Key events
Tranmere’s Finley given 13-game suspension for abusive comment
Tranmere Rovers midfielder Sam Finley has been suspended for 13 matches by the Football Association for an abusive comment that made reference to sexual orientation.
An independent regulatory commission has imposed the suspension, plus a £2,000 fine and a mandatory education programme after Finley admitted the charge of misconduct relating to a comment made during Tranmere’s 5-1 defeat to Walsall in January.
It was further alleged that the breach of Rule E3.1 was an “aggravated breach” because of the context.
A Tranmere statement said: “The club condemns all forms of discrimination and will deal with the matter internally.”
Can Cristiano Ronaldo reach 1,000 career goals? Saudi Pro League defenders, look away now.
Will we finally get an FA Cup final contested by two non-Big Six teams? It’d be the first time since Portsmouth v Cardiff in 2008. Since then:
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Chelsea v Everton (2009)
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Chelsea v Portsmouth (2010)
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Man City v Stoke (2011)
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Chelsea v Liverpool (2012 & 2022)
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Wigan v Man City (2013)
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Arsenal v Hull (2014)
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Arsenal v Aston Villa (2015)
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Man Utd v Crystal Palace (2016)
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Arsenal v Chelsea (2017 & 2020)
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Chelsea v Man Utd (2018)
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Man City v Watford (2019)
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Leicester v Chelsea (2021)
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Man City v Man Utd (2023 & 2024)
More Liverpool fans from exotic locations!
Paul Quigley emails in: “As another LFC fan, currently living in Eugene Oregon, I cant believe that my favourite town in the world got a mention! Is Math headed into Rurrenabaque and jungle fun or back up the most dangerous road in the world to La Paz?”
More from Emery on the semi-final occasion: “I will enjoy. I am a coach and I love my profession and work. To smell good stadiums, good pitches, I like it.
“I am so so excited to play matches like we will tomorrow with the possibility we will have in the FA Cup. It is something special when you are sharing it with our supporters because I know it is special for them. They will travel with us to be in Wembley and it really means we improve in everything.”
Aston Villa boast fully fit squad for FA Cup semi-final
Unai Emery has revealed that Aston Villa have no injury concerns ahead of their Wembley showdown with Crystal Palace. Villa meet the Eagles on Saturday with a place in the FA Cup final at stake.
The midlands club haven’t lifted the cup since 1957 and have been runners-up in 2000 and 2015. Palace, meanwhile, are seeking their first ever FA Cup title.
“Every player is available for tomorrow,” said Emery in a press conference this afternoon. “We will need our starting XI and all the players on the bench to be ready to play. We are ready for 90 minutes, extra-time, penalty shoot-out.
“It will be very difficult. It’s a good opportunity for us to be in this semi-final and share this moment with our supporters.
“My expectation is a very difficult match because of their [Palace’s] motivation. They are in a very good moment. They played very well the last match against Arsenal.
“I have massive respect for the coach, massive respect for Crystal Palace and the players and massive respect for the semi-final. We are motivated like them, in a good moment like them, and we want to try and play with our best performance collectively and individually.”
Before we get to that …
Manchester United have announced that goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce has signed a new contract with their women’s side, which will see her extend her time at the club until 2028.
Tullis-Joyce said: “‘I am really grateful to have this opportunity to continue the exciting journey we are on. All of us in the team have ever-growing dreams of what we can achieve together. We want to keep making history and I am so proud to keep wearing the Manchester United badge.”
Matt Johnson, United’s interim head of women’s football, said: “Phallon has been exceptional for us this season both on the pitch as a keeper and off the pitch as an ambassador and leader. This shows the ambition of the club that we can retain one of the best goalkeepers in the world here at Manchester United.”
Thank you Taha. I’ve just had a hot-cross bun and a cuppa, lovely.
Aston Villa head honcho Unai Emery is next up before the media this afternoon.
That’s enough from me – time for Dominic to return. Cheers to all who messaged in!
Some more Liverpool-related correspondence. Finn writes in:
It might not be exotic in terms of weather but I’ll be watching the game alone with my two dogs at 2000m in a closed Ski Resort in the Canadian Rockies. It’s a bit like The Shining meets Twin Peaks but I’ve been a Liverpool fan for 40 years and wish I was in Anfield.
