What’s at stake in the European run-ins for USMNT players
Just a few weeks remain in most European seasons, and there’s still much to play for among the USMNT players based across the Atlantic. From cup finals to Champions League and Europa qualification to relegation scraps, here’s a rundown of what’s on the line in the final month.
Ups and downs in England
The stage is set for May drama at both ends of the English Premier League, as well as the battle to rise into the topflight from the EFL Championship.
As Arsenal and Manchester City race for the trophy, Gio Reyna and Matt Turner’s Nottingham Forest sits one point above the relegation places with three games left. Forest visits already-relegated Sheffield United this weekend, then plays a home fixture vs Chelsea before a final-day trip to Burnley, which currently occupies 19th place with Luton Town in 18th.
Three wins in their last five, including a huge win over Liverpool, have powered Chris Richards’s Crystal Palace away from danger. Fulham’s USMNT contingent of Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson could play a role in how both title and relegation races turn out, as the Cottagers lock horns with Manchester City in their penultimate game before closing out at Luton Town.
Something similar can be said of Tyler Adams’s Bournemouth as they travel to London to face Arsenal this weekend. The Cherries are now in 10th and aspire to match or surpass their best-ever Premier League season, their 9th-place finish in 2016–17, though Adams has recently been out with a back injury.
One rung down the ladder, two clubs with Yanks on the roster are on course for the promotion playoffs.
With one matchday left in the Championship, Josh Sargent and Norwich City sit 5th and Daryl Dike’s West Brom is one point behind in 6xth. The Baggies will look to beat or draw Preston North End on Saturday in order to ensure that 7th-place Hull City can’t slip ahead of them with a win of their own at relegation-threatened Plymouth Argyle. Though Dike is sidelined with an Achilles injury, he’ll be rooting for his team to book their return to the EPL for the first time since 2021.
The Championship playoffs will pit 6th-place vs 3rd-place and 5th vs 4th in two-legged series set for May 12, May 16 and May 17. The aggregate winners advance to a one-off final, often dubbed ‘soccer’s richest game’ in light of the nine-figure television payday on offer in the EPL, at Wembley Stadium on May 26.
Final shakeout in Germany
Still undefeated in 2023-24, Bayer Leverkusen clinched its first-ever Bundesliga title with a 5-0 win over Werder Bremen on April 14. The eight USMNTers in Germany’s topflight aren’t done yet, though.
Timmy Chandler’s Eintracht Frankfurt sits 6th, which is currently good for a Europa Conference League qualifying slot. Yet with Leverkusen. Bayern Munich, and Borussia Dortmund still alive in the semifinal round of this year’s Champions League and Europa League competitions, and UEFA coefficients looking favorable for Germany, 6th could turn out to be an automatic Conference League spot or even a UEFA Champions League berth, depending on what transpires in the coming weeks.
It’s been a debut season to top all expectations for Heidenheim and Lennard Maloney, who sit in 10th-place heading into a manageable conclusion to the calendar featuring meetings with Mainz, Freiburg, and Koln. In 9th is John Brooks and Hoffenheim, guided by American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, who are now mathematically safe from relegation, a relief after last year’s tense escape.
With bottom club Darmstadt already relegated and Cologne five points back from the promotion-relegation playoff place, a pack of other clubs are working to steer clear of the promotion/relegation playoff that befalls the 16th-place finisher.
Brenden Aaronson and Union Berlin are in that group, now two points above the bottom three. So are Jordan Pefok, Joe Scally, and Borussia Monchengladbach, who just drew 0-0 with Aaronson & Co. Two of Union’s final three opponents, Bochum and Cologne, are also in the relegation picture, setting up two May six-pointers for Die Eisernen. Gladbach has a tougher run-in on paper, visiting Werder Bremen and Stuttgart on either side of a home clash with Eintracht. Yet depending on results elsewhere, it could reach safety as early as this coming weekend with a defeat of Bremen.
Wolfsburg, home of Ulysses Llanez and Kevin Paredes, just climbed a bit further from trouble with a dramatic 2-1 comeback win over Freiburg. Paredes helped fuel the Wolves’ last-gasp rally by drawing the foul that led to a red card for Kiliann Sildillia, and will look to contribute further in their closing slate of Darmstadt (home), Bayern Munich (away), and Mainz (home).
busy in Italy’s home stretch
Inter Milan clinched the Serie A title last week. That leaves Yunus Musah, Christian Pulisic, and AC Milan in 2nd (70 points) and Juventus, home of Weston McKennie and Tim Weah, 3rd (65 points). Both seek to hold off Bologna and Roma in the race for the top runners-up places.
Notably, Italy’s success in UEFA competition has already ensured Serie A of a fifth spot in next season’s Champions League. McKennie and Weah also have the Coppa Italia final to look forward to. Juve will duel Atalanta in Rome on May 15.
