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Chelsea are coming for Manchester United. They have been for most of the season, after all. In the Women’s Super League it has been United who have set the pace at the top, with defending champions Chelsea in pursuit, inching closer as the games in hand have ticked down. Chelsea have won both encounters between the sides this campaign, and if they win their next three league fixtures the title will be theirs once again. United, despite enjoying a year of considerable progress, would be powerless to stop it. But at Wembley on Sunday, as Manchester United face Chelsea in the Women’s FA Cup final, Marc Skinner’s side will be in control of their own fate. They will meet on equal footing, with one half of a sold out Wembley bathed in red, the other soaked in blue, on what is another historic occasion in the women’s game this season. An attendance of almost 90,000 will smash the record for a women’s club match in England and sets the stage for United’s first Women’s FA Cup final, five years on from the team’s rebirth in 2018. This season has seen United take an important step forward - yet the presence of Chelsea in the final is a daunting reminder of how far there is still to go. While United aim to win a first major trophy, Chelsea are going for their third FA Cup in a row under Emma Hayes, as well as a fourth consecutive WSL crown. The title race is unfamiliar ground for United but Chelsea have been here before; last season brought the double, the year before a treble. Now a double beckons once again. Though for United, it beckons too. After knocking on the door of England’s top three in recent years, United have smashed through this season. Champions League qualification was the target at the start of the year but Skinner’s team have surpassed that, turning games that would have finished as draws last term into wins to lead Chelsea by a point and reach the FA Cup final. There is a spirit and momentum behind the Manchester side, but the problem for the WSL leaders is they have only lost two games this season, and both have been to Chelsea. “Beating them in both games, it’s a good psychological advantage,” says Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert, but United believe they are getting closer. “Every time we play Chelsea, we improve,” says United’s captain Katie Zelem. “We know what they are about.” Trying to overcome it is another question, though. In March’s league meeting at Kingsmeadow, Chelsea stifled United without the ball and won the game thanks to a moment of brilliance from Sam Kerr. The Londoners’ approach was one usually reserved for the likes of Barcelona or Lyon in the Champions League, which shows the level of respect this United side are demanding. “What they have done is brilliant,” Cuthbert admitted. “We know what their threats are but it’s about confidence and belief,” Zelem continued. The England international is one of the remaining members of the side that earned promotion from the Championship in 2019, along with Ella Toone, Leah Galton and Millie Turner, and recognises the difference in mentality this season. “We don’t change now for the other teams, whereas in the first few seasons it was more about staying in the game and taking a point or nicking a win.” Zelem added. “Now, you see in a lot of the games we dominate possession, we dominate the ball.” United have also developed a taste for late goals. “‘Fergie time’ is what we used to call that,” Zelem laughs. November’s 3-2 win against Arsenal at the Emirates was the “turning point”, after an 87th-minute equaliser from Turner and a 91st-minute winner from Alessia Russo. It showed United that they could take the next step. “When we play against Arsenal it feels like we have a psychological edge over them now,” Zelem states. “It’s about taking that mentality into Chelsea.” For Chelsea, the challenge will be in how they rise to United’s motivation. “They are a team who are hungry - when you haven’t won anything you’ve got a certain hunger and desire to get there,” Cuthbert says. “We need to match that as a bare minimum if we want to compete and win this battle.” Chelsea will also have the experience of the occasion, while the danger for United is they fail to turn up in the way teams often do after ending a long wait for a major final. “It’s the mentality of who turns up on the day,” says Cuthbert. “Who shows up and is present, and who doesn’t let the game get to them.” You can usually guarantee that Chelsea take to Wembley when they arrive, in the same way a certain Australian striker does. Kerr has scored doubles in each of Chelsea’s previous two FA Cup final wins - the first against Arsenal in 2021 was sensational, the second against Manchester City last season utterly dramatic. This year, Chelsea have hit their stride following defeat to Barcelona in the Nou Camp in the Champions League semi-finals, rattling off a 7-0 win over Everton and a 6-0 win against Leicester in their last two games. Pernille Harder has returned from injury to hit braces in both, in what is a further boost ahead of the rest of the run-in. Having a target to aim for has helped Chelsea. “I like this position,” Hayes said after Wednesday’s Leicester win returned them to a point behind United. “I like putting pressure on others, it’s fun for me.” It hasn’t been much fun for Chelsea’s rivals in previous years, and as United come face to face with the trophy-winning machine who are breathing down their necks at Wembley, it will be their turn to try and avoid a familiar fate. Read More ‘Everyone wants to see us fail’: How Erin Cuthbert drives Chelsea to stay on top ‘Manchester United lives in my heart’: How Katie Zelem epitomises ‘crazy journey’ to FA Cup final Emma Hayes revelling in Chelsea’s WSL title pursuit of Manchester United How Katie Zelem epitomises Man United’s ‘crazy journey’ to FA Cup final Unai Emery urges Aston Villa to grasp European chance ahead of Tottenham clash I love the big games – Sam Kerr relishing FA Cup final at sold-out Wembley