I snaffled an away end ticket for Liverpool vs Wolves in 2022 so I turned up in my Kilkenny Hurling training top [same colours as Wolves]. I’m from Kilkenny. All for nothing on the end. Long way to go so I hope this year is more pleasant even though I’m not there!
Everton’s Tarkowski to undergo surgery and miss rest of season
David Moyes has said that centre-back James Tarkowski will undergo hamstring surgery, ruling him out for the rest of the season. He may not be back for the start of pre-season: “I think he’ll be back but it could start to eat into that, possibly,” Moyes said.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, on the other hand, is “very close” to returning to training after his own hamstring troubles, having not played since January.
Will Unwin
Pascal Struijk’s foot injury is not as bad as first claimed and would have been available to feature in the playoffs, had Leeds not already been promoted. Daniel Farke has said he was out for 10 weeks but a more accurate figure would have been half that time.
The former England striker Eni Aluko has denied she “attacked” Ian Wright with her comments on his involvement in the women’s game.
Some correspondence here from Math, as he tries to figure out how to watch Liverpool this weekend.
“I’ll hopefully be watching from Coroico, Bolivia, a small town near La Paz (but not as brain-meltingly high altitude). I think I beat the previous ‘most far-flung/exotically-located Liverpool-supporting emailer’ by a few hundred miles. I’ve just been informed my hotel doesn’t have wifi, and that this is ‘part of the magic’. If Slot can win the title in his first season, then surely, surely, somewhere must be showing the game … right?”
Ben Fisher
By now, you’ve surely heard about the tantalising six-way fight for the National League South title? Truro City, who top the table on goal difference, Torquay United, Eastbourne Borough, Worthing, Boreham Wood and Dorking Wanderers all head into the final day knowing victory on Saturday could crown them champions. As a result of the madness, the league have just announced the trophy will not be standing by at any venues.
“After much consideration, the board has voted for clubs to arrange the presentation of the trophy at a later date, once the champions are confirmed,” the league said in a statement released a moment ago. “We wish all clubs the very best of luck on the final day, on what has been a quite extraordinary season.”
Amorim was also asked if players could change his mind before the end of the season on whether they should be kept or sold.
“Everything can happen. Casemiro is the best example. He was a player that wasn’t playing. You see the last games, he’s having a part and he’s performing quite well. He’s playing all the time. I like to change my mind. If they change my mind I’m really happy with that. I just want to win and to put the best players in our team.”
Manchester United’s Dalot could miss rest of season
Taha Hashim
Hello, hello, hello. Ruben Amorim’s been chatting before Manchester United’s Sunday clash with Bournemouth.
Diogo Dalot has sustained a calf injury and it’s unclear when he’ll return. There’s a “possibility” of him missing the rest of the season, according to Amorim.
It sounds like he’ll put out a first-choice XI this weekend despite next week’s Europa League semi-final first leg against Athletic Bilbao.
“We are going to face this game with the best team because we had a full week to prepare. Some of the players didn’t play against Wolverhampton … we’ll try to manage everything to win this game and to prepare the next one.”
He’s asked if he knows which players he’d like to keep or sell this summer. “I have an idea that is clear because we have to do things early but things can change until the end of the season.” Amorim doesn’t want to comment on speculation surrounding a move for Wolves’ Matheus Cunha.
“What I feel is that there’s a lot of players that want to play for our club. If you look at our club in the moment it looks like sometimes with all the problems with the staff, people going, changing coach, the results, it looks, a little bit, a problem at the moment, but we have a clear idea and that is the easiest part to explain to a player. And it’s Manchester United. Everyone wants to play for Manchester United.”
That’s my brief cameo done. I’ll now hand you over to Taha Hashim for the rest of the afternoon. Enjoy!
As I’ve just been asked about kick-off times this weekend and shambled through an answer, getting some very wrong, here are the big ones. Seek out those two-screen options for Sunday.
Saturday
FA Cup semi-final
5.15pm Crystal Palace v Aston Villa
Sunday
FA Cup semi-final
4.30pm Nottingham Forest v Man City
Premier League
4.30pm Liverpool v Spurs
David Kogan has been selected as the Government’s preferred candidate to chair football’s new independent regulator.
