分类： sports

The 2023-2024 Premier League title race edged closer to its climax on a dramatic Sunday of matchweek action, with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal moving to the cusp of ending their 22-year wait for the top-flight crown, while Aston Villa slipped up to keep their own Champions League qualification bid finely poised.

Fresh off a stunning midweek win over Atletico Madrid that booked their spot in the Champions League final, Arsenal started on the front foot against West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium. Early on, Gunners attacker Leandro Trossard came agonisingly close to opening the scoring: after West Ham goalkeeper Mads Hermansen palmed away his initial effort from a corner, the Belgian’s follow-up header crashed off the crossbar.

Nerves, which have plagued Arsenal’s push for the title after three consecutive second-place finishes, took over in the second half as West Ham grew into the contest. With just over 10 minutes remaining, Arsenal keeper David Raya pulled off a critical save to deny Mateus Fernandes what would have been a go-ahead goal for the visitors.

Just moments later, Arsenal broke the deadlock. Captain Martin Ødegaard crafted a patient build-up play to tee up Trossard, who had not found the back of the net in 25 matches dating back to December, and the attacker fired a powerful low strike past Hermansen to put Arsenal 1-0 up. The goal sparked jubilant celebrations on the Arsenal bench, with Arteta sprinting away in delight and Ødegaard sinking to his knees in relief.

The drama was far from over, however. Deep into stoppage time, Raya misjudged a corner under pressure from West Ham forward Pablo Fornals, and Callum Wilson slotted home the rebound to seemingly level the score. After a lengthy VAR review, officials ruled that Fornals had fouled Raya before the goal, disallowing the equalizer and preserving Arsenal’s three points.

The result stretches Arsenal’s lead over second-place Manchester City to five points with just two matches remaining, both against already-relegated teams: Burnley away and Crystal Palace at home. If City fails to pick up three points against Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, Arsenal can clinch the title at home to Burnley on May 18, ending one of the longest title droughts in the club’s modern history. Sunday’s win also gave a helping hand to Arsenal’s north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in their own relegation battle, with Tottenham able to move four points clear of 18th-place West Ham if they beat Leeds United on Monday.

In other key Sunday action, Aston Villa’s bid for a top-four finish and Champions League qualification hit a snag as Unai Emery’s side were held to a 2-2 draw by already-relegated Burnley at Turf Moor. Fresh off a 4-0 thumping of Nottingham Forest that sealed their spot in the Europa League final last Thursday, Villa showed clear signs of a European hangover, falling behind early when Jaidon Anthony scored after Emi Martinez spilled a Lesley Ugochukwu shot. Ross Barkley equalized from a corner just before halftime, before Ollie Watkins put Villa ahead in the second half after latching onto a long clearance from Martinez, pushing Emery’s side up to fourth in the table. But Burnley hit back to avoid a sixth consecutive loss, with Zian Flemming firing home from an inventive Hannibal Mejbri flick to split the points.

Villa still hold a four-point lead over sixth-placed Bournemouth and a six-point advantage over seventh-placed Brighton, but their remaining fixture list is brutal: after their Europa League final against Freiburg in Istanbul, they close out the season with matches against Liverpool and Manchester City, leaving the door open for their rivals to overtake them.

In other relegation and European race results: Everton threw away another two points in their bid for European qualification, drawing 2-2 at Crystal Palace after surrendering two leads. The Toffees went ahead twice through James Tarkowski and a brilliant individual effort from Beto, but Ismaila Sarr (notching his 20th goal of the season across all competitions) and Jean-Philippe Mateta equalized for the Eagles, who are now mathematically guaranteed to avoid relegation. At the City Ground, Nottingham Forest also secured their Premier League survival after Elliott Anderson scored a late equalizer against his former club Newcastle United, canceling out an earlier opener from Harvey Barnes to earn a 1-1 draw.

Rome’s iconic Foro Italico clay courts have served up another thrilling chapter at the 2025 Italian Open, 1000-level Masters tournament, as 20-year-old Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic continued his Cinderella run Sunday. Fresh off his career-defining upset of global tennis legend Novak Djokovic in the previous round, Prizmic notched another impressive victory, defeating 31st-seeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert 6-1, 7-5 to book his spot in the tournament’s final 16.

