Goodbye!
And please head on over to our other live coverage. You can follow all the action in the Football League finale and the match at Villa Park between Aston Villa and Fulham, too, which could have a big say in who qualifies for Europe.
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Thanks for all your contributions today. We’ll be back at 8am tomorrow.
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Matchday Live will return tomorrow when Ewan Murray will be doing a Scottish football Q&A in the build-up to the Old Firm game. Post your questions BTL or keep them in your heads and send them in tomorrow, if you’d be so kind.
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Leicester and Southampton fans discuss ‘El Crapico’ (part three)
Will you bounce straight back next season? Will they?
CW: “I doubt we will. The only hope I have is that the gap has become so big that we end up being promoted again simply by being less rubbish than 21 other teams. Southampton and Ipswich will probably be the top two.”
SG: “We should be there or thereabouts, so long as the managerial appointment is a sound one. The one appointment the owners got right since buying the club was done via the previously-mentioned Wilcox, so hopefully his replacement, Johannes Spors, can repeat that trick this summer. As for Leicester, I get the unhappiness that fills the air there at the moment, but barring any significant EFL penalties, they’ll be title favourites again.”
Anything you envy about your opponents?
CW: “At least they can score goals. I’ve seen us score three in this calendar year and I’m a season ticket holder and regular away dayer. Honestly, getting relegated to League One for the first and only time in our history in 2008 was about ten times more enjoyable than this.”
SG: “I’d envy their recent history, I guess. We’re very similar clubs in so many ways – they basically have a blue St Mary’s, after all – and yet their fans have seen their team win League Cups, the FA Cup, the actual League, and have deep runs in Europe.”
So will you miss the Premier League?
CW: “No. It’s a broken division now. PSR has proven to be the Super League by stealth, there’s no point in getting promoted now when even the likes of Leicester and Southampton can’t lay a glove on the new ‘big 17’.”
SG: “Agree with that. We had a run of good performances in the autumn that were all spoiled by increasingly-nonsensical refereeing and VAR decisions and pretty much killed any outside hope we had of being competitive, and that’s without the PSR advantage the stable PL clubs already have built-in. Both ourselves and Leicester were allowed *less* leeway than the other 17 on PSR because of our year in the Championship, with a £20m tighter noose placed around our necks. And people wonder why the promoted clubs aren’t able to compete?!”
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Leicester and Southampton fans discuss ‘El Crapico’ (part two)
What’s been your side’s biggest problem this season? Who is most to blame?
CW: “It says a lot that Ruud Van Nistelrooy barely scrapes into our top 10 biggest culprits, even with our laughably bad form since he took over. The fish is rotting from the head here - the guy at the, er, top, Khun Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha, deserves the most flack. But there have been so many bad calls from so many people.”
SG: “Like handing Jannik Vestergaard a new three-year deal?”
CW: “Yes, like that. Honestly, Steve, if Vestergaard isn’t perfectly emblematic of the farcical decision-making here since Vichai’s passing then I don’t know what is. We beat you 9-0 in 2019, then two years later signed two of your back four - what other club would do that?! Fans have sort of given up on the idea that change is even possible - many are voting with their feet. It used to make me itch the thought of missing a Leicester game, but I had a ticket for the game at Molineux last Saturday and decided to go and watch Dulwich Hamlet instead. I’m only going on Saturday to say goodbye to Jamie Vardy. I couldn’t care less about the rest of them.”
SG: “For us it’s been about recruitment and PSR restrictions. We had to spend the thick end of £40m just to keep most of our promoted team together. We’ve been generally competitive in games (a ridiculous 28 points dropped from winning positions), but we have no depth beyond the starting XI and nearly every substitution makes us weaker. The blame for that ultimately lies with the board who believed that we didn’t need to replace director of football Jason Wilcox when he went to United, then appointed a manager who was the polar opposite to Russell Martin. It showed they hadn’t learned a thing from our last (more avoidable) relegation. Swap Ivan Juric for Nathan Jones and you basically have two guys cut from the same rubbish cloth.”
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Leicester and Southampton fans discuss ‘El Crapico’ (part one)
Leicester: Chris Whiting, 29
First match attended: “Leicester 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday, 2002/03. I won the tickets for completing a primary school football course supported by the club - back when they didn’t treat us with contempt.”
