Premier League Final Day: Key Storylines as Season Concludes

Brighton must beat Manchester United on the final day to secure European football for only the second time, following last week’s costly defeat to Leeds. United have nothing to play for and a poor record at the Amex, losing three of their last four Premier League visits including a 4-0 loss in 2022. Danny Welbeck, enjoying his most prolific season with 13 league goals, could be key against his former club and still has a chance to finish as the highest-scoring English player, trailing Ollie Watkins by one goal.

Brighton host Manchester United in what is the biggest match of the final day, a showdown for the wooden spoon to determine the worst team in the Premier League this season. For Burnley and Wolves, the campaign has felt less like a rollercoaster and more like being stuck on teacups, going round slowly for 10 months. The serious element is the hard cash at stake: £2m extra prize money for finishing 19th, not to be sniffed at. Both seasons have been dreadful; combined points would only see them sit 17th. Alphabetical order meant Wolves started bottom, and a win at Turf Moor would move them off the foot for the first time. A draw feels like a fair result for football, and this could be time for the two to prove everyone wrong.

All eyes were expected to be on Oliver Glasner’s team selection against Arsenal given the potential significance of that game, but Manchester City’s failure to beat Bournemouth means Sunday’s meeting of two European finalists should be a carnival atmosphere. Arsenal will celebrate their Premier League title while Crystal Palace’s Austrian manager takes charge for the final time at Selhurst Park. Expect wholesale changes from both sides as Palace prepare for the Conference League final on Wednesday and Arsenal’s players recover from their title celebrations. There could even be a first Premier League start for Christian Nørgaard since joining Arsenal from Brentford last summer.

A dead rubber against Newcastle could be Marco Silva’s final match in charge of Fulham. With José Mourinho on the verge of joining Real Madrid, Silva has been heavily linked with Benfica, although Fulham’s manager insists ‘no decision has been made.’ Silva has unfinished business in Portugal; the last time he managed there was 2015, when he was reportedly sacked by Sporting for not wearing a club suit on the touchline. Benfica’s pull is strong: one of Portugal’s biggest clubs can offer European football next season and a chance to work again with director of football Mário Branco. Fulham are caught in a merry-go-round spun by super agent Jorge Mendes, with Mourinho and Silva both clients, while Filipe Luís is now among favourites to replace Silva at Craven Cottage if the 48-year-old departs.

Liverpool are scrambling over the line for Champions League qualification, and despite Bournemouth needing two favorable results and a six-goal swing to clinch fifth place, not even that is certain on current form. There are so many subplots to the final day at Anfield that emotional send-offs to Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson might not be the main event. Will Salah play after his latest public attempt to undermine Arne Slot? What reception awaits the Liverpool head coach? Will Keith Andrews complete a highly impressive debut season by taking Brentford into Europe? At some point Salah and Robertson will take centre stage, receiving the acclaim they deserve for their magnificent Liverpool careers. The salute should also extend to a third member of Jürgen Klopp’s great team: Jordan Henderson, who exited via the back door in 2023 without the fanfare his contribution as captain deserved. His first appearance back at Anfield is an opportunity to put that right.

Farewell Pep, thanks for coming. What a decade it has been at Manchester City, where their head coach has changed the course of English football forever. Kids are desperate to play out from the back, and technique, for a long period, was favoured over physique. Like when Jürgen Klopp left Liverpool, it will be a sad day for the Premier League, though opposition fans will not admit it. Nor will they be too bothered that Bernardo Silva is on his merry way too, having distinguished himself as one of the smartest operators to grace the league while being incredibly consistent over nine years. The Portuguese bows out with John Stones, who at his best is one of the finest defenders in world football but has been held back by injuries. City fans will miss all three, but everyone should take a moment to acknowledge their achievements.

Elliot Anderson has spent just two years at the City Ground but has had an incredible effect on the team and club. He will go to the World Cup in the summer, juggling midfield duties for his country with swirling rumours about his future. Manchester City and Manchester United are very keen on the former Newcastle man, but City are leading the race in many people’s eyes. ‘The market is the market and everything can happen,’ Vítor Pereira said after losing at Old Trafford. ‘What I can say to you is that the club wants to keep him playing for us, for sure. The club wants to keep almost all the players because this is a very good group with quality and character and we have a very good base for next season.’ Wherever Anderson ends up, Sunday will be a chance for Forest fans to laud his ability, potentially for one final time. Forest could finish 15th with a win, but Anderson’s ambitions are higher, and the reality that he will be sold is apparent on all sides.

Nottingham Forest host Bournemouth with both teams have little to play for beyond pride.

A point will, barring a ludicrous turn of events, be enough to keep Tottenham’s head above water. It has been another dreadful domestic season for the club, which will at best conclude with a second consecutive 17th-placed finish. Their team is not good enough to play for a draw, nor is it Roberto De Zerbi’s style to be conservative. Spurs will have to try to win against an Everton side who would love to ruin everyone’s day in north London. A raucous atmosphere feels necessary for the hosts, and starting James Maddison could inspire. A creative spark is required to push the side forward, and having their captain on the pitch from the start for the first time this season would provide a huge boost. After a year of adversity for Maddison and the team, they are seeking mutual success, however small.

Back in August, newly promoted Sunderland were overwhelming favourites to suffer an immediate and ignominious return to the Championship. Now, Régis Le Bris is a manager of the year contender, and Europe remains almost within touching distance. If Sunderland beat Chelsea at the Stadium of Light and either Brentford or Brighton stumble, they will finish seventh or eighth and start looking forward to Conference or even Europa League football next season. It would be only the second time in their history Sunderland have been involved in continental combat, the first being the 1973-74 European Cup Winners’ Cup where they were knocked out by Sporting Lisbon in the second round. Chelsea are unlikely to underestimate Le Bris’s team, particularly after a 2-1 Sunderland win at Stamford Bridge in late October. The Londoners, currently eighth, two places and one point ahead of their hosts, are also keen to please incoming manager Xabi Alonso by securing a European place of their own. Something has to give.

West Ham head into the final day facing relegation with only two scenarios in their favour: they must win against Leeds and hope Everton beat Spurs, or win with a 12-goal swing if Spurs draw. It is a remarkable fall for a club that lifted the Conference League trophy three years ago, ending a 43-year wait for major silverware, but Jarrod Bowen admitted the warning signs have been flashing since. ‘It’s been three years this summer since we won a European trophy. Even that season, we finished 14th, we weren’t that great,’ Bowen said. ‘We thought we’d be better this season.’ Relegation would create major financial problems for the club and reignite debate around one of English football’s most controversial stadium deals. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said taxpayers could lose up to £2.5m per year if the club drop into the Championship because of the 99-year agreement at the London Stadium, labelling the deal made under former mayor Boris Johnson as ‘the worst deal imaginable.’ Khan added: ‘What I say to Londoners who don’t support Spurs is you should probably be cheering on West Ham, because the taxpayer will lose out if West Ham go down.’