10 Players to Watch in World Football This Weekend of April 3-5

With the conclusion of the latest international break, our collective attention returns to domestic action and the resumption of the top leagues around the world of football.

We have run the rule over the most important fixtures coming up over the weekend and selected the individuals who could bear watching and go on to have a telling impact, one way or another, as their sides try to pick up vital points.

This week, we take in Europe's biggest leagues, the Argentinian top flight and more to bring you our 10 players to watch.

We'll begin in the Premier League in England, where the battle for the top four is hotting up and Arsenal host Liverpool in a game between third and fifth.

The early kick-off on Saturday has the Reds needing to pull off a big victory after defeat to Manchester United last time out. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has said Daniel Sturridge is fit to face the Gunners, per the Liverpool Echo, but the striker is only just coming back from an injury.

That could mean it is likely that Raheem Sterling will start in attack. The 20-year-old has come under fire on social media over an interview with BBC Sport in which he appeared to suggest he is considering all options for his future.

As Sterling has rejected a new contract from the Reds and put talks on hold until summer, Liverpool fans want to see him produce the form he is capable of, which hasn't been seen often enough lately.

To the Bundesliga in Germany, where the weekend's most enticing fixture sees resurgent Borussia Dortmund host league leaders Bayern Munich.

With Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and David Alaba all likely to miss out through injury, responsibility to create will fall largely on the shoulders of former BVB starlet Mario Gotze.

The attacking midfielder impressed at times during the international break, playing up front for his nation, and Bayern will be hoping he can both construct and finish off chances against his old team to help the reigning champions get back to winning ways.

Over to Serie A in Italy, where there are two big games in the race for Champions League places. First up, second-placed Roma host fifth-placed Napoli on Saturday morning.

Roma ended a winless streak last time out and will be looking to cement their status as the second-best side in the country—as they have been the past couple of years—but they will need to find better goalscoring form than they have managed of late. Standing in their way in that regard will be Napoli 'keeper Rafael, who has not kept a clean sheet for four league games.

The Brazilian was left out of his national squad so will be looking to start putting in improved performances after his team dropped out of the top three recently. He'll need to be somewhere near his best to stop Roma at the Olimpico.

In La Liga, Valencia play host to Villarreal this weekend in a third-versus-sixth clash. This eagerly anticipated clash between top teams will see both sides look to play their brand of mainly offensive, fast-paced football.

While the attackers—Luciano Vietto, Pablo Piatti et al.—will take centre stage in pre-match talk, centre-back Nicolas Otamendi has been one of the league's finest this season. Villarreal, for all their technical players in the final third, will have to be very good to get past both him and goalkeeper Diego Alves.

Otamendi is rugged and aggressive, good in the air and on the deck, and Villarreal haven't been getting results lately. He can ensure that trend continues.

France's Ligue 1 is seeing an exciting chase for the title, with the three teams at the top all giving up points with some regularity—and Monaco and Saint-Etienne have closed the gap as a result. It's still a three-horse race as things stand, but those two, in fourth and fifth respectively, can get closer this weekend if one takes a win over the other.

Monaco's defence is notoriously stingy, but in Ivorian Max Gradel, ASSE have a very much in-form attacker who has found the net six times in his last five outings at club level.

He hit a brace in their win over Lille last time out, as well as scoring in Ivory Coast's 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea during the international break. Monaco have a chance of taking the points if they stop him.

In the Eredivisie, Ajax may not be looking likely to retain the title for a fourth season in a row, but the side in second received a big boost on Wednesday with the news that striker Arkadiusz Milik had signed a permanent deal, reported by Goal.

The Poland international has 11 goals this term and looks set to have a big impact on the side over the coming seasons.

He faces Utrecht away from home on Sunday and will be doubtless looking to mark his new deal with another strike.

To the outskirts of Europe and the Russian Premier League now, where a vital match on Sunday morning will see a meeting of the top two: Zenit and CSKA Moscow.

Zenit have been the standout team and are top of the table, but the gap between them and Sunday's opponents is only five points because of CSKA's great winning run, which stretches back to before the winter break began. Key to their good form and any remaining title hopes will be attacking midfielder Roman Eremenko. The 28-year-old Finn is currently the league's top scorer.

His drives from the second line of attack and ability to quickly receive and move the ball on make him the big danger to Zenit, who know that merely avoiding defeat will boost their chances of title success considerably.

The big game we'll focus on outside of Europe is in Argentina, where River Plate are set to host San Lorenzo—fourth versus first with precisely three points between them.

The encouragement for River to come out and take victory is clear: They'll go level with the leaders and will keep in touch with Boca Juniors, who will almost certainly grab a win away to Huracan.

Top scorer for River is Rodrigo Mora, with the Uruguayan having netted five goals in six matches this term. He'll be charged with breaching the league's joint-best defence this weekend—San Lorenzo have only conceded four times so far and only once away from home.

River are unbeaten at present, but this will be a big test for them.

Earlier, we referred to two big games in Italy's Serie A. The second of those sees Fiorentina play Sampdoria—sixth against fourth—with Blucerchiati striker Eder in the news recently.

His nine league goals make him Sampdoria's top league scorer, and he received a call-up to the Italy national team as a result, making his debut in the recent Euro 2016 qualifier against Bulgaria—and scoring late on to salvage a draw.

Now back with his club, Eder will be hoping to reach double figures and will be the biggest threat to Fiorentina, who are themselves hoping to at least stay in touch with the top three with a win of their own.

We'll finish up with a second game from La Liga. This time, we focus our attention at the bottom end, where the relegation fight is constant and close.

Almeria host Levante on Saturday evening. Both teams are level on points either side of the relegation zone's dotted line. Levante now have Nigerian striker Kalu Uche in their ranks, and he has already been instrumental in helping his new side pick up vital points.

He could easily be the difference on Saturday and over the remaining weeks of the season.

Follow @karlmatchett