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A core of players have seen all or most of Pep Guardiola’s Etihad tenure and are on the verge of a sixth title winner’s medal

It takes a lot for Pep Guardiola to trust unconditionally, so staying the course with the Manchester City manager is not a straightforward business. Despite the constant trophies gleaming in the Etihad cabinet, decorated players have come and gone – but six have the chance of securing a sixth Premier League title alongside Guardiola on Sunday afternoon.

Ederson, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden have set the tone for much of the club’s success. A victory over West Ham will guarantee each a sixth winner’s medal, putting them on par with David Beckham and Phil Neville. De Bruyne was already a City first-teamer when Guardiola arrived in Manchester in 2016, while Foden was making headway in the academy. The other four were carefully selected by the club’s hierarchy and Guardiola.

League Two playoff finalists’ American owners endured the jeers but beating Crewe would prompt tears not triumphalism

Preston Johnson has been to Wembley before. “I saw Coldplay in concert once,” the American recalls. But the former professional gambler and NFT (or non-fungible token) enthusiast will be attending in a new capacity on Sunday as Crawley Town, the club he co-owns, look to seal their promotion to League One.

“I have some family and friends that are flying over and I think I’m going to spend some time with them Saturday,” Johnson says. “On Sunday the schedule is pretty much set. We have a meal before the game. I think Sky Sports asked me to do an interview at midday. So if I wasn’t already really nervous, now I get to do a TV hit. But it’s part of the experience. I will not complain.”

The manager’s job had been in jeopardy but the team’s improved recent form looks likely to salvage a European place

It shouldn’t be a debate. When Chelsea conduct their end-of-season review this week, it would be ridiculous if they convince themselves that the right call would be to get rid of Mauricio Pochettino and begin yet another search for a head coach.

The good news is that prominent figures inside Stamford Bridge are backing Pochettino. Why change now? Why start over when the players want the manager to stay? Why not recognise that Pochettino, who has dealt with a massive injury list, has made sense of a dizzying transfer strategy and built a team that stand on the verge of securing European football before hosting Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon?

Leadership of the Premier League has never changed hands on the final day, but there have been plenty of nail-biting finishes

Kenny Dalglish’s Blackburn had led since November but went into the final weekend on a jittery run of form as they attempted to be crowned champions for the first time since 1914, whereas Manchester United had picked up 17 points from their previous seven games before heading to Upton Park. Michael Hughes gave West Ham the lead in the first half as Alan Shearer scored his 34th goal of the season at Anfield but when Brian McClair and then John Barnes equalised, suddenly United had hope. Jamie Redknapp fulfilled Liverpool’s end of the bargain by scoring from a late free-kick that was greeted with silence from the home crowd. Yet an inspired Ludek Miklosko performance in goal denied United and meant Dalglish could celebrate.

• Victory outlast Phoenix in extra-time after late exchange of goals
• Melbourne to face Sydney FC or Central Coast in grand final

Melbourne Victory are into the A-League Men grand final after a semi-final win for the ages, with Chris Ikonomidis’ extra-time goal defying Wellington Phoenix.

Victory emerged triumphant from a titanic struggle at Sky Stadium on Saturday, where a best-ever Phoenix crowd of 33,297 willed the league minnows into a first grand final.

As the Women’s Super League’s most decorated coach leaves west London to manage the USWNT, we take a look back at Emma Hayes’s trophy-laden 12 years in charge of Chelsea

• Kerr’s court case on charges of racial harassment delayed until 2025
• Matildas striker facing charges after alleged abuse of police officer

Sam Kerr’s fight to clear her name has hit a serious hurdle after her court case on charges of racially aggravated harassment was delayed until February 2025.

The Matildas and Chelsea striker was set to appear at London’s Kingston Crown Court on Monday in a bid to have the criminal charges thrown out. However the presiding judge has cancelled her preliminary hearing, ruling it is “no longer needed”.

