Weekend Action: Paella and Hutspot

The champion might be known in Holland, but there’s still excitement galore in the Nether Lands.

FC Utrecht faces Feyenoord in the city of the Dom Church. The last chance for Utrecht to secure a play off spot means they’ll need to win against the club in form. Feyenoord can laugh at long last, having escaped the “right column” in the last games. What seemed like a totally forlorn season now could still end on a high note for the Rotterdam club. Midfielder El Ahmadi and defender Kevin Hofland have recovered from injuries.

FC Twente and Ajax are fighting over the second spot in the standings, with Ajax playing away at the Sparta Castle, while Twente hosts newly crowned champs AZ. If AZ does what it needs to do in terms of fair play, they’ll win the game and indirectly help rivals Ajax to the second spot.

On the last day of the competition, Twente and Ajax face off in the Amsterdam ArenA. For now, Twente takes the second spot with one point more than Ajax…

In Spain, it’s game on between Real Madrid and Barca in the Bernabeu. I’ll see that game on Sunday evening, so I will only comment on it after it. The Barca players respond casually to reporters’ questions on the game. Eto’o: “The pressure is not on us. We’re ok. Even if we lose, we are still in the lead. If we win, we’re 7 points away. The pressure is on Real Madrid.”

Wunderkind Messi: “I think it’s better if we win. Than we can travel to London a tad more relaxed…”

Last season, El Classico was played with Real Madrid already the champs. Barca had to perform the humiliating honorary bow (?) for the archrivals. In that game, Madrid humiliated Barca even more by winning 4-1.

Arjen Robben is expected to play. The game will be too early for Sneijder, who only trained separately without the ball. With Guti out as well, it seems Van der Vaart will start. Guardiola misses Rafael Marquez and Thierry Henry is a question mark due to neck problems.

Barca travels to London to play Chelsea away on Wednesday. The big Classico is sandwiched between the crucial semi finals.