The end of the domestic season is near.
The last day of the German Bundesliga season, and the penultimate round of the English Premier League, the Italian Serie A, the Spanish La Liga, and the French Ligue 1.
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE.
TOTTENHAM vs BURNLEY
LEEDS UNITED vs Brighton
With just a point outside of a Champions League qualifying spot, Tottenham will want to follow the North London derby win with a win against Burnley. That is a big issue for a Burnley side looking for the points to help them steer away from relegation.
With Leed playing Brighton, Burnley can’t afford to not match the result Leeds United gets at home. Leeds United picking up more points will drop Burnley into the relegation zone with just one more game to play.
WEST HAM vs MANCHESTER CITY
Will Manchester City do themselves and their neighbors a favor?
Manchester City will target three-point from a win against West Ham to widen the gap between themselves and Liverpool. On the other hand, West Ham will be looking for the points to take the Europa League qualification spot away from Manchester United.
EVERTON vs Brentford
Goodison Park has to be loud for this one.
Everton will go for a win that will be instrumental to their survival in the Premier League. Should Burnley or Leeds suffer defeat in their respective matches, Everton will be safe from relegation with a win against Brentford.
Newcastle vs ARSENAL
To keep hold of 4th place in the Premier League, Arsenal must bounce back from the North London derby defeat with a win at Newcastle if Tottenham follows their North Lond derby victory with a win against Burnley.
FIXTURES – PREMIER LEAGUE.
May 15.
Tottenham vs Burnley
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace
Leeds United vs Brighton
Watford vs Leicester City
West Ham vs Manchester City
Wolves vs Norwich City
Everton vs Brentford
May 16.
Newcastle vs Arsenal
FRENCH LIGUE 1 – Round 37
NICE vs Lille
Lille has been the worst-performing reigning champion in Europe’s top 5 leagues. Nice will use a win against Lille to position themselves for a shot at Champions League qualification. As for Lille, the least they can do is finish in the top half of the table.
MONACO vs Brest
RENNES vs MARSEILLE
Rennes will help themselves in the chase of Europa League football with a win against a Marseille side that is also chasing a direct qualification to the Champions League.
With Monaco lurking with a winning streak, Marseille can’t afford to drop points. Monaco will use a win against Brest to move above Marseille in the standings.
METZ vs Angers
SAINT-ETIENNE vs Reims
Saint-Etienne can protect the relegation-playoff spot or move out of it to avoid the extra matches. A win against Reims will be needed for Saint-Etienne if Metz finds one against Angers. A win for Saint-Etienne relegates Bordeaux.
BORDEAUX vs LORIENT
Lorient is a point away from confirming their safety from relegation. They play a Bordeaux side that is relegation bound.
STRASBOURG vs Clermont Foot
Strasbourg is within reach of a Continental Cup football qualification if they take advantage of their game against Clermont Foot.
FIXTURES – FRENCH LIGUE 1
May 14.
Bordeaux vs Lorient
Lyon vs Nantes
Metz vs Angers
Monaco vs Brest
Montpellier vs Paris St. Germain
Nice vs Lille
Rennes vs Marseille
Saint-Etienne vs Reims
Strasbourg vs Clermont Foot
Troyes vs Lens
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA – Round 34
Arminia Bielefeld vs RB LEIPZIG
Leverkusen vs FREIBURG
Despite being virtually relegated, Arminia Bielefeld can have a say in what happens at 4th place.
A point will do the job for RB Leipzig to take the final Champions League qualifying spot in the German Bundesliga.
But in case they Leipzig is beaten by Arminia Bielefeld, Freiburg will use a win agaisnt Leverkusen to take away Champions League spot from RB Leipzig.
With Union Berlin just a point behind, a win for Freiburg is also needed to guarantee 5th place remains in their hands.
UNION BERLIN vs Bochum
STUTTGART vs FC KOLN
Dortmund vs HERTHA BERLIN
Union Berlin also has FC Koln to think about. FC Koln is within the range to bump Union Berlin out of position.
