European soccer weekend: What to watch in the main leagues

What to watch in the leading soccer leagues in Europe this weekend:

With all of the other major leagues around Europe already settled or nearly decided, the race for the Italian league title is heating up again with Napoli’s visit to Juventus on Sunday. Midweek results saw Juve’s lead cut to four points, meaning a win for Napoli would reduce the gap to one point with four rounds remaining.

“We reached our club goal of qualifying for the Champions League a week ago and now we’re at least assured of finishing second, so now we can have some fun,” Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri said.

While Juventus is seeking a record-extending seventh straight title, Napoli is after its first since Diego Maradona led the club to its only two championships, in 1987 and 1990.

Meanwhile there is an even tighter battle for third and fourth place — the final Champions League berths. Roma and Lazio are tied on points, one point above Inter Milan.

Roma visits relegation-threatened Spal on Saturday while on Sunday, Lazio hosts Sampdoria and Inter visits Chievo Verona. — By Andrew Dampf in Rome.

SPAIN

Leader Barcelona gets the weekend off in the Spanish league as it faces Sevilla in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday.

Barcelona is bidding to win its fourth straight Copa, while Sevilla will look to secure a Europa League spot by lifting the trophy for the sixth time.

Sevilla is seventh in the league, outside the qualification places for the Europa League next season.

The final at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano Stadium will be a rematch of the 2016 Copa final, which Barcelona won.

Barcelona’s league game against Villarreal at Camp Nou Stadium was postponed until May 9, as was Sevilla’s home match against Real Madrid.

Barcelona has a 12-point lead ahead of Atletico’s match at Real Sociedad on Thursday. Diego Simeone’s team hosts fifth-place Real Betis on Sunday.

In the fight against relegation, 18th-place Deportivo La Coruna visits Leganes on Friday, while 17th-place Leganes — the first team outside the relegation zone — plays at Athletic Bilbao on Monday. — By Tales Azzoni in Madrid.

ENGLAND

Arsene Wenger’s long goodbye at Arsenal begins on Sunday with a home Premier League match against West Ham that serves as an audition for some of his players ahead of the Europa League semifinals.

Wenger has announced he will be quitting as Arsenal manager at the end of the season after more than 21 years, and could leave with an 11th major trophy if the team wins the Europa League. It faces Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the semifinals on Thursday. The Premier League’s top four is out of sight for Arsenal but Wenger will want a victory to boost the team’s confidence heading into the Atletico game. He also said he wants his players to have some rhythm going into the match so could select a full-strength team, rather than rest players.

— By Steve Douglas

in Manchester.