{"id":53884,"date":"2025-05-24T13:10:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T13:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/53884\/"},"modified":"2025-05-24T13:10:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T13:10:09","slug":"premier-leagues-biggest-finale-since-forever-plus-knicks-on-the-brink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/53884\/","title":{"rendered":"Premier League\u2019s biggest finale \u2018since forever,\u2019 plus Knicks on the brink"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Good morning! Qualify for something special this weekend.<\/p>\n

Champions: Soccer\u2019s $200 million Sunday<\/p>\n

The Premier League<\/a> title race has been over for a month,\u00a0thanks to Liverpool\u2019s dominant season<\/a>. But this final weekend is still one of the most suspenseful the league has ever had.<\/p>\n

The top five clubs in the EPL table get Champions League<\/a> spots next season, and\u00a0three of the five spots remain unsettled, with five teams vying for them.\u00a0All 20 Premier League clubs\u00a0play their final match at 11 a.m. ET tomorrow, and there will be lots of score-watching.\u00a0Here\u2019s a detailed primer on the race for the finish<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The top of the table is locked in:<\/p>\n

1. Liverpool<\/a> (83 points)<\/p>\n

2. Arsenal<\/a> (71 points, secured by a tiebreaker)<\/p>\n

But then comes the fun:<\/p>\n

3. Manchester City<\/a> (68 points, visiting Fulham<\/a>)<\/p>\n

4. Newcastle United<\/a> (66 points, hosting Everton<\/a>)<\/p>\n

5. Chelsea<\/a> (66 points, visiting Nottingham Forest<\/a>)<\/p>\n

6. Aston Villa<\/a> (66 points, visiting Manchester United<\/a>)<\/p>\n

7. Nottingham Forest (65 points, hosting Chelsea)<\/p>\n

That Forest-Chelsea match (USA, Peacock) is the week\u2019s blockbuster.\u00a0Widely expected to flirt with relegation this year, Forest has instead\u00a0moneyballed their way into scrappy contention<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tons of possibilities abound, with teams No. 3 through 7 set to scramble themselves on the final day.\u00a0So, this is the most dramatic Premier League finale since\u00a0when?\u00a0I asked Phil Hay, lead writer of the excellent (and free)\u00a0The Athletic FC\u00a0newsletter<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcac\u00a0Some might say since\u00a0Aguerooooooo!\u00a0in 2012<\/a>. But in terms of Champions League qualification alone, since forever.\u00a0I can\u2019t remember it being this much of a bunfight. And the irony is that six Premier League teams will be in next season\u2019s Champions League (Tottenham included,\u00a0by virtue of winning the Europa League<\/a>), so technically, it should have been easier than ever to make it. But here we are.<\/p>\n

Seventeenth-place Tottenham<\/a> making the Champions League by beating 16th-place Manchester United on Wednesday was a hoot. The NFL<\/a> should create a playoff like this for the Jets.<\/p>\n

One follow-up: Most will agree that Man City and Chelsea are big, bad bullies who get to play in the Champions League enough, so unaffiliated fans should root against them. But\u00a0of the three non-\u201cBig Six\u201d clubs in contention, who should we prioritize in our rooting interest?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcac No Premier League club is as pure as the driven snow. Let\u2019s be straight about that. But\u00a0if you like an insurgent team with a puncher\u2019s chance, you have to be in Nottingham Forest\u2019s corner. Last season, they fought relegation throughout. A win over Chelsea tomorrow could take them into Europe\u2019s top competition. They last featured in it 25 days before I was born (I\u2019m 44). It\u2019s a quantum leap.<\/p>\n

Another massive part of the stakes? Cash.\u00a0Just showing up in the Champions League is worth about $21 million to a club, and a bigger one\u00a0will make tens of millions<\/a>\u00a0more even if it loses every game. A behemoth like United\u00a0misses out on several times that much<\/a>\u00a0by not making it, a shortfall that will materially affect its roster management.<\/p>\n

All told, the high end of Champions League performance these days can reach $215 million,\u00a0per\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s\u00a0calculations<\/a>. Good work if you can get it. (United cannot.)<\/p>\n

News to Know<\/p>\n

Knicks in serious trouble<\/p>\n

The Knicks will head to Indiana facing an 0-2 hole after dropping both games at Madison Square Garden. New York held Game 1 hero Tyrese Haliburton to just two points in the first half, but\u00a0last night was about Pascal Siakam<\/a>, who dropped a playoff career-high 39 points on 15-of-23 shooting. The Knicks nearly out-Pacered the Pacers, climbing back from 10 down with 2:25 to go. But this Indiana team refuses to lose in the clutch, this time winning 114-109. How many teams have come back after losing Games 1 and 2 at home in the conference finals, you ask? Zero.<\/p>\n

