Five Games to Watch: Revierderby in Germany and Le Classique in France
One of the biggest fixtures in Germany takes place this weekend as Schalke and Dortmund take on each other in the Revierderby, with a place in the top four on the line. The top of the Bundesliga has one of the tightest league standings in Europe, as just two points separate Gladbach in first and Leverkusen in ninth. Any points gained by Dortmund or Schalke here will be vital in keeping up with the pack. BVB's early-season form has been patchy to say the least, but they did secure an important 1-0 win against Gladbach in their last league game, while Schalke were comfortably defeated by Hoffenheim. The last derby saw the Gelsenkirchen side run out 4-2 winners at the Westfalenstadion.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Dortmund were without their inspirational captain against Inter in the Champions League in a match they lost, but he will likely feature in some capacity in the derby as Lucien Favre's men hope to make it two wins against in a row.
PSG v MARSEILLE
Le Classique is this Sunday night as PSG and Marseille battle for points at the Parc des Princes. The Parisiens are in ominous form, destroying Club Brugge 5-0 in the Champions League, and the bad news for Marseille is that the returning Kylian Mbappe scored the fastest hat-trick by a substitute in tournament history in that game, and is looking to make up for lost time after being sidelined through injury. Thomas Tuchel's side lead Ligue 1 by five points ahead of Nantes in second, while Marseille are in fourth. PSG have owned Le Classique in recent years; you have to go all the way back to 2011 for the last time Marseille won the fixture. The last time they faced off, Angel Di Maria bagged two and Mbappe one as the capital club won 3-1.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Mbappe is back and looking sharper than ever. Tuchel hasn't been too generous with minutes since the Frenchman overcame his injury as he attempts to nurse his player back to full fitness. Judging by his outing against Club Brugge, he is fighting fit.
AJAX v FEYENOORD
Another classic now, in the form of De Klassieker, the biggest match in the Netherlands as Ajax face Feyenoord. The Amsterdam side currently top the Eredivisie, three points ahead of PSV in second, but are coming off a disappointing 1-0 loss at home to Chelsea in the Champions League. Feyenoord have struggled domestically and in Europe so far and lie 10th in the table. Both sides won their respective home fixtures in the derby last year, but the headlines came from Feyenoord's incredible 6-2 demolition of Ajax in January. Luckily for Erik ten Hag's charges, they recovered from losing the points to go on and win the championship.
PLAYER TO WATCH
While it remains to be seen if the Ballon d'Or nominee can reach the heights of last season, he is still Ajax's top goalscorer in the Eredivisie and represents the main threat to Feyenoord's chances of getting a result at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
LIVERPOOL v TOTTENHAM
Liverpool broke the hearts of Spurs fans in the Champions League final last season, and with this being the first competitive meeting between the pair since then, revenge could be on the minds of Mauricio Pochettino and his players. It will be tough to make an impact at Anfield, though, as while Tottenham showed signs of recovering form against Red Star in the Champions League, Liverpool have been relentless this season and currently top the Premier League, six points ahead of Manchester City. In the league matches last season, Jurgen Klopp's men won them both 2-1 home and away. Spurs' last win against Liverpool was a 4-1 victory in 2017.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Liverpool were nowhere near their best in the draw with Manchester United, and part of the reason for this was due to the absence of Mohamed Salah with an ankle problem. He made a goalscoring return in the Champions League in midweek so Spurs won't have the same fortune as United did to see him miss out.
DJURGAARDEN v OREBRO
While most of the European leagues are just heating up, the Swedish Allsvenskan is coming to its climax. The next round of fixtures are the penultimate games of the year, and Djurgaarden could claim the championship with one match remaining if they defeat Orebro at the Tele2 Arena. In the last fixture between the two, the league leaders won 3-0 thanks to two goals from Aslak Fonn Witry, and a strike from Mohamed Buya Turay.
PLAYER TO WATCH
The Sierra Leone international scored in the previous fixture between the two teams and is his team's top goalscorer in the league this season. He could just fire them to the title this weekend.
CSKA MOSCOW v DINAMO MOSCOW &
LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW v SPARTAK MOSCOW
The Russian capital is going to be in lockdown on Sunday as its four main teams will face-off in a massive derby double-header - with both games taking place at the exact same time! Lokomotiv currently top the table and are coming off a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of Juventus despite leading for the majority of the game. They take on Spartak, who are down in 10th. Across the city, fifth-placed CSKA are three points adrift of Lokomotiv and could close the gap on the leaders with a good result against struggling Dinamo.