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Europe's top soccer leagues: Title fights, Europe, relegation

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Nicol: Declan Rice is a force for Arsenal (1:14)

Steve Nicol praises Declan Rice after Arsenal's 3-0 win over Bournemouth. (1:14)

The 2023-24 season is drawing to a close and the battles for the major honours, relegation and promotion are starting to become clearer.

Here's a quick roundup of exactly what has been decided, and what's still at stake, in the English Premier League, German Bundesliga, Spanish LaLiga, Italian Serie A and French Ligue 1.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

Premier League

Title: Arsenal (83, 36) hold a one-point lead over Manchester City (82, 35) after both teams won on Saturday, but Pep Guardiola's side have a game in hand -- though that is away at Tottenham Hotspur.

Man City go to Fulham on Saturday, with Arsenal travelling to Man United on Sunday.

Liverpool (78 points, 36 games) are not yet mathematically out of it in third, but they could be this weekend.

Champions League (4): Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool are confirmed for a top-four finish, leaving one place to be filled.

Aston Villa (67, 36) are all but there in fourth place with Tottenham (60, 35) having seen their form nosedive. It will be confirmed if Spurs lose at home to Burnley on Saturday.

Europa League (2): Aston Villa will take the league place if they are overtaken by Tottenham.

Spurs are in a strong position to finish fifth with a four-point lead over Newcastle United (56, 35) in sixth -- but the Magpies are in hot form and will fancy their chance of making up the ground.

If Aston Villa win the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL), which earns a place in the Europa League, that place cannot be passed back down to the Premier League table.

Europa Conference League (1): At the moment, sixth will go into the Europa Conference League but that's also dependent on the FA Cup winners. Newcastle hold it, but Chelsea (54, 35) and Manchester United (54, 35) are close behind.

Man United also take on Man City in the FA Cup final on May 25 (stream live on ESPN+, U.S. only). If Erik ten Hag's team lift the trophy then they will be in the Europa League (UEL). If City win the cup, then the UEL position transfers to the sixth place in the Premier League -- so it could still go to Man United that way too and the UECL will drop down to seventh. It would still be one of Man United, Newcastle and Chelsea -- and one of them would miss out on Europe completely.

The UECL place will also drop to seventh if Man United win the FA Cup and finish fifth or sixth.

Relegation (3): Three teams look to be fighting it out for one survival place, with one team down and two more to be relegated.

An immediate return to the Championship for Sheffield United (16, 36) was confirmed last weekend by their 5-1 loss at Newcastle.

Second-bottom Burnley (24, 36) are all but down and face Spurs next -- they must win that for the possibility of a meaningful last-day showdown with fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest (29, 36).

Third-bottom Luton Town (26, 36) could only draw at home to Everton on Friday. They have to beat West Ham next weekend to keep realistic hope.

Forest, who are at home to Chelsea on Saturday, also await the result of an appeal over a points deduction which could yet change the picture.

Leicester City and Ipswich Town have automatically been promoted to the Premier League. Leeds United, Southampton, West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City compete in the playoffs for one more place.

LaLiga

Title: Real Madrid (84, 34) were crowned champions on Saturday when they won and Barcelona (73, 34) lost.

- Stream all LaLiga games live on ESPN+ (US only)

Champions League (4): Real Madrid and Barca have now been joined by Girona (74, 34), who beat Barca to move into second on Saturday.

The gap in the two-horse race for fourth place widened to six points last weekend with Atlético Madrid (67, 34) winning at home to Athletic Club (61, 34) -- and both won this weekend.

Europa League (2): Athletic won the Copa del Rey and are almost certain to finish in the top six, which means the place for the cup moves over to the league -- fifth and sixth will enter the UEL.

Either Atlético or Athletic will take one of the places, with Real Sociedad (54, 34) sitting in sixth. La Real have Barcelona coming up next and are being chased by Real Betis (52, 34) and Valencia (47, 34).

Real Sociedad also have to play both Valencia and Betis in their final three fixtures.

Europa Conference League (1): This will go to seventh in the league, between Real Sociedad, Real Betis and Valencia, while Villarreal (45, 34) and Getafe (43, 34) are outside bets.

Relegation (3): Almería (17, 34), with two victories all season, were relegated last weekend. Granada (21, 34) are all but down and it will be confirmed if Mallorca win at home to Las Palmas on Saturday lunchtime, or if Granada fail to beat Real Madrid later that day.

That effectively leaves one relegation spot to be decided, with Cádiz (26, 34) needing to catch Mallorca (32, 34).

Bundesliga

Title: Bayer Leverkusen (84, 32) have already secured the first championship in their history.

- Stream all Bundesliga games live on ESPN+ (US only)

Champions League (5): The Bundesliga has sealed an extra place through the European Performance Spot, which sends the team in fifth to the UCL too.

And we already know who will fill the top five positions. Joining Leverkusen will be Bayern Munich (69, 32), VfB Stuttgart (67,32), RB Leipzig (63, 32) and Borussia Dortmund (60, 32).

However, if Dortmund win the UCL and finish fifth, then sixth in the Bundesliga will also be in the UCL -- one to keep an eye on if Dortmund get past PSG in the semifinals (Dortmund won the first leg 1-0.)

Europa League (2): There are a few complicating factors to the UEL places, which right now go to sixth in the league and the winners of the DFB Pokal.