Bournemouth’s manager on Marcelo Bielsa’s lessons, his love for cycling and why Unai Emery should beat him to awards

After an unforgiving start, Andoni Iraola has enjoyed an eye-catching first season in the Premier League, leading Bournemouth to their best points tally in the division, with a top‑half finish a distinct possibility heading into the final day. His work, imposing a breathless, aggressive style on a dynamic team, has earned him a nomination for the manager of the season award, as well as a new contract. As he approaches his first anniversary in charge next month, the closest thing to a grumble – as an avid cyclist – is the dearth of hilly terrain in Dorset. “The longest one is 200m,” he says with a smile, raising and then drooping his right hand. “It stops just as you are getting started.”

Raised in the Basque Country, the cycling heartland of Spain, Iraola has long been fascinated by the endurance and precision at the crux of competing on two wheels. During pre-season in Marbella last summer he was glued to the Tour de France over dinner and it was similar in his playing days, the majority spent at his boyhood club Athletic Bilbao, whom he captained to the Europa League final under Marcelo Bielsa in 2011-12. The pressures have changed since then.

Unusual storylines are growing ever rarer due to the influence of the super-rich and nation states in our national game

Admit it, when Erik ten Hag walked out holding a microphone after Manchester United’s final home game on Wednesday night you also thought he was going to start saying things like “Your job now is to support the new manager”, before marching off to write books containing anecdotes about Richard Branson.

In the event the most notable part of Ten Hag’s speech was how convincing he is when he frowns into a mic and says things. Ten Hag could stab himself in the eye with a kebab skewer and stand there in the centre circle, kebab skewer pyoing-ing up and down, explaining why this is actually a really good thing and a sign of genuine progress and you’d think, yeah, kebab-skewer-eye-guy really is on to something. He just needs time. Maybe with patience and a proper process he can stab himself in the other eye too.

The German’s nine-year Anfield tenure has contained some unforgettable highs – and a handful of agonising near-misses

Recruiting Jürgen Klopp was a coup for Fenway Sports Group – Liverpool were not what they are now in 2015 – and his willingness to end a planned year-long sabbatical after four months to take the job generated a level of excitement and anticipation among supporters rarely witnessed before. It would not be misplaced. After signing a three-year contract at the city’s Hope Street hotel, and before going for a drink with his family at a bar around the corner, Klopp gave his first interview as Liverpool’s manager. “The message to those Liverpool supporters?” he asks, rhetorically. “We have to change, from doubter to believer. Now.” He had the entire club onside from the word go.

• Chelsea manager was in ‘lonely place’ after loss at home
• Europa League ‘is not enough for the club, owners or players’

Mauricio Pochettino has admitted he could have been sacked after Chelsea’s humiliating 4-2 defeat at home to Wolves in February.

The manager, whose future remains uncertain before a pivotal end-of-season review next week, said he was in a lonely place after a game that left his team well off the pace in the hunt for European football.

Arsenal manager vows to try again should the Gunners fail in their quest for a first Premier League crown in 20 years

Mikel Arteta pondered the question for a split second, then responded. Had he been in touch with Pep Guardiola this week to discuss Sunday’s denouement of the Premier League title race? “No, no,” came the emphatic answer.

The Arsenal manager remains on good terms with his Manchester City counterpart, who gave him his first opportunity in coaching back in 2016 when Arteta turned down offers to earn his stripes in Arsenal’s academy under Arsène Wenger or link up with his old friend Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham. But, make no mistake, when the two Spaniards finally catch up on the phone after the season – as has become tradition since Arteta’s return to manage Arsenal in 2019 – Arteta would prefer not to have finished in second place again. “We talked on the phone, very normal, but it is not analysis,” he said of their most recent conversation last year. “We talk about other stuff.”

From the rubble to the Ritz? The stirring pre-match reception ­Southampton’s supporters gave their players left a wreckage of flares, smoke bombs, empties and cans but as fans exited a supercharged St Mary’s they departed with a trip to ­Wembley to plan.

