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🎯 THE SHOTS TO TAKE THIS WEEKEND

Six of the seven top leagues in Europe have a winner confirmed.

🇩🇪 Bayer Leverkusen won their first German Bundesliga title.
🇮🇹 Inter Milan became Italian Serie A champions for the 20th time.
🇵🇹 Sporting CP became Portuguese Primeira Liga champions for the 20th time.
🇫🇷 Paris Saint-Germain remain as the French Ligue 1 champions for the third year in a row.
🇳🇱 PSV Eindhoven became Dutch Eredivisie champions for the first time since 2018.
🇪🇸 Real Madrid became the Spanish La Liga champions, extending their record to 36 titles.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 The Premier League is the only race that is yet to be decided, and it goes down to the last day of the season with Manchester City and Arsenal as the contenders.

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THE FOOTBALL WATCHLIST

May 17.
🇮🇹 Fiorentina vs. Napoli (italian serie a)

May 18.
🇩🇪 Eintracht Frankfurt vs. RB Leipzig (german bundesliga)
🇩🇪 Heidenheim vs. FC Köln (german bundesliga)
🇩🇪 Hoffenheim vs. Bayern Munich (german bundesliga)
🇩🇪 Union Berlin vs. Freiburg (german bundesliga)
🇩🇪 Stuttgart vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach (german bundesliga)
🇩🇪 Werder Bremen vs. Bochum (german bundesliga)
🇩🇪 Wolfsburg vs. Mainz (german bundesliga)

May 19.
🇪🇸 Cádiz vs. Las Palmas (spanish la liga)
🇪🇸 Granada vs. Celta Vigo (spanish la liga)
🇪🇸 Mallorca vs. Almería (spanish la liga)
🇪🇸 Real Betis vs. Real Sociedad (spanish la liga)
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Arsenal vs. Everton (english premier league)
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Brentford vs. Newcastle United (english premier league)
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Chelsea vs. Bournemouth (english premier league)
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Luton Town vs. Fulham (english premier league)
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Manchester City vs. West Ham United (english premier league)
🇮🇹 Sassuolo vs. Cagliari (italian serie a)
🇮🇹 Monza vs. Frosinone (italian serie a)
🇮🇹 Udinese vs. Empoli (italian serie a)
🇮🇹 Inter Milan vs. Lazio (italian serie a)
🇮🇹 Roma vs. Genoa (italian serie a)
🇫🇷 Le Havre vs. Marseille (french ligue 1)
🇫🇷 Lens vs. Montpellier (french ligue 1)
🇫🇷 Lille vs. Nice (french ligue 1)
🇫🇷 Lyon vs. Strasbourg (french ligue 1)
🇫🇷 Metz vs. Paris Saint-Germain (french ligue 1)
🇫🇷 Toulouse vs. Brest (french ligue 1)
🇳🇱 AZ Alkmaar vs. Utrecht (dutch eredivisie)
🇳🇱 Feyenoord vs. Excelsior (dutch eredivisie)
🇳🇱 Heracles Almelo vs. Fortuna Sittard (dutch eredivisie)
🇳🇱 PEC Zwolle vs. Twente (dutch eredivisie)
🇳🇱 PSV Eindhoven vs. RKC Waalwijk (dutch eredivisie)
🇵🇹 Boavista vs. Vizela (portuguese primeira liga)
🇵🇹 Braga vs. Porto (portuguese primeira liga)
🇵🇹 Estrela da Amadora vs. Gil Vicente (portuguese primeira liga)
🇵🇹 Farense vs. Portimonense (portuguese primeira liga)

May 20.
🇮🇹 Salernitana vs. Hellas Verona (italian serie a)
🇮🇹 Bologna vs. Juventus (italian serie a)

 

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THE SHOTS TO TAKE THIS WEEKEND

Friday is here, and depending on your definition of the weekend, we may be in it.

 

Friday, May 17, 2024

🇷🇺 Igor Denisov turns 40, 🇨🇴 Teófilo Gutiérrez turns 39, 🇵🇹 Rafa Silva turns 31.

