Reus vs Hazard the pick of this week’s key battles while LaLiga starlets face off

For many teams across the continent, this weekend’s matches will be their last of 2018, looking to end the year on a high. There are certainly some mouth watering matches to look forward to, and some intriguing head-to-head battles to keep an eye on, starting in the Bundesliga on Friday night.

The battle of the Borussias

The top two go head-to-head in Germany, as leaders Borussia Dortmund aim to bounce back immediately from their first league defeat of the season in midweek. The shock 2-1 reverse to lowly Fortuna Dusseldorf allowed both Bayern and tonight’s visitors Gladbach to close the gap at the top to six points, and Lucien Favre will be desperate that it isn’t reduced to three ahead of the winterpause.

Both teams have been able to call on a number of strong performers this season, but it is Marco Reus and Thorgan Hazard that have been involved in the most goals for their respective clubs. In fact, both have had a direct hand in 15 in this season’s Bundesliga having each started all 16 matches available. Dortmund captain Reus has been free from injury for the longest time in years and has one more goal (10) than his Belgian counterpart, while Hazard has been the more creative of the two.

The latter’s tally of six assists have come from the most key passes in the division (47), and he comes out on top in the WhoScored.com ratings (7.79) too, but who will do so in this top-table clash? Both players rank among Football Index's top 200 and are available to add to your portfolios, though it's Hazard that costs more (£4.58) as the two prepare to go head-to-head.

Who is the Bundesliga’s best target man?

For years now there has been little argument as to the best striker in the Bundesliga, but Robert Lewandowski’s throne is under threat this season. Paco Alcacer and Luka Jovic lead the way in the scoring charts so far (12 apiece), with the latter set to line up against Bayern’s hitman on Saturday. It is, however, the young Serbian’s strike partner that is arguably more comparable to the pole given the stature of the two, and Sebastien Haller has been in superb form for Frankfurt thus far.

The Frenchman may be one goal back (9) on Lewandowski (10) heading into their showdown this weekend, but his link up play has been outstanding as Adi Hutter’s side mount a top four challenge. Haller has a league high of eight assists to his name, which is double that of his opposite number, and has won more aerial duels than any other player in the division. The former Utrecht star may be without a league goal in four but always has a pivotal role to play and when he hasn’t been scoring, Jovic has taken up the slack, but who will prove the match-winner as Niko Kovac returns to his former club.

LaLiga’s top young stars face off

Barcelona will be aiming to at the very least maintain their three-point lead at the top of LaLiga ahead of the winter break in Spain but know that Celta Vigo can pose them real problems. Indeed, the champions have only won three of the last eight meetings between the sides, with Iago Aspas in particular proving to be a thorn in the blaugrana’s side in the past. The former Liverpool forward is in fine form this season too, with ten goals to his name, but it’s the performances of two of LaLiga’s hottest prospects that promises to spark an interesting debate.

It’s fair to say Ousmane Dembele endured a difficult first season in Spain, owing to injury in the most part, but the Frenchman has been a decisive figure for the club at times this season. He may well face up to Celta starlet Brais Mendez down the Barca left, and the two 21-year-old’s have made superb progress this season. It’s Dembele that edges the goal count, six to four, but Mendez has been the creator in chief for the visitors, with a team-high five assists, while his defensive work rate will to key to combating his opponents direct running threat. Both players have had a direct hand in nine league goals this season, but will either reach double figures on Saturday.

Premier League pair with a point to prove

This weekend’s fixtures in England may not throw up too many glamour ties but there are two players in particular that will hope to haunt their former clubs.

Bottom club Fulham make the trip to Newcastle on Saturday with the aim of alleviating themselves from that position before Christmas and bringing Rafa Benitez’s side back into the relegation mix up. The Cottagers’ top scorer Aleksandr Mitrovic would no doubt love to do just that on his first return to St. James’ Park having never really been offered a chance under the Spaniard, and should receive a decent reception from a fanbase that took him to their hearts even if his managers didn’t.

He’ll be hoping to prove that the man the club signed as a direct replacement, Salomon Rondon, is no match - and that's the case on Football Index's stock market right now - though in truth the two bullish strikers are among the most comparable in the league. It’s Mitrovic that wins the goal count so far (7 to 4) but he has played significantly more minutes and the two stack up closely in terms of both shots and aerial duels won per 90 minutes this season.

Another player keen to impress against a former employer will be Everton’s Gylfi Sigurdsson, who will also feel he wasn’t given a fair crack - at least in his favoured position - in a frustrating spell at Tottenham. It was Christian Eriksen’s arrival at White Hart Lane that signalled the Icelandic international’s time at the club may come to a premature end, with the Dane going on to become a big hit in the capital.

He is going through a relatively difficult spell of his own, however, no longer an automatic pick this season having found goals in particular hard to come by. Having scored his first goal of the season and the winner from the bench against Burnley last time out, Eriksen will certainly hope to get the nod at Goodison and bridge the gap to Sigurdsson’s six league strikes this season.