Best match attended: “Leicester 3-1 Everton, 2015/16. I could have picked a few others but seeing us lift the Premier League trophy can’t really be topped.”
Southampton: Steve Grant, 41
First match attended: “Saints 0-3 Manchester City, November 1991. A cold rainy afternoon at the Dell where Jon Gittens scored an own goal while sat on his backside in our six yard box. Start as you mean to go on…”
Best match attended: “Liverpool 0-1 Saints, EFL Cup semi-final second leg, January 2017. We went to Anfield expecting them to easily overturn the one-goal deficit - then Shane Long scored on the break in injury-time.”
People have been calling this match ‘El Crapico’ – unfair, or about right?
CW: “I think it’s unfair on crap to be honest.”
SG: “Can I say ‘both’? In the context of the Premier League as it now is, we are two teams unfit to compete. But up against promoted teams from years gone by (and yes, I’m very much including 2007’s Derby County) both of us would wipe the floor with them. So it could be worse.”
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It’s nearly time for 12 referees to blow their whistle, thus commencing one of the most consistently dramatic days in the football calendar: game 46 of the EFL Championship.
For the first time in the 137-year history of English league football, three clubs could hit 100 points in the same campaign. League One champions Birmingham are on 108 points after Wednesday night’s 2-0 win over Blackpool while Leeds and Burnley could notch up a ton too. Both Championship title contenders are on 97 points before today’s final regular season fixtures, which kick-off at 12.30pm. Before this season, only 16 teams have reached a century or more points in an English league campaign. They are:
1983-84: York City (4th tier) – 101 points
1985-86 Swindon Town (4th tier) – 102 points
1998-99 Sunderland (2nd tier) – 105 points
1998-99 Fulham (3rd tier) – 101 points
2000-01 Fulham (2nd tier) – 101 points
2001-02 Plymouth Argyle (4th tier) – 102 points
2002-03 Wigan Athletic (3rd tier) – 100 points
2005-06 Reading (2nd tier) – 106 points
2009-10 Newcastle (2nd tier) – 102 points
2011-12 Charlton (3rd tier) – 101 points
2013-14 Leicester (2nd tier) – 102 points
2013-14 Wolves – (3rd tier) – 103 points
2016-17 Sheffield United (3rd tier) – 100 points
2017-18 Manchester City (1st tier) – 100 points
2022-23 Burnley (2nd tier) – 101 points
2022-23 Plymouth (3rd tier) – 101 points
2024-25 Birmingham City (3rd tier) – 108 points with one game to play
In addition to those 16, Opta has calculated that another nine teams before the move to three points for a win in 1981 would have got to 100 points under the current system:
1919-20 Tottenham Hotspur (2nd tier) – 102 points (adjusted from 70 points)
1946-47 Doncaster Rovers (3rd tier) – 105 points (adjusted from 72 points)
1950-51 Rotherham United (3rd tier) – 102 points (adjusted from 71 points)
1950-51 Nottingham Forest (3rd tier) – 100 points (adjusted from 70 points)
1954-55 Bristol City (3rd tier) – 100 points (adjusted from 70 points)
1965-66 Hull City (3rd tier) – 100 points (adjusted from 69 points)
1971-72 Aston Villa (3rd tier) – 102 points (adjusted from 70 points)
1975-76 Lincoln City (4th tier) – 106 points (adjusted from 74 points)
1977-78 Watford (4th tier) – 101 points (adjusted from 71 points)
Louise Taylor has written about Sandro Tonali’s impact in Newcastle’s midfield this season:
There cannot be many, if any, better No 6s in Europe than the 24-year-old. It is easy to forget that, either side of the 10-month worldwide ban Tonali received last year for breaches of betting rules, the former Milan playmaker struggled to impose himself in a No 8 role to the right of Bruno Guimarães in Newcastle’s 4-3-3 formation.
Howe probably sensed the Italy international would be better deployed in a deeper role but managers need to be diplomats as well as tactical choreographers. Perhaps an awareness that Guimarães desperately wanted to serve as a South American Pirlo explains why he resisted handing Tonali the No 6 job until 30 November last year at Selhurst Park.
As technically brilliant as Guimarães is, he is much better at drawing fouls, destabilising opponents and creating chances than controlling the tempo. Unlike Tonali, he is not really about slowing play down when necessary and cannot always resist the temptation to pursue the ball at the potential expense of team shape. Superior positional discipline aside, Tonali’s passing range and vision – that priceless knack of seeing situations open up a millisecond before everyone else – dictated the Italian was always better suited to the role.
