Key events
Want to know the Championship’s promotion and playoff permutations? Nick Ames has them for you in this final day scene setter. Here’s a sample of what you may find:
“One thing is certain: Ipswich will be up if they beat 14th-placed QPR, on paper the perfect opponent, at an expectant Portman Road.”
Plenty of fun – or gut-wrenching drama if you’re a fan of one of the teams involved – awaits in League One today. Lincoln and Cardiff finished a mile clear to secure automatic promotion while Bolton are assured of a spot in the playoffs. But beneath them, Stockport, Bradford, Stevenage, Luton and Plymouth are all battling to grab one of the three remaining playoff berths. At the bottom, Port Vale, Rotherham and Northampton are already down. Either Exeter or Leyton Orient will join them.
Arsenal don’t exactly look like sub-two hour man, Sebastian Sawe, as the Premier League marathon enters the final few miles. The somewhat toiling Gunners were caught by Manchester City 10 days ago but due to Pep’s men, erm, heading to a drinks station/tying their laces/being interviewed live by JJ Chalmers (this analogy is breaking down terribly), Arsenal were handed the chance to kick clear again. With the Gunners playing two games before City next went into bat (mixing sporting metaphors now just to add to the mix) the fixture list gave Arsenal the opportunity to move six points in front. They banked the first three by edging past Newcastle last weekend and can double that lead by winning today’s home game with Fulham. City can respond by taking three points at Everton on Monday. This is a very long-winded way of saying, these are today’s fixtures in the Premier League…
15.00: Brentford v West Ham
15.00: Newcastle v Brighton
15.00: Wolves v Sunderland
17.30: Arsenal v Fulham
Let’s have a proper gander at the Championship table. The relegation spots have already been decided, with Oxford, Leicester (!) and Sheffield Wednesday all heading to League One. Coventry could potentially win the Championship by 14 points which is some effort in such a mad league.
Drama awaits in the Championship and the good news is we don’t have to wait too long to see it unfold. Yes, all today’s final round of games kick off at 12.30 BST.
As mentioned in the preamble, Ipswich, Millwall and Middlesbrough can all still grab the final automatic promotion spot. Here are their matches:
Ipswich v QPR
Millwall v Oxford
Wrexham v Middlesbrough
A rung below that, Wrexham, Hull and Derby are all trying to secure a berth in the playoffs so there’s plenty on that Wrexahm v Middlesbrough game. As for the other two contenders, these are their fixtures.
Derby v Sheffield United
Hull v Norwich
Let’s start with some morning headlines:
Leeds all but confirmed their Premier League survival with a 3-1 win over relegated Burnley at Elland Road last night.
A number of leading European countries still expect to lose money at the World Cup despite Fifa increasing the prize and participation fund by $112m (£82m) this week.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says freshness was the key to the Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich classic in midweek, something Premier League teams just don’t have.
Under-fire Newcastle boss Eddie Howe admits ‘a lot is riding’ on today’s game with Brighton after meeting with the Magpies’ Saudi owners.
Preamble
Good morning everyone (shuffles papers and looks into camera while staff mill around in the background) and welcome to matchday live! We’re at the stage of the football season when every day seems significant, make-or-break, do-or-die. And that’s absolutely the case this very Saturday with three teams – Ipswich, Millwall and Middlesbrough – all having a shot at clinching the second automatic qualification spot from the Championship to the Premier League. At the very summit of the pyramid, Arsenal have the chance to pull six points clear when they host Fulham this evening. So there’s that and, quite frankly, an awful lot more. Let’s do this and, as always, get in touch with via the email at the top of the page!
