That’s all from me! Be sure to join Rob Smyth for minute-by-minute coverage of the Championship playoff final, which kicks off in around 30 minutes. Then, a bit later, Sarah Rendell will be on hand to keep you updated on the Women’s Champions League final. Thanks for reading!
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Aberdeen v Celtic team news
Aberdeen starting XI: Mitov, Devlin, Milne, Knoester, Dorrington, Jensen, Shinnie, Shinnie, Clarkson, Palaversa, Keskinen, Nisbet. Substitutes: Doohan, MacKenzie, Polvara, Dabbagh, Gueye, Morris, Tobers, Boyd.
Your Scottish Cup Final Dons! pic.twitter.com/iYVWANA76n
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) May 24, 2025
Celtic starting XI: Schmeichel, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor, McGregor, Engels, Bernardo, Kuhn, Idah, Maeda. Substitutes: Sinisalo, Trusty, Yang, McCowan, Schlupp, Kenny, Forrest, Ralston.
Your starting XI for the 2024/25 #ScottishCup Final is in ⤵️ #CELABE | #CelticFC🍀 pic.twitter.com/RYICOtJTSr
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) May 24, 2025
Postecoglou yet to discuss Tottenham future
Ange Postecoglou is yet to discuss his Tottenham future with key figures at the club. Speculation over the Australian’s tenure has been rife due to poor Premier League form, but Europa League glory earned Spurs a first trophy in 17 years. After being serenaded by thousands of Tottenham supporters at Friday’s open-top bus parade, where Postecoglou declared “season three is always better than season two”, the 59-year-old faced the media before Sunday’s visit of Brighton but has no clarity on his future.
“I should have thought about it a bit more because sometimes they kill off the main character,” Postecoglou laughed. “I said before the game, I really feel we’re building something. It’s exciting I have a group of players, a group of staff and a club that knows how to win.
“I haven’t had any discussions. Similar to before, I haven’t had any discussions with the club and maybe they were waiting for clear air. I haven’t given it a lot of thought, I just refuse to be distracted by anything. I haven’t thought of it. I assume at some point someone will tell me something, otherwise I’ll just turn up next season and get on with my job.”
Sheffield United v Sunderland team news
Sheffield United starting XI: Cooper, Brewster, Hamer, Moore, Burrows, Ahmedhodžić, Robinson (C), Souza, Campbell, Choudhury, Peck. Substitutes: Davies, McCallum, Holding, O’Hare, Brereton Díaz, T.Davies, Cannon, Brooks, Seriki.
Our Wembley Blades. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/YVQBYukFs1
— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) May 24, 2025
Sunderland starting XI: Patterson, Hume, Ballard, O’Nien, Cirkin, Neil (C), Bellingham, Rigg, Le Fée, Mundle, Mayenda. Substitutes: Moore, Browne, Roberts, Isidor, Abdul Samed, Mepham, Hjelde, Watson, Jones.
Your Play-Off final Sunderland 😤#TilTheEnd pic.twitter.com/LlAl4G6hDM
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) May 24, 2025
Which of the two clubs in today’s final currently has the best set up (owners, manager, squad) to try to establish themselves in the Premier League?
BF: Well, Sheffield United and Chris Wilder have been there and done it more recently. The Blades boss said the squad was undercooked for the top flight upon promotion under Paul Heckingbottom two years ago. New owners backed Wilder heavily in January – they signed four players on loan from Premier League clubs and completed a £10m deal for Tom Cannon - and would appear prepared to do similar in the event of a return to the top table. I think Wilder has a burning desire to prove he can still mix it with the elite. There is perhaps an unknown element at Sunderland, a fresher dynamic with a 27-year-old owner in Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and a young squad to boot.
Liverpool favourites to sign Wirtz
Liverpool are favourites to sign Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz after the Germany midfielder rebuffed Bayern Munich’s approach, according to reports.
The 22-year-old has been impressed by the champions’ plans but a £126m price tag may prove prohibitive. Liverpool, who are yet to say they have made contact with Wirtz, are poised to sign Jeremie Frimpong from the German club for £30m, opening an approach for another of their leading players.
On Friday, Bild reported that the Wirtz family had told Bayern that Liverpool was the player’s preferred next step, and Bayern’s president, Herbert Hainer, was reported saying on Saturday: “Florian Wirtz is probably leaning towards Liverpool.”
The countdown to kick-off is on at Wembley!
