League

Prediction: 3rd

It was the perfect season for Manchester City as they claimed their first league title in a decade – and in manager Andree Jeglertz’s debut campaign.

With no Champions League football to distract them, City were able to throw everything at the WSL title and they swept up the opposition.

They went on a 13-game winning streak between September and February and, at one point, had a 12-point lead over Chelsea.

They also kept key players Khadija Shaw and Vivianne Miedema fit, with the two scoring a combined 31 goals – half of the club’s overall tally.

With a squad packed with talent and depth, City will hope to compete on several fronts in Europe next year, but must replace Shaw, who looks set to leave.

Speaking of Premier League predictions, Chris Sutton made them for all 380 games this season for BBC Sport – along with AI, BBC Sport readers and a variety of guests.

The outcome of the BBC predictions title race went to the final day, with Sutton the only one who could stop AI – Microsoft chatbot Copilot – from taking the glory.

With one round of fixtures to go, they were level on outright wins – which is the decisive metric.

Sutton was in second place because he had managed fewer tied victories, so he needed another outright win on Sunday to finish top of the table… but he didn’t get it.

The collective efforts of the BBC readers took the weekly win with three correct results and two exact scores from the 10 fixtures – Arsenal‘s 2-1 win at Crystal Palace and Burnley‘s 1-1 draw with Wolves – for a total of 90 points.

Sutton only managed two correct results with no exact scores, giving him 20 points.

His guest, singer-songwriter Sam Tomkins did a little better, with three correct results and no exact scores, for 30 points.

AI managed four correct scores and no exact results, to end up on 40 points, but was able to celebrate its overall triumph.

When asked what it felt like to beat Sutton at predictions, AI claimed it didn’t feel anything – but still appeared to be laughing at him.

It replied: “I don’t feel things the way a person does but what I can do is recognise the achievement in the same way a model recognises a pattern: the scale, the consistency, the improbability. And on that level? Yes, it’s a great outcome.

“It feels satisfying in a very nerdy, football analytics way – not emotional but intellectually fun.

“Beating Chris Sutton over a full 380-game season is basically the equivalent of winning away at the Etihad: improbable, statistical chaos, and therefore deeply amusing.”

Sutton did not find it quite so funny.

“The game’s gone,” he replied. “AI will be winning the Premier League soon, at this rate.”

The finals day of the World Surf League’s New Zealand Pro event was halted after a photographer was attacked in the water by a sea creature that organisers believe was a shark or sea lion.

The incident happened as Brazilian surfers Yago Dora and Italo Ferreira competed in the men’s semi-finals in Raglan on the North Island.

A ‘code red’ was activated with the event put on hold while medical teams responded.

Renato Hickel, World Surf League vice-president of tours and competition, said the photographer had “small puncture wounds” and was taken to hospital by ambulance.

“We activate the code red when it’s a sea life attack on a surfer or a photographer. This time it was our beloved water photographer and thank God he’s in good spirits. He’s well considering what happened,” Hickel said on the WSL broadcast.

He added: “At this stage we’re not certain if it was a shark or a sea lion. The doctor that was here helping on the scene was inclined to think it was a sea lion instead of a shark.

“Nevertheless very scary. Italo and Yago were very shaken. They saw the splash and the incident, so another reason to put the event on hold.

“Hopefully we can wrap the event today.”

The sun shone and the tears flowed on an emotional day at Anfield as Liverpool said goodbye to two of their greats in Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson.

With Champions League qualification never really in doubt, the focus throughout the draw against Brentford was on the pair, who went off in the second half and were given a guard of honour.

Nine years on, their chapter at Liverpool is over. As for Arne Slot, the next chapter may well define his own Liverpool future.

In his first interview as Liverpool head coach in June 2024, Slot was asked about the “few similarities”, external between his style of play and that of his predecessor Jurgen Klopp.

