Right, that’s it from me and matchday live for today. Thanks for following along, congrats to Coventry and to Alex and Juliet on their 25th wedding annversary.
And before I sign off, a nudge to follow Brentford v Fulham:
Here’s a nice note via email as we start wrapping up today’s matchday live blog from Coventry fans Alex and Juliet:
25 years ago our wedding vows included “through relegation and promotion”. We celebrate our Silver Wedding this August. Couldn’t be happier.
The Lionesses kick-off in Reykjavík at 5.30pm (BST) in what is a milestone fixture for the England women’s team, their 500th match.
Lucy Bronze has played in 146 of those matches and only two women have more caps for England. The European champions are in pole position to book direct passage to next summer’s tournament in Brazil after beating Spain on Tuesday night at Wembley and want to capitalise on that momentum.
Speaking ahead of the trip to Iceland, Bronze said:
It’s insane. It’s crazy to think, in two ways, that it’s the 500th game on both sides of it. It’s only been 500, but at the same time, oh my God, it’s 500 games. It’s amazing to be a part of it.
The entire history of the Lionesses, it’s something that we’ve actually spoken a lot about at camp this week.
(We) had some of the older Lionesses come in and speak to us and just sharing the history of what it means from the very first game. We heard the whole story of the first final (we) were a part of.
It’s just nice to share these stories, so that when you’re putting on an England jersey, you know how much it means to so many people and for us to be part of the 500th game is really special for us.
Xaymaca Awoyungbo has minute-by-minute updates from 4.30pm and Suzanne Wrack will have a report from Laugardalsvöllur.
England face landmark 500th game in Iceland as Wiegman warns against slips
Sarina Wiegman has said it is important England get the right result against Iceland in Saturday’s World Cup qualifier to make the win against Spain at Wembley on Tuesday “even more valuable”.
England put themselves in pole position in their qualifying group with the tight 1-0 victory over Spain, with Lauren Hemp’s early goal the difference. The European champions have three wins from three and with only the top team from each group in League A securing automatic qualification and avoiding the playoffs, the incentive to keep winning is high.
Iceland are next up and a positive result at the Laugardalsvöllur Stadium with two games remaining in early June – Spain in Mallorca and Ukraine at the Hill Dickinson Stadium – is “what we want”, according to Wiegman. She said: “It will be a different challenge but we need to make the win on Tuesday even more valuable by having a good result tomorrow. That’s absolutely what we want to go for, it’s different circumstances and with a different opponent, but we’re ready.”
Read Suzanne Wrack’s full preview of the Lionesses latest World Cup qualifier here:
Updated
We’re counting down to kick-off in the first Premier League fixture of the day and Tim de Lisle is your man for updates. Get the team news from the Gtech is in:
Moyes stirs up rivalry as Everton eye Europe and a derby debut to remember
David Moyes extended sympathy and support for Arne Slot – which may not be what any Liverpool manager wishes to hear from an Everton counterpart before a Merseyside derby – yet could not resist the temptation to stir up some local rivalry in the same breath. There was a gleam in the eye and a barely suppressed grin on Moyes’s face as he ridiculed one of the reasons Slot has presented for the champions’ decline this season.
Read Andy Hunter’s full preview ahead of Sunday’s Merseyside derby:
Liverpool can put full focus on Champions League qualification after PSG defeat
Arne Slot is seeking a positive spin on Liverpool’s exit from the Champions League and has settled on elimination giving them more time to focus on qualifying for the competition again next season.
Already out of the FA Cup, the Reds’ sole focus now will be on trying to secure a spot in the Premier League’s top five following their 4-0 aggregate loss to Paris Saint-Germain. Last weekend’s 2-0 win over Fulham means they sit in fifth place, four points ahead of Chelsea and three behind Aston Villa and Manchester United with six games remaining. Slot said:
If you look at the 15, 20, 25 players with the most minutes this season, a lot of them are from us. That tells you a lot and one of the reasons why we have been a bit inconsistent, maybe why we have conceded so many late goals, because it is always the same players.