Oilers bounce back in big way<\/p>\n

The Oilers evened the Western Conference Final at one game apiece with\u00a0a 3-0 win last night<\/a>\u00a0after being blitzed by the Stars in Game 1. Stuart Skinner has now recorded shutouts in all three of his wins this postseason \u2014 a bonkers stat, considering the 20 (!) goals he\u2019s given up in four losses.<\/p>\n

All-NBA teams announced<\/p>\n

The NBA<\/a> announced its all-league teams yesterday, with no real surprises across the board. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Joki\u0107, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum were unanimous first-team selections. Donovan Mitchell beat out Anthony Edwards and LeBron James to take the last first-team spot. This year\u2019s biggest winner? Cade Cunningham, who essentially earned a $45 million raise by making his first career All-NBA team. Not too shabby.\u00a0See the full teams here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More news:<\/p>\n

Watch Guide<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa WNBA<\/a>: Liberty at Fever<\/p>\n

1 p.m. ET on CBS<\/p>\n

A network TV showdown in Indianapolis pits the reigning WNBA champs against Caitlin Clark and friends. With the Fever ascending, these are now two of the top three teams in\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s\u00a0WNBA power rankings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa NHL<\/a>: Hurricanes at Panthers, Game 3\u00a0<\/p>\n

8 p.m. ET on TNT<\/p>\n

The Panthers come home up 2-0, looking intent on winning their second Stanley Cup in a row. A win tonight all but wraps up a second straight Cup Final appearance (although the Panthers\u00a0did\u00a0cough up a 3-0 lead in last year\u2019s final before coming through in Game 7). Carolina has lost 14 consecutive conference finals games, a number that doesn\u2019t feel possible.\u00a0It\u2019s a crisis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa NBA: Thunder at Timberwolves, Game 3\u00a0<\/p>\n

8:30 p.m. ET on ABC\u00a0<\/p>\n

Minnesota, down 2-0, has tried a bit of everything on defense to slow down Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, Chet Holmgren and company. The Thunder may just be a problem without a viable solution.\u00a0These guys are just overwhelming<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Note: In a \u201cWhat to Watch\u201d entry\u00a0last weekend, I (Alex) wrote incorrectly that racehorse Journalism, the favorite at the Preakness Stakes, had the second-best odds to win rather than the best. I regret the error and hope I motivated his victory.<\/p>\n

Get tickets to games like these\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pulse Picks<\/p>\n

The Athletic\u2019s weekly news quiz<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Another reason to love our half-cousins at Wirecutter: Often their No. 1 recommendation is cheap as hell. Three bucks for the best BBQ sauce!? Let\u2019s go<\/a>! \u2014 Chris Sprow<\/p>\n

I really liked this Lindsay Schnell story on the offensive explosion in college softball<\/a>, the sport that \u201cloves the 98-pound slapper as much as it loves the 292-pound catcher.\u201d \u2014 Jason Kirk<\/p>\n

This fun Q&A with former Seahawks teammates Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright about how they navigated the intersection<\/a> of their personal and professional relationships.<\/p>\n

Season 2 of \u201cPoker Face,\u201d the bingeable murder mystery series from Rian Johnson starring Natasha Lyonne. Good plots, great cast, recommended if you liked \u201cKnives Out.\u201d Season 1 was equally addicting. \u2014 Mark Cooper<\/p>\n

A different kind of dunk \ud83c\udfca My neighborhood pool opens on Monday \u2026 assuming Pittsburgh\u2019s monsoon season ends in time. \u2014 Alex Iniguez<\/p>\n

Josh Yohe\u2019s piece on Marc-Andr\u00e9 Fleury\u2019s fitting swan song<\/a> with Team Canada at the World Championships alongside Sidney Crosby.<\/p>\n

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Dan Robson\u2019s initial story on Brett Howden\u2019s testimony in the Hockey Canada trial<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most-read on the website yesterday: David Ornstein\u2019s newser on Liverpool\u2019s major boost<\/a> in their pursuit of Florian Wirtz.<\/p>\n

Ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.<\/p>\n

(Top photo: Justin Setterfield \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3768],"tags":[7,304,6,1136,191,3810,3806,1325],"class_list":{"0":"post-53884","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-knicks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-knicks","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-knicks","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkknicks","15":"tag-premier-league"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114562978540456217","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}