Liverpool Braced for Premier League Title Party

Liverpool Braced for Premier League Title Party
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Liverpool Braced for Premier League Title Party

Liverpool Braced for Premier League Title Party

Liverpool have one hand on the Premier League trophy as they seek the solitary point they need against struggling Tottenham on Sunday that would guarantee a record-equaling 20th English title.

A draw at an expectant Anfield would take Arne Slot's men 13 points clear of Arsenal with just four games remaining, meaning they could not be caught.

Below them, Chelsea and Newcastle have the chance to press their case for Champions League qualification with Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa all involved in the FA Cup semi-finals.

At the bottom of the table, Ipswich's fate could be sealed.

AFP Sport looks at three talking points ahead of this weekend's action:

Liverpool on the brink

It is tough to see struggling Tottenham delaying Liverpool's title party at Anfield.

After Arsenal's home draw against Crystal Palace in midweek, Arne Slot's men just need a draw to seal the deal and pull level with bitter rivals Manchester United on 20 English titles.

Out-of-form Tottenham are 16th in the league table and have a miserable record at Anfield -- not winning there since 2011.

Liverpool won the reverse fixture this season 6-3 and were 4-1 winners on aggregate in their two-legged League Cup semi-final.

Captain Virgil van Dijk said it had been an "outstanding season" but that there was still work to do after Liverpool's 1-0 at Leicester last week.

"Now we have the chance to finish it off on the weekend against a very good Tottenham Hotspur, in my opinion," he said. "We played three times already against them this season and every game was very intense.

"To be in this position now, it's a good position but we're not there yet. We all have to realize that and we will. We'll make sure of that. It's a good week of preparation and then we have to be ready."

Champions League shootout

Just four points separate third-placed Manchester City from Aston Villa in seventh in the race for Champions League spots next season.

For the first time the Premier League's top five will all qualify for Europe's top club competition, due to strong performances in continental competition.

Liverpool are already guaranteed a spot and Arsenal, 10 points clear of Chelsea in sixth, are practically there, leaving three places open.

City stole a march this week in the mini-league with a last-gasp win against Villa after Nottingham Forest, now fourth, beat Tottenham on Monday.

Villa play Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday, with Forest taking on City the following day at Wembley.

It means Newcastle, who could have Eddie Howe back on the touchline after a bout of pneumonia, would leapfrog City if they beat lowly Ipswich.

Chelsea badly need to beat Everton at home with a tough run of games to come against Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester United and Forest.

Southampton playing for pride, Ipswich on brink

Southampton's 1-1 draw at West Ham last week meant they drew level with Derby's record-low points tally of 11 from the 2007/08 season, with five games to go to better the Rams' total.

But it will be of limited comfort after a miserable season for Saints, who were relegated earlier this month.

Leicester are already down and Ipswich appear certain to follow them barring a miracle -- a draw for West Ham at Brighton on Saturday would seal their fate.

It would be the second successive season in which all three promoted clubs had been relegated straight back to the Championship.

Prior to the 2023/24 campaign, this had last occurred in 1997/98.

All the evidence points to a worrying and widening chasm between English football's top two tiers as the season nears its end.

Fixtures

Saturday (1400 GMT unless stated)

Chelsea v Everton (1130), Brighton v West Ham, Newcastle v Ipswich, Southampton v Fulham, Wolves v Leicester

Sunday

Bournemouth v Manchester United (1300), Liverpool v Tottenham (1530)



Spurs Survive as Guardiola, Salah Say Premier League Farewells

 24 May 2026, United Kingdom, Liverpool: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah applauds the fans following the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Brentford at Anfield. (Peter Byrne/PA Wire/dpa)
24 May 2026, United Kingdom, Liverpool: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah applauds the fans following the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Brentford at Anfield. (Peter Byrne/PA Wire/dpa)
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Spurs Survive as Guardiola, Salah Say Premier League Farewells

 24 May 2026, United Kingdom, Liverpool: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah applauds the fans following the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Brentford at Anfield. (Peter Byrne/PA Wire/dpa)
24 May 2026, United Kingdom, Liverpool: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah applauds the fans following the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Brentford at Anfield. (Peter Byrne/PA Wire/dpa)

Tottenham secured Premier League survival on a dramatic final day of the season on Sunday as West Ham's 14-year stay in the top division came to an end.

