5 things to look forward to in Europe this week

Modified Feb 01, 2017 11:14 GMT

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 24: Laurent Koscielny of Arsenal (L) and Diego Costa of Chelsea (R) confront each other during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on September 24, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images) — Chelsea have a nine-point lead over second placed Tottenham

#2 RB Leipzig hoping to down Dortmund at Westfalenstadion

MADRID, SPAIN - DECEMBER 07: Borussia Dortmund players celebrate after drawing 2-2 in the UEFA Champions League Group F match between Real Madrid CF and Borussia Dortmund at the Bernabeu on December 7, 2016 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images) — Dortmund are 14 points off league leaders, Bayern Munich

RB Leipzig managed to recover following their hiccup at the start of the year, winning each of their last two games to keep track with high-flying Bayern Munich. The Bavarian club are three points clear at the top of Bundesliga after a seven-game winning run.

They face a visit from struggling Schalke, while Leipzig will play host fourth place Borussia Dortmund at the weekend. Thomas Tuchel’s side have been performing well below par this season and find themselves out of a Champions League spot at the moment. Der BVB must improve their performances considerably and gain some consistency after failing to win four of their last five games in the league.

German teams will once again be in action the following mid-week in the DFB-Pokal Round of 16. The big game in the round is in-form Wolfsburg’s trip to the Allianz Arena to take on Bayern Munich.