it does today.

Gatafe have not won in their last 5 La Liga games, and if it stays like this they could also be sucked into the relegation battles that usually involve all of the bottom half in La Liga.

5th vs 10th and although Mallorca are good at home the visitors are no easy prey.

10-0-1 certainly makes the Mallorcans huge favourites. Only Sevilla beat them here in the league, but they also lost to Getafe in the cup and it’s yet unknown whether they are starting to feel the heat of the competition for Europe.

Gijon are unbeaten in 3 and look to build on it, so expect them to give their hosts a good run for their money.

14th vs rock bottom who look at guaranteed relegation eye to eye. The hosts are not completely safe either, so they really do need the 3 points here.

Malaga are on a good run of late and the 1-2 reverse at the Camp Nou cannot take that away from them. They certainly are worth a punt even at these odds.

Xerez are 8 points behind 19th on the table Tenerife, and 12 away from safety, so it’s all but over for them. They have won only 2 games all season and are yet to win on the road.

15th play hosts to 8th with both needing the points to climb up the table for better position.

Espanyol are once again becoming strong at home and are now 4-1-0 from their last 5 at home. They dropped important points against fellow strugglers Malaga and Xerez in the last 2 games, but both were away fixtures.

Villareal are also much better at home, but on the road they simply suck. 1-2-8 all season and have just lost by 1-4 at Wolfsburg in Europe 10 days ago, and they certainly won’t make it to a European place like this.

2nd on the table play hosts to 4th in a game they must win to keep the pressure on top team Barca. Sevilla also need the points to keep the pressure on Valencia at 3rd. This fixture usually produces a high number of goals.

Real look like they cannot be opposed in La Liga at this time with 6 straight wins. However, they have Lyon to play in the midweek and having already lost by the odd goal in the 1st leg they will need to be on top shape to knock out the French side, so they may lose their focus on this one.

It’s not unusual for Sevilla to come to the Bernabeu and take points. They won here last season by 4-3, and did it in the Super Cup the season before by 5-3.

13th play hosts to top side in a bid to cause a shock that will only benefit 2nd placed Real Madrid.

Almeria hope to build on their 5 games unbeaten run (3-2-0) which is identical to their last 5 at home too. They aim to climb further away from the bottom, although they look relatively safe now.

Barca need to ein to keep their 2 points lead over Real who play 2 hours later, and may find comfort in the fact they are 4-1-0 vs Almeria since the latter has been promoted, with all 4 wins being to nil.

9th vs 10th on the table with the two being tied on points. The winner may still have little hope to pend up playing in Europe, while the loser can certainly forget about that. A draw would end both sides dreams, but at least they both look safe enough and have no relegation worries.

Hoffenheim are a balanced team, having won 4 at home and 5 away. However, they are more prone to defeat away and have only lost 3 gams at home.

Mainz are the Fulham or Burnley of Bundesliga. With 7-4-1 at home you’d think they should be in the top 4 already, but the 1-4-7 on the road explains why they are not.

Nurnberg at 16th take on 2nd placed Leverkusen in a bid to repeat their 1-1 home draw to Bayern 2 weeks ago. Leverkusen lost the top spot with 2 successive draws and are now trailing to Bayern by 2 points.

The hosts may look value but it’s worthy to note they have only beaten Leverkusen once in the last 10 H2H games anywhere. They also lost on the last 4 meetings, but only one of them was at home.

Leverkusen remain the only unbeaten side in Bundesliga despite having handed the tops spot to Bayern. Another slip up and they may have to settle for the fact they had already blown their chance to win the title.

5th on the table Dortmund entertain their Borussia neighbours who are 2th on the table, and while hosts are defending their chance to play in Europe next season, the visitors only aim to finish where they are; in the middle of the table.

Dortmund went 9 games without a loss with 6 out of 6 wins between November and January, but then lost their focus and went 1-0-4 from their last 5.

On contrary, the visitors are 2-2-1 from the last 5 and appear to be on the clear regarding relegation.

Defending champions who are now up to 11th play at home against 13th placed side Bochum who seem to enjoy drawing a lot these days. Both only look like finishing in the mid-table area.

Wolfsburg are over their bad ditch it seems. After going 13 games without a win (all competitions) they are now on a 3-games winning streak (2-Bundesliga) and have managed to reach the Europa League round of 16.

The visitors are 1-5-0 from their last 6 (or 3-5-0 from the last 8 ) and have lost only once in their last 12, so it maybe a good idea to stay away from this one.