There’s still plenty to play for across Europe as we head into the final matches of the club season. Here are all the title races, Champions League fights, and relegation battles left to be decided in the top leagues this month. This story will be updated until the end of the campaign.
👉 Jump to:
EPL | LA LIGA | SERIE A | BUNDESLIGA | LIGUE 1 | GOLDEN SHOE
Premier League 🏴
Title race
Manchester City cut the gap to two points with a comfortable victory over Crystal Palace on Wednesday, but Arsenal still control their own destiny. If the Gunners win their final two matches – at home against Burnley and away to Palace on the final day of the campaign – they’ll be champions no matter what Pep Guardiola’s men do the rest of the way.
The Gunners are desperately trying to claim their first Premier League title since the vaunted 2004 “Invincibles” team.
If Arsenal beat beat Burnley on May 18, they can be crowned champions as early as the following day if Man City don’t beat Bournemouth. Otherwise, the race will go to the final day of the season (May 24).
The Premier League’s first tiebreaker, if necessary, is goal difference. If the teams are level on that metric, the next tiebreaker is total goals scored during the season, where Manchester City have a seven-goal edge over Arsenal.
European qualification
The Premier League earned an extra Champions League berth for 2026-27 due to the UEFA club coefficient rankings, so the top five finishers will compete in the competition next season. Manchester United have already secured their Champions League return under Michael Carrick.
The teams that finish sixth and seventh will head to the Europa League and Conference League, respectively.
If Aston Villa finish exactly fifth in the Premier League and win the Europa League – they play Freiburg in the final May 20 – then whoever finishes sixth in the table will also qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Crystal Palace could earn a Europa League spot next season if they win this year’s Conference League. The Eagles play Rayo Vallecano in the final of that competition May 27.
There’s also Saturday’s FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester City to consider, as the FA Cup winners are guaranteed a place in the Europa League. If Man City win at Wembley, then sixth and seventh in the Premier League would yield Europa League berths, and whoever finishes eighth would go into the Conference League. If Chelsea win, they’d have to finish inside the top seven for the Conference League place to transfer down to eighth in the table.
England’s European allotment can still go in several different directions.
There will be at least eight Premier League teams participating in European competitions next season, and a maximum of nine. The specific breakdown between the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League is largely dependent on the outcomes of the aforementioned finals.
Relegation and promotion
Wolves and Burnley have been relegated for weeks after dismal campaigns. The battle to avoid the final relegation place has, incredibly, come down to a straight fight between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.
Spurs close out their season against Chelsea (away) and Everton (home), while the Hammers travel to Newcastle before welcoming Leeds on May 24.
Coventry and Ipswich Town earned automatic promotion to the Premier League after excellent years in the Championship. They’ll be joined by one of Hull City or Southampton, who’ll lock horns in the promotion playoff final at Wembley – the proverbial “richest game in football” – on May 23.
Title winners
Barcelona clinched their second consecutive La Liga title, and 29th overall, with a satisfying 2-0 victory over eternal rivals Real Madrid.
European qualification
La Liga joined the Premier League in earning the other additional Champions League berth for next season via the coefficient rankings, so five Spanish teams will feature in the competition. Real Madrid, Villarreal, Atletico Madrid, and Real Betis have already secured top-five finishes, with the latter returning to the competition after a 21-year absence.
Meanwhile, Real Sociedad sealed a Europa League place by winning the Copa del Rey.
The Europa League and Conference League berths via league position (sixth and seventh in the table, respectively) are still to be determined, while Rayo could yet earn a Europa League spot regardless of their league position if they beat Crystal Palace in the Conference League final this month.
Relegation and promotion
Spain’s relegation scrap is an absolute dogfight. Real Oviedo have already been relegated, but the battle royale to avoid joining them stretches so far that it includes several of the clubs listed above who are also in the European race; resurgent Sevilla, for example, could keep climbing and grab a Conference League berth, or they could tumble and finish in the relegation zone. The final matchdays in Spain promise to be wild.
Spain’s second division is similar to the English Championship: the top two finishers jump directly to the top tier, while teams finishing third through sixth enter a promotion playoff. The race is incredibly tight right now, with only 10 points separating first place (Racing Santander) from sixth place (Castellon).
Title winners
Inter Milan captured their third Scudetto in six seasons, recovering from last year’s traumatic finish to the campaign to lift their 21st Serie A title. The Nerazzurri also win the Coppa Italia to complete a dominant domestic double.
European qualification
There may not be a more chaotic race anywhere else in Europe right now. Five clubs are fighting for three remaining Champions League spots in Italy after a season-long seesaw battle that’s ebbed and flowed all year. AC Milan, once title challengers, are crumbling at the worst time, while Napoli’s stoppage-time loss Monday has also put them at risk of being overtaken by each of Juventus, Roma, and Como. The latter, under Cesc Fabregas, are already assured of a place in Europe for the first time, but are eyeing the big prize of a Champions League position.
