The highlight games for the EPL final week matches are LIVERPOOL versus CRYSTAL PALACE and SOUTHAMPTON versus ARSENAL. Our feature columnist, John Newsome, previews these and all game week 38 matches with his unique and insightful commentary. You can view all previous analysis from John’s regular column here: English Premier League Predictions For Saturday.
Please note all prices quoted below were correct at the time of publication.
Game Week-38
Happy Birthday Jane xxx
Well, it’s arrived, the final Game Week of the 2024/25 Premier League Season.
Liverpool are Champions, Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich are on their way back to the Championship, with Leeds United, Burnley and more than likely Sheffield United returning to the Promised Land.
One says ‘more than likely’ as Sheffield United face Sunderland in the Championship Play-Off Final, which takes place on Saturday.
Sheffield United do appear to be the better team of the two but that’s not to say that Sunderland won’t be promoted, it’s just that John Newsome thinks it will be the Blades who are successful.
Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham are the only three teams confirmed in the Champions League places, with any three of Man City, Newcastle, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest being the others that can qualify through the league position.
The placings are as follows-
1- Liverpool 83 points – (GD plus+45)
2- Arsenal 71 points – (GD plus+34)
3- Man City 68 points – (GD plus+26)
4- Newcastle 66 points – (GD plus+22)
5- Chelsea 66 points – (GD plus+20)
6- Aston Villa 66 points – (GD plus+9)
7- Nottingham Forest 65 points – (GD plus +13)
If one looks at the placings, Man City need at least a point against Fulham to finish in the Top Five.
A victory at Craven Cottage would confirm a 3rd place finish.
Whilst a victory would give City 71 points, even if Arsenal suffer a final fixture defeat against Southampton (very unlikely), Arsenal’s goal difference is far superior to that of Man City, so the Gunners would still finish 2nd.
Newcastle need a victory over Everton at St James Park to finish with 69 points.
Chelsea would have 69 points also if the Blues get a victory over Nottingham Forest, which in turn would mean Forest stay in 7th with 65 points.
Newcastle’s goal difference is slightly superior to that of Chelsea, so Newcastle would finish in 4th and Chelsea in 5th, if both are successful on Sunday, or vice versa, depending on goals scored and conceded but either wouldn’t fall out of the Top Five.
It’s either/or for Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, as both can’t qualify for a Champions League spot.
A draw between the two would give Chelsea 67 points and Forest 66 but even if Newcastle and Aston Villa both suffer defeats and stay on 66 points, Newcastle’s Goal Difference is better than Forest’s, leaving Forest in 6th at best.
If Forest get a win against Chelsea, it would mean that Nuno’s Tricky Trees have 68 points and Chelsea would finish with 66, then are relying on others.
Basically, Nottingham Forest have to win on Sunday to make the Top Five and hope Aston Villa can only get a draw or, better still, suffer a defeat.
Aston Villa can also gain a total of 69 points with a victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
However, because Villa’s goal difference is the worst of the three teams who currently have 66 points, Villa won’t make the Top Five if all four of Man City, Newcastle, Chelsea and Aston Villa win their final game.
Villa would need a favour from any of Fulham, Everton or Nottingham Forest to make the Champions League places.
Tottenham will join those clubs following their victory in the Europa League Final, overcoming Manchester United in Bilbao by a 1-0 scoreline.
So Ange Postecoglou was right all along, the Aussie does win a trophy in his 2nd season.
Whether Big Ange will be the Manager of Tottenham for the Champions League campaign is for others to decide.
Then it’s the Europa League and Conference League places to sort.
Eighth place in the Premier League would qualify for the Conference League if either Chelsea finish sixth, win the Conference League and Newcastle finish seventh or
Chelsea finish seventh and win the Conference League.
All of these fixtures are the reverse of Game Week-7 that took place in early October 2024.
BOURNEMOUTH v LEICESTER
16.00 in England
Bournemouth suffered a defeat against Man City on Tuesday, with Andoni’s Cherries succumbing to the loss from a 3-1 scoreline.
When the score was 3-0 and time virtually up on the clock, Daniel Jebbison scored a late consolation goal in the 96th minute.
City did have a player sent off in the 67th minute for denying a goal scoring opportunity, giving Bournemouth an extra man advantage, however, that extra man was only extra for 6 minutes as the Cherries Lewis Cook was also shown a Red Card leaving both teams with 10 men for the remaining 20 minutes or so.
The defeat leaves Bournemouth in 11th place with 53 points from 37 games played.
The loss also means that the Cherries cannot make 8th place and the possibility of a European adventure next season.
Bournemouth will do well to hang on to some of their better players.
