There’s plenty of European football to look forward to this weekend, so here’s a selection of games not to be missed from La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.
La Liga
Truth be told, there isn’t too much still to play for with four games still to go in La Liga.
Real Madrid are champions, the Champions League spots are more or less wrapped up and the relegation battle could all be done and dusted by Sunday afternoon.
Race for seventh anybody?
Girona mathematically secured their Champions League debut last weekend, following a thrilling 4-2 win over Barcelona, so can Míchel’s men tighten their grip on second with a Friday night win at Mendizorroza?
Villarreal in 2008 are the most-recent club, other than Real, Atleti or Barça to have finished in the top two, a feat Blanquivermells could very much achieve.
Hosts Alavés meantime are also in party mood, having won each of their last three, all without conceding, thereby securing their survival, actually climbing up to 11th.
The game of the weekend, probably, comes on Monday night, with Barcelona welcoming Real Sociedad to Montjuïc, la Real knowing that any positive result would enhance their chances of remaining in the top six.
On Sunday, given that Atlético Madrid have won 15 of 17 La Liga home games this season, Diego Simeone’s side are likely to swat aside Celta de Vigo.
A day earlier, Real Madrid begin their preparations for the Champions League Final against Borussia Dortmund on 1 June, having produced yet another remontada to oust Bayern Munich in mid-week; Joselu the unlikely hero.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team have had a good week, clinching the league title and reaching a Champions League Final, so will a heavily rotated los Blancos team swat aside doomed Granada?
If el Graná fail to beat the champions, their relegation to the Segunda División will be confirmed.
With Almería already down, all three relegated teams could come from Andalusia, with Cádiz also on the brink of the drop.
El Submarino Amarillo are currently six points from safety so, if they’re defeated by Getafe on Sunday, and Mallorca beat Las Palmas at home 24 hours earlier, Mauricio Pellegrino’s team would be all but mathematically relegated.
Over 2.5 goals
Barcelona vs Real Sociedad
Atlético Madrid to win and both teams to score NO
Atlético Madrid vs Celta de Vigo
Over 2.5 goals
Granada vs Real Madrid
Over 2.5 goals
Villarreal vs Sevilla
Athletic Club to win
Athletic Club Bilbao vs Osasuna
Real Betis to win
Real Betis vs Almería
At 25/1 a £10 bet would return £262.50!
La Liga acca of the week
Serie A
It’s been confirmed for a little while now that Serie A will have five Champions League spots, with the race for fifth really heating up on Sunday night, as the two leading contenders for that pivotal place go head-to-head.
Atalanta have already had a good week to say the least, climbing up to fifth by beating Salernitana on Monday, before reaching a first-ever European final on Thursday, swatting aside Olympique de Marseille 3-0.
Goals from Ademola Lookman, Matteo Ruggeri and El Bilal Touré mean la Dea will take on the unbeatable Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League Final in Dublin, also with a Coppa Italia Final on the horizon beforehand.
However, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side will not want to be reliant on victory over Bayer to secure their Champions League spot, knowing that victory this weekend would go along way to rubber stamping a top five finish.
That’s because their visitors are Roma, who kick off below I Nerazzurri on goal difference, having won just one of their last four.
Daniele De Rossi’s side were also in Europa League action on Thursday, but will not be making the pilgrimage to the Emerald Isle.
2-0 down from the first leg, no one gave la Lupa a prayer ahead of their trip to BayArena, only for a pair of Leandro Paredes penalties to restore parity, before Bayer scored twice late on to extend their undefeated streak.
So now, Roma’s only hope of getting back into the Champions League for the first time since 2018/19 is via Serie A, knowing that defeat at Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia would be a hammer blow to their top five chances.
Away from the key game on Sunday night, Fiorentina will continue their Europa Conference League Final preparations, having ousted Club Brugge on Wednesday, courtesy of Lucas Beltrán’s late penalty at Jan Breydelstadion.
I Viola, who will take on Olympiacos on 29 May, are currently ninth in Serie A, desperate to climb into at least eighth because, if they don’t, defeat in Athens would see them miss out on Europe entirely.
Vincenzo Italiano’s team are taking on Monza on Monday night which won’t be easy, given that I Biancorossi are only five points below their hosts, albeit Raffaele Palladino’s team are winless in six.
Napoli, the current occupants of eighth place, welcome Bologna to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Saturday evening for another eye-catching clash.
I Rossoblù have won only won of their last five, albeit the other four have all been draws, but remain fourth, and victory for Thiago Motta’s team could all but secure Champions League qualification for Bologna.
On the flip side, last season’s Scudetto winners Napoli need points need points to ensure they don’t miss out on Europe for the first time since 2009/10, with I Partenopei winless in four, victorious in only one of eight outings since 3 March.
Juventus are hoping to warm-up for Wednesday’s Coppa Italia Final by swatting aside already relegated Salernitana, which is far from a formality, considering la Vecchia Signora have won only two of their last 14.
At the bottom, Sassuolo’s victory over Inter last weekend has breathed new life into their survival bid, but I Neroverdi need another win when they visit Genoa.
Fabio Cannavaro’s Udinese are also in the drop zone, so can la Zebrette leap out of it by beating Lecce on Monday evening?
Frosinone, who host champions Inter on Friday, and Empoli, who visit inconsistent Lazio on Sunday morning, are the two clubs most nervously looking over their shoulders.