Unai Emery says Aston Villa are determined to grasp the possible “last opportunity” of European football next season. Villa have slipped to eighth in the Premier League after back-to-back away defeats to Manchester United and Wolves, eight points behind fifth-placed Liverpool with three games remaining. But overtaking sixth-placed Tottenham remains very much a target, and that would happen as early as Saturday if Villa could beat them at home by three goals. Boss Emery said: “We’re three points behind Tottenham, everybody wants to enjoy this moment and play this match with the supporters. “The last two matches against Manchester and Wolves we lost, but it’s not changed our good moments we are taking at home with our supporters. “We deserve this opportunity because the last five matches we won at home and those 15 points have helped us be here. “We have to be positive, to be happy and very focused because it could be the last opportunity. “Or maybe it could be a very good opportunity to keep playing key matches, where me as a coach and the players can improve and build and take challenges in the new direction. “We are playing for one place in Europe and playing against teams like Tottenham, Liverpool and Brighton. “They are different teams but they’re amongst the biggest teams in the Premier League this year.” Emery took charge at the start of November with Villa in free fall. They had won only two of their first 11 league games under Steven Gerrard before his sacking. Emery brought in defender Alex Moreno and striker Jhon Duran during the January transfer window, but the Spaniard has largely been working with players who served under Gerrard and he is likely to strengthen the squad this summer. “The club is working to try to build and create a great way for the progression and the next years,” said Emery. “Of course, we are trying to use my experiences as well to build with the players we have now and the work we’re doing here. “The club will work thinking about the next year, but we have to be focused 100 per cent on the next match because the football is now.” Villa have rattled off five home wins – against Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle and Fulham – since losing to Arsenal on February 18. Emery said: “We were very successful away and were competitive. We started to have some doubts at home before the last five matches we won. “And now it’s exactly different. At home we’re feeling very strong and competitive and we’re winning difficult matches and playing very well. “Away in the last three matches we haven’t been playing like we have been doing. That is one issue I’m working on and analysing with the players. “Overall we are making very good progress individually and collectively as a team.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits his side “were around when miracles happened”, but accepts their destiny is not in their hands this time when it comes to Champions League qualification. A month ago the club were in eighth, 10 points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United, but six successive victories have propelled them to fifth and only a point behind their rivals, who have a match in hand. It was suggested to Klopp his squad have performed remarkable comebacks before, not least when overturning a 3-0 first-leg deficit to beat Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Champions League they won in 2019. They also came from a seemingly impossible position in the Premier League in 2021 when they they made a late run into the top four, registering eight wins and two draws in their final 10 matches – which included goalkeeper Alisson Becker scoring a 90th-minute winner at West Brom – having been completely out of the running in March. “It is not that we mention it but everyone who was involved in these moments will never forget it in our entire lives,” said Klopp. “That means it is part of us and, you are right, we were around when miracles happened, that is true, but it was then still in our hands. “We had to score against West Brom and we had to win against Barcelona. Now we have to win but that does not mean anything changes because the other teams could win all their games. “I knew weeks ago it was completely out of sight, I couldn’t see it at all, but that did not mean we would not try to get closer. That’s the only thing we did, we got closer.” Klopp recalls Liverpool being in the position of the team being chased in his second full season in 2017-18, and he knows it is not easy for the clubs in possession of the qualification places. Newcastle and United would be happy if we would not be there any more, but still it is more likely they will do it Jurgen Klopp However, he does not believe their recent run, coupled with recent defeats for third-placed Newcastle and United, has been able to exert that much pressure on their top-four rivals. “I am pretty sure we were in a situation like that years ago. I think Chelsea was winning all the time behind us so we had to win all the games,” he said. “It’s not comfortable but in the end we made it anyway. Newcastle and United would be happy if we would not be there any more, but still it is more likely they will do it. “I respect that. If they finish the season above us, they deserve it and that’s how I see it.” Forward Roberto Firmino is set to return to training next week ahead of what could be his final Anfield appearance. The Brazil international is leaving when his contract expires at the end of the season but has missed the last five matches with a muscle problem. With Liverpool having only one more home game, against Aston Villa next Saturday, there was a chance the 31-year-old would not get to say his goodbyes on the pitch. But Klopp raised hopes Firmino could be in his squad for an emotional send-off. “I saw Bobby in training yesterday and it looks like pretty much he is nearly there, but I don’t think he will be in for the weekend,” said the Reds manager. “If I go out of here and he will be in the session, I would be surprised. “I assume that we start with him team training-wise after the Leicester game.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live We’re excited – Eddie Howe says Newcastle are not fearful of top-four battle Kitman Chris Marsh overcomes illness to help support Coventry’s promotion push Premier League and PFA announce new five-year partnership

