Manager Claudio Ranieri and his Leicester City side have stolen the English Premier League spotlight in 2015, but Monday will feature two traditional powerhouses in a fixture with massive title implications.
Second-place Arsenal will host third-place Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium, the lone match on Monday’s docket. The injury bug has plagued the London-based club, with key players Alexis Sanchez, Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla all out of action. The pace of attackers Jol Campbell and Theo Walcott will be massive against the City back line, which is still missing Vincent Kompany.
Meanwhile, table-toppers Leicester City will face a stiff road test against Everton. The Foxes will risk a nine-match unbeaten streak when they travel to Goodison Park on Saturday. The Premier League’s top-three goal-scorers will be featured in this match: Jamie Vardy (15) and Riyad Mahrez (11) from Leicester and Romelu Lukaku for Everton (12).
Here’s a closer look at this weekend’s action from Europe’s top leagues:
ENGLAND
Jose Mourinho’s second stint with Chelsea is officially over after the Portuguese manager was let go by the Blues on Thursday. The defending league champions host Sunderland in a must-win fixture for both clubs who are battling to stay out of the relegation zone.
With Louis Van Gaal on the hot seat at Manchester United, the Red Devils will be searching for its first victory in almost a month. After bailing out of the UEFA Champions League against Wolfsburg on Dec. 8, United followed up the loss with another defeat against newly-promoted club AFC Bournemouth just four days later.
Here are this weekend’s fixtures in the English Premier League.
Saturday
Chelsea vs. Sunderland
Manchester United vs. Norwich City
West Bromwich Albion vs. AFC Bournemouth
Everton vs. Leicester City
Southampton vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Stoke City vs. Crystal Palace
Newcastle United vs. Aston Villa
Sunday
Watford vs. Liverpool
Swansea City vs. West Ham United
Monday
Arsenal vs. Manchester City
SPAIN
With league leaders Barcelona in Japan for Sunday’s FIFA Club World Cup final against Argentine club River Plate, the spotlight will be those chasing the Blaugrana. Real Madrid will host a tricky Rayo Vallecano side on Sunday at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium with hopes of closing the gap on their rivals Barcelona.
Striker Antoine Griezmann has carried Atletico Madrid this season, bagging eight goals in 15 matches. Atleti can tentatively gain the top spot in Spain’s top flight with a win or draw against 16th-place Malaga, which realistically won’t be a massive task to overcome.
Here are this weekend’s fixtures in La Liga:
Saturday
Valencia vs. Getafe
Espanyol vs. Las Palmas
Real Betis vs. Sevilla
Deportivo La Coruña vs. Eibar
Sunday
Real Madrid vs. Rayo Vallecano
Athletic Bilbao vs. Levante
Granada vs. Celta Vigo
Real Sociedad vs. Villareal
Malaga vs. Atletico Madrid
GERMANY
It’s a two-team race for the Bundesliga title as we near the halfway point in the season. Leaders Bayern Munich hold a five-point advantage over Borussia Dortmund, but the latter has been hot as of late, winning four Bundesliga matches in a row. Dortmund’s Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang has tallied 18 goals this season, already surpassing his 16 from the 2014-15 campaign. Both clubs will be away on Saturday, with Bayern traveling to relegation side Hanover 96 and BVB meeting tenth-place Cologne.
Surprises Hertha Berlin and Mainz will go at it on Sunday, with both sides sitting in the top-half of the table for the time being. Berlin, currently occupying one of the league’s three Champions League spots, is 14 points behind Bayern Munich. With a victory over Berlin, Mainz will be sitting in an European spot of their own.
Here are this weekend’s fixtures in the Bundesliga:
Friday
Schalke 04 vs. Hoffenheim
Saturday
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Werder Bremen
Cologne vs. Borussia Dortmund
Ingolstadt 04 vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Hamburg SV vs. Augsburg
Hanover 96 vs. Bayern Munich
Stuttgart vs. Wolfsburg
Sunday
Hertha Berlin vs. Mainz
Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Darmstadt 98
ITALY
Only scoring 22 goals thus far, league leaders Inter Milan have succeeded in part due to its stellar defense. Through 16 matches, Internazionale have only conceded nine goals. Its back line, which features the likes of youngsters Martin Montoya and Juan Jesus, will be integral against 12th-place Lazio this weekend and the rest of the season. The Milan side is searching for its first Serie A crown since 2009-10, when the team also captured both the Coppa Italia and UEFA Champions League trophies.
At the opposite end of the table, Hellas Verona is still in search of its first league win. The bottom-feeders have conceded 26 goals this Serie A season. Verona will host sixth-place Sassuolo, which is currently vying for a spot in Europe.
Here are this weekend’s fixtures in Serie A:
Saturday
Bologna vs. Empoli
Sunday
Carpi vs. Juventus
Roma vs. Genoa
Atalanta vs. Napoli
Fiorentina vs. Chievo Verona
Hellas Verona vs. Sassuolo
Frosinone vs. AC Milan
Sampdoria vs. Palermo
Torino vs. Udinese
Inter Milan vs. Lazio
FRANCE
With almost half of the 2015-16 Ligue 1 campaign in the books, Paris Saint-Germain holds a massive lead over the rest of their French competition. Undefeated through 18 matches, PSG currently sits on 48 points, 17 clear of Angers and Monaco. The Parisians will travel to Caen on Saturday.
Second-place Angers will face stiff competition on Sunday when the newly-promoted club heads to St. Etienne, currently seventh in the table. The traveling side is riding a five-match unbeaten streak heading into their clash with Les Verts, which includes a 0-0 draw with PSG and a 2-0 victory against Lyon.
Here are this weekend’s fixtures in Ligue 1:
Saturday
Caen vs. Paris Saint-Germain
Bastia vs. Stade de Reims
Guingamp vs. Stade Rennes
Lorient vs. Nantes
Toulouse vs. Lille
Troyes vs. AS Monaco
Sunday
St. Etienne vs. Angers
Ajaccio vs. Lyon
Bordeaux vs. Marseille