Alessia Russo, tasked with leading the line in a stacked Arsenal attack today, has the opportunity to make a statement as well as earn a place in history.
John Hagan has emailed in to say…
“The streets and tube-trains of London today are filled with the red-and-white striped shirts of the Sheffield and Sunderland supporters (half of the population of those cities it seems!) here for the Play Off Final, and dotted amongst them are serene Spurs fans, immaculate in lily-white like wingless angels, bestowing beatific smiles upon all passersby, like avatars of the football gods. And the Crystal Palace fans? Still in the pub I expect!”
“Is Chris Wilder still an innovative manager? He was lauded when Sheffield United first came up (overlapping centre-backs etc) but then seemed to be quickly cast aside and dismissed as an old-school manager akin to Big Sam, Pulis et al. Has he been unfairly portrayed?” asks Simon Forbes.
BF: Yes, those days of Chris Basham moonlighting as a right-winger may have been and gone – he recently had his testimonial at Bramall Lane – but there is still a beauty to Wilder’s work. These days he is very much a back-four manager, rather than that roaming three-man defence. He has bled in youngsters such as Ollie Arblaster, who looked primed for a monstrous season until a serious knee injury in November, and Sydie Peck, the rangy midfielder now on the radar of England Under-21s manager Lee Carsley. In the semi-finals against Bristol City Wilder went direct, with Kieffer Moore in particular bullying the opposition centre-back in a pragmatic, up and at ‘em 4-4-2. United breezed to a 6-0 aggregate win. The Blades perhaps have a wider variety of tools to unpick a defence than Sunderland. They can go sledgehammer or sander.
The legendary Arsenal Women manager Vic Akers believes the Gunners can recreate the magic of their 2007 Champions League final win against Barcelona this evening. Speaking to club media, he said: “If I had a magic wand, I’d want the club to follow suit and win it again. What our team achieved out in Lyon last month was unbelievable. They proved it to themselves as well as everyone else. Proved that they deserve to be in the final. I think they’ll take note of what we did 18 years ago and believe they can do it again.
“I spoke to Renée about how the club was formed, along with what happened throughout all those years. Then we chatted about the final and how well they’re prepared and that they’re looking better and better by the day. All the girls in our current squad are exceptionally pleasant, very well looked after and well organised. I think that’s a big thing: they’ve got standards.”
Pink Street has been turned red in Lisbon, Arsenal fans are spilling out of every bar having taken over the entire pink-painted road. You can hear the singing and chanting from streets away. Never seen anything like this, beyond the masses of Barcelona fans that have travelled in force in recent years, at a UWCL final.
“Which club is promotion most important for? Do Sunderland need the cash more than Sheffield United given they have been a long time out of the top flight?” asks Graham Jones.
BF: Frankly only the big wigs will know the numbers but it certainly doesn’t feel like a trapdoor awaits the loser, as when Aston Villa overcame Derby in 2019. The one thing that has maybe been lost of late is that Sunderland are quietly ahead of schedule. They won promotion out of League One three years ago and finished 16th last season. Regis Le Bris has a young squad teeming with assets that regardless of which division they are in next season will fetch sizeable fees: Jobe Bellingham, 19, Chris Rigg, 17, Dan Neil, 23, Dennis Cirkin, 23. The 19-year-old forward Tom Watson, likely a substitute this afternoon, signed for Brighton in a £10m deal. Sheffield United have a couple of emerging talents, too, in Michael Cooper and Harrison Burrows. But while they have a heftier wage bill they also have the cushion of those pesky parachute payments, at least as far as the rest of the playing field is concerned.
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Ben Fisher is now on to answer some of your questions on the Championship playoff final. Be sure to keep sending them in to matchday.live@theguardian.com or leave a comment.
Arsenal are underdogs but they have been the comeback queens of this season’s competition, not only through their second-leg fightbacks to overturn deficits against Real Madrid and Lyon in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively but also through their resurgence during the group stage, when they recovered from a heavy away defeat against Bayern Munich – under their former head coach Jonas Eidevall – to qualify for the knockout rounds as group winners.
Discussing today’s Champions League final, Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers said: “I’m very proud and I’m very happy for so many people. Yeah, so very happy for so many people because, as I said, I’ve only been at the club for one and a half, two years now. But taking a club to a Champions League final is so much work and that work is done all the time. So I think a lot of people should be proud, working in the background.
