There are local rivalries to settle in the Premier League this weekend, with a couple of classic derby matches on Sunday standing out in this set of fixtures.

North London and Merseyside will be the stages for the two contests, which contain four teams from inside English football’s top six going head-to-head. Elsewhere, in France, Spain and Italy there are matches that’ll have a big influence on which teams end up in the Champions League places at the end of the campaign.

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

 

Lille vs. Lyon

Saturday, December 1, 11 a.m. ET, beIN SPORTS Connect, Sling Latino, Sling World Sports and fubo (free trial)

With PSG running away with the Ligue 1 title after winning all 14 of their matches so far in the competition, the excitement in France appears set to come in the race for a top-three spot.

Both Lyon and Lille have made early cases to be considered as the side that’s the best of the rest in French football this season. As things stand, it’s Lyon who sit in second spot after picking up 13 points from the last 15 available in Ligue 1; they also performed excellently to draw 2-2 with Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League in midweek.

As for Lille, there have been some concerning signs after their blistering start to the campaign, as they’re now three games without a win. Even so, a team like Lyon arriving at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy may be the tonic to trigger a resurgence. They can overhaul their opponents, who they trail by one point, with a win.

With Lyon likely to field Memphis Depay and Nabil Fekir, and Lille set to include the likes of Nicolas Pepe and Jonathan Bamba in their XI, some of the most exciting players in the division will be on show on Saturday afternoon. That should make for an absorbing 90 minutes.

 

Real Madrid vs. Valencia

Saturday, December 1, 3:45 p.m. ET, beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español, Sling Latino, Sling World Sports and fubo (free trial)

It’s been a week of lows and highs for Real Madrid in different competitions. Attentions now turn to Valencia at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.

On Saturday Los Blancos’ difficult season reached a nadir, as they were hammered 3-0 by Eibar at Ipurua. Not only did manager Santiago Solari watch his team get outworked and bullied in certain parts of the field, there were times throughout the contest when it was Eibar playing the smarter football too.

Madrid did recover in midweek, as they beat Roma 2-0 away from home in the Champions League. Goals from Gareth Bale and Lucas Vazquez saw the European champions capitalise on errors from the home side, not to mention a massive amount of profligacy, to see Los Blancos go into this weekend with some form to tap into.

Valencia have endured an inconsistent start to 2018-19 after last season’s fourth-place finish. But they’ve wont their last two La Liga matches and have the players to be a big threat on the counter-attack at the Bernabeu.

 

Arsenal vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Sunday, December 2, 9:15 a.m. ET, NBCSN, Telemundo, fuboTV, Sling Blue and PlayStation Vue (free trial)

Both Arsenal and Tottenham head into the north London derby with spirits high, adding more fuel to the excitement that surrounds this encounter.

Tottenham have picked up two huge wins in the buildup to this game that have the potential to ignite their season. On Saturday they swept aside Chelsea 3-1 to move up into third in the Premier League; they then kept their slender hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League alive with a dogged 1-0 win over Inter Milan.

Arsenal were also in action on Thursday in Europe, although manager Unai Emery only took a shadow squad to the match against Vorskla in the Ukraine. It means the Gunners’ key men should be feeling sharp when their biggest rivals rock up on Sunday.

Arsenal were 2-1 winners at Bournemouth last weekend, extending their unbeaten run to 17 games in all competitions. Spurs, having battled through some contests before the international break, appear to be back to their best again and will give Emery’s rejuvenated team a serious examination.

 

Liverpool vs. Everton

Sunday, December 2, 11:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN, Telemundo, fuboTV, Sling Blue and PlayStation Vue (free trial)

Liverpool will be seeking to bounce back from their disappointing loss to PSG in midweek when they welcome Everton to Anfield on Sunday.

While things are going fine for the Reds in the Premier League, in Europe they’ve had big issues away from home, losing all three of their matches in the Champions League. Manager Jurgen Klopp will be hopeful there’s no hangover from the Paris showdown when they take to the field on Sunday.

They may be coming up against an Everton team that has a rotten record at Anfield—the Toffees haven’t won at their rivals since 1999—but it’s a side that’s made progress under Marco Silva. The 1-0 win over Cardiff City last weekend pushed Everton into the top six.

Liverpool have attacking threats all over the field, but in Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson the Blues have footballers who are also capable of doing damage to what has been an otherwise rock-solid Reds backline. If Everton can show up like they haven’t for almost two decades at their former home, then this might be an occasion to remember.

 

Roma vs. Inter Milan

Sunday, December 2, 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, Sling Orange and PlayStation Vue (free trial)

Inter will be out to keep pace with Napoli in the race for second in Serie A on Sunday and a win for them here would spell big trouble for a struggling Roma outfit.

Although Inter were edged out by Tottenham in midweek in the Champions League, there’s a lot to admire about the manner in which the team have performed as of late domestically. They’ve found a rhythm in Serie A and while they trail the top two, Luciano Spalletti’s team are comfortably better than the rest.

Roma may have secured progression in Europe, but their domestic season is still struggling to slip into gear. Last weekend they were shocked by Udinese in one of their worst displays of the season and now find themselves down in seventh in the table.

Spalletti will be out to make an impression at the home of his former club and Inter have become such a difficult team to beat under his watch. It’s an enormous challenge for Roma, especially given the struggles they’ve endured in recent weeks.