Russell Martin’s side were given a heroes’ welcome and now they are one game from returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking, a date with Leeds to prepare for a week on Sunday. Will Smallbone settled any lingering nerves, opening the scoring early in the second half, before Adam Armstrong struck twice late on, firing in with a precise strike before sealing victory from the penalty spot.

• Updates from second leg, first leg ended 0-0 (8pm BST)
• Norwich sack Wagner after heavy playoff loss to Leeds
• Get in touch! Email Taha with your thoughts on the game

1 min: Southampton win a free-kick inside the first 20 seconds, but Smallbone’s delivery is poor, failing to pump the ball towards the men waiting inside the box.

Southampton are in their usual red; West Brom are kitted out in their regular navy blue and white stripes. The visitors kick off, moving from right to left on my screen. Let’s play!

Arsenal have been impressive challengers but a unique fourth English title in a row is there for the taking at the Etihad

The Manchester City fanbase like it to be known that they’re “not really here”. But as the club stand on the verge of history, it is a line from Pep Guardiola which offers the clarity, the explanation; a sense of wonder, too.

“We are there,” City’s manager has said repeatedly over the course of this season and those that have gone before. His team are pushing yet again to secure the Premier League title and he has often posited that the very act of being there and competing, the sheer consistency, is the real measure of them, the thing that must be celebrated.

Manager determined to depart on a high while Manchester City aim to spoil leaving party on what could be a dramatic final day

Emma Hayes is not having to work hard to keep emotions in check as she prepares for her final game as Chelsea manager – Saturday’s mouthwatering match-up with Manchester United at Old Trafford – because she is used to doing it.

The last drive into work, the last coaching session, the final away trip with the team, watching her family mourn the end of her working relationship with Chelsea as much as she does – there is time to take in the poignancy of these moments properly later.

• Premier League: 10 things to look out for on the final day
• Farewell to Emma Hayes | And you can drop Dave an email

Some related Messi content. A look at the MLS’s top earners.

Talking of forgotten footballers, whatever happened to Christian Benteke? Well, we’ll tell you what: he’s only the joint-top scorer in the MLS this season having found the net 11 times for DC United. That’s one more than Messi. How and why? It’s all here in Joseph Lowery’s latest MLS power rankings.

Supporters understand their club is on an upward trajectory on and off the field and are determined to enjoy the ride

Manchester City under Pep Guardiola can carry an air of inevitability at this time of year. For Son Heung-min’s rare one-on-one miss this week, see Vincent Kompany’s collector’s item goal against Leicester in 2019. So as Arsenal prepare for Sunday, knowing only a slip by the serial winners could open the door to a title win, how do their fans assess the season?

Pride would best capture the prevailing mood. Faisal Khan, who hosts the YouTube channel Latte Firm, says Arsenal “are on a steep upward trajectory” and is refusing to give up hope that his team will win at home to Everton and City will fail to match that against West Ham at the Etihad Stadium.

• Conduct ‘incompatible with values of Juventus’, say club
• Manager was sent off late in 1-0 victory over Atalanta

Juventus have confirmed that Massimiliano Allegri has been dismissed as head coach. The 56-year-old was appointed in 2021 for his second spell in charge of the club having previously guided them to five Serie A titles.

However, Juve confirmed on Friday that Allegri had been dismissed after three years at the helm due to “certain behaviours” at the Coppa Italia final that were deemed “incompatible with the values of Juventus”.

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First up, an apology to Arsenal fans and any others desperately wishing for a final-day Premier League upset. We just can’t see it happening. We’ve crunched the numbers, weighed up the matchups, scoured the history books for precedent – right from when football began 32 years ago – and can’t find any legitimate reasons to suggest Manchester City won’t claim a fourth consecutive league title this weekend. Their relentlessness over the last two months has been somewhat of a kill-joy to what, for a while, seemed to be a genuinely compelling conclusion. They’ve won eight league games on the bounce. They haven’t lost since early December. They are, once more, annoyingly great.