We’re at the business end of the season in Europe and today we’ll look at what’s left to play for across the domestic leagues.
England
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- Man City v Aston Villa – Sunday
- Liverpool v Southampton – Tuesday
- Liverpool v Wolves – Sunday
- Newcastle v Arsenal – Monday
- Arsenal v Everton – Sunday
- Crystal Palace v Man United – Sunday
- Brighton v West Ham – Sunday
- Brentford v Leeds – Sunday
- Burnley v Newcastle – Sunday
- Sunderland v Wycombe – Saturday
- Championship Playoff Final – Sunday
In the Premier League, the Title is still up for grabs with Man City dropping points over the weekend and Liverpool with a game in hand. There is 4 points between them with 2 games left to play. Liverpool lifted the FA Cup with a victory on penalties over the weekend against Chelsea, so they will be feeling confident that they can secure the points necessary to do the job, but they still hope Man City will drop points at home against Aston Villa on Sunday. Liverpool are away to Southampton on Tuesday night and at home against Wolves on Sunday. They should be trying to win both games if they have hopes of securing the title. City definitely need to win on Sunday.
Relegation Fight
At the bottom of the Premier League, Leeds, Burnley and Everton are in a relegation dog fight. Leeds are at a disadvantage because Everton and Burnley have a game in hand but this week’s results will determine their fate in the last week of the season. Leeds need 3 points away to Brentford on Sunday, which is not an easy ask. Burnley are at home against Newcastle so they may have a good shot at securing safety in that game. Everton are equally in tough away at Arsenal on Sunday. I don’t envy Everton or Leeds in this scenario, but anything can happen. We’ll see who going down to the Championship on Sunday.
The battle for Europe is largely settled. Other than what leagues teams will end up in. The final Champions League place is up for grabs between Spurs and Arsenal, so the Gunners game against Everton has double ramifications in the relegation fight and the fight for Champions League. Spurs are away at Norwich on Sunday, so you would expect them to pick up 3 points there which would secure their place in next season’s Champions League. Manchester United and West Ham are in a battle for the final place in the Europa League. United are away at Crystal Palace and West Ham are away at Brighton on Sunday so I would say they both have equal chance of getting 3 points there, but Man United have the 2 point advantage in the table.
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The Football League
Down the leagues, the playoffs are in full swing. In the Championship, Nottingham Forest have the advantage going into the second leg against Sheffield United. Luton and Huddersfield are locked in a tie going into the second leg which could make for some cagey matchups mid-week. Setting up the playoff final this weekend. It could be any 1 of these 4 teams getting promoted to the Premier League. It’ll be exciting to watch that’s for sure. Sunderland and Wycombe will battle it out in the League One Playoff Final to join Rotherham and Wigan in the Championship next season. Can the Black Cats start their climb back to the Premier League? We’ll see Saturday. In League Two, Swindon and Mansfield have the advantage going into the second leg on Wednesday and Thursday, so I would expect them to face off in the playoff final.
Spain
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- Barcelona v Villarreal – Sunday
- Real Madrid v Real Betis – Sunday
- Sevilla v Athletic Club – Sunday
- Cadiz v Alaves – Sunday
- Osasuna v Mallorca – Sunday
- Granada v Espanyol – Sunday
In La Liga, the Title has been wrapped up with Real Madrid taking their 35th crown. The races in Spain are mostly for European places and relegation. Down at the bottom, Granada, Mallorca and Cadiz are fighting for survival. No one has any games in hand so if they all take the same points on Sunday, Cadiz will be relegated. Cadiz are away at Alaves, Granada host Espanyol and Mallorca are away to Osasuna. I’m not sure anyone has a clear advantage here, maybe Cadiz because they are playing bottom of the league Alaves. Osasuna are tough opposition for Mallorca, Granada could get points against Espanyol as they are struggling for form. Mallorca could be the odd one out here and in the end be relegated to La Liga 2.
The Battle for Europe in Spain
In the battle for Europe, Athletic Club is one point behind Villarreal for the Europa Conference spot. Villarreal’s recent form has been inconsistent, so anything could happen on Sunday for them. They hold a one point advantage over Athletic but are away at Camp Nou to face Barcelona which is a tall order. They will hope that Athletic drops points away to Sevilla, which is almost an equally difficult match. In the end, it could be status quo for that race and Villarreal going into the Conference League.