“But I am proud as well because I think what we’ve done as a team, looking at... We started the mini-tournament early in the season, which didn’t start easy. And then we take ourselves into the group stage and there’s some challenging games there as well. And some good opposition.
“But I think for me the key moment was the second leg against Bayern at home, where we showed so much as a team. I think we’ve always known, and the players know themselves as well, that we’re a very good team. We’re a very good football team. But that was, for me, a key moment where I saw that we could win games in different ways. And we could find ways to win. So that was such a special moment.”
John Ashdown is hoping that today will be Sheffield United’s day at Wembley, having been at each of the club’s last four playoff final defeats…
Arsenal’s big guns are travelling out for the women’s Champions League final. The club’s co-chair Josh Kroenke is taking a nine-hour flight from Denver for the team’s first Champions League final since 2007. He’ll be joined by executive vice chair Tim Lewis, alongside many others from the Arsenal hierarchy.
Thanks Rob! And hello again! I’ll be taking you through the next few hours in the countdown to the Championship playoff final, and it appears the stage is already set at Wembley…
Time for me to hand back over to Emillia. Thanks for your company and correspondence; bye!
DFB-Pokal final (7pm)
“As a Stuttgart fan I’ve been feeling serene since the semi-finals, confident even,” writes Kári Tulinius, “but today I’m a bag of nerves. This would be be first cup triumph since 1997. Stuttgart have won only one major trophy this century, two if you include the 2. Bundesliga, and three if you count the Intertoto Cup.
“Going into tonight’s DFB-Pokal as massive favourites against Arminia Bielefeld has done a number on my tranquil assurance. The idea of losing is suddenly terrifying, and as a fan of the Boys from Cannstatt, I thought I’d gotten used to losing in the last two decades. I might have to watch tonight’s match from behind the sofa.”
Simon Hattenstone on Kevin De Bruyne
A lovely piece, this, on a player who has made English football an infinitely better place in the past decade.
De Bruyne doesn’t even particularly like scoring. His big thing is assists (119 in the Premier League alone). He is streets ahead of any other player in assists per minute in the Premier League with one every 177 minutes followed by Dennis Bergkamp with one every 236.
Perhaps the assist we became most familiar with was the back-spun swerving rocket-cross into the area that evaded every defender, leaving a grateful forward to tap it in at the far post. Sure the opposition knew what was coming, but it made no difference. Then there was the speed of thought – the sublime single touch between the lines, invisible to all others (except David Silva), that could take out half a dozen players.
Around 5,000 Arsenal fans are expected in Lisbon today, while there are believed to be at least 30,000 Barcelona supporters descending on the Portuguese capital. There is a spotless, blue sky above the city. Since the pandemic, Barcelona fans have got used to this end-of-season showpiece and it’s become something of a pilgrimage for their fans – I spoke to one Barca fan this morning who is attending the final for the third year in a row and saved up for six months to buy their flights. Arsenal, on the other hand, are at this stage for the first time in 18 years. There’s a novelty to this event for their fans, rather than a routine.
Napoli finished 10th in Serie A last season, 41 points behind the champions Internazionale. Victor Osimhen left in the summer, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia moved to Paris in January, and now they are champions. Nicky Bandini explains how the hell.
This story is more remarkable for the upheaval in the middle of it – the fact neither Luciano Spalletti nor his two best players stayed around for this second triumph. Napoli went through three managers last season before landing Antonio Conte in the summer. Aurelio De Laurentiis is clearly doing a lot right, but he doesn’t half find unconventional ways to do it.
Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (4pm)
Will Unwin traces Forest’s development from laughing stock in 2022 to canny recruiters a few years later.
The focus on undervalued players of a good age has continued. The return of George Syrianos as technical director, having consulted on the deals in 2023, and the arrival of Pedro Ferreira as chief scout have brought further calm to the recruitment process. Elliot Anderson and Nikola Milenkovic are two that fit a similar pattern, brought in with limited fanfare but at the heart of a team surpassing expectations. Brentford and Brighton are often seen as the benchmark for recruitment but this season Forest have outperformed them.
“It’s absolutely no defence of Manchester United, but those people (many of them supporters of the club) earlier in the season pointing at the hole in the middle of their midfield and asking why they sold McTominay seem to have short memories,” says David Wall. “Or perhaps they found the days of ‘McFred’ so traumatic that they’ve repressed them from memory.
