Multiple Cup Finals and more European seasons come to an end. Despite only one match left, there’s still so much to play for!
The chance for glory for some teams awaits this weekend with a number of Cup Finals to look forward to, but equally the inevitable despair for others who end as runners-up. The same can be reflected in the final day action of some European leagues where teams will be joyous at surviving relegation, whereas others will feel the heartbreak of demotion. There’s so much at stake this weekend, one match can determine the short-term future of so many teams!
Not sure who to take a punt on? Then read our preview and place your bets wisely!
Contents:
- FA Cup – Final – Manchester City vs Manchester United
- DFB-Pokal – Final – Leipzig vs Eintracht Frankfurt
- LaLiga – Final Day Relegation Battle
- Serie A – What’s left to decide?
FA Cup – Final – Manchester City vs Manchester United
The city of Manchester is on their way to Wembley as 6-time FA Cup winners Manchester City take on bitter rivals and 12-time champions Manchester United. Can you believe that, despite the size of these two clubs, and the 142-year history of the FA Cup, this will be the VERY FIRST Final between these two teams in the competition!
Manchester City would want nothing more than to beat their neighbours. Not only would it give bragging rights in the city, but it would mean Pep Guardiola’s men are well on their way to the best possible treble in English football: Premier League champions, and both FA Cup and UEFA Champions League Finals to come. Full focus on this encounter, first, as the Cityzens will play in their 12th FA Cup Final (previously 6 wins, 5 losses), alternating between victory and defeat in their last 4 Finals. Their last such example ended in victory (2019), so can they end this inconsistent pattern and win consecutive FA Cup Final appearances? With Erling Haaland’s first appearance at Wembley approaching, can he add to his already-frightening 52 goals this season?
It may be that these two have never faced in an FA Cup Final, but they’ve certainly clashed many times previously in the earlier rounds. The H2H swings in Manchester United’s favour, they’ve won 5 of the last 6 FA Cup encounters against City, but the last one came all the way back in January 2012, with United still at the height of their abilities and Man City just starting to emerge as a competitive force. So much has changed since then, but in this 11-year period both teams have only managed one FA Cup trophy each! It’s a chance for both sides to add to their trophy cabinet again this season, Man City with the Premier League and Man United with the League Cup, a positive first year for Erik ten Hag who has his eye on defeating United’s rivals for the Wembley glory once again!
DFB-Pokal – Final – Leipzig vs Eintracht Frankfurt
More cup final action this weekend! The Olympiastadion in Berlin awaits both Leipzig and Frankfurt for German DFB-Pokal Final, a competition in which Leipzig are making a name for themselves. The Saxony side have now made the Pokal Final in 4 of the last 5 seasons, near ever-presents and yet it was only last season where they finally managed to lift the trophy for the first time in their still so infant history. Runners-up medals in 2019 and 2021 only made their triumph in 2022 all the sweeter, a penalty shoot-out victory against Freiburg, coincidentally the team they beat in this year’s Semi-Final to make their way to Berlin to, on this occasion, face Frankfurt. It may be a similarly nervy encounter like the last Final, especially when we see 4 of the last 6 H2H encounters between Leipzig and Frankfurt have ended in draws, but Marco Rose’s men come flying into this match with 9 victories in their last 10 games in all competitions. This is their third-consecutive DFB-Pokal Final, can they lift the trophy in back-to-back years?
Coincidentally, the season before Leipzig made their first DFB-Pokal Final appearance, it was Frankfurt that were crowned champions! That 2018 triumph was their most recent trophy until becoming UEFA Europa League champions in 2022, and another major cup final appearance here for Oliver Glasner marks a memorable two-year stint in charge for the Austrian manager, who announced that this Pokal Final will be his last match as Frankfurt boss. Can he end it on a high? Die Adler finished 7th in the Bundesliga (Leipzig 3rd) which at the bare minimum guarantees Frankfurt a place in the Europa Conference League next season, but victory here in the DFB-Pokal would buy them a ticket to the Europa League instead. There are some players who are part of this season’s squad that weren’t present for Frankfurt’s Europa League triumph last year, namely striker Randal Kolo Muani, who searches for his first piece of silverware with die Adler and equally will strive for the DFB-Pokal Top Scorer accolade, currently 1st (6 goals) ahead of Leipzig’s Timo Werner (5 goals).
Don’t miss either of these cup finals!
LaLiga – Final Day Relegation Battle
Whilst there is an intriguing last-day race for 7th position and UEFA Europa Conference League qualification (only 1 point separates 7th and 11th place), the best of the LaLiga drama can be seen in the relegation battle! If anything, the scrap at the bottom of the table is even more congested (compared to the UECL fight), any 1 of 6 teams can still be relegated in that final vacant spot (18th), with 1 point separating as many as 5 teams (13th to 17th)!
