End of the Season: What to watch in Europe
By Jim James
It’s mid-April now, and with most of the leagues in their last 5-ish games, the Champions League at the Semi Final stage and most domestic competitions at around the same point, not much is decided yet despite this late point. In this post I’ll explain the storylines in the last month and a half of the 2021-22 season.
1: Liverpool vs Man City in the Premier League
After a 2-2 thriller last weekend, the Premier League title is still undecided. Man City holds a one-point advantage on Liverpool with 7 games to go. The teams play midweek due to a FA Cup game that conflicts the schedule, but I predict that this will go down to the wire. A conflicting Champions League race for both sides will add another twist to this matchup, this is certainly one of the best races in the City-Liverpool rivalry of the last 5 years since 2018-19.
2: 3-way battle in Serie A
AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Napoli are all battling for the title in Serie A. Milan are looking to end an 11-year drought, Inter Milan are looking to cement themselves as the new Serie A titans following a decline from Juventus (Whose battle with Roma for the 4th spot is a great undercard by the way), and Napoli are looking to end a 32-year drought. AC Milan currently hold the advantage but with 5-6 games to go there is still everything to be won and lost.
3: Top 4 races in Premier League and La Liga
The Premier League Top 4 race is back to being wide open with Arsenal and Spurs losing and Man United winning, and West Ham seems to be out of it. However, Arsenal have the same amount of points as United and a game in hand, which if they win they will be on the same amount of points as 4th place Spurs. Will Arsenal qualify for their first UCL in 5 years? Will Spurs return to the competition where they were runners up in 2019 or will they be classically Spursy and bottle it? Will Ronaldo carry United to Top 4 and make himself immortal for United fans? Then there is the La Liga race, where Atlético Madrid could have a shock Europa League Qualification, with Barcelona, Sevilla, and Real Madrid safe in the top 3, the 4th spot is the only one still up for grabs. After a shock loss last week, Atlético Madrid is now tied on points with 5th place Betis and could fall out of the race in the last few games. Sociedad could also provide a late season push for 4th.
4: Domestic Cups
The FA Cup Semi Final 1 was played today, with Liverpool besting Manchester City 3-2 after a failed comeback attempt by the Cityzens, however the 2nd spot is tbd with Chelsea playing Crystal Palace tomorrow. The Coppa Italia 2nd leg of the semi finals are midweek, with Juventus 1-0 up on Fiorentina, and the Milan derby scoreless after the first leg. The Copa del Rey final is next week between Real Betis and Valencia, and the DFB Pokal featuring 4 underdog teams with Dortmund and Bayern out, and could see 2nd tier Hamburg winning it.
5: Champions League
Lastly, of course, the Champions League. The Semi Finals start in 1.5 weeks, the last week of April, and the 2nd leg the following week. The final takes place right near the end of May/start of June, and is the closer for the season.
There you have it. This last while will be jam-packed with action and trophies, and we’ll need that month to catch out breath before the transfer window. I’m Jim James, until next time.