Atalanta to win
Atalanta vs Roma
Both teams to score
Napoli vs Bologna
AC Milan to win and over 2.5 goals
AC Milan vs Cagliari
Juventus to win and both teams to score NO
Juventus vs Salernitana
Fiorentina to win
Fiorentina vs Monza
Under 2.5 goals
Lecce vs Udinese
At 28/1 a £10 bet would return £289.10!
Serie A acca of the week
Bundesliga
Bayer Leverkusen are 49 matches unbeaten across all competitions, a new record since the advent of UEFA competition in the mid-50s, now just four games away from completing an invincible, treble-winning campaign.
On Thursday night, 2-0 up from the first leg at the Olimpico, most expected die Schwarzroten to cruise past Roma in the Europa League semi-finals, only for a pair of penalties to restore parity.
Unperturbed, a fluke own goal reinstated Bayer’s lead on aggregate before, in the 97th minute, Josip Stanišić lashed home an equaliser that not only secured victory in the tie, but kept the unbeaten streak going too.
This is the 14th outcome-altering goal Bayer have scored in the 89th minute of later this season.
So, Xabi Alonso’s side know they have four games left this season, set to face Atalanta in the Europa League Final on 22 May in Dublin, also taking on Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal Final in Berlin three days later.
Back in the Bundesliga, the last club to beat die Werkself are Bochum, claiming a 3-1 victory on the final day of last season, so will Sunday’s return to Ruhrstadion derail this team’s unbeaten streak?
Given that die Unabsteigbaren start the weekend four points clear of the relegation zone, they’ll be hoping that their safety has already been secured, if Saturday’s results go their way.
Elsewhere, we should probably mention Borussia Dortmund, considering they reached the Champions League Final on Tuesday, with Mats Hummels’ header downing Paris Saint-Germain.
Considering die Schwarzgelben have little to play for in the league, expect Edin Terzić's to heavily rotate for Saturday evening’s visit to Mewa Arena.
In contrast, this is a huge fixture for Mainz, with die Nullfünfer currently in the relegation play-off spot, one point below Union Berlin.
Die Eisernen, now led by new manager Marco Grote, will be aiming to increase that gap to four earlier in the day, targeting a victory at second-bottom Köln that would concurrently condemn die Geißböcke to relegation.
Following their Champions League elimination, Bayern Munich have nothing to play for when Wolfsburg visit on Sunday, although die Rekordmeister will kick off third, should Stuttgart beat Augsburg on Friday night.
Bayer Leverkusen to win
Bochum vs Bayer Leverkusen
Bayern Munich to win and Harry Kane to score anytime
Bayern Munich vs Wolfsburg
Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals
Mainz vs Borussia Dortmund
Both teams to score
Köln vs Union Berlin
RB Leipzig to win and over 2.5 goals
RB Leipzig vs Werder Bremen
Over 2.5 goals
Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Both teams to score
Augsburg vs Stuttgart
At 30/1 a £10 bet would return £313.08!
Bundesliga acca of the week
Ligue 1
After both PSG and Marseille were dumped out of Europe this week, it’s the race for places in next season’s three UEFA competitions that continues to be the focus in Ligue 1.
Starting with Friday night’s double-header of fixtures, fifth-placed Nice are likely to enhance their European aspirations, given that relegation-threatened Le Havre are visiting Allianz Riviera.
At the same time, Brest have been the story of the season, currently third, despite having never finished higher than eighth in their entire history, so can Eric Roy’s team take a huge step towards Champions League qualification, with out-of-form Reims visiting Stade Francis-Le Blé?
The other seven Ligue 1 fixtures this weekend are all taking place simultaneously on Sunday night with, possibly, the headline fixture coming from Roazhon Park.
Stade Rennais are currently eighth, two points adrift the final potential European spot, while visitors Lens kick off sixth, a mere four points better off than their hosts, making this a key clash.
At the same time, Monaco can rubber stamp their spot in the Champions League league phase, should les Monégasques avoid defeat at Stade de la Mosson against mid-table Montpellier.
At the bottom, Clermont Foot’s relegation to Ligue 2 will be confirmed if Olympique Lyonnais leave Stade Gabriel-Montpied victorious; even a draw isn’t really enough for les Lanciers.
Similarly, if Lorient are beaten at Stade Vélodrome, les Merlus will also go down if Metz pick up a point, or more, away to Strasbourg.
Les Grenats currently occupy the relegation play-off spot, three points below Le Havre and four adrift Nantes, with László Bölöni’s desperate for a victory at Stade de la Meinau considering, on the final day, they face PSG.
Speaking of les Parisiens, they will be presented with the Ligue 1 trophy, a tenth in 12 seasons, following Sunday’s clash with Toulouse, considering this is their final home game of the campaign.
Paris Saint-Germain to win and over 2.5 goals
Paris Saint-Germain vs Toulouse
Lyon to win
Clermont Foot vs Olympique Lyonnais
Marseille to win
Olympique de Marseille vs Lorient
Nice to win
Nice vs Le Havre
Brest to win
Stade Brestois vs Stade de Reims
Both teams to score
Stade Rennais vs Lens
Both teams to score
Montpellier vs Monaco
At 22/1 a £10 bet would return £232.68!
Ligue 1 acca of the week
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