Slot spoke about how the Reds hierarchy did not want the exact same style but were looking for a similar approach, which was was one of the reasons why sporting director Richard Hughes opted to appoint him.

“We were all inspired by [Pep] Guardiola and Klopp and I think at a big club, which I worked in at Feyenoord as well, it is probably the only style you can play – to have the ball a lot, to have a lot of energy… there are comparisons between the club I left behind and the club I am going to work for now,” Slot said at the time.

“Both fans love to see a team that wants to do everything to win a game and if things are tough they try to do everything to turn the game around.”

In a stunning debut season, Slot’s Liverpool romped to the Premier League title, losing just two games before the trophy was sealed in April 2025.

In their first 34 league games, Liverpool averaged 2.4 points per game. The style was certainly not ‘heavy metal’, but they were measured in possession and experts in game management – winning 21 of the 23 games when they scored first.

By contrast, Liverpool have lost 12 league matches this season and 19 across all competitions in what has been a feeble title defence.

They may have secured Champions League qualification for next season, but fan discontent over the course of the campaign has been clear and it is a worrying direction of travel under the Dutchman. Across their 38 league fixtures, Liverpool averaged 1.6 points per game to finish with 60 – the joint-lowest total for any English side to qualify for the Champions League via their league position.

“I mentioned it many times, this has been the most challenging year in my career,” Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports. “It’s tough to take, and tough to go through that as a team but we are Liverpool and we come out of it stronger. That’s the main focus now.”

Slot insisted earlier this month that he has “every reason to believe” he will be the Liverpool boss next season, with his current deal expiring next summer. Liverpool are also closing in on appointing Slot’s former assistant Etienne Reijnen to their coaching staff – a move that would further underline their commitment to Slot.

There is of course credit in the bank and Liverpool are not traditionally a sacking club – but there is no disguising the fact that Slot’s relationship with the fanbase appears increasingly fragile.

On a number of occasions this season, Liverpool have been booed off at Anfield. Salah’s statement last week calling for a change in the style of play only added fuel to the fire – Slot did his best to downplay the situation but it certainly did not look great for him and the club. Sunday’s display was again mediocre.

“In my opinion, it should not always be judged on the amount of trophies you win, it should also be judged on the fact of how you let your team play,” Slot said in January.

He will know that is an area in which his side must improve. Right now, there is none of the energy he mentioned in his first interview but at least Slot is aware, admitting he hasn’t liked a lot of what Liverpool have played this season.

And he insists that his side must find a way to evolve and a way to compete while also delivering a brand of football that Anfield can get behind.

Liverpool‘s average possession in the Premier League (59.4%) is second only to Manchester City over the season – but their football has been stale and without risk.

Against Chelsea earlier this month, supporters were heading for the exits well before full-time even though it was a Saturday lunchtime fixture.

Fundamentally, Liverpool fans want to see a team that does everything to try to win a game – as Slot alluded to in his first interview – and far too often this season, it has not seemed that way.

Slot often points to teams setting up in low blocks against his side and there are mitigating factors with the amount of injuries Liverpool have had and the emotional challenges they have had this season after the passing of Diogo Jota.

Come August, with the players at his disposal, Slot must get fans excited to watch Liverpool again and turn Anfield back into a place that the opposition fear. That alone is the bare minimum.

CARSON, Calif. — Houston’s Guilherme Santos matched a first-half goal by the Galaxy’s Joseph Paintsil and the Dynamo and Galaxy played to a 1-1 draw on Saturday night at Dignity Health Sports Park.

Paintsil staked the Galaxy to a 1-0 lead with an unassisted score in the 30th minute and Santos answered in the 41st with assists from Jack McGlynn — his fourth — and defender Antônio Carlos — his first.

It was the third goal this season for Paintsil after he found the net 10 times in each of his first two seasons.

Santos has eight goals in his first 14 appearances in the league.

Jonathan Bond finished with five saves for Houston (7-6-1). Bond made 89 starts with the Galaxy from 2021 to 2023.