“Like you say, it’s a lot more nuanced than that. And pointing to a player who has left the club and then gone on to excel is too easy a game as there are examples everywhere. The idea that United would be fine if they’d not sold those players misses the problem entirely.”
Look at you, swanning around with your ‘nuance’ and ‘facts’ and ‘considered judgement’. You won’t last in this world, son.
A reminder of today's big games
Women’s Champions League final
Arsenal v Barcelona (5pm)Scottish Cup final
Aberdeen v Celtic (3pm)Championship playoff final
Sheffield United v Sunderland (3.01pm)Coupe de France final
Paris-Saint-Germain v Reims (8pm)DFB-Pokal final
Arminia Bielefeld v Stuttgart (7pm)
Updated
Championship playoff final (3.01pm)
Sheffield United and Sunderland meet at Wembley to decide who will play in the Premier League next season. We can’t ignore the likelihood that whoever goes up will go straight back down, but that miserable reality can wait until August. Today is about glory (and, yes, £200m).
‘A labrador trying to drive a steam engine’
Barney Ronay has also written about the state of things at Old Trafford.
And yes, with all due apologies, it is also fantastically entertaining. This is the brand now: Epic Failure. Even the scroll of score-settling agent-sourced headlines after Wednesday’s defeat were totally moreish. Amorim Curls Into Ball In Laundry Room as Showdown Talks Loom. Revealed: Hidden Message as Wantaway Ace Posts Cryptic Pic of Wheel of Cheese. Arrogant Ratcliffe ‘Ate Entire Packet of Chewing Gum’ in Front of Crying Nurse.
German cup final (7pm BST)
Another underdog could make history this evening. Arminia Bielefeld have just won the German third division title and are hoping to return to Bundesliga 2 as DFB-Pokal Cup victors by beating VfB Stuttgart, of the Bundesliga, in the final.
Bielefeld, who reached the semi-finals in 2014-15, could become the first team froe the third tier to win the competition. They’ve already beaten Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen, Freiburg, Union Berlin and Werder Bremen.
Serie A player of the year
Sorry, I should have said that it wasn’t introduced until 1996-97. There was also a footballer of the year award, given by the magazine Guerin Sportivo, up until around. Maradona won it in 1984-85, his first season in Italy, though not when Napoli won the title in 1987 and 1990. That award was based on average ratings from the main weekly and daily football papers. Here’s the full list.
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Salah named Premier League player of the year
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has succeeded Phil Foden as the Premier League player of the year. Reports suggest the panel reached their decision after extensive discussions lasting 4.27 seconds. Salah inspired Liverpool’s march to the title and has racked up 28 goals and 18 assists.
It’s the second time Salah has won the award; the first was in his debut season in 2017-18. The other serial winners are Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nemanja Vidic and Kevin De Bruyne.
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The boys of 1995
There’s a terrific podcast on the history of the Champions League called that includes a (very) detailed analysis of that magnificent Ajax team.
Every wedge has a thin end
It’s just not football
Weather permitting, England will wrap victory against Zimbabwe today in the Test match at Trent Bridge. The peerless Tim de Lisle is covering the morning session.
“As a fan of cycling, I am not surprised by Scott McTominay winning the Serie A player of the year award,” writes Balaji. “Just look at the illustrious list of cyclists who have been let go by INEOS team under Jim Ratcliffe. In the current Giro, two of the stage winners last week – Lucas Plapp and Richard Carapaz – rode for INEOS before their current team.”
I can’t even ride a bike so I’m not qualified to comment. It hasn’t stopped me before, I know, but on this occasion I trust Balaji’s judgement. (Still think the McTominay situation was more nuanced, and that it’s a wonderful human story that doesn’t need to be polluted by pointing fingers at Manchester United, but who cares.)
Ronaldo 'may play at Club World Cup'
Fifa’s president Gianni Infantino says “there are discussions” over a move that could see Cristiano Ronaldo play at the Club World Cup this summer.
Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr failed to qualify for the expanded tournament, which will feature 32 clubs for the first time, but Infantino appeared to talk up the prospect of a transfer for the 40-year-old Portugal forward in time for him to appear in the world governing body’s new-look event.
Speaking to YouTuber and streamer IShowSpeed, Infantino said: “Ronaldo might play for one of the teams as well at the Club World Cup. There are discussions... Yeah. Cristiano Ronaldo might play in the Club World Cup.