Kogan, who has previously advised the Premier League and the EFL on television rights deals in a 45-year career as a media executive, business leader and corporate advisor, is now set to head up the watchdog intended to ensure football clubs in the top five tiers are financially sustainable.
The regulator is also crucially set to have ‘backstop’ powers to impose a financial settlement between the leagues if they cannot agree one. Kogan will now appear before MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport select committee for pre-appointment scrutiny on May 7.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said Kogan brought a “wealth of experience” which made him an “outstanding candidate” to chair the regulator. “This will be a vital, public role to ensure sensible, light-touch regulation helps to strengthen financial sustainability and put fans back at the heart of the game,” she added.
Kogan said: “Across the country millions of us share a passion for football, a game that is not only part of our national heritage but one of our most valuable cultural exports. That’s why as both a supporter and someone with many years spent working in football, I am honoured to have been asked to be the preferred candidate for chair of the newly created independent football regulator.
“Our professional clubs, whatever their size, are a source of local and national pride. They generate economic growth and investment, unite communities, and create shared experiences and memories that transcend generations.
“The job of the regulator is to work with those clubs, their owners, and their supporters to create a dynamic framework that will ensure the game is on a sound financial footing so that it can continue to flourish and to grow. I cannot wait to get started.” (PA Media)
More from Liverpool fans and where they’ll be watching on Sunday.
Michael Batson: “Will be watching live in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where the match kicks off at 10:30pm local time. It’ll be on in lots of bars but I’ll probably be watching at home. Go the Reds.”
Jamie Clay: “I will be on a boat in the Red Sea (see what I did there) on Sunday. I left my Virgil shirt at home. What a fantasy football season for Slot and I will celebrate TAA’s goodbye for all his contributions and talents.”
Just thinking that had I wanted to make a music pun on David Gray signing a new deal with Hibs, I would have failed due to being completely unable to name one of his songs. Is that bad?
What about previous posts? Everybody Hurz? Funnily enough, I saw a copy of the ‘Anfield Rap’ in a record shop in Farsley the other today. Was tempted. The owner had just bought a load of stuff from ex-referee Jon Moss’s former record shop in Headingley. ‘Vinyl Whistle’ is still there in Leeds 6 but Jon has passed the store on to a new owner.
More now from Brighton boss Fabian Hürzeler and an impressive use of the phrase “happy-clappy” from the German. It relates to Danny Welbeck’s public criticism of his Seagulls team-mates after the 4-2 loss at Brentford made it no wins in six. “We need to play far more collectively. Fight for each other more. It was evident that we weren’t doing that,” a frustrated Welbeck had said.
Responding to those comments in today’s press conference, Hürzeler said: “Danny Welbeck, we all know he’s a leader on the pitch and beside the pitch. He’s someone who’s here for a long time, who scores a lot of goals, who gives a great effort for this club so we can be sure he wants the best for this club and the best for his team-mates.
“What I always demand is for a culture where not everything is happy-clappy. We demand a culture where we can be honest with each other, where we can share our thoughts, where we can give each other critical feedback.
“If you only are positive and only clap the shoulders of your team-mates then I’m sure no-one gets better from that. So that’s the main thing that I demand here in this club and in this environment. Of course it should be a positive environment but it also should be a very demanding environment, a demanding culture, because like this you improve as a team and as individuals.”
Liverpool need a point at Anfield on Sunday to clinch the title and Spurs – currently 42 points behind the Reds (my word!) – look ideal opponents. Here are some Opta stats.
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Tottenham have won just two of their last 24 Premier League games against Liverpool (D6 L16), with both victories coming at home. They’ve also failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 18 against the Reds in the competition.
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Tottenham have conceded 10 goals against Liverpool this season, losing 6-3 in the Premier League and 4-0 in the League Cup semi-final second leg. They last conceded more against an opponent in 2013-14 (11 vs Man City), while the most they’ve conceded is 14 (vs Chelsea in 2001-02).
Thanks Dom. Time to get my football head on after just watching Mark Allen knock in a 147 at the Crucible.
Time for me to grab a break so here’s David Tindall to take over for a while. Enjoy Dave.