Eddie Howe is confident his Newcastle players will not be daunted by the challenge of securing Champions League qualification as the season draws to a close. The Magpies have four games in which to cement a top-four Premier League finish as they, Manchester United, Liverpool, Brighton and outsiders Tottenham jockey for position behind top two Manchester City and Arsenal. A 2-0 home defeat by the Gunners last weekend may have dented their charge and prompted hopes among the chasing pack of a late-season wobble, but head coach Howe was having none of it. Asked if the air around the training ground was a little heavier as a result of what is at stake in Saturday’s trip to relegation-threatened Leeds, he said: “The air should be lighter, not heavier. “We’re excited, that has to be our emotion. We’re looking forward to the challenges ahead, we’re not in any way, I don’t feel, daunted by it. “In sport, sometimes the more you think the more you damage yourselves, so play the game. These players have played all their lives and played because they enjoy it, so let’s strip away everything and let’s just perform well in our next game.” Newcastle head into the latest round of fixtures sitting in third place and knowing two more wins would almost certainly secure a place in European club football’s biggest competition next season – which would represent a significant upgrade on their target when they set out in August. We hope to be a nuisance for all teams. We don’t want to be nice to play against. Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe Howe admitted: “The aim was to not be in another relegation battle, try to stay clear of that and then build a lot of aspects of the team and play to be successful and sustain that success long-term. “Things have snowballed, now we sit where we do and we’ve done incredibly well.” In the process, the Magpies have found themselves thrust into the limelight with opposition managers having taken aim at both their game-management and physicality. Asked if he felt they had people rattled, Howe said: “We hope to be a nuisance for all teams. We don’t want to be nice to play against.” Howe’s players will need to bring all that to bear at Elland Road, where Leeds are engaged in a desperate fight for top-flight survival with former Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce having been parachuted in to engineer a rescue mission. He and Howe were touted for the vacant England manager’s job back in 2016 before Allardyce got the nod for what proved to be the briefest of reigns. “Without remembering, I’d probably say I felt I shouldn’t maybe have been in that frame at that stage of my career,” Howe said. “I felt I had so much to achieve and experience before being elevated to that position. “But it’s always a compliment and you always take it in the right way, that it must mean you’re doing something right in your job to be elevated to those levels.” A bullish Allardyce ventured on his appointment at Leeds that he was as good a manager as Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta, but Howe says he was not disappointed to be left off the list. “I wouldn’t be arrogant enough to push my name into that list,” he said. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Jurgen Klopp: Miracles happen but a top-four finish is still out of our hands Kitman Chris Marsh overcomes illness to help support Coventry’s promotion push Premier League and PFA announce new five-year partnership

Marc Skinner believes stripping the emotion out of a sold-out Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley can help Manchester United claim their first major trophy. Sunday’s showdown between United and Chelsea is a 90,000 sell-out, setting a new attendance record for a women’s domestic club match outside the Women’s Champions League. But United boss Skinner has promised to treat the occasion as a “business-like event”, saying he has learned lessons from Manchester City beating his Birmingham team 4-1 in the 2017 FA Cup showpiece at Wembley. Skinner said: “What we got wrong at Birmingham is that we made it a massive event. We made it bigger than it should have been. “Everyone knows it’s a big deal, but we put quotes on the wall from players and families. We made mistakes, and that was naivety. “It became an emotional event rather than a clear business-like event. “You can celebrate after if you win the cup and be as emotional as you want, but the reality is there’s going to be enough emotions in the game that we need to save them up. “I’ve learned from that and we have to manage stages of the game better than we did at Birmingham. These are the factors we are looking to develop for this one.” United’s women’s team have had a remarkable rise since their formation in May 2018. They were promoted from the Championship in their inaugural season and currently top the Women’s Super League, holding a one-point lead over serial winners Chelsea who have a game in hand. Emma Hayes’ Chelsea are chasing a third successive league and cup double, but Skinner insists the Wembley clash will have no bearing on the title race. He said: “I’m not thinking about that at all. I am solely focused on a one-off game. “For the first time I’ve allowed our players to separate the games and we are looking at this before two difficult games in the league (against Manchester City and Liverpool). “This has no effect in our league and we are going to treat it as such, play it as the one-off event that it is.” Skinner is adamant there is no extra pressure on him on Sunday, even though women’s football will be under a fierce spotlight both in the stadium and around the country with a nationwide television audience. “It’s not pressure I don’t have every day,” said Skinner. “I even think there’s more pressure on us than Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester City because we are Manchester United. “I feel that because every Manchester United fan will want us to win and we are huge around the world. “I’m sure there will be some nerves, but I’m fuelling my focus and attention to maximise this because, if we win, it will be massive.” United captain Katie Zelem is available after suspension as Norway defender Maria Thorisdottir misses out with the foot injury that ended her season prematurely. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Kitman Chris Marsh overcomes illness to help support Coventry’s promotion push Premier League and PFA announce new five-year partnership ‘Nobody really knows what I can do’ says fit-again Aspinall

