What to watch in international soccer this weekend
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Titles can be won in Spain and England while Juventus can widen its gap over second-place Napoli in Italy in the most compelling televised games from Europe’s top leagues this weekend.
La Liga: Barcelona, coming off a stunning upset loss to Roma in Champions League play, is the only major team in Europe unbeaten in league play — but it hasn’t won the title yet. The schedule would appear to make that clinching just a matter of time, though, because Barca faces only one team in the league’s top five between now and the May 6 “El Clasico” with Real Madrid. That exception comes Saturday when Barcelona plays host to third-place Valencia (BeIN Sports, 7 a.m. PDT). The game will match league scoring leader Lionel Messi (29 goals, 12 assists) against a defense that has allowed just one goal in its last five matches.
EPL: Manchester City will take a second shot at nailing down a Premier League title it all but won a month ago. But it will do so Saturday at Wembley Stadium against a Tottenham team that has lost just once in 15 tries at home — and hasn’t lost anywhere since mid-December (NBCSN, 11:30 a.m.). City, meanwhile, is winless in April and fighting its deepest slump of the Pep Guardiola era, having lost three straight: two to Liverpool in Champions League play sandwiched around last week’s home loss in the Manchester Derby.
Serie A: Juventus, smarting from a last-second Champions League loss to Real Madrid, can move a big step closer to its seventh straight league title Sunday with a win over Sampdoria, the last team to beat Juventus in Serie A (BeIN Sports, 9 a.m.) The Turin team has gone 16-0-2 since that mid-November loss, shutting out 15 teams while outscoring opponents 37-4.
Follow Kevin Baxter on Twitter @kbaxter11
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