Financially, the Premier League has distanced itself from the pack in European football thanks to its media rights deals, and in 2022-23 you can't say those rights holders aren't getting their money's worth.
The title race is almost 50-50 between the annual champion (Manchester City) and a surging former power (Arsenal). There are at least five other teams with a semi-realistic chance at a top-four finish (Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle, Liverpool and Brighton) and at least three more beyond that with a semi-realistic chance at playing in the Europa League or Conference League next year (Chelsea, Fulham, Brentford). Meanwhile, there are nine teams within three points of the relegation zone.
It has been a magnificent season in England, with the product as tight and tense as it could possibly be. That said, Europe is still a pretty big place and there are still lots of title hunts, Champions League positions and relegation spots up for grabs. The Premier League might lead the way, but there's a delightful amount of drama to keep up with as we enter the season's home stretch. It feels like there's even more than normal, though there's a chance I feel that way every year.
Here are my 15 favorite races and/or team-specific storylines to follow.
Relevant 538 odds: Arsenal 54%, Manchester City 46% Key remaining matches: Arsenal at Manchester City (April 26)
How good did City look during Tuesday's resounding 7-0 Champions League win over RB Leipzig? Their SPI rating increased enough to change their EPL title odds from 41% on Monday to 46% on Wednesday. RBL came into Tuesday ranked ninth overall, and City absolutely trounced them. Any time Pep Guardiola's team plays like that, they're going to win big against virtually anyone in Europe.
City flirted with a draw with Crystal Palace just three days earlier, however, and they've dropped points to Nottingham Forest and Everton since the World Cup restart. They have had an inconsistent streak this season, and thanks to both that and Arsenal's recent dramatics -- two stoppage-time goals to win at Aston Villa on Feb. 18, a last-kick-of-the-match goal to beat Bournemouth after a 2-0 deficit on March 4 -- City still trail by five points. They could get three of those back with a head-to-head home win in April, but Arsenal will still be in control of its destiny heading into the late-March international break.
This race has been a damn delight to follow. Arsenal aren't exactly a scrappy underdog -- they're top 10 in the Deloitte Football Money League, they're owned by the Kroenke family (who own the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, NHL's Colorado Avalanche and NBA's Denver Nuggets, to name just three), and they've got 13 English top-division titles to their name. But they haven't won one since 2004, and it has been easy to get wrapped up in the delight of their dramatic wins and their frantic coach, Mikel Arteta, on the sideline.
If you want to continue assuming City will surge ahead at some point, you've got plenty of evidence to support that. But there's still a solid chance that this race goes down to the wire.
2. Premier League relegation race
Relevant 538 odds:Southampton 71%, Nottingham Forest 48%, Everton 45%, Bournemouth 44%, Leeds United 29%, West Ham 21%, Wolves 17%, Leicester City 15%, Crystal Palace 10% Key remaining matches: There are 24 matches remaining between these nine teams, including six April 22-25 and five on the season's final two matchdays. Each of the nine threatened teams plays at least four matches against the others -- starting with Leeds at Wolves on Saturday -- and Palace plays everyone else on the list. This thing could have so many twists and turns remaining.
Due solely to the money at stake, you could call the Premier League's relegation battle the most anxious of them all. This year, it's also the largest. It felt like each of the nine teams involved had steered themselves briefly to safety at some point -- and lord knows most of them spent all the money they possibly could to do so as well -- and yet the weekly slog of competitions has sucked them all back into danger. In just the past month alone, Southampton has beaten Chelsea and drawn with Manchester United, but a meek loss to Brentford on Wednesday made them the most likely relegation team by a comfortable margin.
The number of remaining battles against relegation contenders is a bit of a tell. That Palace has eight such matches remaining tells you that they have been playing everyone else in recent weeks and falling in the table because of it. That Southampton, Everton and Forest have only four such matches remaining -- and eight each against teams ranked 11th or better -- tells you that some of their best opportunities to save themselves may have already come and gone.
Regardless, this battle will remain heated and fascinating. If uncertainty of result is one of the draws of sports, there might be no bigger draw than this.
Relevant 538 odds: 6% top four, 9% fifth place, 16% sixth, 23% seventh, 46% eighth or worse Key remaining matches: Unless their 15-point deduction is overturned, winning the Europa League is the only particularly realistic path for reaching the Champions League next year
There's not a lot of uncertainty in Serie A right now. Napoli lead the league by 18 points with 12 matches to play. The other three Champions League bids will likely come from a four-team pool of usual suspects Inter, Lazio, AC Milan and Roma. And even at the bottom, Sampdoria and Cremonese are almost guaranteed to go down, while Hellas Verona are five points from safety.
1. Premier League title race
3. Juventus