One of the most fascinating parts of the 2017-18 season so far has been watching Serie A, where it feels as though a genuine title race may be on the cards.

On Friday we’ll get another indicator as to whether that’ll be the case, as the vibrant league leaders host the champions for the last five campaigns in a game that’ll dominate the weekend.

There’s another huge tussle on Friday, as the two biggest names in Portuguese football face off in a game that has potentially enormous connotations. The selections will be wrapped up on Saturday with an intriguing double header from the Premier League and an eye-catching La Liga contest.

All kick offs are in Eastern time. Enjoy your weekend and enjoy the games!

 

NAPOLI VS. JUVENTUS
Friday, December 1, 2:45 p.m. ET, beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Espanol, Sling World Sports and fubo Premier (free trial)

Napoli have overcome many tests already to surge to the summit of the Serie A table, although this meeting with Juventus feels like the biggest of the lot.

The Partenopei have been sublime throughout 2017-18, as they’ve put together some outstanding attacking patterns to take the lead in the race for the Scudetto. Their three-pronged attack of Jose Callejon, Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne have pulled apart defences at will, making them one of the most exciting sides to watch in Europe.

They lead Inter Milan by two points as they gear up for this one, whereas Juve, after a stuttering beginning to the season, find themselves four points back. It means the holders head to the San Paolo knowing a defeat would potentially deal a critical blow to their hopes of making it six titles in succession.

Juventus may also potentially be without their star forward and former Napoli man Gonzalo Higuain, as he has had surgery on his hand this week. The stars appear to be aligning for the hosts, who will feel so emboldened with a win here; it’ll be absorbing to see how they fare with this type of pressure on.

 

PORTO VS. BENFICA
Friday, December 1, 3:30 p.m. ET, GolTV, GolTV en Espanol and fuboTV

Although the top flight in Portugal may not command the same sort of attention as the five standout divisions in Europe, whenever Porto meet Benfica plenty of gaze is cast the way of the league.

Given they’re the two most dominant outfits in Portugal, meetings between the clubs so often go a long way towards determining who ends up on top come the end of the campaign. Ahead of Friday’s showdown at the Estadio Dragao, it’s Porto who lead the way, with a three-point secure over their rivals in third.

Sergio Conceicao’s side are enjoying an encouraging season to this point, having stormed out of the blocks domestically and produced some fine performances in the Champions League too. Going forward they’re a dangerous proposition, with Yacine Brahimi, Vincent Aboubakar and Moussa Marega all in brilliant form this term.

Benfica may only be three points back but they’ve had a much more turbulent beginning to the term in the main, with pressure mounting on Rui Vitoria. The Lisbon giants will be relying on their goalscorer extraordinaire to pull them through here; he has 15 goals from just 12 league appearances so far in 2017-18.

 

 

WATFORD VS. SPURS
Saturday, December 2, 10 a.m. ET, CNBC, Sling Blue, DIRECTV NOW and fubo Premier (free 7-day trial)

Tottenham Hotspur desperately need a win to get their stuttering season up and running again, although a trip to Vicarage Road to face Watford is one of the most difficult assignments in the Premier League at the moment.

Spurs slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Leicester City in midweek, dropping out of the division’s top six in the process. On the road, Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been stifled in attack, while in defence they’ve lacked their usual solidity without the injured Toby Alderweireld. With a 16-point gap to Manchester City, their title chances are surely over.

Watford suffered a 4-2 loss to Manchester United in midweek, although as is so often the case with Marco Silva’s team, there were moments of major positivity mixed into the display. The Hornets stretched the game, created chances and were eventually undone by some moments of magic from United stars.

The incentive for Watford here will be to pull Spurs back towards them, as the two teams would move level on points if the home side were to win. Tottenham have been hit by a lot of criticism this week and it’d be no surprise to see them put in a determined showing as a result.

 

ARSENAL VS. MANCHESTER UNITED
Saturday, December 2, 12:30 p.m. ET, NBC, Universo, Sling Blue, DIRECTV NOW and fubo Premier (free 7-day trial)

Meetings between Arsenal and Manchester United have a felt a little underwhelming at times in recent years. But this feels like a big game.

You’re always hesitant to say Arsenal look like they’ve turned a corner, but based on their displays in recent weeks they do look like they’ve turned a corner. The Gunners have been excellent in recent outings, swatting aside Spurs, grabbing a late winner at Burnley and then dismantling Huddersfield Town in midweek 5-0.

United need to win to keep the pressure up on Manchester City at the top of the Premier League and with that in mind it’ll be intriguing to see how Jose Mourinho approaches this one. After all, he’s yet to win an away game against any other members of the top six since arriving at Old Trafford, with his team netting just once in seven games against their positional rivals.

The Red Devils should take some confidence from the fact they beat Watford 4-2 in midweek, but an in-form Arsenal side represents a much tougher assignment for Mourinho’s men. Lose here, City have the chance to put an 11-point gap to their neighbours when they host West Ham United on Sunday.

 

ATHLETIC CLUB VS. REAL MADRID
Saturday, December 2, 2:45 p.m. ET, beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español, Sling World Sports and fubo Premier (free trial)

Real Madrid’s season will be stepped up a notch prior to the winter break, starting with a trip to San Mames to take on Athletic Club on Saturday.

Los Blancos have ground to make up in the title race having fallen eight points behind Barcelona and there haven’t been too many signs of the team turning things around as of late. After all, they scraped through to a 3-2 win against Malaga on Saturday, while in midweek they were held 2-2 at home by third-tier Fuenlabrada.

Zinedine Zidane will be desperate to see his side rediscover some swagger, especially with matches against Sevilla and Barcelona to come before Christmas; those two crucial fixtures come either side of Real’s participation in the Club World Cup too.

Athletic haven’t been at their usual best so far this term, but they’re a team that always tend to raise their game against Real Madrid, especially with their home supporters at their back. With Aritz Aduriz, Inaki Williams and Raul Garcia all set to feature, the attacking talent is there to cause big issues for a Los Blancos back four that’s been a little brittle this season too.