Dean Huijsen is on his way to Real Madrid with Milos Kerkez supposedly Anfield-bound and set to sign for Liverpool.
There are a few other players who will be in the Shop Window come June when the Summer Transfers start.
The Manager, Andoni Iraola, could be on his way too, so don’t rule out the Spaniard being in another Premier League dugout next season, possibly Tottenham’s.
Super Jamie Vardy!
The Sheffield Superstar confirmed his status as the Greatest Leicester Player ever by scoring his 200th Foxes goal in his 500th Leicester appearance.
There won’t be any additions to that as it’s already been announced that Jamie won’t be involved in this fixture at the Vitality.
The Leicester GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) scored the opener against Ipswich on Sunday to give the home team a lead at the break.
Kasey McAteer then added a 2nd in the 69th minute and with no further goals, Leicester ran out winners by a 2-0 scoreline.
Jamie was substituted in the 80th minute, which allowed the rest of the Foxes to give the Sheffield Superstar a Guard of Honour as JV left the pitch.
If someone is unaware of Jamie Vardy’s football journey, take the time to read up on the lad.
Jamie didn’t get spotted as a 10-year-old and then attached to a club as a Youth Player.
Jamie was working in a factory until he was almost 24 years old, playing non-league football for Stocksbridge Steels, then Halifax Town on a Saturday and the Dog and Duck in Hillsborough on a Sunday.
Fleetwood Town took a chance on JV back in 2011, when Jamie was 24.
Not many players are signed as a Professional aged 24.
Nigel Pearson, the then Manager of Leicester, who were in the Championship at the time, saw an opportunity to purchase a Superstar.
Jamie was already a Superstar wearing a Stocksbridge Steels Jersey, it was now time to showcase his talents on the Big Stage.
Five hundred appearances later, notching 200 goals and helping Leicester to become Premier League Champions, play in the Champions League and then win the FA Cup, Jamie’s time at the King Power has come to an end.
That doesn’t mean JV is retiring, it just means Jamie Vardy’s next outing won’t be in a Leicester Shirt.
It’s not known where Jamie will play next season but don’t rule out another year in the Premier League, which will mean a few more paragraphs in this EveryTip column.
JV is an example to all the youths out there, both girls and boys, that if one is discarded as a youngster for being too small, not good enough, have a different attitude to someone else or whatever reason a club doesn’t fancy you, then never give in, always believe in yourself, always believe in your dream and keep on keeping on, because what’s the worst that can happen?
The worst might be having to play regularly on a Sunday Morning with your mates for the Dog and Duck, however, the best could be lifting the Premier League and FA Cup Trophy.
All the Best for the future, Jamie.
Leicester stay in 18th place with 25 points and will more than likely finish the season in 18th place once this game against Bournemouth is over.
At the King Power Stadium back in October, a single Facundo Buonanotte goal scored after 16 minutes gave Leicester the home victory over Bournemouth by a 1-0 scoreline.
Don’t forget the New Betfred Feature-
‘2 Up Early Payout’ but at slightly reduced Odds.
To explain, if Bournemouth take a 2-goal lead, Betfred will pay the punter straight away as if Bournemouth had won, even if the goals go in after 5 minutes.
Then, if Leicester went on and won the game, Betfred would pay the punters who had bet on Leicester to win also.
In the recent El Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid-
Madrid took a 2-0 lead (going 2 Goals Up) with Kylian Mbappe scoring both goals.
Betfred paid out to those who had bet on Real Madrid.
Barcelona then scored 4 times (ultimately also going 2 Goals Up), so Betfred paid out on those who had bet on Barcelona before the Final Whistle, thus paying both sets of punters.
Barcelona subsequently got the victory from a 4-3 score.
Betfred offer Bournemouth at Odds On 4/11, the Draw at 9/2 and 8/1 for Leicester to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/2 that Evanilson Scores First and 6/5 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Draw 2-2- Get 16/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
FULHAM v MAN CITY
16.00 in England
Fulham gained a great victory over Brentford at the GTech Stadium on Sunday.
Raul Jimenez scored the opener, heading home a great cross from Adama Traore.
Brentford then scored twice to take a lead at the break.
Marco Silva made a couple of inspired substitutions, sending Tom Cairney on at half-time and then Harry Wilson in the 66th minute.
Tom scored the equaliser in the 68th minute, with Harry scoring the winner a couple of minutes later.
Harry came on as a substitute and scored 2 late goals in the game between the two at Craven Cottage back in November.
Fulham sit in 10th place with 54 points from 37 games completed.
Whilst no one will admit that the players will have one foot in the flip flops, the chance to finish 8th has gone now, so Fulham don’t really have anything to play for, other than trying to get one over Man City.
