The 2024-25 season has entered the closing stages, with the battles for the major honors, European qualification, relegation and promotion heating up.
Here’s a roundup of what’s at stake and what could be decided this weekend in the English Premier League, German Bundesliga, Spanish LaLiga, Italian Serie A and French Ligue 1.
This page will be updated through to the end of the European season.
Premier League
Last day: May 25
Title
Liverpool (82) were confirmed as champions on April 27 with four games to spare.
Champions League (5)
CONFIRMED
Premier League table
GPPTSGD1 – Liverpool3582+452 – Arsenal3567+333 – Man City3665+244 – Newcastle3563+215 – Chelsea3563+216 – Aston Villa3663+77 – Nottm Forest3561+128 – Brentford3655+109 – Brighton3655+310 – Bournemouth3653+1211 – Fulham3651+1
In 2025-26, the Premier League will have five teams in the Champions League due to the performance of its clubs in Europe this season, meaning the top five will qualify for the UCL.
Liverpool have already booked their place, with Arsenal (67) on the brink of sealing their spot. They need a maximum of three points to guarantee it.
Of the seven teams in the hunt for the Champions League, only Nottingham Forest could miss out on any European football of some description — though they only need a point to seal it.
Five teams are battling for the remaining three places with just three fixtures remaining. Manchester City (65, 36 games played), Newcastle United (63) and Chelsea (63) are holding them right now. Aston Villa (63, 36 games played) and Nottingham Forest (61) will try to fight their way into those key positions.
Man City’s shock draw at rock-bottom Southampton on Saturday has made them vulnerable to the chasing pack. Villa took advantage with a 1-0 win from their tough trip to Bournemouth.
On Sunday, Newcastle and Chelsea meet at St. James’ Park so Forest, who host second-bottom Leicester City later that day, are guaranteed to make ground with a victory.
Remaining games – UCL race
Man CityNottm ForestNewcastleChelseaVillaG36Leicester (H)Chelsea (H)Newcastle (a)G37Bournemouth (H)West Ham (a)Arsenal (a)Man United (H)Spurs (H)G38Fulham (a)Chelsea (H)Everton (H)Nottm Forest (a)Man United (a)
Chelsea must also head to Forest on the final day, which could be a winner-takes-all UCL showdown.
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur play each other in the Europa League final on May 21. The winners will qualify for the Champions League, meaning the Premier League will have six teams in the Champions League and nine in Europe.
Europa League (2)
As it stands, sixth (Villa) will enter the Europa League by league position, and it will go to one of those teams in the Champions League section.
Editor’s Picks
2 Related
Sixth will be joined by the FA Cup winners, with Crystal Palace taking on Man City in the final on May 17 (stream live on ESPN+ in the U.S.).
If Palace, who are 12th, win the FA Cup, then there will be no knock-on effect to the league places; the Eagles will be in the Europa League.
If Man City win it and finish in the top six, the FA Cup’s Europa League place will go to seventh — most probably to last of the teams in the UCL race. However, if Bournemouth beat Villa they would move to within four points of seventh place, which could make it interesting.
If Chelsea win the Conference League — they are also in the final on May 28 — they are guaranteed at least a place in the Europa League, but will play in the Champions League if they finish in the top five. Their final position could also influence the allocation of European places.
2:11
Nicol: Man United did the hard work in the first leg vs. Athletic Club
The “ESPN FC” crew react to Manchester United advancing to the Europa League final after beating Athletic Club 4-1 at Old Trafford.
Conference League (1)
Newcastle are guaranteed at least a place in the Conference League playoff round, as they won the Carabao Cup. But if Newcastle finish in the top six, to play in the UCL or UEL, the Conference League place goes to seventh. If Man City win the FA Cup, the Conference League playoff-round place goes to eighth — so it’s a position worth fighting for.
With the FA Cup final taking place before most of the Premier League plays again, those in contention will know if it’s still on.
Wins for Brentford (55, 36 games played) and Brighton & Hove Albion (55, 36 games played) on Saturday have put them into pole position in eighth and ninth, with AFC Bournemouth (53, 36 games played) suffering that damaging home loss to Villa. Fulham (51, 36 games played) lost at home to Everton, so their challenge is faltering.
Fulham do have a route back into it, as they travel to Brentford next weekend. Brighton have a tough game against champions Liverpool, while Bournemouth have to take on Man City.