Stuttgart wants a victory to help their chance of not having to play in the relegation playoffs, while FC Koln want a victory to assist them in playing a continental cup football competition in the coming season.
Hertha Berlin will need a win at Dortmund if Stuttgart can find a win against FC Koln.
FIXTURES – GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
May 14.
Arminia Bielefeld vs RB Leipzig
Augsburg vs Greuther Furth
Leverkusen vs Freiburg
Dortmund vs Hertha Berlin
Mönchengladbach vs Hoffenheim
Mainz vs Frankfurt
Union Berlin vs Bochum
Stuttgart vs FC Koln
Wolfsburg vs Bayern Munich
SPANISH LA LIGA – Round 37
Atletico Madrid vs SEVILLA
REAL BETIS vs GRANADA
There are two more rounds to go, and the traditional top three clubs have secured their place in next season’s UEFA Champions League group stage. Sevilla is one win away from completing the list.
Sevilla will play Atletico Madrid for that win, and their city rival (Real Betis) will be looking for a win against a Granada side that is also in search of the points to avoid relegation.
Should Real Betis find a win while Sevilla suffers defeat, Champions League football will be on the line for Seville clubs on the closing day of the La Liga season.
CADIZ vs Real Madrid
Cadiz will be desperate for a result to match that of Mallorca (or better).
Levante vs ALAVES
Alaves is relegated if they don’t find a win against relegated Levante.
MALLORCA vs Rayo Vallecano
Mallorca will count on Real Madrid to do them a favor by beating Cadiz. Mallorca can then use a win against Rayo Vallecano to move out of the relegation zone.
A Mallorca defeat seals safety for Granada.
FIXTURES – SPANISH LA LIGA
May 15.
Athletic Club vs Osasuna
Atletico Madrid vs Sevilla
Cadiz vs Real Madrid
Celta Vigo vs Elche
Espanyol vs Valencia
Getafe vs Barcelona
Levante vs Alaves
Mallorca vs Rayo Vallecano
Real Betis vs Granada
Villarreal vs Real Sociedad
ITALIAN SERIE A – Round 37
Empoli vs SALERNITANA
Roma vs VENEZIA
A Salernitana win at Empoli relegates Venezia.
Venezia managed to extend their fight against relegation with a 4-3 win against Bologna in the last round. They will need the same fighting spirit against Roma to stand a chance of not getting relegated.
Napoli vs GENOA
Napoli with nothing left to achieve will be in the way of a Genoa side looking for the points to help their battle against relegation.
AC MILAN vs Atalanta
Cagliari vs INTER MILAN
The race continues with AC Milan and Inter Milan chasing the title.
AC Milan is two wins from a league title.
Inter Milan could be two wins from a league double.
A two-point gap at the top leaves little to no room for error.
AC Milan can become title winners if they beat Atalanta and the improbably happens for Inter Milan to drop points against relegation-threatened Cagliari.
This can go in the other direction where AC Milan drops points for Inter Milan use a win against Cagliari to take back the top spot and defend their league title.
Yes, it is that tight.
FIXTURES – ITALIAN SERIE A
May 14.
Empoli vs Salernitana
Hellas Verona vs Torino
Udinese vs Spezia
Roma vs Venezia
May 15.
Bologna vs Sassuolo
Napoli vs Genoa
AC Milan vs Atalanta
Cagliari vs Inter Milan
May 16.
Sampdoria vs Fiorentina
Juventus vs Lazio
FA CUP FINAL
May 14.
Chelsea vs Liverpool
Chelsea and Liverpool have faced each other three times this season and played out a draw in all three matches. Their most recent meet was in the EFL Cup final (February 27.) which had to be decided through a penalty kickoff after a goalless 120+ minutes. Liverpool came out on top after 22 penalty takers. (11-10).
Liverpool’s ambitions of winning an unprecedented quadruple will hang on this final.
Anything can happen in a one-off match but by the league standings and the season in general, Liverpool will be considered the favorite in this final.
