A European Cup Final, a Promotion/Relegation Play-Off and the Premier League season review!
We may be starting to see the completion of some of Europe’s biggest leagues, but don’t think for one second that the drama will come to an end! We have the first of three European Finals to look forward to over the next few weeks, starting with the Europa League between a competition veteran and a reigning European champion. Elsewhere, whilst the Bundesliga season has come to an end, we still have the Promotion/Relegation Play-Off to look forward to, and both teams will know that a place in Germany’s top-flight next season, from their current situations, will hold just as much importance as winning a Final! We also bring a review of the Premier League season and, whilst many leagues’ conclusions will shortly follow, the summer months will still be action-packed with the sport we love.
Not sure who to take a punt on? Then read our preview and place your bets wisely!
Contents:
- UEFA Europa League – Final – Sevilla vs Roma
- Bundesliga – Promotion/Relegation Play-Off – 1st Leg – Stuttgart vs Hamburger SV
- 2022-23 Premier League Review
UEFA Europa League – Final – Sevilla vs Roma
The stage is set in Budapest for a UEFA Europa League Final between a true veteran of the competition, and a current reigning European champion!
Sevilla are masters of the Europa League. They’re the side who’ve lifted this trophy the most (6 occasions), at least twice as many as any other team, 4 of which came in a 7-year period (2014-2020). It’s 6 trophies, and incredibly only 6 Finals, can they keep their record going of winning every Europa League Final they appear in? To do so, they’ll need to beat Roma, where the only previous encounter between these two coincidentally came in the Europa League back in 2019-20… the very season in which Sevilla were most recently the champions! It was a 2-0 Round of 16 victory for los Nervionenses back then which helped them on their way to the Final, ultimately beating another Italian opponent (Inter) to lift the trophy. As for this campaign, since dropping down from the Champions League, the Andalusians have navigated the Europa League knockout rounds well, eliminating some big teams, but that has largely been thanks to home form. As a result, Sevilla haven’t won a European match outside of Spain in their last 13 attempts. Whilst away from Spain, the neutral venue of Budapest offers a level playing field for both giants. They eliminated Italian opposition in the Semi-Finals, beating Juventus 3-2 on aggregate, the winner scored by former Roma man, Erik Lamela!
Roma are seemingly working their way through the European competitions. By being crowned champions of the inaugural Europa Conference League last year, they earned a place in this year’s Europa League. If they win this Final, they earn a place in the Champions League, and that will be their only method of reaching Europe’s greatest competition given that they’re mathematically unable to finish in the Top 4 of Serie A this season. A winless run of 7 league matches is a stark contrast to their Europa League journey, and perhaps shows the priority José Mourinho is giving to this Final. We’ve mentioned Sevilla’s struggles away from their homeland, and Roma are finding similar issues: the Giallorossi have not won any of their last 4 European games outside of Italy, so a Final at the neutral venue in Budapest will be a welcome feature for both teams. With a victory here, Mourinho would earn his 6th major European trophy, and he may do it through the way he knows best, defensively: through their knockout stage journey, Roma have kept 5 clean sheets in their last 7 such knockout matches. Can they earn back-to-back European titles here, against the Europa League experts?
Bundesliga – Promotion/Relegation Play-Off – 1st Leg – Stuttgart vs Hamburger SV
There’s no trophy at the end of it, but victory for either of these teams in this Bundesliga Promotion/Relegation Play-Off will be just as important as any Final. After all, it either keeps one team from avoiding relegation, or it promotes the other team to the top-flight!
This season could be even more dramatic than the last for Stuttgart. The 2021-22 season ended in delirium for die Schwaben as they scored in the 92nd minute to prevent them going into the Promotion/Relegation Play-Off and instead automatically survived. This season, 2022-23, didn’t see such dramatics: had they beaten Hoffenheim at home, they would have survived again, but Sebastian Hoeneß’s men could only manage a 1-1 draw which takes them to this Play-Off. A two-legged affair separates them from remaining in the Bundesliga, and being demoted to the Zweite Bundesliga. Stuttgart returned to Germany’s top-flight 3 years ago and they certainly don’t plan on dropping back down, but relegation could already have been confirmed had it not been for the introduction of Hoeneß. Prior to Hoeneß joining in April, Stuttgart were on a run of just 1 win in 12 (drawn 3, lost 8) that saw them bottom of the table, but a turnaround under the new manager sees Stuttgart arriving at this Play-Off with just 1 defeat in 8 matches (won 3, drawn 4), form that should bring encouragement to the fans that welcome them at home for the 1st Leg.
