On the day Liverpool finally lift the Premier League trophy in front of supporters at Anfield, five teams do battle for the three remaining Champions League places.
All 10 matches kick off at 4pm on the final day, with Nottingham Forest’s game against Chelsea the pick of the bunch given both teams can still finish inside the top five.
The Blues are currently fifth, while seventh-placed Forest must win and hope other results go their way to secure a Champions League spot.
Manchester City in third are away to Fulham, fourth-placed Newcastle host Everton, and Aston Villa are fifth and travel to Manchester United.
The i Paper have reporters at the crucial games – including Daniel Storey completing his remarkable Doing the 92 at Forest – and you can follow our live coverage below…
Boost for Newcastle as Isak starts
Reporting from St James’ Park:
Huge news that Alexander Isak starts. He looked to be moving fairly freely despite the groin complaint that has had Tyneside stressing this week.
It’ll be a nervous one today and its really blustery here at St James’ Park – so windy that Wor Flags, whose spectacular tifos have captured worldwide attention, have abandoned one of their ideas for fear of high winds.
Everton are missing most of their defence so will be relying on former Sunderland man Jordan Pickford to repel the Magpies.
Daniel Storey completes Doing the 92 journey at Nottingham Forest
He’s one of our own.
What a day for our Daniel.
After 17,686 miles and 198,000 words, Daniel Storey’s unprecedented journey to all 92 of English football’s league stadiums comes to a climax at the City Ground today.
It has been a mammoth effort, and it ends with some finale.
You can click here to read all 91 pieces so far, and if you want to pass on some kind words, reach him on X and tell him ‘well in!’ before he heads for the beach (or a dark room).
The race for Europe – permutations explained
Fifth place will guarantee Champions League football next season, and going into the final round of fixtures this afternoon five teams can still join Liverpool and Arsenal (and Spurs!) in qualifying for Europe’s premier competition.
Manchester City are in the driving seat, sitting in third, two points above Newcastle, Chelsea and Aston Villa, while Nottingham Forest are a point below those three teams.
Premier League table
It is really down to Villa and Forest to shake things up. Villa know victory at Old Trafford could see them capitalising on City, Newcastle or Chelsea slipping up, and even a draw could be enough for Unai Emery’s side.
Forest meanwhile must beat Chelsea to have any chance of sneaking back into the top five.
And as it stands, sixth place will join FA Cup winners Crystal Palace in the Europa League, and seventh qualify for the Conference League. ESPN’s Dale Johnson has tirelessly covered these permutations (it’s been messy) including how eighth could yet qualify for Europe.
This will only become possible if Chelsea finish seventh, or if the Blues finish sixth AND Newcastle finish seventh.
Premier League final day fixtures
Key games in the race for the top five
- Fulham vs Manchester City
- Manchester United vs Aston Villa
- Newcastle United vs Everton
- Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea
Elsewhere
- Bournemouth vs Leicester City
- Ipswich Town vs West Ham
- Liverpool vs Crystal Palace
- Southampton vs Arsenal
- Tottenham vs Brighton
- Wolves vs Brentford
Welcome along
The title race had one horse and relegation was decided weeks ago, so thank the Premier League gods for this top-five scrap.
The race for Europe has kept the Premier League interesting in recent weeks, and it all comes down to this – the final day of the season.
Three points separate five teams from third down to seventh, and by 6pm we will know who is joining Liverpool and Arsenal – and Europa League winners Tottenham – in the Champions League next season.
All 10 matches kick off at 4pm. Let’s take a look at the fixtures.
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