Rangers produced another superb European display in Florence to reach the Uefa Cup final. They overcame the odds once again to win on penalties in Italy. This result epitomised the recent upturn in Scottish fortunes both in club and international football. If you look at the improvements made in recent seasons it truly is a remarkable turnaround for the countrymen north of Hadrian’s Wall.
One win and Manchester United will claim their tenth Premier League title (unless Chelsea get a cricket score against Bolton!). The odds look good. United have never dropped a point against Wigan in their history. That’s right, not a single point. Job’s a good ‘un then, right? Oh I do hope that doesn’t jinx them!
Even with Martin O’Neill’s words of warning to Everton and David Moyes, there is no denying Villa had a very big slip up right at the wrong time last weekend. Not only did they lose touch with the Toffees, they also lost their goal difference advantage. On the plus side, they now know exactly what they have to do here - produce nothing short of a win.
There was a time when we’d be shocked that these two clubs have only won one trophy between them this season. Alas that is the case with Tottenham likely to finish outside the top 10 for the first time in four years and Liverpool proving lacklustre even in their precious Champions League. So what’s going to spur them on in this final game?
With news that Mathieu Flamini is set for pastures new with the strong possibility of Alexander Hleb following in the near future another cup less season appears more and more costly for Arsenal. So can the Gunners continue the current good spell, end the season on a semi-high and show those thinking of jumping ship there’s more to come from the Gunners?
Fulham’s destiny - yes the corny clichés are coming out in abundance on this appropriately dubbed Judgement Day - is ultimately in their own hands. Great results against Reading, Manchester City and Birmingham saw Fulham move out of the drop zone for the first time since Boxing Day. Question is can they pull out all the stops for one final time?
The Blues are back to their best, doing what they’ve been good at in recent years - grinding out points and contesting trophies. This weekend they need to better Manchester United’s result at Wigan to win the title despite looking well out of the championship race just 2 months ago. Fortunately for Avram Grant and co. they face a Bolton team assured of Premier League survival barring a miraculous turn of events. Premier 10 players, mark this one down as a home win!
Gareth Southgate has endured a difficult season and seemed destined to lose his job on a number of occasions but still he remains in charge at Boro. His counterpart this weekend seems destined to depart from Manchester City despite a season in which his team have never been out of the top 9 positions in the Premier League. As Jimmy Greaves once said “it’s a funny old game”.
This match will decide whether the Toffees campaign ends in success or failure as 5th spot and a Uefa Cup place hangs in the balance. Despite looking set to compete with local neighbours Liverpool for a Champions League spot for much of the season Everton’s form has dropped since mid-March and a defeat in this match and a Villa win would see them miss out on Europe altogether. They face a revitalised Newcastle side this weekend whose confidence may have dipped slightly following their home defeat to Chelsea ending a 7-match unbeaten run.
