Despite all the hype, however, the match will do well to live up to some of the Manchester derby tussles down the years. Here are five of the most memorable:
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur built hefty leads with emphatic away wins in their Europa League last 32 first-leg matches but AC Milan were held to a 2-2 draw at Red Star Belgrade as the competition resumed on Thursday.
Brescia left Mario Balotelli on the bench after coach Fabio Grosso said the maverick striker had not put in enough effort in training during the week.
Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain and evergreen AS Roma forward Francesco Totti lit up Serie A on Monday as the two teams won in contrasting fashion to boost their bids for an automatic Champions League spot.
A round-up of Saturday's action in LaLiga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.
Juventus launched their bid for a sixth successive league title after their record signing Gonzalo Higuain came off the bench to grab a trademark winner in a 2-1 success over Fiorentina on the opening day of the Serie A season.
IMAGES from Serie A matches played in Italy on Wednesday.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde's conservatism was cited by the Spanish media as the main reason for their 3-0 defeat at AS Roma on Tuesday that led to a shock Champions League quarter-final elimination being regarded as 'a historic debacle'.
Miralem Pjanic's free kick gave Juventus a 2-1 win at Chievo on Sunday as goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon celebrated his 600th Serie A appearance.
New coach Luciano Spalletti failed to inspire AS Roma as they were held 1-1 at home by bottom club Verona on his debut on Sunday and Juventus notched their 10th Serie A win in a row by hammering Udinese 4-0 away.
Juventus slumped to another surprise defeat on Wednesday when the champions lost 1-0 at Sassuolo while AS Roma reclaimed top spot in Serie A with a 3-1 home victory over Udinese.
Striker Sergio Aguero scored twice to give Argentina a 2-0 win over fellow World Cup finalists Bosnia in a friendly at the Busch baseball stadium in St Louis, Missouri on Monday.
Immobile strikes in Lazio's win, in contention for golden boot. IMAGES from the Serie A matches played on Wednesday.
Manchester City started their Premier League campaign in scintillating fashion on Monday with a stylish 4-0 win at home to 10-man Newcastle United that will ring alarm bells for the rest of their title rivals.
Alaba strike on Clasico debut gives Real Madrid 2-1 win at Barcelona.
Serie A leaders Juventus scored twice in the last five minutes to win 3-2 at Inter Milan, who had earlier come from behind to lead despite playing with 10 men in an extraordinary match on Saturday.
AS Roma needed a penalty from 40-year-old forward Francesco Totti in the seventh minute of stoppage time to scrape past second-tier Cesena 2-1 in their Coppa Italia quarter-final on Wednesday.
Images from the soccer matches played across Europe on Saturday.
Manchester City returned to the Premier League summit for the first time since January with a 3-2 win at Everton on Saturday that left them six points from a second title in three seasons.
Manchester City's leading goalscorer Sergio Aguero is expected to be out for a month with a hamstring injury, the club's manager Manuel Pellegrini said on Friday.
Manchester City's memorable Champions League win over holders Bayern Munich still failed to add up for manager Manuel Pellegrini after he revealed his poor grasp of simple mathematics.
AS Roma were dumped out of the Italian Cup on penalties by second-tier Spezia after a 0-0 draw at home extended their winless streak to seven matches and heaped pressure on coach Rudi Garcia.
Manchester City were never out of the title race and the Premier League champions did not need to change their style despite a frustrating to start the season, manager Manuel Pellegrini has said.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
AS Roma suffered another European humiliation on Tuesday when they had two players sent off, lost 3-0 at home to Porto and missed out on the Champions League group stage.
Images from UEFA Europa League semi-finals played on Thursday.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Spoils were shared in two huge Premier League derbies, Chelsea's cracking start continued with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa and Wayne Rooney produced a Jekyll and Hyde display in a nervy Manchester United victory on Saturday.
Spoils were shared in two huge Premier League derbies, Chelsea's cracking start continued with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa and Wayne Rooney produced a Jekyll and Hyde display in a nervy Manchester United victory on Saturday.
Bruno Fernandes and Edinson Cavani scored twice each as Manchester United took a giant step towards the Europa League final with a 6-2 drubbing of AS Roma in their semi-final first leg at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Arsenal and Manchester City meet at The Emirates on Saturday when both teams will seek to roar into life after making spluttering starts to their Premier League campaigns.
Facts and figures ahead of Saturday's Champions League final between holders Real Madrid and Liverpool in Kiev:
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane reckons Cristiano Ronaldo is on top form as the Portuguese looks to increase his Champions League goals tally when they visit AS Roma in the first leg of their last-16 tie on Wednesday.
Barcelona capitalised on two disastrous own goals by A S Roma to thrash the Italian side 4-1 at the Nou Camp on Wednesday and take a huge step towards reaching the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in three years.
The omens are good for a Chelsea side heading into Christmas top of the Premier League tree but manager Jose Mourinho does not want to give title rivals Manchester City any reason to cheer over the festive season. Check out the big games on Boxing Day.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Frank Lampard's loan spell at Manchester City is due to end in January but the Premier League champions might want to delay his departure across the Atlantic to enhance their chances of fighting his old club for the title.
Nigeria beat Bosnia 1-0 on Saturday to record their first World Cup finals victory since 1998 and condemn the European team to an early exit in their first appearance at the tournament.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Inter Milan's lead at the top of Serie A was cut when they lost 2-1 at home to Lazio on Sunday while AS Roma beat Genoa 2-0 to record their first win in eight games and ease the pressure on under-fire coach Rudi Garcia.
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