Key events
Liverpool v Arsenal (4.30pm)
Will Unwin
Arne Slot is planning to turn Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Anfield departure into a positive for Liverpool, the head coach has said. The right-back will leave Merseyside this summer for Real Madrid on a free transfer, meaning the Dutchman will need to find a way of replacing him.
Conor Bradley is set to start Sunday’s Premier League meeting with Arsenal at Anfield as preparations continue for next season with the title secured. Slot might have to look outside the club for someone to challenge the Northern Ireland international for the right-back berth.
The reader interview Duncan Ferguson
Look, if you don’t love Big Dunc, I’m not sure we can be friends. This is so good.
Any regrets from the Rangers years? Denny
Oh Christ, aye. I never gave myself the best chance to break through at Rangers. I wasn’t training. An amateur player would have been training harder than me. I just wasn’t dedicated enough. I thought I’d made it. Football was easy to me. I’d never had an injury, I came through at Dundee United and I was ripping it up. But then you start to get injured. You’re going on nights out, you’re not playing and it all starts to mount up. There’s a wee bit of trouble creeping into my life now. I’ve got massive regrets that I never gave myself the best crack at it because I was a Rangers boy, I supported Rangers when I was younger, but there is always a silver lining. If I’d cracked it at Rangers I wouldn’t have come to Everton.
Napoli are three wins away from only the fourth Scudetto in their history. But the relationship between fanbase and manager feels coldly transactional.
Assessing Antonio Conte is difficult. On the one hand, his career has been a story of consistent success. If Napoli do win Serie A it will be his sixth league title with four clubs in two countries in 13 years, a period in which he also transformed an unremarkable Italy into a dynamic side who beat Spain at Euro 2016 before going out to Germany in an 18-penalty shootout. On the other, it’s a tale of strife and constant tension. For club directors, he is a permanent migraine.
“With the clear proviso that all fanbases have a level of entitlement and very vocal idiots, it has been entertaining hearing (some) Arsenal fans explain furiously how Liverpool don’t deserve the league, and Arsenal have been better, and so on and so on,” writes Matt Dony. “It’s enormously childish, but I almost hope Arsenal win today, purely to see the frothing-at-the-mouth on Twitter later on. Arteta’s post-match comments would be for the ages.”
Are Arteta’s Arsenal becoming a cult? I don’t say that pejoratively – plenty of great teams are – but it does feel like something has changed in the past few weeks. All managers present a distorted reality when it comes to refereeing decisions, but when that extends to performance I think it’s a dangerous sign.
One example. In his first year at Man Utd, Erik ten Hag was a Dutchman to the core, bracingly honest, happy to admit when United were crap. But in his second season, as the pressure mounted, he started defending the indefensible. Whatever happens with Mikel Arteta, and he probably just needs a holiday, he’s still massively in credit overall. When he took over, Arsenal were an irrelevance. The existence of this entry shows that’s not the case any more.
The next big thing
Nothing in sport stirs the soul quite like the emergence of a brilliant young talent. Which relatively unknown teenagers have caught your eye this season? Let us know BTL or by emailing matchday.live@theguardian.com.
The first person to say ‘Lamine Yamal’ gets a life ban.
The next superstar of European football?
Miguel Dantas profiles Porto prodigy Rodrigo Mora, whose release clause of £59.5m already looks like value for money.
Mora is a creative playmaker, directing attacks and connecting the midfield to the forward line. He links up well with his back to goal, often playing quick one-touch passes to connect with an advancing midfielder. He rotates fluidly in tight spaces and shows confidence when driving forward.
“He sees the game like no one I’ve ever coached,” says Nuno Pimentel, the former Porto under-15 manager.
Portuguese title race goes to the final day
A 1-1 draw between Benfica and Sporting means the Portuguese title race will go the final day. Francisco Trincao’s early goal for the leaders Sporting was cancelled out in the second half by Kerim Aktürkoğlu.
Both teams have 79 points after 33 games – but Sporting, who won the return fixture 1-0, are top by virtue of the head-to-head record. If they win their last game at home to Vitoria de Guimaraes on Saturday, they will be champions. Benfica play away to Braga knowing they need to better Sporting’s result.
Saturday’s action
Plenty go get through this morning. Let’s start with the fallout from an exceedingly busy Saturday.
Premier League
Women’s Super League
Elsewhere
Preamble
Hello and welcome to matchday live, our Ronseal-inspired weekend blog. For the next few hours we’ll have all the build-up to a big day of action in England, Spain, Italy and beyond.
There are five Premier League matches, including Newcastle v Chelsea and Liverpool v Arsenal, as well as a clásico that could decide who wins La Liga. And the top two in Italy, Napoli and Internazionale, play this evening. Nicky Bandini will join us later to discuss the Serie A title race.
We’ll also reflect on yesterday’s action, including Chelsea completing an unbeaten WSL season and Manchester City failing to score at the Premier League’s bottom club Southampton. And we’ll hear from Simon Burnton, who is at Wembley for Non-League Finals Day. Whitstable, my local team if you’re into that sort of thing, meet AFC Whyteleafe in the FA Vase final at 12.15pm; Aldershot and Spennymoor contest the FA Trophy final at 4.15pm.
These are some of today’s key matches.
Premier League (2.15pm kick-off unless stated)
Newcastle v Chelsea (12pm)
Man Utd v West Ham
Nottm Forest v Leicester
Tottenham v Crystal Palace
Liverpool v Arsenal (4.30pm)
La Liga
Serie A
Torino v Inter (5pm)
Napoli v Genoa (7.45pm)
EFL playoffs
Wycombe v Charlton (League One, 6.30pm)
Chesterfield v Walsall (League Two, 3.30pm)
Let us know your thoughts on the clásico, the Premier League top five race or anything else by emailing matchday.live@theguardian.com or posting BTL.