Prizmic’s dominance from the opening game left Humbert struggling to find his rhythm. The young Croatian blazed to a 5-0 lead in the first set, closing it out in just 28 minutes, with his signature combination of brute power and pinpoint clay-court accuracy. Even with a mid-set playful trick shot between his legs that cost him a single point, Prizmic never looked threatened. Humbert mounted a tighter fight in the second set, but a third break of serve in the 11th game handed Prizmic the momentum he needed to seal the win on his second match point.

Speaking to reporters after his victory on Court Pietrangeli, Prizmic kept his expectations grounded while outlining his long-term goals. “I just want to play my game and to be myself on the court and we will see,” he said. “Maybe for me the goal is to be top 30 at the end of the year but I just want to stay healthy and play as much as I can.”

The run marks Prizmic’s best ever performance at an ATP Masters 1000 event, and the ranking points will lift him 11 spots to world No. 68 when the new rankings are released next Monday, just ahead of the start of the French Open. Up next, Prizmic will face 13th seed Karen Khachanov for a spot in the quarterfinals.

In other men’s draw action, second seed Alexander Zverev, bidding for his third Italian Open title, cruised to a straightforward 6-1, 6-4 win over Belgian youngster Alexander Blockx, even as rain threatened to disrupt play on the centre court. The German, who won the Rome title in 2017 and 2024 and fell to Jannik Sinner in last week’s Madrid Open final, barely broke a sweat against Blockx, who he had already defeated in the Madrid semifinals. Zverev will next face the winner of the match between Tommy Paul and Italy’s home hope Luciano Darderi in the fourth round. Heading into the next match, Zverev acknowledged Prizmic’s breakout run but said he would remain focused on his own game. “There’s a lot of young guys who are playing great tennis. He’s definitely one of them,” Zverev said. “But I’m going to go match by match, I think that’s the most important thing, not to look too far ahead and focus on the things that you can control.” Zverev and Prizmic are drawn in the same half of the bracket, setting up a potential later meeting between the two.

Italian crowd favorite Lorenzo Musetti also advanced to the final 16 after a grueling 7-6(7), 6-4 win over Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo. Musetti, who will face clay specialist Casper Ruud next, broke down in tears after the match, telling reporters he had been struggling physically throughout the contest but did not elaborate on his specific ailment. The match featured a combined 81 unforced errors from both players, highlighting the physical toll of clay court competition.

In the women’s draw, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka put on a dominant display to breeze past Russian player Diana Schnaider 6-1, 6-2 in just 54 minutes, putting her one win away from a highly anticipated showdown with three-time Rome champion Iga Swiatek in the last 16. The result equals Osaka’s best performance of a rocky 2025 season, which has seen her knocked out at the third-round stage of both Indian Wells and Madrid by Aryna Sabalenka. With Sabalenka already out of the tournament following a shocking early upset on Saturday, the 15th-seeded Osaka has emerged as a legitimate contender for the Rome title.

Osaka said she is eager for a potential clash with Swiatek, who is set to face Italian wild card Elisabetta Cocciaretto on centre court in front of a partisan home crowd. “For me those matches are the most fun. I’m excited at the thought,” Osaka said. Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, has struggled for form on clay in recent months: she retired from her third-round match in Madrid last month due to a viral illness, suffered an early third-round exit in Rome as defending champion last year, and needed nearly three hours to get past Caty McNally in her opening match this year. She has not won a clay court title since claiming her fourth French Open crown in 2024.

One of the most anticipated fixtures in global football, El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, takes on unprecedented stakes this Sunday in Catalonia, as Barcelona stands just one point away from securing back-to-back La Liga crowns, while Real Madrid heads into the match fractured by a shocking in-house conflict that has rocked the club this week.

Led by head coach Hansi Flick, Barcelona holds a commanding 11-point advantage over its century-long rival at the top of the table. A single draw against Real Madrid will be enough to lock in the club’s second consecutive league title, but the Catalan side is chasing far more than just a routine championship. If Barcelona claims victory in Sunday’s Clasico and wins its three remaining league matches after that, it will match La Liga’s all-time record of 100 points in a single season. What’s more, a win over Real Madrid followed by a victory against Real Betis next weekend would make Barcelona the first side in history to complete a perfect home season across La Liga’s current 38-game format. The Clasico also presents a historic milestone for the club: a title clinched in this fixture would mark the first time any side has won La Liga during an El Clasico clash since Real Madrid claimed its first ever league crown in such a matchup back in 1932.

