4 big matches you cannot miss this weekend

We have finally arrived at one of those rare weekends in the football season where it is filled with amazing, enthralling football matches between traditional rivals all over Europe. This is the time where friends and families are divided right through the middle and banter amongst fans would be at its absolute peak! We take a look at the top 4 derby matches to look forward to this weekend in the Premier League, the Spanish La Liga and the Italian Serie A.

#1 North London Derby - Tottenham vs Arsenal

NLD — Tottenham take on Arsenal on 7 February at 6:15 PM IST

The stakes are high, the pressure is intense! Arsenal travel across North London to play Tottenham in the 180th North London Derby at White Hart Lane in the weekend’s early lunchtime kickoff.

The prize? An important lead in the battle for a top four spot and a place in the coveted Champions League next season (almost every season culminates in this particular battle for both these teams), and also for the bragging rights over North London for the remainder of the season. The Spurs and the Gunners head into this tie riding on great results which saw Tottenham claim an astounding 5-3 victory over table toppers Chelsea at home while Arsenal claimed an unexpected 2-0 victory at the expense of champions Manchester City at the Etihad.

Tottenham have no new injury concerns and are heavily reliant on the duo of Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen, who have performed admirably for the hosts and have combined to take them to victory on numerous occasions this season. Arsenal on the other hand have Alexis Sanchez ruled out due to a hamstring problem but are rapidly improving ever since losing 2-0 to Southampton. The recent returns of Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott along with the form of their spearhead Olivier Giroud will no doubt give them enough confidence to secure a vital three points at the Lane.

Spurs have acquired MK Dons youngster Dele Alli and saw the departure of long-serving winger Aaron Lennon to Everton on loan while Arsenal have strengthened their backline with the signing of Gabriel Paulista from Villareal in the recently concluded transfer window.

In the corresponding fixture last year, the two teams were separated by a Tomas Rosicky rocket early in the game. Hope it is a match worthy of the hype.

#2 Merseyside Derby - Everton vs Liverpool

Liverpool Everton — Everton take on Liverpool on 7 February at 11 PM IST

Super Saturday in the Barclays Premier League starts with a blockbuster and ends with one as well! Everton and Liverpool go head to head for the 222nd time in the day’s tea time kickoff at Goodison Park. In a neutral’s perspective, Liverpool might start as slight favourites going into the game, both because of their good recent form as well as the hosts’ dodgy and inconsistent performances which have seen them slide down to 12th position in the table.

The clash at Goodison also marks Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers’ 100th league game in charge of Liverpool. He has a 54% win record which is bettered only by Rafa Benitez. Liverpool have been bolstered immensely by the return of their talismanic forward Daniel Sturridge, whom according to their manager Brendan Rodgers can turn their season around. Sturridge was able to show off his celebratory goal dance 11 minutes into his return against West Ham last weekend and that would have given him a lot of confidence going into such a big game.

Raheem Sterling has also looked a completely different player ever since his return from a break and credit must be given to his manager for that. They seem to have settled well under Rodgers’ 3-4-2-1 formation which sees Emre Can as a ball playing Centre Half and the increasingly impressive Coutinho getting more time on the ball to display his talent. Expect Daniel Sturridge to start up front with Sterling and Coutinho playing behind him.

On the other hand, Everton are coming from the back of a much-needed victory against Crystal Palace. Roberto Martinez might throw Aaron Lennon into the action straight away in an attempt to instill more pace in attack. Martinez also expects James McCarthy back from injury to play at least some part in the game. Tim Howard, Leon Osman and Steven Pienaar are however still sidelined due to injuries.

Liverpool have not lost a Merseyside derby since 2010 and were denied a victory in the season’s reverse fixture by a Phil Jagielka thunderbolt deep into stoppage time. Prior to kickoff, Everton will unveil a plaque commemorating the 96 Liverpool supporters who lost their lives at the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989.

#3 Madrid Derby - Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid

We move over to the La Liga where Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid face off in a rather surprisingly early kick off (mid-day 3 PM GMT) compared to the regular La liga games! The game presents an opportunity to Real Madrid to move further away from their nearest challengers Barcelona who play on Sunday. But any slip up at the hands of their derby rivals and current champions will see the Catalan club pouncing on the opportunity to close the gap on the leaders. This is the fourth installment of their rivalry this season.

Atletico Madrid brought Fernando Torres to the club in the winter and he has looked rejuvenated ever since, scoring goals against both Real Madrid and Barcelona in the Copa del Rey. They also have their talismanic forward Mario Mandzukic, who scored twice in their win against Eibar, in top form. They are unbeaten against their more illustrious neighbours ever since they lost out to them in last year’s Champions League final and have no new injury concerns. They also welcome back their captain Gabi after a one-match suspension.

Real Madrid will be glad to have Cristiano Ronaldo back after his suspension, especially as they will be without James Rodriguez who injured his metatarsal in the 2-1 win over Sevilla. They also have further setbacks in the form of injury and suspension to Sergio Ramos and Marcelo respectively. Fabio Coentrao is likely to replace the latter at left back following time off in the sidelines. Pepe is also a long-term absentee with an injury. Luka Modric (thigh injury) will also miss out.

Carlo Ancelotti was happy to have Ronaldo back in the fold for this fixture. "For the team it is very good for Ronaldo [to be] back," he said.

"We won both games without him, but for sure it will be good to have him back for the derby," he said.

One other bright spot for Madrid will be the form of young Jese Rodriguez who scored for the first time after a long injury lay off.

#4 Juventus vs AC Milan

AC Milan Juventus — Juventus take on AC Milan on 8 February at 1:15 AM IST

This is not a traditional derby as such, but still an amazing game to look forward to! If we were in 2005, we would be calling this the mother of all big games! Unfortunately in recent years, this fixtures has failed to live up to its billing because of all the scandals that took over Italian football and also the unprecedented slump of AC Milan to mediocrity in recent seasons. However, for some ardent lovers of the Serie A, this fixture still remains one of their favourites.

Juventus have an opportunity to increase their lead at the top of Serie A to 10 points for at least a day. The champions' search for a fourth consecutive title has been bolstered due to their good form in recent weeks combined with an unexpected slump in form for AS Roma, their nearest title challengers.They have kept four clean sheets in a row in all competitions and have conceded only nine league goals all season – the joint best record in all of Europe along with Bayern Munich. Arturo Vidal remains doubtful for the game at the Juventus Stadium while Claudio Marchisio is likely to be recalled into Allegri’s line up.

Milan are currently 21 points below their opponents and sit 8th in the points table. However, Inzaghi’s side arrested a recent slump in form by beating basement club Parma 3-1 last time out. Salvatore Bochetti and Mattia Destro, both of whom signed for the club recently, started that game and are likely to keep their places in the starting lineup.

AC Milan have failed to win any of their last six away games, which is a major cause of worry. They will be looking to set the record right in their quest for Champions League football next season.