Coventry have been preparing for their Premier League assault as popular Sky Blues kitman Chris Marsh fights sepsis. The former Walsall defender was admitted to University Hospital Coventry this week with the infection which stemmed from a problem in his neck. He missed Monday’s final day 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough but will be in the dressing room for Sunday’s Championship play-off semi-final first leg against the same opponents at the CBS Arena on Sunday, although cannot work as he recovers. The effervescent Marsh credits club doctor Ganeshan Ramsamy for acting quickly and knows there could have been a very different outcome. He told the PA news agency: “I thought it was a wasp sting but I had a really bad night’s sleep so when I came into the training ground the next day (Sunday), I saw the club doctor and he said ‘we need to rush you to A&E’. “He was worried it was Mastoiditis (a serious infection that affects the mastoid bone behind the ear). “I was in overnight and they released me so I watched the Boro game on TV before the doc asked me to send him a picture of my neck. “He told me I was still in trouble – my neck was blistering – and I needed to go back to hospital. I went back and they’d given me the wrong medication so kept me in and it was sepsis. “They got to it quickly. If I had left it which I probably would have done, it would have been serious. The club doctor was outstanding. He is top-drawer. He cares and I’ve got a lot of time for him, he’s brilliant. “I’m back home and feeling better. My appetite returned on Wednesday so that tells you you’re on the mend. I can’t work for the next week but they want me in the dressing room on Sunday which is great.” It is not the first time Marsh has survived a traumatic experience having suffered a slow bleed on the brain on Christmas Day in 2016. Three days later wife Sabina took him to a walk-in centre where – after she demanded treatment – his blood pressure was found to be dangerously high and he was rushed to hospital. It was a decision which saved his life. “I was in hospital for a week and on the fifth or sixth day when I was better the consultant sat on my bed,” said Marsh. “He said ‘I’ve heard all the stories, heard off your wife that she kicked up a fuss at the walk-in clinic and you wanted to go home. Categorically, had you gone home that night and slept like you wanted to do, you weren’t waking up’. “The bleed was that bad, I would have been gone. “I’ve always said my wife saved me then. They always know, right? She sensed there was something wrong and she acted upon it right away.” Soon after his recovery, and unable to do his day job as a driver, the ex-Northampton man joined the Sky Blues as kit man having played with manager Mark Robins and assistant Adi Viveash at Walsall. There, he was a key part of promotion squads, including the Saddlers’ famous 1998-99 season when they finished runners-up behind Fulham and ahead of Manchester City in the old Second Division. Coventry are now seeking to end their 22-year exile from the Premier League. They have never been closer since their 2001 relegation, despite playing seven of their opening nine games away because the Commonwealth Games’ Rugby Sevens wrecked the CBS Arena pitch. “One thing with this management team, not just Robbo, it’s Adi, Dennis Lawrence, everyone, they don’t take anyone for granted,” said Marsh, who has been a restaurateur and sandwich shop owner since retiring from playing. “The players are not allowed to take the foot off the gas. Especially with the start we had, we were bottom, the pitch, we had to play so many away games at the start. “To climb the table and be consistent, every single member of that team has played a part, every single one. “Talk about David v Goliath or whatever analogy you want. We haven’t just swum The Channel, we’ve swum the Atlantic already – there and back.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Man Utd boss Marc Skinner taking business-like approach to Women’s FA Cup final Premier League and PFA announce new five-year partnership ‘Nobody really knows what I can do’ says fit-again Aspinall

The Premier League and the Professional Footballers’ Association have signed off on a new five-year partnership agreement starting next season which is understood to be worth around £125million. The bodies agreed a one-year deal last summer for the 2022-23 campaign which was worth £24.94m, an increase of £1.9m on the annual value of the previous three-year deal which ran from 2019 to 2022. The new deal is understood to be broadly similar to the one-year agreement covering the current Premier League season. Both sides were keen to seal a longer-term agreement on funding which was why an interim deal was put in place last year. Some of the money under the agreement will be put towards projects the Premier League and the PFA co-fund and some of it will be spent at the discretion of the PFA. Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: “We are delighted to renew our partnership with the PFA and extend our long-term commitment of support for a further five years. “The PFA carries out vital work to support players in the Premier League and throughout the game. We share the ambition of ensuring that they have the support they need to successfully navigate the highs and lows of professional football and are prepared for life after their playing career. “We look forward to our continued work with the PFA on player welfare, as well as a range of other important programmes within communities and those which help improve diversity among coaches.” His PFA counterpart Maheta Molango said: “This new long-term agreement recognises the crucial role the PFA continues to perform as the players’ union. “The new deal will support the wide range of services that the PFA provides to its members. It will also ensure the continuation of the successful projects across the game that are co-funded by the Premier League and the PFA. “The length of this new agreement reflects the positive and collaborative relationship that has been established between the Premier League and the PFA. It ensures that we