Five must-watch matches on Premier League final day
· Yahoo Sports
The final day of the Premier League season is here and could prove to be quite a hectic one.
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Arsenal may have already ended their agonizing 22-year wait to be crowned champions after Wolves and Burnley had already confirmed their relegation to the Championship, but so much remains at stake across the ten fixtures on offer today.
It is a given that one top flight mainstay will be relegated to the Championship this afternoon, while other results could see all of the top six make the Champions League for the first time since the competition was formed back in 1992.
Given all there will be to keep track of, FromTheSpot presents the five must-watch matches kicking off at 16:00 (GMT).
Tottenham vs Everton & West Ham vs Leeds
If you asked a Spurs fan to sum up the 2025/26 campaign in one word, many would likely come to mind but the one that best captures their constant flirting with relegation is this: unthinkable.
The north London side were last relegated from the then-called First Division in the 1976/77 season, just shy of half a century ago, a far cry from West Ham’s 15-year stint as a top flight team.
Tottenham won the Europa League under divisive manager Ange Postecoglou at the end of last campaign to grant them Champions League football as remedy for a torrid campaign mired by injuries – a tale that is all to familiar for Spurs supporters.
Now Tottenham find themselves in the same league position as when that happened, only last year they had a considerable 13-point advantage over Leicester, now of League One, and relegation was not a concern as it is today.
If West Ham are to stay up at the expense of their local rivals, they have no choice but to beat Daniel Farke’s Leeds and hope that their former boss David Moyes – who delivered them their maiden European title by winning the 2022/23 Conference League – beats Roberto De Zerbi on the final day.
Spurs cannot take much confidence from the home advantage, in the sense that it hasn’t existed this season. They have won just two of their 18 home matches, the second worst record in the division, yet the Hammers are only three wins better off.
With Tottenham forecasted to lose roughly £261m in total annual revenue if they are relegated, over double the £100m that Nuno Espirito Santo’s team are set to lose, a mass exodus is just scraping the surface of the issues they will face next year.
If it’s any consolation, De Zerbi’s commitment to a multi-year contract could be a much-needed source of stability whatever happens this afternoon, having churned through eight managers in five years.
And at least after being relegated in 1977, they came straight back up.
Sunderland vs Chelsea
Joss Taylor, Football reporter
Sunderland host Chelsea at the Stadium of Light knowing that a win could see them reach Europe for the first time in more than four decades, while a win would all but seal qualification to a continental competition for the Blues.
The Black Cats are 10th on 51 points, the sixth highest tally of any newly promoted side in Premier League history, and will leapfrog Chelsea and could finish as high as seventh with a first league double over the Blues for a quarter of a century.
But their opponents will be no pushovers, knowing that three points would likely deliver at least a Europa Conference League spot knowing that they have a four-goal advantage over Brentford, who face Liverpool, in terms of goal difference.
Sunderland secured a memorable 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge in the reverse fixture to gatecrash the top four and rise to second, and will reach a European competition for the first time since 1974 if they bag a first league double since the 2000/01 campaign.
Chelsea at one point looked on track to maintain their Champions League status under Enzo Maresca, only to be sacked on new year’s day after his relationship with the BlueCo hierarchy broke down and replaced by Liam Rosenior.
Although there were initially signs of improvement, Chelsea lost six of Rosenior’s final seven games in charge without a goal as the 3-0 loss to Brighton proved to be the final straw before Calum McFarlane was once again promoted to interim manager.
Chelsea’s form has improved slightly under McFarlane, leading them to an FA Cup final and a win over Spurs in their last Premier League outing.
Coupled by the fact that it was announced last week that coveted manager Xabi Alonso would join the group next season, this is ample reason to have hope heading into the final day and the 2026/27 season. But Europe must first be secured.
Chelsea will hope that ninth-placed Brentford fail to get a result against Liverpool, but have to do their job themselves if they are to avoid a first season without Europe since they finished 10th in José Mourinho’s farewell nine years ago.
