Man City play their final home game against Bournemouth
Bidding to quickly banish their latest Wembley heartache, Manchester City play their final home game of the season on Tuesday night, when Bournemouth rock up for a Premier League battle.
Pep Guardiola and co are mourning their FA Cup dreams after Saturday’s 1-0 loss at the hands of Crystal Palace, while the Cherries are still in with a slight shout of qualifying for the Conference League.
Victims of an “absolutely pathetic” decision in the eyes of Ian Wright, Man City were left to bemoan both their own wastefulness and VAR controversy going against them in the English capital, where Palace celebrated a maiden major honour under the Wembley arch.
As the post-mortem into Saturday’s agonising 1-0 loss continues, Man City will end the 2024-25 campaign having only added another Community Shield to their cabinet, another telltale sign that the first Guardiola glory days are coming to a natural, but inevitable end.
The dethroned Premier League champions’ campaign could still end even more disastrously should they miss out on a top-five finish, but as they are just one point behind Aston Villa and Chelsea with a game in hand on both – and a better goal difference – their Champions League destiny remains in their own hands.
But Guardiola’s charges can at least proudly show off four wins from their last four Premier League matches at the Etihad, and they have prevailed in each of their last eight final home games of the season.
Man City may have their work cut out against a Bournemouth side who are seldom outfought in Premier League away games.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Crystal Palace return to Premier League action against Wolves
FA Cup champions Crystal Palace return to Premier League action on Tuesday when they welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to Selhurst Park.
Palace defeated Manchester City 1-0 at Wembley on Saturday to claim the FA Cup and are currently 12th with 49 points, while 14th-placed Wolves have eight points fewer and lost 2-0 against Brighton & Hove Albion on May 10.
Palace’s FA Cup victory means they will be playing Europa League football next term, though they could still finish as high as 10th in the Premier League, which would be their joint highest finish since their first season back in the top flight in 2013-14.
Following the Eagles’ 2-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur on May 11 in their most recent Premier League game, the club only need one more point to surpass their highest points total since returning to the division.
Glasner’s side come into Tuesday’s fixture on a two-game winning streak, and they avoided defeat in their previous four, drawing three matches.
Palace’s displays at Selhurst Park have been excellent, with the club unbeaten in their last eight at home, winning six times while keeping four clean sheets and scoring 15 goals. Head coach Vitor Pereira will hope to improve their poor record against Palace, as while they earned a point after drawing 2-2 with their hosts in the reverse fixture on November 2, they have been beaten in six of their last eight meetings with the Londoners.
Predicting Palace’s lineup could be difficult given many members of the starting XI could change due to the team’s tiring exploits in the FA Cup.
Despite the injuries in Wolves’ forward line, they should be confident of creating numerous chances against a celebratory Palace side.
Given the Eagles will almost certainly rest key stars on Tuesday, the visitors should be seen as clear favourites to claim all three points.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Man United suit up for the Europa League final
Manchester United have unveiled their new Paul Smith suits for the Europa League final.
United will take on Tottenham in Bilbao on Wednesday night in the showpiece event as Ruben Amorim‘s side aim to rescue what has been a dismal season.
Things haven’t been much better for Spurs, with the North London club in 17th in the Premier League after 21 defeats in 37 games.
Both teams are set to travel to the Basque Country on Monday and United unveiled their fresh threads for the final.
United shared photos of several stars wearing the suits, including Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes, Leny Yoro and Mason Mount.
The suit, which is made in Amorim’s native Portugal, is made of blue sharkskin wool and it is called ‘The Brierley’.
The designer has a long-standing partnership with United in what has been dubbed ‘a celebration of football heritage and style’.
Describing the fit, Paul Smith’s website reads: ‘The Brierley suit represents an evolution of the Soho block with a slightly elongated fit.
‘Our modern take on a traditional structured shoulder uses padding to create a clean, sharply defined shape. Sitting between the slim Soho and more relaxed Bloomsbury, the waist is gently shaped for an elegant fit.
‘The jacket has a longer body and a subtle cutaway, visually elongating the torso.’
It also has three particular features; a double vent, unfinished hems – which makes it prime for custom tailoring – and an internal rubber grip on the waistband.
United’s reveal of the suits – which saw their players looking extremely smart – came just before Spurs were seen starting the journey to Bilbao. .
Credit: dailymail.co.uk
Farioli leaves Ajax after title miss agony
Head coach Francesco Farioli has left Ajax in the wake of an end-of-season collapse that cost them the Eredivisie title.
Ajax were top of the Dutch top flight with a nine-point lead with seven games to go but on Sunday ended up finishing a point behind champions PSV Eindhoven.
Italian Farioli, 36, leaves after one season, having joined the club on a three-year contract last summer.
“The management and I have the same goals for the future of Ajax, but we have different visions and timeframes about the way we should work and operate to achieve those goals,” he said.
“Given these differences in the principles and foundations of the project, I feel deep in my heart that this is the best moment to part ways.”
Ajax technical director Alex Kroes said, despite missing out on the title, the club had achieved its aim of qualifying for the Champions League under Farioli and found his departure “incredibly disappointing”.
“Francesco also played a key role in enhancing the high-performance culture at Ajax, for which we are extremely grateful,” said Kroes.
Credit: bbc.com