That’s then down to Marco Silva to see if he has the motivation to want to win and whether he can pass on that motivation to the players who will be thinking about the holiday in Dubai.
Not like the good old days, when players would go on holiday to Blackpool or Skegness.
Man City come into this fixture after the FA Cup Final defeat against Crystal Palace last Saturday and then a victory over Bournemouth on Tuesday.
There has to be a few words regarding that FA Cup Final against Palace, which has certainly left John Newsome scratching his head.
Firstly, John Newsome has no affiliation with City and regular readers will know that John is a Barnsley fan.
On Saturday, Pep picked a relatively strong team to take the field at Wembley.
Stefan Ortega was the Goalkeeper in place of Ederson, which is no real surprise as Stefan usually plays in the FA Cup.
Not many can argue with the starting eleven, there weren’t any real surprises.
The ‘scratching of the head’ comes from some strange decisions made by different people.
Eberechi Eze scored a superb goal in the 16th minute to give Palace a lead.
No problem!
Then the fun started.
The Crystal Palace Goalkeeper, Dean Henderson, came running out of his area and punched the ball away from Erling Haaland.
The Goalkeeper isn’t allowed to handle the ball outside of his area and is then deemed to be ‘denying a goal-scoring opportunity’.
However, the on-field referee Stuart Attwell waved play on, whilst the dreaded VAR took a look at the incident and technically waved play on also.
This wasn’t a ‘subjective decision’ where someone isn’t in agreement with someone else, this was fact-based, as in the Goalkeeper handled the ball outside of his area and should have been sent off.
There isn’t any subjectivity regarding the incident, it’s purely factual, however, neither the VAR nor the on-field referee took the decision to send Dean off.
Then Dean has the game of his life, saving everything, including a Man City penalty.
Regarding the penalty, this is another ‘scratch the head’ situation.
Man City get a penalty but for some bizarre reason, Erling Haaland, who hadn’t scored a goal at Wembley and now has the perfect opportunity, bottled it and gave the ball to Omar Marmoush.
Omar tapped the ball back to the Palace GK, who threw his cap on it and saved, bearing in mind, Dean Henderson should have been sitting in the stands.
Head Scratcher!
Pep then brought a player on that he signed over a year ago but has never played, called Claudio Echeverri, whose nickname is the Right Foot Messi.
Pep brought on the aforementioned Right Foot Messi in favour of Jack Grealish, who just sat on the bench.
Pep gave Phil Foden 14 minutes at the end, only using 3 subs.
James McAtee, who has played in all of the FA Cup games, wasn’t even in the squad.
City had 78% possession, 23 shots which 6 were on target.
All in all, Palace did a number on City and deserved the win, however, there were a lot of ‘head scratching’ moments during the game.
It was then the Premier League fixture against Bournemouth at the Etihad, also being the final home game of the season and a farewell to Kevin De Bruyne.
Omar Marmoush scored a brilliant goal to give City the lead before Bernardo Silva added a 2nd giving City the advantage at half-time.
Mateo Kovacic then received a straight Red Card in the 67th minute for bringing down Evanilson, which was deemed ‘denying a goal-scoring opportunity’.
Whilst it did leave City a man-lite, that was only for 6 minutes before Bournemouth’s Lewis Cook was shown a straight Red for a challenge on Nico Gonzalez.
Nico then scored a 3rd City goal before Bournemouth got a very late consolation goal in the 96th minute, leaving Man City with the home victory from a 3-1 scoreline.
As mentioned, it was Kevin De Bruyne’s final game at the Etihad, with Kevin receiving a tremendous send-off from the fans and players, both his current teammates and former ones.
KDB did have a slight Homer Simpson moment when presented with a great opportunity to score but somehow smashed the ball against the crossbar when the goal was gaping.
Doh!
That said, the lad won’t be too bothered and will be remembered fondly by the Citizen Family for years to come.
Well, until he turns up next season wearing someone else’s jersey, scoring for the opposition.
What’s meant by that is, there is no guarantee that Kevin will go and play abroad and could quite easily sign for another Premier League team.
Oh, Kevin De Bruyne!
All the best, KDB.
Man City gained a narrow victory over Fulham at the Etihad.
Goals from Mateo Kovacic, either side of the half-time interval and a Jeremy Doku strike late on gave Pep’s High Flying Blues the win over Marco’s Cottagers by a 3-2 scoreline.
Andreas Pereira scored 1st to give Fulham a lead before Mateo’s opener.
Rodrigo Muniz then scored for Fulham after Jeremy had got City’s 3rd but ultimately time ran out, leaving City with the home win from a 5-goal thriller.