Liverpool vs Brentford
Arne Slot has struggled throughout much of his title defense, made even worse by the eye-watering £416m spent on their new arrivals who have still left some to be desired.
Alexander Isak arrived from Newcastle for £125m following his refusal to play or train with the Magpies over the course of a weeks-long transfer saga, scoring just three times before breaking his leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
German playmaker Florian Wirtz, another signing brought it for north of the £100m mark, has registered eight goal involvements in 32 Premier League appearances and has shown mere glimpses of the heights he is capable of reaching.
Aside from the new boys not quite finding their feet with a season under their belt, the focus will be on departing Liverpool legends Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson.
Salah will leave Anfield as the club’s all-time Premier League goal-scorer, finding the net 180 times since his debut against Watford in the 2017/18 season, and the fastest player to reach 50 goals for the club.
The ‘Egyptian King’ signed from Roma for just over £36m in 2017. With Pep Guardiola recognizing the £62m addition of Antoine Semenyo as “cheap” after their FA Cup win over Chelsea, Salah represents one of the very best signings in recent memory.
Robertson has also deservedly captured the adoration of the Reds faithful, being a key figure in their first Premier League title in 2019/20 and a monumental sixth Champions League win the season prior, and one of the best wing-backs of his generation.
A poor result to end the season against the Bees will very likely not cost them Champions League football, save for Bournemouth beating Nottingham Forest by over 10 goals at the City Ground, but it could open the door to the competition for the Cherries.
If Liverpool beat Brentford and Aston Villa win so that the four-goal difference between them is chalked off, allowing the Reds to finish fourth, then UEFA’s “European Performance Spot” will drop to 6th place after the Villains won the Europa League.
Though that will only be the case if Bournemouth manage at least a draw against Vitor Pereira’s side.
As for Keith Andrews, it has been a tremendous debut season following his promotion from set piece coach to leading man. Now, he might only need a draw against Liverpool to take Brentford onto the European stage for the first time in their 137-year history.
Igor Thiago has captured the attention of the footballing world with 23 goals this campaign, earning him a first call-up to the Brazil national team ahead of the World Cup in June, and Dango Ouattara has also impressed after signing from Bournemouth.
Though 10 goal involvements is a commendable achievement, players like their dynamic full-back Michael Kayode have captivated crowds with the humble art of the long throw.
It is a weapon that Andrews has used to great effect, resulting in five goals – the most of all 20 Premier League teams.
A victory would be a fitting way to pull the curtain down on their most memorable season yet, one that could end with qualification to next season’s Europa League if Brighton fail to get a result out of Manchester United and Chelsea can’t beat Sunderland.
Manchester City vs Aston Villa
Manchester City’s final outing is a must-watch despite it having no bearing on which team will emerge as champions, with Arsenal already home and dry. Rather, it is the final chance to watch a genius of the modern game take to the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola will end his decade of service at the Etihad Stadium with 17 major trophies won, including this season’s victories in both domestic cup competitions, and an impact on English football that will still be felt for years to come.
The man behind the invention of the inverted wing-back and popularization of the high press, high intensity tiki taka play style, the 55-year-old ranks joint-second for Premier League title wins (6) and still holds the record for most points (100) and goals (132) in a single campaign, storming to the 2017/18 title in some style.
But he is also the first manager to win a continental treble, taking home City’s maiden Champions League trophy in the 2022/23 season courtesy of Rodri’s piledriver into the bottom right corner. The midfielder would go on to win the Ballon d’Or that year.
City’s meeting with Villa is also the first game where the Sky Blues will open their newly expanded north stand to supporters, which the club announced will be renamed the ‘Pep Guardiola Stand’ in honor of their most decorated manager of all time.
As the 34th edition of the Premier League comes to an end this afternoon, the competition will never quite be the same in its new era without Guardiola at the helm of its dominant force over the past decade.
Find match reports, reaction, and analysis across the Premier League final day on our website, fromthespot.co.uk, and OneFootball page.