Much more here:
FA confirms kick-off time for Cup final
FA Cup news! We have just found out what time the final will kick off. And the big winner of this year’s competition is 4.30pm!
“The kick-off time has been agreed in collaboration with the competing clubs, broadcasters, local authority, police, and the Safety Advisory Group,” says the FA in a statement. “The showpiece event is going to be broadcast live in the UK on ITV1, ITVX, UTV, STV, STV Player, BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The FA will announce where it can be watched around the world in advance. The winners and the runners-up will receive £2,000,000 and £1,000,000 from the competition’s prize fund respectively.”
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The pre-match view from Villa Park
News from Villa Park, where Pete Lansley is checking in:
Plenty to play for at Villa Park as Fulham keep sights set on the top-eight finish that should bring them European qualification and their highest Premier League finish.
How will Aston Villa bounce back from the crushing disappointment of their no-show at the FA Cup semi-final, against Crystal Palace any Wembley last Sunday, that followed their Champions League exit? Maatsen replaces Digne at left-back but spare a thought for Ollie Watkins, whose sustained excellence over the past 18 months plus in leading Villa to this stage had resulted in his being demoted behind Marcus Rashford in Unai Emery’s favoured starting XI - only for the on-loan Manchester United man to be ruled out with a hamstring injury. Watkins is said not to be angling for a summer move, despite interest from Chelsea following that from Arsenal, but he must wonder what he’s meant to do. Still, Watkins is quality, has character, and a great scoring record.
He’s scored in his last three meetings with Fulham and one more today will take him clear of Gabby Agbonlaor (both on 74) as Villa’s all-time leading Premier League goalscorer. Robinson and Lukic return for Fulham but Sessegnon keeps his place, just higher up the pitch instead of Willian.
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As a big Chesterfield fan, how do you rate their chances of making the play-offs/ Salford slipping up on final day? asks Adam. Mark Hughes surely wants to go out with a bang at Carlisle!
Salford have turned getting out of League Two into quite the chore since promotion six years ago and it wouldn’t surprise me if they suffered another hiccup today. I’d quietly fancy Chesterfield – Paul Cook knows how to get the job done. And fair play to Mark Hughes – plenty would have turned their nose up at Bradford and Carlisle given the career he has had, the bright lights he has experienced.
A special miracle-workers-of-the-season award for Burton Albion: at the start of November they had four points from 12 games and were seven points from 20th place (occupied at the time by potentially play-off-bound Leyton Orient). In mid-January they had 15 points, were still bottom, and were 11 points from 20th place. Their resurrection started with a win at Wigan on 21 January and ended against the same opponents on Tuesday, when they got the point they needed to guarantee safety. Here’s a final word from Ben Fisher:
On days like these we tend to give our flowers to those promoted or securing playoff berths. But before diving headfirst into the action, a word for Gary Bowyer, who has worked a miracle in saving Burton Albion. They were 11 points adrift of safety in January and spent five months in the relegation zone before escaping last week. Relegated Bristol Rovers will be having Burton-shaped nightmares for a while.
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Rob Smyth is covering the Championship’s denouement, with kick-off in those games about 45 minutes away. You can find his liveblog here:
What does the future hold for record-smashing Birmingham?
Birmingham have blown away League One - it really has been quite easy. I’ve been very impressed by head coach Chris Davies, who previously worked as an assistant to Brendan Rodgers and Ange Postecoglou, but I expect them to make some bold calls this summer. They will spend big - chair Tom Wagner has promised as much - but they need to be ruthless. The current squad must be strengthened if they’re going to compete at the top end next season.
Team news is in for the early Premier League game, and here it is:
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen, Kamara, Tielemans, Rogers, Asensio, McGinn, Watkins. Subs: Olsen, Mings, Barkley, Digne, Garcia, Malen, Onana, Bailey, Ramsey.
Fulham: Leno, Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson, Berge, Lukic, Sessegnon, Wilson, Iwobi, Jimenez. Subs: Benda, Reed, Cairney, Traore, Vinicius, Cuenca, Castagne, Willian, Smith Rowe.
Referee: Robert Jones.
John Brewin is your man for live coverage of this one, here:
Who’s going to take the last League Two promotion place?
