Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Man City in action as Premier League draws to a close
Dead rubbers? Pah! We don’t know the meaning of the words. Well, we didn’t, until we looked them up and realised that that’s exactly what this weekend’s Premier League fixtures outside of Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford are, but let’s have a look at them anyway shall we?
With all matches kicking off at 4pm on Sunday, all of the teams in action won’t know the scores of their rivals, meaning that it could be a nervous afternoon for Stoke, Blackburn, Fulham and Sunderland in that all important “race for 10th” and the inevitable glory that will bring.
The eyes of the world will be on the battle at the top between Chelsea and Manchester United, but the other 18 teams still have to bring their good, bad, indifferent or – in the case of Liverpool – their awful seasons to a close, with most of them doing so with a whimper rather than a bang. Or not.
In all honesty, there are still some things at stake, despite the minds of many, non-World Cup bound, players already turning to far-flung beaches.
Tottenham, after earning a top-four place in midweek, could still pip Arsenal to third by winning at Burnley – ensuring their first finish above their north London rivals for 15 years and, more importantly, sending them straight into next season’s Champions League proper, avoiding a potentially tricky play-off. Arsenal would need to lose for that to happen though, and seeing as the Gunners face a home game with a Fulham side with their minds very much on Hamburg on Wednesday, that looks unlikely.
Elsewhere, points mean prizes for many clubs.
Each place in the table qualifies for a bonus of over £750,000, which doubles with each position that a club achieves, meaning that the “race for 10th” that we mocked earlier could be worth an additional £3million – a not insignificant amount for clubs like Stoke and Blackburn.
Aston Villa (sixth, and home to Blackburn) and Liverpool (seventh, and away to Hull) could still swap places, as could Villa with Manchester City (fifth, and at West Ham).
That might not sound too thrilling, but keep in mind that whoever comes seventh will face a July start to their season in the early Europa League qualifying rounds – roughly two-and-a-half weeks before the 2010/11 Premier League campaign starts – and each club would prefer to avoid that.
If it’s Liverpool then they may have a new man to oversee it. The KC Stadium touchline might be the last one stalked by Rafael Benitez as the Reds’ manager, while Upton Park looks like waving goodbye to Gianfranco Zola at roughly 6pm on Sunday.
Hull, Burnley and Portsmouth (away at Everton) will bid adios to Premier League football for the time being, with Pompey’s players likely to be tiptoeing around Goodison Park in the hope of avoiding injury ahead of next weekend’s FA Cup final.
All three relegated clubs will want to bow out with a bang though, and with the managerial futures of Brian Laws and Iain Dowie still up in the air, both bosses will still be looking to impress ahead of potentially decisive summers for their careers. Heavy defeats for Hull and Burnley at home to Liverpool and Spurs respectively don’t exactly send out the right message to chairmen.
Whatever happens on the last day, it has been yet another hugely enjoyable Premier League campaign, and one of the most unpredictable for years.
Eighty per cent of the matches on Sunday might look like damp squibs, but look deeper and you could find some classics.
Convinced? Good.
Final day Premier League fixtures:
Arsenal v Fulham
Aston Villa v Blackburn
Bolton v Birmingham
Burnley v Tottenham
Chelsea v Wigan
Everton v Portsmouth
Hull v Liverpool
Man Utd v Stoke
West Ham v Man City
Wolverhampton v Sunderland
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