Six games that can keep title races alive: Milan v Inter, Man City v Arsenal…

Nothing beats a title race going down to the wire, teeing up an Aguero moment to keep the drama alive.

But as much as we’d hate to admit it, football doesn’t always offer up the most dramatic scripts and plenty of titles are won early by teams who are just too far ahead in their respective leagues.

The average points gap between the current league leaders and second-placed sides in Europe’s top five leagues at present is 7.2, with somewhere around nine games to go.

Bayern Munich pretty much have the Bundesliga wrapped up, owing to an 11-point lead over Borussia Dortmund , who they don’t have to face again on their path to yet another title.

Fortunately, some direct head-to-head games could still keep things interesting in other leagues. Here are the games that can keep title races alive.

The Serie A trophy has changed hands from season to season every year since Juventus’ streak of nine titles in a row ended in 2020.

That trend looks almost certain to continue, with defending champions Napoli more than 10 points off the pace.

Inter, the team they dethroned last term, are the runaway leaders in the Italian top flight, having gone top in their last game before Christmas and stayed there ever since.

On Sunday night, all eyes will be on San Siro for the Derby Della Madonnina, which will be one of the last chances AC Milan have to make up genuine ground on their rivals.

Milan have been second for as long as Inter have been top this season, so still appear to be the likeliest side to pose some kind of threat to their rivals.

If Max Allegri’s side can win their second derby of the season, it would cut the gap to seven points with 10 games left for both teams.

It would still be a tall order for Milan to topple Inter in search of their first Scudetto since 2022. But there will be plenty of points to play for after in a title race where neither side has any European distractions.

Tonight’s battle between Benfica and Porto could be crucial to whether the latter will run away with the title or there potentially being a three-team battle for the top prize.

As things stand, Porto are top on 65 points and Benfica are third on 58, with Sporting in between on 62 after drawing with Braga on Saturday.

If Benfica can beat Porto , that would still keep them third, but all of a sudden, there would be just four points between the top three with nine games to go for all.

Porto and Sporting won’t face each other again in the league this season, but Sporting and Benfica will in a Lisbon derby in mid-April.

Thus, Porto know at least one of their challengers will be dropping points again, but first of all they will have to see off the threat of their former boss, Jose Mourinho.

Ligue 1 is usually one of the easiest leagues to predict the winners of, since it takes something extraordinary for PSG not to clinch the title.

They may well be looking over their shoulders this season, though, since Lens are just four points behind them and with a game in hand this afternoon.

That’s an impressive feat considering Lens finished 32 points behind PSG last season and 25 the season before that.

Pierre Sage’s side have been in mixed form recently, but enjoyed an eight-game winning streak between November and January to put them in a prime position to challenge the reigning champions.

They are due to face off in mid-April, when Lens will be aiming to avenge a 2-0 defeat from earlier in the season. If they can, things may start to get a bit nervy in Paris.

Lens have only been champions of France once before, back in 1998. On that occasion, they won the title via goal difference. If they’re to overcome PSG this time around, it could be similarly close.

There will be five games left for both sides after their face-off, but Lens will also be hoping PSG drain some energy in the Champions League. Enticingly, the two legs of the quarter-finals fall either side of the Lens v PSG showdown.

Arsenal are the frontrunners in the Premier League title race after three consecutive campaigns as runners-up. This could finally be the time they get over the line, for the first time in more than 20 years.

But their seven-point lead isn’t as convincing as it looks. First of all, second-placed Man City have a game in hand. Secondly, they still have to play each other next month.

The EFL Cup final in a couple of weeks’ time will also put City and Arsenal up against each other and could offer clues as to how things will go in their head-to-head battle in the league, the last of which finished all square.

If City can win their game in hand and beat Arsenal , presuming neither side drops any other points, the gap would be reduced to one.

And City have the title-winning know-how from recent years to become a serious threat to Mikel Arteta’s side.

There will be five games left for each team after their April showdown, which could make for a fascinating final few weeks. Alternatively, Arsenal could send a strong signal and pull further clear.

The Istanbul derby is naturally feisty, with arch-rivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahce frequently occupying the top two spots in the Turkish Super Lig.

Last season, Galatasaray won the title with an 11-point cushion and they currently boast a seven-point lead over Fenerbahce (who can, though, cut the gap to four by winning their game in hand against Samsunspor tonight).

Despite being second, Fenerbahce are still unbeaten in the league this season, a record they will hope to have preserved by the time they take on Galatasaray in late April.

It’s the standout fixture left for both title challengers, although Fenerbahce still have fourth-placed Besiktas to play and Galatasaray still have third-placed Trabzonspor on their schedule.

There will only be three games left for both sides after the Intercontinental Derby, which was a 1-1 draw earlier in the season thanks to a stoppage-time Jhon Duran equaliser for Fenerbahce.

Finally, two more traditional rivals will face off in a game that could decide the title race in LaLiga .

Right now, Barcelona have a four-point lead over Real Madrid ahead of the final 11-game run-in. But they both still have third-placed Atletico Madrid to play, which could have repercussions, before El Clasico itself has the chance to shape the title race once and for all.

Barcelona will host Real Madrid in their fourth-from-last league game of the season, which could make things very interesting.

It’s the same stage of the season they met at last year too, when Barcelona claimed a defining 4-3 win that enabled them to become champions after their next game.

Only time will tell what the distance between the two sides is when they next clash, but El Clasico could once again have a major say on where the Spanish title goes.