Also, UEFA semi-finals set, Toronto FC notes, Women’s Champions League, and of course soccer in Muskoka updates.

My buddy and excellent sports journalist Nathan Sager (visit https://n8sager.substack.com/ or check out his Sportslit podcast) recently posted about how we could fix the minor league soccer system in North America, particularly regarding the Canadian Premier League.

My reply, which he wholeheartedly agrees with, is to implement the pyramid style of promotion and relegation throughout. Sager joked (maybe only half-joked) that it should happen throughout North American sports leagues (I would be very cool with that).

It would create drama and sporting excitement throughout the year and even in the matches between bottom teams as they attempt to “stay up.”

In fact, I would argue that while the promotion and title races get the most play in the media, the relegation battles to stay out of the bottom three (or sometimes four) spots can be even more entertaining.

On that note, let’s see what’s playing out in the Big Four (yeah, no matter how many times some media members try to add a “fifth” big league, there are only four). We’ll go alphabetically to be democratic.

English Premier League

Forget the top of the table where it looks like Manchester City will likely win the title now, how about the five teams try to stave off relegation at the bottom.

Though it’s certain that Sheffield United sitting on 16 points are heading down (barring an insane set of circumstances), and Burnley at 20 points likely to join them (needing a less insane amount of happenings to survive), the final relegation spot is still up for grabs.

Though one of our favourite clubs, Luton Town, is sitting in that spot with 25 points, they’re still within striking distance of Nottingham Forest (26), Everton (27), and even with an outside chance (however unlikely) of catching Brentford (32).

Each club has either five games (15 max points) or six games (18 max points) remaining on the calendar. And they all play each other this weekend.

This weekend, Sheffield hosts Burnley and Luton Town hosts Brentford on April 20 with both matches starting at 10 a.m. while Everton hosts Nottingham on April 21 at 8:30 a.m.

All matches are on FuboTV Canada.

German Bundesliga

Much like in England, most teams have five matches left, but unlike England Bayer Leverkusen has already clinched their league title.

At the bottom of the table, SV Darmstadt 98 is heading down to the second division having picked up only 14 points so far. FC Koln (22 points) is set to join them, unless they can finish with a serious run of results to end the season.

While the bottom two teams in the Bundesliga are automatically relegated and replaced by the top two from the second division, the third from last team in the topflight enters into a two-legged home-and-away playoff against the third-place team in the lower division.

The winner earns the final promotion spot (either staying put or going up).

Right now, there are six teams fighting to stay out of that relegation playoff spot that is currently occupied by FSV Mainz 05 (26 points). The rest of the teams, from closest to farthest away, are VfL Bochum 1848 (27), VfL Wolfsburg (28), FC Union Berlin (29), and SV Werder Bremen (31), and Borussia Monchengladbach (31).

This weekend’s fixtures involving these relegation battle teams include Koln hosting Darmstadt, Hoffenheim hosting Monchengladbach, and Wolfsburg hosting Bochum (all on April 20 at 9:30 a.m.). Also on April 20 is Union Berlin hosting Bayern Munich at 12:30 p.m.

On April 21, Werder Bremen hosts Stuttgart at 9:30 a.m. with Freiburg hosting Mainz at 1:30 p.m.

Most matches can be found on DAZN Canada.

Italian Serie A

In Italia, it seems as though Inter Milan are destined to win the title this weekend against crosstown rivals AC Milan (April 22 at 2:45 p.m.).

However, with teams having either seven or eight matches left, there is a huge battle at the bottom of the table to avoid two of the three automatic relegation spots. Salernitana (last place on 15 points) is going down to Serie B for sure after a most forgettable campaign, however there are seven teams above them looking to avoid the last two spots.

Sassuolo (26 points) is just behind Frosinone (27) in the last two spots. Then comes a trio of teams on 28 points – Empoli, Verona, and Udinese – with Lecce (32) and Cagliari (32) not yet out of the woods.

Though it should be noted that Cagliari is on quite the run with only one loss in their last nine games, including beating Atalanta, plus draws against Inter and Juventus (on Friday) in their last three.

This race is more exciting than the title race with so many teams involved. This weekend is chock full of action. On April 20, Empoli host Napoli at noon, Verona hosts Udinese at 2:45 p.m. On April 21, Sassuolo hosts Lecce at 6:30 a.m., and Torino hosts Frosinone on April 21 at 9 a.m.