🇮🇹 Fiorentina vs. Napoli (italian serie a)
With a win, Fiorentina would find themselves in a close contest for position with the Roman clubs, Roma and Lazio.

Saturday, May 18, 2024

🇧🇪 Eric Gerets turns 70, 🇺🇸 Brad Friedel turns 53.

🇩🇪 Eintracht Frankfurt vs. RB Leipzig (german bundesliga)
Frankfurt will only need a result at home against RB Leipzig to maintain 6th place if Hoffenheim manages the improbable feat of defeating Bayern Munich by three goals.

🇩🇪 Hoffenheim vs. Bayern Munich (german bundesliga)
Bayern Munich doesn’t have anything substantial to play for, except not wanting to finish below second place (Stuttgart). Bayern can’t afford to finish third behind Stuttgart in a season where they lost the league title after over a decade of dominance. Bayern will face Hoffenheim, a team seeking points to bolster their slim chance of moving up to 6th place with a win, provided Frankfurt is defeated at home by RB Leipzig.

🇩🇪 Heidenheim vs. FC Köln (german bundesliga)
The best FC Köln can hope for on the final day of the Bundesliga season with a win is the slim possibility of a relegation playoff, which is improbable. FC Köln will be away against Heidenheim.

🇩🇪 Stuttgart vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach (german bundesliga)
Stuttgart’s final opportunity to finish above Bayern Munich must come from a win against Monchengladbach.

🇩🇪 Union Berlin vs. Freiburg (german bundesliga)
🇩🇪 Werder Bremen vs. Bochum (german bundesliga)
🇩🇪 Wolfsburg vs. Mainz (german bundesliga)
Union Berlin aims to relinquish the relegation playoff spot to either Mainz or Bochum. A home win against Freiburg is crucial for Union Berlin to have a chance of achieving this goal. Additionally, either Bochum or Mainz must suffer a defeat on the day. Both Mainz and Bochum are playing away from home, against Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen, respectively.

Sunday, May 19, 2024

🇮🇹 Andrea Pirlo turns 45, 🇺🇾 Diego Forlán turn 45.

Before the rules of classifications can be implemented, 38 points is the minimum for La Liga clubs to avoid relegation.

🇪🇸 Granada vs. Celta Vigo (spanish la liga)
🇪🇸 Mallorca vs. Almería (spanish la liga)
Celta Vigo and Mallorca become safe from relegation with a win in the next round. They will face relegated sides in Granada and Almeria respectively.

🇪🇸 Cádiz vs. Las Palmas (spanish la liga)
A win might not be enough for Cadiz but that is where it starts.
Cadiz faces a do-or-die situation in their next fixture, where a win is imperative to stand a chance of avoiding relegation on the day. With the support of their home crowd, they’ll be hoping to secure a victory, but the stakes couldn’t be higher in these desperate times.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Arsenal vs. Everton (english premier league)
Arsenal is in contention for the league title on the final day of the season, despite not being in the driver’s seat of the title race. Their first requirement is to defeat Everton, followed by the hope that West Ham United can assist them by securing at least a point against Manchester City.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Luton Town vs. Fulham (english premier league)
If Luton Town can secure a victory and somehow bridge the 12-goal difference between them and Nottingham Forest to swap positions in the standings, their survival could be possible.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Manchester City vs. West Ham United (english premier league)
Manchester City is contending for their fourth consecutive title and holds a firm grip on the lead in the title race. At the very least, Manchester City must match the result Arsenal achieves at home against Everton on the day. However, the straightforward task for Manchester City will be to secure a victory in their match against West Ham United and clinch the league championship for the fourth consecutive year.

🇮🇹 Sassuolo vs. Cagliari (italian serie a)
Being just above a relegated Salernitana means that Sassuolo is in desperate need of a win when they host a Cagliari side also facing the threat of relegation. A loss for Sassuolo could either relegate them or bring them dangerously close to it, while for Cagliari, it might push them into the relegation zone.

