Europe’s top leagues have taken a international break and at this crucial stage of the 2017/18 season, we take a look at the state of the title race in various well known football leagues across the world. With the likes of Bayern Munich, Man City, PSG and Barcelona leading their respective divisions by over 10 points with just a handful of games to go, few are unlikely to bet against the above mentioned teams to lift their league titles. City, in fact, are now quoted at 1/2000 to win the league.
However there are several leagues where the title race is very much alive. Below is a guide to five title races that are neck and neck at the moment. We’ve looked at sportsbooks in Canada while compiling the odds.
Italy Serie A
The only one of Europe’s big five leagues to have an exciting race, Serie A looks like going down to the wire between Napoli and Juventus. The Old Lady, of course, has been the top team in Italy for the last six seasons, but they just cannot seem to shake Napoli this term. Juve lead the Partenopei by two points with nine games to play. Crucially, they play each other on 22nd April. That game could be massive. Another interesting race in Italy is the one for Champions League spots, with the likes of Roma, Inter, Lazio and Milan all in the hunt (the two Milan sides have a game in hand as well)
Odds: Juventus 2/5, Napoli 2/1 (William Hill)
Portugal Primeira Liga
This one is actually a three-way tussle between the usual suspects in Portugal – Porto, Benfica and Sporting CP. Porto have a two-point gap on Benfica and a five-point cushion on Sporting with seven games remaining. The key game seems to be Benfica at home to Porto on 15 th April, but Benfica must also play cross-city rivals Sporting on 6th May. It could to any of the three. And given that the coefficient change is likely to come in soon, one of the big three might miss out on the CL.
Odds: Porto 6/17, Benfica 5/2, Sporting 10/1 (888sport)
Australia A-League
Sydney FC were riding high all season, but they have lost their last two games to open the door for Newcastle Jets. Sydney’s lead now stands at five points with four games remaining. Down Under the teams enter a playoff system at the end of season to decide the A-League champions, so any number of teams could still manage to win.
Odds: Sydney FC 4/5, Jets 15/4 (Unibet)
Danish Superligaen
Denmark operates a league split system to finish off the season, with the final standings after 26 games seeing Brondby and Mitjylland tied on 60 points. The league effectively continues with 10 games, each of the top six sides playing home and away. Those two are in pole position with Brondby being arguably the stronger side. If you fancy a long shot, Nordsjaelland can be backed at 175/1 to overcome the 10-point gap to the top two.
Odds: Brondby 11/17, Mitjylland 13/10, Nordsjaelland 175/1 (888sport)
EFL Championship
England’s second tier looks set to have a rip-roaring finish. Wolves lead Cardiff City by six points, with the Welsh side having played one game less. Cardiff, however, are the team showing the best form with nine games to play. In addition, Wolves must travel to the Cardiff City Stadium to take on their rivals on 6th April. Both sides will probably be promoted to he Premier League, but the race to crown the champions will go down to the wire.
Odds: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1/7, Cardiff City 5/1 (William Hill)