“There are discussions with some clubs, so if any club is watching and is interested in hiring Ronaldo for the Club World Cup... who knows, who knows.” PA Media
In other news, Manchester United have shortlisted Simon Cowell as a potential replacement for Ruben Amorim.
Gary Lineker and the BBC will consciously uncouple after tomorrow night’s Match of the Day. Barney Ronay has written a seriously good piece, even by his standards, on the utter state of everything Lineker’s 33 years at the Beeb.
And so, here we are, talking about this crap as though it is genuine political discourse. But there are still some things worth saying about this same crap. The first, and most obvious, is that Lineker should also not be dehumanised for making this mistake. He is not an avatar of hate, just as he also not a free speech hero silenced by The Cabal. He is, like all of us, a human trying to understand the world, while being bombarded by extreme information via a deeply addictive and confusing platform, one that also offers the chance for an instant, emotive response. Mistakes will be made. Minds will be bent into strange shapes. Odd stuff will happen.
May 24 in football history
1992 Milan finish the Serie A season unbeaten after a narrow win at Foggia
1997 Barcelona desperately need a goal against Deportivo to stay in the title race. Time is running out, Ronaldo is on his back 35 yards from goal. Four seconds later…
2000 Real Madrid end a shambolic season by winning the Champions League
2014 La Decima
We’ll have a Championship playoff final Q&A with Ben Fisher just after 1pm. Please do send your questions to matchday.live@theguardian.com or post them before the line.
Nerves are normal. Nerves are okay. Nerves are a g- oh bloody hell SOMEBODY PICK UP BONMATI.
McTominay wins Serie A player of the year award
It’s worth looking at the company Scott McTominay joined last night when he was announced as the Serie A player of the season. In the immortal words of Richie Aprile, look at this [expletive] line-up.
Roberto Mancini, Ronaldo, Francesco Totti, Christian Vieri, Kaka, Andrea Pirlo, Fabio Cannavaro, Pavel Nedved, Cristiano Ronaldo, Victor Osimhen, Gianluigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci, Alberto Gilardino, Carlos Tevez, Zlatan, Mauco Icardi, Rafael Leao, Diego Milito, Zinedine Zidane, Lautaro Martinez. And Scott Francis McTominay.
Another plug for Tom Garry’s WCL final preview
Saturday’s final is Barcelona’s 100th women’s European fixture. Their first came against Arsenal, in the 2012-13 season. The Gunners ran out 3-0 winners against a team that included a young Alexia Putellas. “Arsenal are a great team with great players and a great coach,” said the Spain midfielder on Friday. “They are in the final for a reason. They eliminated Real Madrid and scored four against Lyon, but if we are in our best version then many things can turn out well. We trust our match plan.
Was McTominay played inthe wrong position?
This isn’t really true, certainly not in his last season at Old Trafford. Erik ten Hag usually played McTominay as a goalscoring midfielder; the problem was how to fit McTominay and Bruno Fernandes in the same team in a 4-2-3-1 formation. United also needed money to buy a defensive midfielder (whether they bought the right one is a different discussion).
I’d have tried to keep him as a squad player and impact sub, not least because Man Utd need as many reliable characters as they can get. But as with the ostensibly ridiculous sale of Gerard Pique to Barcelona for peanuts in 2008, there were sound reasons for it. I doubt it’s in the 100 unfathomable decisions that United’s suits have made in the past decade.
Talking of club legends, Napoli’s four Serie A titles are indelibly associated with three players: Diego Maradona, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Scott McTominay. There have been some classic feelgood stories this season; McTominay’s might be the best of the lot.
Dan Burn signs contract extension
Thanks Emillia, morning everyone. Let’s start with a bit of news from the north east, where – on today of all days – Newcastle legend* Dan Burn has signed a one-year extension to his contract. That’ll take him through to 2027.
“I’m delighted to sign a new deal here,” Burn said. “I knew that I was going into my last year and I really wanted to get my future tied down. I’ve said before that I would love to finish my career here so to be given that opportunity, I’m very grateful.
“I still feel like I’m getting better and I don’t feel that I’ve hit the top of the hill yet. It’ll be tough to top this season but hopefully we can do that over the next couple of years. It’s a dream come true to be playing for this club and I’m delighted that I get to keep doing it.”
* I think we can call him taht after the Carabao Cup final, can’t we.