🇮🇹 Monza vs. Frosinone (italian serie a)
Frosinone, right above the relegation zone and on equal points with relegation-zone Empoli, must get a result against Monza or potentially fall into the relegation zone.

🇮🇹 Udinese vs. Empoli (italian serie a)
Empoli sits just outside the relegation zone (18th) and will travel to Udine to exert pressure on Udinese, who are also facing the threat of relegation. Only one point separates the two teams. Udinese could capitalize on the support of their home crowd to widen the gap to four points with a win and secure their safety, or the situation could become precarious heading into the final round of the season.

🇮🇹 Inter Milan vs. Lazio (italian serie a)
🇮🇹 Roma vs. Genoa (italian serie a)
The top five teams in Serie A will secure Champions League football in the upcoming season. Atalanta is poised to shut the door on Roma and Lazio’s chances of entering the top 5. The two Roman clubs, Roma and Lazio, have confirmed their Europa League qualification through the league. There is just a point between Roma and Lazio, and local rivalry can’t let either side be comfortable with finishing behind the other.

🇫🇷 Metz vs. Paris Saint-Germain (french ligue 1)
Metz would have desired to climb out of the relegation zone, but that appears highly improbable, as they would need a victory to overcome an 11-goal difference between themselves and Le Havre. Unfortunately for Metz, they will face Paris Saint-Germain.

🇫🇷 Lille vs. Nice (french ligue 1)
🇫🇷 Toulouse vs. Brest (french ligue 1)
A win is important for Lille to hold on to third place.
A win is important for Brest to take third place.
To maintain third place, Lille must match or surpass Brest’s result against Toulouse. Regardless of the outcome, Nice will retain fifth place in the league. However, they can influence the top three by achieving a result against Lille, as Lille and Brest are currently tied on points in their battle for third place.

 

🇳🇱 PEC Zwolle vs. Twente (dutch eredivisie)
🇳🇱 AZ Alkmaar vs. Utrecht (dutch eredivisie)
Twente will retain third place by defeating PEC Zwolle. However, any other result would provide an opportunity for AZ Alkmaar to secure third place with a home win against Utrecht.

🇳🇱 Feyenoord vs. Excelsior (dutch eredivisie)
🇳🇱 Heracles Almelo vs. Fortuna Sittard (dutch eredivisie)
🇳🇱 PSV Eindhoven vs. RKC Waalwijk (dutch eredivisie)
Excelsior, Waalwick, and to some extent, Heracles, are striving to avoid participating in a relegation playoff.
The goal difference isn’t favoring Heracles, so they must avoid defeat at home against Fortuna Sittard to secure safety. Fortunately for Heracles, RKC Waalwijk and Excelsior will both face tough away matches against PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord, respectively. No one anticipates the top two teams in the league to end their season at home with a defeat to teams in relegation battles.

🇵🇹 Braga vs. Porto (portuguese primeira liga)
Porto must escape defeat, while Braga must triumph to seize third place. Both teams will contend for the third spot, with Porto currently holding a one-point advantage over Braga.

🇵🇹 Boavista vs. Vizela (portuguese primeira liga)
🇵🇹 Estrela da Amadora vs. Gil Vicente (portuguese primeira liga)
🇵🇹 Farense vs. Portimonense (portuguese primeira liga)
Portimonense, Estrela da Amadora, and Boavista are locked in a battle to avoid the relegation playoff. Among the three, Portimonense is the only team without home advantage, and based on the league standings, they are also facing stronger opposition.
Portimonense must secure a victory, and ideally, Estrela da Amadora fails to win at home or Boavista suffers a defeat.

 

Monday, May 20, 2024

🇨🇲 Roger Milla turns 72, 🇪🇸 Iker Casillas turns 43, 🇨🇿 Petr Čech turns 42, 🇦🇷 Gerónimo Rulli turns 32, 🇵🇱 Piotr Zieliński turns 30, 🇩🇰 Robert Skov turns 28, 🇯🇵 Kaoru Mitoma turns 27.

