Covey looked the proverbial Group horse in a handicap as he and Frankie Dettori led their rivals a merry dance in the £100,000 Betfred Silver Bowl at Haydock.
Narrowly beaten by Zoology on his debut at Southwell, John and Thady Gosden’s colt went one better at Newmarket next time before landing extremely short odds of 1-16 when doubling his tally at Newcastle.
Making his handicap debut from a perch of 90 on Merseyside, the son of Frankel again headed the betting as the 6-4 favourite and the result was never really in any doubt as he cut out most of the running and passed the post with just over three lengths in hand over Royal Cape.
Covey does not hold any big-race entries, but appears almost certain to be part of the Gosden squad for Royal Ascot next month.
Dettori, sporting the same Juddmonte colours he will wear aboard Covey’s stablemate Arrest in next weekend’s Betfred Derby at Epsom, said: “That was good and he’s going the right way.
“He was a difficult horse six months ago – he ran off the gallop with me in October! But he’s getting his act together and improving all the time.
“You always need a decent horse to win this kind of race, I guess the Britannia or the Jersey could be on his agenda for Ascot.”
Hollie Doyle came in for a winning spare ride aboard the Hugo Palmer-trained Solent Gateway (5-1) in the Betfred TV Hell Nook Handicap.
With intended jockey Neil Callan stuck on the M6, late substitute Doyle was at her power-packed best as her mount dug deep to repel 2-1 favourite Law Of The Sea by three-quarters of a length.
She said: “Neil got stuck in traffic unfortunately and I was probably the only one in the weighing room!
“I knew the horse quite well as I’ve ridden against him a few times and I just did what I was told.
“I got an easy lead, I cantered round in front and he was very push-button.”
In The Breeze came from the clouds to get trainer Mick Appleby off the cold list in the opening Betfred Supports Jack Berry House Florida Handicap.
The Rutland-based trainer had gone 81 runners and 43 days without a winner heading to Haydock and In The Breeze was a 9-2 shot to stop the rot in the hands of Ray Dawson.
The five-year-old was at the rear of the field for much of the 10-furlong contest, but charged home to get up in the dying strides and beat Swift Tuttle by a neck.
“We’ve been knocking on the door a bit, but we’ve had a very busy winter, so you expect to have a bit of a quiet time. It has been a bit longer than normal,” said Appleby.
“This horse is a bit highly strung, so we just have to try to keep a lid on him. I thought when they were crawling early on it wasn’t going to suit us as it turned into a sprint, but Ray gave him a great ride and he got the job done well.”
Coco Gauff hopes returning to Paris can help her find a new groove.
The 19-year-old reached her first grand slam singles final at the French Open last summer, losing a one-sided contest to Iga Swiatek.
She began this season by winning a WTA title in Auckland but has struggled recently, failing to make it past the third round at any of her last four tournaments and suffering some heavy defeats.
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Having established herself as a top-10 player, Gauff is now seeking the right path to move forward on and off the court.
“I would have liked to approach it (the tournament) the same way but I feel that’s not realistic because I am a different person than I was last year,” she said.
“I think I just have to find the way I want to approach it for this version of myself now. That comes through trial and error.
“I feel like for some reason, though, I always seem to find that in Paris. I don’t know if it’s the city or the vibe here that makes me a lot more at ease.
“I think there’s always things I would like to keep from myself a year ago and things I would like to get rid of. I have to figure out what things I want to keep and what things I don’t want to keep. I think that’s just learning about yourself.
“No matter how young or how old I am, I think I’m always going to be in this process of learning about myself. But I feel like even more in these years as I’m transitioning into being like a real adult.”
Gauff is back working with Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou having split from Diego Moyano and is trying to take more ownership of her tennis.
The American is a superb athlete and has one of the sport’s best backhands but her forehand is not nearly as reliable and is often cited as the weakness holding her back.
“I’m used to being told what to do and I just do it,” said Gauff. “So I guess now I’m trying to find, and I think Patrick and previous coaches want me to be more vocal about my game and about what I want to do.