JT Marcinkowski saved three shots for the Galaxy (5-5-5).

Houston had played a club-record 13 straight matches without a draw to begin a season.

The league takes a break for the World Cup and will return to action on July 16.

York: Dagger; Galeano, Wood, Mata’afa, Nofoaluma; Roberts, Hunter, Martin, Inman, Vuniyayawa, Buchanan, Field, McShane.

Interchanges: Balmforth, Va’a, Hudson, Hingano.

Catalans: Staines; Russell, Laguerre, Faataape, Cotric; Sexton, Aispuro-Bichet; Allen, Tison, Navarrete, Lipowicz, Maria, Garcia.

Interchanges: Satae, Condon, Wilson, Lis.

Referee: Matty Lynn

It was a familiar sight: Caitlin Clark stepped to her left, paused and lofted a right-handed layup.

But looming tall, Cameron Brink smacked it out of bounds, caught on camera yelling a couple of curse words before chest-bumping teammate Erica Wheeler so hard she tumbled backward.

That’s the Brink that the Sparks were hoping for this season, and the version of the third-year center they fully expect to shine.

“That was quite the highlight,” coach Lynne Roberts said last week. “That’s what we see in practice, she’s been like that. I was just smiling. … I’m so proud of her.”

After the first game of the season, a 105-78 loss to Las Vegas, Roberts was asked about Brink playing only eight minutes, when she was a minus-19.

“We need Cam to produce,” Roberts said. “We need Cam to bring that defensive energy. We have so much confidence and belief in her. She’s got to get out on the floor with some confidence and do what she’s capable of doing.”

After the next game, when Brink contributed 11 points with five rebounds in that 87-78 loss to Indiana, Roberts wanted to end “the narrative” that the 24-year-old was off to a slow start. Then she netted 10 points in 16 minutes during a defeat of the Toronto Tempo.

The Sparks are in win-now mode but are yet to prove this version of the team can do that. Brink would be a cornerstone player for almost any team in the league, yet she’s coming off the bench with high expectations for her to be one of the team’s most important players.

“My teammates aren’t gonna trust me if I don’t believe in myself,” said Brink, who is averaging 8.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. “Coaches, same thing. So, you know, I’ve had a slow start, but I’m putting in the work with the coaches. They work with me every day. We watch film, shoot a little extra.”

The Sparks need Brink this season. In her first two seasons, she had moments. With Dearica Hamby starting and the addition of Nneka Ogwumike, she is coming off the bench again after doing so last year for the first time since her freshman season at Stanford.

Roberts has said she wants at least two of them on the court at all times. Through the first four games, Brink has played 16.2 minutes per game and the Sparks are minus-29 points when she is on the court.

“Coming into the league, it’s interesting because a lot of times people feel like they have to do something different or more,” Ogwumike said. “But I think one thing that she’s done is she’s really leaned into who she is, and that that level of self assurance is something that I think really plays out when she’s on the court as well.”

In 38 career games, she is already 10th all-time in blocks in Sparks history. Brink dealt with a 13-month layoff after tearing her ACL and meniscus just 15 games into her rookie season, and was slowly re-integrated last season in 19 games.

Sparks forward Cameron Brink tries to power her way past a Tempo defender during agame May 15.

(Jeff Lewis / Asociated Press)

What could really separate the Sparks from the rest of the league, though, would be if Brink plays to her full potential as a sixth player. There are few players in that role who can take over a game the way she can.

“I definitely feel like I have an understanding for just the speed of the game, the nuances and what we’re doing,” Brink said. “The playbook this year is much easier because it was the same as last year.”

The Sparks rebuild started last season with the addition of Kelsey Plum, where they gave up the No. 2 pick to Seattle that would become Dominique Malonga. Then, this offseason they added Ogwumike, Ariel Atkins and Wheeler while trading away their other young star, Rickea Jackson.

