Here are the latest Premier League headlines for Friday, May 20.
Double boost for City
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that John Stones and Kyle Walker are available for their crucial Premier League season finale against Aston Villa on Sunday. The defensive duo had been expected to miss the remainder of the season after suffering injuries in recent weeks but both trained on Thursday ahead of City's bid to seal the title.
Guardiola said: "We have incredible doctors and physios and they have made incredible recoveries. It is good to have them back."
Victory will see City retain the title regardless of second-placed Liverpool's result against Wolves. And Guardiola insists his side are focused on the task in hand.
READ MORE: James Tarkowski details key Burnley relegation advantages over Leeds United
He added: "We know what we have to do. Be ourselves, give everything we have to win the game."
Winning the title would be Guardiola's fourth in the last five seasons at City but it would be the first he has actually secured at the Etihad Stadium. Two of the previous three were secured on days City were not playing due to results elsewhere, whilst they were away at Brighton when they triumphed in 2019.
Guardiola said: "It is so nice. I would have preferred to have won two days ago but it is what it is. It is important being there, a chance to win a game to be champions. It is so nice, it is a privilege to arrive this stage."
Guardiola stressed the importance of remaining calm to avoid the kind of last-day tensions that City famously ensured before winning the title on the final day in 2012.
He said: "It is difficult to say don't control your emotions. We know what we are playing for. Be we know what we have to do, we've spoken about it - be positive and don't give up. Do what you've done in the last month, home and away, and go for it. At the end it's just a football game. We are not going to do anything new."
Lampard's Evertont transfer hope
Everton manager Frank Lampard will immediately turn his attention to making his squad better and more balanced as he knows without that they could find themselves battling relegation again. The Toffees escaped losing their top-flight status for the first time in 71 years with a dramatic 3-2 win over Crystal Palace on Thursday which secured their future after a season of struggles.
But despite the wild scenes at the final whistle, Lampard is well aware the reason they were in such a mess was down to poor performances, and he is keen to address that through recruitment and retention.
"It has obviously been second on the list of priorities because we had to get this (avoiding relegation) done," he said. "Now we will quickly continue to think about that because we have to take the club forward. We have to improve. I have to improve. I didn't have a pre-season and now I and my staff do. Can we make the squad stronger and more balanced? I believe we can, and there will be things we will look at and it is important that we look at them quickly.
"We have Kevin Thelwell (the new director of football) now, we have the board who are interested in getting the best out of the club. We don't want to be here next season, but we understand if we don't make positive moves it could be possible, so we will be ready to move on that quickly."
Arteta stays confident
Mikel Arteta remains confident he can get Arsenal back challenging the top teams regardless of where they finish this season, but insists he has not given up hope of securing Champions League football. Consecutive defeats to Tottenham and Newcastle have left the Gunners requiring a large helping hand from already-relegated Norwich on the last day to give them any chance of claiming a top-four finish.
A point for Spurs at Carrow Road on Sunday would secure them a place in the Champions League, but if they were to lose and Arsenal could beat Everton, it would be Arteta's side who would trump their north London rivals. It remains unlikely but after back-to-back eighth-place finishes, the Spaniard feels this season represents clear progress for his young squad.
"It has been a long journey and a very challenging one this season but I think we have come a long way as a club. As a team I think we have transformed the energy, vibe and expectation of this club again and we have done it together," Arteta said. "I have hope and expectation to move this club to the place it deserves. We have done it the way we predicted with the project we set a year ago, with a lot of young players, with senior players and with our crowd in our stadium with a real sense of connection around the place.
"We are back in Europe, we don't know where and it will be decided (on Sunday). Hopefully it will be Champions League because I believe we will do what we have to do and we will be cheering for Norwich to do what they can do. After that we will take the club to the next level and that is the ambition. In order to do that we have to have a very clear plan again about how we want to do it and execute it.
"It is no secret we need resources and we need to increase the quality and depth of the squad, as long as we maintain at the same time who we are as a club and the people we have next to us. That will be the challenge the following season, but hopefully in front of our people we live a great day (on Sunday)."
