Key events
One down, nine to go. Here’s what to keep an eye on in the top-flight this weekend.
What are we thinking about Arsenal’s complex dance between glory and disaster? Does it end well? Gunners fans: if you could pick one of the two big trophies, which would it be? The route to failure seems to have a variety of permutations. Here’s one such doom-laden scenario below. For balance, how about one that ends in triumph?
I think Arsenal beat a poor Fulham today, but lose a brutal encounter on Wednesday to Atletico Madrid, possibly after extra time and penalties. Exhausted and demoralised, they then put in a feeble performance against West Ham at the weekend, dropping points. Meanwhile, City will scrape a last minute win against a stubborn Everton on Monday and then, energized by Arsenal’s failure at WH, go on an extraordinary sequence of wins to take the title.
Back to the Premier League title race. Here’s Mikel Arteta on this evening’s game against Fulham and how he was blown away by the PSG v Bayern first leg.
Will Unwin
Wrexham v Middlesbrough. Kick-off just over an hour away.
Wrexham have had more nervous days. A fourth straight promotion is still a possibility but reaching the playoffs at full time today will be seen as more of a bonus than a right. There will certainly be a party atmosphere to help encourage the team get over the line.
Middlesbrough supporters, many dressed up as superheroes in the away end, are planning their own celebration but more in hope than expectation. They need to win and results to go their way elsewhere but there will be plenty to enjoy this afternoon either way. At one point automatic promotion looked likely but a dropoff in form has caused a problem but they have the quality to get through four games to reach the Promise Land.
It’s also the final round of fixtures in Women’s Super League 2 today. Tom Garry previews what should prove a dramatic afternoon.
“Charlton, Birmingham and Crystal Palace are dreaming of a WSL place. For this season only, there are two automatic promotion spots rather than the usual one, as the top tier expands from 12 to 14 teams, offering a precious opportunity that adds to the tension for the 3pm kick-offs, the most tantalising of which comes at the Valley, where the top two, Charlton and Birmingham, go head-to-head.”
For more build-up to OL Lyonnes v Arsenal, check out the Women’s Football Weekly podcast. Suzy Wrack is joined by Sophie Downey, Emily Keogh and Tim Stillman to discuss the big European ties – it finished 1-1 between Bayern and Barcelona in the other semi-final first leg – and a pivotal weekend in the WSL title race.
It’s a huge day in the Women’s Champions League with Arsenal attempting to become the first British women’s club to reach back-to-back European finals. Tom Garry reports from Lyon on a semi-final that looks perfectly poised.
First-leg: Arsenal 2-1 OL Lyonnes
Second-leg: Kick-off at 14.00 BST
It’s now 41 days until the World Cup. To mark this random amount of remaining time, we have a story and a Jonathan Wilson column.
Some good BTL knowledge here. Danke.
Despite Bayern having already wrapped up the Bundesliga Meisterschale, there’s still a lot left to play for with 3 games to go.
There are still 7 teams involved in the relegation battle. I’m hoping my team FC Köln can get a positive result away it Union today. A win would all but guarantee survival, a draw would be enough if other results go our way.
The race for the CL also looks intriguing and two big games today between 4th place Hoffenheim and 5th place Stuttgart as well as 3rd place Leipzig against 6th place Leverkusen.
In Liga 2 it could be a long night in Gelsenkirchen. Schalke 04take on Fortuna Düsseldorf knowing that a win will guarantee them a return to the top flight for the first time since 2023.
David Moyes has admitted Everton are running out of time to force their way into the European places in the Premier League as he accepted their final position will have a big impact on their transfer plans this summer. Following back-to-back defeats against Liverpool and West Ham, Everton began the weekend in 11th place but are just three points from sixth-placed Brighton with four games left to play.
They must wait until Monday night to host title challengers Manchester City, and are likely to have more ground to make up by then after all their rivals have played. “It’s harder for us,” Moyes said of the tight battle for European spots. “We’re running out of games. We can’t afford many more mistakes for sure.”
Moyes said Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium, nearing the end of its first season, has had a big impact when it comes to making Everton an attractive proposition to potential new signings, but he believes European qualification would be a game-changer.
