Road to title glory: State of the leagues

As the 2024/25 football season marches swiftly towards its close, Supersport.com takes stock of the current state of the Betway Premiership, Premier League, LaLiga and Serie A as teams look to secure titles, qualify for continental competition and escape relegation.

BETWAY PREMIERSHIP (SOUTH AFRICA)

It is now official that Royal AM have been expelled from the Premier Soccer League and their points expunged from the record. That has meant an adjustment in points for those clubs who took points off the team before their fixtures were cancelled at the end of last year. It also means the season is now a 28-match affair rather than 30.

Tussle at the top: Seven more points will guarantee Mamelodi Sundowns a record-extending eighth successive league title and they have five matches in which to garner those points. Given their vastly superior goal difference over Orlando Pirates, six points would effectively be enough, so they could ensure the title by Sunday. If Orlando Pirates drop points on Tuesday against Lamontville Golden Arrows, then it might be even easier for Sundowns, who host Chippa United on Wednesday and Stellenbosch on Sunday. Both games are at Loftus Versfeld

Cup distraction: The two title challengers do have a distraction to deal with. Immediately ahead of Pirates is Saturday’s Nedbank Cup final against Kaizer Chiefs in Durban while Sundowns play three league games before the first leg of the African Champions League final against Pyramids of Egypt on May 24. Keeping everyone in focus is a tough task for both coaches.

The race for third place: A spot in the African Confederations Cup is guaranteed for the third place side on the log and it is now a two-team race. Sekhukhune United are third with 45 points, one ahead of Stellenbosch. Home defeat for fifth placed TS Galaxy to Richards Bay on Sunday ended their chances of a top four finish.

Sekhukhune have two games left against Kaizer Chiefs and Lamontville Golden Arrows while Stellenbosch have their fate in their own hands as they have three fixtures still to complete – away to Sundowns, then home to SuperSport United and finishing with a derby against Cape Town City.

Relegation: Royal AM’s expulsion means they drop out of the league leaving the 15th placed finisher to compete in the post-season promotion-relegation playoffs. That looks likely to be Cape Town City, who are three points adrift at the foot of the table after extending their winless run to 14 matches when they went down to Sundowns at home on Saturday. Mathematically they could still catch Richards Bay, Magesi, SuperSport United and Arrows above them but with only two games left, this looks a long shot. City are next away at Polokwane City and then finish the campaign with a match against bogey team Stellenbosch.

PREMIER LEAGUE (ENGLAND)

Liverpool celebrations: There was a guard of hour for Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Sunday although Chelsea fans did not take too kindly to it and then celebrated vociferously as the Blues beat the Reds 3-1. Liverpool have taken the title with four games to go and can cruise through the rest of the season, watching over their shoulder at the battle for places in next season’s European club competition.

A glut of English teams in Europe: The Premier League's top five teams are set to qualify for the Champions League, and there are only four points separating the five teams who are ranked third to seventh. There is another thrilling race happening a little further down the table. There are just two points between the four sides who are placed eighth to 11th - which is significant given as many as 10 clubs could qualify for Europe.

Champions League contenders: Ahead of Nottingham Forest’s trip to Crystal Palace on Monday night, Chelsea, Manchester City and Aston Villa all recorded important wins but Newcastle again dropped points. In an interesting turn of events, Arsenal’s home defeat to Bournemouth means they are also not yet guaranteed a top-five finish, needing five more points from their final three games.

Others in the race: There will be a minimum of eight Premier League teams competing in Europe next season but things could change in the final weeks of the campaign. Even 12-placed Crystal Palace could still end up qualifying for Europe via the league or by beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final later this month.

LALIGA (SPAIN)

Tight title race: With only four games remaining in the season, Barcelona and Real Madrid are pulling away from Atlético Madrid in the LaLiga title race. Up until last month, the fight for the Spanish crown looked like it would come down to a photo-finish between the trio as all three sides took turns leading the table and often had just one or two points separating them atop the table.

But over the last month, Atlético have dropped points in five of their last eight league matches, most recently against Alavés in a goalless draw, and now sit 12 points behind Barcelona, effectively out of the race. The Catalans, meanwhile, have enjoyed an unbeaten LaLiga run in 2025. Even with a heavily rotated side this weekend, Barcelona still managed a 2–1 victory over Real Valladolid while Real responded with a 3–2 victory over Celta Vigo to keep the pressure on their bitter rivals.

What’s left to play: Barcelona play the second leg of their semifinal tie against Inter Milan on Tuesday and then return to LaLiga action for the ‘El Clásico’. The Catalans have won all three meetings against Real Madrid this season and could all-but claim the Spanish crown if they make it four in a row.

At the other end of the table: Real Valladolid, with a paltry 16 points, have been relegated and will finish the LaLiga season in last place, leaving four other clubs battling to avoid the remaining two relegation slots. Leganés (31) and Las Palmas (32) are the other two in the drop zone but can still catch up to Girona and Desportivo Alavés, who both have 35 points. Girona, however, host Mallorca on Monday and could move away with a home win, joining Sevilla on 38 points.

SERIE A (ITALY)

Scudetto in sight: Leaders Napoli and Inter Milan were both winners at the weekend, leaving the Napolitans still three points clear at the top of the standings with three rounds of fixtures to play. Inter have been distracted by their Champions League efforts and losing two of their last three Serie A games means they must hope that Napoli slip up.

Champions League: Napoli and Inter have sealed their places, but the fight for the last two spots is reaching fever pitch. Atalanta thumped already relegated Monza with a 4-0 win on Saturday to stay in third sport, five points ahead of Juventus who are fourth despite the 1-1 draw at Bologna on Sunday. Then snapping at their heels are AS Roma, Lazio and Bologna while Fiorentina's defeat at Roma on Sunday leaves their hopes all-but over. Much could be sorted out this Sunday as Atalanta host Roma and Juventus visit Lazio.

Going down: Monza are heading back to Serie B after three top flight campaigns but who will join them is still very much up for grabs. Empoli (25 points), Venezia (26) and Lecce (27) are all trying to avoid the other two relegation spots.