For Real Madrid, however, the build-up to the match has been overshadowed by an extraordinary public breakdown in team unity. The club is already set to end the current season without a single major trophy, a drought that has only occurred four other times this century. Tensions boiled over this week after a physical training-ground argument between French midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni and Uruguayan playmaker Federico Valverde ended with Valverde suffering a head injury that required hospital treatment, ruling him out of the clash for at least two weeks. Valverde’s attempts to downplay the incident, claiming he “accidentally” collided with a table during the discussion and only sustained a minor cut, failed to ease the backlash.

Real Madrid’s hierarchy responded quickly, issuing a 500,000 euro ($590,000) fine to both players. The club confirmed the pair have since apologized to one another, their teammates, club staff, and the club’s global fanbase. Interim head coach Alvaro Arbeloa defended the players in the lead-up to Sunday’s game, noting that the pair have taken accountability for their actions. “For me, that’s enough. What I’m not going to do is burn them at the stake in public, because they don’t deserve that,” Arbeloa said, adding that Tchouameni will still be included in Real Madrid’s matchday squad for the Clasico despite the confrontation.

Flick, when asked about the Real Madrid incident ahead of kickoff, acknowledged that such conflicts can occur at clubs across the world, but admitted the incident was unusual. “It happens around the world, so it’s not only a thing at Real… was I surprised? Maybe a little bit,” Flick told reporters. “But in the end, I don’t care about that, because it’s not my club, it’s not my team. So I don’t have to think about that.” The Barcelona coach was quick to highlight the contrast with his own side, emphasizing the unified cohesion within the Catalan camp. “The most important thing, and what I really appreciate a lot in this club, is that we are all going the same way,” the German manager explained. “When something happens, we are talking in the same way.”

Both sides will be missing key attacking talent for the high-stakes clash. Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe remains sidelined with a hamstring injury; despite returning to group training on Friday, the French forward was not included in the club’s official matchday squad announced Sunday. Barcelona’s teenage phenom Lamine Yamal will also watch from the stands, as a hamstring injury of his own is expected to keep him out of action until this winter’s World Cup.

The match comes amid a difficult personal time for Flick, after the 61-year-old’s father passed away in the lead-up to the fixture. Barcelona released an official statement offering its full support to the coach and his family, saying “We share his pain and stand with him during this very difficult time for him and his family.”

For Barcelona, the moment is ripe to cap another dominant domestic season with a historic title clinched against their biggest foe. “We want to win the title, the second in a row,” Flick said. “It’s amazing, not normal, here in Spain. So this is what we want to do, nothing else, nothing more.”

As the clock ticks down to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the one-month countdown to the historic first three-nation co-hosted tournament kicked off Monday, with a swirl of anticipation tangled in mounting anxiety over soaring ticket costs, political friction and international conflict that have cast a long shadow over football’s biggest global spectacle.

The 23rd edition of the World Cup is unprecedented in scale: 48 national teams will compete across 104 matches over nearly six weeks, with the United States hosting 78 fixtures, Canada hosting 10, and Mexico hosting 16. The tournament will open on June 11 at Mexico City’s legendary Estadio Azteca, with the final scheduled for July 19 at New Jersey’s 82,500-seat MetLife Stadium. Organizers project billions of dollars in revenue for FIFA, but months of turbulent pre-tournament preparation have left a sour taste for many fans and observers even before the opening kickoff.

The most vocal outrage has centered on FIFA’s new, drastically inflated pricing structure, which fan advocates have labeled an unethical betrayal of ordinary supporters. The most expensive face-value ticket for the 2026 final sits at a staggering $32,970 — a stark jump from the $1,600 top price for the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar. Football Supporters Europe (FSE) has called the pricing “extortionate”, arguing it has put the tournament out of reach for working-class fans across the globe.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has defended the pricing model, arguing that market rates for the U.S. — where the majority of matches take place — justify the high costs, pointing to the country’s well-developed high-cost entertainment sector. Though FIFA claims over 500 million ticket requests have been submitted (a figure 10 times the combined total for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments), many match seats — including that of the U.S. men’s national team’s opening fixture against Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles — still remain listed for sale on secondary ticketing platforms. Even former and current U.S. President Donald Trump, a close ally to Infantino, has expressed surprise at the cost, telling the New York Post that even he would not pay $1,000 to attend the U.S. opener.

