#seasondefining

'A season-defining game in the shadow of tragedy'

Jose Mourinho’s first season at Manchester United came down to one game at Stockholm’s superbly appointed Friends Arena – a game played in the shadow of tragedy but still a game that would define how and he and his team’s season would be viewed. If Manchester United lost to Ajax in the Europa League Final, sixth place in the Premier League and an EFL Cup win would count as a failure given…

Season-defining clash awaits Leverkusen and Wolfsburg

After impressing only in fits and starts for much of the campaign, both Bayer 04 Leverkusen[1] and VfL Wolfsburg[2] find themselves in the thick of the race to qualify for the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League. Similarly, it is eighth-in-the-table Wolfsburg’s season-long inconsistencies that continue to put their continental ambitions at risk. Perhaps it is down to the physical burden of reaching the…

Leverkusen and Dortmund braced for season-defining clash

Second-placed BVB have built up a 13-point advantage over Sunday’s third-in-the-table[1] hosts, but Die Werkself come into the game emboldened by a six-match unbeaten run. Klassiker on the horizon For Dortmund, Sunday’s blockbuster fixture represents the first of six testing fixtures in the space of just three weeks, culminating in Der Klassiker[2] against defending champions FC Bayern München on…