THE second half of the European league season is underway, and the race to pick up league points has kicked into higher gear. It’s perhaps stating the obvious, but every match is a big one from now on as teams at both ends of the table go all out in their pursuit for trophies or, in some cases, to avoid relegation.

BT Weekend previews two key games taking place this weekend in England and Italy that will have a huge bearing on the destinies of the clubs involved.

Everton vs Arsenal (Saturday 8.30 pm, Singapore time)

It’s first against 19th in the English Premier League (EPL) as the dominant leaders Arsenal  – five points ahead of defending champions Manchester City having played a game less – travel to Goodison Park to face a dispirited Everton.

The Toffees (Everton’s nickname) are staring relegation in the face, having picked up only 15 points all season and are only one rung off the bottom because of a slightly better goal difference compared to Southampton.

Everton finally pulled the trigger last week and sacked the hapless Frank Lampard, bringing in former Burnley boss Sean Dyche to fill the hot seat and try to save their skins. Dyche will hope he can at least make it to the end of the season, as he’s now the eighth permanent manager since Farhad Moshiri bought the club just six years ago.

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If the mood at Everton is mostly one of doom and gloom these days, it’s the exact opposite at Arsenal where the Gunners are on track to win the EPL trophy for the first time since the 2003/04 season.

Arsenal are functioning and playing like a well-oiled machine. Manager Mikel Arteta strengthened his squad at the end of the January transfer window, bringing in Italian midfielder Jorginho  – a proven match-winner and a penalty kick specialist  – from London rivals Chelsea.

Arteta will be hoping for goals galore on Saturday, if history is anything to go by. Arsenal have scored at least five goals on five different occasions in EPL matches against Everton, including a 5-1 victory in May 2022 on the final day of the previous season.

Everton, though, have a proud record of their own to boast of against the leaders. Before that 5-1 loss, Everton won the previous three meetings, including a pair of 2-1 wins at home.

Will the Gunners shrug off the pressure of the title race to notch another win, or will Dyche survive his baptism of fire and cause one of the upsets of the season?

Inter-Milan vs AC Milan (Monday 3.45 am)

Napoli are light years ahead of everyone else in Italy’s Serie A  – 13 points above second-placed Inter-Milan  – that the destination of the trophy is already a foregone conclusion.

The battle to finish as runners-up, however, is very much alive with just three points separating second from sixth in the table.

The Milan derby at a sold-out San Siro Stadium takes centrestage in the league this weekend, with the current Serie A champions AC Milan now in fifth and just two points behind Inter-Milan.

AC Milan, however, are in freefall at the moment and in real danger of missing out on the Champions League next season, having picked up only five points in January and are winless in their last six games.

That barren spell includes a heavy 0-3 defeat to Inter in the Super Cup final, and elimination from the Italian Cup by Torino.

AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli is desperate to stop the rot, but there are few signs he can turn things around anytime soon. After that loss to Inter in Saudi Arabia, he could only look on forlornly from the sidelines as his side were crushed by Lazio and then comfortably beaten at home by lowly Sassuolo.

“We’ve hit a rough patch both mentally and tactically,” said Pioli. “I’ll have to work even more on the mindset of my players to understand what they need to get over this difficult period and also try to understand the tactical issues in order to find the right remedy.”

Inter may be in second place but they have had their fair share of setbacks of late too. They lost 0-1 to mid-table Empoli a fortnight ago, and drew with Monza in early-January.

That said, Inter’s strength is at the back, where they boast the meanest home defence in Serie A this season with just five goals conceded, the same number as Roma. Inter are also the only Italian team still in contention for the Champions League and Italian Cup.

Inter would love nothing more than to compound AC Milan’s misery by defeating them again, and based on current form, that outcome seems the most likely.