There is also still a chance Sevilla could pip Real Betis for the final Champions League spot, they are 3 points behind them, so they need Betis to drop 3 points and they need to beat Athletic at home to secure their place. Real Betis are away to Real Madrid who will want to finish their season off with a win. So no easy matches here. I think Sevilla could get this done and secure their place in the Champions League next season.
Italy
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- Sassuolo v AC Milan – Sunday
- Internazionale v Sampdoria – Sunday
- Torino v Roma – Sunday
- Fiorentina v Sampdoria – Monday
- Fiorentina v Juventus – Sunday
- Atalanta v Empoli – Sunday
- Salernitana v Udinese – Sunday
- Genoa v Bologna – Sunday
- Venezia v Cagliari – Sunday
In Serie A, a lot could change. The title race is coming down to the last day of the season. Both teams in Milan are battling for the Scudetto, and AC Milan have the 2 point advantage going into the last day. They will need to secure 3 points against Sassuolo away to secure the title or hope Inter do not win. Internazionale have a superior goal difference, and they host Sampdoria at San Siro on Sunday. If Inter win, and Milan fail to secure all three points, Inter will walk away as Champions. Drama on the last day in Italy, you couldn’t ask for more!
Lots to settle in Europe
In Europe, the Champions League places have been decided with AC Milan, Inter, Napoli, and Juve going into the competition next season. The Europa and Conference league places are still very much up for grabs on the final day. Lazio has secured their place in the Europa League, but Roma, Fiorentina and Atalanta are still all battling for the final Europa League place and the lone Conference League place for next season. Fiorentina are away to Sampdoria today, and then host Juventus on Sunday. Roma are away to Torino and Atalanta host Empoli on Sunday. Roma have the toughest matchup, but I feel like all three teams could walk away with enough points here. So it could be Roma going into the Europa League and Atalanta or Fiorentina going to the Conference League come Sunday, assuming Juventus wins on the last day and Fiorentina beat Sampdoria. Be maybe they won’t. Should be interesting!
Relegation Drama in Serie A
At the bottom of the table, the relegation fight is where another fascinating story is unfolding. Salernitana, Cagliari and Genoa are all fighting for survival. Venezia are the only team who is already relegated. Salternitana have a 2 point advantage going into the final day, but if Cagliari and Genoa both win, and they do not, they could still be relegated. Salernitana has been on the best form of the 3 though. Salernitana host Udinese, Genoa are at home against Bologna, and Cagliari are away to Venezia. I think Cagliari are the most likely in these matches to take points. If I were to bet, I would say we would end up with Cagliari staying up and the other two going down. But anything could happen on Sunday.
In Serie B, the playoffs are in full swing and the final will be setup this week. Benevento are facing Pisa and Brescia face Monza over two legs this week to set up the playoff final for next. Can Benevento or Brescia make it back into Serie A next season or will we see some newer faces in Pisa or Monza?
France
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- Lens v Monaco – Saturday
- Marseille v Strasbourg – Saturday
- Lille v Rennes – Saturday
- Reims v Nice – Saturday
- PSG v Metz – Saturday
- Nantes v Saint-Etienne – Saturday
In Ligue 1, PSG absolutely stormed the league taking home the Title well in advance of the final day. The races now are for Europe which have several places up for grabs. Monaco hold the advantage over Marseille on goal difference for the final Champions League group place. Rennes however, have an outside chance of pipping Marseille for the Champions League Qualification round place, should results go their way. Thanks in part to a massive offensive output from them this season. Strasbourg, Nice and Lens all still in contention for European places as well. Strasbourg and Nice could still steal that Europa League spot, and Lens could steal the Conference League place. So many things still in flux.
Fight for Europe in France
Monaco are away to Lens on Saturday, Marseille host Strasbourg, Rennes are away to Lille and Nice are away to Reims. It’s quite fascinating that a lot of these teams play each other on the final day so their fates are very much in their own hands. This may be one of the most exciting leagues for watch on Saturday for this reason!
At the bottom of the table, Metz and Saint Etienne are fighting for survival and trying to secure the relegation playoff match on the final day. Currently Metz are in the driver’s seat by slim margins on goal difference. The trouble is, they are away to PSG on the final day. That would be a Herculian effort to knock off the Champions to secure their survival, can they do it? Saint-Etienne also does not have an easy task against mid-table Nantes. Will they trade places or will it be cemented on the final day? Tune in Saturday!
Conclusion
As usual, the final day of the season brings much drama across Europe. There is so much to play for in the big 5 leagues and there will be many people on the couch and in the stadiums to watch. See you there!