Spurs kicked off against Everton needing, realistically, only a draw to avoid relegation for the first time since 1977 -- as they sat two points clear of the Hammers with a significantly better goal difference.

Joao Palhinha released the mounting pressure at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium just before half-time, poking home after his header thundered back off a post.

The Portugal midfielder was mobbed by his teammates as head coach Roberto De Zerbi sprinted down the touchline, turning to celebrate with ecstatic fans in the London sunshine.

That goal left Nuno Espirito Santo's West Ham, then drawing 0-0 with Leeds, needing a favour from Everton, even if they went on to win their match.

Just a few miles away, at the London Stadium, Valentin Castellanos gave West Ham some hope midway through the second half as he fired the Irons in front.

Jarrod Bowen and Callum Wilson made it 3-0 at the full-time whistle but it was too little too late for the Hammers as a nervy Spurs held on to secure all three points.

Spurs have enjoyed a mini-revival in recent weeks under De Zerbi, who arrived in late March as the club's third manager of the season.

Relegation would have been financially disastrous for the ninth-richest club in world, who won the Europa League last season under former boss Ange Postecoglou.

The Hammers, who were promoted to the English top division in 2012, will join Burnley and Wolves in the Championship next season.

- Pep farewell -

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola walked out at the Etihad for the final time as manager after a decade of almost unbroken success, with newly crowned Europa League winners Aston Villa the visitors.

The Catalan on Friday confirmed reports that he was leaving the club after 10 years in charge, with six Premier League titles and the Champions League in his huge collection of silverware.

A huge banner rippled over the heads of the fans bearing a giant image of Guardiola, with the messages "Game Changer" and "History Maker".

There were smaller banners either side to mark the departures of long-serving defender John Stones and midfielder Bernardo Silva.

Antoine Semenyo gave the home side the lead but Ollie Watkins, named this week in England's World Cup squad, scored twice to secure fourth spot in the table for Villa.

Elsewhere on a day of significant departures, Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson revelled in a party atmosphere at Anfield as they said farewell to the club.

Just a week ago Salah, 33, undermined Liverpool boss Arne Slot when he called for a return to the "heavy metal football" played under former boss Jurgen Klopp.

But Slot included the "Egyptian King" -- third on the list of Liverpool's all-time goalscorers -- in his starting line-up alongside Scotland defender Robertson.

Banners in the crowd celebrated both players, one saying "Thank you legends". Another said: "We Have Gone From Great To Glory. Salah Is Our King".

A 1-1 draw meant that Liverpool finish fifth in the table -- a stark comedown after last season's Premier League title triumph.

Ten-man Chelsea lost 2-1 at Sunderland, meaning that newly appointed boss Xabi Alonso will have no European football when he is at the helm next season.

Sunderland and Bournemouth have qualified for the Europa League while Brighton will be in the UEFA Conference League.

There was a party atmosphere at Selhurst Park, where champions Arsenal made nine changes ahead of next week's Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain.

Crystal Palace players gave Mikel Arteta's men a guard of honor before kick-off to mark their Premier League triumph.

The Gunners, who beat Conference League finalists Palace 2-1, sealed their first English league title since 2004 earlier this week after City could only draw at Bournemouth.

On the south coast, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes set a new outright record of 21 assists in a single Premier League season when he set up Patrick Dorgu's goal in a 3-0 win at Brighton.