Gianluca Busio and Tanner Tessmann have been integral to Venezia’s ambitions of returning to Italy’s top tier. They remain right in the thick of the race for 2nd-place and automatic promotion spot with Friday’s 2-1 victory over Cremonese, where Busio notched an assist on the game-winning goal.
In that regard they are neck-and-neck with Nicholas Gioacchini’s Como, which now holds 2nd-place on 68 points, five back of leaders Parma. Venezia is one point back of Como with three games to go. The Arancioneroverdi faces Catanzaro, FeralpiSalo, and Spezia in its final weeks, while Como tangles with Cittadella, Modena, and Cosenza.
If the Venetian side misses out on second place, it’s already clinched a place in the promotion playoff semifinals, while fifth through eighth place go into a preliminary round. Kristoffer Lund’s Palermo is also in that mix, now situated sixth.
The sprint in Spain
Johnny Cardoso and Real Betis are nestled in 7th-place in La Liga and can still catch Real Sociedad, which is two points ahead of them, for a Europa Conference League qualifier slot. A head-to-head meeting at Estadio Benito Villamarin on May 19 looms large in that regard.
Luca de la Torre’s Celta Vigo also needs some positive results in the final weeks. Celta sits 17th, five points clear of the relegation zone with five matches left to play.
Almeria have already been relegated, and Granada and Cadiz occupy the other two spots at present. It’s not the easiest of run-ins for the Sky Blues, who have Villarreal, Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Granada, and Valencia left on their schedule. Celta is one point behind Mallorca and three back of 15th-place Rayo Vallecano.
In the Segunda Division, Konrad De La Fuente’s Eibar remains in the promotion race, positioned in 3rd-place with five matches left. Spain’s second tier promotes the top two automatically, while third through six compete in a playoff structure similar to England’s.
PSV Yanks close in on Dutch title
After a man-of-the-match performance from Malik Tillman powered PSV to a dominant victory over Heerenveen last week, the Eindhoven side can clinch the Eredivisie championship, its first in six years, with a home win on Sunday vs Sparta Rotterdam. That would mean a league title for USMNT players Tillman, Ricardo Pepi, Sergino Dest, and Richy Ledezma.
Despite hefty contributions from Paxten Aaronson on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt, Vitesse is already assured of relegation from the Dutch first division. Earlier this month the club had 18 points deducted. Taylor Booth’s Utrecht sits in 7th-place and finishes out its season vs Vitesse, Sparta, and AZ Alkmaar.
The outlook in France
Folarin Balogun and AS Monaco are closing in on automatic qualification for the Champions League in Ligue 1. Despite a 3-2 loss to Lyon that snaps its eight-game unbeaten run, Monaco remains in 2nd-place and is already assured of at least a place in the Europa League league stage. Balogun and his teammates are two points ahead of Brest and three in front of Lille, and round out their campaign vs Clermont, Montpellier, and Nantes.
Meanwhile Emmanuel Sabbi and Le Havre are working to finish 15th or better and thus avoid the relegation playoff. Le Havre currently sits 15th, tied with Metz on 29 points but a nose ahead due to superior goal differential. Last weekend’s 3-3 away draw with champions-in-waiting PSG was a big result in that regard, and Sabbi made a difference with his assist on Christopher Operi’s opening goal.
Final push in Belgium
In the Belgian First Division A, Mark McKenzie and KRC Genk now sit 4th in the six-team champions’ playoffs phase and will look to maximize the remaining points on offer with Anderlecht, Antwerp, and Union Saint-Gilloise.
One rung down in that league’s Europe playoffs, Bryan Reynolds’s Westerlo is in 6th-place and will aim to arrest a winless skid as it rounds out the campaign vs. Standard, Mechelen, and Oud-Heverlee Leuven. In the relegation playoffs, KAS Eupen’s scoring struggles have continued despite the shot-stopping of Chelsea loanee Gabriel Slonina in goal, leaving the team in need of wins in its final two matches (vs Kortrijk and RWD Molenbeek) in order to dodge the drop.
Carter-Vickers targets trophies in Scotland
Cameron Carter-Vickers and Celtic are determined to defend both their league and cup titles in the final weeks of the Scottish season. The Bhoys are three points ahead of Rangers with five matches to play and will also face them in the Scottish Cup final on May 25. Celtic hosts Hearts this weekend, then Rangers in a potentially decisive six-pointer before finishing at Kilmarnock and home vs St Mirren.
Head to head in Austria
Sitting third in the Austrian Bundesliga’s playoffs, George Bello and LASK are chasing a ticket to the Europa League qualifiers phase and possibly even Champions League as they enter the last three games of their season. On Sunday Bello & Co. will duel with Sebastian Soto and Klagenfurt, who occupy sixth place in that playoff group A.
Saief hunts hardware
In Israel, Kenny Saief and Maccabi Haifa are in second place in the championship playoffs, and still have a mathematical chance of catching leaders Maccabi Tel Aviv with five games to go. A face-to-face clash in Haifa on May 11 will be pivotal to those hopes.