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Rob Smyth will be taking the reins of this matchday live for the next few hours while I head off for a break. Over to you, Rob!
Manchester United Women runners-up in Portugal
Manchester United’s women picked up a significant cash injection of $1m US dollars after finishing as the runners-up in the inaugural World Sevens Football event in Estoril, Portugal, but ultimately missed out on the top prize of $2.5m as Bayern Munich struck late through Sarah Zadrazil to win the final 2-1.
The German club, whose humorous goal celebrations became a running theme throughout the tournament, clearly rejoiced in the small-sided, fun-orientated format and their captain Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir said: “From the moment we got here, we were all in a tournament that you would play when you were a kid. We enjoyed it as a team. We came with everyone and winning is just a bonus because it is fun. We’re used to playing with a lot of pressure on our shoulders so to just come here and enjoy it was nice.”
Updated
Fans of National League playoff finalists Southend United and Oldham Athletic face a nightmare journey to Wembley Stadium next Sunday due to TfL engineering works.
The works are set to affect the Jubilee and Metropolitan lines, meaning no trains will stop at Wembley Park station – the main station used by fans on a Wembley matchday. Most people will therefore be forced to travel via Wembley Central, which can only be accessed through the Bakerloo Line and Lioness Line.
As a result, ticket sales have been capped at 17,500 per club due to safety concerns. Around 30,000 Southend fans were initially expected to attend the match. The club has since sourced 28 coaches for supporters in order to ease the travel difficulties.
Essex-based newspaper The Echo has also started a petition asking for both teams to be given more tickets for the occasion, citing the significance of the match for supporters.
All three playoff finals this weekend are scheduled to kick-off one minute past the hour as part of the Every Minute Matters campaign.
• Championship Play-Off Final – Saturday, 24 May 2025 – 15.01
• League One Play-Off Final – Sunday, 25 May 2025 – 13:01
• League Two Play-Off Final – Monday, 26 May 2025 – 15:01
You may be wondering why the Championship playoff final kicks off at 3:01pm rather than 3pm this afternoon.
The change has been made as part of the Every Minute Matters campaign – a collaboration between the EFL and the British Heart Foundation which aims to inspire supporters to learn CPR, equipping them with vital skills that could help them save someone’s life.
Launching at the playoffs last season, the campaign has already inspired 270,000 people to learn CPR. Now, the EFL and the British Heart Foundation want to encourage 360,000 people to learn a lifesaving CPR technique.
The EFL Chief Executive Officer, Trevor Birch, said: “The Sky Bet Play-Offs are a special moment in the football calendar and tens of thousands of supporters will be at Wembley Stadium across the weekend with millions more tuning in from home. By kicking off all three Play-Off Finals one minute later, Every Minute Matters continues to harness the power and visibility of football to encourage even more people to learn CPR, which could ultimately help to save even more lives.”
Arsenal are ready…
This is who we are. Let's go ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Jpx809UeoE
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) May 24, 2025
Manchester City wrap up their Premier League campaign on Sunday with a game Pep Guardiola believes is “by far” their most important of the season. City head to Fulham knowing a draw will almost certainly secure a top-five spot and a place in the Champions League for next season.
After winning the title in the past four seasons, it is a relatively modest target but Guardiola recognises it is the least of the club’s expectations. The City manager said: “If we want to play in the Champions League, we have to take a result there. This is what we are going to do. Of course, it’s really important.” Asked if it was the most important game of the season, Guardiola said at a press conference: “By far.”
City go into the game in third place on 68 points, two ahead of Newcastle, Chelsea and Aston Villa. Nottingham Forest, a point further back, are also still in contention for a place in the top five. Given a superior goal difference over all their rivals, a draw should be sufficient for City but Guardiola is taking nothing for granted against a Fulham side that could finish as high as ninth. PA Media
“Maybe it’s age, maybe it’s having the experience of doing it in other moments,” Leah Williamson told The Guardian this week. “The Euros final was fairly level to this in terms of testing my ability to manage the emotions of the day and occasion. I’m just going to enjoy it.
“If I think that the fact that I’m an Arsenal fan is going to get in the way I have to shift, because that’s not my focus for the day – my job is to be a player, a player that wants to do it for the fan in me.”
Suzanne Wrack spoke to Arsenal defender Leah Williamson this week about her journey from being a mascot for the Gunners in 2007 to now playing in a Champions League final.
