Sports

Premier League gears up for final-day farewells and drama

 

The race between Arsenal and Tottenham for Champions League football will go down to the wire, while Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes bid final farewells to their clubs.

It might be lacking in title or relegation drama but the final day of the Premier League season still has plenty to offer in terms of tension for Arsenal and Tottenham fans.

The battle for Champions League qualification has gone right down to the wire, with the Gunners travelling to St James' Park knowing that only a win over Newcastle would guarantee a top-four place.

Spurs, meanwhile, could reach their highest-ever Premier League points tally and still not reach Europe's elite club competition if they fail to better their north London rivals' result.

Chelsea, too, might still be affected by the top-four struggle. If the Blues are held to a goalless draw at home to Everton and Arsenal beat Newcastle 2-1, both sides would be forced into a play-off at Villa Park to decide who gets third place and passage into the Champions League group stage.

It is a situation which the Blues, and interim manager Rafa Benitez, will be desperately hoping to avoid. Any play-off could well interfere with the club's plans to go on a post-season tour of the United States, as well as forcing the Spaniard to postpone the start of his search for another top European job.

Despite his Europa League triumph, there will be no tears at the departure of Benitez from Stamford Bridge, though the same cannot be said of Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes, as two of the Premier League's longest managerial stints come to an end.

Ferguson will call time on his 26 years in charge of the Red Devils with a guard of honour at the Hawthorns on Sunday, while Moyes undertakes his final game as Everton boss against Chelsea after an 11-year reign before moving to Old Trafford this summer.

Roberto Martinez might also bid a slightly more bittersweet farewell to Wigan as they host Aston Villa, having won the club's first ever FA Cup and been relegated within the space of three days.