will be able to work as partners on shared priorities. “Crucially, it also means that when there are issues that do need to be addressed on behalf of players, we will work constructively to achieve solutions.” The partnership will help to support programmes such as the Professional Player to Coach Scheme, which aims to increase the number of black, Asian and mixed heritage players who transition into full-time coaching roles in the professional game. As well as campaigning and lobbying on behalf of its members, the union works to support former players and their families after a dementia diagnosis, supports current and former players experiencing mental health and well-being issues and offers advice and support to young players after their release from the academy system. The union also supports players reaching the end of their professional playing careers by providing counselling where needed, education and training services. It also represents players’ interests on other matters which directly affect them, such as cost control measures across the domestic and European game and how player data is used. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live ‘Nobody really knows what I can do’ says fit-again Aspinall Henrik Stenson resigns from DP World Tour after fines for LIV rebels Sam Allardyce hoping fear of relegation helps drive Leeds to safety

An hour before kick-off in their league showdown with play-off rivals Middlesbrough, Luton Town’s club shop is teeming. The little building perched outside Kenilworth Road is like a temporary prefab classroom and inside it’s cosy: once you’ve bought a shirt or a mug or a woolly hat then you best be on your way to make room for someone else. It is a different world to the extravagance of the Premier League. Tottenham, for example, boast the largest club shop in Europe: half an acre of sheer Spursy-ness, selling everything from Spurs-encrusted party bowls to the Spurs Monopoly board game, complete with a 100-seat auditorium to consume even more Spurs from the comfort of a soft chair. These two clubs seem to exist on different planets, and yet they could well be rivals in the same league next season. Luton have climbed here by consistently punching above their weight. The club’s entire wage budget, around £6m, would afford one Manchester City sub. They are always swimming against the tide and the small but mighty Kenilworth Road is a monument to that – intimate and intense, like a particularly atmospheric cow shed, with 10,000 seats that sound like 50,000 when the linesman fails to spot a foul throw. Luton’s long-awaited move to a new venue at Power Court is still a couple of years away. So should they win promotion, what on earth will the Premier League giants make of a ground where away fans file through an alleyway and up a metal staircase that hangs over neighbouring gardens? “They will think it’s a tip,” smiles Alex, a Luton season-ticket holder in the club shop. He has been coming here since 2005, sitting in the same seat since he was three years old. “But it’s our tip.” *** Despite his reputation as one of the brightest managers in the Football League, Rob Edwards was expecting some hate from Luton fans when he took charge in November. He had only recently left Watford, their bitter rivals, and so when he sat down for his first press conference as the new man in charge of Luton Town, all he could do was try to defuse a potentially volatile situation. “It’s not as if I left Watford a club legend,” he joked. Edwards was referring to the way he was spat back out by Watford after only 11 games, a familiar story for managers who dare work for the trigger-happy Pozzo family. But far from holding a grudge, Luton fans seemed to get a kick out of sticking one to their rivals. “Welcome Rob,” read a banner at his first game away at Middlesbrough, which soothed some anxiety. His first home game at Kenilworth Road, a Boxing Day win over Norwich City, finished with the entire ground singing his name. It would prove to be the first win of many with only two league defeats since, to leave Luton third in the Championship and into the play-offs for the second successive season. A club with a tight-knit staff and limited funds have improved their league position every year for eight in a row, climbing from the Conference in 2014 to the upper echelons of the Championship, and now they are within touching distance of the top tier for the first time in 30 years. At the heart of their rise is continuity – midfielder Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu has been with the club from non-league – and careful planning. Losing manager Nathan Jones to Southampton was a sudden bruise, but Edwards was already on the radar. Luton had analysed his League Two-winning year in charge of Forest Green Rovers and found it was no fluke – the underlying numbers showed a manager deploying the kind of fast, aggressive football that Luton themselves used to dominate Leagues One and Two. They analysed his 11 games at Watford too, and discovered some good things in the team Edwards was building, despite the quick sacking. Preparation has been key in the transfer market too. Led by club legend Mick Harford, chief scout Phil Chapple and analyst Jay Socik, Luton have made a habit of identifying smart signings from across the Football League and some inspired loans from the Premier League too. Right-back James Bree left the club in January but Luton seamlessly replaced him with Cody Drameh on loan from Leeds, and the addition of Aston Villa’s Marvelous Nakamba has brought solidity in midfield. Buying Carlton Morris from Barnsley last summer was crucial, and he has racked up a career-best 20 league goals. They recruit a specific Luton type: as well as being technically sound and a good character, they have to be athletic, able to withstand a high tempo for 90 minutes and out-run their opposition. After all, this is what Luton are: a club who extract every last drop from whatever they have. No Championship side have won more tackles in the final third than Luton this season, and the result is a team that are often hard and horrible to play against. Edwards has found a balance between a pragmatic approach and a team who can play football too. A direct route to goal is always