Rodri is yard away from doubling City’s lead against West Ham, poking just wide at the near post. A 2-0 lead would surely be curtains.
“Party atmosphere at Anfield even at 0-0,” writes my colleague Philip Cornwall, “with fans rattling through the songs honouring not only the current players but past Klopp stars including Sadio Mané, Bobby Firmino and of course Divock Origi.”
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Bournemouth
Caicedo has scored from the halfway line! What a strike! Neto rushed out to slide into Sterling but then saw his clearance blocked and break loose to the centre circle where the Ecuadorian took a touch and then thumped a superb effort into the unguarded net.
GOAL! Sheff Utd 0-1 Tottenham
Against the run of play Dejan Kulusevski has given Spurs the lead at Beautiful Downtown Bramall Lane.
Pickford denies Trossard from close range as Arsenal look to raise spirits in north London.
The goal stands, Palace lead. This isn’t a very hot take – not even lukewarm really – but their record whenever Eze and Olise are able to start together is really something.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 1-0 Aston Villa
Jean-Philippe Mateta has given the flying Eagles the lead at Selhurst Park. Or has he? VAR has risen out of its casket and is setting its teeth in to the neck of all that is joy and light …
Takehiro Tomiyasu has just nodded a fine chance wide from close range at the Emirates as Arsenal look to at least get their part of the equation done against Everton.
Brentford thought they were ahead against Newcastle but Ivan Toney has seen his goal ruled out for offside by VAR.
GOAL! Man City 1-0 West Ham
Well that didn’t take long! Phil Foden has scored an absolute screamer to give City the lead against West Ham. What. A. Strike.
GOAL! Burnley 0-1 Nottm Forest
Bad news for Luton fans. Well, bad news for wildly optimistic Luton fans. Chris Wood has given Forest the lead at Turf Moor.
It may just be the various delays on the TV feeds but it looks like Manchester City have kicked off a couple of minutes later than the rest …
PEEP! Off we go then. At the Etihad, the Emirates, Anfield, Stamford Bridge, Bramall Lane, the Amex, Kenilworth Road, Turf Moor, Selhurst Park and, of course, the Gtech Community Stadium. A day of drama awaits.
The players are in the tunnel at Anfield, Klopp smiling and looking relaxed now. He emerges into the Liverpool sunshine, waves to the stands and taps his hand to his chest. J U R G E N is picked out in red and white in the stands. Anfield looks absolutely terrific.
So can Liverpool send Jürgen Klopp on his way with a resounding victory? Will Wolves spoil the party? Either way, it’s sure to be an emotional few hours an Anfield. Meanwhile, Tottenham, Chelsea, Newcastle and Manchester United have European ambitions to sort out.
And, of course, at the summit the title is heading to Manchester City or to Arsenal. To follow every twist and turn in the big games in Manchester and north London, join Rob Smyth for Manchester City v West Ham and join Daniel Harris for Arsenal v Everton.
A final-day prediction: despite (or possibly because of) modern technology that means jamming an ear into a transistor radio is a thing of the past, at some point this afternoon rumours of Manchester City falling behind/conceding an equaliser will ripple round the Emirates.
A bit of news from the Football League: Crawley have beaten Crewe in the League Two playoff final. Simon Burnton saw the action:
We have had all manner of fine pieces looking back at Klopp’s reign over the past few days:
How have the fans seen this season? Always one of the most fascinating pieces of the year – we speak to fans of all 20 clubs to find out how they’re really feeling.
Anfield is still filling up but Jürgen Klopp has stepped out on to the turf to oversee a bit of the warmup. The reception is predictably rapturous from those in the ground.
Jürgen Klopp – already looking and sounding a little emotional – has been talking to Sky Sports about the scenes as the team bus made its way to Anfield: “Fantastic. If it wasn’t about me I could enjoy it a lot more. I hope we can put in a proper performance out there and be ourselves.”
Team news: today’s lineups
Man City v West Ham
Man City: Ortega, Walker, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol, Rodri, Doku, Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Foden, Haaland. Subs: Stones, Ake, Kovacic, Grealish, Alvarez, Matheus Luiz, Carson, Bobb, Lewis.