Beyond ticket affordability, critics have raised alarms over the tense political climate in the United States following Trump’s re-election to the White House. What was originally marketed as a “Unity Bid” designed to showcase cross-border cooperation between the three North American co-hosts has been upended by Trump’s aggressive policies: he has publicly discussed absorbing Canada into the U.S. as the 51st state and launched new trade wars against both Canada and Mexico. Human rights organizations have warned that the tournament will be marred by exclusion and fear, pointing to Trump’s administration’s crackdowns on immigration, protest and press freedom. Amnesty International has gone further, warning the World Cup risks becoming a “stage for repression”.

International conflict has added another layer of uncertainty. The February 2026 U.S.-Israeli military strikes on Iran have roiled global markets and raised questions about Iran’s participation in the tournament — a historic first: it is the first time a World Cup host nation has been in active direct military conflict with a participating team before the tournament kicks off. Trump initially suggested Iran withdraw from the tournament for their own safety, but after FIFA insisted Iran would compete as planned (with all three of their group stage matches hosted in the U.S., after a request to move their fixtures to Mexico was rejected), Trump walked back his comment, saying he was “OK” with Iran’s participation, as he looks to gain political advantage from the tournament ahead of this year’s U.S. midterm elections.

Infantino has repeatedly dismissed growing criticism, framing negative headlines as overblown “negative press” and claiming “it’s very difficult to find something negative around this World Cup”. But his bullish optimism has failed to ease concerns across the global football community. FIFA and tournament organizers are pinning their hopes on on-field action overriding pre-tournament controversy once matches begin, banking on the World Cup’s traditional ability to draw global audiences with dramatic moments and elite football.

This expanded edition of the tournament will bring no shortage of storylines: defending champions Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, enter as one of the favorites, alongside 2024 European champions Spain, 2018 champions France, and England, which is still chasing its first major men’s tournament title since 1966. For long underrepresented football nations, the expanded 48-team field also marks a historic milestone: Curacao, the smallest nation by population to ever qualify for a World Cup, and Cape Verde will both make their tournament debuts.

The 2024 Italian Open in Rome delivered its first slate of dramatic upsets and statement wins on Saturday, as men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner lived up to massive home crowd expectations to launch his bid for a historic title, while two of the women’s top seeds suffered stunning early exits.

Sinner, the 24-year-old Italian carrying the hopes of a nation that has not seen an Italian men’s champion at the Foro Italico since Adriano Panatta lifted the trophy 50 years ago, got his campaign off to a flawless start with a 6-3, 6-4 straight-sets victory over Austria’s Sebastian Ofner. The world No. 1 extended his incredible winning streak to 24 consecutive matches, wrapping up the contest in just 100 minutes in breezy Rome conditions, barely tested against his outmatched opponent. Even two brief stoppages in the second set to treat ill spectators did not disrupt his rhythm, with Sinner even finding reason to smile through the interruptions.

The victory pushes Sinner into the third round, where he will face either Australia’s Alexei Popyrin or Czech teen Jakub Mensik. Buoyed by Sinner’s win, other Italian men also delivered strong results on home soil Saturday: 2023 Davis Cup winner Flavio Cobolli defeated France’s Terence Atmane 7-6(7/1), 6-3, while world No. 64 Mattia Bellucci upset 24th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 to book his spot in the fourth round. With last year’s champion Carlos Alcaraz sidelined from the tournament, Sinner enters the event as the heavy favorite to go one step further than his 2023 run, where he fell to Alcaraz in the final, and notch a record-extending fifth straight Masters 1000 title.

Several other men’s story lines unfolded Saturday: former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev received a walkover into the third round after his scheduled opponent Tomas Machac withdrew from the tournament due to an unspecified illness, pushing back Medvedev’s opening match. Fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime suffered a shock second-round exit, falling to world No. 44 Mariano Navone of Argentina in straight sets 7-6(7/4), 7-6(7/5).

