Turkey have made a good start to the qualifiers. They were 1-0 behind first and it was really surprising to me as well. But they still managed to make the comeback they needed and won the game. Turkey don't have a group full of very tough opponents now. They can even finish this group stage as the leader if they play carefully.

The biggest threat is obviously Croatia but they couldn't beat Wales either recently. Turkey are actually strong enough to beat them as well if they keep up a good performance.

Newcastle are going to be a really big obstacle for Manchester United on the next game week. Because they both are trying to reach the same goal at the end of the season. Finishing the season in top four is important for both sides now. Manchester United just seem to be in a better position in the league right now. This should a be a factor to care about a lot.

But still I can't trust Manchester United to win anyway. I expect both teams to score before anything else.

Real Madrid have lost their chance for the league title after that loss in the El Clasico. Therefore their only goal in the league might be to finish the season at the second position at least.

This isn't a task that they would have huge problems on making it happen. Because Atletico Madrid are the only team that can fight for the same goal now but their job is much more difficult. Because they have improved their form a lot while Real Madrid are losing points. But I assume Real Madrid wouldn't let them pass anyway. They are still much more powerful team than Atletico Madrid in the end. They should be able to pull themselves together. The game against Valladolid is a good chance to do so.

There is a really nice competition between Freiburg and Leipzig for the fourth position in the standings now. Freiburg are ahead by a slight gap for now but the balances can change all of a sudden.

It depends on which side to play much better. On next game week I think both of these teams will finish it with three points. I don't expect either Mainz or Hertha Berlin to make big difficulties for them. The final weeks can be really interesting about the Champions League fight as well. We are watching another similar scenario to the previous season. Let's see which one of these teams will make it this time. Freiburg lost this battle before.

On paper Cremonese can't do much against Atalanta honestly. Because they are literally the most likely team to relegate from the Serie A now. However things are really different when it comes to the Coppa Italia. They have eliminated really challenging opponents so far. I can say those teams were among the biggest favourites for the title. This can be an info to be careful about maybe.

But Cremonese still can't reflect this performance onto the Serie A. Therefore I still see Atalanta way ahead of them. Atalanta have a much bigger goal in the league so they should be able to win this.

Marseille - Montpellier is going to be the opening game this time. Normally Marseille should be able to win this game nicely. They are really successful in their head-to-head games as well. Besides they won in their away game against Montpellier as well therefore it would be surprising if Marseille lose points this time. This is important for Marseille too of course.

Because Marseille are trying to secure their current position at least. Because it is very important to qualify for the Champions League group stage. I expect Marseille to get a decent win.

I was about to say that Betis are really unlucky this week as they are going to face Atletico Madrid in an away game.

But they aren't very unlucky actually. Because Real Sociedad's job is also difficult on the same week. Their opponent is Villarreal and they are playing an away game. We might see the rivalry for top four continuing in the same way after next games end. Betis must be wishing to get the fourth position this time which was a thing they missed it by not a big gap last season. They had better show their best in their game up next.

Belgium got a win over Sweden by 3-0 today but interestingly De Bruyne wasn't able to make any contribution with goals or assists. But it was a day for Lukaku to shine after a long break. Because he made a hat-trick in this game and played the biggest role in this comfortable win. It has been a long time since I last saw him like this. I'm wondering if something would change about him.

Because this superb performance would improve his morale significantly. His self-confidence level also must have increased. Let's see how that will reflect on his remaining games in the season.

There is a PSG - Lyon game next time and I'm expecting to see PSG winning the game. Their previous game against each other already ended up with a win for PSG. It was a close win but this time PSG should be even more dominant. In Parc des Princes I just expect a win from them comfortably. They just can't risk their league title from now on as it is the only thing they have left.

They were caring about the Champions League the most but they are out of it already. At least they should go for the league title and secure it.

Bayer Leverkusen are in a really nice form these days. They have been winning for three weeks straight and this has made them close up with the 6th-placed team a lot. The gap is only three points now I mean. They were under the danger of relegation before but now they are in a very different position. All of this is thanks to Xabi Alonso's management style of course.

Since his arrival the team have been performing much better in the Bundesliga and Europa League both. This time they are playing against Schalke away in the league. They had better be careful if they want to maintain the winning streak. Because Schalke haven't been losing a single game for many weeks.

