Biggest weekend soccer matches: Real Madrid could clinch La Liga, Ipswich Town near Premier League promotion
Biggest weekend soccer matches: Real Madrid could clinch La Liga, Ipswich Town near Premier League promotion
The final few weeks of the European soccer season rarely sees any dead rubber games or dull moments and this weekend promises to be no different. La Liga could see its champion crowned while European places are getting locked up by the round and relegations have started to creep up on teams too. Promotions are gathering pace as well, so there is no excuse to not be absorbed by the different offerings from Europe’s top five domestic leagues this weekend.
Premier League
Starting in England where the Premier League title race will not be decided yet but promotion into next year’s EPL will be on Saturday. It is the final day of the Championship season with Ipswich Town or Leeds United getting the second automatic spot behind champions Leicester City while there are also playoff berths to lock up behind Southampton with Norwich City facing Birmingham City in a game which could decide the Canaries promotion hopes as well as Blues’ survival ones. Relegation might take a little longer with Burnley pulling themselves towards safety late in the day as Nottingham Forest start to look very nervy indeed.
La Liga
This weekend could see Real Madrid join Inter, Bayer Leverkusen and Paris Saint-Germain as champions of their respective domestic top-flights. although it will not only depend upon Carlo Ancelotti’s men for this one. Barcelona and Girona meet later on Saturday in a game which Xavi’s side must win to deny Real for a bit longer. This Catalan Derby of sorts could see the home side seal an improbable qualification for the UEFA Champions League, but it could also see us forced to wait another week as La Liga has extra rounds of games compared with other European leagues which makes it less pressing aside from this scenario.
Serie A
In Italy, with Inter and Milan already Champions League-bound and Juventus already assured of Europa League soccer at a minumum, this is a chance for the Bianconeri to get close to a UCL spot as Bologna keep the pressure up behind them for what would rival Girona as an unexpected success story. AS Roma are also looking at snagging a league berth for Europe despite their continued continental adventure, but a familiar name is at the wrong end of the table too with Sassuolo in need of points against champions Inter to avoid an unthinkable drop into Serie B. Parma could be crowned second tier winners if they can tot up a few more points but do not rule Como out of a late overtaking of the leaders.
Bundesliga
With Germany celebrating an extra Champions League spot like Italy and all of the Bundesliga’s UCL berths already accounted for on top of Bayer Leverkusen’s title, the excitement is elsewhere in the table. It is now a question of Eintracht Frankfurt sewing up a Europa League place and Koln making a last stand against relegation with these three games their final chances to make a belated sprint for safety which looks unlikely to be better than a relegation playoff spot. That playoff could feature Hamburg rivals HSV or St. Pauli who meet on Friday for a clash which could breathe new life into one team’s promotion hopes or could see the other promoted from the second tier. Given the huge followings of both clubs, this one is a lowkey contender for game of the weekend.
Ligue 1
PSG are already champions with a few European spots now being taken with AS Monaco and Stade Brestois 29 already confirmed to be joining the champions on the continent. OGC Nice are looking to make their place assured while Clermont have breathed new life into the relegation battle which has turned up the heat on Lorient. AJ Auxerre could secure promotion back from Ligue 2 this weekend while the playoff lineup is tantalizing as AS Saint-Etienne and Angers SCO battle to secure at least second spot behind AJA.