Title Watch: Pray for Victory

By: Daryl | May 2nd, 2008

Luca Toni pray for victory

There are title races all over Europe this weekend. Some will get decided over the next two days, others are going to take a little longer. So, as a sort of Weekend Watch special, here’s The Offside’s guide to who’s trying to get their hands on some silverware…

Italy: Serie A
Inter can effectively clinch the title with a win in the Milan derby on Sunday, making an inevitably dramatic derby all the more fascinating. Inter leads Roma by 6 points and +11 in goal differential. A single point plus a Roma loss/draw against Sampdoria clinches the title, but a win essentially seals it because 11 goals is a mighty tough task over 3 weekends.

AC Milan vs Inter Milan (Sunday)
Sampdoria vs Roma (Sunday)

Germany: Bundesliga
Bayern can make up for Thursday’s debacle and hoist their second trophy of the year with a mere draw against Wolfsburg on Sunday. Or they can just do nothing and still win if Schalke and Werder Bremen fail to each take the three points. Purely a formality in the Bundesliga with six four games to go.

Werder Bremen vs Energie Cottbus (Saturday)
Schalke 04 vs Hannover 96 (Saturday)
Wolfsburg vs Bayern Munich (Sunday)

France: Ligue 1
There are three matches left to play in Ligue 1. Olympique Lyonnais lead the league by four points (and a huge goal differential) and could wrap up the title this weekend, but they’d need some help from second place team Bordeaux to do it. A win here for OL at Nice, combined with a loss for Bordeaux against Marseille, would put Lyon seven points ahead and give the team their seventh straight Ligue 1 title. Anything less would mean that the race will go at least one more week.

Marseille vs Bordeaux (Saturday)
Nice vs Lyon (Saturday)

England: Premier League
Manchester United and Chelsea are level on points with two games to go. United have the advantage with goal difference, but need two wins from the last two games to secure the title. Any slip up this weekend and Chelsea are ready to pounce on Monday night.

Man Utd vs West Ham (Saturday)
Newcastle vs Chelsea (Monday)

Turkey: Superlig
Galatasaray are three points clear at the top, with two games to go. This weekend they face third place Sivasspor, who are only three points behind the leaders and have title hopes of their own. Second place Fenerbahçe (also three points behind) have to win to keep up the pressure.

Sivasspor vs Galatasaray (Sunday)
Fenerbahçe vs Gençlerbirlig (Sunday)

Spain: Primera Liga
The title is all but Real Madrid’s. Raul and friends are 10 points clear of second place Villarreal and can “be champions” (as The Special One says) by beating Osasuna this weekend. They can even lose and still take the title, should Villarreal get anything less than a win against Getafe.

Osasuna vs Real Madrid (Sunday)
Villarreal vs Getafe (Sunday)

Scotland: Premier League
The SPL is a bit messed up at the top. Celtic are five points clear of Rangers, but have played three more games than Rangers so can’t afford to drop any points. The ‘Gers have plenty games to make up the point difference but also have a clogged up end of season schedule, with the Scottish Cup and UEFA Cup Finals still to come.

Motherwell vs Celtic (Saturday)
Hibernian vs Rangers (Sunday)

Any other title races going on this week? Let us know in the comments…