Remaining matches:
- Napoli: Pisa (A), Udinese (H)
- Juventus: Fiorentina (H), Torino (A)
- AC Milan: Genoa (A), Cagliari (H)
- Roma: Lazio (H), Verona (A)
- Como: Parma (H), Cremonese (A)
Serie A’s first tiebreaker is head-to-head record.
For the neutral observer, the most exciting outcome would be a scenario where all five teams finish the season level on 71 points. If that happens, a mini-table would be created taking into account just the head-to-head matches between the five clubs.
In that scenario, Milan, Napoli, and Como would go to the Champions League, while Juventus and Roma would settle for the Europa League. Seventh place in the table delivers a Conference League spot.
Relegation and promotion
Pisa and Verona are going down to Serie B next season. Cremonese and Lecce are fighting to avoid finishing 18th, while Cagliari are one point away from mathematic survival.
Venezia (and their gorgeous kits) are jumping back up to Serie A next season after finishing atop the second division. They’ll be joined by fellow returnees Frosinone. The final promotion spot from Serie B gets decided by a playoff involving the teams that finished third through eighth. Monza and Palermo are among the familiar faces who are in the playoff mix.
Title winners
Bayern Munich now have 35 Bundesliga titles in their history after retaining their crown in dominant fashion this season. No other German club has even cracked double figures.
European qualification
The Bundesliga gets four Champions League berths. Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig have already secured their spots alongside Bayern Munich. That leaves Stuttgart, Hoffenheim, and Bayer Leverkusen to fight for the coveted last spot on the final day of the season; every team will play at 9:30 a.m. ET on Saturday to close out the campaign.
Stuttgart, currently fourth on goal difference, control their own fate, and will secure a Champions League place with a win over Eintracht Frankfurt. Any stumble, though, and rivals Hoffenheim could leapfrog them when they take on Borussia Monchengladbach in their concurrent fixture.
The teams that finish fifth and sixth will go to the Europa League, while the seventh-place finisher heads to the Conference League playoffs.
Relegation and promotion
In the 18-team Bundesliga, the bottom two sides are automatically sent down to Bundesliga 2, while the top pair from the second division replace them.
The squad that finishes 16th in the Bundesliga enters a two-legged playoff against the third-place side from Bundesliga 2. The winner of that tie gets next season’s spot in the top division.
Two of St. Pauli, Heidenheim, and Wolfsburg will automatically be relegated on what should be a dramatic final day of the season. St. Pauli and Wolfsburg actually play against one another Saturday, while Heidenheim host Mainz.
Meanwhile, seven-time German champions Schalke have already confirmed their promotion to the Bundesliga, bringing one of the country’s most storied clubs back to the top flight. Elversberg, Hannover, and Paderborn are all trying to join them from the second tier.
Title winners
Paris Saint-Germain clinched their fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title, and 12th in the last 14 seasons, by beating nearest challengers Lens on Wednesday.
European qualification
Ligue 1 only gets three automatic Champions League berths; PSG and Lens have secured two of them. Whoever finishes fourth, meanwhile, enters the Champions League qualification rounds. Fifth and sixth place are rewarded with Europa League and Conference League spots, respectively.
Goal difference is the first tiebreaker in Ligue 1.
The final day of the season is Sunday, with all the games being played at 3 p.m. ET. Lille know that a win over lowly Auxerre will secured third place regardless of what the other Champions League hopefuls do in their matches. Lyon host Lens in what looks, at least on paper, like the standout fixture of the day for the teams near the top of the table.
Relegation and promotion
Ligue 1 uses the same relegation and promotion system as the Bundesliga. Metz and Nantes have already been relegated, with three clubs trying to avoid finishing 16th and heading into the playoff. Nice host Metz on the last day of the season, while Auxerre have to visit a motivated Lille side that’ll be looking to secure a Champions League berth. Le Havre, meanwhile, visit Lorient.
Troyes won the second division to earn automatic promotion. Le Mans’ last match of the season was abandoned due to crowd trouble while they were winning and on course to finish second. That result was later validated by the French league (LFP), so they’ll join Troyes in Ligue 1 next season. Saint-Etienne finished third and will compete in the playoff.
European Golden Shoe 🏅
The European Golden Shoe is awarded to the highest scorer across the top tiers of Europe’s various domestic leagues.
Only goals in league matches count toward a player’s total, and a coefficient points system is used to weigh the strength of different leagues. The top five leagues based on UEFA’s rankings have a coefficient factor of two, while the leagues ranked sixth to 22nd by the governing body have a factor of 1.5.
