By JUSTIN FERGUSON

After a thrilling international break that had major World Cup implications, Europe’s top club players return to league play this weekend as the season starts to pick up steam.

The weekend will kick off with undoubtedly its biggest matchup, a Friday battle between the top two teams in Italy’s Serie A.

First-place AS Roma will once again put their perfect season record, one of only three in Europe, on the line against second-place Napoli. A major part of Roma’s unblemished start to the season is their defense, which has only allowed one goal in their seven straight league victories. Roma’s opponents have been outscored 10-0 inside the Stadio Olimpico, the site of Roma’s 2-1 season-ending victory over Napoli in May.

Undefeated Napoli, led by Marek Hamsik and former Real Madrid players Jose Callejon and Gonzalo Higuain, boast the second-best offense in the league. Napoli will be looking to do better than their last trip away from home, a 2-0 loss to English Premier League-leading Arsenal in Champions League play.

Speaking of the EPL, ninth-place Manchester United’s mediocre start to the season received a glimmer of hope before the international break, when teenager Adnan Janzuaj scored two-second half goals to give the defending champions a victory over last-place Sunderland. This weekend, the Red Devils will need more offensive output when they host fourth-place Southampton, who have not allowed a goal in their last six matches across all competitions. Extending their shutout streak at Old Trafford will be a tough task for the Saints, but their trip to Manchester presents a perfect opportunity to keep their surprising run going.

Here is a closer look at the weekend’s action from the top leagues in Europe:

ENGLAND

Liverpool are tied with league-leading Arsenal in points heading into this weekend, and the Reds will look to continue their great start to the season with a match at up-and-down Newcastle United. Brendan Rodgers’s team has not lost away from Anfield this season, while Alan Pardew’s Newcastle team has only won once at St. James’ Park. While a repeat of last season’s 6-0 Liverpool victory would be shocking, the Reds definitely have the advantage heading into Saturday’s matchup against inconsistent Newcastle.

Sixth-place Tottenham Hotspur will have the spotlight in Sunday’s lone EPL match, a visit to Aston Villa. Spurs were stunned by a three-goal loss to West Ham United right before the international break, and they now turn their attention to an Aston Villa squad that are unbeaten in three straight matches. The Villans remember last month’s 4-0 home loss to Tottenham in the Capital One Cup and will be looking to extend their opponents’ small slide down the league table.

Here are this weekend’s matches in the English Premier League:

Saturday:
Newcastle United vs. Liverpool
Arsenal vs. Norwich City
Chelsea vs. Cardiff City
Everton vs. Hull City
Manchester United vs. Southampton
Stoke City vs. West Bromwich Albion
Swansea City vs. Sunderland
West Ham United vs. Manchester City

Sunday:
Aston Villa vs. Tottenham Hotspur

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SPAIN

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid boast Europe’s other two perfect records at this point in the season, and both clubs will go on the road Saturday in search of another win. First-place Barcelona travel to Osasuna, who lost narrowly at Atletico a few weeks ago and are coming off a tight win over Malaga. The defending Spanish champions may have outscored opponents 17-3 in their last five league matches, but Osasuna have kept it close with La Liga’s top teams so far this season.

Barca’s city rivals, Espanyol, will be looking an end to their three-match losing streak this weekend against Atletico Madrid. Espanyol opened the season on a five-match unbeaten run, but now they sit in eight place in the league table. Atletico are led on offense by Diego Costa, who has scored in all but one of his side’s league matches this season. With Espanyol allowing multiple goals in their last four matches, Costa could easily extend that streak Saturday.

Here are this weekend’s matches in La Liga:

Saturday:
Real Madrid vs. Malaga
Valencia vs. Real Sociedad
Osasuna vs. Barcelona
Espanyol vs. Atletico Madrid

Sunday:
Granada vs. Getafe
Almeria vs. Rayo Vallecano
Real Betis vs. Elche
Real Valladolid vs. Sevilla

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GERMANY

Borussia Dortmund’s last match, a 2-0 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach, ended their reign on top of the Bundesliga and their unbeaten start to the season. Last season’s runners-up look to get back on track this weekend with a home match against Hannover 96, who have been dreadful on the road this season. Hannover have been outscored 7-0 in three road matches, opening the door for Dortmund to extend their perfect record at the Signal Iduna Park this Saturday.

New league leaders Bayern Munich also host a struggling side this weekend. Mainz are on a five-match winless skid heading into the Allianz Arena, home of the unbeaten defending champions. Pep Guardiola’s squad received a boost during the international break when big-money signing Mario Gotze played well for the German national team, and the young midfielder is set to return to Bayern Munich action in the coming days.

Here are this weekend’s matches in the Bundesliga:

Friday:
Hoffenheim vs. Bayer Leverkusen

Saturday:
Bayern Munich vs. Mainz
Borussia Dortmund vs. Hannover
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Nurnberg
Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Schalke
Werder Bremen vs. Freiburg
Hertha Berlin vs. Borussia Monchengladbach

Sunday:
Hamburg vs. Stuttgart
Augsburg vs. Wolfsburg

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ITALY

Defending champions Juventus are still unbeaten this season, but that mark will be put to the test this weekend against sixth-place Fiorentina. Although they sit in third place, Juve have had few impressive performances this season — most of their victories have been close, grind-it-out results. Fiorentina are undefeated at the Stadio Artemio Franchi this season, but they have been prone to dropping points thanks to late goals, an area they will need to address against a veteran team like Juve.

One of the most surprising teams in Europe so far this season is fifth-place Hellas Verona, who host Parma on Sunday. Hellas Verona’s only two losses this season have come to AS Roma and Juventus, and they are unbeaten in their last three matches heading into this weekend’s action. On the other side, ninth-place Parma overcame a slow start to the season with two big wins in their last three Serie A fixtures.

Here are this weekend’s matches in Serie A:

Friday:
AS Roma vs. Napoli

Saturday:
Cagliari vs. Catania
AC Milan vs. Udinese

Sunday:
Atalanta vs. Lazio
Fiorentina vs. Juventus
Genoa vs. Chievo Verona
Hellas Verona vs. Parma
Livorno vs. Sampdoria
Sassuolo vs. Bologna
Torino vs. Inter Milan

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FRANCE

AS Monaco still sit at the top spot in Ligue 1 with a +2 goal differential advantage over fellow big spenders Paris Saint-Germain. This weekend, Monaco and the league’s top offense travel to Sochaux, who have been on the wrong end of some ugly scorelines in recent weeks. With Monaco starting to get goals from sources other than their dynamic duo at forward, Sunday could be another long day for their 19th-place hosts.

PSG, winners of three straight league matches, host Bastia this weekend, a club that recorded a huge 4-1 victory over Lorient before the international break. The victory snapped a four-match winless run for Bastia, who sit currently sit in ninth place. The Parisians would love a home victory this weekend before next week’s two road matches, a Champions League tie at Anderlecht and a league match at always-dangerous Saint Etienne.

Here are this weekend’s matches in Ligue 1:

Friday:
Nice vs. Marseille
Stade de Reims vs. Toulouse

Saturday:
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Bastia
Ajaccio vs. Nantes
Evian Thonon Gaillard vs. Guingamp
Montpellier vs. Lille
Stade Rennes vs. Valenciennes

Sunday:
Sochaux vs. AS Monaco
Saint Etienne vs. Lorient
Lyon vs. Bordeaux

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Which European matches are you looking forward to the most this weekend? Think Napoli end Roma’s perfect run? Expect Southampton to get a result at Old Trafford on Saturday? See any potential upsets?

Share your thoughts below.