Betfred offer Fulham at 9/2, the Draw at 7/2 and Odds On 3/5 for Man City to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 3/1 that Erling Haaland Scores First and 11/10 that Man City Score in Both Halves.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Away Win 0-3- Get 12/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
IPSWICH v WEST HAM
16.00 in England
Ipswich suffered (another) defeat on Sunday in the ‘Battle to Finish in 18th Place’ against Leicester at the King Power Stadium.
Granted, it’s unlikely the Daily Red Tops will be using that tagline, however, it was a game between those in 18th and those in 19th, with neither able to get any higher.
After conceding a goal in both halves, Ipswich succumbed to the loss by a 2-0 score, leaving Kieran McKenna’s Tractor Boys in 19th place with 22 points going into this final game of a disappointing season back in the Premier League.
West Ham also suffered a defeat on Sunday, this time against Nottingham Forest at the London Stadium.
After conceding 2 Forest goals, Jarrod Bowen scored a superb volley to halve the deficit, however, time ran out for the Hammers, who lost the game by a 2-1 score.
West Ham sit in 15th place with 40 points from 37 games played.
The Bubble faithful will be wanting a vast improvement next season from Graham Potter, as the Claret and Blues fans are not renowned for their patience.
David Moyes wasn’t too bad now was he?
West Ham got the home victory over Ipswich at the London Stadium back in October.
Michail Antonio scored the opener in the 1st minute, which was equalised by Liam Delap 5 minutes later.
Mohammed Kudus then scored a 2nd to give the Hammers a lead at the break.
Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta scored 3 and 4 after the interval to give the Bubbles in attendance a great afternoon out in the early October Sunshine.
Betfred offer Ipswich at 21/10, the Draw at 11/4 and 5/4 for West Ham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Jarrod Bowen Scores First and 12/5 that West Ham Win and Both Teams Score.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Away Win 1-2- Get 8/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
LIVERPOOL v CRYSTAL PALACE
16.00 in England
This fixture will be the Community Shield game come August with the Premier League Champions facing the FA Cup Winners in the showpiece opener at Wembley before the start of the 2025/26 campaign.
The following was put in this EveryTip column a couple of weeks ago in a Liverpool preview-
‘Chelsea had given Liverpool a ‘Guard of Honour’ due to the Reds winning the Premier League this season, however, is this a pointless ‘honour’ as all it does is rev up the home team and their fans in attendance?
What’s more appealing to wind a team up than saying to an opponent,
‘Give us a ‘Guard of Honour’ lads just to prove we are better!’
Liverpool suffered a defeat against Chelsea following the ‘Guard of Honour!’
It was then a game against Arsenal at Anfield, who also gave Liverpool a ‘Guard of Honour!’
Liverpool drew that fixture!
On Monday Night Football, Liverpool headed South to face Brighton at the Amex and following another ‘Guard of Honour’ from the Seagulls, Liverpool suffered another defeat, their 2nd out of the last 3 and just the 4th of the Premier League winning season.
Granted, there might not be a correlation between the ‘Guard of Honour’ and just picking up 1 point from a possible 9 but as mentioned a couple of weeks back, it does give the team doing the ‘Guard of Honour’ an extra incentive to get the victory.
Harvey Elliott scored the opener against Brighton with Dominik Szoboszlai adding a 2nd on the stroke of half-time to give Arne’s Slot Machines a lead at the interval.
The Seagulls did score an equaliser after Harvey’s goal.
Brighton then scored twice in the 2nd-half to inflict the defeat on Liverpool from a 3-2 scoreline.
A Brighton victory was predicted in this EveryTip column last week, purely based on the fact that Liverpool have nothing to play for, Arne Slot will mix up the team and Brighton are still going for 8th place, which could potentially mean a European adventure next season.
Virgil Van Dijk had played every minute of every Premier League game this season, however, Arne gave Big Virgil the night off on Monday.
Little things like this, in these end of season games, do make a big difference to the result.
So be aware of these anomalies when having a punt this weekend.
Crystal Palace are the 2024/25 FA Cup Winners.
A brilliant Eberechi Eze goal scored after 16 minutes against Man City at Wembley was the difference between the two teams, giving the Eagles the Iconic Trophy from a 1-0 scoreline.
There were a few strange moments throughout the game which could have produced a different result, as mentioned in the Fulham v Man City preview, however, a football game is based on what actually happens over the 90 minutes, not what ‘should, could or would have happened’ and the goal Double EE scored was the only thing that matters to the Eagle Ultras who will be dusting off their Passports for the Europa League adventure next season.