Zverev in Cruise Control as French Open Starts Under Blazing Sun

Germany's Alexander Zverev celebrates after winning his men's singles match against France's Benjamin Bonzi on day 1 of the French Open tennis tournament on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on May 24, 2026. (AFP)
Germany's Alexander Zverev celebrates after winning his men's singles match against France's Benjamin Bonzi on day 1 of the French Open tennis tournament on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on May 24, 2026. (AFP)
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Zverev in Cruise Control as French Open Starts Under Blazing Sun

Germany's Alexander Zverev celebrates after winning his men's singles match against France's Benjamin Bonzi on day 1 of the French Open tennis tournament on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on May 24, 2026. (AFP)
Germany's Alexander Zverev celebrates after winning his men's singles match against France's Benjamin Bonzi on day 1 of the French Open tennis tournament on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on May 24, 2026. (AFP)

French Open dark horse Alexander Zverev started his Roland Garros campaign with a meticulous 6-3 6-4 6-2 first-round demolition of France's Benjamin Bonzi in searing heat on Sunday.

The 2024 runner-up and three-time semi-finalist, who is chasing his maiden Grand Slam title, never allowed the world number 95 into the contest on court Philippe Chatrier as he set up a second-round meeting with Tomas Machac ‌of Czech ‌Republic.

"Very good start to the tournament, ‌it's ⁠always good to ⁠start with a win in straight sets especially against Benjamin who can be a tricky opponent," the German second seed said.

The two-week tournament started under blazing sun as fans in Panama hats streamed into Roland Garros, which felt more like ⁠the Riviera than claycourt grind as ‌alleys echoed with a ‌violin rendition of Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" and other soft-rock staples. ‌

With temperatures expected to exceed 30 degrees ‌Celsius (86 Fahrenheit), Russian Karen Khachanov, seeded 13, dispatched French hope Arthur Gea on Court Suzanne Lenglen before 11th-seeded Swiss Belinda Bencic downed Sinja Kraus of Austria.

The claycourt Grand ‌Slam suffered two major withdrawals as twice champion Carlos Alcaraz pulled out ⁠last month ⁠with a wrist injury and much-hyped local favorite Arthur Fils also withdrew injured on Saturday.

Italian Jannik Sinner, the world number one, is the heavy favorite in the men’s draw, while the women’s draw seems wide open.

Serbian Novak Djokovic, chasing a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title, opens his campaign against big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard later on Sunday.

Russian eighth seed Mirra Andreeva will be the highest seeded woman in action when she takes on French wildcard Fiona Ferro.


De Zerbi Vows to Stay at Tottenham Even if Side Relegated

Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - May 19, 2026 Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi during the warm up before the match. (Action Images via Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - May 19, 2026 Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi during the warm up before the match. (Action Images via Reuters)
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De Zerbi Vows to Stay at Tottenham Even if Side Relegated

Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - May 19, 2026 Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi during the warm up before the match. (Action Images via Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - May 19, 2026 Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi during the warm up before the match. (Action Images via Reuters)

Tottenham Hotspur manager ‌Roberto De Zerbi reiterated his commitment to the relegation-threatened Premier League club, saying he would stay on even if they were to drop into the second tier of English football.

Tottenham are two points above West Ham United in the final relegation spot, and a home draw with Everton on Sunday in ‌their final league ‌game of the season ‌would ⁠almost certainly be ⁠enough to ensure their survival, as the North London club have a superior goal difference.

However, if they lose to Everton and West Ham beat Leeds United, Tottenham could be relegated from the ⁠top flight for the first ‌time since 1977.

In ‌April, De Zerbi said he would remain ‌in charge of the club next ‌season regardless of results. When asked on Friday if he would stick to his word, the Italian told reporters: "Yeah, I confirm everything.

“It’s ‌still an honor to be a coach for Tottenham, even if ⁠on ⁠Sunday we play for the relegation fight, it’s not a problem. I consider football something more than the (league) table...

"We are fighting for something very important for everyone. It is football. But we have enough quality. To attack the pressure, you have to find the valor inside of yourself, to understand the situation and force yourself to give your best."