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It’s been a hell of a season. We asked our fans’ network to review each and every teams season including the highs, the lows, and what they need from the summer ahead.
Brighton for the Champions League?
I’ve enjoyed this a lot from David Howell who has been in touch.
“There is a way Brighton can get into the Champions League, hinging on a sequence of four results.
“As mentioned, wins for City (against Villa) and Liverpool will put Villa fifth and cascade the European Performance Spot down to sixth; wins for Forest (against Bournemouth) and Brighton will mean the Seagulls swoop into that spot.
“That would have seemed unthinkable four months ago, let alone back in the club’s infamous Gillingham groundshare days...”
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?
And later today, Bolton take on Stockport County in the League One playoff final.
At the beginning of May, Dominic Booth sat down with Stockport manager Dave Challinor and it includes one of the more remarkable sporting stats I’ve come across. In Challinor’s 16 years as a manager, his team has finished in a playoff spot or higher in 15 of them!
Are you also that good at your job? Let us know in the comments.
It’s not just the Premier League on today. The final weekend of May is always fun as the weekend of playoff finals continues. Yesterday, Hull nabbed a dramatic win against Middlesbrough to win a final that had the shadow of spygate hanging over it. Read Jonathan Wilson’s piece from Wembley here.
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A question from Albert Birkicht:
“With Aston Villa winning the Europa League, isn’t there a sixth guaranteed spot for England in the Champions League? Greetings from Switzerland.”
Albert, I’m glad you asked. So in a quirk of various rules, England could have six teams in next years Champions League, but only if Aston Villa finish fifth.
This is because, as Europa League winners, Villa won’t need the European Performance Spot that is awarded to the fifth-placed team, so it would drop down to sixth. Unai Emery’s side are currently fourth, so would need to lose today and for Liverpool to win for this to happen.
What to look out for on the final day
Our writers have done the rounds on the ten things to keep an eye on during the final day of the season. Many things to keep an eye out for (ten, to be precise) but I’m with Will Unwin that the real jeopardy is to be found at Turf Moor where Burnley and Wolves will duke it out to see who finishes rock bottom of the table.
Today’s Premier League fixtures
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Brighton v Manchester United
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Burnley v Wolves
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Crystal Palace v Arsenal
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Fulham v Newcastle
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Liverpool v Brentford
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Manchester City v Aston Villa
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Nottingham Forest v Bournemouth
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Tottenham v Everton
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Sunderland v Chelsea
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West Ham v Leeds
Preamble
Hello, good morning and good day. We’re back with another Matchday live for the final day of the Premier League season!
After Arsenal wrapped up the title on Tuesday after Manchester City drew with Bournemouth, eyes turn to the bottom of the table where we’ll finally discover who survives out of West Ham and Tottenham. There’s also the small matter of who pinches the final Champions League spot between Liverpool and Bournemouth. All 10 matches start at 4pm BST so set your watches.
We’ll also be covering the major stories of yesterday, including Hull’s dramatic injury-time winner to seal promotion to the Premier League, as well as Celtic securing the domestic double, and Charlton beating Leicester on penalties to gain promotion to the WSL.
And finally, if you weren’t happy with England’s World Cup squad, I’ve got good news. Pep Guardiola hasn’t ruled out one day managing the national side. Stick with us for the latest updates and news from around the football world and send me an email with your thoughts.
