There's also a side on the verge of picking up a very unwanted all-time record in the pits of League One.

Take a look at our pick of the most eye-catching fixtures from across Europe this weekend:

Sunderland v Middlesbrough - Ali Pollock

The standout tie in the Championship this weekend features two clubs from the north east in Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

While the fixture is less a 'proper' derby and more of a rivalry, it still brings plenty of excitement whenever it comes around.

Sunderland are playing some of the best football in the league and are the division's second-highest scorers while also conceding the second-fewest behind only Leicester City.

The Black Cats sit fourth in the table and have lost just once in their last eight games, while Middlesbrough have suffered a torrid start to the campaign - although a recent resurgence in form has seen them rise to 17th in the league.

Michael Carrick's side are on a four-game winning run and will arrive at the Stadium of Light full of confidence.

In terms of players to keep an eye on, Sunderland's Jack Clarke is the Championship's joint-top scorer with seven goals and is establishing himself as the team's main goal threat.

For the visitors, new singing Emmanuel Latte Lath appears to finally have found his feet in England, netting twice in his last two appearances. 

Given the fact the match takes place at 12.30pm on Saturday, the hosts have a chance to move within two points of the automatic promotion places before any of their rivals play.

On the other hand, Middlesbrough could see themselves just two points away from the play-off positions if they were to take all three points.

Cheltenham v Derby - Joel Barnett

Cheltenham could set a new record this weekend should they fail to net against Derby.

The Robbins have failed to score in any of their league matches so far this season and should they draw another blank on Saturday, League One's bottom club will overtake Coventry (1919-20) and Hartlepool United (1992-93) by going 12 league games without a single goal.

Cheltenham finished 15th last season - their best-ever league position - but have collapsed this term, already breaking the EFL record for losing their opening five fixtures without scoring.

Aside from netting three own goals, it has been almost 20 hours since a Cheltenham player last scored for them. Their top scorer is James Gibbons - the Bristol City defender - who lashed an unfortunate volley past his own goalkeeper during a 4-1 EFL Trophy defeat last month.

New manager Darrell Clarke took charge for the first time on Tuesday, overseeing a 2-0 home defeat against Fleetwood, but they will surely need a miracle to get anything against a Derby side who have scored in every away game so far this term.

The Rams sit just a point off the top six places and will hope to silence the vociferous home support as quickly as possible. After all, they're likely to explode into life should their team do the unthinkable - finally score a goal.

Juventus v Torino - Ste Carson

The derby of Turin needs little introduction, but it is often an Italian rivalry that goes criminally under the radar outside its home nation.

Both sides come into the clash in uninspiring form - Juventus haven't looked like themselves for a while, but have at least managed to string a few Serie A wins together.

Mind, their last outing - a stalemate against Atalanta - leaves little to be desired.

Torino, on the other hand, have struggled so far this season with two draws and a defeat in their last three league games; in which they managed one goal and shipped three.

Il Toro's efforts have earned them 10th place, whereas Juve find themselves sitting relatively pretty in fourth with an identical record to champions Napoli.

The derby this coming weekend - the Derby della Mole - has not been an enjoyable fixture for Torino, who have to crawl back to 2015 in the records to find their last win over I Bianconeri.

Fun fact: Juventus are unbeaten at home against Torino since 1995 (14W, 5D).

All signs point to it being another victory for the 36-time Italian champions, but Torino do tend to start matches in quite a composed fashion. In fact, they're one of two Serie A teams yet to concede in the opening 30 minutes of play.

On-loan Duvan Zapata will certainly be the danger man for Il Toro and Juve are no strangers, being on the receiving end of eight goals by the Colombian during his time with parent club Atalanta.

Juventus, however, are sweating on the availability of Dusan Vlahovic, who faces a late fitness test after missing his side's 0-0 draw with the aforementioned Atalanta last week. Federico Chiesa, though, will be fit and firing regardless.

Hearts v Hibernian - Brad Ferguson

Relatively decent starts for the two Edinburgh clubs sets up this always-heated local derby in Scotland's capital city rather nicely.

Hearts haven't won back-to-back fixtures in the Scottish Premiership since January. Still, a positive result away to strugglers Ross County was the perfect warm-up for a fiercely contested fixture that dates back to 1875, making it one of the longest-running rivalries in world football.

Traditionally they've had the better of Hibs in this fixture too. In 335 competitive matches between the two sides, Hearts have come out on top 148 times to Hibs' 87 - including a healthy recent run of five wins in their last 10 meetings (for the record, Hibernian have won just one of those fixtures with the rest being draws).

While getting one over their biggest rivals shouldn't require much motivation, there's also the potential for them to move above Rangers in the table should the managerless Gers continue to stutter in their next match away to high-flying St Mirren.

Hibs meanwhile will be hoping to stick a dent into their rivals' optimism.

They're sitting just two points off Hearts in these early stages and a win would see them leap-frog The Jambos in the league table.

Hibernian - who are unbeaten in their last four league matches - haven't struggled for goals this season, netting more than twice as many as Hearts have so far in the Premiership, yet they've conceded 10 goals to Hearts' impressive three this campaign.

Hearts will likely be without key defender Nathaniel Atkinson, while one of their most potent attacking threats Yutaro Oda is also sidelined.

Hibs will be grateful to boast a relative bill of clean health and will be hoping top scorer Adam Le Fondre can do the necessary damage when the sides meet at Tynecastle Park on Saturday afternoon.

Estoril v Benfica - Anthony Paphitis

Goals look to be on the agenda when second-from-bottom Liga Portugal side Estoril host form team Benfica.

One could argue it to be a perfect fixture for Benfica, who currently boast a six-game winning streak, although they will need to tread with care against the Canarinhos.

Estoril are only off the foot of the table on goal difference, but they have been one of the teams to watch this term with goals flying in at both ends of the pitch.

Fourteen goals for and 18 against in just seven games suggests there are signs of encouragement despite their league position, but they do have a tough run against Benfica, Porto and Braga to contend with in their next five.

With the first hurdle in Benfica arriving on Saturday, it’s a given that Estoril will need their ability to find the back of the net to shine.

Benfica enter the game on the back of European frustration after suffering a 1-0 Champions League defeat to Inter Milan, which could have quite easily been a drubbing on another day.

But As Aguias have been in scintillating domestic form which they will want to prolong as they chase table-toppers Sporting, who hold a slender one-point lead.

A gritty win over Porto in O Classico last time out will have added more confidence to the Benfica camp, although they may have to do things this weekend without top scorer Angel Di Maria, who was withdrawn against Inter in midweek.

Still, though, their superb record when visiting Estoril - 11 wins and one draw in 12 games - bodes well for them as they look to continue their recent surge.