5 must-watch matches around Europe this weekend

In the midst of a marathon of matches before the next international break, Europe's top clubs have had to dig into their squads to stay alive. But for these five contests, nothing but the best lineup will work.

Here are five matches to catch over the weekend:

Tottenham vs. Leicester

The wounds from last season have barely healed as Tottenham attempts to keep its Premier League unbeaten run intact against champion Leicester City.

Despite Leicester's failure to replicate last season's success through the first nine games of the 2016-17 term, Sunday's match will be anything but easy for a Tottenham outfit missing a pair of crucial contributors in Harry Kane and Toby Alderweireld through injury.

However, the highly anticipated tie between two of the last season's top three finishers presents Spurs with an opportunity to prevent Leicester from breaking into the top half of the table.

Meanwhile, Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri will attempt to stretch his Premier League record to 11 matches without a loss to the north London side. - Gordon Brunt

Juventus vs. Napoli

The connective tissue of this tussle between Italy's north and south is Gonzalo Higuain. The Argentine switched Napoli for direct rival Juventus in a €90-million summer transfer, a move that set off a fury in the Italian port city.

He will face his old team for the first time Saturday.

These two sides already have a rivalry going. Juventus pipped Napoli to last season's Scudetto, due in no small part to Simone Zaza's late winner against the Partenopei in February.

The Bianconeri could create a seven-point gap over their southern counterpart with another victory at the Juventus Stadium, and Higuain has a chance to be the executioner.

Asked if he would score twice against Napoli, the 29-year-old said, "Let's hope."

Last season's 36-goal campaign is firmly in the past. No love lost between Napoli and the son it disowned. - Anthony Lopopolo

Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke

A litany of injuries and a run of poor form puts Borussia Dortmund in a vulnerable position against Ruhr rival Schalke. Thomas Tuchel's side hasn't won a Bundesliga match in October, going three without a win after electrifying European football at the start of the season.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang may be the latest to miss action with a calf problem, but Christian Pulisic and Andre Schurrle are expected to return.

The crisis presents a chance for Schalke to continue its resurgence. The Gelsenkirchen outfit is undefeated in six matches across all competitions, thanks to crucial goals from on-loan duo Yevhen Konoplyanka and Nabil Bentaleb.

Dortmund has never lost four competitive matches under Tuchel, and it will face a real test from its neighbour at Signal Iduna Park. - AL

Birmingham City vs. Aston Villa

Steve Bruce's fourth match in charge of Aston Villa should be a cracker as he leads his new side into the season's first Second City derby against Birmingham City.

Bruce is well aware of the hostilities between the two sets of supporters following his eight-year association with the Blues as a player and then manager.

Bruce, the self-proclaimed "enemy number one," will lead a VIlla squad hopeful of closing the gap on Birmingham and extending its unbeaten streak to four matches.

Meanwhile, Birmingham will be desperate to build on its six-point advantage over its neighbour, and attempt to beat its rival for just the second time in the last 10 meetings. - GB

Hipster pick: Toulouse vs. Lyon

Loser of five of its past six matches, Lyon is in a tailspin. Manager Bruno Genesio is simply not getting goals from his team, and now he's under pressure to get some results. A massive club like Lyon can't remain midtable.

President Jean-Michel Aulas wants Les Gones to reach 31 points by the winter break, and to do that they'll need Alexandre Lacazette to find the net on a regular basis. The France forward is back in the lineup after recovering from a knee injury.

But Stadium Municipal isn't the ideal place to start a revolution. Toulouse has a perfect home record in Ligue 1, and since Pascal Dupraz's appointment in March, it's won nine of 10 matches there.

Dupraz has this team in stunning form. With an average age of 23 years and 93 days, Toulouse is the youngest in Europe's top five leagues, and it's getting results. Martin Braithwaite has made supporters forget about Wissam Ben Yedder's departure, and 17-year-old Alban Lafont's exploits in goal have produced a calming effect on the rest of the squad. - AL