IT’S CERTAINLY a great time to be a football fan these days. The Asian Cup in Qatar and the African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast are deep into the knockout stages, as these two riveting tournaments move ever closer to crowning their new champions.

This weekend, however, the spotlight is on three of Europe’s top leagues as they each feature top-of-the-table battles that are a must-watch, even if it means sacrificing a few precious hours of sleep.

BT Weekend analyses the blockbuster clashes taking place in the English Premier League (EPL), Italy’s Serie A and Spain’s La Liga.

Arsenal vs Liverpool (Mon, 12.30 am kick-off, Singapore time)

A little over a week has passed since Jurgen Klopp stunned the sport with news that he will depart Liverpool in May, but that bombshell of an announcement has done little to rattle his players. If anything, it has galvanised them as they continue their relentless push for four trophies.

The Reds smashed five goals past second-tier Norwich City in the FA Cup fourth round last Sunday, and were even more impressive in dismantling Chelsea 4-1 in the league on Wednesday to cement their place at the summit.

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Up next is perhaps the toughest assignment of them all: A trip to the Emirates Stadium in North London where last year’s runners-up Arsenal lie in wait.

It’s been a rough few weeks for Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, who were top of the standings at Christmas only to endure a poor run of results that has seen them drop to third place, five points behind Liverpool.

There’s still plenty of time to claw back that deficit, but one gets the sense that Arsenal simply have to find a way to win if they are to keep their EPL title hopes alive and kicking.

These two sides last met in the FA Cup in early January as a much-changed Liverpool side without the likes of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk scored two goals without reply.

Arsenal head into this fixture in decent form having won their last two games, and all signs point to an entertaining contest that’s likely to feature a hatful of goals.

Inter Milan vs Juventus (Mon 3.45 am)

The race for this season’s Serie A is a riveting one. Inter and Juventus – the two favourites to lift the trophy – collide at the San Siro stadium with very little to choose between these heavyweights

The “Derby d’Italia”, as this match is known, is between the clubs from the two largest cities in northern Italy and easily the biggest match of the season. 

They boast the two meanest defences in the league, while Inter are the most prolific scorers with 50 goals in 21 games. Plenty of credit goes to their Argentine goal machine Lautaro Martinez, who has 19 strikes this season including the winner against Fiorentina earlier this week.

Juventus won’t need any extra motivation to stop their arch-rivals in their tracks. They will be counting on their Serbian talisman Dusan Vlahovic, the red-hot forward who has scored 12 goals so far, including seven in his last six matches.

When these two teams last met in November, they cancelled each other out in a 1-1 stalemate at the Allianz Stadium. No prizes for guessing who was on the scoresheet, as Vlahovic gave Juventus the lead only for Martinez to bag the equaliser.

This is a match that’s simply too close to call, and it’s not surprising why most bookies are predicting things to finish all-square once again.

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid (Mon, 4 am)

For the third time in under a month, the two Madrid giants play each other and if their recent meetings are any indication, fans are in for another goal feast.

Real celebrated knocking their city rivals out of the Spanish Super Cup semi-finals in Riyadh on Jan 11 with a rip-roaring 5-3 win in extra time. Atletico returned the favour a week later in an equally mesmerising encounter as they eliminated Real from the Copa del Rey with a 4-2 victory that also went to extra time.

The earlier league fixture last September saw Atletico claim full bragging honours as they cruised to a comfortable 3-1 win in front of their own fans.

This weekend, backed by a raucous home crowd of more than 80,000 spectators at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, Real will be desperate for some revenge.

Real are top of the standings after a 2-0 win over Getafe on Thursday, with forward Joselu scoring both goals. With Atletico a massive 10 points behind in third, Real know that success in the derby will put them in the driving seat to claim a record-extending 36th La Liga title.