The drama intensifies. Some leagues are at their penultimate match, some with 3 or 4 to go. This is the nail-biting run-in!
In terms of weeks remaining, we only have three. Three weeks are all that stand between now and knowing everything. We will learn so much, there still remains a tonne of questions on our minds as to how teams will fare for the rest of the season, and these questions will soon be answered. Some leagues will be catching up on extra fixtures, some leagues have 3 games remaining, and some just 2! Is there enough time for teams to achieve what they want?
Not sure who to take a punt on? Then read our preview and place your bets wisely!
Contents:
- Premier League – Newcastle United vs Leicester City
- Bundesliga – Hertha vs VfL Bochum
- LaLiga – Sevilla vs Real Betis
- Serie A – Napoli vs Inter
Premier League – Newcastle United vs Leicester City
Newcastle are so close now. Just one more win guarantees them a place in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in exactly two decades, a team revolutionised under Eddie Howe who seems to be bringing the good times back to Tyneside. On paper at least, the encouragement is there to beat a struggling Leicester side, especially in your own home at St James’ Park, the location for Newcastle’s recent impressive 4-1 victory over Brighton. The Magpies have only lost 2 games at home all season (won 11, drawn 5) and can boast the second-best defence in the league in terms of home matches (only 14 conceded). A real fortress that has nearly got them confirmed in the Top 4, and a repeat of the reverse fixture earlier in the season (a 3-0 win for Newcastle away from home against Leicester) will confirm their ticket to the UCL next campaign. Striker Callum Wilson is firing on all cylinders right now, 8 goals in his last 6 PL matches and he won’t want to stop here.
The situation is bleak for Leicester. With Southampton already having relegation confirmed, Leicester are next on the firing line in 19th and, if they lose here and Everton win against Wolves, the 2015-16 Premier League Champions will be relegated. They need a small miracle to turn this around now, the strong team that has looked demotivated for a number of weeks now, never truly believing they would be relegated and yet here they are. Just 1 win in their last 14 PL matches doesn’t inspire confidence for these last 2 matches of the season, but something needs to change. Winless in their last 7 away games (drawn 2, lost 5), it won’t get any easier travelling to high-flying Newcastle, made worse when we see that the Foxes have lost 3 of their last 4 PL encounters against the Magpies (won the other). This is more defeats than they suffered in the previous 10 H2H meetings! With this match being the last of the matchday, Leicester might already know that failure to win could spell the end of their Premier League tenure.
Bundesliga – Hertha vs VfL Bochum
The penultimate matchday of the Bundesliga has arrived, and it simply could not be more definitive for either team: if Hertha fail to win, they are relegated. If Bochum win, they guarantee safety for next season!
Hertha cannot even afford a draw, the gap would just be too big to make up. This late in the season, with 5 points to catch up within 2 games, it has never been done before in Bundesliga history. It’s win or bust for Pál Dárdai’s men, the Hungarian now in his third stint as manager of the Berlin side, twice in two years with both of these seasons experiencing the threat of relegation. Hertha avoided the drop last campaign thanks to a relegation play-off victory but, to reach that position here (16th), they will need to win both of their games and hope that other results work in their favour. One issue, Die Alte Dame have not managed to win back-to-back games throughout the entirety of this season, and arrive at this encounter against Bochum having just won 1 of their last 6 (lost the other 5). To stand any chance of a miraculous survival, wins are desperately needed, and they can take some solace in knowing that they’ve not lost any of their last 13 home games against Bochum in all competitions (won 7, drawn 6). Of course, a draw won’t be enough.
Hertha and Bochum are the two sides with the most defeats in the league this season (19 each), but Bochum are in a healthier position of 15th (the first automatically safe position) thanks to 3 more victories than their opponents (Bochum 9, Hertha 6). One of those came in Bochum’s most recent match, a thrilling 3-2 victory at home against Augsburg that lifted Thomas Letsch’s men out of the drop zone and, for the time being, safe. With a tough final match of the season against Leverkusen, it may be that Bochum see this Hertha match as their last source for points and, to achieve victory, they’ll need to improve on an away form that has been lacking throughout the campaign: die Unabsteigbaren have won only 2 games on the road all season (drawn 2, lost 12). One thing they will be wary of however is their leaky defence, 71 goals conceded is the worst out of every team in the league, along with holding the worst goal difference (-35). A defeat would only increase that, but also blow open the relegation battle once more!
