Premier League strugglers face final day misery

The 2010-11 Premier League season comes to an end this weekend, but it promises to be a far-less-than-super Sunday for two of the teams in the bottom six. With the title already decided it's all eyes on Blackburn, Wolves, Birmingham, Blackpool and Wigan as they fight to avoid joining West Ham in the Championship next season.

With relegation costing the clubs as much as £40m, and presenting them with the unappetising prospect of away games at the likes of Doncaster and Millwall, all five will be fighting tooth-and-nail to stay up.

Liverpool and Spurs will be fighting it out for the final Europa League place, with Spurs in the box seat, one point ahead of the Reds, while Arsenal will be hoping that FA Cup winners Manchester City slip up and let them sneak third place in the table and avoid the ignomy of having to qualify for the Champions League.

All the games kick off on Sunday at 4pm. Here's The First Post guide to the weekend's action.

Aston Villa v Liverpool
Both these sides have turned their seasons around after dismal starts to the campaign. Liverpool are now chasing the final European place while Villa are relaxing in mid-table comfort having been in proper relegation trouble before the clocks changed. Both teams can thank new blood up front for the change in their fortunes. Villa's signing of Darren Bent has worked wonders while Luis Suarez is already on the way to becoming a Kop legend. There is more riding on the game for Liverpool, but if they are to qualify for Europe they will need Spurs to slip up. Villa, though, could finish anywhere between 14th and ninth, and the higher they end up the more money they get, so they will be putting their all into it. It could also be Ashley Young's last game in claret and blue and he will want to sign off with a bang.

Bolton v Manchester City
Manchester City end their season with a North West derby against Bolton. But Roberto Mancini may well be more concerned about the future of Carlos Tevez than his team selection for this game. However, he knows that a win would guarantee City third spot in the table, which would mean that they will not have to qualify for the Champions League - it would also be a statement of intent even though a potential haul of 71 points is only four more than they managed last season. Bolton have gone off the rails since their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Stoke, and they have lost four in a row. Despite their excellent work this term it looks as though the trotters will finish with another loss.

Everton v Chelsea
This could be a tasty clash even though both sides are likely to finish the season in the positions they start this game - Chelsea second, Everton seventh. It is widely accepted that this will be Carlo Ancelotti's last game as Chelsea manager and if rumours of a summer clear-out are true it could also be the last hurrah for a number of Blues stalwarts. Indeed some of the Chelsea team may be playing for their futures at the club so they will not want to let themselves down. Chelsea's troubles have come in front of goal, they have scored 34 fewer goals than they managed last season and Fernando Torres has yet to fire. He is sure to get a warm welcome from the Everton faithful. The Toffees have won four of their last six home games and have not lost at Goodison Park for some time, they will not want to do so on the last day of the season and could easily earn the draw.

Fulham v Arsenal
It is hard to know which has attracted more ridicule in recent weeks - Arsenal's defence or the statue of Michael Jackson outside Craven Cottage. Fans will be able to compare the two on Sunday as Arsene Wenger's dispirited troops head across town to take on Fulham. Given the Gunners' mental state a Fulham win is well within the bounds of possibility, although Arsenal will be desperate to secure the win that at least gives them the chance of finishing in third place to earn automatic qualification for the Champions League group stages. Fulham are currently in eighth place but a defeat could see them drop out of the top ten, and Mark Hughes will not want to see that happen, so they are likely to give it a real go. A draw could be the most likely outcome.

Manchester United v Blackpool
This game is surely the clash of the day as up-and-at-'em Blackpool head to Old Trafford, home of the newly-crowned Premier League champions, in desperate need of three points to stay up. The Seasiders have played their distinctive brand of kamikaze attacking football all season long and sometimes it has worked for them - most frequently when no-one expected it to. Certainly very few people will expect them to get anything out of United, which is exactly why Ian Holloway will fancy his chances at the Theatre of Dreams. And United could be there for the taking. Last week they clinched a record 19th legue title, and next week they face Barcelona in the Champions League final. This game is little more than a distraction for Alex Ferguson and a chance for the second team to stretch their legs and for the squad to go on a lap of honour after the final whistle. In 2007 Carlos Tevez scored the winner for West Ham at Old Trafford on the last day of the season to keep the Hammers up - it could happen again.

Newcastle v West Brom
The fact that both these sides are secure in mid-table must be one of the biggest shocks of the season. They both came up from the Championship last year and if history is anything to go by you would have expected at least one of them to have been in trouble at the end of the campaign. West Brom were in danger for a while, but the appointment of Roy Hodgson after the sacking of Roberto Di Matteo now looks inspired, even if it was greeted with raised eyebrows at the time. As for Newcastle, they have sacked their manager and sold their best player this season and still managed to keep their heads well above water - at this rate they will be challenging for Europe next season. Alan Pardew's men should have the strength to bow out with a win in front of their adoring public.

Stoke v Wigan
Who knows what Wigan will produce on the final day of the season. They are second from bottom and favourites for the drop, and anything less than three points will almost certainly see them relegated. Even a win might not be enough. It has been impossible to guess how the Latics will play all season long and it will not be any different on Sunday. A lot depends on Stoke, who might be feeling a bit shell-shocked after back-to-back defeats at the hands of Manchester City, one of them in the FA Cup final. On the other hand they will want to bow out with a win for their loyal fans. It could be a bridge too far for Roberto Mancini's men.

Tottenham v Birmingham
Both these teams have plenty to fight for so this will be no end-of-season kickabout. Spurs need a win to guarantee European football at White Hart Lane next season, while Birmingham know victory will almost certainly secure them Premier League football next season. However, Spurs will be clear favourites to take all three points having beaten Liverpool at Anfield last weekend. Birmingham on the other hand may have the Carling Cup in their trophy cabinet, but they appear to have little left in the locker. They have one point from their last five games and have scored just three goals in that time. Altogether this season they have just 36 goals, which is simply not enough. Even if they do add to that tally on Sunday Spurs are likely to overpower them and it could be farewell to the Bluenoses.

West Ham v Sunderland
The Hammers, along with Manchester United, are the only team with nothing to play for on Sunday, they are already down and must play the last game of the season without a manager. Had they shown a bit more fight earlier in the season it could have come down to this game, and had it done so the Hammers would be favourites to stay up - they are playing at home and against a Sunderland side who are lucky not to be in relegation trouble themselves. It could be farewell for Scott Parker, not to mention the rest of West Ham's big-name players, and Steve Bruce, who has had a miserable run with injuries to his srikers, could well be sizing up Carlton Cole, Demba Ba and Frederique Piquionne. Given how these things usually pan out, West Ham should win handsomely.

Wolverhampton v Blackburn
This is arguably the biggest game of the day as it pits two teams who are in relegation trouble against each other and at the final whistle, both, one or none of them could be going down. Both teams are hovering above the drop zone on 40 points, and the team that wins will be safe. But the losers will be in serious trouble and could be on their way down if other results go against them. A draw helps neither side and if Birmingham, Blackpool and Wigan all win then both will be relegated. Given the various permutations, both sets of fans will be glued to their radio sets in the stands, and goals at other grounds will get just as a big a reaction as any at Molineux. In reality both teams should be playing football in the Premier Leaugue next season, but it won't make things any less tense on Sunday afternoon. ·