“I’ve always said players want to come and play in Europe,” he said. “We’ve got to try and make sure that gives us a possibility. Players want to play in the Premier League but good players want to be involved in European football. That’ll be a challenge for us to try and do that. I found it difficult last summer trying to attract a lot of players because of that. The difference now is I think Everton have been close this year, much closer to the top end of the league.
“Most people have had the chance to see the new stadium and full houses in all the games, so from that point of view there’s a lot of things to be positive about.” PA Media
And talking of songs at matches… here’s a great piece from Daniel Lavelle about the mysteries of football chants.
Here’s the full report on Leeds removing any lingering fears of relegation with a 3-1 win over Burnley last night. In truth, Daniel Farke’s men have been performing more like a mid-table side for many months now. In fact, in a Premier League table starting on January 1st, they sit seventh. Okay, they’ve played either one or two more games than everyone else but even so.
Oh, and with interim boss Michael Jackson taking charge of Burnley last night, props to the Elland Road matchday DJ for playing ‘Smooth Criminal’ on the final whistle.
Back to Manchester United v Liverpool on Sunday. Just over 18 months ago, there was a Premier League game between the two at Old Trafford (Liverpool won 3-0) when Casemiro was so bad in the first 45 minutes that he was hooked at the break and replaced by an academy prospect Toby Collyer (now on loan at Hull).
Now, the bloke can’t stop scoring headers and the legs that were gone have come back. Indeed, Casemiro has been instrumental in United’s climb up the table to third place. Jamie Jackson looks at how the soon-to-depart Brazilian is going out on a high.
On the ball – guess the footballer
The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?
Tough one today. I know the player well but couldn’t get to him. Guess he’s moved around a bit. Anyway, no more clues, give it a go yourself!
The Premier League can also flex its muscles this weekend by laying on still arguably the most fiercely-contested showdown in English football: Man Utd v Liverpool. Here’s some build-up….
Arne Slot does not think a positive result against arch-rivals Manchester United will prove much to him or his doubters. Three successive league victories have pushed the club to within one win of overtaking the Premier League’s third-placed team when they meet at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Slot could become the first Liverpool boss to win his first two away league matches at United, where the team have been successful on three of their last five visits. While that will not paper over the cracks of a terrible defence of their title, a fourth successive victory would continue the momentum the Reds have built up after an awful month in which they won just twice in eight matches from early March.
However, Slot said one good result against their arch-rivals was unlikely to prove anything to his critics. “Every week we need to prove ourselves, not only for the players, for me as well,” he said. “That is not only when we play United, it’s also when we play Fulham or Palace. That is the way our lives are. We have to prove ourselves every three days and people judge us every three days. That is completely fair, we know this when we go into the job.
“I think it is for you guys to judge if I have been too harshly judged by many people. That’s not up to me. I judge my players, if they play well, if they are working hard and executing tactics. I’m not in this job to judge whether I’m criticised too harshly, that’s not the way I spend my time on a daily basis.” PA Media
The Premier League has taken some knocks this season and PSG 5-4 Bayern only seemed to highlight that the real entertainment is to be found elsewhere. But, if the Premier League could speak, it might come out with this: at least we’ve got a bloody title race. Would our top-flight be more sweary than that? That’s open to debate; the point being made is this:
Germany: Bayern 15 clear, already champions.
Spain: Barcelona 11 clear, on the brink.
Italy: Inter 10 clear, it’s all over.
France: PSG six clear. Fin.
Did this really happen? It did and where did the time go? Ten years! Ben Fisher revisits Leicester’s astonishing Premier League title win.
That Frenkie de Jong interview leads us nicely – who says this blog is just thrown together? – to La Liga’s title race. In truth, it’s not much of a race at all as Barcelona can clinch the title this weekend with four games to spare. If Barcelona win at Osasuna today and Real Madrid can’t beat Espanyol on Sunday, it’s done. Then again, maybe Barca would prefer it to roll on a week as guess who are the visitors to the Camp Nou next Sunday? Yep, Real Madrid.