Before I tuck into my lunch, here’s a couple of good reads from Tom Garry on the women’s game:
We might have a winner in our search for the most far-flung/exotically-located Liverpool-supporting emailer. Vijayant Singh writes:
Writing to you from a car this Friday evening in Bangkok. It’s my 32nd birthday and I’ve come down from New Delhi to celebrate it. Liverpool should hopefully be crowned champions when the clock strikes 12 in Thailand and I bring in what should be a spectacular year – at least in football terms.
Have a great weekend, Vijayant!
Hürzeler reveals frustration with João Pedro
Fabian Hürzeler revealed he has spoken to João Pedro about his behaviour after the striker’s sending off in Brighton’s 4-2 defeat at Brentford last week. The Brazilian was shown a straight red after lashing out at Nathan Collins and is there suspended for this weekend’s home clash with West Ham.
“Very frustrating,” said Hürzeler on the incident. “He immediately apologised that he did something wrong. We had a discussion with him – we don’t accept things like this.
“João is a young player and he makes a mistake and hopefully he has learned from this mistake for the future.”
This year’s love had better last.
We are delighted to announce that Head Coach David Gray has signed a new deal with Hibernian FC! 💚
Following his side’s magnificent run of form, the 36-year-old has penned a new three-year contract with the Club.https://t.co/a3i1Xar5Tv pic.twitter.com/o03eg59Fdl
— Hibernian Football Club (@HibernianFC) April 25, 2025
Away from Liverpool for a moment and here’s Marco Silva on the steps he’s taking to ensure Fulham keep progressing. (He’s doing a damn good job of it).
“We have been demonstrating the progression in our football club,” Silva said at a press conference. “Step by step we are going in the direction that the club deserves – but you are not, myself, never satisfied. We always want more.”
Silva said Harry Wilson could be involved after returning from foot surgery. He added: “Harry is always a threat. We can use him from the start or the bench, (but) it has been a long period out of the game and training. He is in good shape and from the start or the bench he will definitely be involved. We need his goals and assists as well.”
More emails – from a couple of lucky Liverpool fans:
Stephen Cunningsworth: “Getting in touch as someone (hopefully) lucky enough to be going to Anfield on Sunday. Will be travelling up on the Official London Supporters Club coach – five hours up and five hours down although I’m anticipating we leave a lot later than the usual 30 mins after the final whistle. We will be bringing our ‘420 miles to see my bird’ flag onto the Kop on Sunday to add to what will be a sea of red and hopefully one big party vibe!”
Michael Jones: “I’ll be heading to the ground Sunday as one of those lucky people who will be in attendance to hopefully see us crowned champions for a 20th time
“This means so much to us, it’s our bread and butter as Shanks used to say. Slot will be joining the immortals, he has done an unbelievable job and once he’s got his hands on it and drops the soft approach to the fans a magnificent love affair will begin!”
Is there ANY chance at all Spurs will spoil the party on Sunday? It seems incredibly unlikely.
If the Premier League, FA Cup, Women’s Champions League, Spanish Cup and EFL wasn’t enough drama and jeopardy for you this weekend, there’s plenty of it to be found in non-league, as Simon Burnton reports.
Over to Spain – where there’s plenty left to play for in the remaining weeks of the season. Real Madrid and Barcelona contest the Copa del Rey final on Saturday night and both are still tussling in La Liga’s title race.
Celta Vigo are fighting for European after previously flirting with relegation. Sid Lowe has the skinny on Claudio Giráldez’s Galician revolution.
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna believes his club have made progress despite their impending relegation from the Premier League.
Ipswich’s return to the Championship after just one season back in the top flight will be confirmed on Saturday unless they win at Newcastle and 17th-placed West Ham – who have a 15-point cushion – lose away to Brighton.
McKenna, though, insists the club are well placed to go again next season.
“(We are) in a project that has been an incredible journey – the project here is to try and build a sustainable Premier League football club,” McKenna told a press conference. “We have taken some incredible steps to that quicker than anyone would have believed.
