Final-day drama in Europe's top football leagues

THE curtain will soon fall on the European club football season, with all the teams in the top four leagues set to play their final matches this weekend. Only the identity of the Spanish champions has yet to be decided heading into the last day, with Manchester City, Inter-Milan and Bayern Munich already claiming their respective league titles some time ago.

Still, there are plenty of big games for fans to keep their eye on, especially with qualification for the Champions League at stake. Here is the pick of the fixtures to watch out for in Germany's Bundesliga, Spain's La Liga, the English Premier League (EPL) and the Italian Serie A.

Bayern Munich vs Augsburg (Saturday 9.30pm kick-off, Singapore time)

Whenever the Bundesliga season starts, there is usually only one certainty - Bayern Munich will be crowned league champions. This season was no different, with Bayern sauntering their way to a ninth straight league title well before the finish line was in sight.

On Saturday, as the team prepares to welcome 250 fans at the 75,000-seater Allianz Arena for the first time this season, the attention will be on the club's prolific striker Robert Lewandowski as he looks to break a long-standing record.

The 32-year-old Poland international's penalty in last week's 2-2 draw at Freiburg saw him equal the legendary Gerd Mueller's 49-year-old Bundesliga single-season record of 40 goals, which was set nearly half a century ago in 1972.

Lewandowski, the top marksman in six of the last eight seasons, is the hot favourite once again to score at least once against 12th-placed Augsburg and write his name into the history books.

It will also be an emotional match for last season's treble-winning manager Hansi Flick, who will step down from Bayern and is widely expected to take charge of the German national team after the Euro 2020 championships are over in July.

Real Valladolid vs Atletico Madrid (Saturday, 11.55pm)

On a mission to win their first Spanish league trophy in seven years, table-topping Atletico Madrid's season boils down to this final game - a tricky fixture away to second-from-bottom Valladolid, who themselves need maximum points to stand any chance of avoiding relegation.

Atletico - two points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid - will be hopeful of defeating a team that has not tasted victory in the league since the start of March.

Valladolid were hammered 4-1 by Real Sociedad last weekend, and are destined to exit the top flight unless there is a drastic improvement in their performance.

Kicking off simultaneously will be Real Madrid's home tie with seventh-placed Villareal. Los Blancos (Madrid's nickname) have no choice but to win, and then keep their fingers crossed that Valladolid can somehow do them a favour.

Villareal can finish as high as fifth with a victory, but manager Unai Emery will probably rest a few of his key players ahead of next Wednesday's Europa League final against Manchester United in the Polish city of Gdansk.

Liverpool vs Crystal Palace (Sunday, 11pm)

The equation for Liverpool is simple. Win at home against mid-table opponents, and they will seal their place in the top four in the EPL and next season's Champions League.

Not too long ago, it looked as if the Reds' European ambitions were dead and buried. Stuck in eighth place in mid-March with their chief goalscorers firing blanks, the recently-dethroned champions are now the league's most in-form team having taken 23 points from the last 27 available.

In theory, Liverpool don't even have to beat Crystal Palace - all they need to do is match fifth-placed Leicester City's result with Tottenham Hotspur, and their spot in European football's most lucrative club competition will be secured.

There will be 10,000 spectators at Anfield on Sunday, the first time that Liverpool will welcome their supporters back into their stadium this season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Crystal Palace may have nothing but pride to play for, but the Eagles will be eager to put on a good show for their coach Roy Hodgson, who will take charge of the team for the final time. This game could also mark the the end of Hodgson's 45 years in management, although the 73-year-old has stopped short of saying that he will retire from "The Beautiful Game" for good.

Bologna vs Juventus (Monday, 2.45am)

Fresh from clinching the Italian Cup on Wednesday after a nail-biting battle with Atalanta, deposed Serie A champions Juventus are looking to redeem their season by snatching a spot in next season's Champions League.

Juventus - currently on 75 points, a point behind both AC Milan and Napoli - travel to 11th-placed Bologna desperate for the win that could ensure they don't miss out on Europe's elite club football competition for the first time since the 2011/12 season.

But their fate is not in their own hands. Should AC Milan and Napoli both win their respective matches, Cristiano Ronaldo's team will have to be content with a place in the second-tier Europa League competition next season.