Clash of the titans in Europe's top football leagues

FOOTBALL fans are once again spoilt for choice over what to follow this weekend, with Europe's top 4 leagues - the English Premier League, Germany's Bundesliga, the Italian Serie A and Spain's La Liga - all serving up some blockbuster matches.

BT Weekend previews the key matches to watch out for, all of which will have major implications at the top of the standings before the leagues take a pause next week for the final international break of 2021.

Manchester mayhem

The biggest game in England is the 186th Manchester derby on Saturday (Nov 6, 8.30 pm kick-off, Singapore time), with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's wounded Manchester United set to face defending champions Manchester City in what should be a ferocious battle at Old Trafford.

The fifth-placed Red Devils are back on home turf for the first time since that shambolic 0-5 defeat to arch-rivals Liverpool a fortnight ago, and how they would love nothing more than to beat their noisy neighbours.

That's easier said than done, of course. Manchester United have failed to score in their last three meetings with City, and Pep Guardiola's side - currently in third - will fancy their chances against an extremely porous Red Devils back-line shorn of its best defender Raphael Varane.

That said, a certain Cristiano Ronaldo might well prove to be the difference-maker in this traditionally explosive fixture. He has notched 9 goals in 11 games since his return to Manchester, and he only needs a split-second to produce a moment of magic on the pitch. The visitors must keep the Portuguese striker quiet if they want to leave Old Trafford with maximum points.

Goals aplenty in Munich

Bayern Munich - winners of the last 9 Bundesliga seasons - are the runaway favourites to make it 10, but the early signs are that the Bavarians will have to work extremely hard to retain their trophy.

Table-topping Bayern are just three points ahead of their next opponents, the third-ranked Freiburg, whom they face at the Allianz Arena on Saturday (10.30 pm kick-off).

Bayern's new coach Julian Nagelsmann has enjoyed a fine start to his stint at the club, with 8 wins in 10 games, and his team go into this game full of confidence after trouncing Benfica in the Champions League.

Robert Lewandowski, the Polish striker who seems to be in a league of his own these days and scoring goals at an insane pace, will again lead Bayern's attack against a dangerous Freiburg team that has yet to taste defeat in the Bundesliga.

Christian Streich's Freiburg have already overcome Champions League clubs Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg, so it wouldn't be beyond them to spring a surprise on the champions. This game could go either way, and it's likely to be action-packed with plenty of goals at both ends.

Pretenders to Spanish throne

This has been one of the most unpredicable La Liga seasons in recent memory. Barcelona, sans Lionel Messi, are mired in mid-table, while the two Madrid teams and Sevilla are below the top-ranked Real Sociedad.

On Monday (Nov 8, 1.30 am kick-off), all eyes will be on the modest El Sadar Stadium, where Osasuna will try to become the latest team to try and knock the Basque club off the summit.

Sociedad have been a breath of fresh air in Spain's top division. They are unbeaten in 10 league games, a run that includes a wildly entertaining 2-2 draw with defending champions Atletico in October and last week's stirring 2-0 victory over Celta Vigo.

Sociedad's main attacking threat is Mikel Oyarzabal, a 24-year-old Spaniard who has netted 6 times already and is on the prowl for more.

Osasuna are in indifferent form at the moment with no wins in their last 3 games, although they did manage to hold mighty Real Madrid to a goalless stalemate recently.

Battle of Milan

The Derby della Madonnina - otherwise known as the Milan derby - is Italian football's most prestigious local clash, and what a contest this next edition (Monday 3.45 am kick-off) at the San Siro Stadium promises to be.

The undefeated AC Milan has made their best-ever start to a Serie A season and they are joint top with Napoli on 31 points, 7 clear of their city rivals Inter-Milan.

After ending last season second behind Inter, AC Milan are enjoying a fine run of form and have won 10 out of 11 league games so far, the only blemish being a 1-1 draw with Juventus. Last week's impressive 2-1 victory over Roma underlined AC Milan's title-winning credentials under manager Stefano Pioli as they look to win their first league championship since 2011.

Inter-Milan, the official "host" of this match, have coped well in the attacking department despite losing their chief striker Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea in the summer. They are still the highest-scoring team in Serie A with 28 goals scored, and Simone Inzaghi's men have won 4 of their last 5 games in all competitions.