West Ham: Areola, Zouma, Mavropanos, Cresswell, Coufal, Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Emerson Palmieri, Kudus, Antonio, Lucas Paqueta. Subs: Fabianski, Johnson, Cornet, Ings, Alvarez, Ogbonna, Earthy, Casey, Mubama.
Referee: John Brooks (Leicestershire)
Arsenal v Everton
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu, Odegaard, Partey, Rice, Trossard, Havertz, Martinelli. Subs: Ramsdale, Gabriel Jesus, Smith Rowe, Timber, Nketiah, Kiwior, Jorginho, Vieira, Zinchenko.
Everton: Pickford, Coleman, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Young, Garner, Gueye, Onana, McNeil, Doucoure, Calvert-Lewin. Subs: Keane, Virginia, Beto, Godfrey, Chermiti, Crellin, Warrington, Hunt, Dobbin.
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)
Liverpool v Wolverhampton
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, van Dijk, Robertson, Elliott, Endo, Mac Allister, Salah, Gakpo, Diaz. Subs: Gomez, Konate, Szoboszlai, Nunez, Jones, Jota, Gravenberch, Kelleher, Bradley.
Wolves: Jose Sa, Santiago Bueno, Kilman, Gomes, Nelson Semedo, Joao Gomes, Mario Lemina, Bellegarde, Ait Nouri, Matheus Cunha, Hwang. Subs: Doherty, Traore, Pedro Neto, Hugo Bueno, Doyle, Bentley, Gonzalez, Chirewa, Fraser.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh (Lancashire)
Sheff Utd v Tottenham
Sheff Utd: Foderingham, Ahmedhodzic, Trusty, Robinson, Bogle, Hamer, Arblaster, Osborn, Lowe, Archer, Brereton. Subs: Adam Davies, Brewster, McBurnie, Vinicius Souza, Larouci, McAtee, Holgate, Brooks, Jebbison.
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Dragusin, van de Ven, Sarr, Bentancur, Kulusevski, Maddison, Johnson, Son. Subs: Skipp, Hojbjerg, Gil Salvatierra, Emerson, Austin, Whiteman, Scarlett, Moore, Donley.
Referee: Andrew Madley (West Yorkshire)
Brighton v Man Utd
Brighton: Steele, Gross, Webster, Igor, Barco, Baleba, Moder, Adingra, Lallana, Joao Pedro, Welbeck. Subs: Verbruggen, Lamptey, Enciso, Gilmour, Fati, Buonanotte, Offiah, Peupion, Baker-Boaitey.
Man Utd: Onana, Wan-Bissaka, Casemiro, Martinez, Dalot, Mainoo, Amrabat, Diallo, Garnacho, McTominay, Bruno Fernandes. Subs: Bayindir, Rashford, Hojlund, Eriksen, Varane, Antony, Evans, Kambwala, Collyer.
Referee: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire)
Brentford v Newcastle
Brentford: Flekken, Roerslev, Jorgensen, Pinnock, Reguilon, Jensen, Norgaard, Janelt, Mbeumo, Toney, Wissa. Subs: Konak, Maupay, Schade, Ghoddos, Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, Valdimarsson, Trevitt, Yarmolyuk.
Newcastle: Pope, Krafth, Schar, Burn, Hall, Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Jacob Murphy, Isak, Barnes. Subs: Dubravka, Trippier, Dummett, Wilson, Ritchie, Almiron, Anderson, White, Alex Murphy.
Referee: Simon Hooper (Wiltshire)
Luton v Fulham
Luton: Kaminski, Hashioka, Mengi, Osho, Ogbene, Sambi Lokonga, Clark, Doughty, Morris, Adebayo, Chong. Subs: Shea, Berry, Woodrow, Mpanzu, Krul, Townsend, Onyedinma, Johnson, Piesold.
Fulham: Leno, Tete, Ream, Bassey, Robinson, Reed, Joao Palhinha, Wilson, Iwobi, Traore, Jimenez. Subs: Rodak, Broja, Cairney, Ballo-Toure, De Cordova-Reid, Andreas Pereira, Rodrigo Muniz, Willian, Castagne.
Referee: Matthew Donohue (Lancashire)
Burnley v Nottm Forest
Burnley: Muric, Assignon, O’Shea, Esteve, Taylor, Bruun Larsen, Cullen, Berge, Amdouni, Odobert, Foster. Subs: Trafford, Cork, Gudmundsson, Brownhill, Rodriguez, Ekdal, Vitinho, Fofana, Massengo.