If Brentford can win next weekend, it’s possible they will be effectively locked in eighth with their far superior goal difference — but will it matter?
Relegation (3)
CONFIRMED
18. Ipswich (36, 22)
19. Leicester (35, 21)
20. Southampton (36, 12)
Southampton (12), Leicester City (21) and Ipswich Town (22) have been relegated.
Leeds United and Burnley have been promoted back to the top flight from the Championship; another team will come up via the playoffs. Sheffield United, Sunderland, Coventry City and Bristol City have booked the playoff places, with the final taking place on May 24.
LaLiga
Last day: May 25
Title
Remaining games
BarcelonaReal MadridG35Real Madrid (H)Barcelona (a)G36Espanyol (a)Mallorca (H)G37Villarreal (H)Sevilla (a)G38Athletic (a)Real Sociedad (H)
There are four games left to play, and it’s a crucial weekend in the title race.
Barcelona (79) hold a four-point advantage over Real Madrid (75) with the two sides meeting at Barca’s temporary home, Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, on Sunday (stream live on ESPN+ at 10.15 a.m. ET) in what looks to be a must-win game for Los Blancos.
If Real Madrid can get the three points, a route to the title might open up with Barcelona to play Champions League-chasing Villarreal and Athletic Club in their final two matches.
Champions League (5)
CONFIRMED
LaLiga table
GPPTS1 – Barcelona34792 – Real Madrid34753 – Atlético35704 – Athletic Club34615 – Villarreal35616 – Real Betis34577 – Celta Vigo35498 – Vallecano35479 – Mallorca354710 – Valencia3545
Like the Premier League, LaLiga will have five teams in the Champions League next season.
Barcelona and Real Madrid were joined by Atlético Madrid (70, 35 games) on Saturday, when they thrashed Real Sociedad 4-0.
That leaves two spots up for grabs, and three teams in contention. Who will miss out?
Athletic Club (61) in fourth are favourites to qualify, though they have work to do. The other contenders for a UCL place are fifth-placed Villarreal (61, 35 games) and Real Betis (57) in sixth.
Villarreal won at Girona on Saturday to put the heat on. On Sunday, Athletic Club are at home to Alavés and Betis host Osasuna.
– Stream all LaLiga games live on ESPN+ (US only)
1:30
Garcia: Arda Güler will become a key player for Real Madrid
Luis Garcia praises the performance of Arda Güler after the midfielder helped Real Madrid to victory over Celta Vigo in LaLiga.
Europa League (2)
As Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, the place for the cup transfers to the league — sixth and seventh will enter the Europa League. One place will go to Athletic Club, Villarreal or Real Betis in sixth, but there’s a close race for seventh.
On Saturday, we saw Celta Vigo, Rayo Vallecano, Mallorca and Valencia all pick up victories to really intensify the pressure on. Real Sociedad are all but out of contention after being thrashed by Atlético.
Celta Vigo (49, 35 games) are in seventh, followed by Rayo Vallecano (47, 35 games), Mallorca (47, 35 games), Valencia (45, 35 games), Osasuna (44) and Real Sociedad (43, 35 games).
On Sunday evening, Osasuna face the very difficult away game at Betis.
Real Betis are in the Conference League final, with the competition earning a spot in the Europa League, but to impact the LaLiga allocation they would have to finish eighth or lower, which cannot happen.
Europa Conference League (1)
This will go to eighth place, held right now by Rayo Vallecano, with the same list of teams battling it out as noted in the Europa League section.
Relegation (3)
CONFIRMED
Real Valladolid (16, 35 games) are down, and it then seems to be a battle between four clubs for the final two places. Leganés (31) and Las Palmas (32, 35 games) are trying to fight their way out of trouble with Alavés (35) in the most danger.
Las Palmas failed to make any inroads on Friday night when they suffered a home loss to Rayo Vallecano, with Leganés (home to Espanyol) and Alavés (away to Athletic Club) playing on Sunday.
Sevilla (38, 35 games) and Girona (38, 35 games) probably have enough of a buffer to avoid a shock relegation — but Sevilla do host Las Palmas on Tuesday, so a defeat would change the picture a little. It’s also Leganés vs. Las Palmas on the penultimate weekend.
Elche look strong to take one of the two automatic promotion places from LaLiga2.
Levante, Racing Santander, Real Oviedo, Mirandés and Almería are fighting it out for second. A third team comes up through four-team playoffs.
