What to watch during Serie A’s final weekend: Champions League and relegation races still to play for

The 2023-24 Serie A season comes to an end this weekend, and despite that many clubs are still in the race for one European spot and also to avoid relegation. Let’s take a closer look to what we need to look for in the last 48 hours of Italian soccer.

European race  

Inter, AC Milan, Juventus, Bologna and Atalanta are all qualified for a Champions League spot, but Daniele De Rossi’s AS Roma can still dream to land in the major European tournament, but will depend on Atalanta, the team that just won the UEFA Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen and automatically qualified for the Champions League. If Atalanta end up fifth, Serie A can have six teams qualified for the competition. But, if Atalanta finish third or fourth (they also have one game in hand to play after this weekend), AS Roma will play in the Europa League next season. Lazio, Fiorentina, Torino and Napoli are also keeping tabs on what happens, considering that their European qualification can be affected by Atalanta’s results in their remaining two games of the season. 

5. Atalanta — 66 points*

Torino (A), Fiorentina (H)

6. AS Roma — 63 points

Empoli (A)

7. Lazio — 60 points

Sassuolo (H)

8. Fiorentina — 57 points*

Atalanta (A)

9. Napoli — 52 points

Lecce (H) 

10. Torino — 53 points

Atalanta (A)

*Atalanta and Fiorentina have one game in hand 

Relegation race

While Salernitana and Sassuolo are already officially relegated, there are still three teams battling to avoid the second division. Frosinone, Udinese and Empoli will race until the last second of the season after both Verona and Cagliari managed to avoid relegation last week. Empoli will host AS Roma for their last home match of the season, while Frosinone will directly play against Udinese in what will likely be one of the most dramatic games of the weekend. 

16. Frosinone — 35 points

Udinese (H)

17. Udinese — 34 points

Frosinone (A)

18. Empoli — 33 points

AS Roma (H)

Players of the season 

Ahead of the last matchday of the season, Serie A have announced the awards of the 2023-24 season: 

• Coach of the season: Simone Inzaghi (Inter)
• Best U23: Joshua Zirkzee (Bologna)
• Best goalkeeper: Michele Di Gregorio (Monza)
• Best defender: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter)
• Best midfielder: Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter)
• Best striker: Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus)
• MVP of the season: Lautaro Martinez (Inter)