“Obviously the forehand is something that I have to improve on, but on clay especially I feel like it’s one of my weapons. Last year, I won a lot of points using that heavy forehand, and I think that that’s something I continue to do this year.
“I feel pretty confident going into this tournament regardless of how other people view my game.”
Gauff will begin her tournament on Monday or Tuesday against Spain’s Rebeka Masarova.
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka opens play on Philippe Chatrier on Sunday against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk while third seed Jessica Pegula meets fellow American Danielle Collins.
Ten-man Hearts held on for a 1-1 draw in a tense final-day Edinburgh derby at Tynecastle to stop Hibernian leapfrogging them into fourth place in the cinch Premiership.
The Jambos knew a point would be enough to keep their fifth-place city rivals beneath them and secure automatic European qualification next term, and they got off to the perfect start when Yutaro Oda fired them into a ninth-minute lead.
But a red card for Alex Cochrane – his third of the season – on the half hour and an equaliser from Kevin Nisbet immediately afterwards meant Hearts had to dig deep for more than an hour – including stoppage-time – to get the point they needed.
Despite Hibs failing to get the win they craved, they will join their old foes in getting a crack at the Europa Conference League as long as Celtic defeat Championship side Inverness in next weekend’s Scottish Cup final, albeit starting in an earlier qualifying round.
Hearts made two changes to the team that started Wednesday’s 2-2 draw away to Rangers as Cochrane and Barrie McKay replaced Toby Sibbick and Alan Forrest.
There was one enforced change to the Hibs team that started Wednesday’s win over Celtic as Chris Cadden replaced the injured CJ Egan-Riley.
Hearts got off to the perfect start when they took the lead in the ninth minute as Japanese forward Oda drilled home his first goal for the club from just inside the box after a long throw-in from James Hill was only partially cleared by the Hibs defence.
The hosts suffered a blow in the 17th minute when midfielder Peter Haring – who only recently returned following a lengthy concussion lay-off – was forced off after clashing heads with Cadden while trying to deal with a cross from Elie Youan. The Austrian was replaced by Orestis Kiomourtzoglou.
The game swung in Hibs’ favour just before the half hour, however, when they were awarded a penalty after Cochrane brought Cadden down as he burst into the box.
Following a VAR review, referee Don Robertson showed a red card to Cochrane – whom he had initially booked – for denying a goal-scoring opportunity but he changed the spot-kick award to a free-kick as the foul had been committed just outside the box.
This mattered little to the Hibees, however, as Nisbet, who had been preparing to take the penalty, instead drove the free-kick through the defensive wall and into Zander Clark’s bottom right corner.
The visitors’ tails were up and in the 35th minute Paul Hanlon saw a shot pushed over by Clark from the edge of the box, before Jake Doyle-Hayes’ effort from the resulting corner was deflected behind. Joe Newell then saw a 15-yard strike brilliantly tipped over by Clark from a Doyle-Hayes corner just before the break.
Hibs boss Lee Johnson, knowing his team needed a win to leapfrog their opponents, made two attacking changes for the start of the second half as Ewan Henderson and Harry McKirdy replaced Lewis Miller and James Jeggo.
The visitors went close to taking the lead in the 49th minute when Nisbet glanced a header just wide from a Cadden cross.
The Hibees’ cause was not helped by the fact they lost both Doyle-Hayes and Cadden to injury in the early stages of the second half.
Will Fish had a header from a Newell corner brilliantly saved by Clark in the 75th minute and the centre-back saw another header deflected on to the post, but for all their possession Hibs were unable to find a way through a resilient Hearts back-line, sparking jubilant full-time scenes from the home side.
Celtic turned on the style in their final league game but the title party was tinged with concern for the fitness of Kyogo Furuhashi and Alistair Johnston after the pair went off injured in a 5-0 win over Aberdeen.
Furuhashi went off after scoring twice in five first-half minutes to consolidate his place at the top of the cinch Premiership goalscoring charts.