All matches can be seen on FuboTV Canada.

Spanish LaLiga

Forget the UEFA coefficients, results against EPL sides in Europe this year, and urges to remember LaLiga’s past, it has become the least interesting league (at least among the top divisions) to follow in recent years.

Real Madrid is cruising towards the title with only Barcelona (eight points back) even having a slight chance at stopping them with only seven matches remaining. The two face each other in Madrid on April 21 at 3 p.m.

At the bottom of the table, the last two teams would need extreme miracles to avoid the drop, and there are only a few teams even fighting to avoid that third and final relegation spot.

Almeria (14 points) and Granada (17) are heading to the second division next season and could be joined by either Cadiz (25), Celta Vigo (28), Rayo Vallecano (31), Mallorca (31), or Alaves (32). Sevilla at 34 points is technically in the mix, but not really.

It’s more than likely that Cadiz will keep their spot and head to the second division because, as I’ve mentioned before, LaLiga just isn’t that interesting at the moment.

To keep with our theme, this weekend’s matches featuring the teams fighting to avoid the drop on April 20 are Celta Vigo hosting Las Palmas at 8 a.m., Rayo Vallecano hosting Osasuna at 10:15 a.m., and Girona hosting Cadiz at 3 p.m. On April 21, Alaves hosts Atletico Madrid at 12:30 p.m., On April 22, Sevilla hosts Mallorca at 3 p.m.

Select matches can be seen on TSN and TSN-plus.

UEFA Semi-finals Set

My oh my, how the mighty have (sort of) fallen thanks to the efforts of supposed inferior competition. I jokingly texted a couple of buddies on Thursday morning with these words “in just a few hours, there will be no English teams left in Europe.”

And I was almost right . . . only Aston Villa remains after the Italian, Spanish, German and even not-quite-that-good French teams (plus one Greek and one Belgian team) advanced to the semi-final rounds.

It’s a nice reminder that while the Premier League is a top-quality league, there are plenty of good teams and talented footballers plying their trade in the other traditional nations making up the Big Four (plus PSG from France).

Is it defending treble champion Manchester City? No. The big bad Liverpool? No. The Arsenal? No. These three frontrunners in the EPL title race were sent packing – though it should be noted that City probably deserved a better result.

It’s Aston Villa in the third tier Conference League, who snuck by Lille in the quarterfinals on Thursday left to represent EPL interests on the European stage.

Okay, now onto more important matters: the PRIME tie of all the European ties … the Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen vs. the rejuvenated AS Roma in the Europa League.

This will be AS Roma’s fifth European semi-final since 2018, when they lost to Liverpool 7-6 on aggregate over two fantastic legs in the Champions League after the instant classic quarter-final against Barcelona where Roma overturned a 4-1 first leg deficit at home in the second leg.

Roma have also been to two straight European finals, losing in penalties in the Europa League last year after having won the inaugural Conference League two years ago.

Okay, okay, any regular followers know we support I Giallorossi … so, we’ll digress. This will be a tough match-up as Leverkusen are on a roll and a half this season.

They’re going for a treble as they’ve won the league, are closing in on the German Cup (aka DFB Pokal) and, as mentioned, are in the Europa League semis.

Oh, and the German champs are on a 44-game unbeaten run in all competitions. It will be interesting to see how Leverkusen’s players react to the intensity and passion at the legendary Stadio Olimpico in the first leg – the supporters save a little extra for derby and European nights.

Roma will be out to get a big advantage, like they did in the 4-0 thrashing of Brighton a couple rounds earlier, before heading to Germany for the second leg. Leverkusen’s streak will definitely be put to the test. Leg 1 goes on May 2, with Leg 2 on May 9.

The other Europa League semi-final features Atalanta (who eliminated Liverpool) and Marseille (who snuck by Benfica). The first leg is in France on May 2 with the return leg in Bergamo on May 9.

In the Champions League, Bayern Munich takes on Real Madrid (April 30 and May 8) and Borussia Dortmund faces PSG (May 1 and May 7).

In the Conference League, Fiorentina takes on Club Brugge (Leg 1 on May 2, Leg 2 on May 8 at 12:45 p.m.) and Aston Villa faces Olympiakos (Leg 1 on May 2, Leg 2 on May 9).

All kick-off times are 3 p.m. unless listed and matches can be seen on DAZN Canada.