LaLiga – Sevilla vs Real Betis
The 139th edition of El Gran Derbi awaits this weekend and, after a season of viewing Sevilla as a potential relegation candidate, they are suddenly in contention to qualify for European football! Los Nervionenses were seriously concerned about relegation as late as the start of April, but the introduction of manager José Luis Mendilibar has changed absolutely everything: 6 victories from his 8 LaLiga matches in charge (1 draw, 1 loss) has seen Sevilla launch themselves into the top half of the table (10th) and, better yet, they are only 1 point away from a Top 7 position and qualification for European football. An astonishing run, and they’ll look to continue that in the derby thanks to an even more impressive run against their Andalusian neighbours: Sevilla are unbeaten in all of the last 8 Gran Derbi encounters in LaLiga (won 6, drawn 2). Better yet, with this derby at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, it’s also worth noting Sevilla have won all of their last 4 home derbies, only once in their history winning 5 in-a-row, and adding to that tally here would remarkably keep their European hopes alive for next season.
As for Real Betis, they won’t be concerned about any teams catching them up (currently 6th, 7 points ahead of 7th with 4 games to go), but they will certainly set their sights on the team above them, Villarreal (5th, just 2 points ahead of Betis). They’ve kept hopes alive of finishing higher in the table thanks to a recovery in form, getting out of a difficult period of 3 games without a win (1 draw, 2 losses) thanks to back-to-back victories in their most recent 2 matches. Manuel Pellegrini’s men have already managed three wins in-a-row twice this season, and a third here would come with the added bonus of breaking this unwanted winless spell in derby matches. Whilst los Verdiblancos did win a Gran Derbi last season, that came in the Copa del Rey. Their last LaLiga derby triumph came in the 2018-19 season, their last away derby win in 2017-18, and since then have lost the following 4 at the Sánchez Pizjuán. Betis will probably have hoped to face Sevilla during their struggling period, rather than the resurgence we have seen in recent weeks, but let’s not forget the power of a derby, anything can happen!
Serie A – Napoli vs Inter
The newly crowned Serie A champions Napoli are understandably still in party mode. So much so, that their drop in form could play into the hands of Inter who need just 1 more win to guarantee a place in the Top 4. There might be something else on Inter’s mind, however… a UEFA Champions League Final to come!
Since Napoli’s 1-1 draw against Udinese which was enough to see them become Serie A champions for just the third time in their history, I Partenopei and the whole city of Naples haven’t stopped celebrating. Understandably, of course, but you could argue that Luciano Spalletti’s men took their foot off the pedal a long time before that match in Udine: so often known for their goalscoring threat throughout the entire campaign, Napoli haven’t managed to score more than once in any of their last 8 matches in all competitions (in total, just 5 goals scored in these 8 games). Since the beginning of April the Neapolitans have only collected 12 points in Serie A (8 games, won 3, drawn 3, lost 2), a far cry from the form that they showed in creating this unassailable lead at the top of the table, but for a big match at home you can assume they will want to be back at their best again. After all, Napoli have lost only 1 of their last 16 home league matches against Inter (won 9, drawn 6). They can play without fear or worry, and sometimes that’s when you fear a team the most!
Whilst Napoli have had a drop in form, Inter have seen the exact opposite. It’s now 5 consecutive victories in Serie A for the Nerazzurri, 8 wins in a row in all competitions, a run that has seen them reach the UEFA Champions League Final for the first time since 2010. Just last month, this season for Simone Inzaghi’s men would have been seen as a huge disappointment but now, an improved run in Serie A alongside Champions League and Coppa Italia Finals to come, the campaign could become one to remember. In this 8-match period, Inter have scored 22 goals and conceded only 3, both attacking prowess and defensive solidity that they’ll want to continue here against Napoli if they wish to confirm their Top 4 spot as early as possible. A repeat of the reverse fixture would be welcome to them, Inter beat Napoli at the San Siro 1-0 earlier in the season, extending their unbeaten run against this opponent to 7 league matches (won 5, drawn 2). However, with only 1 win in the last 16 in Naples, it goes to show how statistics can tell completely contradicting stories!