Arsenal travel to West Ham on Sunday afternoon with a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League and the title firmly in their own hands for the first time in twenty-two years. A win at the London Stadium followed by victories over the already-relegated Burnley at the Emirates next Saturday and away at Crystal Palace on May 24 would deliver Mikel Arteta's first championship and end a wait that has stretched back to the Invincibles season of 2003-04.
Manchester City, who closed the gap to seven points by beating Wolves on Wednesday and to five with a tense one-nil win at Burnley on Friday, have one match in hand on the leaders. Pep Guardiola's side play Brighton at the Etihad on Wednesday before finishing away at Bournemouth and at home to Fulham on the final day. Three wins for City would force Arsenal to take seven points from their last nine.
The final round on Sunday May 24 will run to the broadcaster-mandated synchronisation that the league has used to settle title and relegation contests since 2010, with all ten matches kicking off at five in the afternoon British time. Crystal Palace's decision to schedule the Europa Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano five days later in Athens has prompted speculation that Oliver Glasner will rest several first-choice players for the visit of Arsenal.
At the bottom, Burnley and Wolves are already down. The third relegation place will be settled between Leicester City, Ipswich Town and West Ham, with Leicester needing to overhaul a four-point gap to West Ham over the final two matches. Ipswich, level on points with Leicester but with a markedly worse goal difference, host Liverpool next Saturday in what is effectively an elimination game.
In the European places, Aston Villa's home win over Newcastle on Wednesday confirmed the club's return to the Champions League for a second successive season, joining Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea. The fifth Champions League slot — created last season by the new co-efficient bonus that benefits the Premier League in 2026 — is set to go to Tottenham, three points clear of Newcastle with a game in hand.