Juventus can really catch up with Atalanta but their job won't be easy at all. The gap is four points for now and Atalanta have been out-of-form for many weeks. But I guess Atalanta would start a decent form at some point. They can actually do this by beating Cremonese up next. Cremonese have surprised us in the Coppa Italia so far but they are the opposite in the Serie A.

I don't think they can resist Atalanta until the end of the game. I don't expect any mistakes by Atalanta. While Juventus are catching up they need to be more careful from now on.

PSG are seeing Rafael Leao move as an alternative to Messi. You know that there is a possibility that Messi could decide to leave the team. He isn't intending to extend his contract soon as it seems. Most probably we would see him being free agent and thinking about his future for some time. He would wait an offer by Barcelona to make a return as well.

Leao would be a really strong move for PSG honestly. He doesn't have the same playing style with Messi of course. But still Leao would keep the team very strong considering his performance so far.

Chelsea are going to host Aston Villa this time. They haven't had a reliable performance during the most of the season. This has just brought them to the middle of the standings I'm afraid. From now on there is no way they are qualifying for the Champions League. They will just try to finish at the best position they can. It wouldn't still be any success for them but still it is better than now.

I can't rely on Chelsea's performance now. They aren't consistent even though they are favoured against Aston Villa. They are vulnerable in defense as well. Therefore I might go for both teams to score.

Maybe it is too early to talk about it but I'm just doing it as I saw it on the news. Real Madrid might be preparing for a huge move for Haaland in 2024 already. It is said that there is a release clause of 240 million euros which can be activated by 2024. As Real Madrid are a very rich team I don't doubt them about paying this amount of money for an amazing player like Haaland.

They don't splurge on a player that easy these days. But Haaland is a completely different case really. He is a pure goal machine and I can't imagine how much stronger Real Madrid would be with him.

Next time there is an Atletico Madrid - Betis game as far as I can see. This is a really important game for Betis to maintain their chance for top four this season.

Because they are three points behind Real Sociedad now. Every single game left is important for both of these teams to capture the last spot for the Champions League. I mean I see Atletico Madrid as the third at the end of the season already. They are on a great streak for a long time and I don't think they would lose their position from now on. It is a similar season to the previous one. Here in this game I think we will see both teams scoring and maybe the game might end in a draw.

Leverkusen might seem like they have the best draw in the quarter finals. But they still need to be really careful anyway. Because Royale Union SG eliminated a solid team like Union Berlin in the previous round. We have all seen how great season Union Berlin have had so far. Therefore it shows how dangerous Royale Union SG can be in this tournament.

Of course Union Berlin weren't like one of the biggest title contenders. Now they will face one of the contenders which is Leverkusen. I really wonder how they will play against another strong German team. Leverkusen are doing well these days.

Union Berlin have a chance to catch up with Dortmund and Bayern Munich more in the standings this time. If those two teams get a draw in the der Klassiker this would be an advantage for Union Berlin. But it depends on Union Berlin win against Stuttgart home at the same time. I assume they would manage to do this against the last-placed team in the league. 

Even if Union Berlin don't win the title which is a really far possibility to me still - despite the small gap among the top three - I think they can at least secure their place in top four to make it to the Champions League this time.

The Italy - England game was really nice by the way. I enjoyed watching this game and England made it to the victory by 2-1 finally at the end.

But the game was actually balanced about ball possession. Italy actually had so many more passes completed than England in this game. But this was still no hindrance for England to win here. Rice and Kane helped their team get 2-0 ahead already in the first half. After getting hopeful by dropping the score gap to one Italy had a chance. England even got a red card in the 80th minute but still they managed to secure the win. Italy could have been better than this.

Napoli are very highly the favourite side in their game against Milan on the coming game week. I know Napoli are far ahead of every remaining team in the league now. They are just counting the days for announcing their league title officially. But they are still not complacent at all in their league games as well. They are fighting hard from the beginning to the end.

I think this will also be such game for Napoli. Milan are having defensive issues and it is really hard for them to show some resistance. Napoli can get a nice win over Milan. I know Lazio beat them here but I don't expect a similar result by Milan as well.

Arsenal's next fixture is a quite comfortable one as it seems. Because they are going to face Leeds in Emirates. I don't see Leeds as a serious threat to Arsenal here. While Arsenal are fighting for the league championship they just can't make a point loss in such easy games. They already beat Leeds once away and I expect a bigger win this time.

Until facing Manchester City again Arsenal had better look for winning all of their games ahead. Because Manchester City wouldn't give up on the championship that easy.