“It looks like we are going to take a step back this year, but that is often how progression needs to happen. We are all focused on making the best of the next few games and then tackling the next challenge, whatever it will be next season. It is my full 100 per cent focus.” PA Media
Some more emails, both from Irish Liverpool fans:
Trevor Byrne: “I’m a Dubliner in Manchester (and a Liverpool supporter, often undercover). The Premier League has cruelly timetabled Liverpool v Spurs at 4.30pm on Sunday, despite me having to collect two 10-week-old kittens from Warrington at 2pm. I’ll be in the house with Atari and Disco, bamboozled, amazed, delighted by their kitteny madness as they’re introduced to their new home, and as the Liverpool game plays out. But since there’s a pub with a big beer garden right next door, I’ll keep an eye on the MBM and may – if Liverpool aren’t losing – dare to dash over to catch some of the vibe (there’s another human in the house, the sisters won’t be alone). The big celebration will be after the Palace game, anyway (that’s what I’m telling myself).”
Cormac Culkeen: “I’ll be at the Menlo Park Hotel in Galway at the Poetry Lobby. They’re launching the posthumous collection of the great Irish poet, Kevin Higgins. He was a big Liverpool fan like myself. So, happy on one hand, but a lot of churning sadness and memories on the other.”
Here’s the full story from Newcastle, with everyone glad to see a healthy Eddie Howe back on duty.
An email: “Hi Dominic,” writes David Shaw. “I’ve been a weekly fan for more than 30 years. I’ve never lived in Liverpool but have close links to the city and the club. Having watched from afar, along with everyone else, when we won in 2020, I was looking forward to being much closer to events this time. However, thanks to my wife’s thoughtfulness and my absentmindedness, I’ll be in Marrakesh on Sunday. Any top tips from fellow Guardian readers on where to catch the game would be appreciated!”
Jamie Carragher has prompted a debate among some on social media with an argument in his Telegraph column that “a power shift has taken place in the Premier League” of late. I’d largely agree.
However, the Liverpool defender’s assertion that Manchester United and Tottenham “must wonder how they’re going to get back into the top six, let alone Champions League spots” is slightly flawed.
The sharp rise Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Bournemouth and others have enjoyed in recent times shows how level the playing field now is – financially and otherwise in the PSR era – but will actually allow United and Spurs the chance to leap back up the table next season if they get their ducks in a row. Especially if one of them wins the Europa League …
By the way, if you’re a Liverpool fan heading to Anfield this weekend, we’d love to hear from you.
Or any weird or wacky ways you’re planning to watch the game on Sunday afternoon.
Away from the Premier League and FA Cup semi-final glare, this was an illuminating piece. As a new parent, I really hope I don’t become one of those football dads.
If you’re planning an idle non-football related trip to Liverpool this weekend this weekend, I’d probably advise against it. No doubt the city will be absolutely packed with fans ready to bask in the warm glow of the club’s 20th league title – and second in the Premier League era.
That previous title was in the 2019/20 Covid season, so this will be a proper chance to celebrate drawing level with Manchester United. Slot said he hoped Liverpool’s fans would bring their usual level of noise and support … I think it might be a little louder than normal, Arne.
Tickets in the home sections are going for more than £600 each on resale sites – and even some Spurs fans are selling their away end seats.
Southampton ‘not obsessing’ about points tally
Interim Southampton boss Simon Rusk has told his players to forget about their share of an unwelcome Premier League record as they attempt to rid themselves of it for good.
The Saints have only pride for which to play after being relegated from the top flight with seven games to go, writing themselves into the division’s history books in the process, and they matched Derby’s points low of just 11 for the season after last weekend’s 1-1 draw at West Ham.
They have five games remaining in which to scrub their name from that particular entry starting with tomorrow’s game against Fulham – but Rusk is trying not to focus on that.
When asked about the record, he said: “Well, we were behind it last week and it’s good that you’ve pointed out on the positive front that we’re now equal to it, so that was the first thing to achieve, a step forward, and we did that and we did that really well last week.
“I’m not going to obsess about it, I don’t think it’s helpful. I can understand – my head’s not in the sand around it – that it’s an important thing and we want to pick up as many points, which would obviously make that something that we don’t have to talk about.
“At the minute, it’s there, but really it’s noise. As a group of men that set foot on the pitch in our set of particular games, we’ve got to look at what do we want to define us, what are going to be the things that contribute to good performance, what are going to be the things that connect us with our fans, who have been brilliant since I took on the job?
