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Spring is just around the corner, meaning that the title races in the European leagues are gearing towards their final push. In England, Italy and Spain, three rivalry matches between the top two teams in each league (Premier League, Serie A and La Liga respectively) are going to be the title deciders, to a certain degree, on the identity of the 2010-2011 champions.
English Premier League
May 1, Emirates Stadium – Arsenal vs Manchester United
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Four games before the Premier League season ends, United will come and visit the Emirates in what just might be the title decider. It’s a four point lead for Alex Ferguson and his men right now, but Arsenal have a game in hand. If the fragile Arsenal side can avoid they’re usual meltdowns, the situation should be quite the same when these two meet in two months. Their Champions League doings by that time should have a major impact as well.
Manchester United won 1-0 through Ji-Sung Park’s goal back in December.
Spanish La Liga
April 17, Santiago Bernabeu – Real Madrid vs Barcelona
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A date pinned on a lot of calendars around the world. Barcelona have a 7 point lead in the La Liga race, with every dropped point seeming like a tragedy, especially for Real. It ended in a humiliating 5-0 defeat back in November, and Barcelona have a five game win streak on Jose Mourinho’s men. They also have a Cope del Rey final to hash out this year. And who knows, there’s always the possibility of a Champions League mega-clash. I don’t know how many points will both teams drop in up and coming weeks before the match, but it’s probably safe to say that if Real won’t beat Barcelona this time, they won’t win the title.
Italian Serie A
April 3, Giuseppe Meazza – AC Milan vs Inter Milan
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Despite of Inter’s terrible start, they’re back in business and are probably the only team that can stop AC Milan from winning their first league title since 2003-2004, especially after the Rossoneri KO’d Napoli 3-0 earlier this week. The game is less than a month away with 5 points separating the two teams right now in the tables. Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s early penalty was the difference in their November 14 clash.