Weekend Preview: A Look Ahead to this Week's Best Action in Europe

There's plenty of crucial matches across Europe to whet the appetite this weekend, and here we summarise the best of the action by league.

Premier League

While Chelsea vs Manchester United was no doubt earmarked as the top match of gameweek 25 in the Premier League at the start of the season, there's no question as to the most important right now. League leaders Leicester, who began the season with odds of 5000/1 to win the title, are aiming to prove their credentials against their closest rivals Manchester City. The reverse fixture between the two ended in a surprising 0-0 stalemate, but much more is expected when the two meet on Saturday.

Jamie Vardy maintained his lead atop the scoring charts with a brace against Liverpool in midweek, taking his tally to 18, and will hope to at least keep his 5-goal cushion over Sergio Aguero. The Argentine is back firing on all cylinders for Manchester City, scoring 8 goals in as many games in all competitions since the turn of the year, and the striker that has the better afternoon this weekend may well prove decisive.

Manchester United's visit to Stamford Bridge is still certainly worth tuning in for, with both teams' strikers finding form of late. Diego Costa has had a direct hand in 9 goals in all competitions since Guus Hiddink's return to the club, while Wayne Rooney has matched that feat from one game fewer since the turn of the year.

At the opposite end of the table Norwich would put the final nail in Aston Villa's coffin with a win in the Midlands. However, after 4 consecutive defeats - shipping 14 goals in the process - another would allow Remi Garde's men to shorten the gap to their opponents to 7 points, dragging the Canaries well and truly into the mire as a result.

Bundesliga

The top four in Germany's top-flight all face off this weekend, with Bayer Leverkusen hosting runaway leaders Bayern and Dortmund making the trip to surprise package Hertha Berlin. Pep Guardiola's men have returned from the winter break in far less devastating fashion than they ended last year, so Roger Schmidt will hope that Javier Hernandez - named Bundesliga Player of the Month for the third successive time - can continue his fine form to inspire an upset. The Mexican has scored 10 goals in his last 7 appearances for the club and will be up against a Bayern defence without the likes of Boateng, Benatia and Martinez through injury.

Pal Dardei's Hertha were among those tipped for relegation at the start of the season but sit third having now gone 5 games unbeaten. They boast one of the meanest defences in the league (21 conceded) but will need to try to keep out the Bundesliga's top scorers in Dortmund (52 goals). If the hosts do upset the odds they will be hoping for Bayern to do the business later in the day on Saturday to extend their gap over Leverkusen in a bid to claim the third automatic Champions League place, though that would effectively end any feint hopes of a real race for the title in Guardiola's final season in Bavaria.

Ligue 1

It's been a disappointing campaign in France's top tier as far as competitiveness is concerned, with PSG already having sauntered to massive 24-point lead. The Parisians face Marseille in le Clasique this Sunday, aiming to protect their status as the only remaining unbeaten side in Europe's top 5 leagues. L'OM have underwhelmed following the departures of a number of key players in the summer but do find themselves on an impressive 11-game unbeaten streak, though only 4 of said games have ended in victory.

To say that Monaco and Nice are PSG's closest challengers is somewhat misleading as their simply has been no challenge, but the two do face off in an intriguing battle between second and third respectively. The latter would leapfrog last season's runners-up with a win at the Stade Louis II to claim the driving seat for what would be a remarkable automatic Champions League qualification. Nice came out on top on their last trip to Monaco and doing so again would end a run of 9 home games unbeaten for Leonardo Jardim's side.

La Liga

All eyes may well be on Gary Neville in the dugout at the Estadio Villamarin come Saturday, with the Englishman's job at Valencia already thought to be on the line. Without a victory in 8 league matches in charge, stretching los Che's winless run to 11 league games, Neville has stressed that this is indeed a win at all costs game. His side sit 12th but hold just a 5 point gap to the drop zone, and defeat against a side that haven't won in 9 league games themselves would surely be curtains for the rookie manager.

Elsewhere, with Barcelona and Real Madrid facing the league's bottom two sides, the most interest may well revolve around the Europa League hopefuls. Athletic Club, who occupy the final automatic berth at present, host Villarreal, who are still clinging onto the coat tails of the top three following an excellent run of 9 games without defeat. The Yellow Submarine would distance themselves from the chasing pack with another win. Meanwhile Sevilla, in fifth, make the trip to Celta Vigo (7th) in the second instalment of three consecutive matches against The Sky Blues, having all but secured a Copa del Rey final place against Barcelona with a thumping 4-0 win over Eduardo Berizzo's men on Thursday.

Serie A

While there are ample opportunities for an upset in Italy's top-flight this weekend, if all goes to the form book there is little to get too excited about. Napoli and Juventus have all but made the title a two horse race having galloped to the front with 7 and 13 successive league wins respectively and will expect to add one more to those tallies against Carpi and Frosinone.

The two teams to have fallen off the pace of late will expect to hang on in there in gameweek 24, with Inter making the trip to bottom club Verona, who picked up their very first win of the season in midweek against Atalanta. Meanwhile Paulo Sousa's Fiorentina (third) will face a rejuvenated Bologna side under Roberto Donadoni in the Derby dell'Appennino. The Viola are one of only three sides - along with the top two - to pick up more points than the Rossoblu since the former Italy manager's arrival in late October, lifting the club from 18th to 10th.

Click for detailed previews of all of the action across Europe's top 5 leagues and more