an option with the power and strength of Morris and the imposing Elijah Adebayo up front, and Luton have found they don’t need to dominate possession to win games. That might be a useful trait in the Premier League. But what really stands out is how Luton are run off the pitch. There is no billionaire benefactor here: the club were saved by their own fans and now they are supporter-owned, and the people in charge – chief executive Gary Sweet, chairman David Wilkinson and majority stakeholder Paul Ballantyne – are deeply invested in its future. As one member of staff told The Independent this week: “Our owners give a s**t, and that isn’t always the case in football.” *** One staff member, Bill Cole, has worked for Luton for five years and has been visiting Kenilworth Road for 76. He will miss it, but he won’t shed a tear when it’s gone. He reels off more than half a century’s worth of new stadium plans that ended in disappointment, and says Power Court is exactly what the club has been crying out for, for far too long. “I hope they build a metal pillar in front of the press box to remind us of The Kenny,” he smiles. Behind the pillar an entertaining game plays out between two teams equipped to compete with the lower rungs of the top flight. Luton are caught on the counter and Middlesbrough go ahead, but the second half is different. Tom Lockyer heads home an equaliser and the stadium comes alive. Morris goes down under what looks like light contact from a rash goalkeeper’s challenge, and slides home the penalty to win the game 2-1. At full-time, buoyant Luton fans pour out into the narrow streets that run down the hill to town. Luton will almost certainly finish third now, and Boro fourth, and if these two sides are to contest the play-off final – the so-called richest game in football – then perhaps this win has set the tone. Cole has seen it all before, though, and he has a warning. “In 1959 we played Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup final,” he remembers. “Two weeks earlier we’d played them here at Kenilworth Road and we stuffed them 4-0. But at Wembley, we never showed up.” But win or lose the play-offs, Luton are unlikely to change too much. They are going in the right direction and their progress is a result not of vast investment but of sound stewardship. Amid the game’s financial bonanza benefiting a few elite clubs, Luton are showing that there is still a place for a little meritocracy in football. 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Leeds boss Sam Allardyce hopes the fear-factor can help kick-start his side’s Premier League survival bid on Saturday against Newcastle. Allardyce answered Leeds’ SOS last week after they sacked Javi Gracia with four games remaining and has three left to save them from relegation after the 2-1 defeat at Manchester City. Leeds ended their 16-year Premier League exile under Marcelo Bielsa three seasons ago, but slipped back into the bottom three on Monday and are two points from safety. Allardyce said: “The fear needs to drive them on, the fear of relegation, the fear of losing their Premier League status should make them hopefully fight and fight hard for their status, their position at Leeds United.” Leeds conceded 23 goals in April, a Premier League record for a calendar month, and former England boss Allardyce feels they must score first against Champions League hopefuls Newcastle. “That’s very important for us on Saturday,” the 68-year-old said. “Getting the first goal would be a big lift. “It would help us win the game. I’m not saying we would win the game, but going a goal down would be a very difficult job I think mentally for the players to come back from. “If that’s the case then they’ll have to try and do it. What they won’t have to do is go daft like they have done before, leave the back door open and concede two, three and four again.” Allardyce is relishing his first game in charge of the club at Elland Road and revealed a meeting with Leeds great Eddie Gray this week invoked memories of Don Revie’s side of the 1960s and 70s. “I loved playing here as the away team,” Allardyce said. “I love the atmosphere. I came as a manager and it was the same. “The historical nature of the game and yes, it might be an old stadium, but it’s Elland Road and what it stands for.” Allardyce joked he almost asked former winger Gray, who had two spells as Leeds manager and is now club ambassador, if he wanted to play. “The old days when I was growing up watching that (Revie) team, I was speaking to Eddie today at great length,” Allardyce added. “He’s looking really fit, I was wondering if he could put his boots on and play. He’s the fittest 75-year-old I’ve seen in a long time. He’s still around the club, he still comes in he loves it that much. It’s a great football club.” Allardyce, who has focused on shoring up Leeds’ leaky defence in his short time at the club, bemoaned the criticism he has received throughout his career for extoling the need for keeping clean sheets. He added: “If you don’t listen to me, listen to Eddie Gray. If you don’t listen to him either listen to Pep (Guardiola) or Alex Ferguson. They all win the league with the best clean sheet record.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Notts County boss Luke Williams looking to end emotional season with Wembley win ‘Struggling’ Tommy Spurr steeled for charity fundraiser in aid of his son Football rumours: Tottenham ready for fight to keep hold of Harry Kane