Maybe from that perspective, it is a good thing we are not in Europe any more, but I would definitely prefer to play in Europe because that also gives an energy to the group if you go to the semi-final of the Champions League. I don’t see it as a positive thing we are out but it is the reality and we have a bit more training time now.
From PA Media
This undersells the market for Rashford, he’s had a decent, if not quite outstanding season. The money could be an issue though…
De Zerbi is a tactician but the Spurs job is about giving players belief
Spurs won a European trophy 10 months ago, are the ninth richest club in the world and play in a billion-pound stadium. They are also in relegation scrap with six games to play in the Premier League season. Tottenham are 18th in the league, having picked up just 30 points from 32 games.
Fourteen games without a win. Five points from the last 42 available. No victories in 2026. The numbers alone would normally confirm relegation as a formality. Roberto De Zerbi has become their fourth manager in the last 12 months in a move that feels less like a rescue mission and more like a last roll of the dice.
Spurs have not nosedived into decline this season; they have slowly unraveled. From the boardroom to the dugout to the pitch, the pattern of poor short-term decisions and long-term neglect has produced a team devoid of direction and fight.
Read the full feature from the Guardian Sport Network:
This is genuinely like a National League City-Liverpool title race from a few years back. Both teams on more than 100 points, both in action at 5.30pm (BST) today. Anyone going to either Cressing Road or the LNER Community Stadium later?
Bournemouth set to appoint Rose as manager for next season
Bournemouth are set to appoint Marco Rose as their new manager after successful talks with the German. Rose has emerged as the favoured candidate to replace Andoni Iraola, who is stepping down when his contract expires this summer, and an agreement in principle is in place for him to take over.
Tiago Pinto, Bournemouth’s head of football operations, has moved swiftly since learning that Iraola has decided to seek a fresh challenge. Bournemouth considered a move for Kieran McKenna but the Ipswich manager’s heavy buyout clause presented a significant challenge and made a move for Rose more likely.
Full story from Jacob Steinberg:
On the ball – guess the footballer
The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?
Not something you see everyday, it’s like something from a Hitchcock film:
An England international whose future is less certain is Marcus Rashford, Will Unwin has the latest on his future:
Rashford faces summer in post-loan limbo but Carrick says door at United is not closed
Marcus Rashford could have a summer of transfer limbo in store despite Michael Carrick admitting the door is not completely closed on the forward playing for Manchester United again. Rashford is currently on loan at Barcelona but it is becoming increasingly unlikely the move will be made permanent, which will obligate a return to Old Trafford where he would receive a wage rise if the club qualify for the Champions League.
The 28-year-old has not played for United since December 2024, spending the past 16 months out on loan at Aston Villa and Barcelona, who have the option to purchase Rashford for €30m (£26m). United sit comfortably in third, seven points above Saturday’s opponents, sixth-placed Chelsea, but will not want to see the gap close come full time at Stamford Bridge.
After two seasons without Champions League football, returning to Europe’s top table is vital for United but will result in players’ wages increasing, with Rashford’s salary reaching £325,000 per week on his deal, which runs until 2028. United would be keen to sell him but few could match his earnings.
Full story here:
Cole Palmer reassured a lot of Chelsea fans that despite an inconsistent season he remains committed to the west London club. Speaking to Jacob Steinberg about report linking the England international with a move to Manchester United Palmer said:
Everyone just talks. When I see it I just laugh. Obviously Manchester is my home. All my family are there, but I don’t miss it. Maybe I’ll miss it if I don’t go for three months or something. But then when I get home I think there’s nothing there for me anyway.
I’ve got no plans to move from Chelsea. We’ve still got a lot to play for. We’ve got the FA Cup semi-final [against Leeds] and if we finish in a Champions League spot it puts us in a good position to sign players that we need. We spoke to the owners and they’re sure of the players that are gonna do it. Reece won’t sign a six-year contract if he’s not spoken to the owners and the directors.