The Japan international came off worse in a 50-50 with Aberdeen goalkeeper Kelle Roos and limped off five minutes into the second half despite initially trying to play on.
Johnston was making his comeback from the heavy leg knock he suffered during Celtic’s Scottish Cup semi-final win over Rangers and he went down holding his leg before making way in the 64th minute.
After collecting one point from the three games since clinching the title, Ange Postecoglou had picked 11 players that have a good chance of starting next Saturday’s final against Inverness, barring injury and the possible return of the suspended Daizen Maeda.
Celtic returned to winning ways in emphatic fashion as Carl Starfelt notched his first goal at Parkhead and substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu grabbed a double before the team collected the Premiership trophy.
The champions emerged to a guard of honour from Aberdeen, who clinched third place and a European spot in midweek and will be guaranteed group-stage football if Celtic win the cup.
Postecoglou, who was named Scottish Football Writers’ manager of the year earlier in the day, will join Jock Stein, Martin O’Neill, Brendan Rodgers and Neil Lennon in becoming a treble-winning Celtic manager if that happens and a full-stadium fan display referenced the club’s history before the game.
Huge images of Stein and Willie Maley filled both ends of Celtic Park with a banner declaring ‘stand on the shoulders of giants’.
Liel Abada made a lively start, before making way for James Forrest at half-time, and Celtic looked to have rediscovered the intensity missing since they won the title at Tynecastle.
Furuhashi missed two chances and Starfelt saw a header well saved by Roos before Greg Taylor’s pass set the forward up to finish into the top corner in the 27th minute.
The PFA Scotland player of the year soon scored his 27th Premiership goal of the season – three ahead of Hearts skipper Lawrence Shankland and Motherwell striker Kevin van Veen, who still has one game left.
Roos spilled Callum McGregor’s curling effort and Furuhashi reacted quickest to knock the rebound home.
Furuhashi was not far over from a tight angle before his chances of a hat-trick were ended by injury.
Celtic continued to dominate. Matt O’Riley hit the post, Jota was just wide with an acrobatic flick and Reo Hatate came close before Starfelt headed home O’Riley’s corner in the 78th minute.
Oh headed home four minutes later from Jota’s cross before doubling his tally in the last minute after the Portuguese winger had struck the bar with a free-kick.
Fashion Sakala grabbed a double as Rangers signed off on their cinch Premiership season with 3-0 win over St Mirren in Paisley.
Both teams had little to play for but the Gers attacker was determined to leave a lasting impression on the campaign, scoring following a solo run after 26 minutes before adding a second just after the break with a similar run and finish.
Fit-again Croatia striker Antonio Colak climbed off the Rangers bench to score a third in the 77th minute as the Ibrox side – consigned to finish runners-up to champions Celtic – enjoyed a comfortable finale to their trophyless season.
Boss Michael Beale, who took over from Giovanni Van Bronckhorst last November, has already begun the revamp of the squad he hopes can overcome treble-chasing Celtic and Gers supporters will welcome a very different team into the new season – but expectations will remain as high as ever.
Saints had reached the top six for the first time under the present league format but were without a win in their previous six games.
However, manager Stephen Robinson had stressed the season had been a success and for the last fling, there as a league debut for goalkeeper Peter Urminsky and first starts of the season for midfielder Coalan Boyd-Munce and attacker Lewis Jamieson.
For the visitors, goalkeeper Robby McCrorie replaced the departing Allan McGregor, with midfielders Ryan Jack and Ianis Hagi and attacker Rabbi Matondo starting.
Buddies defender Ryan Strain went off with an injury after just six minutes and – before he was replaced by Marcus Fraser – Matondo curled a shot from the edge of the penalty area which just escaped Urminsky’s left-hand post.
Sakala’s goal came when he took a pass from left-back Ridvan Yilmaz, slalomed across the Saints penalty area past a couple of black and white shirts before his shot struck Paisley defender Scott Tanser and limped over the line. The visiting fans at the other end of the ground seeming to take time before realising the ball was in the net.