The biggest story of the day, however, came on the women’s side, where world No. 1 and pre-tournament favorite Aryna Sabalenka was ousted in a stunning third-round upset by Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. The result marks Sabalenka’s earliest tournament exit since the 2023 Qatar Open, and ends her bid for a first Italian Open title in Rome. Sabalenka started the match with a blistering first set, but dropped her level dramatically as the match went on, visibly frustrated by her performance and hampered by physical discomfort that forced her to call a medical timeout for lower back and left hip issues. The injury concern casts uncertainty over her fitness ahead of the French Open, scheduled to start later this month in Paris.

For Cirstea, the upset marks the first win over a reigning world No. 1 in her 18-year professional career. She will advance to face Linda Noskova in the fourth round.

Sabalenka’s early exit was followed by another upset of a home favorite: defending women’s champion Jasmine Paolini saw her title defense end in the third round at the hands of Belgium’s Elise Mertens, who claimed a 4-6, 7-6(7/5), 6-3 come-from-behind win. Paolini, who came into the match holding three match points on Mertens’ serve in the second set, failed to convert any of her chances, dropped the tiebreak, and could not recover her momentum in the decider. The result will push Paolini out of the women’s top 10 world rankings, extending her current slump that has seen her fail to reach the fourth round in four consecutive tournaments.

Not all top seeds fell Saturday: reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff battled past Argentina’s qualifier Solana Sierra in a three-set thriller, 5-7, 6-0, 6-4, to advance to the next round and keep her Italian Open title bid alive.

The 2023-2024 Premier League title race remains unresolved after a tense Saturday clash at the Etihad Stadium, where Manchester City secured a critical 3-0 victory over Brentford to cut the gap to league leaders Arsenal to just two points. For long stretches of the match, it looked like Pep Guardiola’s side would drop crucial points in their bid for a fourth consecutive league crown, as Brentford’s organized defense held firm for almost an hour and City’s attackers looked sluggish and out of sync.

The match opened with a series of close calls that foreshadowed the drama to come. City winger Jeremy Doku forced an early save from Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, but it was City’s own keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma who nearly handed Brentford a shock opener. The Italian miskicked a clearance from Michael Kayode’s long throw, and the ball was only scrambled off the goal line at the last second. That near-disaster summed up City’s labored first half: star striker Erling Haaland sent a header high and wide from just six yards out after a pinpoint Doku cross, and later saw a close-range blast blocked by Kelleher, with Nathan Ake firing the rebound into the stands to the frustration of the home crowd. Midfielder Bernardo Silva also avoided a red card, picking up only a booking after lashing out at Brentford’s Nathan Collins.

Brentford continued to push after halftime, with Donnarumma forced to make a solid save from Igor Thiago’s low drive to keep the score level. Recognizing his side needed a spark, Guardiola made a double substitution, bringing on Omar Marmoush and Phil Foden to inject energy into the attack. The tactical change paid off almost immediately, unlocking Brentford’s stubborn defense just 15 minutes later.

In the 60th minute, Doku – who had scored two sensational curling goals against Everton earlier in the week – repeated his magic to break the deadlock. After his first attempt was blocked by a Brentford defender, the Belgian winger collected the rebound on the left edge of the penalty area and whipped a stunning strike into the top corner, marking his fourth goal in three matches. The goal lifted City, and Foden nearly doubled the lead minutes later, but Kelleher made another sharp close-range save to keep the match within reach for Brentford.

Brentford still had chances to equalize: forward Kevin Schade had a late penalty appeal turned down after a challenge from Matheus Nunes, leaving the Bees empty-handed. In the 75th minute, Haaland settled any lingering nerves for City, scoring his 26th league goal of the season with a clever close-range backheel after his first attempt was blocked. Then, in stoppage time, Marmoush put the final polish on the result with a composed finish inside the box, boosting City’s goal difference to just one goal behind Arsenal’s.