Me and Reece spoke a lot. About things we need, players we need to sign and how things need to be. He wouldn’t sign a new contract if he didn’t know what was going on.
You can read that interview with Palmer in full here:
A lot of goodwill towards Coventry after their troubles since dropping out of the top-flight, keep the comments coming in:
No more gimmicks: Coventry’s perilous journey back to the Premier League is finally over
To understand the extraordinarily wild ride that Coventry have been on, culminating in the promotion achieved at Blackburn on Friday night, you need only look at the text-a-substitute idea that has become part of football folklore.
In less than a decade, the club were relegated from the top flight for the first time after 34 years, lost their stadium and came within half an hour of extinction before being bought by a Mayfair-based hedge fund in 2007. The story goes that, as a way to generate extra revenue, fans would be able to text substitution suggestions to a premium-rate number during a match. It is frequently recalled in local and national newspapers. Fans are still asked about it today.
But Leonard Brody, the Canadian digital guru who joined the board when Sisu took over and is credited with the idea, insists it was never seriously discussed at the club. “That whole texting conversation was taken out of context of more of a brainstorming conversation that was happening with a reporter, where they pulled out the idea to make it look like a stupid idea,” recalls Brody.
He says he was discussing how clubs needed to seek revenue streams away from broadcasting. “I think it’s kind of funny,” he adds. “But it’s not something we were ever going to do or take seriously in that moment.”
Read Sam Cunninham’s full feature on Coventrys journey down and back up again:
Coventry fans, how are you feeling about promotion? My personal experience is that this is the best bit and that you have eery right to still be nursing sore heads come Monday morning. Get in touch via matchday.live@guardian.co.uk or below the line in the comments with your stories from last night and your thoughts on being back in the big time.
Updated
Key event
Where else to start than with Coventry..
Lampard delight as nervy draw at Blackburn seals promotion for Coventry
An emotional Frank Lampard basked in the historic achievement of leading Coventry City back to the Premier League after an absence of a quarter of a century. The Sky Blues have returned to the big time for the first time in a generation, after a turbulent period in which they changed stadiums, hit financial rock bottom and plummeted to the depths of League Two as recently as 2017-18.
Lampard was front and centre of celebrations after a 1-1 draw at Blackburn that put the seal on a famous promotion. It has been a long time coming. The former England midfielder lauded Bobby Thomas’s equalising goal as an “incredible moment” in the champagne-soaked celebrations on the Ewood Park turf. “Because of how the game had gone, you were worried,” said Lampard. “We knew we were very nearly there, but to get it over the line like this for this club after 25 years, wow.”
Coventry had struggled to battle past a stubborn home side across a tense 90 minutes, knowing just a point would send them up. Ryoya Morishita’s goal for Blackburn briefly silenced the 7,000 Sky Blue fans, before Thomas nodded in from Victor Torp’s free-kick late on. It was hardly a vintage Coventry display but the result was all that mattered to Lampard and his men.
Read Dominic Booth’s full report from Ewood Park:
Right, let’s have a quick whip around the morning headlines:
The BIG ONE: Coventry City have been promoted back to the Premier League after 25 years (more on that shortly)
Marcus Rashford’s future is back up in the air again as it looks unlikely is loan to Barcelona will be made permanent
Cole Palmer has told the Guardian that he is committed to Chelsea, amid links to Manchester United
Bournemouth are set to appoint Marco Rose as their new manager
Leah Williamson is fit to play for the Lionesses in their World Cup qualifier
Preamble
Good morning, welcome to matchday live! We’ll be bringing you all the latest news and buildup to all of the weekend’s football, plus reaction to Coventry’s return to the Premier League after a 25-year wait. The end of the season is in sight and we’re finally getting some answers to the questions we’ve been asking since the beginning of the campaign. There’s plenty to discuss, so let’s get into it. As ever, you can get in touch with via the email at the top of the page.
