Sunday throws up potentially the first ’six-pointer’ of the Premier League season as Wolves welcome Sunderland to Molineux. Both teams are in rotten runs of form and are in desperate need for three points. Elsewhere, Everton will be hoping Stoke have another European hangover when they head to Goodison Park for what should be a physical encounter.

Tuesday sees the return of the Carling Cup, with three quarter-finals set to take place. For those fans of teams in blue it could be a good night as Chelsea, Manchester City and Cardiff all look poised to march on into the last four.

Despite being at the early stage of his tenure with Chelsea, under pressure manager Andre Villas-Boas has described their Champions League encounter with Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday as a ‘massive game’ (Bayer Leverkusen 5/2, draw 12/5, Chelsea 23/20).

There are a whole host of intriguing matches to feast on as the Premier League resumes following the international break with key matches at both ends of the table in a jam-packed Saturday.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has given his backing to earlier kick offs for his La Liga-chasing outfit as the Bernabeu faithful prepare to set their alarm clocks for a midday match against Osasuna this Sunday.

For those of us who prefer a Saturday morning lie-in the early Premier League kick-off between Newcastle and Everton might be too early, but there are still five traditional 3pm games which promise fireworks.

The Champions League is already at Matchday Four this week, with big group games for all the English sides as they chase qualification. Firstly, we preview the action involving Arsenal and Chelsea on Tuesday night.

There was no Europa League action on Thursday which means a full Premier League programme on Saturday to get stuck into with some intriguing matches lined up, not least the opener of the day when Everton host Manchester United.

The Carling Cup last-16 games get underway with four matches taking place on Tuesday evening with the pick being League Two Aldershot attempting to heap more misery on Manchester United just two days after their 6-1 Old Trafford thumping against Manchester City.

While much of the attention this week has been on a certain local tussle at Old Trafford, thanks to Thursday’s Europa League encounters there are also four other Premier League games to entertain us on Sunday, featuring teams from the top, middle and bottom of the table.