The 2023/24 season is gradually coming to a close around Europe’s top leagues and the tables are now taking more meaningful shape as games are becoming more intense with all teams trying to accomplish their set goals for the campaign.
However, not every club has been able to reach their said targets from the beginning of the season. Some teams find themselves fighting against relegation, some others for European qualification, while the rest are still in the contest for some silverware without anyone being ruled out.
In the meantime, let’s take a look at some of the things every football fan should be on the lookout for in the rest of this season.
The Premier League Title Race
The English Premier League which has proven over the years to be one the best leagues in the world is rounding off, with about ten more games left to play the champions of England cannot yet be decided. It has been a really intriguing title race as three teams contest closely for the trophy.
Arsenal sit top of the Premier League with a total of 64 points, Liverpool who have also amassed the same number of points are only in the second spot due to their lesser goal difference, while Manchester City are third placed with 63 points.
This is truly a beautiful contest as all three clubs will try as much as possible to get all maximum points from their remaining games. After the current international break, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City host league leaders Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium after the reverse fixture at the Emirates earlier this season had ended in a 1-nil victory in the Gunners’ favor.
Anfield is also set to host Brighton on the same date (31st March), Jürgen Klopp’s side will hope to get all available points in order to go top of the league pending the Arsenal match.
Notably, it’s going to be historic for either one of the teams who eventually wins the PL; If Arsenal can go through as Champions, it will be their first ever Premier League title since 2004 when they went unbeaten. If the Cityzens manage to turn things around and win it again, it’ll be for the fourth time in a row, feat no other English club has managed.
While on the other hand, it would be a perfect ending for the Reds’ German boss who is set to leave at the end of the season.
Bundesliga Title Race
The German Bundesliga title race has taken a rather unexpected turn. Over the years, the league has been dominated by Bayern Munich who have won it consecutively for 11 years although they usually faced competition from other clubs like Borussia Dortmund, it wasn’t enough to end their reign.
This season however has brought an unexpected tide for the Bavarians as Bayer 04 Leverkusen have a surprising 10-point lead at the top of the league with about eight games left to play.
Bayern still remain in pursuit hoping that their rivals drop points along the way but Xabi Alonso’s side have been in top form since the beginning of the season with only four draws in the league. It is the first time in their history they have reached matchday 27 without defeat while they also managed to claim four points off the German champions as they held them out to a 2-2 draw at the Allianz arena, before stomping three past them at the BayArena.
Thomas Tuchel’s side also have to proceed with caution in order not to drop further down as they are only four points above VfB Stuttgart and ten points clear of Dortmund who sit in fourth.
European Golden Shoe
The European Golden shoe is also known as the European Golden boot and it is awarded to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top divisions in Europe. The last award was presented to Manchester city striker, Erling Haaland who bagged a total of 36 goals in 37 appearances to help Manchester City to the treble.
This season, however, things have changed as Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane leads the charge after scoring a total of 31 goals in the Bundesliga this season for 62 points in the race for the Golden boot. The English Marksman, who joined the Bavarians in the summer for a reported fee of about £82m ($100m) has been quite impressive for his new club this season.
France International, Kylian Mbappé comes in second with 48 points after scoring 24 goals in Ligue 1 and it now seems as though the PSG star is unable to drop form as he has been constantly delivering since his debut for the club.
Argentine forward, Lautaro Martinez comes in third place with 23 goals for Inter Milan in the Serie A during a convincing campaign for the Italian club with the 26-year-old scoring 26 goals in all competitions.
VfB Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy sits fourth with 22 goals and 44 points while Löis Openda of RB Leipzig is fifth with 19 goals and 38 points.
Haaland who has always been expected to be a top competitor for the award sits at number eight, after managing to get 36 points with just 18 goals in the Premier League.
The Mbappé Transfer Saga
It is no news that the Frenchman, Kylian Mbappé has refused offers from his current club PSG for a contract renewal, much to the disappointment of the club. Many transfer speculations suggest that Spanish giants, Real Madrid are still interested in the 25-year-old after PSG turned down their £188m (220m) offer in August 2021.
The forward then chose to sign a new three-year deal with the Ligue 1 club but looked set to join Real in May 2022 until he made a dramatic U-turn and signed another two-year deal with the Parisian club which prompted La Liga to file a complaint to UEFA that the French club had broken Financial Fair Play rules.
Mbappé’s relationship with Paris Saint-Germain soured after he informed the club he would not be triggering a contract extension through to the summer of 2025, meaning he would become a free agent in 2024. Real Madrid are still negotiating the final details of Mbappe’s contract with terms not yet agreed.
“This will be the most expensive free transfer in history,” said Sky Sports News’ Chief reporter, Kaveh Solhekol. “The money that Real Madrid would have been paying as a transfer fee, they are basically going to be paying to the player instead. He will be getting a massive signing-on fee – there are reports in Spain that it could be over £100m.”
Real Madrid have been trying to sign Mbappé for about seven years and they are going to get him this summer. His entourage has been speaking to Real for the past few weeks trying to sort out a deal which is complicated because of the numbers involved which would make him the highest-paid player in the club’s history.
Mbappé would have to still take a wage cut to fit into their wage structure which they’ll make up for by giving him big loyalty bonuses and a signing-on fee.
The UCL Climax
The UEFA Champions League has now reached the quarter final stage with the clubs involved having already been drawn with their opponents.
Holders, Manchester City and 14-time European champions Real Madrid meet for the third season running in the latter stages of the competition. Pep Guardiola’s men eased to a 5-1 aggregate win last term in the semis, exacting a measure of revenge for their dramatic defeat at the same stage 12 months earlier.
There’s also a rematch of perhaps the most famous Champions League comeback of them all, La Remontada, seven years on from Barcelona’s astonishing recovery after losing 4-0 in Paris. They get to faceoff for the first time at the Parc de Princes on Wednesday, 10th April.
Bayern take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on the 9th having won the last three meetings between the pair 5-1. The Gunners know way too well the threat which the Germans pose and how uneasy it is to go through them especially in the knockout stages of the competition.
Elsewhere, Axel Witsel will line up against his former employers when Atlético de Madrid take on Dortmund at the Wanda Metropolitano on the 10th of April.
The first legs of the ties promise to be truly intriguing and highly intense as teams will leave it all out on the field hoping for favourable results. Everyone has their own favorite club which they would like to see lift the trophy which is the pinnacle of club football.
Whether Real Madrid can win it for a record-extending 15th time, Man City for the second time in a row, Arsenal for the first time in the club’s history or if Xavi could use it as a farewell gift to Barcelona all remains to be seen.
Indeed, football fans around the world would have to wait a little bit more to watch all these fact stated pointers play out with all players currently in the March International break.
