SECOND PLAYS FIRST at the Parc des Princes on Sunday evening as injury-hit Lyon look to keep Paris Saint-Germain off the top of the table.
The Zlatan Ibrahimovic show continued in style with a hat-trick against Valenciennes on Tuesday, taking his tally to 17 for the season.
That 4-0 win turned up the pressure on Lyon, who saw their lead cut to three points and their injury crisis worsen in a disappointing 1-1 home draw against Nancy the next night.
Coach Remi Garde looks set to be without Anthony Reveillere and Alexandre Lacazette, while Clement Grenier and Yoann Gourcuff are still struggling with injuries picked up against Saint-Etienne last week.
On TV? ESPN.
La Liga: Barcelona v Atletico Madrid
Sunday, 8pm
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HE’S NO GODFREY Chitalu but Lionel Messi can add to his remarkable 88 goals when Barcelona host Atletico Madrid in La Liga’s top of the table clash.
Diego Simeone’s men can close the gap on Barca to three points with a win in the Camp Nou on Sunday night, but the Blaugrana are still riding high on their best-ever start to the season with 14 wins from their first 15 games.
On TV? Sky Sports have you covered.
Serie A: Lazio v Inter Milan
Saturday, 7.45pm
With Juventus not in action until Sunday, Inter can move within a point of the top when they travel to Lazio for Saturday’s late game.
Andrea Stramaccioni’s men have been less than convincing on the road in recent weeks, and they haven’t won away from home since beating Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League at the start of November. Lazio on the other hand have set up their own little fortress in the Stadio Olimpico with five wins and a draw in their last six home games.
Inter travel without Wesley Sneijder, whose contract dispute is still ongoing, while Dejan Stankovic, Joel Obi and Gabi Mudingay are all missing through injury. Lazio boss Vladimir Petkovic is without the suspended Libor Kozak and Luis Cavanda.
On TV? ESPN and Setanta Sports Ireland both have this one. Spoilt for choice, so you are.
Bundesliga: Schalke 04 v SC Freiburg
Saturday, 5.30pm
There’s no heavyweight meeting in the Bundesliga this weekend but keep an eye on Gelsenkirchen as Schalke look to put their awful league form to bed against Freiburg.
The hosts have only taken two points from the last 15 on offer in the league, dropping from second to fifth as speculation about Hubb Stevens’ future at the club grows louder.
“We will keep calm and talk about the situation in the winter break,” director of football Horst Heldt said this week. That doesn’t sound good to us.
Euro Vision: 4 continental games not to be missed this weekend
Ligue 1: Paris Saint-Germain v Lyon
Sunday, 8pm
SECOND PLAYS FIRST at the Parc des Princes on Sunday evening as injury-hit Lyon look to keep Paris Saint-Germain off the top of the table.
The Zlatan Ibrahimovic show continued in style with a hat-trick against Valenciennes on Tuesday, taking his tally to 17 for the season.
That 4-0 win turned up the pressure on Lyon, who saw their lead cut to three points and their injury crisis worsen in a disappointing 1-1 home draw against Nancy the next night.
Coach Remi Garde looks set to be without Anthony Reveillere and Alexandre Lacazette, while Clement Grenier and Yoann Gourcuff are still struggling with injuries picked up against Saint-Etienne last week.
On TV? ESPN.
La Liga: Barcelona v Atletico Madrid
Sunday, 8pm
HE’S NO GODFREY Chitalu but Lionel Messi can add to his remarkable 88 goals when Barcelona host Atletico Madrid in La Liga’s top of the table clash.
Atleti have a goal machine of their own in Radamel Falcao who hit five in a 6-0 demolition of Deportivo la Coruna last weekend, taking his own total to 16 in the league so far this season.
Diego Simeone’s men can close the gap on Barca to three points with a win in the Camp Nou on Sunday night, but the Blaugrana are still riding high on their best-ever start to the season with 14 wins from their first 15 games.
On TV? Sky Sports have you covered.
Serie A: Lazio v Inter Milan
Saturday, 7.45pm
With Juventus not in action until Sunday, Inter can move within a point of the top when they travel to Lazio for Saturday’s late game.
Andrea Stramaccioni’s men have been less than convincing on the road in recent weeks, and they haven’t won away from home since beating Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League at the start of November. Lazio on the other hand have set up their own little fortress in the Stadio Olimpico with five wins and a draw in their last six home games.
Inter travel without Wesley Sneijder, whose contract dispute is still ongoing, while Dejan Stankovic, Joel Obi and Gabi Mudingay are all missing through injury. Lazio boss Vladimir Petkovic is without the suspended Libor Kozak and Luis Cavanda.
On TV? ESPN and Setanta Sports Ireland both have this one. Spoilt for choice, so you are.
Bundesliga: Schalke 04 v SC Freiburg
Saturday, 5.30pm
There’s no heavyweight meeting in the Bundesliga this weekend but keep an eye on Gelsenkirchen as Schalke look to put their awful league form to bed against Freiburg.
The hosts have only taken two points from the last 15 on offer in the league, dropping from second to fifth as speculation about Hubb Stevens’ future at the club grows louder.
“We will keep calm and talk about the situation in the winter break,” director of football Horst Heldt said this week. That doesn’t sound good to us.
On TV? ESPN.
– Additional reporting by AFP
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Atletico Madrid Euro Vision Lionel Messi Paris Saint-Germain Preview Radamel Falcao Barcelona Lyon Wesley Sneijder Zlatan Ibrahimovic