“They’re the things that will define us and as a result, as a by-product of those things, hopefully we take care of the points record. But I can’t make it the main focus, I don’t think that’s useful and it’s actually negative energy, not positive energy and that’s what I’m going after at the minute.” PA Media
Time for some light reading ahead of the FA Cup semi-finals. Our very own Ed Aarons has been chatting to Crystal Palace defensive stalwart Maxence Lacroix.
Howe says the tussle for the top five will be “tight” and that Newcastle are in a “five-game league” to land Champions League qualification for next season. His first game back in the dugout will be at home to Ipswich tomorrow.
Howe recovered but says pneumonia was ‘difficult’
Eddie Howe is back up before the media today after his pneumonia diagnosis and the Newcastle manager is wearing a big smile on his face, which is nice to see.
He jokes: “Excuse me if I cough … I’m not contagious, I’m all good!”
“I’m not 100 percent in my body but I’m very close to 100 percent in my mind. I’m well enough to face you guys today. It’s been a real challenge, you take your health for granted, so when you don’t have the luxury of feeling normal it’s difficult. I feel like I’m on the road to recovery.”
Howe again thanks the NHS staff for the care he received and admits he’s had “zero” input on the team’s training in recent days and weeks, entrusting his assistant Jason Tindall. He said he was “lifted” by the team’s performances, which he watched on TV from his hospital bed.
There are further questions for Slot to answer on him becoming the 12th different manager to lift the Premier League – and the first ever Dutchman – and another, which he bats away nicely, on the perceived lower quality of this 2024/25 league season.
“It’s never been so hard to get in the top four, or top five. In my opinion it’s a really difficult league. There’s never been an easy game.
“The other teams, other than Arsenal, City and Liverpool, also have the funds to spend.”
Slot: Liverpool have a huge responsibility
Arne Slot is not getting carried away before this decisive match in Liverpool’s season … he is clearly desperate to lift the league title in front of a packed crowd at Anfield.
“We are aware that the last time this club won the league was during the Covid time,” he said. “So everybody is looking forward to Sunday.
“But we know there’s still a job to do. We need at least one point. That is what we know and, hopefully, what our fans know as well when they come to the stadium that they support us in the best possible way they can – which they’ve done all season, but also be aware of the fact that we still need a point. That’s something we are aware of.”
Slot has warned Tottenham could surprise his team, despite Spurs’ pretty abject form – and their historically poor record at Anfield.
He added: “We’re only focussed on the next opponent and that’s Tottenham, so we’ll try to prepare the team the same way we have all season. Hopefully the team can bring the same mentality. It’s a nice game to look forward to but also a responsibility we have for Sunday.”
Slot revealed the Liverpool team watched Arsenal’s midweek draw with Crystal Palace all together. Those dropped points by the Gunners have given the Reds the chance to lift the title this weekend with four games to spare.
It was different. Normally when you watch a game of football, you are either alone or with family or friends. But we watched it all together.
Before the game, I would have been surprised if the game ended in a draw. But during the game, I wasn’t because Crystal Palace again showed what this league is all about. It was a very good performance from them as a team and there were a few very good individual performances as well.
We’ll get straight into some Arne Slot. The Dutchman’s clearly had his early morning cornflakes because he is already chatting to the press …
Preamble
Good morning all. Wow, what a weekend the football Gods have in store for us. It’s FA Cup semi-final weekend, there are all kinds of promotion and relegation permutations to be settled up and down the EFL, there are Women’s Champions League semi-finals too, the Spanish Copa del Rey final … oh, and Liverpool can be crowned champions for a record-equalling 20th time. Small matter etc etc.
With the April sun shining in the UK and very little to play for in the Premier League schedule, that end-of-season vibe is very much here – and we’re here for it. The Wembley turf will surely be looking resplendent for those FA Cup last four clashes between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, and Manchester City and Nottingham Forest.
We’ll get through all the various press conferences, including Arne Slot’s as his Liverpool side prepare to face Tottenham at Anfield knowing just a single point would secure the Premier League title. And please feel free to drop me an email with your thoughts on some/all/none of the action to come.
#Slot #Liverpools #title #push #Tranmere #player #hit #13match #ban #football #live #Football