Moments later, McCrorie made a decent save from captain Mark O’Hara’s header before the Rangers goalkeeper was caught by Curtis Main as he went for a Jamieson cross, the Paisley forward picking up a booking from referee Matthew MacDermid for his troubles.
Less than three minutes after the restart, Sakala added a second, again coming in from the left evading tackles and this time his low drive was clean and powerful as the ball sped past Urminsky.
St Mirren slowly began to work their way into the game, pushing Rangers backwards and giving them some defending to do.
Beale made a quadruple substitution in the 67th minute, bringing on Adam Devine, Borna Barasic, Scott Arfield and Colak with skipper James Tavernier, Yilmaz, Hagi and Sakala making way.
The changes did little to repel the Buddies who were working hard to get a lifeline in the game.
However, after firing a drive wide of the target from outside the box, Colak knocked the ball in from close range, after Todd Cantwell’s corner from the right had been flicked on by Nicolas Raskin, before taking the acclaim of the Rangers supporters behind the goal.
Roy Hodgson has asked his Crystal Palace players to ensure he goes out on a high if Sunday’s Premier League finale against Nottingham Forest proves to be his last game in charge.
The 75-year-old has said he is assuming Sunday’s match will be his last, having signed a contract to the end of the season when he returned to his boyhood club following the sacking of Patrick Vieira in March.
His impressive record – 17 points from nine games – has led to speculation that Steve Parish may ask Hodgson to stay on and the former England boss said he would keep his options open – but for now he is treating this weekend as his last in charge.
“We have got satisfaction as a coaching staff from the way the team has played,” Hodgson said.
“We have got satisfaction from the way the team has worked both on and off the training field and in matches, and as a result it leaves a very warm glow going into the last game.
“When I think back to the time we had, it also makes me a little bit nervous. It is the final game of the season in front of the home crowd, playing against a team below us in the table.
“I would like the boys to do well on Sunday and finish off in the best way possible and not finish on a bit of a damp squib.”
Hodgson has steered Palace comfortably clear of the relegation battle as they go into the final round of fixtures in 11th place.
And Hodgson said that was down to the commitment of the players and his backroom staff during the last two months.
“I will look back on this time working here with this group of players with a lot of satisfaction in the end, and what it has done is it has given us a lot of good moments in games when we have played well and got reward for playing well,” he said.
“That’s the thing you are always concerned about as a coach. Can you get the team playing well and doing the right things, defending as you want to defend and attacking as you want the team to attack, but then to get any rewards from it you have to win?
“The good attacking movement has to finish with a goal, not a shot which hits the crossbar or is saved by the goalkeeper or goes behind, because they get forgotten.
“The move will only be discussed or analysed or dissected by the pundits at the end of the game if the ball has gone in the back of the net.”
Jessica Harrington’s Givemethebeatboys maintained his unbeaten record with a narrow victory in the GAIN Marble Hill Stakes at the Curragh.
A winner at Navan on his debut just a fortnight ago, he was sent off an 11-1 chance in what looked a strong Group Three on paper as five of the six runners were defending perfect starts to their careers.
The only one beaten on debut, Adrian Murray’s Valiant Force, had been second and he set a scorching gallop down the centre under Colin Keane but started to weaken a furlong out.
At that point Noche Magica looked sure to collect having gone by the eventual winner, but Paddy Twomey’s colt began to tire while Aidan O’Brien’s His Majesty made a run up the rail, only for Givemethebeatboys to poke his head in front in between the pair and win by a head under Shane Foley.
O’Brien’s Democracy, his apparent first string under Ryan Moore, disappointed in last while the winner is now 12-1 for the Coventry at Royal Ascot with Coral.
Assistant trainer Kate Harrington said: “It’s great to kick off the day with a Group Three winner. He was very professional out there and he out battled the other horses the whole way to the line.
“He was very impressive when he won at Navan, a furlong down you’d think ‘how is this horse going to win?’ and he put his head down and galloped the whole way to the line.