Walsall have imploded and while Bradford have made a meal of things in recent weeks, psychologically Mat Sadler’s team must be floored by the way their season has capitulated. They could, of course, arrest the slide but they have opened the door for Bradford and Notts County. Notts would probably be my pick if I had to choose.
Walsall twice hit the woodwork in defeat at home to struggling Accrington and it feels luck is against them. I think they have won just three matches since Nathan Lowe returned to Stoke after his loan spell - at which point the striker was the joint-top scorer in the EFL. Walsall’s collapse, really, is one of the stories of the season.
Today’s League Two fixtures (3pm kick-off)
Accrington Stanley v Chesterfield
Bradford City v Fleetwood Town
Bromley v Cheltenham Town
Carlisle United v Salford City
Colchester United v Barrow
Crewe Alexandra v Walsall
Grimsby Town v AFC Wimbledon
Morecambe v Harrogate Town
Newport County v Tranmere Rovers
Notts County v Doncaster Rovers
Port Vale v Gillingham
Swindon Town v Milton Keynes Dons
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Who will join Wrexham and Birmingham in League One? We have touched on the uplifting news for Reading before their meeting with Barnsley and Leyton Orient are also in with a shout, another team exceeding expectations. Charlton are interesting, however, reborn since Nathan Jones returned to the club where he started his coaching career. Charlton had won three in a row before having to play second-fiddle to Wrexham last time out. Jones made the mistake of describing Wrexham as a “circus” in the buildup to that one but he has suggested they will go strong at home to Burton. “If we win all four games then we know exactly where we’ll be,” he said this week. “I would like to go into the playoff campaign on the back of a bounce.”
Who’s the Championship manager of the season?
Scott Parker has got his career back on track at Burnley, whose defensive record has been borderline ridiculous. If - and it’s a big if - Bristol City make the playoffs then Liam Manning will have overachieved with a thin squad. Régis le Bris too: we possibly forget about his work at Sunderland given they’ve been coasting for a while.
Away from the top six, has anyone in the Championship had a particularly impressive season?
Plenty has been said about the lack of excitement at Vicarage Road today, with Watford hosting Sheffield Wednesday but I think Danny Röhl deserves a big doff of the cap. He has done brilliantly to keep Wednesday out of the relegation picture all season and until a few weeks ago, and the late payment of wages, they were still in the playoff mix. A word for John Mousinho who has done brilliantly to keep Portsmouth up on their return to the division and the early signs are promising for Swansea under Alan Sheehan, who this week became their permanent manager after a blinding spell in interim charge.
Sheffield United and Sunderland are in, so it’s two from five of Bristol City, Coventry City, Middlesbrough, Millwall and Blackburn. I fancy Coventry to get the job done over Middlesbrough and even if Bristol City fail to beat Preston I’m not convinced Blackburn or Millwall will win today. Famous last words.
Today’s Championship fixtures again (all 12.30pm):
Bristol City v Preston North End
Burnley v Millwall
Coventry v Middlesbrough
Derby v Stoke
Norwich v Cardiff
Plymouth v Leeds
Portsmouth v Hull
Sheff Utd v Blackburn
Sunderland v QPR
Swansea v Oxford Utd
Watford v Sheff Wed
West Brom v Luton
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Hello everybody, greetings from Bristol, where at Ashton Gate there is a mammoth final-day fixture. Bristol City hunting a playoff place, Preston desperate to avoid relegation to the third tier.
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Ben Fisher will be here in a matter of minutes to answer any questions about goins-on in the Football League. Please send you questions to me by email (link in standfirst above) or post them BTL. Cheers!
Here’s a thing I wrote earlier this week about what can be decided this weekend in the third, fourth and fifth tiers of English football. The final round of fixtures in Leagues One and Two kick off at 3pm today, in the National League at 3pm on Monday:
Sell Before We Dai, the Reading fans’ protest group, has released a statement following confirmation that Rob Couhig is to buy the club from Dai Yongge. This is most of it:
We are incredibly relieved and happy that Reading Football Club are finally under new ownership. It’s a day which we thought, at times, may never happen.
In the eight years of the Dai Yongge era, every single element of our club went backwards. The first team were relegated, the women’s team were essentially folded and staff were made redundant as every operational element of the club was cut back to the bare bones. Those who remained were forced to work with tight budgets and under immense pressure. Sometimes they weren’t even sure if they’d be paid at the end of the month.
