What to watch in international soccer this weekend

With the league leaders in Germany, England, Spain and France enjoying huge leads six months into their seasons, the tightest battles are the ones for the European Championship and Europa League invitations that go to each league’s top runners-up. The jockeying for position continues this weekend.

Ligue 1: Paris Saint-Germain takes a commanding 11-point lead into a weekend in which it will visit struggling Toulouse, only a point out of the regulation zone (Saturday, BeIN Sports, 8 a.m. PST). But there’s a bigger battle going on for second place, making Marseille’s visit to Saint Etienne on Friday (BeIN Sports, 11:45 a.m.) important. Marseille is unbeaten since Dec. 17 and another victory would solidify its hold on second place, giving it — at least temporarily — a four-point edge on third-place Monaco and a six-point lead over fourth-place Lyon.

EPL: A league title is all but assured for Manchester City, but the team is stepping up its chase of Premier League records for most points, goals and wins in a season entering Saturday’s match against visiting Leicester City (NBC, 9:30 a.m.). Two years removed from its own EPL championship, Leicester is trying rejoin the battle for a European tournament berth. With only two wins since Dec. 13, Leicester, which will be without midfielder Riyad Mahrez, will enter the weekend in eighth place, a whopping 14 points behind fifth-place Tottenham. In an important early morning clash, No. 6 Arsenal visits Wembley on Saturday to meet Tottenham with a chance to pull to within a point of fifth place and a Europa League spot (CNBC, 4:30).

La Liga: Real Madrid’s 12 titles is the most in Champions League history but the two-time defending titlist, still fighting for a third consecutive crown, may not make it back to the tournament next season. Real has won only two of its last six and is only two points clear of fifth place in the Spanish table heading into Saturday’s game against visiting Real Sociedad (BeIN Sports, 11:30 a.m.).

kevin.baxter@latimes.com

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