The Palace faithful could be travelling to far-flung places such as Greece, Cyprus, Norway, or Wales.
Or maybe France, Nice!
It was then a game against Wolves at Selhurst Park on Tuesday which saw Palace take to the field without Marc Guehi and Adam Wharton, who both picked up head injuries against Man City.
Despite the FA Cup party over the weekend, there wasn’t any hangover for the Eagles with a couple of goals from Eddie Nketiah in the 1st-half, along with a Ben Chilwell goal and an Eberechi Eze strike late on, giving Crystal Palace the home victory over Wolves by a 4-2 scoreline.
Wolves scored their goals when the score was 0-0 and 3-1 in favour of Palace.
Crystal Palace sit in 12th place with 52 points going into this final game.
There is the possibility of finishing as high as 10th if Palace get a win today, married with Bournemouth and Fulham both suffering defeats.
That said, Oliver Glasner will be happy with a 12th-place finish as well as winning the FA Cup.
There is going to be an ‘Open Top Bus Parade’ around the streets of Croydon on Bank Holiday Monday, the day after this fixture against the Champions.
Diogo Jota scored after 9 minutes when Liverpool visited Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace in October.
The surprise then was that no further goals were added, giving Arne’s Slot Machines the away day victory over Oliver’s Eagles by a 1-0 score.
Betfred offer Liverpool at Odds On 2/5, the Draw at 5/1 and 11/2 for Crystal Palace to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 3/1 that Mo Salah Scores First and 7/4 that Liverpool Win Both Halves.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Home Win 3-1- Get 17/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
MANCHESTER UNITED v ASTON VILLA
16.00 in England
United put out a strong team against Chelsea last Friday, considering the Europa League Final was on the horizon.
That said, the ‘strong team’ wasn’t strong enough for a Set of Blues who were the better side, inflicting a narrow defeat on United by a 1-0 scoreline.
Although there was only one goal, Chelsea were the better team and United weren’t at the races, so to speak, probably with that Final in mind.
It leaves United in 16th place with 39 points going into this final fixture of the campaign.
It was then the said Europa League Final against Tottenham, who themselves had suffered a defeat on Friday, succumbing to a loss against Aston Villa, leaving Tottenham in 17th place with 38 points.
So the two worst teams in the English Premier League, after the three that were already relegated, headed over to Spain and played in the Europa League Final at the Estadio San Mames in Bilbao.
To be fair, it was a dreadful spectacle of a game with both more scared of losing, as opposed to wanting to win.
A single Tottenham goal scored just before the half-time break gave Ange’s Spurs the Trophy from a 1-0 scoreline.
Aston Villa come into this fixture after gaining a victory over Tottenham last Friday.
Goals from Ezri Konsa and Boubacar Kamara, both scored in the 2nd-half, gave Unai Emery’s Claret and Blues the home victory over a Sorry Set of Ange’s Spurs by a 2-0 scoreline.
The win leaves Aston Villa in 6th place now with the same 66 points as Chelsea and Newcastle but below those two on goal difference.
There are all sorts of permutations regarding who finishes in the Top Five and the rest of the European Places, which is previewed at the beginning of this column.
Aston Villa could still miss out on the Champions League, even if a victory over Manchester United occurs today.
When the Premier League Fixture Compilers came up with the final 2 fixtures for Aston Villa, it wasn’t expected that Villa would be facing the Europa League Finalists in those 2 games and potentially gain a victory over both, technically meaning Aston Villa are the Europa League Champions.
Obviously, that’s tongue in cheek but if Villa do miss out on a Champions League spot for next season, considering Tottenham are now in the Top European Competition, the Villains won’t be too happy.
Neither team could muster up a goal when Villa hosted United back in October, giving both teams a share of the points from a draw by a 0-0 score.
Betfred offer Manchester United at 11/4, the Draw at 3/1 and slight Odds On 4/5 for Aston Villa to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Ollie Watkins Scores First and 11/5 that Aston Villa Win To Nil.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Away Win 0-2- Get 17/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
***Premier League Team of the Week***
GOALKEEPER- David Raya- Arsenal
RIGHT-BACK- James Justin- Leicester
CENTRE-BACK- Ezri Konsa- Aston Villa
CENTRE-BACK- Nikola Milenkovic- Nottingham Forest
LEFT-BACK- Marc Cucurella- Chelsea
MIDFIELDER- Bernardo Silva- Man City
MIDFIELDER- Brajan Gruda- Brighton
MIDFIELDER- Harry Wilson- Fulham
FORWARD- Eddie Nketiah- Crystal Palace
FORWARD- Jamie Vardy- Leicester
FORWARD- Iliman Ndiaye- Everton
STAR MAN- Jamie Vardy- Leicester
***Last Week’s Winning Tips-
Aston Villa To Win- 1/3
Chelsea To Win- 1/3
Everton To Win- 4/11
Brighton To Win- 15/8
Crystal Palace- 5/4
Man City- 8/15
Correct Scores-
Everton v Southampton 2-0- 11/2
Correct Tips-
(Chelsea v Manchester United)
Chelsea Win To Nil- 7/5
(Everton v Southampton)
Everton Win To Nil- 6/5
(Leicester v Ipswich)
Jamie Vardy To Score First- 9/2
(Man City v Bournemouth)
Man City To Score In Both Halves- 21/20
NEWCASTLE v EVERTON
16.00 in England
Newcastle suffered a narrow defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday.
