The race for the title in European leagues

Under Luis Enrique's leadership, Paris Saint Germain dominated Ligue 1 from start to finish and was crowned champion after a 1-0 victory against Angers, with 6 matches remaining. This title is the fourth consecutive for the Parisian team and the 11th since the arrival of Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, the Qatari sheikh who bought the club in 2011. With this triumph, the French league is the first of the five major European leagues to confirm a champion, which makes us ask: What do the rest of the European leagues need to define a champion?

Premier League

Considered by many as the best league in the world, it still has an active title race, despite the significant point difference between the first, Liverpool, and its closest pursuer, Arsenal. The Reds are currently at the top with 73 points, 11 points ahead of the Gunners, who still hold hope, and 16 ahead of the third, Nottingham Forest.

With the recent defeat of the leader against Fulham, and with 7 matches remaining for the season's end, the London team will seek a miracle in the upcoming games. 21 points are still up for grabs, so if Liverpool maintains its current lead until matchday 36, they would mathematically be champions after 5 years.

Both have their pros and cons. On Liverpool's side, besides the mathematical advantage, having been eliminated from the Champions League they will focus purely and exclusively on the local front, unlike Arsenal, which will have to play the quarterfinals against Real Madrid. Meanwhile, on the Gunners' side, their only advantage over the current leader is the match between them precisely on matchday 36, which could delay Liverpool's triumph if they are not yet mathematically champions before then.

Liverpool and Arsenal's Schedule:

Liverpool:

• West Ham (Home) 4/13
• Leicester City (Away) 4/20
• Tottenham (Home) 4/27
• Chelsea (Away) 5/4
• ARSENAL (Home) 5/11
• Crystal Palace (Home) 5/18

Arsenal:

• Real Madrid (Home) 4/8 - Champions League
• Brentford (Home) 4/12
• Real Madrid (Away) 4/16 - Champions League
• Ipswich Town (Away) 4/20
• Crystal Palace (Home) 4/23
• Bournemouth (Home) 5/3
• LIVERPOOL (Away) 5/11
• Newcastle United (Home) 5/18
• Southampton (Away) 5/25

La Liga

The title race is the same as always: Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atlético de Madrid. The blaugrana team leads the Spanish league with 67 points, followed by the Merengue team with 63 and the Colchonero with 60. With 8 matches remaining, and 24 points up for grabs, it's difficult to predict a champion.

Both Barça and Real have Champions League matches, against Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal respectively, and Copa del Rey, with the latter being a match between them in the final, so their schedule is very tight, having to choose wisely what to prioritize. Meanwhile, Atleti, eliminated from everything, is focused on La Liga and still dreams of a possible title.

Within those 8 matches, one of the duels that could determine the final stretch of the tournament is the Spanish classic on matchday 35, where Barcelona will host Real Madrid.

Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atlético Madrid's Schedule:

Barcelona:

• Borussia Dortmund (Home) 4/9 - Champions League
• Leganés (Away) 4/13
• Borussia Dortmund (Away) 4/15 - Champions League
• Celta de Vigo (Home) 4/20
• Mallorca (Home) 4/23
• REAL MADRID (Neutral) 4/26 - Copa del Rey Final
• Real Valladolid (Away) 5/4
• REAL MADRID (Home) 5/11
• Espanyol (Away) 5/14
• Villarreal (Home) 5/18
• Athletic Club (Away) 5/25

Real Madrid:

• Arsenal (Away) 4/8 - Champions League
• Deportivo Alavés (Away) 4/13
• Arsenal (Home) 4/16 - Champions League
• Athletic Club (Home) 4/20
• Getafe (Away) 4/23
• FC BARCELONA (Neutral) 4/26 - Copa del Rey Final
• Celta de Vigo (Home) 5/4
• FC BARCELONA (Away) 5/11
• RCD Mallorca (Home) 5/14
• Sevilla FC (Away) 5/18
• Real Sociedad (Home) 5/25

Atlético Madrid:

• Real Valladolid CF (Home) 4/14
• UD Las Palmas (Away) 4/19
• Rayo Vallecano (Home) 4/24
• Deportivo Alavés (Away) 5/4
• Real Sociedad (Home) 5/10
• CA Osasuna (Away) 5/14
• Real Betis (Home) 5/18
• Girona FC (Away) 5/25

Serie A

As with La Liga, it's difficult to say for certain who will be crowned champion. The title race currently seems to be between Inter Milan, the table leader with 68 points, and Napoli, the runner-up with 64. Although a bit further down is Atalanta, its 58 points put it far from the race, but it wouldn't be surprising to see it finish closer to the current contenders.

Regarding the schedule, the most committed is Lautaro Martínez's team, as they have a tough quarterfinal clash in the Champions League against Bayern Munich and the second leg of the Coppa Italia semifinals against their classic rival, Milan. Like Barcelona and Real, the Nerazzurri will have to manage their players well in these upcoming matches. Meanwhile, unlike Inter, Napoli is only competing in Serie A, so they can fully focus on taking the lead.

In addition, Napoli has one less league match than Inter, so they could reduce their distance to just 1 point if they win against Bologna away tomorrow. Beyond this, with 21 points up for grabs, distributed over 7 matches, it seems that the Italian league will be decided only in the last matches of the season.

Inter and Napoli's Schedule:

Inter:

• Bayern Munich (Away) 4/8 - Champions League
• Cagliari (Home) 4/12
• Bayern Munich (Home) 4/15 - Champions League
• Bologna (Away) 4/20
• AC Milan (Home) 4/23 - Coppa Italia Semifinal Second Leg
• Roma (Home) 4/27
• Hellas Verona (Home) 5/4
• Torino (Away) 5/11
• Lazio (Home) 5/18
• Como (Away) 5/25

Napoli:

• Bologna (Away) 4/7
• Empoli (Home) 4/14
• Monza (Away) 4/19
• Torino (Home) 4/27
• Lecce (Away) 5/4
• Genoa (Home) 5/11
• Parma (Away) 5/18
• Cagliari (Home) 5/25

Bundesliga

Unlike last season, the title race in Germany is still active, with two clear contenders: Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen. The Bavarians currently lead the table with 68 points, while Xavi Alonso's team follows closely with 62. With 6 matches remaining, and 18 points up for grabs, the champion will be determined by who makes the first mistake.

If the 6-point difference remains after matchday 34, Bayern Munich will be the champion, however, Germany's biggest club doesn't have an easy schedule. Among their league matches, three could pose problems: the classic against Borussia Dortmund in the next Bundesliga matchday, the home match on matchday 31 against Mainz, currently fourth, and the away match on matchday 32 against RB Leipzig, currently fifth.

Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen, after being harshly eliminated by Bayern in the Champions League and surprisingly falling in the DFB-Pokal semifinals against Arminia Bielefeld from Germany's third tier, has all its attention on the Bundesliga and its schedule could help it close the gap with the leader.

Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen's Schedule:

Bayern Munich:

• Inter Milan (Home) 4/8 - Champions League
• Borussia Dortmund (Home) 4/12
• Inter Milan (Away) 4/16 - Champions League
• 1. FC Heidenheim (Away) 4/19
• 1. FSV Mainz 05 (Home) 4/26
• RB Leipzig (Away) 5/3
• Borussia Mönchengladbach (Home) 5/10
• TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (Away) 5/17

Bayer Leverkusen:

• 1. FC Union Berlin (Home) 4/12
• FC St. Pauli (Away) 4/20
• FC Augsburg (Home) 4/26
• SC Freiburg (Away) 5/4
• Borussia Dortmund (Home) 5/11
• 1. FSV Mainz 05 (Away) 5/17