🇮🇹 Salernitana vs. Hellas Verona (italian serie a)
Hellas Verona is on the verge of securing safety. They will face a relegated Salernitana side with very little at stake and consequently no pressure on them. Facing a relaxed Salernitana won’t be an easy task but Hellas Verona will need to secure at least a point from the match.

🇮🇹 Bologna vs. Juventus (italian serie a)
After 36 rounds of the Serie A season, Bologna and Juventus are deadlocked on 67 points. There’s not much at stake except for bragging rights for Bologna, who have the opportunity to finish the season ahead of Juventus. Both teams have already secured qualification for next season’s Champions League.

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THE TITLE RACE IN THE TOP 7 LEAGUES:

🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen are champions.
🇳🇱 Eredivisie: PSV Eindhoven are champions.
🇪🇸 La Liga: Real Madrid are champions.
🇫🇷 Ligue 1: Paris Saint-Germain are champions.
🇵🇹 Primeira Liga: Sporting CP are champions.
🇮🇹 Serie A: Inter Milan are champions.
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Premier League: Manchester City is top of the table leading by two point, a win in the next game clinches the title.

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THE PREVIOUS ROUND IN EUROPE’S TOP 7 LEAGUES:

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 PREMIER LEAGUE
The title race is set to go down to the wire, with Arsenal being the only club capable of halting Manchester City’s fourth consecutive title win, provided Manchester City drop points. The three relegated teams have been identified, but not officially confirmed as mathematically, Luton Town still has a chance to survive. If Luton Town can secure a victory and somehow bridge the 12-goal difference between them and Nottingham Forest to swap positions in the standings, their survival could be possible.

🇪🇸 LA LIGA
There is one more relegation spot left in the league, and Cadiz is hoping to give it up.
Real Madrid crossed the 90-point mark, and are on course to finish the season with 99 points. Barcelona is likely to keep second place, and if Girona does not hold tight, third place could end up in the hands of Atletico Madrid. All four teams have already qualified and have nothing substantial to play for in the remaining matches of their season, except for their pride.

🇩🇪 BUNDESLIGA
In the Bundesliga, the top half of the top six teams added wins to their tally, while the bottom half of the top six dropped points. Leverkusen is on course to reach the 90-point mark. Stuttgart remains hopeful of overtaking Bayern Munich to claim second place. The only undecided race in the Bundesliga is the battle to avoid relegation playoffs.

🇫🇷 LIGUE 1
Reigning champions, Paris Saint-Germain, will end their season with 76 points.
Monaco has claimed second place, leaving Lille and Brest to battle for third.

🇳🇱 EREDIVISIE
Twente and AZ Alkmaar are in pursuit of third place at the top end of the table, while Excelsior, Waalwick, and to some extent, Heracles, are striving to avoid participating in a relegation playoff.

🇵🇹 PRIMEIRA LIGA
Porto and Braga will compete for third place, with Porto currently holding the advantage. Meanwhile, Portimonense, Estrela da Amadora, and Boavista are battling to avoid participating in the relegation playoff.

🇮🇹 SERIE A
A club with 35 or fewer points is still at risk of relegation.
The top five teams in Serie A will secure Champions League football in the upcoming season. Atalanta is poised to shut the door on Roma and Lazio’s chances of entering the top 5. The two Roman clubs, Roma and Lazio, have confirmed their Europa League qualification through the league.

 

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THE LEADING CLUBS FROM OUR INDEX RANKING.