Despite having a relatively good 1st-half, which did produce a couple of chances, there weren’t any Newcastle goals, leaving both teams level at the break.
A single Declan Rice goal scored in the 55th minute was the difference between the two teams, giving Arsenal the home victory over Newcastle by a 1-0 scoreline.
The defeat, married with Man City’s victory over Bournemouth on Tuesday, leaves Newcastle in 4th place with the same 66 points as Chelsea and Aston Villa but with a better goal difference than the other two.
As mentioned, there are all sorts of permutations that will decide who finishes where on Sunday, however, all Newcastle have to do is make sure they get the victory over Everton and the Magpies will be in the Champions League next season, regardless of other results as their 69 point finish will be better than Aston Villa’s 69 point finish if both get a victory in the final fixture with Newcastle’s goal difference being far superior to that of Villa’s.
Unless Aston Villa beat Manchester United 18-0, which some United fans who have watched their idols this season, may think could happen!
Everton gained a fitting victory over Southampton in the last ever game at Goodison Park on Sunday.
A couple of Iliman Ndiaye goals scored in the 1st-half, gave the Toffees the emotional home victory over the Saints by a 2-0 score.
As predicted in this EveryTip column last week.
That leaves Everton in 13th place with 45 points from 37 games played.
It’s then a swanky new stadium on the docks of Liverpool where Everton will play next season.
The Hill Dickinson Stadium!
Yes, that’s the name of Everton’s new home.
Both teams shared the points from a draw by a 0-0 score, when Newcastle headed to
Goodison Park to face Everton in October 2024.
Betfred offer Newcastle at Odds On 1/3, the Draw at 9/2 and 17/2 for Everton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 11/4 that Alexander Isak Scores First and 6/5 that Newcastle Win To Nil.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Home Win 4-0- Get 14/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
NOTTINGHAM FOREST v CHELSEA
16.00 in England
This is basically a ‘Place in the Champions League Play-Off’ following the Game Week-37 set of results.
Nottingham Forest gained a great away day victory over West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday.
Goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Nikola Milenkovic, one in each half, gave Forest the win from a 2-1 scoreline.
West Ham did score a late consolation goal, making it a nervy final few minutes for the Travelling Tricky Tree faithful, however, time ran out and Forest got the vital points, meaning the Champions League dream is still alive going into this game against Chelsea.
The Premier League looks like the following-
4- Newcastle 66 points – (GD plus+22)
5- Chelsea 66 points – (GD plus+20)
6- Aston Villa 66 points – (GD plus+9)
7- Nottingham Forest 65 points – (GD plus +13)
So as one can see, the winners today between Nottingham Forest and Chelsea will finish the higher of the two.
It’s then a matter of what the results from the other games are, which will determine whether Forest can make the Top Five.
A victory against Chelsea would give Forest 68 points, however, that still might not be enough if Villa and Newcastle also win.
Forest need a victory, then have to rely on either Aston Villa or Newcastle suffering a defeat.
If all 3 win on Sunday, Forest will miss out on the Champions League.
Chelsea have a slightly different scenario, as a win today will see the Blues in the Top Five regardless of the other results, as Chelsea’s goal difference is far superior to that of Aston Villa, so 69 points will be enough for Champions League qualification.
Those permutations should at least produce a great game at the City Ground, as a Draw is no good to either.
Chelsea come into this final fixture off the back of a victory against Manchester United last Friday.
Despite being the dominant team over the 90 minutes, there was only 1 goal scored, which came from Marc Cucurella, who headed home after a neat move midway through the 2nd-half.
The win leaves Chelsea in 5th place with the same 66 points as Aston Villa but in that crucial higher place due to a superior goal difference.
Chelsea’s goal difference is plus+20, whereas Villa’s is plus+9, meaning the Blues have only to match the Claret and Blues result today to remain higher.
It’s now a matter of who gets the points today at the City Ground.
