What’s Left to Play for in England, Spain and Italy?

After a weekend of huge matchups like Lazio vs. Inter and Liverpool vs. Chelsea, some things have been decided on the European club football scene, but with a few exceptions, the titles of most of the big leagues aren’t officially anyone’s just yet. Here’s a breakdown of what’s left to play for, not only at the top, but also at the bottom.

England – The Premier League
The title: Chelsea have only to beat Wigan at home to seal the title on the last day of the season next Sunday. Manchester United will fancy themselves to take full points against Stoke at home on the same day, but will need help from Wigan to pull off a last-day steal. Wigan has been awful on the road this season (13 losses from 16 played) , and it’s hard to imagine that pattern breaking down in a title decider at Stamford Bridge, so the title is almost certainly Chelsea’s. Of course, if United do take the title, it will be especially sweet since it will put them ahead of Liverpool for the most English league titles ever.

Europe: With Everton’s scoreless draw with Stoke on Saturday, the top seven to represent England in Europe are cemented, though not which European competition they will play in. The battle for the coveted fourth Champions League spot continues and will almost certainly be decided Wednesday with Spurs v. Man City.

Relegation/Promotion: Barring an absolute miracle combination of blowouts, Hull will be joining Portsmouth and Burnley on the way back down to the fizzy drink Championship. Two of the three promotion spots to the Prem are decided, and the fourth will go to the winner of the playoffs between Nottingham Forest, Cardiff, Leicester and Blackpool.

Spain – La Liga
The title: Just like in England, the Spanish Primera title lead hangs by a single point. Unlike Chelsea, though, league leaders Barcelona have three matches remaining, the toughest being away to Sevilla on May 9th. Real Madrid is 24 points ahead of third-placed Valencia, so there’s no threat of the title leaving the Spanish big two.

Europe: Making the road trip to Seville an even tougher match for Barca is the fact that they might very well be playing for a Champions League place. Sevilla sits just 2 points below fourth-place Mallorca. Both Getafe and Bilbao are within one game of 6th place and Europa League qualification, so the European places in Spain are still very much in play.

Relegation/Promotion: With three matches left, only five points separate last-place Xerez from safety, but they are more than likely headed down. With only three points between 13th and 18th place, though, Tenerife still has a chance to escape the drop. The fact that one of their three remaining is a trip to the Camp Nou doesn’t help their cause, however.

Italy – Serie A
The title: Inter’s lead on Roma remains at two points after both sides picked up wins this weekend, and with two matches left, it’s Inter’s title to lose. Being that those two fixtures are against Chievo Verona and already-relegated Siena makes a scudetto look unlikely for the Romans. The league will finish up a week before the Champions League final, so European play shouldn’t be a distraction at this point for Inter.

Europe: With 13 losses on the season so far, it’s been, by their standards, an absolute disaster of a season for Juventus. However, European football is still very much within their grasp as they sit only one point out of 6th place and the Europa League. They’ll need Napoli to drop points in one of their last two, and more importantly, they’ll need to win, something that has not come easily for Juve this campaign. They did themselves no favors this weekend with a draw to Catania.

Relegation/Promotion: Two of the three drop spots have been locked in by Siena and Livorno, and Atalanta needs a perfect set of results to escape the third, sitting five points behind nearly-safe Bologna. Four games remain in Serie B, and no one is mathematically safe for promotion, but Lecce are close. The other two promotion spots are up for grabs, with four points separating second place from eighth, so this might end up being one of the more exciting races in Europe.

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Category: Europe, World Football