Soccer on TV: Europe’s big leagues finish their seasons with high drama

Friday, 2:45 p.m. (beIN Sports Connect)

The weekend starts with the promotion playoffs in France’s second division. Toulouse is an old stalwart of Ligue 1 that was relegated last year, finished third in Ligue 2 this year, and is looking to bounce right back up. Grenoble hasn’t been in the top flight since 2010, including a fall down to the amateur-level fourth tier after being liquidated in 2011.

The winner of this game will play the third-from-last team in Ligue 1, which will be determined Sunday. Six teams could end up in that spot in the standings, including Alejandro Bedoya’s old club Nantes.

Saturday, 9:30 a.m. (ESPN+)

Josh Sargent and Bremen are in the Bundesliga’s relegation playoff spot with one game to go. They must win and hope that Arminia Bielefeld, one point above them, loses or ties at VfB Stuttgart at the same hour (also on ESPN+).

» READ MORE: This weekend's Bundesliga schedule

Saturday, noon (beIN Sports Español)

Saturday, noon (beIN Sports)

The La Liga title is Atlético Madrid’s to lose, leading crosstown rival Real by 83 points to 81 in the standings. But Atlético is haunted by not having won the league since 2014 and before then since 1996. Valladolid is in next-to-last place, with a slim chance of escaping relegation if it can swing an upset.

If Atlético slips up, Real is waiting to pounce. Karim Benzema continues to be on fire with 29 goals and eight assists in 45 games this season. He’s been buoyed this week by a long-awaited return to the French national team after being shunned for six years.

This is beIN Sports’ last weekend broadcasting La Liga games in the United States after a nine-year run. The rights move to ESPN next season through 2029. So it’s will be a swan song for beIN’s star announcer tandem of Phil Schoen and Ray Hudson, both of whom worked for ESPN in the past. We won’t know for a while if ESPN would hire them back, but a lot of fans would like to see it.

» READ MORE: The rest of this weekend's La Liga schedule

Saturday, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

American striker Daryl Dike and Barnsley face an uphill battle in England’s second-division promotion playoffs if they want to reach the Premier League. Swansea comes home after winning at Barnsley,1-0, in the first game of the two-game series. The winner of this series will face Brentford or Bournemouth in the playoff final on May 29.

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. (6ABC, ESPN Deportes)

Portland midfielder Eryk Williamson has become an American soccer Rodney Dangerfield. His fans believe he doesn’t get enough respect, whether from U.S. Olympic team coach Jason Kreis or the press or social media.

It doesn’t help that his work on the field isn’t always glamorous, and definitely not the kind that racks up big-time stats. But he’ll have his chance to show off this weekend as the Timbers host MLS’ biggest star, Javier Hernández, on a network TV stage.

Saturday, 9 p.m. (Univision, TUDN)

The Liga MX playoffs are also going on right now. All eyes are on Cruz Azul to see if the Mexico City club can cap off its first-place finish with the big trophy. The first game of the series at Pachuca ended scoreless, so Cruz Azul has the advantage coming back to the Estadio Azteca. The winner of the series will face Puebla or Santos in the final.

Sunday, 11 a.m. (NBC10, Telemundo, Peacock)

Sunday, 11 a.m. (NBCSN, Universo, Peacock)

Sunday, 11 a.m. (USA Network, Peacock)

In the English Premier League, three teams are competing for two UEFA Champions League berths. Third-place Chelsea (67 points) and fourth-place Liverpool (66 points, +24 goal difference) control their own destiny, while fifth-place Leicester City (66 points, +20) needs one of those teams to slip.

Liverpool has been on a big hot streak lately. Down in eighth place at the start of April, the Reds are unbeaten in their last eight games. They’ll be further buoyed by having fans in the stands at Anfield for the first time since December.

Tottenham, in seventh (59 points), is chasing a berth in next season’s Europa League or Europa Conference League. So are sixth-place West Ham (62), eighth-place Everton (59) and ninth-place Arsenal (58). Click here for details on how to watch their games.

Also, Peacock will have a Red Zone-style show called Goal Rush with highlights and live look-ins at all 10 simultaneous games.

» READ MORE: NBC’s Rebecca Lowe reflects on the hardest Premier League season of her career and preparing for the Olympics

Sunday, 2:45 p.m. (ESPN+)

Sunday, 2:45 p.m. (ESPN+)

Sunday, 2:45 p.m. (ESPN+)

In Serie A, Juventus enters the final weekend in fifth place, one point out of a Champions League berth (75 points) and hoping that Milan or Napoli (76 each) will slip up.

There’s a scenario in which Juve, Milan, and Napoli win, in which case Milan and Napoli would have 79 points, and Juve and Atalanta would have 78. In that case, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head goals in the regular season, and Atalanta wins it 2-1. So Weston McKennie, Cristiano Ronaldo and company must win and get help to finish fourth.

ESPN’s Serie A rights deal ends after this season. CBS picks up the league when the new campaign starts in late summer. If you pay close attention to the hype video CBS airs at the start of its golf broadcasts, you’ll notice that Serie A is already being featured along with the Champions League. (Though the NWSL isn’t yet. Here’s hoping that changes.)

(UPDATE: It changed on Saturday, and CBS added the WNBA to the video too.)

» READ MORE: The rest of this weekend's Serie A schedule

Sunday, 3 p.m. (beIN Sports Xtra)

Sunday, 3 p.m. (beIN Sports Español)

Lille, featuring U.S. winger Tim Weah and Canadian striker Jonathan David, leads Paris Saint-Germain by one point in the Ligue 1 title race. If Les Dogues can hold on, it would be the club’s first Ligue 1 title since 2011.

» READ MORE: The rest of this weekend's Ligue 1 schedule

Sunday, 4:30 p.m. (Fox29, Fox Deportes)

Atlanta star striker Josef Martínez is as sharp with a zinger as he is with his right foot. After dusting Inter Miami’s Ryan Shawcross while scoring a goal earlier this month, he said, “Chicharito scores, and people think he’s a big-time player. I score, and it’s the defender’s fault.”

Rest assured that plenty of MLS fans know better. Seattle’s players and coaching staff certainly do, and they’ll be ready for him to duel with Sounders striker Raúl Ruidíaz.

» READ MORE: The rest of this weekend's MLS schedule

Sunday, 6 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

The Reign are in the process of bringing in a fleet of stars from Europe. U.S. dynamo Rose Lavelle is coming home from Manchester City, and she’ll be joined by French goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi, French striker Eugénie Le Sommer, and German playmaker Dzsenifer Marozsán.

But they probably won’t be here until June. So Portland, led by Crystal Dunn, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Christine Sinclair, will be favored at home. This game will also be the Thorns’ first since manager Mark Parsons announced he’ll leave at the end of the year to take over the Netherlands’ women’s national team.

» READ MORE: The rest of this weekend's NWSL schedule

Monday, 10 p.m. (Universo)

Liga MX Femenil has a growing reputation for talent and terrific goals. In the first leg of the playoff final, you’ll see some of league’s best scorers in Chivas’ Alicia Cervantes, and Tigres’ Lisbeth Ovalle and Stephany Mayor.