World Football: Predicting the Winners of Serie A, La Liga, EPL and Bundesliga

We are now entering the business end of the season in Serie A, La Liga, the English Premier League and Bundesliga.  Over the next month, trophies will be decided, heroes will be made and dreams crushed.

Here we look at the contenders in each of Europe's major leagues and tell you who the winner will be come the end of the season.

When deciding the Champions we take into account form, injuries and remaining schedule.  Feel free to leave your predictions below.

AC Milan currently hold a five point lead at the top of the Serie A table, ahead of city rivals Inter Milan.  However, it is likely that lead will be smaller come the final day of the season.

AC Milan look set to play their next three games without leading goal scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, after the Swedish international was sent off for throwing a punch in the weekend's 1-1 draw against bottom club Bari.

Milan must bounce back immediately against mid-table Palermo this coming weekend.  Milan will then have a welcome layoff during the international break ahead of the biggest game of their season.

On April 3rd, the Milan derby against Inter will have a huge say in the title race, and the Rossoneri must avoid defeat to maintain the upper hand they currently hold in the title race.

Luckily for AC, in the absence of Ibrahimovic they will be able to lean on Brazilian forwards Robinho and Pato to shoulder the attacking load.  The pair have netted 11 and 10 Serie A goals respectively so far this season.

The three goal scoring options for AC Milan give them the upper hand on title rivals Inter and Napoli.  Inter and Napoli have prolific strikers in Samuel Eto'o and Edison Cavani, but no other players on either team have reached double figures.

Second place Inter and third placed Napoli must also drop points before the end of the season, as they face each other on the penultimate day of the season.

While it is likely their lead will shrink to only one or two points and the race will go down to the wire, AC will last the course and lift their first Scudetto since 2004 on the final day of the season.

Messi, Iniesta, Xavi.....

It is a team of names that rolls off the tongue, and also a team widely renowned as the greatest of its generation.  Given that they hold a five point lead at the top of La Liga, it will be too big an ask for the chasing Real Madrid to catch them.

Xavi and Iniesta run a midfield unit that is capable of dominating possession against any opponent, while Barca have three consistent scoring threats in Lionel Messi (27 goals), David Villa (17) and Pedro (13).  Messi has also provided 15 assists in Serie A play this season, while defender Dani Alves has set up 13 goals.

Barcelona do have to travel to face Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on April 17th, but will take heart from the 5-0 beating they handed Real earlier in the season.

Real have only one player who has scored above double figures in Cristiano Ronaldo (27 goals), and also face tough away trips to third place Valencia and fourth placed Villarreal.  Even if Madrid do somehow come back to level pegging on points, they would still have to overturn a goal difference advantage of +18 for Barcelona.

When the season ends, you can fully expect Barca to wrap up their third consecutive La Liga title.

The race for the English Premier League title looks set to be the tightest of all Europe's top leagues.  Manchester United currently hold a three point lead over Arsenal, but have played one game more than the Gunners.  United and Arsenal will also go head to head at the Emirates Stadium on May 1st.

Given the fact that Arsenal's game in hand is a tough road trip to their north London rivals, it is not assured that it will see them catch up, especially given Arsenal's recent form.

Both United and Arsenal entered this past weekend in rocky form, with United having lost back to back games at Liverpool and Chelsea, and Arsenal losing the Carling Cup Final to Birmingham City and being dumped out of the Champions League in a short space of time.  By the end of the weekend, United had gained a psychological boost by dumping Arsenal out of the FA Cup in convincing fashion.

During the 2-0 win over Arsenal, Sir Alex Ferguson also hit on some lineup decisions that could benefit United during the title run-in.  Brazilian twins Rafael and Fabio Da SIlva looked spectacular when freed up to go forward from the flanks, and Wayne Rooney impressed playing in a deeper position behind the striker.

In front of Rooney, United also boast the Premier League’s leading goal scorer in Dimitar Berbatov, and can call upon a spectacular impact sub in Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez, who has so far tallied 10 Premier League goals in his first season as a Red Devil.

Manchester City and Chelsea both have an outside shot at the title, but the fact that they both face some tough road games during the run-in (City at Liverpool and Chelsea at United) and face each other this coming weekend means they will both likely drop too many points to catch either United or Arsenal.

Current fitness of players is also something that benefits United as we enter the EPL home straight.

Nani is set to return for United and is the Premier League's leader in assists. On the other wing, United will soon be able to call upon dynamic winger Antonio Valencia, who will return from a long injury lay-off.  In Berbatov, Hernandez and Rooney, the Red Devils also have three legitimate goal-scoring threats currently fit and firing.

If Rooney finishes the season strongly, it should not surprise anyone.  In March of last season, Rooney was in the form of his life and received an injury that was originally diagnosed to have him miss four to six months.  He was rushed back to fitness for the World Cup, and as a result, did not get a summer off.  It was surprising to see him play in the Community Shield and international friendlies, and less surprising to see him break down eventually.

Since Rooney spent time at the Nike facility in Oregon he has looked sharper, and is improving game by game.  The England striker will play a key role in firing United to enough wins to ward off the Gunners.

In defense, Nemanja Vidic is back and can play alongside the fast developing Chris Smalling if Rio Ferdinand does not return.

Arsenal on the other hand, are having a number of injury concerns.  Star defender Johan Djourou is suffering from a dislocated shoulder, and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is ruled out for over a month.

Few would also bet on star striker Robin van Persie lasting to the end of the season without breaking down again due to injury.

When all is said and done, you can probably expect United to seal their 19th English title when they play at Blackburn Rovers on the penultimate weekend.  Liverpool fans around the country may sigh that day, as their club will no longer be able to lay claim to having won as many top division titles as any club.

Borussia Dortmund are currently blazing a trail towards their first Bundesliga Championship since 2002.  The home form of Die Schwarzgelben is a big reason for their success.  Borussia have won eight, drawn three and lost one at home, scoring 22 goals goals and conceding only five in the process.

Marcel Schmelzer and Mats Hummels have anchored an impressive Dortmund back line, while Nuri Sahin has provided the creative outlet from midfield with six goals and eight assists in Bundesliga play.

Going into the season, Dortmund had the renowned strike partnership of Lucas Barrios and Mario Gotze.  Paraguay international Barrios has led the way for Dortmund with 11 goals, but Gotze has played more of a supporting role, registering four goals and nine assists.

Luckily for Dortmund, other players have picked up the slack, and Kevin Großkreutz, Shinji Kagawa and Robert Lewandowski have all registered six or more goals this season along with multiple assists.

Bayer Leverkusen are nine points behind Dortmund in second place, but seem to lack the solidity to make a title run.  Leverkusen have conceded 34 goals, more than double the amount conceded by Dortmund, and have no player who has reached double figures in goals scored this season.

Fans reading this who do not follow German football closely may be wondering where giants Bayern Munich and Champions League quarterfinalists Schalke 04 are in the title race.  The surprising answer is they are behind Dortmund by 16 and 28 points, respectively.

The Bundesliga appears to be the most clean cut of all the title races, and you can expect Dortmund to wrap up the title long before the last day by a margin of over 10 points.