Three derbies, one clash between a nation’s two biggest clubs and a major final. I don’t think these five matches need much more of an overall buildup really!

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

 

Manchester United vs. Manchester City

Saturday, December 12, 12:30 p.m. ET, NBC, Telemundo, fuboTV, Sling Blue, Hulu + Live TV

The Manchester United tombola will be rolled again on Saturday, when they host local rivals Manchester City at the end of a week to forget.

On Tuesday, the Red Devils were beaten 3-2 by RB Leipzig in the Champions League, a result that ends their progress in the competition. It was a loss that will condemn them to Thursday-night European football in the new year and has heaped the pressure further on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

United are still capable of pulling big results out of the bag though and they have been able to get the better of their neighbors regularly in recent contests, winning three of the last four meetings in all competitions. With space to counter into, the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford will always pose a big threat.

The match is a big test for City too, who have looked a little timid in these high-profile clashes away from home as of late. While they’ve yet to completely convince this season, a win in this encounter would make plenty consider them a lot more seriously when it comes to a title push in 2020-21.

 

Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid

Saturday, December 12, 3 p.m. ET, beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español, Fanatiz, fuboTV, Sling Latino, Sling World Sports and Vidgo

In a huge week for Real Madrid, they’ve passed two of three major tests. However, Saturday’s meeting with city rivals Atletico Madrid may prove to be the most challenging of the trio.

Defeats to Alaves and Shakhtar Donetsk had put Zinedine Zidane’s position in jeopardy at the Santiago Bernabeu. However, they were dogged and determined in a 1-0 win at Sevilla last weekend before they dashed any fears of elimination from the Champions League with a comprehensive 2-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach.

The focus will be on La Liga for the foreseeable future though and the defending Spanish champions have ground to make up after their ropey start. Atletico are leading the way going into this weekend’s match and have a six-point lead over Real, with a game in hand too.

Diego Simeone’s team have been comfortably the best side in La Liga this term, with a meagre two goals conceded from their 10 games. A win at the Bernabeu on Saturday would surely put an end to their rivals’ hopes of a successful title defense and with Barcelona also toiling, make them the odds-on favorites to finish top of the pile after 38 rounds.

 

Seattle Sounders vs. Columbus Crew

Saturday, December 12, 8:41 p.m. ET, FOX, UniMas, TUDN, fuboTV, Sling Blue, Hulu + Live TV

The 2020 Major League Soccer season is poised to come to a dramatic conclusion on Saturday night, with Columbus Crew facing Seattle Sounders in the MLS Cup final.

With a minute left of their conference final match with Minnesota United, the Sounders were 2-1 down and on their way out. However, they launched one of the most incredible comebacks in playoff history to advance, with Raul Ruidiaz equalising in the 89th minute and Gustav Svensson sparking wild scenes in the 93rd minute with a winner.

Columbus, by contrast, have settled in a professional mode in their most recent knockout games. Defensively they’ve been secure, with a 2-0 win after extra time against Nashville and a 1-0 win over New England Revolution seeing them progress to Saturday’s showpiece.

The Crew will now have the chance to win their second MLS Cup on home turf, while the visitors will feel the momentum is with them to clinch a third after their conference final heroics.

 

Crystal Palace vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Sunday, December 13, 9:15 a.m. ET, NBCSN, Universo, fuboTV, Sling Blue, Hulu + Live TV

This meeting between Palace and Spurs may not jump out of the fixture list like some of the other matches on the calendar this weekend, but the longer you linger on it the more intriguing a prospect it becomes.

Palace have found their attacking mojo in recent weeks for starters. Last weekend they trounced West Bromwich Albion 5-1 and while they were aided by a red card for the newly-promoted side, the potency of Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke up top would have caused problems to the majority of defensive setups.

It’s why this match feels like a big litmus test for Tottenham. After their clinical win over Arsenal a week ago, discussions over a possible title push for Jose Mourinho and his player are beginning to gather pace. With Harry Kane and Son Heung-min the most potent partnership in world football at the moment, that’s no surprise.

Fixtures like this one on Sunday will go a long way to determining whether Tottenham can stay the course though. Palace have long been considered as far from ideal opponents for the division’s elite sides and will fancy their chances of springing another shock here.

 

Paris Saint-Germain vs. Lyon

Sunday, December 13, 3 p.m. ET, beIN SPORTS Connect, Fanatiz, fuboTV, Sling World Sports and Vidgo

For now, it’s tight at the top of the French top flight and Lyon will want to keep it that way when they make the trip to Paris on Sunday.

The visitors have slipped into an exciting groove in recent weeks, winning their last four matches in the league and moving up into third position as such. They are just two points behind leaders PSG and will spark a lot of excitement among their fanbase if they were to continue the winning run at the Parc des Princes.

Although PSG have shown some vulnerabilities this season, they remain a force of nature from an attacking point of view. Worryingly for Lyon, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe enjoyed some of their best football of the season on Wednesday too, with the former grabbing a hat-trick in the 5-1 win over Istanbul Basaksehir.

As much as it’s anticipated PSG will eventually surge clear at the top of the table, Lyon have it in them to make matters interesting at least. Neutral fans of European football would certainly welcome an overdue fight for Ligue 1 this season.