Today is a day for celebration and that starts by welcoming Rob Couhig. Thank you for not giving up on us, thank you for saving our 153-year-old club from oblivion.
While Wycombe Wanderers owner, the Bearwood fiasco saw him come into direct conflict with our powerful, passionate fanbase, culminating in the training ground remaining under Reading’s control (we imagine he’s quite grateful for that now!). Rumours of his views on both the academy – the jewel in our crown – and women’s team have also left some fans unsettled.
However, the training ground issue is now in the past and Couhig should now be judged by his actions as our owner, not by rumours which arose while he was trying to buy the club.
Some of these actions are already plain to see. The takeover process has been tortuous and – at times – ill-tempered. We know several bidders came and went, but Couhig remained, and for that alone we are incredibly grateful. He was determined, dogged and incredibly savvy. Having someone with those qualities in your club’s corner can only be a good thing and it is also worth stating that Wycombe Wanderers fans say he left them in a better place.
Reading fans are now excited to hear in an open forum from Couhig about his plans. Our gratitude is immeasurable but cannot be unconditional. We are under no illusions that steps will need to be taken to undo the damage Dai has done to this football club, but we hope Couhig runs Reading transparently, prudently, in collaboration with Reading fans and with regard for the club’s identity.
We’ve been sold before we Dai’d.
Reading sale agreed in principle
Big, positive news for Reading before a potentially pivotal final day in League One: Rob Couhig has signed a deal to buy the troubled club, who can qualify for the playoffs this afternoon.
“The EFL has received confirmation from all parties that a sale has been agreed in principle with Redwood Holdings Limited, with the transaction expected to be completed shortly, once final legal technicalities have been completed,” reads an EFL statement.
“As such, the EFL board has agreed to extend the time allowed for Mr Dai Yongge to divest his interests until Thursday 8 May, subject to compliance with all other EFL regulations.”
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Hello everyone! I bring vaguely interesting if you squint a bit news about Erling Haaland! PA Media report that he “is ready to return for the season run-in to boost Manchester City’s hopes of securing Champions League football and lifting the FA Cup”, though you would have thought his appearance as an albeit unused substitute in last night’s 1-0 win over Wolves pretty much gave that away. City brought on four substitutes between the 83rd and 89th minutes but Haaaland wasn’t among them, and this is what Pep Guardiola said about it last night:
Yeah, I thought about [bringing Haaland on] but decided for energy, in the last moments. I was thinking but it was just two training sessions with us and in that moment it was a little bit [difficult] so I decided for the other type of players.
Time for me to hand over to Simon Burnton for the next couple of hours. Don’t forget we have a Football League Q&A with the brilliant Ben Fisher at 11am. Email your questions to matchday.live@theguardian.com or post them below the line. Bye bye!
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Aston Villa v Fulham (12.30pm)
“Your nothing-to-play-for correspondents have overlooked the gripping contest for eighth and the Conference League place (unless Palace win the FA Cup, so come on City),” says Richard Hirst. “It all kicks off, literally and metaphorically, at 12.30 with the mighty Whites at Villa. It’s on.”
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I’d politely disagree with this. I don’t always have the commentary on but I thought he was really good as a third commentator (yes, yes, I know) in Bilbao on Thursday night. Perhaps it’s because his team were playing and he saw the game through different eyes – more focussed, maybe – but there were plenty of insights into the art of defending (for example body shape when Williams had that free header early on) and also the mental demands of playing in such a big game. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not Nasser Hussain, but he’s not without insight.
Another plug for Barney Ronay’s column on Lamine Yamal
So Lamine Yamal is brilliant. Brilliant is fine. We’ve seen brilliant before. But he is also fascinating in other ways. Mainly he’s something new, the first outright superstar to emerge entirely in the terminally online world, out there to be consumed, worshipped, pulled apart, and never ever left alone from his earliest years, obliged to mean something, to always perform, to a degree of soul-melting intensity only this version of the world has ever managed. What is it going to do to him?
Indeed he did, from 1977-80. I think he scored four on his debut, though I wouldn’t bet the farm on it.
“I’m on the train on the way to Lord’s to watch Middlesex v Kent,” writes Matt Emerson. “A day spent in the pavilion with my old friend Shep, who is now a member.
