What to watch in the leading soccer leagues in Europe this weekend:
ENGLAND
Resurgent Arsenal gets a stern test of its credentials in a home game against Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday.
Under coach Unai Emery, Arsenal has won 12 of its last 13 games in all competitions and hasn't lost in the league since a 3-2 defeat at Chelsea on the second weekend of the season.
Liverpool is unbeaten in the opening 10 games of the league and is tied in points with first-place Manchester City. Mohamed Salah has scored in each of Liverpool's last three games as he looks to reproduce his exploits of last season, when he had a league-high 32 goals.
City, which is also unbeaten and hasn't conceded in its last six league games, is at home to Southampton, which hasn't scored in its last five league games.
Third-place Chelsea hosts Crystal Palace. Manchester United looks to make it four matches unbeaten in the league when it travels to sixth-place Bournemouth.
— By Steve Douglas
SPAIN
With Julen Lopetegui gone, Real Madrid tries to get things going in the Spanish league when it faces Valladolid on Saturday at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Madrid has lost four of its last five league games, including three straight, while Valladolid is unbeaten in six matches with four victories in that run. The club owned by former Brazil striker Ronaldo is sixth in the standings, two points in front of ninth-place Madrid.
Still searching for a new coach, Madrid is likely to keep Santiago Solari in interim charge on the bench on Saturday. Solari's first match in control of the team was the 4-0 win over third-division Melilla in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday.
Madrid is expected to face Valladolid without Marcelo, Raphael Varane and Mariano Diaz because of injuries.
Barcelona, still without the injured Lionel Messi, visits Rayo Vallecano later Saturday. It is seven points in front of Madrid.
Surprising Alaves, one point off the lead, visits Eibar on Sunday, and third-place Sevilla plays at Real Sociedad, which is yet to win at home this season.
Fourth-place Atletico Madrid, two points behind Barcelona, visits crosstown opponent Leganes on Saturday.
— By Tales Azzoni in Madrid.
FRANCE
With a crucial Champions League game coming up away to Napoli next week, Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel decided he wants the vastly experienced Gianluigi Buffon in goal for that tough match rather than Alphonse Areola.
Therefore, Tuchel has picked Buffon for Friday's game against second-place Lille to get him ready for Napoli. PSG will aim for a 12th straight league win at Parc des Princes, where a win will move the runaway leader 11 points clear.
Lille and Montpellier have been the surprises in France this season, with Montpellier boasting the second-best defense behind PSG. The attack is good, too, with Andy Delort and Gaetan Laborde — both robust and aggressive strikers — combining well. They will hope for more goals when Montpellier hosts Marseille on Sunday.
Elsewhere, coach Thierry Henry looks for his first win as struggling Monaco — in 19th place — goes to play Reims on Saturday.
— By Jerome Pugmire in Paris.
ITALY
Cristiano Ronaldo's physical form and work ethic continue to make an impression at Juventus.
"His training sessions have shocked me," Juventus midfielder Blaise Matuidi said. "After the long trip to Manchester (United) in the Champions League, we were all tired, but the next day, he trained harder than anyone else."
Ronaldo has scored seven goals in the opening 10 rounds, putting him second behind the nine from Genoa's Krzysztof Piatek.
Juventus will be hoping for another strong performance from Ronaldo against Cagliari on Saturday after it struggled in its last two league matches — a 1-1 draw with Genoa and a 2-1 comeback win at Empoli, where Ronaldo scored twice.
Juventus is six points clear of Inter Milan and Napoli. Inter hosts Genoa earlier Saturday and Napoli hosts Empoli on Friday.
AC Milan, which is fourth, visits Udinese on Sunday. Also, Roma visits Fiorentina.
— By Andrew Dampf in Rome.
GERMANY
After letting a win over Hertha Berlin slip away last weekend, Bundesliga leader Borussia Dortmund is keen to make amends at Wolfsburg on Saturday.
Bayern Munich, which appears to have got over a tough patch, is now just two points off the lead and will aim to keep the pressure on with a win at home over Freiburg.
Bayern coach Niko Kovac is still under scrutiny after his side only scraped past a fourth-tier team 2-1 in the German Cup on Tuesday, but Freiburg is a favored opponent in Munich.
Freiburg, which was knocked out of the cup on Wednesday, has lost 16 of its 18 games and never won in Bayern's stadium.
— By Ciaran Fahey in Berlin.
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