Europe's top soccer leagues: Title fights, Europe, relegation battles this weekend
The European soccer season is coming to a close, but who is in the race for the titles, European qualification -- and who's fighting relegation?
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The 2023-24 season is drawing to a close and the battles for the major honours, relegation and promotion are starting to become clearer.
Here's a quick roundup of what has been decided, and what's still at stake, in the English Premier League, German Bundesliga, Spanish LaLiga, Italian Serie A and French Ligue 1.
- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
Premier League - two rounds to go
Title: Manchester City (85 points, 36 games) are two points in front of Arsenal (83, 36), but Pep Guardiola's side will have a game in hand -- away at Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday.
Arsenal travel to Man United on Sunday looking to go back to the top of the table.
Champions League (4): Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool (78, 36) are confirmed for a top-four finish, leaving one place to be filled.
Aston Villa (67, 36) are all but there in fourth place with Tottenham (63, 36) having seen their form nosedive. Villa's place will be confirmed if they beat Liverpool on Monday.
Europa League (2): As it stands right now, only fifth gets a Europa League place. In the unlikely event that Tottenham finish fourth, Aston Villa can finish no lower than fifth.
Despite poor results, Spurs are in a strong position to finish fifth with a six-point lead over Newcastle United (57, 36) in sixth and Chelsea (57, 36) in seventh. Spurs still need a point because of their goal difference -- they face Man City on Tuesday then go to rock-bottom Sheffield United on the final day.
On Wednesday, Chelsea go to Brighton and Newcastle visit Man United.
Manchester United (54, 35) have goal difference which is much worse, so the highest they can realistically finish is sixth.
Man United also take on Man City in the FA Cup final on May 25 (stream live on ESPN+, U.S. only). If Erik ten Hag's team lift the trophy then they will be in the Europa League (UEL). If City win the cup, then the UEL position transfers to the sixth place in the Premier League -- so it could still go to Man United that way too.
Europa Conference League (1): Pending the FA Cup final, sixth will go into the Europa Conference League. Newcastle hold it, with Chelsea (who are away to Forest on Saturday) and Man United close behind.
The UECL place will drop to seventh if Man City win the FA Cup or if Man United win the FA Cup and finish fifth or sixth. It would still be one of Man United, Newcastle and Chelsea -- and one of them will miss out on Europe completely.
If Man United win the FA Cup and finish seventh or eighth, the UECL place goes to sixth.
Relegation (3): An immediate return to the Championship for Sheffield United (16, 37) had already been confirmed, and they were joined by Burnley (24, 37) after they lost at Spurs on Saturday.
Luton Town (26, 37) are effectively relegated due to their vastly inferior goal difference to fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest (29, 37). On the final day, Luton would need to beat Fulham and Forest lose to Burnley with a goal difference swing of 12.
Leicester City and Ipswich Town have automatically been promoted to the Premier League. Leeds United, Southampton, West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City compete in the playoffs for one more place.
LaLiga - four rounds to go
Title: Real Madrid (87, 35) were crowned champions last weekend.
- Stream all LaLiga games live on ESPN+ (US only)
Champions League (4): Real Madrid, Girona (75, 35) and Barcelona (73, 34) have secured their places.
Atlético Madrid (67, 34) hold a six-point lead over Athletic Club (61, 34), but it cannot be sealed this weekend.
Europa League (2): Athletic won the Copa del Rey and are almost certain to finish in the top six, which means the place for the cup moves over to the league -- fifth and sixth will enter the UEL.
Either Atlético or Athletic will take one of the places, with Real Sociedad (54, 34) sitting in sixth. La Real are away to Barcelona on Monday and are being chased by Real Betis (52, 34) and, as outsiders, Valencia (47, 34).
Real Sociedad also have to play both Valencia and Betis in their final three fixtures -- it's all to play for. Betis host rock-bottom Almería on Sunday.
Europa Conference League (1): This will go to seventh in the league, between Real Sociedad, Real Betis and Valencia, while Villarreal (48, 35) require a mini-miracle from here.