Essentially, everything rests on Valladolid (18th – 39 points). If they lose, then all the 5 teams above them (Cádiz, Getafe, Valencia, Almería, Celta) are guaranteed safety. However, of all the games for Valladolid to have, an encounter against fellow relegation battlers Getafe likely blows this final day wide open! Better yet, los Pucelanos are at home, and who can forget their victory last time at the Estadio José Zorrilla against Barcelona (3-1). All they need to do is beat Getafe, and safety is theirs. However, Getafe are in flying form when it matters most, 2 consecutive victories and 3 games unbeaten has seen los Azulones catapult themselves out of the drop zone (now 14th) and so near to safety. Indeed, they could lose here but would need to hope that other results elsewhere go in their favour.
Whilst Getafe have hit form at the right time, Celta have experienced the complete opposite. In early April they appeared safe, but only 1 victory in Celta’s last 8 league games (1 draw, 6 defeats) has seen los Celestes chute down the table, now in 17th, 1 point above the drop zone, and now needing to face LaLiga champions Barcelona in their last game. An almighty task, but they’ll be grateful the encounter comes at Balaídos, where Celta have only lost 1 of their last 7 LaLiga meetings against Barcelona (won 3, drawn 3). Relegation for Celta would end their 11-year stay in LaLiga, but if Valencia were to go down, the shock would be even greater. Valencia have only been relegated ONCE in their entire history (1985-86), LaLiga regulars with numerous titles to their name and yet they’ve been dragged into the relegation scrap. Currently 2 points above the drop zone, los Che travel to Real Betis for their final match at a stadium (Estadio Benito Villamarín) where they won their last trophy back in 2018-19. Can this stadium now be the place for their heartbreak?
Lastly, both Cádiz and Almería are arguably in the most enviable position. Placed 13th and 16th respectively, these two sides will have their final matches against the two teams that are already relegated. Cádiz will play against Elche, Almería will play against Espanyol and, whilst you can say that works in favour of these two teams, they will both be playing away from home and there’s every possibility that Elche and Espanyol want to end their dismal seasons on a high. What’s more, Cádiz are only 2 points above the relegation zone, Almería just 1, so the pressure remains on these two sides despite having two arguably easier fixtures!
With so many teams still battling to avoid the drop, it’s anyone’s guess how this thrilling LaLiga season will end!
Serie A – What’s left to decide?
It was only a few weeks ago when the race for the Serie A Top 4 was tightly contested between a number of teams and now, going into the final matchday, those positions are confirmed. Napoli, Lazio, Inter and Milan make the Top 4, but there’s still an ongoing battle as to who will finish in the remaining European spaces (5th-7th). At the very least, we know Atalanta, Roma and Juventus are guaranteed these positions, but we don’t know exactly where they will finish!
For both Atalanta (5th) and Roma (6th), the added bonus is both teams will be playing at home. Atalanta will welcome Monza, a team that has impressed all season long but has nothing left to play for (midtable finish), so can that work in Gian Piero Gasperini’s favour? La Dea have won 6 of their last 7 encounters against Monza, and another here would guarantee Atalanta 5th place. However, if they slip up and fail to win, both Roma and Juventus will want to pounce. For Roma, they need to bounce back immediately after a heart-breaking Europa League Final defeat midweek, via a penalty shoot-out, against Sevilla. Favourably for José Mourinho’s men, they will be at home against Spezia, a team fighting for survival at the bottom of the table, but a winless run of 7 Serie A matches for the Giallorossi (drawn 4, lost 3) must come to an end here to guarantee Top 6 at the bare minimum.
Of course, 5th and 6th earn you Europa League football for next season, 7th for Europa Conference League. Juventus currently occupy 7th place, and constant changes to their punishment for financial irregularities (15-point deduction, since overturned, and now a new punishment of a 10-point deduction) has seen them thrown up and down the table. If they want to advance any further up the rankings, they need to hope that Atalanta and/or Roma drop points, and that the Bianconeri win away from home against Udinese. Juventus have won 9 of their last 11 meetings against Udinese, and they need another here!
What about the action at the bottom of the table? Only one relegation spot is left for teams to avoid, and that battle lies solely with Spezia and Verona. They’re both joint on 31 points, but Spezia have the advantage (17th, Verona are 18th) due to a superior head-to-head record this season, but a tricky trip to Roma awaits in their last game. As long as they match Verona’s result, Spezia will survive. So, in that regard, Verona have it all to do to turn things around and avoid ending their 4-year spell in Serie A. However, they have an equally tricky final game, an away trip to 4th-placed Milan. Verona have only beaten the Rossoneri 3 times, never away from home, but now would be the best time to end that. They need to better Spezia’s result to survive!