As an emotionally charged season reaches its climax Notts County boss Luke Williams knows there are no guidelines for grief. The Magpies lost chief executive Jason Turner suddenly in March, aged just 50, with his funeral held last week. Williams, who was among those who carried his coffin, has helped lead a club through heartache while trying to win promotion from the National League. A staggering 107 points still saw them finish second, behind Wrexham, but they then claimed a blockbuster 3-2 win over Boreham Wood in their play-off semi-final on Sunday as Jodi Jones’ strike in the final minute of extra time capped a comeback from 2-0 down. Now, Saturday’s play-off final against Chesterfield is their chance to end a four-year EFL exile with the memory of Turner a driving force. “I don’t think there’s a manual,” Williams told the PA news agency. “You can be involved in 1,000 games of football but this is something that is about life and there’s no rule book for this. I try my best to support people and to try to support Jason’s family as best I can. After this type of rollercoaster you need to be with people that care about you and people you trust with your life to be able to help you to recover before it all begins again. Notts County boss Luke Williams “It’s been a huge challenge for me but at the same time I got to work with Jason and got to know him as a man. He’s made a huge impact on my life in a very, very positive way. “Nothing that I’ve had to do has been a burden to me. It’s actually, in a way, helped me to mourn Jason’s passing.” Saturday’s final at Wembley will mark the finale of a thrilling campaign, one where Williams and the club have kept going in tragic circumstances. Yet it leaves the former Swindon boss wary for when the adrenaline wears off and he and the Magpies have time to reflect. He said: “When you experience very, very strong emotions, very, very high emotions and very low emotions – when they’re all very extreme – I feel like you’re always very vulnerable when you come to an end of a chapter like this. “I have experienced things similar in the past and I have a brilliant family and that is the key thing. “After this type of rollercoaster you need to be with people that care about you and people you trust with your life to be able to help you to recover before it all begins again. “Will I be able to draw on these experiences? I’m sure, yes. l hope nothing like that happens but you know life is so fragile so there is every chance I’ll be involved in something of a similar nature. “So I think this stressful experience will help me to cope with that in the future.” While champions Wrexham have been partying in Las Vegas, courtesy of owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Notts County have one last game. Reynolds and McElhenney are expected at Wembley to support the Magpies, something which Williams welcomes as he looks to join them in League Two. “It’s brilliant we’re able to be really fiercely competitive and do everything we possibly can to try to get to the title and then be able to be respectful and supportive at the same time,” added Williams. “Not that I think anybody wants to take the passion and the competition out of football, we all want rivalry. “We want passionate performances and brilliant moments to celebrate and the fans to be able to wind each other up. Then, afterwards, it is a nice development to see the class of the two clubs and the respect they have shown towards each other.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live ‘Struggling’ Tommy Spurr steeled for charity fundraiser in aid of his son Football rumours: Tottenham ready for fight to keep hold of Harry Kane 5 contenders as Justin Thomas sets out to defend US PGA Championship crown

In stark contrast to their money-laden neighbours, Sunderland are within touching distance of the Premier League’s riches with one of the youngest squads in the Championship. Luton stand in their way of reaching the richest game in football – the play-off final – and the means to unlock hundreds of millions of pounds available to those who play in England’s top flight. The Black Cats spent a decade in the Premier League, before they were relegated with four games remaining at the end of the 2016-17 season. Sunderland’s plight is better known than most, in large part due to Netflix’s Sunderland ‘Til I Die fly-on-the-wall documentary which started with optimism of an immediate return to the top tier, but instead catalogued the disastrous, often embarrassing relegation to League One. That documentary helped inspire Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to buy Wrexham but now the Black Cats are hunting a Hollywood fairytale of their own. The third level of the English footballing pyramid is arguably one of the most difficult divisions to escape, as Leeds too found in recent years, and Sunderland finished in the play-offs three times before moving back into the Championship in the 2021-22 season. However, Tony Mowbray is on the brink of something extraordinary. After Alex Neil’s departure on 21 August to take charge of Stoke - despite having led the Black Cats back into the second tier - Sunderland have flourished. Despite one of the youngest squads, with an average age of just 23.4 years, they are unbeaten in their last nine matches, including a 1-1 draw to Luton who they will face at the weekend. The Hatters’ meteoric rise eclipses even that of Sunderland, having been outside the Football League as recently as the 2013-14 season, though they are more established in the Championship, playing in their third season. But Sunderland will be encouraged by their 1-1 draw with Premier League side Fulham in the FA Cup – although the Cottagers made a number of changes from their usual starting XI – and Mowbray has argued against those who believe promotion would come too soon for his youthful side. They have the potential. And a 46,000 seater stadium with passionate fans who would relish the opportunity to take on their old rivals Newcastle in the first northeast derby since March 2016. However, Sunderland – if they return – will be returning to a wholly different local footballing landscape. While they have travelled to Grimsby and Port Vale, their local rivals are on the cusp of a return to the heights of Europe and have become one of the richest football clubs in the world. In contrast, Sunderland have had a chaotic near-constant change of ownership which has been a source of contention for the fans. Their path to the play-offs was also far from straightforward, having started the final round of matches outside the top six, but Millwall’s capitulation from a two-goal lead to suffering a 4-3 defeat against Blackburn, who went into the game without a win in eight, allowed Sunderland to sneak into sixth. Securing promotion could also be a fitting final tribute for Manchester United’s Amad Diallo and Paris Saint Germain’s Edouard Michut. Diallo has netted 13 times this season in 40 appearances and is likely to be welcomed back to Old Trafford after impressing during his spell on loan. Sunderland have the experience and they won a play-off final as recently as last year, but the knockout matches are notoriously difficult and Luton will prove tough opposition. Read More Coventry City aiming to come full circle after journey to hell and back When are the play-offs? A tiny ground and a squad costing less than a Man City sub. So how are Luton within reach of the Premier League? Football rumours: Tottenham ready for fight to keep hold of Harry Kane Michael Smith wraps up quickfire Premier League hat-trick with Sheffield success West Ham overcome ghosts of Frankfurt to eye another shot at European glory