“He hated the ground that day and was green. He’s learned an awful lot from that and will learn an awful lot from today, he’ll be even more competitive the next day when we go to Ascot.”
O’Brien had already been on the mark in the opening Tally Ho Stud Irish EBF (C&G) Maiden with Unquestionable.
Third on his debut in a Listed race, he appreciated the step up to six furlongs and the 4-6 favourite bounded four and a quarter lengths clear of Mr Saturday.
The Ballydoyle handler indicted the Coventry Stakes would be next, for which Coral make him a 12-1 chance.
“We’re delighted with him. We felt he’d appreciate the step up, it was big ask to throw him in over five first time in a stakes race, he’s going to get even further than this probably,” said O’Brien.
“Ryan was very happy with him. He went to the line very strong.
“It’s very hard to beat a run and he had a good run. He looks like a Coventry horse.”
Manager Derek McInnes has urged Kilmarnock to meet “fire with fire” when Ross County visit Rugby Park looking for the win they need to avoid a cinch Premiership relegation play-off.
A point will be enough for Killie to finish 10th and escape a play-off final against in-form Partick Thistle but McInnes has told his players “loud and clear” that they must go for the victory.
Killie remained in pole position in the survival battle following a 3-0 win over Dundee United on Wednesday but County came from two goals down against St Johnstone to stay in the race for 10th.
McInnes said: “I said prior to the United game, I thought four points would be enough and that’s the way it has turned out, a point would do us.
“But we have got to be sure of ourselves, that going in with the mindset of trying to get a point is the wrong thing.
“Clearly, we can’t just sit in and hope to win the game or hope to get a point and hope Ross County don’t beat us. That can’t be the case.
“We nave got to try and meet fire with fire. Ross County will come down and see it as a real opportunity, as we do.
“It’s just really, go try to win the game, bring a performance that is similar to the other night. If we can do that, we give ourselves a chance.”
McInnes added: “I’m going to be honest with you, I think the only advantage we have of just needing a point is maybe later in the game or if we get in front and then it can maybe play into our hand a wee bit.
“But I genuinely think it’s folly for me and the players or anybody at Kilmarnock to think we just need a point. We must expect Ross County to come to win the game, as they would do, but we have also got to expect that from ourselves.
“We have to play with that intention to go and win a game of football rather than just sit back and be coy and just hope to win.
“Any time you just hope to win, you don’t. You have got to go and set about the task and that will be the message loud and clear to the players that there is a performance needed here, it’s not just hoping that Ross County don’t win and Ross County don’t turn up.
“We have got to expect a strong Ross County performance and we have got to expect that ourselves.”
Godolphin’s Eternal Hope has been supplemented for the Betfred Oaks at Epsom on Friday, resulting in a possible maximum field of 15.
The Charlie Appleby-trained filly won the Lingfield Oaks Trial on the all-weather earlier this month, beating Aidan O’Brien’s Be Happy by a length and three-quarters.
That was just the third run of her career but having impressed Appleby in a piece of work on Saturday morning, the decision was made to pay the £30,000 supplementary fee.
The runner-up at Lingfield could take on Eternal Hope again as one of six potential runners for Ballydoyle.
Boogie Woogie, Jackie Oh, Red Riding Hood, Warm Heart and the ante-post favourite Savethelastdance – so impressive when winning the Cheshire Oaks on soft ground – make up the potential O’Brien team.
John Gosden, who along with O’Brien is responsible for the last nine winners of the race, now trains with son Thady and they appear to have a strong hand.
Pretty Polly winner Running Lion, the mount of Oisin Murphy, and Musidora heroine Soul Sister, who is set to be ridden by Frankie Dettori, comprise the Clarehaven challenge.
The fourth and fifth from the 1000 Guineas, Jack Channon’s Caernarfon and Charlie Johnston’s Dance In The Grass, could run in their second Classics while David Menuisier’s Heartache Tonight, beaten a little over a length in the Group One Prix Saint-Alary, is another contender.