Relegation (3): Almería (17, 34), with two victories all season, have been relegated. Granada (21, 35) joined them on Saturday when Mallorca won at home to Las Palmas.
That leaves one relegation spot to be decided, with Cádiz (26, 34) having a lot to do to catch Rayo Vallecano (34, 34) Celta Vigo (34, 34) or Mallorca (35, 34).
Bundesliga - two rounds to go
Title: Bayer Leverkusen (84, 32) are still unbeaten and have already secured the first championship in their history.
- Stream all Bundesliga games live on ESPN+ (US only)
Champions League (5): The Bundesliga has sealed an extra place through the European Performance Spot, which sends the team in fifth to the UCL too.
We already know who will fill the top five positions. Joining Leverkusen will be Bayern Munich (69, 32), VfB Stuttgart (70,33), RB Leipzig (64, 33) and Borussia Dortmund (60, 33).
Dortmund are through to the UCL final and guaranteed to finish fifth, so if they win it sixth in the Bundesliga will also be in the UCL. Eintracht Frankfurt (46, 33) are effectively safe in sixth due to their vastly superior goal difference over Freiburg and Hoffenheim, so will be fully backing Dortmund against Real Madrid on June 1.
Europa League (2): There are a few complicating factors to the UEL places, which right now go to sixth in the league (Frankfurt) and the winners of the DFB Pokal.
The final of the DFB Pokal on May 25 (stream live on ESPN+, U.S. only) sees Leverkusen take on Kaiserslautern who, incredibly, could win the cup and be relegated to the third division, as they sit four points above the 2. Bundesliga relegation zone. If Kaiserslautern pull off an almighty shock and do what no other team has done all season (beat Leverkusen), the league slots will be unaltered: sixth into the UEL and seventh into the UECL. If Leverkusen win the final, sixth and seventh will get a place in the UEL.
But right now only sixth place is certain of a UEL place. That's held firmly by Frankfurt.
If Dortmund win the UCL, Germany would surrender the place in the UEL earned by Dortmund in the league. So, Dortmund would qualify as UCL titleholders in fifth, with sixth getting the European Performance position. The only way seventh can get a UEL place is if Leverkusen win the cup.
Europa Conference League (1): At present, SC Freiburg (42, 33) hold the UECL position in seventh -- but that will be a UEL place if Leverkusen win the cup, with eighth into the UECL.
Freiburg are chased by TSG Hoffenheim (40, 32), FC Augsburg (39, 33), Heidenheim (39, 33), Werder Bremen (39, 33) and even VfL Wolfsburg (37, 32), though they are away to Bayern on Sunday
Relegation (2+1): Two teams are relegated, and third-bottom takes on third place in the 2. Bundesliga in a playoff for the right to play in the top flight.
The relegation of SV Darmstadt 98 (17, 32) has already been confirmed.
FC Cologne (27, 33) thought they were back in with a chance after a dramatic comeback for a 4-3 victory at home at Union Berlin (30, 33) on Saturday. Then Mainz beat Dortmund, which means the best Cologne can hope for is the relegation playoff spot ... by overtaking Union Berlin.
Cologne must win at Heidenheim next weekend, hope Union lose at home to Freiburg, and there be a goal difference swing of four.
To avoid the playoff Union must win and, due to goal difference, hope Mainz (32, 32) lose at Wolfsburg.
VfL Bochum (33, 32), who are at home to Leverkusen on Sunday, are not safe as their goal difference is guaranteed to be worse than Union's if they finish level on points.
Serie A - three rounds to go
Title: Internazionale (92, 36) wrapped up the Scudetto last month as runaway champions.
Champions League (5): Like Germany, Italy has secured an extra place in next year's competition through its clubs' performance in Europe this season, meaning at least five clubs will qualify.
Inter will definitely be joined by AC Milan (71, 35), while Bologna (67, 36) and Juventus (66, 35), third and fourth respectively, are well placed with a six-point gap to sixth. Bologna will qualify for the Champions League if Roma lose at Atalanta on Sunday.
So it looks like there's one place up for grabs, which is held by Atalanta (60, 34) in fifth and they have a game in hand so are in a strong position. That game in hand is against Fiorentina and both teams are in European finals. It means the only possible date to play the game is Sunday, June 2 -- a week after the final round of Serie A games is played.
