After 282 days filled with thrilling competitions and matches, the curtain comes down tomorrow, Sunday, on the English Premier League football season 2024-2025, with the final 38th round matches being held.
This season kicked off on August 16 last year with a match between Manchester United and their guests Fulham at Old Trafford, followed by more than 9 months of English league matches, while the final ten matches are played simultaneously tomorrow.
After Liverpool clinched their 20th title this season, equaling the record for the most won by a club alongside their traditional rival Manchester United, and following the relegation of Southampton, Ipswich Town, and Leicester City to the 'Championship' League, the competition narrows down to determining the spots for next season's UEFA Champions League.
Five teams—Manchester City, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Aston Villa, and Nottingham Forest—are contesting the three remaining Champions League spots, alongside Liverpool and runner-up Arsenal.
Manchester City currently holds the third position with 68 points, two points ahead of Newcastle, Chelsea, and Aston Villa, who rank fourth to sixth respectively, while the Sky Blues are three points ahead of Nottingham Forest in seventh place.
Manchester City visits Fulham, and given their goal difference advantage (+26) over their rivals, they know that drawing with their London host almost certainly guarantees their Champions League qualification, a title they won in 2023.
The league's rules state that if clubs are tied on points, goal difference will be used to determine their standings throughout the tournament.
In fact, Newcastle (+22) and Chelsea (+20) have a significantly better goal difference than Aston Villa (+9), making them almost certain of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League if they win their respective matches.
Chelsea faces the toughest and most critical away match against Nottingham Forest, while Newcastle hosts their rival Everton, and Aston Villa visits Manchester United, which ranks sixteenth and lost last Wednesday’s Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur, who qualified for the Champions League as a result of their continental victory.
Forest must defeat Chelsea and will need either Newcastle or Aston Villa to lose or draw to secure their Champions League spot, a significant achievement considering that last season, under Portuguese coach Nuno Espirito Santo, the team was struggling to avoid relegation.
While the top five Premier League clubs participate in the Champions League, the sixth-place finisher will qualify for the Europa League, and the seventh place will play in the Conference League next season.
Meanwhile, Liverpool fans are preparing to celebrate the Reds being handed the championship trophy, which has eluded them in the past four seasons, when they host twelfth-place Crystal Palace at Anfield.
This match serves as a rehearsal for the teams' Community Shield match at the beginning of next season, following Crystal Palace's victory over Manchester City in last Saturday's FA Cup final.
