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European Weekend Preview: Arsenal-Leicester, Juventus-Napoli and more

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While Valentine’s Day does fall on Sunday, love certainly won’t be in the air when the English Premier League’s top four teams are in action.

Kicking off the day’s festivities will be league leader Leicester City traveling to the Emirates Stadium to face third place Arsenal. The Gunners sit five points behind Jamie Vardy and the Foxes.

Manchester City follows up that matchup, when second place Tottenham Hotspur arrives at the Etihad Stadium. The Citizens are coming off of a disappointing 3-1 home defeat against Leicester last weekend.

In Spain, Real Madrid looks to close the gap on La Liga leader FC Barcelona. On Saturday, Los Blancos, who boast the league’s best goal differential (+45), will play host to sixth place Athletic Bilbao.

The race for the 2015-16 Serie A title is heating up in Italy, as top two sides Napoli and Juventus do battle. Juventus, which currently trails Napoli by two points in Serie A, is riding a 12-match winning streak across all competitions ahead of Saturday’s fateful clash.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

While Sunday’s matches will take center stage in England, Saturday also offers a solid helping of quality Premier League fixtures. After numerous struggles this season, Chelsea could find itself in the top 10 by the end of the weekend with a victory against relegation-tested Newcastle.

Meanwhile, Everton has found consistency recently, winning three straight matches in all competitions and not conceding a goal. The eighth place Toffees will host West Bromwich Albion at Goodison Park.

SATURDAY

Sunderland vs. Manchester United

AFC Bournemouth vs. Stoke City

Crystal Palace vs. Watford

Everton vs. West Bromwich Albion

Norwich City vs. West Ham United

Swansea City vs. Southampton

Chelsea vs. Newcastle

SUNDAY

Arsenal vs. Leicester City

Aston Villa vs. Liverpool

Manchester City vs. Tottenham Hotspur

SPANISH LIGA BBVA

Barcelona stars should be fully rested for their meeting with Celta Vigo after sitting Lionel Messi and company for the side’s midweek Copa del Rey match against Valencia. The Blaugrana continue their historic season on Sunday, as Luis Enrique’s team looks to extend its massive unbeaten streak to 30 games across all competitions.

Fourth place Villareal hosts Espanyol on Saturday, as the Yellow Submarine looks to keep pace with La Liga’s elite.

FRIDAY

Sporting Gijon vs. Rayo Vallecano

SATURDAY

Real Madrid vs. Athletic Bilbao

Villareal vs. Malaga

Valencia vs. Espanyol

Deportivo La Coruna vs. Real Betis

SUNDAY

Real Sociedad vs. Granada

Sevilla vs. Las Palmas

Eibar vs. Levante

Getafe vs. Atletico Madrid

Barcelona vs. Celta Vigo

GERMAN BUNDESLIGA

Bayern Munich continues its run at the German Bundesliga title this weekend when Pep Guardiola’s side travels to Augsburg, while Borussia Dortmund attempts to cut into Bayern’s eight-point lead at the top of the table. Dortmund will host Hanover 96, sitting last on the league table with 14 points.

Mid-table sides Wolfsburg and Ingolstadt look to advance in the German standings on Saturday. Both clubs remain in shouting distance of a European position for the Bundesliga, so a win for either side will be critical.

FRIDAY

Mainz vs. Schalke 04

SATURDAY

Borussia Dortmund vs. Hanover 96

SV Darmstadt 98 vs. Bayer Leverkusen

VfB Stuttgart vs. Hertha Berlin

VfL Wolfsburg vs. FC Ingolstadt 04

Werder Bremen vs. TSG Hoffenheim

FC Cologne vs. Eintracht Frankfurt

SUNDAY

Hamburg SV vs. Borussia Monchengladbach

FC Augsburg vs. Bayern Munich

ITALIAN SERIE A

While Juventus-Napoli will likely captivate Italian soccer on Saturday afternoon, Sunday’s matchup between Inter Milan and Fiorentina will also go a long way in determining this season’s Serie A European positions. The third place Viola currently sit on 46 points, while Internazionale trails by one point.

With Hellas Verona digging itself a deeper grave at the bottom of the league, Carpi and Frosinone must begin to find a way out of the bottom three against AS Roma and Empoli, respectively. Both sides sit in the drop zone on 19 points and trail 17th place Sampdoria by five points.

FRIDAY

Carpi vs. AS Roma

SATURDAY

Empoli vs. Frosinone

Chievo Verona vs. Sassuolo

Juventus vs. Napoli

SUNDAY

AC Milan vs. Genoa

Palermo vs. Torino

Sampdoria vs. Atalanta

Udinese vs. Bologna

Fiorentina vs. Inter Milan

FRENCH LIGUE 1

Paris Saint-Germain hasn’t been tested a whole lot this season. Laurent Blanc’s side will host 15th place Lille on Saturday, as the Parisians have opened up a 24-point advantage over second place AS Monaco.

While an outcome at the top of the table appears inevitable this season, last place Troyes also looks poised for its clear fate. The side has won just one match in 2015-16 and has only scored 16 goals in 25 matches.

FRIDAY

Stade Rennes vs. Angers

SATURDAY

Paris Saint-Germain vs. Lille

GFC Ajaccio vs. Troyes

Guingamp vs. Bordeaux

Montpellier vs. Toulouse

Nantes vs. Lorient

Stade de Reims vs. Bastia

SUNDAY

Lyon vs. Caen

St Etienne vs. AS Monaco

Nice vs. Marseille

Can Leicester City extend its Premier League lead? Will Juventus keep its unbeaten streak alive?

Share your thoughts below.

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