Some big clubs are in very real danger of missing out on next season's competition, which would represent a serious financial blow
This hasn't been an especially vintage year for thrilling title races in Europe's top leagues – despite the fact that the Serie A scrap between Napoli and Inter could go right to the wire (a Scudetto play-off is even a distinct possibility!), while Real Madrid could close on La Liga leaders Barcelona by winning at Montjuic on Sunday week.
However, Arne Slot's relentless Liverpool side turned the Premier League into a procession this season, perennial French champions Paris Saint-Germain once again ran away with Ligue 1, while Bayern Munich will almost certainly reclaim their Bundesliga crown from Bayer Leverkusen this weekend.
Still, it's not as if the final few weeks of the 2024-25 campaign will be devoid of drama – not with Champions League qualification arguably more important than ever before for financial reasons. Below, GOAL breaks down the fierce battles we're seeing across the continent for the right to sit at Europe's top table next season…
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With Liverpool having opened up an unassailable 15-point lead at the top of the table last Sunday, and the relegation of Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton already confirmed, Premier League followers are extremely grateful for the fact that there are still Champions League spots still up for grabs.
Of course, Arsenal (67 points) should finish second, even if their ongoing involvement in continental competition has affected their domestic form of late. However, that still leaves three berths up for grabs, given England's top five all qualify for next season's Champions League.
Third-placed Newcastle (62) have been in fine form since stunning Liverpool to win the Carabao Cup, which led to an incredible release of tension on Tyneside, but Eddie Howe's men have a rough run-in, including trips to the Amex and the Emirates. Manchester City (61), by contrast, don't have any difficult games left – at least on paper – and Pep Guardiola undoubtedly has the strongest squad to choose from, particularly after the state-sponsored club's January spending spree.
Fifth-placed Chelsea (60) are hanging in there in spite of Cole Palmer's dreadful dip in productivity, while surprise package Nottingham Forest (60) can climb from sixth to third if they win their game in hand against Brentford on Thursday.
Aston Villa (57) down in seventh shouldn't be written off just yet, but Unai Emery's men have had the wind knocked out of them by devastating setbacks against PSG in the Champions League, Manchester City in the Premier League and Crystal Palace in the FA Cup.
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Things are getting very interesting in Germany, with both RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund in real danger of failing to qualify for next season's Champions League.
Freiburg are the main reason why, with Julian Schuster's surprise challengers clinging on to fourth spot with 51 points after recovering from a poor run of results by winning three games on the spin. However, they're still only two points ahead of Leipzig (49), and just three clear of Dortmund (48), going into Sunday's clash with second-placed Bayer Leverkusen.
On the plus side, Xabi Alonso's men might not have anything to play for at the Europa-Park Stadion if Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich win at the Red Bull Arena the day before – which would obviously also represent a big boost to Freiburg's hopes of holding off Leipzig.
Dortmund, though, are the real dangermen. They host Wolfsburg at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday evening, meaning Niko Kovac's resurgent side could be level on points with Freiburg by the time they take to the field to face Leverkusen. BVB still have to travel to the BayArena themselves, but they're finishing the season strongly (13 points from their last five games) and will be confident of capitalising on any slip-up from Freiburg, whom they've hammered both home and away this season.
Looking slightly further down the table, Mainz (47) are still in contention, in theory, but their form has fallen off a cliff over the past month, and while Werder Bremen (46) are going really well now, they may have left it just a tad too late to crash the top-four party. Still, things could get very interesting if they were to beat Leipzig at home on matchday 33, the penultimate weekend of the season…
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The situation in Serie A is simply insane. With just four rounds remaining, there are just three points separating Juventus (62) in the final Champions League spot in fourth, and eight-placed Fiorentina (59).
As one of the biggest clubs in Italy, the Bianconeri would normally be favourites to get over the line. However, it's been a trying season for the Old Lady, who sacked Thiago Motta in March and replaced him with Igor Tudor, and their next couple of games are away from home against two of their top-four rivals, in Bologna (fifth, with 61 points) and Lazio (seventh with 60).
Roma, meanwhile,sit sixth (also 60 points) and are arguably the form team in Serie A right now, with Claudio Ranieri's side unbeaten in the league since before Christmas. The Giallorossi don't have any particularly straightforward fixtures, but they upset Inter at San Siro last weekend and beating Fiorentina at home on Sunday would only add to their momentum.
It's also worth noting that Roma go to Bergamo on May 12 to face third-placed Atalanta, who are only three points above Juve, meaning Gian Piero Gasperini's men could yet get swallowed up by the chasing pack, thus turning this into a titanic six-team tussle for two Champions League berths.
AFPLigue 1
PSG's fourth-consecutive Ligue 1 title may have been in the bag before the season even began, but it's looking like the fight for a top-four finish will go right until the final weekend, as there's just a four-point gap between Marseille (58) in second and Strasbourg in seventh (54).
The presumption all along was that Roberto De Zerbi's side would finish as runners-up, but that's no longer a given whatsoever, particularly as OM must travel to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Sunday to face third-placed Lille (56), who have won four of their last five games.
Monaco (55) and Lyon (54), in fourth and fifth, respectively, also remain very much in the mix, and the outcome of their showdown at the Stade Louis II on matchday 33 could well prove decisive.
The team to really keep an eye on, though, is sixth-placed Nice (54), as the only team to have beaten PSG this season have a relatively soft set of fixtures – at least compared to their rivals – and could easily force their way into the top four before the season's end…