Title
Bayern Munich (79, 33 games) won the title on May 4.
– Stream all Bundesliga games live on ESPN+ (US only)
2:04
Has Bayer Leverkusen’s golden era come to an end?
Janusz Michallik believes Bayer Leverkusen’s most successful era has officially come to an end.
Champions League (4)
CONFIRMED
1. Bayern Munich (33, 79)
2. Bayer Leverkusen (32, 68)
Bundesliga table
GPPTSGD1 – Bayern3379+632 – Leverkusen3268+313 – Frankfurt3256+204 – Freiburg3355-25 – Dortmund3251+157 – Mainz3351+126 – RB Leipzig3351+68 – Bremen3348-69 – Gladbach3345-1
Bayern and Bayer Leverkusen (68) have already secured their places.
It’s now a three-horse race for the final two spots — and both will be confirmed if fifth-placed Borussia Dortmund (51) lose at Leverkusen in Sunday’s first match.
Eintracht Frankfurt (56) are in a very strong position, needing a maximum of two points to secure UCL football. They host St. Pauli on Sunday, though if Dortmund draw or lose they are set before they kick off.
SC Freiburg (55, 33 games) sit in fourth after they relegated Holstein Kiel on Saturday. They need Dortmund to lose to confirm their place in this gameweek.
Europa League (2)
Only fifth place (Dortmund as it stands) will be in this competition.
Waiting on Dortmund’s result to see what they need on the final day, or if they are out of contention, are Mainz (51, 33 games) and RB Leipzig (51, 33 games).
For the second successive season, the final of the DFB Pokal (stream LIVE on May 24 on ESPN+, U.S. only) sees a Bundesliga club take on a lower-league side. Last season, Leverkusen beat then-2. Bundesliga strugglers Kaiserslautern.
This time VfB Stuttgart will play Arminia Bielefeld, who incredibly are in the third division. The winners of the final will qualify for the Europa League.
Stuttgart are in 10th on 44 points and won’t finish in the top six, so there will be no transfer of the place to the league if they win the cup. If Arminia Bielefeld, who are second in the 3. Liga, produce a shock win in the final, they are set to play in the Europa League as a second- or third-division club
Conference League (1)
Sixth place (now Mainz) will enter the Conference League playoff round. While Werder Bremen (48, 33 games) have a mathematical chance, their -6 goal difference means they are out of it.
There is no route into Europe for seventh or eighth as there was last season.
Relegation (2+1)
Two teams are relegated automatically, while third-bottom takes on third place in the 2. Bundesliga in a playoff.
CONFIRMED
VfL Bochum (22, 33 games played) and Holstein Kiel (25, 33 games played) were relegated when they lost to Mainz and Freiburg respectively on Saturday, with 1. FC Heidenheim’s (29, 33 games played) win against Union Berlin lifting them clear.
Heidenheim could still get out of the playoff place on the final day, though that will depend on St Pauli (31) failing to beat Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday. If St. Pauli win, Heidenheim have very little chance of overtaking TSG Hoffenheim (32, 33 games) due to goal difference.
In 2. Bundesliga, Hamburg were promoted on Saturday. FC Cologne are holding second place with SV 07 Elversberg in third and hoping to make a late challenge.
Hamburg will take one of the two automatic promotion places if they win at home to Ulm on Saturday. FC Cologne will go into the final day with a three-point advantage over Elversberg and Paderborn — but both the chasers have better goal difference.
Serie A
Last day: May 25
Title
The tight title race between Internazionale (74) and Napoli (77) continues with three rounds of games to be played.
Both teams play on Sunday against midtable opposition, with Inter at Torino and Napoli hosting Genoa.
If the two teams finish on the same points there will be a one-legged playoff, hosted by the club with the best goal difference, to decide the Scudetto.
Champions League (4)
CONFIRMED
1. Napoli (35, 77)
2. Inter Milan (35, 74)
Napoli and Inter have sealed their places, but the fight for the last spots is intense with a maximum of 73 points required.
Bologna lost at AC Milan on Friday (a dress rehearsal for the Coppa Italia final) to seriously dent their top-four hopes.
On Saturday, Lazio snatched a point from their home match against Juve with a goal in the 96th minute. It might not be enough for Lazio, as they must travel to Inter next weekend.
With three games to go, Atalanta (68) look strong in third with Juventus (64, 36 games) in fourth, but there’s a chasing pack: Lazio (64, 36 games),AS Roma (63), Bologna (62, 36 games) and, as outsiders, Fiorentina (59).
