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EPL Winds Down Today as Man City, Liverpool Hope for Glory
Liverpool will have to make Premier League history on Sunday if they are to overhaul leaders Manchester City and end their 29-year title drought on a dramatic final day of a thrilling title race.
It is the eighth duel for the Premier League crown to go down to the last round of fixtures, but Liverpool would be the first team to move above the leaders on the final day if Jurgen Klopp’s men get their hands on the trophy.
Pep Guardiola’s City are firm favourites to retain the title as they travel to lowly Brighton with a one-point lead over second placed Liverpool, who face Wolves at Anfield.
The last team to start the final day in first place and not win the title were Liverpool in 1989, when Arsenal’s 2-0 win at Anfield clinched the old First Division.
Whoever gets their hands on the silverware will have earned it the hard way after phenomenal campaigns from both clubs.
City, on 95 points, have won their past 13 Premier League matches to wipe out a seven-point lead for Liverpool and are on the brink of becoming the first team to win successive titles since Manchester United in 2009.
Klopp’s men, with 94 points, have recovered from a mid-season stumble to record eight straight victories and are agonisingly close to their first English top-flight title since 1990.
The 18-time league winners face the scarcely credible scenario of ending the season with the third-highest points tally in Premier League history and a single defeat yet still missing out on the title.
City look almost certain to finish off the job on the south coast and Guardiola admits he has so much faith in his players that he might not even give a pre-match team-talk at the Amex Stadium.
“I don’t have to say anything to motivate them. I think my speech on Sunday will be zero,” he said.
“They want to win the Premier League. From what I saw in the training sessions, they want to win it, knowing that we can lose it.
“We saw in the Champions League in the last week why this game is amazing. But we want to win. So we are going to go out there at Brighton to try to win the game.”
City cannot quite match the record 100 points they mustered last season but they have shown their ability to dig deep in recent weeks.
Guardiola’s side have been free-scoring for the majority of the campaign, racking up 91 goals, but three of their past four wins have been 1-0 victories.
A second consecutive title for the club, who remain on course for a historic domestic treble, would underline their status as the dominant force in the English game.
– ‘It’s not in our hands’ –
Klopp will have to re-focus his players’ minds on their clash with Wolves at Anfield after their Champions League semi-final heroics against Barcelona as they cling to the hope that City will slip up.
“We think about Wolves now,” said Klopp, who has not won a major trophy since 2012.
“It was for sure one of the best moments in football history, not only Liverpool. But it has nothing to do with the weekend except that we should be confident.”
The Liverpool narrative has changed dramatically since they overturned a 3-0 first-leg deficit against the Spanish champions to reach the Champions League final 4-3 on aggregate on Tuesday.
They now know that even if they fall short they have the chance to become champions of Europe for a sixth time if they can get past Tottenham in Madrid on June 1.
The Anfield faithful are desperate to see their team at the top of the domestic tree again, but regardless of whether Liverpool finish the weekend on top, Klopp insists he is happy with his team’s progress.
“Sunday is our last Premier League game. If we can win it, it’s not in our hands what we get, but it doesn’t make our season a little bit less good. It’s just a different finish,” he said.
Behind the runaway front two, all the issues in the Premier League are virtually done and dusted.
Barring a spectacular swing in goal difference, Tottenham will finish above Arsenal and mathematically seal the remaining Champions League spot alongside Chelsea, while the highest Manchester United can finish is fifth.
Wolves, in seventh place, cannot be caught and will earn a Europa League spot provided Watford do not beat City in the FA Cup final.
Fixtures:
Sunday (1400 GMT)
Brighton v Manchester City, Burnley v Arsenal, Crystal Palace v Bournemouth, Fulham v Newcastle, Leicester v Chelsea, Liverpool v Wolves, Manchester United v Cardiff, Southampton v Huddersfield, Tottenham v Everton, Watford v West Ham
AFP
The National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, has argued that there is nothing wrong if Nigeria evolves into a one-party state, provided it reflects the will of the people.
Speaking to State House correspondents on Friday after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Ganduje dismissed concerns raised by opposition leaders over the country’s political direction.
He insisted that the growing dominance of the APC is a reflection of public trust in the party’s governance.
“If one-party state is a wish and blessing to Nigeria; One-party state is not by force; it is by negotiation,” Ganduje said.
“If other political parties see the effect of the positive governance of our party and decide to come to our party willingly, I think there is nothing wrong with that.”
Citing China as an example of a successful one-party system, Ganduje stated that the APC is not actively working to eliminate opposition, but that defections and realignments are part of democratic processes.
“Too many political parties spoil governance,” he added.
Ganduje led three senators from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), reportedly from Kebbi State, to meet with President Tinubu, announcing their intention to join the APC.
According to him, their defection is the result of extensive negotiations among stakeholders in the state and is part of APC’s broader strategy to strengthen its base.
“This is a good development and in consonance with what is happening in Nigeria today. Almost every week in the Senate and House of Representatives, you see members of other political parties decamping to our party,” he said.
Ganduje assured that the APC is prepared to smoothly integrate the new members, maintaining that the party’s strategy to expand both its numbers and the quality of its membership is aligned with democratic principles.
The Senator representing Kogi Central in the National Assembly, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has distanced herself from a viral TikTok video that surfaced online showing her dancing to “Omo Ologo”, a song in praise of President Bola Tinubu.
In a public disclaimer released via her verified X (formerly Twitter) account, Akpoti-Uduaghan denied owning any TikTok account, warning the public against being misled by parody accounts across various social media platforms.
“I do not own a TikTok account,” she posted.
“Many parody accounts exist in my name on X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Some have garnered large followings.”
She clarified that the circulating video was manipulated from an old 2023 clip and repurposed with “mischievous intent” to mislead the public.
“While I hold the President in utmost respect, I’d urge everyone to disregard the mischievous post made using an old 2023 video of mine,” she stated.
The video, sound-tracked by “Omo Ologo”, a praise song performed by Dauda Kahutu Rarara at a recent event attended by Tinubu in Katsina, appeared to depict the senator aligning herself with the president’s camp.
President Bola Tinubu has issued a passionate call for unity, resilience, and renewed patriotism, urging Nigerians to stand firm behind ongoing reforms aimed at rebuilding the country’s economic foundation.
Speaking during a grand reception in Awka, Anambra State, on the occasion of his state visit, President Tinubu acknowledged the current challenges facing the nation but assured the people that the hard choices were necessary for lasting prosperity.
“We continue to plead with Nigerians for their patience and understanding,” Tinubu appealed.
“We call on all patriots and progressives to rise and continue to work hard every day for the greatness of our dear country. We have no other country but Nigeria. We must make it great as the pride of the black race.”
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to inclusive development, citing progress made in economic reform, infrastructure investment, and improved public finance management.
“We met near-insolvent public finance… unsustainable multiple subsidies… a chaotic and debilitating forex regime. These monsters have been tackled,” he said.
Highlighting renewed investor confidence and growth in agriculture, manufacturing, and technology, Tinubu said the “Renewed Hope Agenda” was already yielding visible results.
He particularly commended Anambra for leading in innovation and development, referencing the commissioning of the Solution Fun City and Government House Mini-City as signs of progress.
Describing Governor Chukwuma Soludo as “a brilliant man” and “a thinker who knows the way,” Tinubu added: “We are working together for a better Anambra and Nigeria.”
The president also praised Anambra State for fully implementing and even surpassing the new national minimum wage, calling it “a signal of true leadership and compassion for the working class.”
Asserting the federal government’s commitment to equitable development, Tinubu promised increased investment in roads, power, rail, and digital infrastructure across all regions, including the Southeast.