Saturday
20.00 Osasuna v Barcelona
Sunday
20.00 Espanyol v Real Madrid
Fretting about your team’s result today? Relax, grab a coffee, sit outside and read this interview from sunny Spain.
As for League Two.. plenty going on there as well. It’s a straight fight between MK Dons and Bromley for who goes up as champions while Cambridge, Salford, Notts County, Grimsby, Chesterfield and Swindon are all jockeying for position in the playoff battle. At the bottom, Barrow need a win and a bit of a goal difference miracle to survive while Harrogate, Crawley, Newport and Tranmere are also in danger of dropping out of the league. All the League One and Two games kick off at 3pm BST.
Want to know the Championship’s promotion and playoff permutations? Nick Ames has them for you in this final day scene setter. Here’s a sample of what you may find:
“One thing is certain: Ipswich will be up if they beat 14th-placed QPR, on paper the perfect opponent, at an expectant Portman Road.”
Plenty of fun – or gut-wrenching drama if you’re a fan of one of the teams involved – awaits in League One today. Lincoln and Cardiff finished a mile clear to secure automatic promotion while Bolton are assured of a spot in the playoffs. But beneath them, Stockport, Bradford, Stevenage, Luton and Plymouth are all battling to grab one of the three remaining playoff berths. At the bottom, Port Vale, Rotherham and Northampton are already down. Either Exeter or Leyton Orient will join them.
Arsenal don’t exactly look like sub-two hour man, Sebastian Sawe, as the Premier League marathon enters the final few miles. The somewhat toiling Gunners were caught by Manchester City 10 days ago but due to Pep’s men, erm, heading to a drinks station/tying their laces/being interviewed live by JJ Chalmers (this analogy is breaking down terribly), Arsenal were handed the chance to kick clear again. With the Gunners playing two games before City next went into bat (mixing sporting metaphors now just to add to the mix) the fixture list gave Arsenal the opportunity to move six points in front. They banked the first three by edging past Newcastle last weekend and can double that lead by winning today’s home game with Fulham. City can respond by taking three points at Everton on Monday. This is a very long-winded way of saying, these are today’s fixtures in the Premier League…
15.00: Brentford v West Ham
15.00: Newcastle v Brighton
15.00: Wolves v Sunderland
17.30: Arsenal v Fulham
Let’s have a proper gander at the Championship table. The relegation spots have already been decided, with Oxford, Leicester (!) and Sheffield Wednesday all heading to League One. Coventry could potentially win the Championship by 14 points which is some effort in such a mad league.
Drama awaits in the Championship and the good news is we don’t have to wait too long to see it unfold. Yes, all today’s final round of games kick off at 12.30 BST.
As mentioned in the preamble, Ipswich, Millwall and Middlesbrough can all still grab the final automatic promotion spot. Here are their matches:
Ipswich v QPR
Millwall v Oxford
Wrexham v Middlesbrough
A rung below that, Wrexham, Hull and Derby are all trying to secure a berth in the playoffs so there’s plenty on that Wrexahm v Middlesbrough game. As for the other two contenders, these are their fixtures.
Derby v Sheffield United
Hull v Norwich
Let’s start with some morning headlines:
Leeds all but confirmed their Premier League survival with a 3-1 win over relegated Burnley at Elland Road last night.
A number of leading European countries still expect to lose money at the World Cup despite Fifa increasing the prize and participation fund by $112m (£82m) this week.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says freshness was the key to the Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich classic in midweek, something Premier League teams just don’t have.
Under-fire Newcastle boss Eddie Howe admits ‘a lot is riding’ on today’s game with Brighton after meeting with the Magpies’ Saudi owners.
Preamble
Good morning everyone (shuffles papers and looks into camera while staff mill around in the background) and welcome to matchday live! We’re at the stage of the football season when every day seems significant, make-or-break, do-or-die. And that’s absolutely the case this very Saturday with three teams – Ipswich, Millwall and Middlesbrough – all having a shot at clinching the second automatic qualification spot from the Championship to the Premier League. At the very summit of the pyramid, Arsenal have the chance to pull six points clear when they host Fulham this evening. So there’s that and, quite frankly, an awful lot more. Let’s do this and, as always, get in touch with via the email at the top of the page!
