(Football news) Manchester City will look to win the Premier League title with a win over Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium. Pep Guardiola’s team are currently one point ahead of 2nd place Liverpool and getting the three points would guarantee a sixth title in 11 seasons, a staggering record to say the least. To make matters interesting, Steven Gerrard could be pivotal in helping Liverpool win the title by denying City the three points and will be expected to set up his side for defensive solidity.
In team news, Kyle Walker and John Stones returned to training earlier this week and could feature against Villa but Ruben Dias will be unavailable due to a hamstring injury. Guardiola could select Jack Grealish to play against his former club while Raheem Sterling might replace Riyad Mahrez in the starting XI.
As for Aston Villa, Ezri Konsa and Kortney Hause are unavailable due to injuries while Leon Bailey could recover from his foot injury. Gerrard could pick one of Bertrand Traore or Philippe Coutinho in Carney Chukwuemeka’s place. Mings is expected to partner alongside Calum Chambers while former Liverpool player Danny Ings could also provide fresh legs to the team. Despite the stakes of the match, City are expected to comfortably secure the three points and retain the Premier League title.
Liverpool will welcome Wolves to Anfield on the final day of the Premier League season, not only hoping to clinch the three points but also hope that City slip up against Aston Villa. Jurgen Klopp’s side are still hunting for an unprecedented quadruple and have already won the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup so far. They will take on Real Madrid in the Champions League final next Saturday in what has undoubtedly been a very successful season for the Reds. A win against Wolves would mean Liverpool will end the season with 92 points, their third highest tally, which would have been enough to win 24 of the last 29 Premier League seasons.
In team news, Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Joe Gomez remain doubtful for the match but Klopp has reiterated that he would like his players to feature in the match in order to maintain momentum against Real Madrid next week. However, it’s more than likely that Salah, Van Dijk and Fabinho could start on the bench. Divock Origi could feature in his final game for Liverpool and be given a fitting send-off at Anfield.
As for Wolves, Max Kilman (ankle), Nelson Semedo (hamstring) and Romain Saiss (knee) will be unavailable for selection but Daniel Podence is expected to feature as well as Conor Coady. Reuben Neves could be playing his final game for Wolves as he has been linked with a transfer while Joao Moutinho’s contract expires this summer. Liverpool are expected to secure the three points but it might be a bittersweet moment as they could finish 2nd in the league table.
Also read: How Frank Lampard rescued Everton from the jaws of relegation
