Week Ahead: Big games at the top

After a midweek of European action, there are a host of top of the table clashes across Europe's top leagues this weekend.

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Saturday 26 February 2011
Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund
Bundesliga: Kick-off - 17:30 GMT

Bayern come into this game in good form. Louis van Gaal's side have won 4 of their last 5 in the Bundesliga, and their win on Wednesday night at the San Siro will also be a confidence boost ahead of this game. Dortmund are still 13 points ahead of the German Champions in the league, and while the result of this game is unlikely to alter the destination of the title, it could go a long way to proving whether Bayern Munich are back to their best.

Odds - Bayern Munich (4/5) Draw (5/2) Dortmund (3/1)

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Sunday 27 February 2011
Lille v Lyon
Ligue 1: Kick-off - 20:00 GMT

After a good 1-1 draw at home with Real Madrid on Tuesday, Lyon will see this game as their chance to grab hold of Ligue 1. Lille are currently top of the table, but with only 1 win in 3 in the league they desperately need three points on Sunday night. Rudi Garcia's side were also knocked out of the Europa League this week, losing 5-3 on aggregate to PSV. Lyon's experience may prove key in this top of the table clash.

Odds - Lille (11/10) Draw (9/4) Olympique Lyonnais (13/5)

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Monday 28 February 2011
Milan v Napoli
Serie A: Kick-off - 19:45

This is a huge game in the race for the Serie A title. Napoli visit the San Siro just 3 points behind leaders AC Milan, and victory for Walter Mazzarri's side would throw everything up in the air. An away win could also bring Internazionale right back into the mix, who are currently only 5 points behind in third position. Milan won the reverse fixture in October, but Serie A top goalscorer Edinson Cavani will be hoping to help his team achieve an historic victory on Monday night.

Odds - Milan (4/5) Draw (5/2) Napoli (7/2)

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Tuesday 1 March 2011
Chelsea v Manchester United
Premier League: Kick-off - 19:45

Due to postponements earlier in the season, Chelsea and Manchester United have yet to face each other at all in the Premier League this season. Manchester United play Wigan, Chelsea and Liverpool all in a week, all away from home. United played out a disappointing and rather boring 0-0 draw away at Marseille on Tuesday night, and there is a chance that they will travel to Stamford Bridge with containment in mind. Away from home this season Man Utd have drawn 0-0 with both Manchester City and Spurs. Chelsea will be hoping that Fernando Torres can quickly rediscover his form, while Ferguson's side will be hoping to benefit from Chelsea's seemingly fragile confidence.

Odds - Chelsea (5/4) Draw (11/5) Manchester United (12/5)

Season so far: Magic Madrid

Europe’s top four leagues are a third of the way through, and quite a lot of change is currently in the air. Of the current reigning champions, only Chelsea are top of their respective league, and the two teams who contested last year’s Champions League Final are far from having things their own way this time around. Having lost the Milan derby at the weekend, Inter are 5th in Serie A, six points behind their great rivals AC. In the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich are having an even harder time of things, twelve points behind leaders Dortmund, they sit in 6th.

Lets take a look at the statistics across the four leagues.

Calm before the storm

Over three weeks have passed since Andres Iniesta’s extra time goal secured the World Cup for Spain. South Africa 2010 is now a distant memory, thoughts of Soccer City have faded and club football is almost ready to get going once again.

The European transfer market may have been a little quieter than last year, but some significant signings have definitely been made. David Villa’s €40 move to Barcelona back in May is clearly the summer’s biggest move. Other notable moves include Yaya Toure & David Silva joining the Manchester City project, and Sami Khedira getting a transfer to Real Madrid. There is still a month left until the window shuts, and hopefully we’ll see a late flurry of exciting transfer action.

This Saturday, Ligue 1 is the first major European top division to begin. The English Premier League starts on August 14, while the Bundesliga gets going a week later on the 21st. We must wait until August 28 for La Liga’s and Serie A’s opening fixtures. We also have the Champions League Playoff Round to look forward to, with both legs taking place this month.

Below are a selection of the best games coming up in August across the top leagues in Europe:

Saturday, August 14
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City

Sunday, August 15
Liverpool v Arsenal

Friday, August 20
Bayern Munich v Wolfsburg

Monday, August 23
Manchester City v Liverpool

Saturday, August 28
Bordeaux v Marseille

Sunday, August 29
Fiorentina v Napoli
Sampdoria v Lazio
Mallorca v Real Madrid

Inter and Barcelona seal titles

Today saw the final fixtures taking place in both Serie A and La Liga with both titles up for grabs. In the end Inter Milan and Barcelona both started and finished the day top of their respective leagues.

In Spain, Barcelona started the day a point ahead of Real Madrid, and knew that a win at home to Valladolid would secure them their second successive La Liga title. They successfully executed their plans with a comprehensive 4-0 victory, to the delight of the Camp Nou crowd. In the other game, Madrid faltered with a disappointing 1-1 draw away at Malaga. It concludes a season which saw Real Madrid amass a staggering 96 points, yet still finish 3 points behind champions Barcelona. Leo Messi grabbed two more goals in the final game today, to see him finish with a total of 34 league goals, 47 in total.

Earlier in the day, 500 miles east of Barcelona in Siena, Internazionale claimed their fifth successive Serie A title with a 1-0 win. Diego Milito scored the only goal of the game to seal Jose Mourinho's Inter a League and Cup Double, with the Champions League final still to come next weekend. Roma finished two points behind Inter after a 2-0 win over Chievo.

We can now look forward to a great match-up on Saturday, as Inter and Bayern both have the chance to turn their Doubles into Trebles by winning the UEFA Champions League in Madrid.

Leonardo and Milan part company

Leonardo has left AC Milan by mutual consent today after much uncertainty regarding his position in recent weeks. After a disappointing season, Milan are currently twelve points behind leaders Inter with one game to play. Milan are expected to appoint a successor from within the club, however the club's former hero Marco van Basten has also been linked with the position.

(Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images Europe)