Permutations in Europe: What's still at stake in final weeks of season?

There's plenty to play for across Europe as we head into the final weeks of the season. The continent's top leagues are all barreling toward a conclusion, with no more international windows on the schedule until June. Here are the title races, Champions League fights, and relegation battles left to be decided in the top leagues.

Note: This story will be updated until the end of the season.

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EPL | LA LIGA | SERIE A | BUNDESLIGA | LIGUE 1 | GOLDEN SHOE

Premier League 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Title race

This is a "race" in name only. What once promised to be a thrilling battle between Liverpool and Arsenal has turned into a procession, with Arne Slot's team closing in on a record-equaling 20th title in the English top flight.

Arsenal's maximum point total now stands at 79 with four games remaining, meaning the Reds need just one more point to clinch the title. They can seal the deal Sunday at Anfield against Tottenham Hotspur (11:30 a.m. ET).

The Premier League's first tiebreaker, if necessary, is goal difference.

European qualification

Through its strong performances in European competition this season, the Premier League sealed an extra Champions League spot for the 2025-26 campaign. The top five finishers will compete in the competition next year.

England will send at least eight total teams to Europe next season:

• Champions League: League positions one to five
• Europa League: Sixth place, FA Cup winners
• Conference League: Carabao Cup winners

Newcastle have already won the Carabao Cup and are guaranteed of at least a Conference League spot. If they qualify for the Champions League or Europa League via their league position, then the Conference League berth will be granted to the highest Premier League finisher that isn't qualified for another European competition. The FA Cup could have a similar impact on proceedings, depending on who wins; Man City, Nottingham Forest, and Aston Villa are all in the semifinals, along with Crystal Palace.

Though highly unlikely, it's possible for England to have 11 teams in European competition next season. For that to happen, Arsenal must win the Champions League, one of Manchester United or Tottenham need to win the Europa League, Chelsea have to win the Conference League, and all three would-be victors must also finish outside the top six places in the Premier League table. That's still mathematically possible, though Arsenal would need to capitulate in the league to make that a reality. A more realistic possibility - though still difficult to achieve - is that England could send 10 teams to European competition next season.

There was once a limit on how many teams from a single country could compete in the Champions League in any given season - it was previously capped at five - but that's since been removed by UEFA.

Relegation and promotion

Southampton set an unwanted record for the earliest relegation in Premier League history, officially being consigned to the Championship with seven games to spare. The Saints are now level with the lowest points total in a Premier League season (set by Derby County in 2007-08) and have five matches left to add to their tally.

Leicester officially joined Southampton in making the drop last week. It's all but certain that Ipswich Town, who made the jump up with Southampton and Leicester this season, will also be going straight back down to the second tier.

Burnley and Leeds United were promoted from the second tier earlier this week. Sheffield United, who topped the Championship just weeks ago, fell away from the automatic promotion places after four defeats in five matches. The Blades will compete in the always riveting promotion playoffs with Sunderland and two other teams.

La Liga 🇪🇸

Title race

Spain's scrap for top spot featured an intertwined trio of bitter rivals for some time, but that group of three has now become a duo. Hansi Flick's exuberant Barcelona side, looking to dethrone Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid, has the edge and is looking to pull away. The two behemoths next meet in Catalonia on May 11, and the title could still be up for grabs at that point. Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, have faded away from contention.

La Liga's first tiebreaker is head-to-head record, followed by goal difference in head-to-head matches. Barca's 4-0 rout of Real Madrid in October, at the Santiago Bernabeu, looms large.

European qualification

Spain has joined the Premier League by earning an additional Champions League berth for next season, beating out Serie A in the battle for the last available extra spot.

Spain's top flight will send at least eight total teams to Europe next season:

• Champions League: League positions one to five
• Europa League: Sixth place, Copa del Rey winners
• Conference League: Seventh place

With Real Madrid and Barcelona meeting in a Clasico edition of the Copa del Rey final on April 26, the Europa League place reserved for the Spanish Cup winners should transfer down to whoever finishes seventh in the table, thus giving the eighth-placed finisher Spain's Conference League berth.

Relegation and promotion

Real Valladolid have officially been relegated despite their best efforts to avoid the inevitable. Five teams are frantically fighting to stay out of the other two spots in the drop zone.

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. Elche and Levante are sitting in the top two spots.

Serie A 🇮🇹

Title race

Italy has arguably delivered the most enthralling title race on the continent this year, and it's reaching a crescendo. Simone Inzaghi's treble-chasing Inter Milan are looking to retain their Serie A crown, but Napoli, seeking their second title in three seasons, are right on their tails, recovering from an earlier dip in form to move level on points with the Nerazzurri.

If the top two teams are tied on points at the end of the season, they'll play a one-game winner-take-all finale for the title. The side with the better goal difference would host the match. The only time a Scudetto playoff has been required in Serie A was 1964, when Bologna beat Inter to claim the last of their seven titles.

Inter close out the season with games against Roma, Hellas Verona, Torino (away), Lazio, and Como (away). Napoli have the more favorable schedule on paper. They finish the campaign by playing Torino, Lecce (away), Genoa, Parma (away), and Cagliari.

