In Spain, France and Germany, it is a question of when, rather than whether, the top teams will be invested as champions. Frank Rijkaard's Barcelona lead by eleven points with seven matches to go ahead of Sunday's trip to Real Racing Club Santander. Striker Samuel Eto'o is keen for Barça to forget their midweek UEFA Champions League success against SL Benfica and focus on Racing: "We have to show them maximum respect. If we can beat them, the league will be wrapped up." That may not be technically true, but it would take a catastrophic loss of form to separate Barça from their title.

Five in a row
The same goes for Lyon, who will look to take out their UEFA Champions League frustration on OGC Nice on Saturday. Fully 12 points clear of second-placed FC Girondins de Bordeaux with six rounds remaining, Gérard Houllier's men might have had their path to European glory blocked by AC Milan, but surely only the supernatural could deny them a fifth successive Ligue 1 championship. "Houllier spoke to us for a long time on Thursday to tell us the season is not over," midfielder Juninho Pernambucano said. "Don't forget, our main target at the start of the campaign was a French record fifth crown in a row."