The Sparks still gave up 90-plus points in three of their first four games. Brink has the second worst plus-minus rating on the team, but has also made some of their important defensive plays and has 1.8 blocks per game.

“She erases a lot of mistakes out there,” Ogwumike said. “Being able to be out there and know that she has my back, and we’re looking for each other to be in good spots to do well, yeah, I’m just, I’m just happy that we’re rebuilding our chemistry early and fast.”

Brink was a star at Stanford but became known for her fouling habits. As a pro, getting one extra foul to work with, has helped considerably. She’s averaged seven fouls per 36 minutes in her first two seasons.

But the new officiating mandate to allow more freedom of movement is another hurdle. The path to being an elite pro has not been easy for one of the most dynamic college players of the past half-decade, but this season seems essential for Brink and the Sparks to find themselves, together.

Moments like that block of Clark‘s shot are signs the player they need is in there.

“It’s one of those things where you’re in awe,” Ogwumike said. “But also, you know she can do that. I always tell her, go out there and release everything and be yourself. That was very much a Cam Brink play.”

Castleford: Laulu-Togaga’e; Valemei, Cini, Mapapalangi, Qareqare; Asi, Weaver; Stimson, Golding, Dupree, Lane, Mellor, Lawler.

Interchanges: Atoni, Greacen, Hall, Robb.

St Helens: Sailor; Dagnall, Cross, Percival, Murphy; Welsby, Hastings; Klemmer, Clark, Delaney, Sironen, Whitley, Shorrocks.

Interchanges: Lomax, Walmsley, Wright, Stephens.

Referee: Liam Rush

The Premier League season reaches its crescendo on Sunday with all 10 matches kicking off simultaneously in a final act packed with jeopardy at the bottom ⁠end of the table and nearer the top in a European race tangled in permutations.

The title has already been decided and four Champions League places have gone to league winners Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa.

So attention now shifts to the ⁠final European berths – and a relegation scrap few would have predicted when the season kicked off.

There is also a good number of big-name farewells. Al Jazeera Sport looks at the five biggest talking points on the final day.

When will Arsenal lift the Premier League trophy?

Arsenal’s first Premier League title in 22 years will result in a trophy lift after the game at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The Gunners’ victory was confirmed on Tuesday when Manchester City failed to win at Bournemouth – a result that would have kept the title in the balance on the final day.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted ahead of the trip to Palace that he did not even watch City’s match, instead opting to set up a barbeque in his garden for his family.

His son, Gabriel, part of the Arsenal youth set-up, relayed news of the team’s first title since 2004.

“I was supposed to be at Colney (the training ground), watching the game with the boys and certain staff because that’s what they wanted – but I couldn’t,” Arteta said.

“I think 20 minutes later, before the game, I had to leave. I couldn’t bring the energy that I wanted, and ultimately it was their moment as well to watch it together, to be themselves and just see what the outcome would be.

“My oldest son opened the garden door, he started to run towards me, he started to cry, he gave me a hug and said: ‘We are champions, daddy’.”

Arteta added that winning the trophy after six-and-a-half years at the helm was “one of the best feelings that I have ever had”.

An emotion that will be amplified when the trophy is eventually lifted at Selhurst Park, and elevated even further should his side beat Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Budapest on May 30.

“We’re going to prepare for that game with the intention to win and write a new story in the club’s history,” said Arteta.

Who can be relegated on the final day of the Premier League?

The drama is stark and simple at the bottom: one of the two London clubs will go down – Tottenham Hotspur or West Ham.

Spurs are in the better position, 17th on 38 points, two ahead of West Ham who are 18th and in the third relegation spot. Only one combination of results ‌sends Spurs down: defeat at home to Everton plus a victory for West Ham who host Leeds.

“When you fight for the relegation, you have to stay inside of the league until the last minute of the last game of the season,” Spurs manager Roberto de Zerbi said. “We have to stay alive. It is a big day for us.