It’s 22 years and counting since Coventry City last graced the Premier League, over two decades of ups and downs, necessary ups as a result of downs, a whole chapter and more of club history written outside of the game’s elite. Once, the Sky Blues were synonymous with top-flight football, iconic 90s names - if not always quite among the elite - throughout the team. They were in the first Premier League campaign, the 1992/93 season, and stayed a part of that fledgling top flight for the first nine years, finishing in the bottom half each term but always there, always a tough opponent, always carrying players with a backstory, a big future, or both. But an entire generation of football fans have never seen Coventry among the top clubs. A sea-change has happened at England’s highest level since they were on the scene; they departed in 2001, two years before Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea and could now return one year after he sold it. While billions were moved around in the transfer market and in broadcast deals in Coventry’s absence, they embarked on an altogether more painful journey; should they complete the comeback on 27 May and win the EFL Championship play-off final they will become the first team to go from the Premier League all the way down to the fourth tier...and come all the way back up again. Before they can dream of all that, though, they must overcome Middlesbrough in a two-legged semi-final. The first of those games comes on home soil. A generation back, that would have been Highfield Road. For those who haven’t followed the fortunes and failings of Coventry’s ownership since then, that memorable old ground - where they played for over a century - was demolished in 2005. They moved to the Ricoh Arena, but less than ten years later there were leasing issues and disagreements, resulting in the team spending a season at Sixfields in Northampton, 33 miles away. A return to within the city limits lasted only another few years, with the 19/20 and 20/21 campaigns spent playing home games at St. Andrew’s, in Birmingham - this time 23 miles away, and in the opposite direction to Sixfields. Two seasons back at the renamed Ricoh, now the Coventry Building Society Arena have followed, with a ten-year deal to play there seemingly securing the club’s immediate future in terms of a home ground - but the stadium owners were since bought out and Coventry have only, until now, agreed a deal to stay until the end of this campaign. Closer to home, matters haven’t been much better. Investment group Sisu Capital bought the Sky Blues in 2007 to stop them going out of business, but under Ray Ranson’s chairmanship the club floundered financially and on the football pitch. Liquidation and relegation to League Two painted a bleak picture; the EFL Trophy in 2017 and promotion back to League One in 2018 offered far more of a glimpse of hope. Doug King, a local businessman, finally completed a full takeover just a few months ago and immediately insisted on a future of “transparency and clarity”, noting there was no debt on the club and no interest would be payable on loans provided to it. However, he was unable to secure the purchase of the stadium, leaving work to do there for next season. Yet even that question mark only becomes cause for excitement if Coventry can pull off the most improbable of finishes to this campaign. When King took sole ownership on 27 January - just four months to the day before the play-off final - Coventry sat 15th in the Championship. They had won nine games all season, and lost ten. They had a negative goal difference. Their first game of the new era took place the next day and they won - and they have done so, again and again, in nine of their last 19, losing only twice. Mark Robins has managed nothing shy of a minor miracle in that most mad-cap of leagues, while it’s worth noting that the final day of the regular season saw them play away at the very team they now face twice more. A 1-1 draw at ‘Boro didn’t give much away for either side, while Coventry won the early-season meeting on home soil. Robins, of course, is the former striker who - as myth, legend or partial truth tells it - saved Sir Alex Ferguson’s career at Manchester United in those pre-trophy early seasons, scoring a goal in a must-win FA Cup clash which might otherwise have seen the Scot sacked. Robins went on to play for Norwich and Leicester, before a nomadic final decade or so in the game. This spell with Coventry, his second with the club, is his sixth coaching job. He is just three games away from giving the fans their best occasion in decades. And they have had plenty of those memorable occasions before. This was a club of Dion Dublin, Noel Whelan, Darren Huckerby, Robbie Keane. And before that, of Steve Ogrizovic, Roland Nilsson, Roy Wegerle, Gary McAllister and Peter Ndlovu. They were genuinely exciting, talented, committed players who could certainly have played for the biggest sides - some indeed went on to do so - had that era been like this one, where top clubs swoop continuously on any of those below them who fare well. Now it is instead to Viktor Gyokeres, Gustavo Hamer and Callum Doyle the fans will look, in hope and in anguish, that a long and difficult road might be just weeks from the final corner. What lays around it is almost entirely unknown, yet it could also in many ways mark the most incredible full-circle journey the Premier League era has seen. Read More A tiny ground and a squad costing less than a Man City sub. So how are Luton within reach of the Premier League? When are the play-offs? 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