Sam has messaged in from Lisbon…
“In Lisbon for the WCL final with my daughter Eleanor. Weather fantastic - just nailed our first Pastel de Nata for breakfast. Going to wander round taking in the sights and then head to the stadium around 3. Seen a couple of Barca fans also far.
“Predicting an Arsenal victory (please) COYG.”
Today’s key fixtures (all times BST)
Women’s Champions League (5pm)
Arsenal v Barcelona
Championship (3:01)
Sheffield United v Sunderland
Scottish Cup (3pm)
Aberdeen v Celtic
Serie A
Bologna v Genoa (5pm)
AC Milan v Monza (7:45pm)
La Liga
Real Madrid v Real Sociedad (3:15pm)
Espanyol v Las Palmas (5:30pm)
Leganes v Valladolid (5:30pm)
Alaves v Osasuna (8pm)
Getafe v Celta Vigo (8pm)
Rayo Vallecano v Mallorca (8pm)
Our very own Ben Fisher will be on hand to answer any Championship playoff final questions at around 1:15pm BST this afternoon. Send them in to Matchdaylive@theguardian.com or leave a comment below!
In case you missed it, Scott McTominay was the hero as Napoli secured the Serie A title with a 2-0 win over Cagliari last night.
As always, I want to hear from you today! Are you off to a match? Are you in Lisbon for the Women’s Champions League final? If so, what’s the weather like? Because I can confirm that in London it’s absolutely miserable - take note if you’re heading to Wembley.
Feel free to also send in any score predictions, feelings, thoughts and all that jazz.
Klopp 'disappointed' with Alexander-Arnold boos
A disappointed Jurgen Klopp turned off the TV when he heard fans of his former team Liverpool booing Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is set to leave this summer after two decades at the club, during a 2-2 home draw with Arsenal earlier this month.
Liverpool-born Alexander-Arnold, who joined the club in 2004 when he was six, debuted for the senior team when Klopp was the manager.
The 26-year-old, who is regarded as one of the best right-backs in the world, has made 353 appearances for Liverpool, winning the Premier League, the Champions League and the Club World Cup during Klopp’s tenure.
“I watched the game when he came on and I heard the booing,” Klopp said at a fundraising event for the LFC foundation on Friday. “I am old so I thought it might be my hearing, so I switched up the volume ... I needed another 10 seconds to realise and I switched the TV off. I honestly couldn’t have been more disappointed in this moment. This is not us, 100% not us.”
England international Alexander-Arnold also featured prominently as Liverpool won the Premier League again this season under new manager Arne Slot.
Slot earlier said he was not sure if Alexander-Arnold would make his final appearance for the club in Sunday’s home game against Crystal Palace, after which Liverpool would lift the Premier League trophy.
Klopp, who is set to attend Sunday’s match, held up an Alexander-Arnold Liverpool shirt to show his support for the player. Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who leads the league’s scoring charts with 28 goals, also spoke out earlier in support of his teammate, saying Alexander-Arnold did not deserve the boos.
Klopp said Liverpool fans should not forget what Alexander-Arnold has done for the club. “I don’t tell you, you should not be disappointed, you should not be angry. I tell you, don’t forget. This club doesn’t forget,” he said. “Every day he gave absolutely everything for this badge ... after 20 years he decided he wanted to go somewhere else. If somebody should be angry about this, it’s the owners, but they’re not.”
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Preamble
Hello, good morning and welcome to another matchday live! We have some huge games to look forward to this afternoon - including a European final.
Arsenal face Barcelona in the Women’s Champions League final at Estádio José Alvalade, with Renée Slegers in search of her first major trophy as a manager. The North London side go into the match as major underdogs having not won the Champions League since 2007 - back when Leah Williamson was just a mascot. Meanwhile, the Liga F giants have their sights set on their third successive European title.
Also this afternoon is the Championship playoff final between Sheffield United and Sunderland. Fans were in full voice across London yesterday as they prepared for the highly-anticipated Wembley meeting, with a place in the Premier League at stake. Sheffield United finished 14 points above their rivals in the table earlier this month, but as we all know anything can happen at the home of English football.
And it’s the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park, where Aberdeen take on league champions Celtic. I’ll be getting you warmed up and ready for these games throughout the day with the help of Rob Smyth, so be sure to stick with us!
Women’s Champions League final (5pm BST)
Championship playoff final (3:01pm BST)
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