Karl Burke’s Bright Diamond, Richard Hannon’s Maman Joon and Andrew Balding’s Sea Of Roses complete the list.
Emily Upjohn tops a possible 9 contenders for Friday’s Dahlbury Coronation Cup at Epsom.
The John and Thady Gosden-trained filly returns to the scene of her narrow defeat in last year’s Oaks, when she was edged out by a short head in a thrilling finish with Tuesday.
She gained Group One consolation on her final outing of the year in the Fillies & Mares Stakes on Champions Day at Ascot last October and she is at the head of the betting with most firms to make a triumphant return on the opening day of the Derby meeting.
The Ralph Beckett-trained Westover is also at the top of the market, having finished an unlucky third in the Derby last June before going on to land the Irish version at the Curragh.
He already has a run under his belt this season having chased home Japanese star Equinox in the Dubai Sheema Classic on World Cup night back in March.
Godolphin pin their hopes on Hurricane Lane, the 2021 St Leger hero who roared back to form for trainer Charlie Appleby with a six-length victory in the Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket last time out.
Aidan O’Brien has three to choose from in Chester scorer Point Lonsdale, last year’s Derby fifth Changingoftheguard and Broome, winner of the Dubai Gold Cup and third in the Yorkshire Cup earlier this month.
The Peter Schiergen-trained Tunnes is a fascinating contender having hacked up in a German Group One by 10 lengths at the backend of last year before an unsuccessful Japan Cup challenge.
Tunnes, a half-brother to Arc victor Torquator Tasso, suffered a surprise defeat on his seasonal bow, though.
Likely outsiders Royal Champion, who represents Roger Varian, and the David Menuisier-trained Caius Chorister complete the list of confirmations.
Lewis Hamilton crashed out of final practice for the Monaco Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion lost control of his Mercedes through the right-hander Mirabeau and ended up in the wall.
Hamilton sustained front suspension damage in the low-speed accident with his Mercedes team now facing a race against time to repair his car for qualifying at 4pm local time (3pm UK).
“Sorry about that, mate,” said Hamilton on the radio, shortly before trudging away from his broken machine with his hands behind his back.
“No worries, we will sort it,” replied Hamilton’s race engineer Peter Bonnington.
Hamilton was running in eighth place before he crashed out with just five minutes remaining.
Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell expects the unexpected as Dundee United travel to Fir Park needing goals galore to avoid the drop.
United must win at Fir Park and hope Kilmarnock beat Ross County while achieving an eight-goal swing against the Staggies to get off the bottom of the cinch Premiership.
Tannadice manager Jim Goodwin admits they would need a “minor miracle” which is all the more unlikely given United have lost four games in a row while Motherwell have only lost twice in 13 games under Kettlewell.
Nonetheless, the Well boss recognises the unusual circumstances make it harder to second-guess his opponent’s game plan.
“I have had a fair amount of thought about it since we all played on Wednesday, and it probably becomes a little bit unpredictable in terms of what Jim does with his team,” said Kettlewell, whose team are aiming to seal seventh spot.
“We just have to prepare as best we possibly can but we can probably all in this room have a stab at how they are going to set up, what they are going to do, and I don’t know if any of us would get it right.
“I don’t mean any disrespect in that, it’s just the situation they find themselves in.
“I think the one constant I would imagine, having played against Jim’s teams on more than one occasion, as long as there’s a chance they are going to be fighting and they are going to come here and try and win by a margin. We have to brace ourselves for that.
“I believe Dundee United players and staff will feel that they owe that to their supporters so that’s what we have to expect.
“It’s just important that we try to finish off the season with as best a performance as we can.
“Every single week we go out to win the game but it does become a slightly different situation to what we have faced in recent weeks.
“As much as teams have been fighting for their life, it almost gets to that point where you need an exact number of goals.
“So it can change the mentality a little bit but it’s my job to make sure it doesn’t change too much in our players’ approach and mindset.”
All eyes will be on the battle for survival and the scrap for the final European place on the final day of Premier League season on Sunday.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the main talking points.
