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Barcelona and Bayern Munich in Spanish Cup and German Cup finals this weekend

German, Spanish, Italian and French Cup competitions reach a climax this weekend

James Mariner
Friday 20 May 2016 14:15 BST
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Pep Guardiola's spell at Bayern comes to an end on Saturday as his side face Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup final in Berlin
Pep Guardiola's spell at Bayern comes to an end on Saturday as his side face Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup final in Berlin (GETTY IMAGES)

With Crystal Palace and Manchester United bringing down the curtain on the domestic season over here and England beginning their Euro 2016 preparations less that 24 hours later, the casual football fan would be forgiven for thinking the only major game left was next weekend's Champions League final. Never fear. Germany, Italy and Spain also have their Cup finals taking place this weekend, giving viewers a selection of matches to choose from.

GERMANY (DFB Cup final)

Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund, Saturday, 7pm, BT Sport Europe

Pep Guardiola takes charge of champions Bayern for the final time as they resume hostilities with Dortmund in Berlin. The Spaniard will hope to depart the 17-time winners on a high before his move to Manchester City, with a fourth successive Bundesliga crown offset by another failure to reach the Champions League final. Dortmund have lost the last two finals - including to Bayern two years ago - but did thrash their old rival 5-2 to win the trophy for a third time in 2012. The German Football Association has this week climbed down from supposed bans on the traditional beer showers for the winning team.

ITALY (Coppa Italia final)

Milan v Juventus, Saturday, 7.45pm, Sky Sports 2

Serie A champions - and Cup holders - Juventis face a Milan side making their first appearance in the final in 13 years. The Old Lady already hold the record for most Cups - 10 - while Milan's 203 appearance brough them their fifth trophy. Juventus required a penalty shoot-out to overcome Internazionale in the semi-finals, prevailing 5-3 after a second leg 3-0 defeat levelled the aggregate scores at 3-3 after extra time, while Milan brushed aside third-tier Alessandria 6-0 on aggregate, although have struggled under new manager Cristian Brocchi. Players from both finalist were blessed by the Pope in Rome on Friday.

SPAIN (Copa del Rey)

Barcelona v Sevilla, Sunday, 8.30pm, Sky Sports 1

Lionel Messi and Barcelona attempt to halt Europa League winners Sevilla in Madrid this weekend (Getty)

Fresh from a third consecutive Europa League success over Liverpool on Wednesday, Unai Emery's side seek a third Spainsh Cup in a decade at the Vicente Calderon. Barcelona have won the competiion just three times since 1998, including last year's victory over Athletic Bilbao. A record 28th Spanish Cup would complete a double for Barcelona, who wrapped up their La Liga title last weekend with a 3-0 victory over Granada. The Spanish duo have already shared a nine-goal Cup thriller this season, the Catalan side prevailing 5-4 in August's Uefa Super Cup in Tbilisi.

FRANCE (Coupe de France)

Marseilles v PSG, Saturday, 8pm

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the big name making his departure here, the Swede having announced his departure earlier this month, with his destination remaining the subject of many a gossip column. He has scored over 150 goals in his four years at the Parc des Princes and you would not bet against the Stade de France bearing witness to one final piece of Zlatan magic. PSG have long since wrapped up the Ligue 1 title but run out in Paris seeking a second domestic treble on the spin. Marseilles' last Cup came back in 1989 - three finals lost since - and will hope to stop PSG from drawing level with their record of 10 Cups.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic seeks to bow out at Paris Saint-Germain with a domestic treble (Getty)

The weekend's entertainment also includes the Scottish Cup final, which sees Rangers taking on Hibernian (BBC Scotland and Sky Sports 1) in the first ever non-top flight final. East Fife, in 1938, were the last second-tier outfit to lift the trophy.

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