Not many actions this weekend in the top European leagues with the majority already closed for the calendar year, and only the English and Italian leagues with actions in the coming days.

Although the Premier League has limited Boxing Day actions, it has blessed its viewers with one major fixture with Manchester United playing host to Newcastle United on Friday night, before actions follow on Saturday and Sunday.

It is the same in Italy, where round 17 games will be played across three days from Saturday to Monday, when AS Roma and Genoa close 2025 chapter with a battle at the Estadio Olympico in Rome.

The upcoming fixtures has left a lot of teams in desperation as they seek a grand finish to the year, while the conditions do not hold much promises. From Man United's headache to Inter's puzzle, here are the five games to look forward to.

Five battles to watchout for this weekend 

EPL: Manchester United vs Newcastle United 

A difficult test awaits Manchester United on Friday evening as they entertain Newcastle United, with their squad growing thinner as the injury list continues to grow, with three stars already at the African Cup of Nations.

They fell to their first defeat in nine games last time out at Villa Park in what was their second league loss at that ground in the Premier League era, with Morgan Rogers' brace handing hisy their record 10th straight win as a top-flight club.

Despite dominating the match, the defence remains an issue for Ruben Amorim's team. They have kept just one clean sheet in 18 games across all competitions this season, a weakness that Newcastle will be more willing to explore.

Eddie Howe's men blew a 2-0 first-half lead last time out against Chelsea and will be keen to make up for that, especially with their host short in manpower, and Manuel Ugarte, who has lost just one of his last seven league starts, is in line for another start.

Newcastle have won four of their last five meetings with Manchester United across all competitions, including two at Old Trafford. However, United have won eight of their last 12 home games against the Magpies, losing just two.

Prediction: Man United 1-1 Newcastle United

Premier League: Chelsea vs Aston Villa 

The match of the weekend in the Premier League will come ok Saturday evening at Stamford Bridge as fourth-place Chelsea entertain third-place Aston Villa, looking to cut the gap that separates the two.

Aston Villa's win over United last time out, after watching Chelsea fail to win at St. James' Park, meant the title chasers separated themselves from the contenders for a place in Europe next season.

However, a Chelsea win this weekend may turn the narratives, especially with City traveling to Nottingham Forest earlier in the day, and then playing host to Enzo Maresca's team in the first weekend of January, three days after playing away to Sunderland on New Year's Eve.

The next two weeks could completely change the context of the race, especially for Chelsea, who have their fate in their own hands, but the fixtures will not be easy, yet it is not impossible given their knack for turning up in big games.

After winning 10 straight games, Aston Villa will be confident more than ever, and keeping up this momentum will be key, especially with important dates against Arsenal, Spurs, Everton, and Crystal Palace, coming up.

For games ending in 90 minutes, Chelsea have won just one of their last five home games against Aston Villa, losing two, but the Blues have won seven of their last ten Premier League home games against the Villans, with one draw.

Prediction: Chelsea 2-2 Aston Villa 

Premier League: Arsenal vs Brighton

One of the fixtures that has caused Mikel Arteta's team a lot of trouble in recent times. Last season, the Gunners failed to win either of their two league meetings, with Declan Rice picking up his first Premier League red card in their first meeting at the Emirates.

The Gunners have bounced back from a recent dip in form with three consecutive wins across all competitions, including a penalty shootout win over Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, yet there remain a lot of question marks about their attack.

Arsenal have failed to score an open-play goal in their last three games, beating Wolves, Everton, and Crystal Palace thanks to three own goals and one penalty, but their trouble does not lie in creating chances; it is finishing them off.

This is a malady to which they have to find a solution before they run out of luck, especially with City breathing down their neck in the league, and tough games coming up in the league, and a Carabao Cup semi-final doubleheader with Chelsea.

Their opponent on Saturday, Brighton, has endured a tough start to the season and is winless in their last four games, picking up two draws and falling to Aston Villa and Liverpool. They have also lost at the Emirates when they visited for a fourth-round match in the Carabao Cup at the end of October.

Arsenal are unbeaten in their last five meetings with the Seagulls, winning three, although they did struggle before the start of this run, losing three and winning just one in five games.

Prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Brighton

EPL: Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur 

An explosive London derby match will conclude Premier League action this weekend as Crystal Palace look to put behind recent disappointment when they play host to Europa League winners Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park.

Oliver Glasner's team's quest to move level on points with fourth-place Chelsea last weekend was met with a shocking 4-1 loss to Leeds United, and in midweek, they lost to Arsenal on penalties to exit the Carabao Cup, after a 1-1 draw at full-time.

Nevertheless, the manager would know that it was another game where they could have easily been blown away, and that would give them more cause to plan better ways to go about things to improve performances.

Tottenham are not having a dream season either. Early Cup exit and consistently in the bottom half of the league table since midway through the first half of the season, the Champions League remains the only competition where they have had good experience.

They've lost their last two games and will be without their suspended captain Cuti Romero, as well as Xavi Simons, both of whom were sent off in the home loss to Liverpool last weekend.

Crystal Palace won their two meetings last season without conceding a goal, but it is Spurs who won all five meetings before last season, and no team to have played eight away games this season has won more points than Thomas Frank's team on the road.

Prediction: Crystal Palace 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Serie A: Atalanta vs Inter

The Nerazzurri will look to end the year in first place when they travel to Bergamo on Sunday evening for their final game of the year, as they look to put behind their SuperCoppa disappointment.

Cristian Chivu's team was beaten on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time with Bologna in the semi-final on Friday, although the tournament was ultimately won by Napoli, thanks to David Neres's brace in the final.

Inter are currently top of the standings with 33 points, but may have dropped to third before kickoff, if the duo of Milan and Napoli win their respective game against Hellas Verona and Cremonese respectively.

Atalanta won't be an easy one for Inter, especially with the prospect of their host ending the year in the bottom half in case of a defeat, coupled with their current impressive form of three straight wins, which included a 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the Champions League.

Inter have not lost a game to Atalanta since a 4-1 defeat in November 2018. They have won 10 of the last 15, each of the last eight, and haven't conceded a goal in their last four meetings.

Prediction: Atalanta 1-2 Inter