What to watch this weekend in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga - January 16th

Palermo vs. Roma

Looking at the Serie A fixtures this week, you'd think we'd be recommending Lazio - Napoli. After all, the two teams are separated by just a point, and it's that all-important third Champions League spot that they're both chasing. Plus in recent years this fixture's been a thriller, featuring comebacks and six or seven goals.

But we here at SB Nation Soccer are nothing if not pragmatists, and we know it's difficult to convince anyone to watch Serie A's early Sunday match. So instead, take some time out of your Saturday to crack open a bottle of Nero D'Avola, settle in on the couch and watch Palermo host Roma.

At the start of the season, many were skeptical about Palermo. They'd just returned from a year down in Serie B, and despite easily winning the league no one really trusted Maurizio Zamparini not to make a mess of his club again. But against all odds, the rosanero owner has stuck with Beppe Iachini for over a year -- a definite record for Zamp -- despite Palermo going winless in their first six matches.

Zamparini's either mellowed or seen a psychic, but either way, it looks like his belief in Iachini was justified. Before losing to Fiorentina in a 4-3 thriller last week, the side had gone nine unbeaten, and had moved up to 10th in the table. Plus, they love to score, having knocked in 30 goals in 18 league games. A huge chunk of those belong to Paulo Dybala, the Argentine wonderkid who already has seven this season. Dybala hates scoring unimportant goals and he also hates doing anything sans flair, so it's always worth watching Palermo just to gaze on him.

Assuming he plays, of course -- a knock means Dybala will be a game-time decision. But even if he doesn't, Roma will do their best to entertain. They hit a little skid for a few weeks, scoring just two goals in three games, but the giallorossi put on a decent show last weekend against rivals Lazio. Francesco Totti scored a brace to ensure his team came away with a point, and then he decided he'd better take a selfie to commemorate the occasion.

Roma may have not been so free with the goals recently, but this time, they're going to need to be on the front foot, as they can't count on a solid spine to keep out Palermo. Daniele De Rossi and Radja Nainggolan are both suspended, and they're going to have to use Alessandro Florenzi in midfield. Flo doesn't really provoke the same sorts of fears, you know? So we're hoping Rudi Garcia encourages his side to "just score one more" and we end up with a seven goal thriller.

Ok, we admit it. We cheated. We really slipped in two to watch. Because really, you're curious about Lazio vs. Napoli now, aren't you?

Manchester City vs. Arsenal

In these late days of the court of King Wenger, Arsenal always go into games like this expected to spend 90 minutes falling on their faces, picking up long-term injuries, and slicing the ball into their own net. Because they are Arsenal, and that's what they do. And sometimes -- maybe most of the time -- this expectation is proved correct. That's why, this season, they've taken just four points from a possible fifteen against the five teams above them.

So why should you bother with this one? When the milquetoasts of Islington meet the oligarch-fuelled points-hoover of Manchester Blue, only one thing happens, a thing that is somewhere between amusing and embarrassing for the neutrals to watch, and utterly distressing for the Gooners. After all, when was the last time Arsenal got anything out of a meeting with City?

Hang on, they drew 2-2 at the Emirates in September.

Right, but this is at the Etihad. Where the north Londoners got turned over 6-3 -- that's six, three -- last season. When was the last time Arsenal went up there and got anything?

Oh, look, they drew 1-1 in Manchester the season before that.

Perhaps nothing is ever quite as predictable as it seems, even Arsenal against their biggers and betters. It's not like an Arsenal result requires anything too outlandish to happen. Alexis Sánchez is perfectly capable of finding new levels of improvised brilliance, and one of these Olivier Giroud shots has to pass the right side of the post at some point. And City's midfield will be lacking Yaya Touré, off on AFCON duty, and Joe Hart always has the capacity to go rogue again. Nothing impossible there.

That said, City, who have only dropped six points from the last 36 and have Sergio Agüero fit again, are still strong favourites to pull the Londoners apart. But of the three possibilities, two -- a surprisingly good result for/an absolute hammering of Arsenal -- should be excellent viewing, while the third -- a comfortable 2-0 win for City -- will, at least, serve as yet more evidence that this is a two-horse title race. Particularly if Chelsea have slipped up the day before at Swansea. And if nothing else, we should get goals: the last seven games between these two have delivered up 28.

No, SB Nation Soccer will not be offering refunds in the event of a 0-0 draw.

Sevilla vs. Málaga

The Andalusian derby between Sevilla and Málaga may not be the best-known of all Spain's rivalries, but its recent editions have been surprisingly fiery. Hostilities are to be resumed at Sevilla's Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán on Sunday, with these sides separated by just five points and three league places.

It’s the hosts that have the edge, though they’ve not beaten Málaga in over four years. In that time these sides have met five times; a total of 14 goals have been scored, three red cards shown, and more yellows brandished than we’ve cared to count. In short, these sides don’t seem to get on very well. And that’s good news!

Sevilla are having a great season under Unai Emery, with last year’s Europa League winners currently sat up in fourth place in the La Liga table. They even have a game in hand on last year’s league champions Atlético Madrid, and they’d jump above Diego Simeone’s side with a victory. In the summer they may have lost their scampering terrier of a left-back, Alberto Moreno, to Liverpool; their Afghan Hound of a midfield playmaker, Ivan Rakitić, to Barcelona; and (I’m all out of dog metaphors) centre-back Federico Fazio to Tottenham, but they’ve coped remarkably well.

They made a tidy net profit over the summer, and have managed to get by with relatively few arrivals. If there is a concern, it's that they're a pretty elderly team. Star centre-back Nico Pareja is 30, top striker Carlos Bacca is 28, and their two youngest regulars, Gerard Deulofeu and Denis Suárez, are both on loan from Barcelona. However, they’re making hay while the southern Spanish sun shines, and stand a great chance of finally breaking their derby duck in front of their own fans.

The bad news for Sevilla is that Málaga too are doing impressive things. After an underwhelming mid-table finish last season, Javi Gracia has turned things around since taking over last May. With relatively little squad turnover and barely a penny spent, they’re back competing for Europe once more. On paper -- and certainly if the league table is scribbled on said paper -- they’re not as strong as their rivals, though their recent derby record suggests they’re more than capable of upping their game. They’ve a comparatively inexperienced team, and the vim and vigour of youth could see them cause another upset.

In sum, we have no idea how this game is going to play out. Tune in, and you shouldn’t be disappointed.