Atalanta and Fiorentina will therefore go into the "extra" game in full knowledge of the final position a result will earn.
AS Roma (60, 35) cannot be ruled out but will have to win at Atalanta on Sunday. Lazio (56, 35) in seventh are an outside bet.
It's likely these three clubs are battling out for the extra UCL slot though Lazio are rank outsiders.
If Atalanta win the UEL this season (they face Leverkusen in the final on May 22) and finish outside the top four then Italy will have six clubs in the UCL -- the top four, the UEL titleholders and the European Performance Spot. So, finishing in sixth might yet be enough for UCL football.
Europa League (2): Atalanta face Juventus in the final of the Coppa Italia, which means it's almost certain that sixth and seventh will qualify for the UEL.
Roma, Atalanta and Lazio are the main contenders, but there's still slim hope for eighth-placed Napoli (51, 36), more so Fiorentina (50, 34) with that game in hand.
If Atalanta win the UEL to qualify for the UCL and finish sixth or seventh, Italy will surrender that place in the UEL for the league.
Europa Conference League (1): Eighth place will almost certainly enter the UECL, which is currently held by Napoli but could be filled by Atalanta, Lazio, Napoli, Torino (47, 35) or Monza (45, 35).
If Atalanta win the UEL to qualify for the UCL and finish eighth, Italy will surrender its place in the UECL.
If Fiorentina win the UECL to qualify for the UEL and finish eighth, Italy will surrender its place in the UECL.
Relegation (3): Salernitana (15, 35) are relegated.
Sassuolo (29, 35) in second-bottom are back into contention. Udinese (30, 35) are third bottom, with Empoli (32, 35), Frosinone (32, 36), Cagliari (33, 35) and Hellas Verona (34, 35) just above the drop zone.
Cagliari are at AC Milan on Saturday.
Ligue 1 - two rounds to go
Title: Paris Saint-Germain (70, 31) have already secured the title.
Champions League (3+1): France gets three automatic places, with fourth place entering the UCL in the third qualifying round. PSG have already booked one place.
There's a fierce battle for the two other guaranteed places but AS Monaco (61, 32) have almost claimed one of the and will make sure of it with just a point from their final two matches -- they are away at Montpellier on Sunday.
Brest (58, 33), Lille (55, 32) and Nice (54, 32) are battling it out for third -- though Nice's game in hand is at home to PSG.
Europa League (2): Nice sit in fifth, a UEL place, are well placed to take one if they don't make the top four.
In sixth (as it stands a UECL place) and hoping to catch Nice are Lens (49, 32), though they have played a game more.
PSG take on Lyon in the final of the Coupe de France on May 25, and a victory for Les Parisiens will send sixth place into the UEL too.
Lyon (47, 32) are hard pressed to make up four points on Nice at this stage but are in contention to catch Lens in sixth if PSG do win the cup.
Europa Conference League (1): Much will depend on who wins the Coupe de France. If it's Lyon then sixth may still be the UECL place -- but that will depend upon where Lyon finish in the table.
If PSG win the cup, or Lyon do so and finish sixth, then seventh gets the UECL place. Lens, Lyon, Stade Rennais in eighth (45, 32) and Marseille in ninth (44, 31) could all finish in seventh and be waiting on the cup final.
Relegation (2+1): Two teams are relegated, with third-bottom facing a playoff with a team from the second division to remain in Ligue 1.
Clermont Foot (25, 32) are bottom and can only make the relegation playoff at best. They will be relegated if they lose at home to Lyon on Sunday.
The second automatic relegation place is between Lorient (26, 32) and Metz (29, 32).
Le Havre AC (32, 33) and Nantes (33, 32) could still be overtaken by Metz and dumped into the relegation playoff.
Jamie Smith Boosts England Prospects As Craig Miles Takes Five
NEW YORK -- — Atlanta’s Max Fried and two relievers combined for a no-hitter through 8 2/3 innings before New York’s J.D. Martinez homered to spoil the bid as the Braves beat the Mets 4-1 on Saturday.
