Two points separated Paris and Marseille when Season 3 ended, 76 to 74. Two points separate them now, 52 to 50, with 12 league games left. On Saturday at 18:00 UTC both meet a top-four rival, and the numbers suggest neither evening will be comfortable.

France: the night that could move the table

Brest (3rd, 43) v Marseille (2nd, 50). Thirteen of Marseille's 14 league wins have been by a single goal. Last weekend's 2-0 over Metz is the only exception, and it completed three straight clean sheets. ElChapito's side has scored 28 in 26 games, so this is a team that needs its margins to hold.

Brest is a hard place to test them. Felpa35's side has played 12 league games at home, won seven, drawn five and conceded five. They finished 12th last season. Marseille won the reverse 2-1 in August.

From relegation zone to 3 points away from 3rd place. Massive work!

That message was posted on 31 October. Brest have since taken third.

Paris (1st, 52) v Reims (4th, 42). Janca's Paris have also yet to lose at home in the league, but seven of their 13 games there have been drawn, four of them goalless. They have taken more points away (27) than at home (25).

Reims look built for that kind of night. They sit fourth with a goal difference of minus one, and won 1-0 at Lens last weekend from five shots, with goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf named man of the match. Their current team sheet is a 4-5-1 Defensive. They beat Marseille 1-0 in September and, on 42 points, have already passed last season's total of 40.

Paris won 3-1 at Reims in August with 27 shots. Masour Dembélé's 13 league goals leave him second in the French scoring chart behind Rennes' Amine Gouiri on 15.

Both contenders then play cup ties on Monday: Paris host Lens, Marseille go to Rennes.

England: three clubs on 42

Liverpool (53) lead London Red (49) by four and visit Fulham after losing 4-2 at home to Manchester Red, who needed only eight shots. Fulham won 3-1 at Liverpool in August.

Manchester Red (3rd) host Crystal Palace (5th), with both on 42 alongside fourth-placed Burton-upon-Trent. Manchester Red won 4-1 at Palace in August.

I watch London Red as an Arsenal supporter, so here is the caveat. They have conceded 12, the fewest in the division, but David Raya Martin has been bailing them out. He was man of the match at Coventry in August, when the hosts had 25 shots in a 1-0 defeat, and again at Bournemouth last weekend, when the hosts had 29 in a goalless draw. Coventry visit on Saturday having just won 2-0 at Tottenham.

Chelsea (6th, 41) host Manchester Blue (8th, 40), who are unbeaten in six league games. August's meeting finished 0-0, with Manchester Blue having 62% of possession and 17 shots to Chelsea's four.

The bottom three went down last season. Tottenham are 18th on 23 with 178.6m SVC, the biggest balance in the division, and go to Burton. Coventry have 22. Leicester have 17, have lost six in a row, have conceded 58 and host Brentford. Newcastle, 17th and six points clear of Tottenham, visit Leeds.

Italy: Roma's lead has grown

A week ago I questioned Roma's four-point lead because of how little they had taken from their rivals. It is now seven. The next test is Lecco, who won 1-0 in Rome in August, have conceded a division-low 13 and won at Torino White last weekend.

Torino White (4th, 44) host Milano Red (2nd, 46). Milano Red won the reverse 1-0 with 68% of possession, and Torino White did not manage a shot on target.

Two relegation games stand out:

• Udine (17th, 25) v Torino Red (15th, 28): Udine won the reverse 1-0 and would draw level with another win.
• Catanzaro (16th, 28) v Sassuolo (19th, 23): Catanzaro also won 1-0 away in August. Repeating it would open an eight-point gap.

Germany and Spain

Bayern are eight clear and visit 18th-placed Heidenheim. Second place is closer: Dortmund (57) go to Bremen, and Frankfurt (55) go to Hamburg, having beaten them 2-1 with 30 shots in August. Freiburg have lost six straight league games and travel to Mainz.

Barcelona lead Spain by 11 and visit Vigo. Madrid Red and Roda are level on 47 behind them, and both travel. Madrid Red go to Bilbao, who won 1-0 in Madrid in August. Roda go to Vallecas, whom they beat 3-0 with 42 shots. At the bottom, five clubs are within two points: Valencia and Almería on 22, Alaves and Santander on 21, Girona on 20.

If I could watch only one game on Saturday, it would be Brest. Marseille have made a season out of one-goal wins, and nobody has won a league game there yet.