“I’ve always said that late April to early May is the best time for sport. The culmination of the league title race, the FA Cup & Champions League semi-finals (which are usually better than the finals), the snooker, the Grand National and the start of the flat season, the start of the cricket season, the Masters. It’s bliss.”
And best of all, endless pub chat about who England should/will pick for the first Test match of the summer.
What's at stake in the big European title races
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich, without the suspended Harry Kane, will win the title with two games to spare if they beat RB Leipzig away from home this afternoon. Kane is set win his first major trophy at the age of 31, and the Banterverse may never be the same again.
“It’s kind of my story that I’ll miss the Leipzig game,” he said. “But no worries, I’ll celebrate more than anyone else.”
Serie A
Napoli have stolen a march on Inter, thanks in no small part to the goals of McAdona. They are three points clear with four games to play and both teams are in action today: Napoli visit Lecce at 5pm, Inter are at home to Verona at 7.45pm.
La Liga
Barcelona are four points clear of Real Madrid – who they meet next weekend – with five games to go. Barça are away to the bottom club Valladolid tonight; Real host Celta Vigo tomorrow afternoon.
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“Off to Goodison,” says Gary Naylor. “Only going to say that once more after today.”
You could rename your shed?
Football League Q&A
At 11am, Ben Fisher will be here to answer your questions about all things EFL. Let’s be havin’ them: email matchday.live@theguardian.com or post below the line.
Bristol City – who last appeared in the top flight in 1979-80 – are at home to relegation-threatened Preston, knowing a win will guarantee a playoff place
Not the football department
Judd Trump and Mark Williams will resume at 8-8 in their semi-final; it’s the best of 33. Xintong Zhao is already into the final after a ruthless demolition of Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Birmingham City P45 W33 D9 L3 F82 A30 Pts 108
It is now!
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If you haven’t seen it, check out the terrific goal from Calvin Miller that sealed promotion. I can’t find a YouTube link but it’ll be in the usual places.
The Fantasy Premier League deadline was last night, ahead of Manchester City’s game v Wolves. Did you forget? I forgot, mainly because I’m seventh in the Smyth family league and I’m used to fighting for the title and I’m not handling it well.
On the plus side, I left Kevin De Bruyne as captain, so there’s that. There aren’t really any standout choices this week; most of the top teams have tough games and you’d expect some, certainly Arsenal, to rest players.
In the last few seasons, Leeds, Burnley, Southampton, Leicester and others have been trapped in a cycle of promotion and relegation. Philippe Auclair looks at the slippery problem of parachute payments.
Only once before this season and last had all three promoted clubs immediately returned whence they came, in 1997-98. It was more common for them to remain in the top division together, which has happened four times since 2002, last and most remarkably in 2021-22 when Fulham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest not only survived but prospered and grew into contenders for a place in European competitions. This, however, looks like an aberration.
Liverpool were quiet in the transfer market last summer, which makes their title stroll even more impressive. This summer, Arne Slot will have his imaginary chequebook at the ready.
[Winning the league] definitely helps to attract new players as well because mostly the players that we want, we are not the only club who thinks they are good players, so they have more options. Then maybe it helps for them to see that the way we do things here is special. Until now, if I spoke to players who we wanted to bring in, I always told them that our fans are really special and it is special to play at this club. But after Sunday I don’t think I ever have to tell anyone again how special our fans are because that was unbelievable.
On this day in 1972… the first leg of the first-ever all-English European final. (Longer highlights, including the Wolves goal, are available.)
Football League Q&A with Ben Fisher
At 11am, Ben Fisher will be here to answer your questions about all things EFL. Let’s be havin’ them: email matchday.live@theguardian.com or post below the line.
You think the life of an algorithm is easy? Try being an as-it-stands table on the last day of the season.
The best dead rubbers in the world
The 2000-01 season is another contender for this dubious award. The biggest thing at stake on the last day of the season was whether Liverpool would qualify for the Champions League ahead of Leeds (they did).
Man Utd won the title on New Year’s Day, pretty much; and though the bottom three weren’t quite as far adrift as this season’s, they were all relegated with games to spare.
Leicester and Southampton have had miserable seasons, picking up 18 and 11 points respectively. But at least one of them will add to that total at the King Power Stadium today.
