Chelsea and Man Utd ready for last-day title fight
Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Spurs all have something to play for on Sunday
Premier League climax Date: Sunday, 9 May Kick-off: 1600 BST Coverage: Live coverage on BBC Radio 5 live & the BBC Sport website
The Premier League season comes to an exciting climax on Sunday with the order of the top four still undecided.
Chelsea, one point clear of Manchester United at the top of the table, will be champions for the first time since 2006 if they beat Wigan at Stamford Bridge.
But if the Blues slip up, United will seal a record fourth successive title with a win over Stoke at Old Trafford.
Arsenal will secure third place if they beat Fulham while Tottenham, two points behind the Gunners, visit Burnley.
Third place brings with it automatic qualification to the group stages of the Champions League, while the team finishing fourth will have to go through the preliminary round.
Fulham are set to rest a number of players ahead of Wednesday's Europa League final against Atletico Madrid in Hamburg for their trip to the Emirates.
And Burnley, who have been relegated along with Hull and Portsmouth, are still in line for a place in Europe next season through the Fair Play League, providing the Cottagers win the Europa League.
Ancelotti calls for Chelsea focus
If Arsenal and Fulham play out a draw, Tottenham would need to win at Turf Moor, significantly boosting their goal difference, to overhaul the Gunners - there is a 10-goal margin between the north London rivals.
However, for title-chasing Chelsea, boss Carlo Ancelotti has warned his players they cannot afford to slip up against Wigan.
Ancelotti, who is in his first season in charge at the Bridge, is happy with the position his side are in going into their final league game of the campaign.
But the 50-year-old Italian is wary of the challenge posed by the Latics, who beat the west Londoners 3-1 at the DW Stadium earlier in September.
"We have to maintain the same confidence in our play, the same determination, because nothing is decided," Ancelotti said.
"We have to pay a lot of attention. There are no more games. If we miss our chance now, there is no chance to recover.
"We are in a very good situation. We wanted to arrive at the end of the season with more points. We have one more, but we can decide our own destiny at our home ground, Stamford Bridge, and that is a good thing.
Let's make sure we turn up with the right attitude and I believe we will get the point or three points that we need
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
"We have to be ready, but we have to play for 90 minutes. We come to play this game, to try our best. They have a very good team and beat us earlier in the season, so we have to pay attention. "
Although Wigan boss Roberto Martinez feels the situation will bring out the best in his players, Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson knows his reigning champions are second favourites to retain their crown.
"It's pointless going into the game expecting anything from Chelsea in our favour," Ferguson reflected.
"I have confidence that Wigan will do their best and they will try.
"There's pressure on both us and Chelsea because we both need to win but I don't know what's going on in Chelsea's minds - all I know is that in this situation we just hope."
After Spurs beat Manchester City on Wednesday to clinch a top-four finish and a shot at the Champions League next season, manager Harry Redknapp is hoping to cap a superb season by overhauling Arsenal to finish third.
"We'll go into the last game and give it our best shot but it's very, very difficult," Redknapp commented.
"It will be difficult for Fulham to get a result at Arsenal. [Fulham boss] Roy Hodgson's got a Europa League cup final on Wednesday to consider and he's got to do what he feels is right for his club.
"We're pleased to be where we are - if a miracle happens and we can win at Burnley and Fulham pull off a win at Arsenal, that would be even better. But it's a long shot.
"But I can't criticise Roy at all. He's got to do what he wants to do with his team."
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger accepts Europa League finalists Fulham may already have their minds "elsewhere", but wants his side to finish on a positive note in front of their own fans.
Arsenal'stitle challenge faded following successive away defeats in April at Tottenham and then Wigan, when leading 2-0 with just 10 minutes left, before also losing at Blackburn on Monday.
"Their focus could be elsewhere, but we are in a situation where we do not want to focus on any weakness from Fulham," Wenger told the club's official website.
"Let's focus on our performance and make sure we turn up with the right attitude and I believe we will get the point or three points that we need."
It is not just titles and Champions League qualification that will be on the minds of the teams, with clubs earning more than £800,000 for each place they finish higher in the final table on Sunday.
The merit payment has risen more than 5% from the £761,000 per place last year to £800,424 this season - that is the sum that will be received by bottom club Portsmouth rising up the table to the champions who will earn just over £16m.
This is the last season of the current TV contract, but the deal has been slightly backloaded to give the 20 clubs a bumper payday.
As well as the merit money, other payments to clubs have also risen by around 5%.
The equal share paid to each club will be £14.6m compared to £13.9m last season; while the facility fees for appearing live on TV rises from £480,000 per team per match to £499,734 - and every team is guaranteed at least 10 facility fees.
On top of that every club will earn £10.1m from overseas broadcast rights plus another £2m from sponsorship and licensing deals.
The result is that the top two clubs can both expect to comfortably top £50m in their income from Premier League TV cash before counting gate receipts, merchandise sales or other matchday takings.
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