Liverpool will be holding onto hope that Manchester City might yet slip up on the final day of the Premier League campaign this weekend and hand the Reds a last ditch opportunity to claim a first English crown in 29 long years after one of the best seasons on record.
If City drop points away against Brighton and Liverpool are victorious at home against Wolves, the trophy will be in the hands of Jordan Henderson at Anfield, rather than Vincent Kompany on the south coast. But if Liverpool don’t win and City don’t lose heavily, it will all be over regardless.
What Liverpool may cling to is that City’s Premier League record in the last game of the season has been historically mixed, with the Sky Blues only winning their final fixture 38% of the time and taking 35 points from a possible 63 in 21 years as a top flight club in the post-1992 era.
Liverpool themselves have been traditionally much stronger in the final Premier League game of the season, taking 45 points from 26 games and recording a win rate of 50%.
That still isn’t the best in the Premier League, though, as Chelsea have won 62% of their final day fixtures, Arsenal have won 65% and Manchester United have 69%.
Certainly, the latter will be hoping to call upon form of old this weekend after limping through the last two months of the campaign, if only for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his team to restore some pride before a summer of inquisition and turnover.
Champions League finalists Tottenham have won 46% of their final day fixtures in the Premier League over the years. But given their exploits in Europe this week and the fact that a top four place is already assured barring an eight goal swing with Arsenal, it is certainly plausible they could take their foot of the pedal in a somewhat meaningless game on Sunday.
Other clubs with an impressive win rate on the final day include Stoke (50% from 10 games), Wigan (50% from eight games), Fulham (46% from 13 games) and Blackburn (44% from 18 games).
In terms of win percentage alone, Bradford, Burnley and Oldham and rubbing shoulders with some of the best, each having been victorious in 50% of their final day fixtures. It should be stated that Bradford have each played just two Premier League seasons, while Burnley are about to wrap up what will be their fifth, but it is still commendable nonetheless.
Bradford and Oldham are both unbeaten on the final day of a Premier League season, while Bradford haven’t even conceded a goal after a famous 1-0 victory over Liverpool in May 2000 and a 0-0 draw against Coventry in May 2001.
There are as many as seven clubs who have never won a game on the final day of a Premier League season. Those are Swindon, Hull, Huddersfield, Cardiff, Brighton, Blackpool and Barnsley. However, all except Hull have played just once in this context. The Tigers have actually played five times on the final day and have two draws and three losses to show for it.
Other clubs that have been fairly hapless on the last day of the season are West Brom and Sunderland, who have won only 8% and 6% of final days fixtures respectively. Despite having managed at least one victory, their record is arguably much poorer than the likes of Blackpool, Barnsley and Swindon by virtue of having played many more games.
All-Time Premier League Clubs Win % on Final Day of the Season:
| Rank | Club | Pld | Pts | Win % |
| 1 | Manchester United | 26 | 60 | 69% |
| 2 | Arsenal | 26 | 53 | 65% |
| 3 | Chelsea | 26 | 52 | 62% |
| 4 | Liverpool | 26 | 45 | 50% |
| 5 | Stoke City | 10 | 17 | 50% |
| 6 | Wigan Athletic | 8 | 13 | 50% |
| 7 | Burnley | 4 | 6 | 50% |
| 8 | Oldham Athletic | 2 | 4 | 50% |
| 9 | Bradford City | 2 | 4 | 50% |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 26 | 40 | 46% |
| 11 | Fulham | 13 | 20 | 46% |
| 12 | Blackburn Rovers | 18 | 30 | 44% |
| 13 | Swansea City | 7 | 10 | 43% |
| 14 | Queens Park Rangers | 7 | 9 | 43% |
| 15 | West Ham United | 22 | 34 | 41% |
| 16 | Nottingham Forest | 5 | 7 | 40% |
| 17 | Newcastle United | 23 | 34 | 39% |
| 18 | Everton | 26 | 35 | 38% |
| 19 | Manchester City | 21 | 29 | 38% |
| 20 | Sheffield Wednesday | 8 | 12 | 38% |
| 21 | Leeds United | 12 | 19 | 33% |
| 22 | Crystal Palace | 9 | 11 | 33% |
| 23 | Reading | 3 | 4 | 33% |
| 24 | Bournemouth | 3 | 4 | 33% |
| 25 | Sheffield United | 3 | 3 | 33% |
| 26 | Southampton | 19 | 24 | 32% |
| 27 | Bolton Wanderers | 13 | 15 | 31% |
| 28 | Aston Villa | 24 | 25 | 29% |
| 29 | Birmingham City | 7 | 8 | 29% |
| 30 | Middlesbrough | 15 | 15 | 27% |
| 31 | Leicester City | 12 | 12 | 25% |
| 32 | Norwich City | 8 | 9 | 25% |
| 33 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 4 | 3 | 25% |
| 34 | Watford | 5 | 5 | 20% |
| 35 | Ipswich Town | 5 | 5 | 20% |
| 36 | Derby County | 7 | 5 | 14% |
| 37 | Portsmouth | 7 | 4 | 14% |
| 38 | Wimbledon | 8 | 6 | 13% |
| 39 | Charlton Athletic | 8 | 6 | 13% |
| 40 | Coventry City | 9 | 10 | 11% |
| 41 | West Bromwich Albion | 12 | 9 | 8% |
| 42 | Sunderland | 16 | 6 | 6% |
| Hull City | 5 | 2 | 0% | |
| 44 | Cardiff City | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| 45 | Huddersfield Town | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| 46 | Blackpool | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| 47 | Barnsley | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| 48 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| 49 | Swindon Town | 1 | 0 | 0% |
Let’