European qualification

As many as seven clubs are in the running for the top four. Atalanta, once in the title hunt, have been dragged into the top-four fight. There are direct matchups involving most of the teams in question between now and season's end, so expect this to be a topsy-turvy race.

Serie A's European allotment should break down as follows:

• Champions League: League positions one to four
• Europa League: Fifth place, Coppa Italia winners
• Conference League: Sixth place

AC Milan defeated Inter to reach the Coppa Italia final. Bologna and unlikely contenders Empoli are in the other semifinal, which could impact Serie A's European allocation. Depending on who wins the competition, finishing seventh in Serie A could yield a Conference League place.

Relegation and promotion

Barring an all-time miraculous escape, basement dwellers Monza will be the first team relegated in Italy this season. A playoff will be used if two teams finish tied for 18th place.

In Serie B, the top two finishers make the leap up automatically, while those who finish third through eighth enter a playoff for the last promotion place. Former Serie A mainstays Sassuolo have already sealed their return to the top flight, while Pisa are sitting pretty in second place.

Bundesliga 🇩🇪

Title race

Is this the year Harry Kane finally ends his career-long trophy drought? Bayern Munich are in pole position to reclaim their throne after Bayer Leverkusen used an unbeaten domestic campaign to snap their run of 11 consecutive titles last season. The Bavarian squad is chasing a 34th top-flight crown. No other German club has even hit double figures.

The Bundesliga's primary tiebreaker is goal difference.

European qualification

Eintracht Frankfurt have been able to stay in contention despite losing Egyptian star Omar Marmoush to Manchester City in the winter transfer window. Defensively stout Mainz, meanwhile, came out of nowhere to push for a Champions League place, but are faltering down the stretch. Borussia Dortmund, last season's Champions League finalists, are putting together a strong run at the right time, and now sit just four points off fourth after flirting with midtable obscurity over the past couple of months.

Germany's European allotment should break down as follows:

• Champions League: League positions one to four
• Europa League: Fifth place, DFB-Pokal winners
• Conference League: Sixth place

Third-tier club Arminia Bielefeld have made a Cinderella run to the German Cup final, upsetting Leverkusen along the way. Bielefeld could become the first third-tier club to ever win the German Cup, and that would also give them a stunning Europa League berth. They'll play Stuttgart for the DFB-Pokal crown, so it's currently unlikely that the Bundesliga's European places will need to be transferred down the table.

Relegation and promotion

The 18-team Bundesliga uses a distinctive system to determine their final relegation and promotion places. The bottom two teams are automatically sent down to Bundesliga 2, while the top pair from the second division replaces them. Then it gets interesting. The outfit that finishes 16th in the Bundesliga enters a two-legged playoff against the third-placed squad from Bundesliga 2. The winner gets next season's spot in the top division.

This unique method is known simply in Germany as the "Relegation."

If the season ended today, familiar faces FC Koln and Hamburg would return to the Bundesliga, while Magdeburg would play Heidenheim in the playoff.

Ligue 1 🇫🇷

Paris Saint-Germain conquered French football for the 11th time in 13 seasons, winning the title with six matches to spare. Luis Enrique's men are chasing the first undefeated campaign in Ligue 1 history - they have four matches left to complete that historic feat. They're also pursuing trophies in the Champions League, where they've reached the semifinal stage, and Coupe de France, where they'll take on Reims in the final on May 24.

The main stars of PSG's latest romp to the Ligue 1 title include Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola, while in-form teenager Desire Doue scored the goal against Angers that rubber-stamped first place.

European qualification

Unlike the other top European divisions, Ligue 1 only gets three automatic Champions League berths. Whoever finishes fourth enters the Champions League qualification rounds.

Goal difference is the first tiebreaker in Ligue 1. With so many teams bunched so tightly together in the race for Europe, that may be required.

France's European allotment should break down as follows:

• Champions League: League positions one to three
• Champions League qualifying: Fourth place
• Europa League: Fifth place, Coupe de France winners
• Conference League: Sixth place

Treble-chasing PSG will be heavy favorites to win the Coupe de France when they play Reims in the final. A PSG triumph could open the door for a team that otherwise would've missed out on European competition to enter the fray.

Relegation and promotion

Ligue 1's relegation system is similar to that of the Bundesliga.

The bottom two teams tumble to the second tier, while the 16th-place finisher gets a chance at salvation in a playoff against a team from Ligue 2.

If the Ligue 2 season finished as is right now, Lorient and Paris FC would be promoted as the top two teams in the second tier. Paris FC are suddenly one of the richest clubs in France after a recent high-profile ownership change, and their potential rise to the same league as PSG would create an interesting dynamic in the capital city next season.

The teams that finish third through fifth enter a mini tournament to determine which Ligue 2 squad gets a shot at the promotion/relegation playoff.

European Golden Shoe 🏅

The European Golden Shoe is awarded to the highest scorer across the top tiers of Europe's various domestic leagues. Harry Kane took home the award in 2023-24 after racking up 36 Bundesliga tallies.

Only goals in league matches are considered, 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. That's why Sporting CP hitman Viktor Gyokeres, for example, isn't leading this season's table right now despite scoring more league goals than Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.

If two players are tied on points, the one who accumulated those points in fewer minutes on the field is ranked higher.