10/05 - 20:00
This is the final weekend in which all six of Europe’s major leagues will be taking place at the same time until the start of next season as three of the leagues come to an end.
France, Italy and Spain will be finishing their 2022/23 seasons on the first weekend of June, whilst England, Germany and Portugal all conclude over the next few days. As ever is the case, this is a weekly look ahead to the standout matches in Europe’s major leagues this upcoming weekend…
BUNDESLIGA
Borussia Dortmund vs Mainz 05 | 14:30 on Saturday
All nine Bundesliga matches have something riding on them this weekend but this one is the most crucial as it will determine the next Bundesliga winners.
Under the management of Edin Terzic, Dortmund took advantage of Bayern Munich’s defeat at home to RB Leipzig by winning at Augsburg and returning to the top-of-the-table. Now, all they have to do to end Bayern’s ten-year dominance at the top of the Bundesliga is defeat Mainz, one of the few teams with nothing to play for, at the Westfalenstadion.
Mainz’s relationship with Dortmund this century has been quite a profound one with two of Dortmund’s most famous and successful coaches of all time, Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel, moving from Mainz to Dortmund. It will be fitting for Mainz to be present on the day the Bundesliga title is reclaimed but the visitors are unlikely to lay down.
LA LIGA
Cadiz vs Celta Vigo | 18:00 on Sunday
With just two games of the 2022/23 La Liga campaign to go, this is a huge match down at the bottom-of-the-table with both sides in the relegation battle.
Cadiz come into this on the back of a 2-0 defeat away to Villarreal in their most recent outing, during the midweek. The Andalusians have won one and lost three of their last four matches as they sit just outside of the bottom three and the relegation places. They are above Real Valladolid on goal difference.
Celta Vigo started badly but replaced Eduardo Coudet with Carlos Carvalhal half-way through the campaign. The Galicians have endured a horrible few months, though, with a 1-1 draw at home to Girona in midweek extending their winless run of form to five matches and it is just one win in ten. They are two points ahead of Cadiz this weekend.
LIGUE 1
Lille vs Nantes | 20:00 on Saturday
There are two weeks left in the French Ligue 1 campaign and this match has a lot of significance at both ends of the table with both needing victories.
Paulo Fonseca’s Lille begin the penultimate round of fixtures sitting fifth in the table, occupying the UEFA Europa Conference League qualification spot. The top three and the UEFA Champions League spots have long gone but they remain just two points behind Monaco in the UEFA Europa League place but just one point ahead of Stade Rennais.
Last season, Nantes won the Coupe de France and then reached the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League this season, as well as being runners’ up in the cup, too. However, the visitors could well fall into the second-tier as they begin the weekend having won just six of their 36 Ligue 1 matches and sit in the bottom four and the relegation places, winless in 13.
PREMIER LEAGUE
Everton vs AFC Bournemouth | 16:30 on Sunday
There have been a few occasions where Everton have nearly gone down and The Toffees will be hoping this is just another nearly moment on the final day this weekend.
Sean Dyche’s Toffees come into this on the back of rescuing a point at Wolverhampton Wanderers, last weekend, with a Yerry Mina equaliser in the 99th minute. If Everton follow that draw up with a victory at home to AFC Bournemouth then they will be safe but any dropped points will allow either Leeds or Leicester to stay up if they defeat Tottenham or West Ham respectively.
Under the management of Gary O’Neil, AFC Bournemouth have performed exceptionally well to avoid relegation with several weeks to go. However, The Cherries’ 1-0 defeat at home to Manchester United last weekend means they have now suffered three successive defeats and they will be keen on avoiding finishing the season with such a whimper.
📊Played in each of the top four tiers (fr. 2000):
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) May 18, 2023
⭐️Blackpool
⭐️Bolton
⭐️Bournemouth
⭐️Bradford
⭐️Brentford
⭐️Brighton
⭐️Cardiff
⭐️Coventry
⭐️Huddersfield
⭐️Hull
⭐️Portsmouth
⭐️Swansea
❓Will @Coventry_City prevent @LutonTown joining the list?#COYH #PUSB #EFLPlayOffs pic.twitter.com/WDRQAMOOZX
PRIMEIRA LIGA
Benfica vs Santa Clara | 18:00 on Saturday
Many would have expected that coming into the final match day of the Primeira Liga season, the title would have been wrapped up some weeks ago, but it hasn’t.
Roger Schmidt’s Benfica have been excellent throughout the 2022/23 campaign, in both the Portuguese top-flight and in Europe, reaching the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. However, a mid-April blip cost them a shot at the UEFA Champions League semis and has kept reigning champions Porto in the title race.
If they defeat their upcoming opponents, Santa Clara, though, they will regain the Primeira Liga title. The visitors have already had their relegation mathematically confirmed, despite suffering just one defeat in their last four matches as the club from the Azores seek to finish their spell at the top table with a flourish.
SERIE A
Juventus vs Milan | 19:45 on Sunday
This is always a massive game but developments at the start of the week have made this an absolutely pivotal clash with two games of the Serie A season to go.
On Monday evening, Juventus were sanctioned with a new ten-point points deduction, despite having their 15 point penalty quashed last month. Those ten points saw The Old Lady fall from third to seventh and then Massimiliano Allegri’s side backed that up with a 4-1 hammering at the hands of Empoli, making top four football near impossible.
If they do manage to claw back some points from that deduction, though, they will have to win both of their remaining matches to stay in the top four hunt. The team that is fourth and has benefitted from Juve’s plight is Stefano Pioli’s AC Milan. The Rossoneri’s 3-0 aggregate defeat to Inter in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals was followed by a 5-1 thrashing of relegated Sampdoria.