On Monday, Atalanta host Roma and that result will have a huge impact. Fiorentina play first at Venezia, if they win and Roma fail to get three points later the Viola are back in the hunt.
If Inter win the Champions League there will be no impact on the Serie A places.
1:27
Inter or PSG: Which team is favourite to win the Champions League?
Stewart Robson and Alejandro Moreno preview the Champions League final between PSG and Inter Milan.
Europa League (2)
Fifth place (Roma as it stands) will play in the Europa League, which will also be a battle between the clubs listed above.
The Coppa Italia final sees Bologna play AC Milan on May 14 — 11 days before the league season finishes. Milan (60, 36 games) are eighth (above Fiorentina after winning on Friday) and struggling to qualify for Europe, but now only two points behind Bologna in seventh; even so, winning the Coppa Italia could be their best hope.
Sixth place (now Lazio) in the league will earn a Europa League place if Bologna win the final and finish in the top five.
Conference League (1)
At present this goes to sixth (Lazio), subject to whether Bologna win the Coppa Italia and where they finish.
If Bologna lift the trophy and finish top six, seventh will be in the Conference League playoff round spot. If so, that actually gives AC Milan a decent chance.
Relegation (3)
CONFIRMED
Monza (15) were relegated last month after they lost 2-0 at Juventus.
It’s a fierce battle for the last two spots between Venezia (26). Lecce (27) and Empoli (28, 36 games),
Empoli climbed out of the bottom three on Saturday with a home win over Parma. On Sunday, Venezia face Fiorentina and Lecce go to Hellas Verona.
In Serie B, Sassuolo and Pisa have been promoted. One of six clubs will also come up through the end-of-season playoffs. Spezia, Cremonese, Juve Stabia, Catanzaro and Palermo have booked five of the six places with one round to play.
Ligue 1
Last day: May 17
All teams have played 33 games, with one round of games to go — to be played on Saturday, May 17.
Title
Paris Saint-Germain (81) secured the title with ease on April 5.
If PSG win the Champions League there will be no impact on the Ligue 1 places.
Champions League (3+1)
France gets three automatic places, with fourth place entering the UCL in the third qualifying round.
CONFIRMED
An incredibly tight race, where most teams kept on winning, took a strange twist for the penultimate gameweek.
Nice, Lille, Strasbourg and Lyon remarkably all lost, meaning that victories for Marseille (62) and AS Monaco (61) sealed their spots. It seemed certain to go down to the final day, but it’s already resolved.
That does still leave the place in qualifying, which is in the control of Nice (57, +19). A home victory over Brest should be enough, because they are four goals better off than Lille (57, +15) and six of Strasbourg (57, +13).
If Nice fail to win, Lille (home to Reims) or Strasbourg (home to Le Havre) could take advantage.
There’s a very unlikely scenario where all three lose and they are overtaken by Lyon (54, +17), who are at home to Angers, on goal difference.
NB: Lyon are provisionally relegated to Ligue 2 on financial grounds, which could affect European allocation.
Europa League (2)
Fifth place (Lille now) will be in the Europa League.
However, if PSG win the Coupe de France final on May 24, the UEL place will pass to sixth (that’s Strasbourg at the moment). PSG play Stade de Reims, who are 14th and will not finish in a domestic European place. If Reims win the cup, they will be in the Europa League.
Conference League (1)
At present, this goes to sixth (Strasbourg) and is a battle between the clubs listed in the Champions League section.
If PSG take the Coupe de France, seventh will be in the Conference League playoff round — a position held by Lyon.
Relegation (2+1)
CONFIRMED
Montpellier (16) are already relegated, leaving one automatic and one playoff spot to be decided.
Saint-Etienne (30) kept their hopes of staying up alive with at 2-0 win at Stade de Reims (33), but the best they can hope for is the playoff place as they have far inferior goal difference to 15th-placed Nantes (33) and Reims.
To avoid automatic relegation, Saint-Etienne almost certainly must get a victory at home to Toulouse, and hope Le Havre AC (31) do not win at Strasbourg.
There is a scenario whereby Saint-Etienne draw and Le Havre lose by five goals — which would see Saint-Etienne in the playoff place on goal difference.
Lorient and Paris FC have secured promotion from Ligue 2, with Metz playing third bottom in a relegation/promotion playoff.
