The 23/24 Premier League season will end on May 19, what are the highlights of the Premier League's final day? The most talked-about battle is certainly the Premier League title, with Manchester City and Arsenal battling it out until the final round. In terms of Europa League places, Chelsea could leapfrog Tottenham Hotspur in fifth, while Newcastle United also have a chance of surpassing Chelsea in sixth, while Manchester United only have a numerical chance of moving up to sixth. In terms of relegation, the bottom three Luton Town also only have the possibility of relegation in numbers. The 10 Premier League games on the final day kick off at 11pm Beijing time on Sunday.
【Title Race】Manchester City, Arsenal
Arguably the most suspenseful battle of the closing day, Manchester City dominated the table by two points ahead of Arsenal at the top of the table.
Manchester City (home vs West Ham United): currently at the top of the table with 88 points from 37 games, two points ahead of second-placed Arsenal, and only need to beat West Ham United on the closing day to win the Premier League; If City lose points and Arsenal fail to win, City can also secure the title.
Arsenal (home v Everton): They are currently in second place with 86 points from 37 games, two points behind leaders Manchester City. If Arsenal wants to compete for the title, two conditions must be met: first, Arsenal must beat Everton to get all three points; Second, Manchester City cannot beat West Ham United.
【Europa League Qualification Group】Tottenham, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Manchester United
Champions League qualification has been decided, with four spots going to Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa. For the time being, the Europa League and UEFA Europa League places are still undecided.
With the current allocation of European qualifications, fifth place in the Premier League and the FA Cup will qualify for the Europa League, while sixth place will qualify for the Europa League. As League Cup winners Liverpool have already qualified for the Champions League, the UEFA Europa Conference League place, which is part of the League Cup, is given to the team with the highest league table but has not qualified for the Champions League and Europa League.
If Manchester City win the FA Cup, the Europa League qualification for the FA Cup winners will be given to sixth place in the Premier League (not to the FA Cup runners-up) and a seventh place in the Premier League for the UEFA Europa League place.
If United win the FA Cup, they will qualify for the Europa League as FA Cup winners and will join the fifth-placed team in the Premier League for the next edition, while the UEFA Europa League qualification will be awarded for sixth-place finish. If Manchester United finish sixth, a UEFA Europa League place would be given seventh place in the Premier League.
Tottenham (away v Sheffield United): 63 points from 37 games and now fifth with a goal difference of +10, as long as they remain unbeaten against Sheffield United on the closing day, they can secure fifth place and qualify for the Europa League. Tottenham are three points ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea but have a worse goal difference than their opponents and would be out of fifth place if they lose to bottom Sheffield United on the closing day and Chelsea win.
Chelsea (home v Bournemouth): 60 points from 37 games and sixth place with a goal difference of +13, as long as they remain unbeaten against Bournemouth on the closing day, they will finish in the top six. If Chelsea win Bournemouth and Tottenham lose Sheffield United, they could move up to fifth place and qualify for the Europa League. Chelsea are currently three points clear of seventh-placed Newcastle United but have a worse goal difference than their opponents, and if Chelsea lose to Bournemouth and Newcastle United win, they will lose sixth place and be replaced by Newcastle United.
Newcastle United (away v Brentford): 7th with 57 points from 37 games, with a goal difference of +21, three points behind Chelsea in sixth place, but the Magpies have a much better goal difference than Chelsea. If Newcastle are to move up to sixth place, they will have to beat Brentford on the closing day and hope Chelsea lose. Newcastle United are currently level on 57 points with Manchester United, a very large goal difference margin, so under normal circumstances, Newcastle United would have at least secured seventh place in the league if they beat Brentford.
Manchester United (away v Brighton): 8th with 57 points from 37 games, with a poor goal difference of -3. United still have a chance of finishing in the top six numerically, but there are a few conditions that need to be met, starting with a loss for sixth-placed Chelsea, then a winless run for seventh-placed Newcastle United and a big win over Brighton (or Chelsea losing by a huge margin) that would allow United to tie Chelsea on points and overpower them on goal difference. Chelsea (+13) currently lead Manchester United (-3) by 16 goals on goal difference. With Manchester United's goal difference also far behind Newcastle United, they will have to hope that Newcastle United will drop points if they want to move up one place to seventh place. In other words, it is very unlikely that United will rely on the top six in the league to play in the Europa League, and it is not as realistic as the FA Cup final.
【Relegation Group】Nottingham Forest, Luton
Bottom two Burnley and bottom Sheffield United have been relegated. Luton only have the numerical possibility of relegation, so Nottingham Forest can basically be said to have succeeded in relegation.
Nottingham Forest (away vs Burnley): 17th with 29 points from 37 games, with a goal difference of -19, as long as they are unbeaten against a relegated Burnley on the closing day, they will definitely succeed in relegation. Even if they lose, because Forest have a huge advantage on goal difference, unless Luton Town win by a huge margin (or Forest lose by a huge margin), Forest can keep the bottom four relegated.
Luton Town (home v Fulham): 18th with 26 points from 37 games, with a goal difference of -31, three points behind Forest, and only the numbers are likely to succeed in relegation. They need to win against Fulham and hope that Forest will lose in order to catch up on goal difference with Forest, with Luton Town (-31) currently 12 goals behind Forest (-19) on goal difference, and if Forest lose 0-2, Luton will have to beat Fulham 10-0 to avoid relegation.