1st | 🇩🇪 Bayer Leverkusen (German Bundesliga) – 605.96 points
2nd | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Manchester City (English Premier League) – 584.05 points
3rd | 🇪🇸 Real Madrid (Spanish La Liga) – 563.33 points
4th | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Arsenal (English Premier League) – 515.9 points
5th | 🇩🇪 Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga) – 508.3 points
6th | 🇮🇹 Inter Milan (Italian Serie A) – 507.2 points
7th | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Liverpool (English Premier League) – 458.49 points
8th | 🇪🇸 Barcelona (Spanish La Liga) – 401.47 points
9th | 🇫🇷 Paris Saint-Germain (French Ligue 1) – 397.75 points
10th | 🇪🇸 Atlético Madrid (Spanish La Liga) – 380.45 points
11th | 🇩🇪 RB Leipzig (German Bundesliga) – 369.79 points
12th | 🇩🇪 Stuttgart (German Bundesliga) – 336.42 points
13th | 🇪🇸 Girona (Spanish La Liga) – 335.5 points
14th | 🇮🇹 AC Milan (Italian Serie A) – 334.9 points
15th | 🇳🇱 PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie) – 334.2 points
16th | 🇮🇹 Atalanta (Italian Serie A) – 313.73 points
17th | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Aston Villa (English Premier League) – 301.08 points
18th | 🇵🇹 Sporting CP (Portuguese Primeira Liga) – 299.56 points
19th | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Newcastle United (English Premier League) – 293.29 points
20th | 🇮🇹 Roma (Italian Serie A) – 283.46 points

 

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PITCH REPORT CARDS

🇳🇱 PSV Eindhoven is averaging 3.27 goals per game (the highest), and their 108 goals in the Eredivisie are the most scored by a team in Europe’s top seven leagues. 🇪🇸 Real Madrid has the most league points (93), but in terms of average points per game, it is PSV Eindhoven leading the chart with 2.67, dropping only 11 league points this season (the fewest).

Real Madrid and 🇮🇹 Inter Milan have the most league wins (29 each), but the highest winning rate goes to PSV Eindhoven and 🇵🇹 Sporting CP, at 0.85 each.

Inter Milan’s 19 league goals conceded are the fewest, a rate of 0.53 goals per game this season.

A point deduction has left 🇳🇱 Vitesse with the fewest wins (5). 🇪🇸 Almería and 🇮🇹 Salernitana have the fewest league wins (2 each). The 25 league goals scored by 🇪🇸 Cádiz are the fewest, at a rate of 0.69 goals per game.

Even with an 18-point deduction handed to Vitesse, it is 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Sheffield United that have dropped the most league points (95), losing 73% of their league games (27 defeats), while conceding the most league goals (101), at a rate of 2.73 goals per game.

🇩🇪 Bayer Leverkusen remains unbeaten.

 

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🔴 BEFORE THE FINAL WHISTLE BLOWS ON THIS EDITION:

LET’S LOOK AT THE EUROPEAN GOLDEN SHOE RACE:

He is going down without a medal, but Harry Kane is on track to win his first European Golden Shoe.

There is one more round left for all the clubs in Europe, except for Serie A and La Liga, where there are two more rounds left of the season. Kane is 8 goals clear of the next top goalscorer in Europe’s top seven leagues, and 9 goals clear of the next top goalscorer if we count the top five leagues.

⭐ Harry Kane (Bayern Munich / 🇩🇪 Bundesliga) : 36 goals
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Vangelis Pavlidis (AZ Alkmaar / 🇳🇱 Eredivisie) : 28 goals
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Erling Haaland (Manchester City / 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Premier League) : 27 goals
Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain / 🇫🇷 Ligue 1) : 27 goals
Luuk de Jong (PSV Eindhoven / 🇳🇱 Eredivisie) : 27 goals
Viktor Gyökeres (Sporting CP / 🇵🇹 Primeira Liga) : 27 goals
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Serhou Guirassy (Stuttgart / 🇩🇪 Bundesliga) : 26 goals
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Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan / 🇮🇹 Serie A) : 24 goals
Loïs Openda (RB Leipzig / 🇩🇪 Bundesliga) : 24 goals
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Santiago Giménez (Feyenoord / 🇳🇱 Eredivisie) : 23 goals
Cole Palmer (Chelsea / 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Premier League) : 22 goals
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Simon Banza (Braga / 🇵🇹 Primeira Liga) : 21 goals
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Alexander Isak (Newcastle United / 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Premier League) : 20 goals
Artem Dovbyk (Girona / 🇪🇸 La Liga) : 20 goals
Rafa Mújica (Arouca / 🇵🇹 Primeira Liga) : 20 goals
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