The result keeps Guardiola’s side firmly in the title hunt, putting immediate pressure on Arsenal, who face third-bottom West Ham United on Sunday. Following a 3-3 draw at Everton last Monday that had put the title firmly in Arsenal’s hands, City have done everything they can to force the leaders to drop points. If Mikel Arteta’s Gunners win their three remaining matches against West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace, they will claim their first top-flight title in 22 years, regardless of City’s results. City, however, hold a game in hand over Arsenal heading into this weekend’s action, and will return to league action against Crystal Palace at the Etihad on Wednesday before turning their focus to the FA Cup final against Chelsea on May 16.

The penultimate stretch of the English Premier League season delivered a raft of dramatic results that shook up the race for European spots and the title fight on Saturday.

At Anfield, defending champions Liverpool saw a golden opportunity to move to the brink of next season’s Champions League qualification slip through their fingers, forced to share the points in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea. The hosts got off to a flying start just six minutes into the contest, as Ryan Gravenberch curled a perfectly placed strike past Chelsea’s goalkeeper to open the scoring. But the Blues responded before half time: Enzo Fernandez’s 35th-minute long-range free kick evaded every Liverpool player in the box and nestled into the bottom corner of the net, leveling the score.

By full time, boos rang out around Anfield, a reflection of fan frustration with another underwhelming performance from the side. The result still moves fourth-placed Liverpool closer to securing Champions League football, holding a four-point advantage over sixth-place Bournemouth. Addressing fan discontent after the match, Liverpool manager Arne Slot said he remains confident he can win back supporter backing — but not during the current campaign. “Not this season by the way. This season they will have their opinion and it will not change,” Slot explained. “If we can have the summer that we are planning to have, then I’m 100 percent convinced that we will be a different team next season than we are now.”

For Chelsea, the draw comes at a point where the club can no longer mathematically clinch a top-five finish, leaving them stuck in ninth place in the table. The Blues had entered the match on Merseyside having dropped six straight Premier League results, which ended their own European qualification hopes. Still, a far more organized, resolute performance offered interim head coach Calum McFarlane a much-needed boost heading into next weekend’s FA Cup final against Manchester City.

Elsewhere, third-place Manchester United, who had already locked in their own Champions League spot for next season after beating Liverpool a week prior, were held to a dour goalless draw at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light. The lackluster showing came as no surprise, with United with little left to fight for in the remaining league fixtures. The stalemate marked the first time the Red Devils had failed to score a league goal since November.

The biggest drama of the day unfolded in west London, where Bournemouth kept their stunning dream of Champions League qualification alive with a 1-0 away win over Fulham. The match was turned on its head before half time, with VAR intervention forcing two red cards: Bournemouth’s Ryan Christie saw an initial yellow card for a dangerous foul on Timothy Castagne upgraded to a red, while Fulham defender Joachim Andersen also walked after a similar VAR review upgraded his booking for a foul on Adrien Truffert. Reduced to 10 men apiece, it was 19-year-old Brazilian winger Rayan who claimed the winning goal for the Cherries in the 53rd minute, curling a clinical finish from the edge of the penalty area past Fulham’s keeper. Unbeaten in their last 16 consecutive league matches, Bournemouth is chasing a first-ever European qualification in the club’s history.

Brighton & Hove Albion also boosted their own European bid with a comprehensive 3-0 demolition of already-relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Amex Stadium. Jack Hinshelwood put the Seagulls ahead just 37 seconds into the match with a headed finish, before captain Lewis Dunk doubled the lead with another header just five minutes later. Yankuba Minteh put the icing on the cake with a thunderous long-range strike in the 86th minute to complete the rout. With two matches remaining, Brighton sit just two points behind Bournemouth in seventh place.

The permutations for European spots remain tight this season: a sixth-place finish could deliver either Champions League or Europa League football, depending on the outcome of the Europa League final. If current fifth-place Aston Villa beats Freiburg in next month’s final, the sixth-placed side will earn a Champions League berth.

In the title race, second-place Manchester City were set to host Brentford in Saturday’s late kickoff, looking to chip into leaders Arsenal’s advantage. Pep Guardiola’s side sit five points behind Arsenal, who travel to take on 18th-place West Ham United on Sunday. City hold one game in hand over the leaders, but a damaging 3-3 draw at Everton earlier this week means the destiny of the title is no longer in City’s hands. Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, who have also reached the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, will secure their first top-flight English title in 22 years if they win all three of their remaining matches.