When Forest visited Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea last October, goals from Forest’s Chris Wood and Chelsea’s Noni Madueke, scored just after the interval, gave both teams a share of the points from a draw by a 1-1 score.
James Ward-Prowse was shown 2 Yellow Cards and the subsequent Red in the 78th minute to beat his mates into the showers.
Betfred offer Nottingham Forest at 11/5, the Draw at 11/4 and 23/20 for Chelsea to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/1 that Noni Madueke Scores First and 8/5 that Cole Palmer Scores Anytime.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Home Win 2-1- Get 9/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
SOUTHAMPTON v ARSENAL
16.00 in England
Southampton suffered a defeat last time out, this time against Everton in the ‘Farewell To Goodison Park’ game on Sunday.
The Saints conceded 2 goals in the 1st-half to trail at the break and with no further goals, Southampton succumbed to another loss from a 2-0 scoreline, as predicted in this EveryTip column last week.
That leaves the Sorry Saints at the foot of the table with 12 points going into this finale against Arsenal on Sunday.
Good luck, Southampton!
After a difficult 1st-half against Newcastle at the Emirates on Sunday, a superb strike by Declan Rice scored after 55 minutes, gave Mikel’s Young Guns the victory over Eddie’s Magpies from a 1-0 scoreline.
That leaves Arsenal in 2nd place with 71 points after 37 games, also confirming the Gunners’ Champions League qualification, which probably wasn’t in doubt but it’s always nice to have confirmation.
Arsenal gained the comfortable expected home victory over Southampton at the Emirates last October.
After a goalless 1st-half, it was the Saints’ Cameron Archer who scored the opener to give the away team a lead.
Unfortunately for the Saints faithful in attendance, the lead lasted 3 minutes with Kai Havertz scoring an equaliser for the Gunners.
Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka then scored 2 and 3, giving Arsenal the win over Southampton from a 3-1 score.
Betfred offer Southampton at 17/2, the Draw at 5/1 and Odds On 3/10 for Arsenal to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 9/2 that Kai Havertz Scores First and 5/4 that Arsenal Win To Nil.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Away Win 0-4- Get 12/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
TOTTENHAM v BRIGHTON
16.00 in England
Tottenham come into this finale off the back of a Premier League defeat against Aston Villa at Villa Park last Friday.
Villa scored twice in the 2nd-half to inflict the loss on Tottenham by a 2-0 scoreline.
That left Tottenham in 17th place with 38 points from 37 games.
It was then the Europa League Final against Manchester United over in Spain, where a single Brennan Johnson goal, scored just before the break, gave Tottenham the victory over United from a 1-0 scoreline.
Tottenham are in next season’s Champions League and confirmed Ange Postecoglou’s prophecy that the Aussie Lad does indeed win a trophy in his 2nd season at a club.
Brighton gained a great victory over Liverpool on Monday Night Football.
After conceding an early goal, Yasin Ayari scored an equaliser in the 32nd minute.
A speculative cross from Dominik Szoboszlai on the stroke of half-time somehow found itself in the back of the net, leaving Brighton trailing at the break.
Fabian Hurzeler introduced Kaoru Mitoma in the 66th minute, which produced an immediate impact with Kaoru scoring an equaliser 3 minutes later.
Fabian then introduced Jack Hinshelwood and Harry Howell in the 84th minute, which again produced an immediate impact with Jack tapping home the winner a minute after coming on.
Jack and Harry are cousins, with Harry, aged just 17, becoming the youngest Premier League debutant for Brighton.
Jack’s goal was initially ruled out with the linesman putting his flag up for offside, however, the much derided VAR proved why VAR is needed in the Top Flight as the ‘offside’ proved to be ‘onside’ with the ‘Semi-Automated Offside Technology’ showing that the Matt O’Riley, the Brighton player who crossed to Jack to tap home, was onside.
Without VAR, Brighton’s victory over Liverpool by a 3-2 scoreline wouldn’t have happened.
The win leaves Brighton in that ‘possibly’ all-important 8th place with 58 points from 37 games played.
‘Possibly’ because depending on how Chelsea perform over the weekend and in the Europa Conference League Final, 8th could lead to a European adventure next season.
Brighton have 3 points more than Brentford, who are now the only two teams that can finish 8th.
The goal difference for both teams is as follows-
8th- Brighton 58 points, scored 62 and conceded 58 (plus+4)
9th- Brentford 55 points, scored 65 and conceded 56 (plus+9)
This basically means that Brighton just need a draw today to finish in 8th.
A defeat, married with a Brentford victory, would see the Bees in 8th place from the superior goal difference.
