Barcelona hold the slightest of advantages in a thrilling three-way La Liga title race with just three games remaining ahead of their trip to Real Betis on Saturday.

The Catalans lead Atletico Madrid solely thanks to their better head-to-head record with Real Madrid just a point behind the leaders in third.

Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich can become the first club to win a fourth consecutive Bundesliga title by beating Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday, amidst the distraction of their Champions League semi-final.

Bayern hold a seven-point lead and with three games left, a win over Gladbach at Munich's Allianz Arena will confirm a fourth straight German league title, a feat no other team has achieved before.

Arsene Wenger will be forced to confront renewed supporter protests at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday as he attempts to stop Arsenal's troubled season imploding in the final weeks.

A number of fans' groups are planning to mark the visit of struggling Norwich by displaying placards during the game demanding change after another frustrating campaign.

Leicester City defender Danny Simpson insists the prolonged absence of star striker Jamie Vardy won't stop the Premier League leaders clinching the most incredible title triumph in English football history at Manchester United on Sunday.

Claudio Ranieri's side have the eyes of the world on them as they head to Old Trafford knowing a victory against United would see the 5,000-1 outsiders crowned champions for the first time in their 132-year history.

Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho was on Thursday provisionally suspended for 30 days after failing a drugs test, European football's governing body UEFA announced.

The France international reportedly tested positive for a fat burner after Liverpool's 1-1 draw against Manchester United in the Europa League on March 17.

Pep Guardiola's decision to leave Germany striker Thomas Mueller on the bench for Wednesday's 1-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final was roundly criticized by German media on Thursday.

"Super solo from Atletico! Poor selection from Pep", read the headline on Bild's front page, questioning why the Bayern coach began the game without Mueller, "his best scorer away from home in the Champions League", or French winger Franck Ribery.

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is a major doubt for the Spanish giants Champions League semi-final, second leg against Manchester City on Wednesday after Madrid confirmed he is suffering from a hamstring strain.

"Following tests carried out today on Karim Benzema in the Sanitas La Moraleja University Hospital, he has been diagnosed with a strained right hamstring," the club said in a statement on Thursday.

A collective euphoria has gripped Leicester's humdrum streets as the often-overlooked English city stands at the cusp of achieving global sporting immortality by winning football's most coveted league title.

Many in the medium-sized Midlands city will not talk about the possibility of one of sporting history's most unlikely triumphs for fear of jinxing their heroes.

A sweep of the press room before Leicester City's recent victory over Swansea City confirmed the extent to which their pursuit of Premier League glory has captivated global audiences.

Journalists from as far afield as Finland, Turkey, South Korea and Australia mingled in the queue for a pre-match meal, while a 10-strong Japanese contingent sat around a table discussing how Shinji Okazaki would fare in the absence of his suspended strike partner Jamie Vardy.

South Korean athletes at the Rio Olympics will wear long-sleeved kit impregnated with mosquito repellant to protect them from the Zika virus, the national Olympic committee said Thursday.

Brazil -- epicenter of the mosquito-borne Zika virus outbreak, which is blamed for birth defects in babies -- hosts the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro in August.