England: Liverpool FC v Manchester United FC (Saturday 13.45)
After claiming a place in the League Cup final at Manchester City FC's expense on Wednesday, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said: "People sign for this club to play in front of atmospheres like that." The Reds can expect no less passion as they switch their focus to United in Saturday lunchtime's FA Cup fourth-round showdown.

The Merseysiders lost to United in Kenny Dalglish's first game back as manager in last season's third round and have only won three of these great rivals' 16 FA Cup encounters. However, Liverpool were unlucky not to beat United in October, a 1-1 draw at Anfield, and should be buoyed after reaching Wembley for the first time since 1996.

Germany: SV Werder Bremen v Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Saturday 15.30)
Even though Leverkusen coach Robin Dutt will not admit it, this fixture could be pivotal in determining whether his side qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Germany has four slots for the 2012/13 season and with Bremen and Bayer in fifth and sixth place respectively, both need a win to put pressure on the clubs above.

Injuries and suspension will deprive Bremen of several key players − including Aaron Hunt, Marko Marin and Lukas Schmitz − but Dutt remains wary nonetheless. "Despite the many injured players, Werder are a team that try to play football. They have high expectations and for years have played in the upper echelons of the Bundesliga." His counterpart, Thomas Schaaf, added: "We are not concerned by Leverkusen being able to pip us in the table; we are looking only at ourselves."

Italy: Juventus v Udinese Calcio (Saturday, 20.45)
Juventus are unbeaten in all competitions this season and will go into Saturday's game against third-placed Udinese buoyed by their convincing 3-0 Coppa Italia quarter-final defeat of in-form AS Roma. "We are playing with the right spirit, we have to continue like this knowing that our task will be very difficult," said Juventus coach Antonio Conte, who has doubts over the fitness of Mirko Vučinić, Claudio Marchisio and Simone Pepe. Francesco Guidolin's charges are three points behind the Bianconeri but also have selection problems with key players away at the Africa Cup of Nations. "We want to keep on surprising people," said the Udinese coach.

Spain: Villarreal CF v FC Barcelona (Saturday, 22.00)
While second-placed Barcelona look to stay in touch with leaders Real Madrid CF, the Yellow Submarine are struggling to keep out of the relegation zone, though a first win in 11 games against Real Sporting de Gijón last Monday brought huge relief to José Molina's side.

Midfielder Marcos Senna now hopes Villarreal can dig deep and trip the champions up. "We are playing against the most difficult team but we are going into the game with hope," the 35-year-old said. "We are much more relaxed following Monday's win and more confident, too. Finding a way to beat Barcelona is difficult but we will look to set ourselves up well and cause them some problems."

Netherlands: Feyenoord v AFC Ajax (Sunday, 12.30)
Sixth in the table as they go into the Dutch classic against fourth-ranked Ajax, a youthful Feyenoord side seemed to have turned the corner under Ronald Koeman after finishing a disappointing tenth last season. For financial reasons, the focus has been on youth − at 26, captain Ron Vlaar is a relative veteran − and on-loan Manchester City FC striker John Guidetti will look to impress again against Ajax, if he recovers from tonsillitis.

The Rotterdam team have gone nearly six years without a win against Ajax, and Koeman's young squad are eager to tear into their historic rivals. "My players have been talking about Ajax for ages," said the 48-year-old. "Ajax, Ajax and more Ajax."

France: Stade Rennais FC v Olympique de Marseille (Sunday 21.00)
After a disappointing start to the season Marseille have taken 25 points from a possible 30 in their last ten games to climb up to sixth, nine points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain FC. Rennes are one point ahead of their opponents in fifth and go into Sunday's meeting having kept four successive clean sheets. "I am glad to be playing in this game," said Turkey forward Mevlüt Erdinç, who recently signed from PSG. "I scored against them last season with PSG."

All times CET