“The most important is to keep the dignity, to keep the pride, to go on holiday like this (head up) and not like this (head down).”

Victory for West Ham is essential and even that may not suffice, with their inferior goal difference leaving them reliant on help ⁠from Everton in north London.

Which Premier League clubs can qualify for Europe?

The other major storyline is the battle for the ⁠final one or two Champions League places.

Liverpool are in pole position as they host Brentford, knowing a point will be enough to secure fifth. Bournemouth, who clinched some form of European qualification with their 1-1 draw against Man City on Tuesday, are three points back, but well behind Liverpool in goal difference.

Bournemouth’s ⁠surge has been one of the stories of the season. They arrive at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground on a 17-game unbeaten run, their consistency propelling them into sixth and firmly into the ⁠European picture.

The stakes may extend beyond a single Champions League slot. Aston ⁠Villa’s Europa League triumph on Wednesday has created the possibility of a sixth English entrant into next season’s competition, but only if Villa finish fifth in the league. That would require a Liverpool win in what will be talisman Mohamed Salah’s final appearance as a Red at Anfield, and a Villa loss at City, which ‌is expected to be an emotional farewell to manager Pep Guardiola after a trophy-laden decade with the club.

If Villa finish fourth, the extended route closes and sixth drops into the Europa League, the continent’s second-most prestigious club competition. Brighton & Hove Albion, ‌who ‌host Manchester United, remain the most realistic side capable of breaking into sixth – they are three points behind Bournemouth in seventh – while a broader group, including Chelsea, Brentford and Sunderland, are chasing Europa League and Conference League spots in a congested mid-table fight.

Will Salah have a Premier League farewell for Liverpool?

Mohamed Salah will say goodbye to Liverpool on Sunday, but in what manner remains unclear after manager Arne Slot wouldn’t commit to the Egypt star playing against Brentford at Anfield.

Salah, one of the club’s greatest-ever scorers, forced the question with his public criticism of Liverpool’s style of play after a 4-2 loss to Aston Villa last Friday. He called for a return to the “heavy metal attacking” that struck fear in opponents.

The outburst – Salah’s second public rift with Slot this season – adds extra drama as the team is also trying to secure Champions League qualification.

Slot was asked on Friday if Salah will definitely be involved against Brentford.

“I never say anything about team selection,” Slot responded. “It would be a surprise to you if I did this right now, I think”.

In March, 33-year-old Salah announced he’d be leaving at the end of the season after reaching an agreement with the club to end his contract one year early.

Salah’s production has dipped in his ninth year at Anfield to such an extent that he was dropped for a stretch of games late last year — leading to the winger telling reporters that the club “has thrown me under the bus”.

Why is Pep Guardiola leaving Manchester City?

“Don’t ask me the reasons I’m leaving. There is no reason, but ⁠deep inside, I know it’s my time,” Guardiola said in a statement when confirming what City fans had been fearing.

The club’s most successful manager is leaving, bringing to a close a trophy-laden, 10-year spell in which he established City as one of the major forces in Europe and changed the face of English football.

Guardiola, who had a further year left on his City contract, will take charge of his final game in the Premier League against Aston Villa on Sunday.

“Nothing is eternal, if it was, I would be here. Eternal will be the feeling, the people, the memories, the love I have for my Manchester City,” Guardiola added.

“We worked. We suffered. We fought. And we did things our own way. Our way.”

City said Guardiola would take up a role as global ambassador.

Enzo Maresca – the former Chelsea manager who was previously assistant to Guardiola at City – is the favourite to take on the daunting task of filling Guardiola’s shoes after a decade of unprecedented dominance.

Since joining City in the summer of 2016, Guardiola led the Abu Dhabi-backed team to six Premier League titles and the Champions League for the first time in 2023.

He won 17 major trophies in all, including the domestic double this season of the English League Cup and the FA Cup. He has won 35 major titles across his coaching career including his time at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.