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Sky Sports News presenter David Garrido gives his view on how leagues across Europe are shaping up

Image: Santiago Bernabeau Stadium: Home of Real Madrid

In between two international breaks where players could pick up injuries, and with the Champions League and Europa League under way, this is a crucial period of the season.

France

You won't be shocked to see Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain occupying the top two places in Ligue 1, both unbeaten, and their South American star strikers are beginning to pay back their hefty transfer fees: seven goals for Colombia's Radamel Falcao, and four in all competitions for Edinson Cavani of Uruguay. Overall for both these big spenders, it's so far so good, but a key factor will be how PSG handle their Champions League campaign, whilst Monaco don't have any European distractions to speak of. Lille have been the most impressive of the chasing pack, especially with their tight defence which has seen them keep four clean sheets in five games, although that will be tested at Lyon this weekend. Bordeaux have been the biggest disappointment so far, with just one win in seven games for last year's French Cup winners.

Italy

If that's a compelling picture, then Italy is even more so. In short, it's the sides with new managers who are excelling. Rudy Garcia's Roma have been victorious in all five Serie A games (including one against bitter rivals Lazio), and they are two points clear of Inter Milan, Napoli - now with Rafael Benitez in charge - and Juventus. Antonio Conte won't be too concerned at this stage, although it does look like Juve may face more of a fight than expected to retain their Scudetto, and they'll certainly get a contest this weekend with a Turin derby. Fiorentina started well too, but the absence of Mario Gomez will be keenly felt; he could be out until December with knee ligament damage. It's important to give Inter their due, having defeated the fancied Florence side on Thursday. After a mid-table finish last season, another new boss Walter Mazzarri has done well to impose his work ethic on the squad, and hasn't let anyone get distracted by persistent talk of a takeover on the blue-and-black side of the San Siro. But on the red-and-black side, Massimiliano Allegri may not last much longer. Five points from as many games just isn't good enough for Milan or their demanding supporters, especially as they needed late goals to salvage draws at Torino and struggling Bologna. Although he was given the chance to turn things around after a similarly poor start to the last campaign, Allegri may not be so fortunate this time around. All four leagues have their elements of intrigue, and the plot will thicken in the next month or so, as long as the challengers can keep up with the favourites and steer clear of losing their top players for whatever reason.

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