Everton in the box-seat
Everton are one of three clubs in danger, with two making the drop alongside already-relegated Southampton this weekend.
But the Toffees at least have control of their own destiny heading into a Goodison Park clash against Bournemouth, knowing that a 70th-successive season in the top-flight awaits if they match the results of Leicester and Leeds.
It promises to be a nervous afternoon, though, with Everton’s cause not helped by injury absentees Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Nathan Patterson and Ben Godfrey.
Foxes’ future looks bleak
Seven years after the charismatic Claudio Ranieri masterminded Leicester’s stunning Premier League title triumph, the Foxes look Championship-bound.
They host West Ham knowing that victory over the Hammers might not be enough to keep them in the top division.
Dean Smith’s team must win and hope Everton do not collect maximum points against Bournemouth, otherwise their fate will be sealed. It is all a far cry from May 7, 2016, when Ranieri and captain Wes Morgan held aloft the Premier League trophy.
Leeds need a minor miracle
Sam Allardyce faced mission improbable when he was parachuted in as Leeds manager with just four games of the season left after Javi Gracia was sacked.
And so it has proved, with Allardyce overseeing one draw and two defeats so far.
Nothing less than a win will do for Leeds against Tottenham at Elland Road and even then they need the results from both the Everton and Leicester matches to go their way.
Battle for Europe
Tottenham have their own targets to worry about during their trip to West Yorkshire. After spending much of the season battling for a Champions League spot, they could miss out on Europe altogether as they fight Aston Villa and Brentford for seventh and a place in the Europa Conference League.
Villa are in pole position and know a win at home to Europa League-bound Brighton will be enough to secure European qualification for the first time since 2010. Anything less would open the door for Spurs, who last did not feature in continental competition in the 2009-10 campaign.
Should both slip up, then Brentford can secure European football for the first time in their history if they manage to win at home to champions Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s balancing act
What kind of City side awaits Brentford remains to be seen. With the Premier League title already won, City’s hopes of a trophy treble rest with the FA Cup final against Manchester United on June 3 then the Champions League final versus Inter Milan seven days later.
It will be about finding a balance between resting players and avoiding rustiness ahead of those games, so rotation can be expected for Sunday’s trip.
Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland could be among those rested, but if Haaland plays, it will be a last chance to extend his remarkable Premier League goalscoring record of 36 this term.
Boss Unai Emery admits Aston Villa’s final step to return to Europe will be their hardest.
Villa host Brighton on Sunday knowing victory would seal a European comeback for the first time since 2010-11.
It would book seventh in the Premier League and a Europa Conference League play-off spot but Emery knows it is a tough test.
“We have to be very ambitious and I am. I’m here trying to push everybody, to demand from everybody to get better playing and to take European places,” he said.
“We have to take each step being strong and being passionate about how to do it. We are in this way. We are progressing very well.
“I’m very, very happy with the players and their commitment, their character and they are responding very well. We are also connecting with our supporters.
“We are in the first step. If we achieve our objective on Sunday, we will be very, very happy.
“It’s the next step because we started by escaping from the bottom (of the table), we got into the top 10 and then we have the objective to be in the European places.
“The most difficult step is to get it, but we have our objective. And then if we don’t, it’s not changing our idea or our mind about how we want to improve.”
Brighton have already qualified for the Europa League, sealing sixth place with Wednesday’s 1-1 draw against Manchester City.
Boss Roberto De Zerbi has impressed since replacing Graham Potter in September and Emery is an admirer.
He said: “Football is changing so quickly. I’m 51 years old, I started coaching at 32, so I’ve had 19 years as a coach and manager.
“Always I am very focussed on how I can improve each day to be today, better than yesterday, to be tomorrow, better than today.
“It’s not only about my work or my experiences or my analysis, it’s about trying to watch other coaches. One of them is Roberto De Zerbi.
“I like coaches who can show us something different tactically, offensively and defensively. In football, you have to be in the fast train because it moves so quickly.”
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