Can Manchester United play Premier League title spoiler as Arsenal come to town? Plus European final six set

The finish line is in sight across Europe as national leagues accelerate to a crescendo. The Premier League in particular has a title race going into the final week. My name is James Benge, let’s take a look at the upcoming weekend.

Football correction

All times US/East

Friday, May 10th
Serie A: Frosinone x Inter, 2:45 pm CBS Sports Golazo Network

Saturday, May 11th
Premiership: Celtic x Rangers, 7:30am Paramount+
EPL: Fulham x Manchester City, 7:30 am USA Network

Sunday, May 12th
Championship Playoffs: Norwich City vs Leeds United, 7am ESPN+
EPL: Manchester United x Arsenal, 11:30 am Peacock
Bundesliga: Bochum x Bayer Leverkusen, 1:30 pm ESPN+
Serie A: Atalanta x Roma, 2:45 pm CBS Sports Golazo Network

The hotline

Arsenal want to take the title race to the limit

Twenty-two years ago, Arsenal won the championship at Old Trafford. He can’t do it again this season, but he could effectively lose it. Mikel Arteta’s side travel to the North West on Sunday knowing that, despite all the potential complexities the next eight days may present, their task is quite simple: beat Manchester United and Everton, then wait and see.

Even if Arsenal do that, they will need Manchester City to drop points in one of their remaining three games, starting with a trip to Fulham on Saturday. The Gunners may occupy first place, but a one-point lead after having played one more game is extremely fragile. As captain Martin Odegaard acknowledged after the 3-0 victory over Bournemouth, there is nothing they can do but put pressure on the scoreboard. Equally, this means they don’t need visits to their biggest rivals to provide them with the motivation they need.

• Odegaard: “It’s like any other game we’re playing at the moment. [going to Manchester United]. I don’t think we need any extra motivation right now. I think there’s enough there. We know what we’re playing for. We know the task. We have to win every game and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

The city could very well take this out of your hands. Tottenham and West Ham seem relatively simple tasks for the champions. Arsenal, however, refuse to loosen their grip on the Premier League title. Since the turn of the year, their record in the top flight is 18 games, 16 wins, one draw and one defeat. That solitary draw at the Etihad saw Manchester City lose the same number of points. Arteta was right to note earlier this year that this form usually sees teams reach the title, not counting on the favor of fellow Premier League ranks.

It’s also the kind of run that should mean they can arrive at Old Trafford confident, not just of a win, but a fine one. Arsenal’s record at Old Trafford over the last two decades and the changes may be profoundly common, but in all that time they have never faced a team as bad as this iteration of Manchester United. After all, this is a team that was beaten by Crystal Palace on Monday, has won just two of its last 10 top-flight games and has taken more shots than anyone else in the Premier League this season except Sheffield United, who are in relegation. All that seems to be of use to them is the aura of Old Trafford. Arsenal really should win.

Even that may not be enough for Arsenal to be champions, but three points over their great rivals is at least a challenge to City, not just in the final week of this season, but for years to come.

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Six final sets after a week of high drama in Europe

The six finalists have been defined. When we last met on Wednesday, we were just hours away from the second leg of the semi-final between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, which was both unbelievable and utterly predictable. For the first time, it was Real Madrid who were punched when Alphonso Davies scored on the counterattack after more than an hour of dominance by the hosts. Less resilient teams would have thrown in the towel long before the 88th minute, when Joselu made the most of Manuel Neuer’s first mistake on a remarkable night. Three minutes later, the former Stoke City striker took Real Madrid to their 18th Champions League final, where they will certainly be favorites against Borussia Dortmund.

One wonders how much injury-time drama we could expect if Real Madrid face Bayer Leverkusen in the Super Cup at the start of next season. Xabi Alonso’s team not only came from two goals down to secure victory over Roma and secure a place in the Europa League final, but they also scored another late goal to extend their unbeaten run to 49 games, a club record. post-war in European football. . No one has gone so many matches without defeat playing continental football, a feat that is all the more remarkable given how often they have had to fight back to the death, as Chuck Booth explains:

• Cabin: “After the 80th minute, Leverkusen outscored their opponents 32-5 in all competitions, and when stoppage time arrives, things get even better for Alonso’s men. After the 90 minutes, Leverkusen outplayed their opponents 14-0, turning five games into victories and three others into draws. In their 49-game unbeaten run, they won 40 games.

Four more games without defeat and Leverkusen will have a strong case for the best season in the history of football, perhaps even sport. Standing between them and immortality (I’m now reclaiming the Foreverkusen moniker, thank you) will be, among other opponents, Atalanta in Dublin. Gianpiero Gasperini’s team were excellent, defeating Marseille 3-0 in Bergamo. His ambition may be a little lower than global immortality, but a double cup would be a great achievement.

Then there is the Europa Conference League final, a game in which Fiorentina are becoming a constant presence. A late penalty saw them overtake Club Brugge and return to second place in a row in the final, but they will have to control the atmosphere in Athens if they are to do better than they did against West Ham last season. Olympiacos will be at home after a brilliant victory over Aston Villa, the home team at rivals AEK Athens’ ground.

Top stories

The Champions League final is defined: Carlo Ancelotti and Edin Terzic have plenty of time to reflect before they take to the pitch at Wembley next month, but what could decide the biggest game in European football? Here is a very early view.

Game-changing “mistakes”: The fallout from Wednesday’s semi-final continues, but our rules expert Christina Unkel has the best explanation for the offside controversy at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Final countdown: Get these dates on your calendar for the Champions League It is Europa League finals.

Classification of highs and lows: We had enough thrilling final comebacks for Real Madrid in recent years and some debilitating defeats for PSG also. Our team tried to classify both.

NWSL Charter Flights: Kansas City Current was allowed to charter a private flight on its return trips from Seattle – Sandra Herrera’s latest NWSL heat check falls apart when this could become the norm for the league.

Change underway at Juventus: The old lady of Italian football will also be back in style next season, but This does not mean that Massimiliano Allegri will keep his job.

Philadelphia Union Youth Signing: The MLS side has completed the signing of 14-year-old Cavan Sullivan, who is expected to join Manchester City in the coming years.

Titles, UEFA, relegation and promotion: Which teams did what so far in Europe’s top five leagues with just a few weeks to go?

UCL 24-25: Who qualifiedwho is at risk of being left out and what to know before the changes to next season’s new format.

The back row

Best bet

• Premier League: West Ham United v Luton Town, 10am
• THE PICK: Luton Town will win (+275) – It may be a chance for the London Stadium to say goodbye to David Moyes, but Luton has everything to play for, a three-point gap to Nottingham Forest and just two games to go. Rob Edwards’ team isn’t in the best shape, but West Ham could be even worse. With so little to play for, they might just let this one slip to the Hatters.

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