Man Utd could secure the penultimate trophy in a potential quadruple-winning season by lifting the Premier League title this weekend.
Outcomes could be settled at the top and the bottom
Manchester United could secure the penultimate trophy in a potential quadruple-winning season by lifting the Premier League title this weekend, while the fates of Middlesbrough and West Brom may be sealed at the wrong end of the table.
Sir Alex Ferguson's world champions won the Carling Cup at the beginning of March and they will hope to add a third successive piece of top-flight silverware to their cabinet before heading to Rome for the UEFA Champions League final.
After coming from behind to win at Wigan on Wednesday, United need only a draw from their meeting with old rivals Arsenal at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime, a game which can be seen live on
Sky Sports 1 and HD1, to win the league.
At the other end of the division, Middlesbrough are hoping for an extended lease of life when hosting Aston Villa, while Hull City will fight to escape the drop zone at a rugged Bolton.
Newcastle boss Alan Shearer continues his SOS mission against Fulham, and, in a slightly rosier scenario, European certainties and hopefuls meet as Everton play West Ham.
Tottenham and Manchester City clash at White Hart Lane with 2009/10's maiden Europa League on the agenda, while Stoke and Wigan will battle for mid-table bragging rights.
Sunday sees rock-bottom West Brom welcome title-chasing Liverpool in the early kick-off, with the hosts possibly requiring a win to avoid an immediate return to the Championship, before Blackburn travel to West London to take on Chelsea, with both games live on
Sky Sports 1 and HD1.
Champagne and fireworks
Manchester United will defend their Champions League title against Primera Liga leaders Barcelona - who are chasing a historic Treble after winning the Copa del Rey - in Italy's capital on 27th May, and the competition is predicted to offer the opportunity to lift a fourth accolade of 2008/09.
With two games of the Premier League season remaining, United are strongly expected to earn the point against a much-maligned
Arsenal on home soil that would ensure they are out of reach of second-placed Liverpool and win the title.
The champagne, fireworks and tickertape are therefore being readied on the red half of Manchester as Ferguson's men bid to equal the 18 top-flight titles record of
Liverpool, who could see their medal-winning hopes end before they face
West Brom on Sunday.
The rock-bottom Baggies could be the team with something to play for at The Hawthorns as Tony Mowbray's men - who gave themselves a fighting chance with last Saturday's defeat of Wigan - may be facing the prospect of relegation if three points are not secured, while even a victory may not be enough come next weekend. Appropriately on the weekend of the Eurovision song contest, the fat lady is warming up her voice.
Back to Saturday and
Middlesbrough are also scrapping for their lives at the foot of the best division in the world after Monday's defeat to Newcastle in a Tyne-Tees derby that offered as much emotion and entertainment as any match in the entire campaign.
Boro surrendered the lead to lose 3-1 to the Magpies at St James' Park, in a contest as memorable as November's stalemate at The Riverside was forgettable, and now look doomed to relegation.
Gareth Southgate's side are level on points with West Brom and ahead of the arrival of
Villa - who are guaranteed a place in the top six - the Teessiders are well aware that a victory may only stave off the drop for eight days.
Newcastle recorded their first victory under Shearer as the former Magpies and England striker earned, possibly premature, rave reviews about his managerial ability and intuition as second-half substitutes Obafemi Martins and Peter Lovenkrands struck at the expense of Boro.
But Toon hero Shearer has undoubtedly had an impact on Tyneside and has added survival hope to a season which has delivered staggeringly, unpredictable soap-opera drama.
Hopes are high on the Gallowgate End that momentum will be continued against a well-organised
Fulham, who are looking to reinforce their hold on the sought-after seventh place, which books the final route into continental football next season.
Monumental collapse
Hull City delivered a wretched performance at the KC Stadium in last weekend's defeat to Stoke and were duly sucked into the bottom three as a result of Newcastle's win. Manager Phil Brown is desperate for his formerly high-flying side's monumental collapse to come to an end at
Bolton, who are not yet mathematically safe.
The best possible league finish
Everton can hope for is fifth and Gianfranco Zola could look to take advantage of possible FA Cup final distractions in their Goodison Park hosts as
West Ham bid to bridge the two-point gap to capital rivals Fulham.
Tottenham and
Manchester City - who will be without injured British-record signing Robinho - are also chasing the Cottagers and neither side will settle for a draw at White Hart Lane, which has become a fortress under Harry Redknapp.
Stoke guaranteed a second season in the Premier League with their win at Hull, but Tony Pulis has warned his players not to surrender to the temptations of complacency ahead of the arrival of 11th-placed
Wigan at the Britannia Stadium.
Despite high praise for manager Sam Allardyce,
Blackburn are not yet mathematically secure and a trip to cup finalists
Chelsea, where Guus Hiddink has yet to throw in the towel in the chase of Liverpool, on Sunday afternoon will be far from ideal.
Portsmouth and
Sunderland are not yet safe and the pair will be equally desperate for a win in Monday's meeting at Fratton Park.