Brighton gained the narrow victory over Tottenham following a 5 goal thriller when these two met at the Amex in October.
The surprise was, Brennan Johnson and James Maddison had scored in the 1st-half to give Tottenham a comfortable lead at the break.
It was then the Brighton show, with goals from Yankuba Minteh, Georginio Rutter and Danny Welbeck, scored in the 48th, 58th and 66th minute, giving the Seagulls the home win from a 3-1 scoreline.
Betfred offer Tottenham at 12/5, the Draw at 7/2 and slight Odds On 10/11 for Brighton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 8/1 that Yankuba Minteh Scores First and 7/4 that Brighton Win and Both Teams Score.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Away Win 1-3- Get 11/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
WOLVES v BRENTFORD
16.00 in England
Wolves come into this fixture against Brentford at Molineux off the back of a midweek defeat against Crystal Palace on Tuesday.
Despite Emmanuel Agbadou scoring in the 24th minute to give Wolves a lead, the New FA Cup winners were the stronger team, scoring 3 times before Jorgen Strand-Larsen pulled a goal back for Wolves just after the hour mark.
Palace then scored a 4th to inflict the defeat on Wolves by a 4-2 scoreline.
Wolves sit in 14th place with 41 points going into this finale against Brentford.
That’s the highest placed finish Vitor Pereira’s Gold and Blacks can achieve but could drop to 17th with a defeat today and all of West Ham, Manchester United and Tottenham getting a victory.
Considering Wolves were in a relegation battle a few months back, the Gold and Black faithful will be happy just to know that they will be in the Premier League next season.
Brentford snatched a defeat from the jaws of victory against Fulham at the GTech Stadium on Sunday.
After 4 straight wins, the Bees suffered a home loss against their West London rivals, the Cottagers.
Fulham scored the opener after 16 minutes, which was quickly equalised by a Bryan Mbeumo goal.
Bryan had the chance to score a 2nd when Brentford were awarded a penalty, however, the usually impeccable spot-kick taker saw his kick saved by the Fulham Goalkeeper.
Yoane Wissa did score just before half-time to give the Bees a lead at the break.
Fulham then made a couple of changes that eventually bore fruit, with both substitutes scoring to give the away team the victory from a 3-2 scoreline.
That leaves Brentford in the precarious position of 9th, 3 points adrift of Brighton in the race for the potentially all-important 8th place.
A victory today, married with a Brighton defeat, would see the Bees in 8th place from the superior goal difference.
The goal difference for both teams is as follows-
8th- Brighton 58 points, scored 62 and conceded 58 (plus+4)
9th- Brentford 55 points, scored 65 and conceded 56 (plus+9)
This basically means that Brighton just need a draw today to finish in 8th.
This reverse fixture at the GTech turned out to be the game of the weekend, with Brentford gaining the home victory over Wolves from an 8-goal thriller.
The goals going in as follows.
2′ Nathan Collins- (Brentford 1-0)
4′ Matheus Cunha- (Wolves 1-1)
20′ Bryan Mbeumo- (Brentford 2-1)
26′ Jorgen Strand-Larsen- (Wolves 2-2)
28′ Christian Norgaard- (Brentford 3-2)
45+2′ Ethan Pinnock- (Brentford 4-2)
Half-Time Cherryade and a Bag of Monster Munch (Pickled Onion Flavour).
90′ Fabio Carvalho- (Brentford 5-2)
90+3′ Rayan Ait-Nouri- (Wolves 5-3)
Full-Time Gin and Tonic and Nachos.
Betfred offer Wolves at 9/5, the Draw at 11/4 and 7/5 for Brentford to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Yoane Wissa Scores First and 13/8 that Jorgen Strand Larsen Scores Anytime.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Away Win 2-4- Get 40/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
The Scottish Premier League is over for another year, with Celtic rounding off the triumphant campaign with a draw against St Mirren (who?) on Saturday.
The Blue Half of Glasgow, them being Rangers, also drew their finale, playing out a stalemate against Hibernian (who?) on Saturday too.
It does give both the opportunity to compete in next season’s Champions League, with both having to go through a qualifying stage.
Celtic went straight into the Champions League-League Phase this season, however, this time around, it’s a 2-legged affair to get into that lucrative 36-team league.
Rangers can also get in but the Teddy Bears have to face 3 qualifying rounds before being 1 of the 36 teams in the League Phase.
Another season over!
John Newsome wants to thank everyone for taking the time to read this column each week, as a lot of work goes into producing the content that hopefully can give people an opportunity to win a few quid from different betting platforms.
John will be back at the end of July for the start of the 2025/26 Premier League Campaign.
Have a great Summer.
All the best!
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