As for Hamburger SV, they must feel well and truly cursed. Since being relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time in their history in 2017-18, Hamburg have narrowly missed the Play-Off from their first 3 seasons (4th place every time) and then, when they did reach the Play-Off last season, they eventually lost to Hertha Berlin. Imagine the pain, then, when it appeared HSV would be automatically promoted this season before Heidenheim, from out of nowhere, scored in the 93rd and 99th minute against Jahn Regensburg to get themselves promoted, and push Hamburg down the table into 3rd. Total heartbreak for players and fans who were already celebrating promotion, but those late goals mean another Play-Off beckons. Nonetheless, Tim Walter’s men and fans should look for the positives going into this match against Stuttgart, HSV have won all of their last 3 matches and finished the Zweite Bundesliga as the team with the most goals scored (70). What’s more, having the crucial 2nd Leg in your own home will be a further boost, and any positive result here at Stuttgart will give even more confidence to Hamburg’s next attempt of returning to the Bundesliga, now 5 years without.
2022-23 Premier League Review
After it seemed like we could have seen a different champion from recent seasons, in the end Man City’s dominance shone through. There’s an air of inevitability with Pep Guardiola’s side, a run of 12 consecutive Premier League victories towards the end of the campaign eventually saw the Cityzens overtake Arsenal to make it 3 Premier League titles in-a-row. Plenty responsible for the success, but perhaps none greater than summer signing Erling Haaland who blew away nearly every defence that faced him: Haaland ended up scoring 36 goals this campaign, breaking a 29-year record to become the player to score the most Premier League goals in a single season. He did all of that in his first year in English football. With 52 goals in 51 matches in all competitions, Haaland could still add to his tally with Man City looking ahead to both the FA Cup Final and UEFA Champions League Final.
Arsenal broke records too, but mostly unwanted ones. The Gunners set a new record of spending 248 days in 1st Place, but not ending up as champions. However, the season is still seen as a huge success for Mikel Arteta’s men, it was never expected this year that they would compete in a title race but this will only bring confidence for next season as they try to go one better and potentially lift the PL trophy for the first time since 2003-04. Manchester United and Newcastle United complete the Top 4, with Man United returning to Champions League football after a one-year absence, but Newcastle will return to it after an incredible 20-year wait.
The top of the table was already determined before the last matchday of the season but, in terms of the relegation battle, so much was still undecided. Southampton were already demoted, but Leeds, Leicester City and Everton were battling away to avoid the two vacant relegation spots, with only one surviving. In the end, in dramatic circumstances, Everton finished 17th thanks to a final day victory and avoided relegation. By half-time on the last day, they were relegated, but an eventual 1-0 victory saw the Toffees stay up, with Leicester and Leeds joining Southampton in the Championship next year. Leicester, once 2015-16 Premier League Champions and 2020-21 FA Cup Winners, are out of the top-flight. Replacing them next season are the promoted Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton Town.
Many teams impressed and many disappointed but, if we were to pick some standouts, the overachievers accolade must go to Brighton. The Seagulls, despite losing a number of key players to transfers and indeed manager Graham Potter, navigated the season brilliantly under new manager Roberto De Zerbi and, thanks to a scouting network that has found youth talent from around the globe, they managed to finish 6th and qualify for European football for the first time in their 121-year history.
Coincidentally, the major underachievers were the team that took Graham Potter away from Brighton, and that’s Chelsea. The major headline surrounding Chelsea this season was the simply gigantic amount of money spent in the transfer market, a total of around £530 million in this season alone and, despite all of the signings made, they managed to do the opposite of improve the side. A disastrous season that the Pensioners will want to forget in a heartbeat, with numerous personal unwanted records broken: the lowest number of goals they’ve ever scored in a season (38), the fewest points achieved in a season (44), fewest wins (11), all whilst spending the most they’ve ever spent in a single season. Just one day after the end of the campaign, Chelsea appointed Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager, can he be the man to turn things around?
Another dramatic Premier League campaign draws to a close, but now comes the chance for teams to make their improvements over the next 2 and-a-half months before we are right back with a new season!