The domestic titles are done and dusted in England, Germany and Italy, with Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan claiming the glory respectively. But as we enter the final weekend of the season, the crowns in France and Spain are still up for grabs.
Atletico Madrid are the surprise La Liga leaders in Spain and Lille are an even bigger shock in France. Both can clinch the league titles with one final victory, with Real Madrid and Paris St-Germain, respectively, at their heels.
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Atletico lead the Spanish giants by two points but if they draw, a Real win would see the title slip through their hands. They visit Valladolid on Saturday, while Real Madrid hosts seventh-place Villarreal at the same time. The matches in France come a day later. Lille, who lead PSG by a single point, play at Angers knowing a win will seal the title. Defending champions PSG will face Brest.
It could be a day of boom or bust for Monaco as the third-placed side in France, who play at Lens, could also win the title with a win and if both their rivals slip up. However, lose and they could also drop to fourth behind Lyon and fail to even enter the Champions League qualifying rounds.
City, Bayern and Inter may have already won their league titles, but many of their rivals are still chasing Champions League qualification, which is crucial for their image and their finances.
Some leagues will continue to play until May 29, ending only hours before City and Chelsea begin the Champions League final in Porto.
Manchester United could win the first part of European double for the English city on Wednesday when they face Villarreal in the Europa League final in Gdansk, Poland.
The season finales in the top leagues will be spread out through the weekend, with La Liga matches on Saturday at 8pm. Sunday is more packed, starting with all 10 Premier League matches at 7pm, Italy’s keys games kicking off at 10.45pm, and France starting 11pm.
In other title races, the Danish league will be won by either Brondby or Midtjylland on Monday. Maccabi Haifa have the edge over Maccabi Tel Aviv for their first Israeli title in 10 years.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
For a European club from a major market, the drop in expected revenue between playing in the Champions League or the Europa League would be 50-70 million euros.
Got that, Liverpool, Juventus and AC Milan? Fourth place good, fifth place very, very bad.
All three of those clubs were founding members of the doomed Super League project that flared up quickly and died just as fast last month, adding spice to the jeopardy they now face.
AC Milan are in third place in Serie A, though with the toughest game at second-place Atalanta. Fifth-place Juventus travel to Bologna and could even rise to third if fourth-place Napoli slip up at home against Verona.
Failure for Juventus would be further humiliation for club president Andrea Agnelli after the Super League fiasco. Uefa could yet ban Juventus — and Real Madrid and Barcelona — if they continue refusing to renounce the Super League.
Fifth place would also likely cost former midfield great Andrea Pirlo his job after only one season as Juventus coach.
Liverpool’s late surge after a slumping start to 2021 has put them in fourth place ahead of hosting Crystal Palace — a team coached by former Reds manager Roy Hodgson.
All four of the Champions League places in England are currently held by Super League rebels, while popular underdogs Leicester have faltered in May for the second straight year and are currently in fifth place.
Leicester beat Chelsea to win the FA Cup last week, then lost on Tuesday at Stamford Bridge in a match that included a mass brawl. That result lifted Chelsea, who can also qualify for next season’s Champions League by beating Man City in the final, to third.
Chelsea travels to Aston Villa for their final match while Leicester hosts Tottenham, who are in seventh place and hold the spot that earns a place in the new third-tier Europa Conference League.
EUROPEAN QUALIFICATION
Tottenham could fall out of European qualification altogether, and even be overtaken by London rivals Arsenal, who host Brighton. Everton are also contending but visits Man City.
Union Berlin could qualify for the Europa Conference League in only their second season in the Bundesliga. The seventh-place club host Leipzig on Saturday.
RELEGATION BATTLES
Werder Bremen’s successful past includes winning the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1992 and reaching the Uefa Cup final in 2009, but the German club are currently in the relegation play-off place before hosting Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday.
The team could go down directly if 17th-place Cologne beat already-relegated Schalke.
In France, Nantes hosts Montpellier knowing a win could lift them clear of the relegation play-off spot. Champions League semi-finalists 25 years ago, Nantes looked doomed until winning four straight matches starting last month.
UNBEATEN CHAMPIONS
Rangers and Red Star Belgrade completed unbeaten seasons to win their leagues in Scotland and Serbia, respectively.
Slavia Prague can join them with two games left in the Czech league, which ends on May 29.