The final of the DFB Pokal on May 25 (stream live on ESPN+, U.S. only) sees Leverkusen take on Kaiserslautern who, incredibly, could win the cup and be relegated to the third division, as they sit one point above the 2. Bundesliga relegation zone. If Kaiserslautern pull off an almighty shock and do what no other team has done all season (beat Leverkusen), the league slots will be unaltered. If Leverkusen win the final, sixth and seventh will get a place in the UEL.

But right now only sixth place is certain of a UEL place. That's held by Eintracht Frankfurt (45, 32), who are chased by SC Freiburg (41, 32), TSG Hoffenheim (40, 32), and in ninth FC Augsburg (39, 32).

If Dortmund win the UCL and finish fifth, Germany will surrender that place in the UEL.

Europa Conference League (1): At present, Freiburg hold the UECL place in seventh, but depending on the cup winners it could be eighth that takes it.

This is also a battle between Eintracht Frankfurt, SC Freiburg, FC Augsburg and Hoffenheim. Yet results at the weekend have brought other teams into the mix. Heidenheim (38, 32), Werder Bremen (38, 32) and VfL Wolfsburg (37, 32) in 12th could yet make a late run for eighth, if the UECL places drop down to there.

Relegation (2+1): Two teams are relegated, and third-bottom takes on third place in the 2. Bundesliga in a playoff for the right to play in the top flight.

The relegation of SV Darmstadt 98 (17, 32) was confirmed last weekend.

FC Cologne (24, 32) are second-bottom and must now win their final two games to have any chance of getting out of it, though realistically the very best they can hope for is the relegation playoff -- and even that's a stretch with a five-point gap and two games remaining. Cologne host Union Berlin on Saturday.

That seems to leave four clubs trying to avoid the playoff place: Mainz (29, 32) are in it right now, then it's Union Berlin (30, 32), VfL Bochum (33, 32) and Borussia Monchengladbach (33, 32).

Serie A

Title: Internazionale (89, 35) wrapped up the Scudetto last month as runaway champions.

Champions League (5): Like Germany, Italy has secured an extra place in next year's competition through its clubs' performance in Europe this season, meaning at least five clubs will qualify.

Inter will be joined by AC Milan (71, 35), while Juventus (66, 35) and Bologna (64, 35), third and fourth respectively, are well placed with a big gap to sixth.

Atalanta (60, 34) are in fifth and have a game in hand so look to be the strongest best. AS Roma (60, 35) cannot be ruled out, followed by and Lazio (56, 35). It's likely these three clubs are battling out for the extra UCL slot though Lazio are rank outsiders.

In a quirk of the new regulations for next season, if either Roma or Atalanta win the UEL this season and finish outside the top four then Italy will have six clubs in the UCL -- the top four, the UEL title-holders and the European Performance Spot. So, finishing in sixth might yet be enough for UCL football.

Europa League (2): Atalanta face Juventus in the final of the Coppa Italia, which means it's almost certain that sixth and seventh will qualify for the UEL.

Roma, Atalanta and Lazio are the main contenders, but there's still hope for Napoli (51, 35) and especially Fiorentina (50, 34) with their game in hand.

If either AS Roma or Atalanta win the UEL to qualify for the UCL and finish sixth or seventh, Italy will surrender that place in the UEL.

Europa Conference League (1): Eighth place will almost certainly enter the UECL, which is currently held by Napoli but could be filled by Atalanta, Lazio, Napoli or Torino (47, 35)

If either Roma or Atalanta win the UEL to qualify for the UCL and finish eighth, Italy will surrender its place in the UECL.

Relegation (3): Salernitana (15, 35) are relegated.

Sassuolo (29, 35) picked up a shock win over Inter on Saturday to drag themselves back into contention. Udinese (30, 35) are third bottom, with Empoli (32, 35), Frosinone (32, 35), Cagliari (33, 35) and Hellas Verona (34, 35) just above the drop zone.

Ligue 1

Title: Paris Saint-Germain (70, 31) secured the title last weekend when AS Monaco lost at Lyon.

Champions League (3+1): France gets three automatic places, with fourth place entering the UCL in the third qualifying round. PSG have already booked one place.

There's a fierce battle for the two other guaranteed places but Monaco (61, 32) have almost claimed one of them. Brest (57, 32) and Lille (55, 32) appear to be battling it out for third. Nice (51, 31) have a game in hand and could yet challenge for fourth.

If Marseille, who are in seventh, win the UEL then France will have five teams in the UCL.

Europa League (2): Nice are well placed to take one if they don't make the top four.

In sixth (as it stands a UECL place) and hoping to catch Nice are Lens (49, 32) though they have played a game more.

PSG take on Lyon in the final of the Coupe de France on May 25, and a victory for Les Parisiens will send sixth place into the UEL too.

Europa Conference League (1): Much will depend on who wins the Coupe de France. If it's Lyon, who are in seventh (47, 32), then sixth may still be the UECL place.

However, if PSG win the cup, or Lyon do so and finish sixth, then seventh gets the UECL place. Lens, Lyon, Stade Rennais in eighth (45, 32) and Marseille in ninth (44, 31) could all finish in seventh and be waiting on the cup final.

If Marseille win the UEL and finish in a European position, France will surrender the place for the league position.

Relegation (2+1): Two teams are relegated, with third-bottom facing a playoff with a team from the second division to remain in Ligue 1.

Clermont Foot (25, 32) are bottom and a 4-1 defeat to Monaco on Saturday leaves them with the relegation playoff at best. They are still just alive, however, after Metz lost to Stade Rennais.

The second automatic relegation place is between Lorient (26, 32) and Metz (29, 32).

Le Havre AC (32, 32) and Nantes (33, 32) could still be overtaken by Metz and dumped into the relegation playoff.