The young are getting younger. A 14-year-old is the talk of cricket’s IPL; my friend’s nine-year-old has the vocabulary of a learned quadragenarian; and three years on from Ethan Nwaneri’s record-breaking Premier League debut, Arsenal have another 15-year-old who looks ready for first-team action.
Premier League regulations prevent players who were not 15 at the start of a season from playing, meaning Dowman will not be able to surpass Ethan Nwaneri’s record as the competition’s youngest player, set in September 2022 when Nwaneri was 15 years and 181 days old. But Arteta was asked whether the attacking midfielder, who has drawn comparisons to Martin Ødegaard, could be an option for next season after the success of the academy graduates Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
“For the near future, yes,” he said. “Now he is involved in the squad. He trains with us a lot. Does that mean he will play in the Premier League many games? I don’t know; depends how good he is and how impressive he is and how much he offers the team like Ethan, like Myles, like any other player in the squad. Let’s see how this evolves but we certainly got a big, big talent there.
Enough of Tony Adams. What are you plans for this beautiful Saturday? Going to a game? Mowing the lawn while listening to Nessun Dorma? Settling into an all-dayer at JD Wetherspoons? Let us know either below the line or via matchday.live@theguardian.com
On this day in 1998, Tony Adams writes his own script as Arsenal win the Premier League. Wonderful commentary from Martin Tyler, too, right up there with Aguerrooooooooo.
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Chelsea’s young players will form a guard of honour for Liverpool tomorrow. Jacob Steinberg has been looking at what Enzo Maresca and friends can learn from the champions.
Chelsea, who have the second-youngest squad across Europe’s top five leagues and are monitoring the 19-year-old Ajax left-back Jorrel Hato, should take note. They will give Liverpool a guard of honour at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon and face a team with stability at their core. Van Dijk, now 33, is still the defensive rock and has signed on for two more years. Alisson, at 32, remains one of the best goalkeepers in the world. It is a simple equation: buying the best usually makes you the best.
Barney’s regular Saturday column is about a young man who, on Wednesday night, came agonisingly close to breaking the internet
Lamine Yamal was the buildup, the takeaway and also the TV commentary to this game, which for long periods was just Rio Ferdinand saying “OH MY GOD” a lot. In the second half you kept having to check the score to make sure it wasn’t actually 6-1 to Barcelona (Lamine Yamal 6), as opposed to a 3-3 draw and a good away result for Inter.
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On this weekend five years ago there was no football, just Covid and a whole lotta fear. Barney Ronay has been looking at how the pandemic changed sport – for richer and poorer.
The pandemic had a start date. But the closest we got to a national throwing-off of the shackles, our own VV day, was July 2021 and the sight of a lone England football supporter placing a flare between his buttock cheeks before releasing it into the air of central London. This was our healing moment, our iconography of closure, our own white cliffs and union flags.
This morning's headlines
Updated
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of another super soccer-filled Saturday. This is our home for all the latest news and previews ahead of today’s action, which begins at 12.30pm with Aston Villa v Fulham and the last day of the regular Championship season. Then we have the final round of fixtures in Leagues One and Two, plus Bayern Munich’s chance to win back the Bundesliga after a shocking one-season drought.
At 11am we’ll have a special Q&A with Ben Fisher, who knows more about the Football League than 99.82 per cent of sentient beings, so please send in any questions for that. You can contact us at matchday.live@theguardian.com or post below the line.
Before we get started, these are some of the key matches we’ll be following today.
Premier League
Aston Villa v Fulham (12.30pm)
Everton v Ipswich (3pm)
Leicester v Southampton (3pm)
Arsenal v Bournemouth (5.30pm)
Championship (all 12.30pm)
Bristol City v Preston North End
Burnley v Millwall
Coventry v Middlesbrough
Derby v Stoke
Norwich v Cardiff
Plymouth v Leeds
Portsmouth v Hull
Sheff Utd v Blackburn
Sunderland v QPR
Swansea v Oxford Utd
Watford v Sheff Wed
West Brom v Luton
Bundesliga
RB Leipzig v Bayern (2.30pm)
League One (3pm)
Huddersfield v Leyton Orient
Reading v Barnsley
League Two (3pm)
Accrington v Chesterfield
Bradford City v Fleetwood
Carlisle v Salford
Colchester v Barrow
Crewe v Walsall
Grimsby v AFC Wimbledon
Notts County v Doncaster
Port Vale v Gillingham
You can peruse a fuller fixture list here.