Nottm Forest: Sels, Montiel, Boly, Murillo, Toffolo, Yates, Danilo, Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Wood. Subs: Turner, Sangare, Kouyate, Awoniyi, Niakhate, Reyna, Origi, Omobamidele, Duarte Ribeiro.
Referee: Scott Graham (Oxfordshire)
Chelsea v Bournemouth
Chelsea: Petrovic, Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Badiashile, Cucurella, Caicedo, Gallagher, Madueke, Palmer, Sterling, Jackson. Subs: Disasi, Bettinelli, Ugochukwu, Chukwuemeka, Nkunku, Colwill, Gusto, Casadei, Gilchrist.
Bournemouth: Neto, Aarons, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez,
Christie, Cook, Semenyo, Kluivert, Tavernier, Unal. Subs: Kelly, Faivre, Solanke, Ouattara, Scott, Smith, Hill, Billing, Travers.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Munoz, Wharton, Richards, Mitchell, Olise, Eze, Mateta. Subs: Ward, Tomkins, Lerma, Ayew, Schlupp, Edouard, Matthews, Riedewald, Ozoh.
Aston Villa: Olsen, Konsa, Diego Carlos, Lenglet, Digne, Diaby, Douglas Luiz, Chambers, McGinn, Duran, Watkins. Subs: Torres, Gauci, Kesler-Hayden, Iroegbunam, Munroe, Kellyman, Young, Emery.
Referee: Darren Bond (Lancashire)
Liverpool’s team bus has been making it’s way to Anfield and the scenes are quite something:
And the rest …
Nine out of the 10 games today have something (in theory at least) riding on them, leaving Crystal Palace v Aston Villa as the official deadest rubber, where all that is at stake is Palace’s finishing position – it could be as high as 10th or as low as 14th. Selhurst might be one of the happiest grounds on the final day – those are two sets of fans feeling pretty good with the world at the moment.
Full final-day fixtures
Arsenal v Everton
Brentford v Newcastle
Brighton v Man Utd
Burnley v Nottm Forest
C Palace v Aston Villa
Chelsea v Bournemouth
Liverpool v Wolves
Luton v Fulham
Man City v West Ham
Sheff Utd v Spurs
The European race
Tottenham, Newcastle, Manchester United and Chelsea are vying for spots in the Europa and Europa Conference League.
It’s all a bit complicated and compounded by Manchester United’s Wembley date with City in the FA Cup final next weekend. But in short (ish) Spurs need a point at Sheffield United to seal fifth and a Europa League spot. If the Blades spring a big surprise at Bramall Lane, Chelsea can pip them with a win at Stamford Bridge against Bournemouth.
But if the Cherries win in west London then Newcastle can nab sixth with a win down the road at Brentford. Sixth will mean the Europa League if Manchester City win the FA Cup and the Conference League if United are victorious at Wembley.
If Newcastle fail to win, Manchester United can go past them into seventh if they better Newcastle’s result away at Brighton, guaranteeing Erik ten Hag’s side European football next season.
Still following? Good. Now if I tug the bill of my cap like so it means the signal is a fake. However, I can take that off by dusting my hands thusly. And if I want you to bunt, I’ll touch my belt buckle not once, not twice, but thrice …
Preamble
Stop all the clocks. Cut off the telephone. Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy overpriced half-time sausage roll. It’s time for Anfield to say goodbye to Jürgen Klopp. Had a few results gone differently down the stretch – Palace (h) and Everton (a) in particular – this big send-off could well have been part of the final-day title mixup. Instead, Liverpool can concentrate on paying homage to the man who brought back the glory days. Gary O’Neil’s Wolves have the chance to play party poopers.
Elsewhere Nottingham Forest need a point against Burnley to be absolutely sure of survival, though in reality it would take a Forest defeat coupled with a Luton win at Fulham and a gigantic goal difference swing, with Nuno Espírito Santo’s team 12 goals better off. And having scored more. So Burnley 6-0 Forest, Luton 7-0 Fulham would make things interesting but otherwise less so …
And of course we’ll be keeping a close eye on events at Manchester City and Arsenal. Though if you want to keep up with exactly what’s happening in those two fixtures you can follow them live with Rob Smyth and Daniel Harris.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