“It’s something pretty special and something for a pitching staff to be proud of, especially when it’s combined,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I was hoping for the guys that they could pull it off. It’s hard.”
Fried opened with seven no-hit innings and Joe Jiménez worked around a pair of walks in the eighth before Raisel Iglesias retired the first two batters of the ninth. Martinez homered just over the wall in right field on the next pitch off Iglesias.
“Giving it up with a homer is better than an infield single,” Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud said with a grin.
Centerfielder Michael Harris II, who earlier preserved the gem by drifting back and catching a long fly by Martinez at the wall in the seventh, said he was hopeful the ball might stay in the air long enough for right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. to make the catch.
“(In) that right-center gap, there is a little opening where it had a chance to maybe stay in or Ronnie could have went up and brought it back or something like that,” Harris said. “But he hit it pretty good. Oh man, yeah he did it. He did his thing.”
D’Arnaud said Jiménez told him he didn’t know the Braves were working on a no-hitter. Nor did Iglesias.
“I came back in the clubhouse and they asked me if I knew it was happening,” Iglesias said via an interpreter. “And the reality is, I didn’t.”
Iglesias walked Jeff McNeil and allowed an infield single to Harrison Bader before retiring Brett Baty on a fly to center.
The hits by Martinez and Bader allowed the Mets to avoid being no-hit for the eighth time in franchise history.
“We didn’t want to get no-hit,” Martinez said. “But in that situation, that moment, I don’t know — I’m just thinking about my plan and my game and what I’m trying to do in that at-bat and off Iglesias really. You can’t get caught up in all that.”
The Braves have not thrown a no-hitter since Kent Mercker’s gem against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 8, 1994. The no-hitter drought is the fourth-longest in the majors.
“It was almost Max Fried and Joe Jimenez and my guy ‘Iggy,’” Harris said.
The combined effort Saturday marked the fourth time since 2015 the Braves have lost a no-hitter in the ninth.
“It’s a really hard task and hard feat,” Fried said. “I thought it was a really great all-around team effort. Defense was obviously stellar.”
The Braves have the second-most wins and second-lowest ERA in baseball since 1994, a span in which Hall of Famers Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz pitched for the team.
“With all the Hall of Famers running through and guys with electric stuff — they aren’t easy,” said Snitker, who said he has never witnessed a no-hitter.
Fried — who was born Jan. 18, 1994, 80 days before Mercker’s no-hitter — walked three and struck out five while throwing 109 pitches, one shy of his career high. The left-hander retired the first eight batters he faced before issuing consecutive walks to Tomas Nido and Brandon Nimmo. He then set down 11 straight before walking Pete Alonso with one out in the seventh, after which Martinez flew out to Harris.
“Frankly, I was not very good with my command at all,” Fried said. “I was just trying to keep us in the game as long as I possibly could.”
Orlando Arcia hit a two-run homer and Harris had three hits, including an RBI single for Atlanta.
Rookie right-hander Christian Scott (0-1), making his first home start for the Mets, gave up three runs and struck out eight in six-plus solid innings.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Braves: C Sean Murphy (left oblique) feels good, but is not ready to face live pitching. Murphy was injured in the season opener March 29.
Mets: OF Brandon Nimmo (right intercostal irritation) left after the fourth inning. Nimmo was visited by a trainer during a second-inning at-bat and pointed to his right side before he took a practice swing. … LHP Brooks Raley (left elbow inflammation) is scheduled to visit Dr. Keith Meister on Tuesday. The Mets expected Raley to miss the minimum amount of time when he was placed on the injured list April 21, but he has continued to feel discomfort in his elbow. Raley said all options, including surgery, are on the table heading into the visit. … Manager Carlos Mendoza said RHP Kodai Senga (right shoulder) is battling his mechanics and may need a couple more bullpen sessions before the Mets begin planning his rehab appearances.
UP NEXT
The three-game series concludes Sunday night, when Braves RHP Bryce Elder (1-1, 5.28 ERA) starts against Mets RHP Luis Severino (2-2, 2.93 ERA).
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