It’s another week that’ll see all eyes on England in European football.
The clear headliner around the continent (plus the British Isles) is a top-two showdown in the Premier League between Tottenham and Manchester City. The only two unbeaten teams left in the EPL enter after midweek Champions League play, with Man City failing to win for the first time under Pep Guardiola and Tottenham cruising to a victory.
The Spanish Primera Divison’s three giants all return to action on Sunday, facing off against respective mid-to-low table opponents.
Bundesliga play resumes with two big Saturday clashes between two unbeaten teams in Bayern Munich and FC Koln as well as a big-name showdown between Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund.
Serie A features a clear headliner as well, when Roma welcome Inter to town in a huge showdown.
Meanwhile, Ligue 1 may be the most entertaining of the bunch. Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco face their respective opponents on Saturday, but league-leaders OGC Nice return to action on Sunday in a league where it truly feels like anyone can win or lose on a given match-day.
Here’s a closer look at this weekend’s European matches:
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
The Premier League weekend begins with a showdown between Christian Benteke and Romelu Lukaku as 5th-place Everton and 7th-place Crystal Palace at Goodison Park.
Saturday’s matches are headlined by an early morning Liverpool visit to Wales to face Swansea City, who reportedly met with former U.S. Men’s National Team and current Le Havre manager Bob Bradley recently. Current boss Francesco Guidolin will have to try and contain the Reds’ explosive attack, who are second in goals in the league with 16 goals in six matches.
Sunday is headlined with three very interesting matches. Manchester United host a struggling but talented Stoke City at Old Trafford as Leicester City face Southampton in a battle of European contenders.
But the EPL’s biggest match of the weekend will be at White Hart Lane, where Tottenham Hotspur host Manchester City in a matchup of first versus second. Guardiola’s men failed to win for the first time this season in a crazy 3-3 draw in Glasgow against Celtic in the Champions League midweek, while Spurs got their first victory in the competition in Moscow. Tottenham will have to face the league leaders without star striker Harry Kane, who is sidelined for four to six weeks after suffering ankle ligament damage.
FRIDAY
- Everton vs. Crystal Palace
SATURDAY
- Swansea City vs. Liverpool
- West Ham vs. Middlesbrough
- Hull City vs. Chelsea
- Sunderland vs. West Brom
- Watford vs. Bournemouth
SUNDAY
- Manchester United vs. Stoke City
- Leicester City vs. Southampton
- Tottenham vs. Manchester City
- Burnley vs. Arsenal
SPANISH PRIMERA DIVISION
La Liga returns to action with a ‘real’-ly solid match-up between Sociedad and Betis on Friday afternoon. The two mid-table teams are neck and neck at 10th and 11th respectively and each is seeking to take a big step forward to the top half of the table.
Saturday provides an interesting appetizer to Sunday’s main course. While Granada takes on Leganes and Sevilla takes on Alaves, dead-last Osasuna faces Las Palmas, who are soaring and sit only four points behind leaders Real Madrid.
Real Madrid will seek to maintain that cushion on Sunday as they face Eibar at home. Their primary title rivals Atletico Madrid and Barcelona also play on Sunday against Valencia and Celta Vigo respectively.
FRIDAY
- Real Sociedad vs. Real Betis
SATURDAY
- Granada vs. Leganes
- Sevilla vs. Alaves
- Osasuna vs. Las Palmas
- Deportivo vs. Sporting
SUNDAY
- Valencia vs. Atletico Madrid
- Real Madrid vs. Eibar
- Espanyol vs. Villarreal
- Malaga vs. Athletic Bilbao
- Celta Vigo vs. Barcelona
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
RB Leipzig are one of only three teams remaining undefeated after five weeks of Bundesliga play (Bayern Munich and FC Koln are the others), and seek to make it six-straight unbeaten as they open the weekend against mid-table Augsburg
Saturday features two titanic matches, as a top-three clash between Bayern Munich and FC Koln headlines the action. Not to be overlooked, however, is a strong match between Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund as well.
Sunday sees poor Schalke, with 5 losses in 5 matches and zero points, try and earn their first positive result of the season against a strong Borussia Monchengladbach team.
FRIDAY
- RB Leipzig vs. FC Augsburg
SATURDAY
- SC Freiburg vs. Eintracht
- Hertha BSC vs. Hamburger SV
- Ingolstadt vs. Hoffenheim
- Darmstadt vs. Werder Bremen
- Bayern Munich vs. FC Köln
- Bayer Leverkusen vs. Borussia Dortmund
SUNDAY
- Wolfsburg vs. Mainz
- Schalke vs. Borussia Monchengladbach
ITALIAN SERIE A
Saturday features the return of Serie A, as two top-seven teams take on a pair of clubs in the bottom half. Seventh-placed Chievo faces Pescara before fifth-placed Lazio takes on lowly Udinese.
It’s Sunday that contains the bulk of the action though, especially considering its closure with a titanic clash between Inter and Roma to end the weekend. A top half clash between AC Milan and Sassuolo also figures to provide entertainment on a busy day.
SATURDAY
- Pescara vs. Chievo
- Udinese vs. Lazio
SUNDAY
- Empoli vs. Juventus
- Sampdoria vs. Palermo
- Atalanta vs. Napoli
- Cagliari vs. Crotone
- Bologna vs. Genoa
- Torino vs. Fiorentina
- AC Milan vs. Sassuolo
- Roma vs. Inter
FRENCH LIGUE 1
A mid-table clash on Friday welcomes back a Ligue 1 season that has been the most entertaining in recent memory, as Rennes welcome Guingamp.
Saturday sees Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco return to action, with neither in control of the league and looking up as they face Bordeaux and Metz respectively.
Sunday heralds the return of the actual league leaders, OGC Nice, as they welcome Lorient to town. The weekend closes with a nice match between Lyon and ASSE.
FRIDAY
- Rennes vs. Guingamp
SATURDAY
- PSG vs. Bordeaux
- Caen vs. Toulouse
- Nantes vs. Bastia
- Dijon FCO vs. Montpellier
- Metz vs. Monaco
- Lille vs. Nancy
SUNDAY
- Angers vs. Marseille
- Nice vs. Lorient
- Lyon vs. ASSE
–
Who will emerge on top in England’s marquee clash? Will Inter or Roma establish themselves as true title contenders?
Share your thoughts below.