Toronto FC back home

Okay, so the last three weeks haven’t exactly lived up to the first four weeks in Toronto FC land, but at least against Charlotte we got a couple goals from striker Prince Owusu – even if they were tap-ins courtesy of Man of the Match Federico Bernadeschi.

People may lament that Fede hasn’t scored yet, but man oh man is his effort on another level. Though he still tends to try to do too much when TFC is down on the scoreboard (you can’t really expect to beat every defender on the pitch by yourself), we can’t fault his passion and grit this season.

And though they lost 3-2 away to Charlotte, man oh man that last goal drove me up the wall, at least they didn’t crumble in the match and get blown away. They kept fighting and that’s a far cry from last year’s hopeless campaign.

That energy, effort, and attitude will serve this Toronto FC team well this season and they will get back on the positive side of the results sooner than later. There are coachable moments and techniques that can be done to make the individuals and team better, but starting off with a good work ethic will make it easier.

I’m sending positive vibes they can regain their form at BMO Field on Saturday against New England.

If you aren’t heading down to see the game in person, you can catch it on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (subscription required).

Heavyweight battle in Women’s Champions League

Every so often a major tournament around the globe gives a semi-final match-up more worthy of a final where it’s almost certain the winner will end up as champion.

This is the case as Chelsea takes on Barcelona in the UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final round. With all due respect to the sides from Lyon and PSG, you’re playing to lose to the winner of the other tie.

And, as we’ve been doing since Roma was eliminated, we’re cheering for Chelsea as they feature Canadian stars Ashley Lawrence and Kadeisha Buchanan – both are predicted to start against Barcelona.

Last season, at this very same stage, Barcelona knocked out Chelsea enroute to their second ever title, while they also beat the Blues in 2021 in the final.

Chelsea has been strong despite two strikers, legend Sam Kerr and Mia Fishel, went down with ACL injuries earlier this year. Apart from their team unity built over the last couple of seasons, the Blues signed star Colombian forward Mayra Ramirez to help fill the gaps.

With England star Lauren James leading the front line, the two Canadians at the back, and a strong supporting cast, Chelsea has a great opportunity to get the job done.

The first leg is in Barcelona women’s stadium on April 20 at 7:30 a.m. ET on https://www.youtube.com/@DAZNWomensFootball/streams or DAZN Canada

The second leg is being hosted at Stamford Bridge in London, a proper site for a Champions League semi-final, and goes at 12:30 p.m. on April 27 also on the above streaming sites.

The other semi-final between the two clubs from France will see first leg take place at 1:30 p.m. on April 20 and the second leg at 10 a.m. on April 27.

Muskoka United FC spring training

Finally, the weather has been good enough to start spring training outdoors in earnest and each MUFC team has been taking advantage of the opportunity.

With the respective rep development and competitive team outdoor seasons fast approaching, every little bit of practice and a few scrimmages will go a long way towards starting on the front foot.

Even better for both the coaches and players is getting some extra training time in the spring with technical lead Coach Ray Wright, who brings a unique style to help the club improve at all levels.

Once the full season schedules for the MUFC teams in their respective divisions is available, and throughout the season, we’ll be providing updates in this space weekly (including photos and the occasional video), so subscribe to our blog at the bottom of the page and keep tuning in!

Huntsville Soccer Club update

The House League season is a month away, set to kick off on Monday, May 20 and already several youth programs are full or close to full. The adult programs are also filling up fast.

Make sure to sign up before May as you may miss out if you don’t! Visit www.huntsvillesoccer.ca to find out more or register.

We’re also looking for a handful of volunteer coaches in a few youth house league programs (for teenage soccer players, this is a great way to get your required volunteer hours for high school graduation).

As well, anyone who wants to help out with setting up the fields and getting equipment ready in May is welcomed with open arms.

To volunteer or find out more about volunteering message administrator@huntsvillesoccer.ca or vicepresident@huntsvillesoccer.ca (my club email).

Bracebridge Soccer Club update

Check out the above and pretty much the same is true of the Bracebridge Soccer Club.

Those interested in playing soccer or registering their child can visit: https://bracebridgesoccer.ca/

Bracebridge is also looking for a paid program coordinator and more volunteers.

Send your resume for the house league coordinator (it’s a perfect job for a student looking for extra summer funds) or to indicate your interest in volunteering, email bracebridge.sc@gmail.com

That’s it for this week! Thanks for reading and don’t forget to subscribe below! Ciao for Now!