Championship playoffs: I spy with my little eye a minute-by-minute report on the semi-final first leg between Middlesbrough and Southampton at the Riverside Stadium. Guardian secret agent Billy Munday has his binoculars, notebook and pen poised …

Liverpool v Chelsea: The weekend’s Premier League action gets underway at Anfield in 30 minutes and Scott Murray will be keeping an eye on proceedings in his own inimitable style. You can follow the action with his minute-by-minute report …

Liverpool v Chelsea team news: A win for Liverpool at Anfield this afternoon will guarantee Liverpool Champions League football next season, while Chelsea need a victory to end a run of six consecutive defeats and keep their extremely slim hopes of qualifying for Europe’s biggest club competition alive.

Chelsea go into today’s game with five different wingers unavailable through injury, with Jesse Derry the latest casualty after suffering a concussion during his full debut for Chelsea against Nottingham Forest last weekend. Robert Sanchez is also absent after suffering a head injury in the same match. Filip Jorgensen deputises for the Spaniard.

Alejandro Garnacho, Estevao Willian, Pedro Neto and Jamie Gittens are also out. Calum McFarlane looks likely overcome this shortage of wingers by setting his side up with three central defenders and Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella playing as wing-backs.

For Liverpool, Florian Wirtz is out through illness, while Giorgi Marmadashvilli is back in goal in place of Freddie Woodman. Mo Salah remains sidelined with a hammy, while Alexander Isak starts on the bench.

Iran’s football federation have that their men’s national team will take part in the 2026 World Cup this summer, but demanded that joint hosts the United States, Mexico and Canada agree to its conditions amid the war in the Middle East.

The call comes after Canada refused entry to the federation’s chief, Mehdi Taj and other staff last month before the Fifa Congress because of his links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological arm of Iran’s military, which it designated as a terror group in 2024.

Iran’s presence at the tournament, which will take place between June 11 and July 19, has been shrouded in uncertainty since the eruption of war in the Middle East in February following strikes by the United States and Israel. “We will definitely participate in the 2026 World Cup, but the hosts must take our concerns into account,” the Iranian federation said on its official website. We will participate in the World Cup tournament but without any retreat from our beliefs, culture, and convictions.”

The Iranian football federation (FFIRI) president Mehdi Taj told state TV on Friday that Tehran has 10 conditions for attending the global spectacle, seeking assurances over the country’s treatment. They include visas being granted and respect for the national team staff, the team’s flag and its national anthem during the tournament, as well as demands for high security at airports, hotels and routes to the stadiums where they will play.

Iran are in World Cup Group G and are due to play all three of their group games in the USA. Their campaign is scheduled to get underway against New Zealand on 15 June in Los Angeles.

WSL: Manchester City have won this season’s Women’s Super League champions, having won their second title with a game to spare. Last night their striker Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw was named player of the year by the Football Writers’ Association. Shaw has scored 19 goals in 21 WSL matches this season and needs one more against West Ham next Saturday to become the first player to reach 20 strikes in three different seasons. She is also firmly on course to win this season’s Golden Boot.

On Thursday, our own Tom Garry dropped the exclusive news that Shaw will leave Manchester City at the end of the season and could move to Chelsea, who are prepared to pay her £1m per year. There is just one WSL match this weekend, between Aston Villa and Arsenal this afternoon. A win will take Arsenal to within a point of second-placed Chelsea, with a game in hand. It will also guarantee them a place in the qualification rounds of next Champions League, but they’ll be hoping to go straight into the group stages by overtaking Chelsea. Kick-off at Villa Park is at 12pm (BST).

World Cup: Lionel Messi has backed his former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain teammate Neymar to be included in Brazil’s squad for this year’s World Cup, describing the forward as one of the world’s best despite concerns over his fitness.

Neymar, Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 79 goals, has not played for the national team since suffering a serious knee injury in October 2023 and has struggled with consistency since returning to Santos last year. More recently, he was forced to apologise after losing his temper and slapping his Santos teammate Robinho Jr in a training ground scrap. Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti has repeatedly said Neymar will be considered for selection if he is fully fit.

“We want the best players to be there (at the World Cup) and Neymar, no matter his form, will always be one of them,” Messi said on Lo del Pollo show. “It would be wonderful to see him at the World Cup because of what he means to Brazil and to football.” [Reuters]

Manchester City: With four games of their Premier League campaign remaining, Manchester City need to win all their matches and hope Arsenal slip up against West Ham (unlikely), Burnley (unthinkable) or Crystal Palace U11s (no chance). Their own fixtures look considerably tricky by comparison and tonight they host a Brentford side whose hopes of qualifying for the Champions League remain very much alive.

If Aston Villa finish fifth in the table and win the Europa League, whoever comes sixth in the table will get a Champions League spot next season. Bournemout are currently in sixth place but Brentford are just a point behind them. Brighton, Chelsea-in-freefall, Everton, Fulham and Sunderland are still in the mix for qualification for one of Uefa’s three club competitions next season.

“So good,” said Pep Guardiola in his pre-match press conference, upon being asked about the job Keith Andrews has done at Brentford. “Not easy to replace Thomas [Frank] so an incredible season. Clear what they do and difficult to challenge them. But yeah, same time, three games left and Etihad and go for it.”

Champions League: In the box-seat as far as the Premier League is concerned, Arsenal booked a place in their first Champions League final for 20- years with a reasonably straightforward victory over Atlético Madrid at the Emirates on Tuesday night. On one of the most memorable night’s in the stadium’s 20-year history, Bukayo Saka’s goal separated the sides and the final whistle sparked scenes of jubilation with Mikel Arteta front and centre as he and his players took the plaudits of their overjoyed supporters.

Having seen off Atlético, Arsenal will face an entirely different proposition when they take on the reigning European champions at the Puskas Arena in Budapest. Following their nine-goal thriller at Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich couldn’t quite match the jaw-dropping intensity of their first leg encounter but a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena was enough for Luis Enrique’s European champions to book their place in this season’s final, which they will start as favourites.

In dispensing with Bayern, PSG showed a defensive fortitude with which they are not usually associated, while their midfield and front three of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue will give Arteta and his coaching staff plenty to ponder in the build-up to the final on 30 May.

Ahead of their fascinating showdown in Hungary, both teams have work to do to wrap up their respective domestic league titles. “I think we’re in a really good moment,” said Arteta yesterday. “You could sense the energy the night after the game. I see every single day, here, I know how much we want it, and those are elements that are very, very positive.” Arsenal play West Ham at the London Stadium tomorrow, while Paris Saint-Germain host Brest in Ligue1.

An interesting question asked and answered below the line. Ben Fisher, the Guardian’s EFL correspondent, was interviewed on Talksport earlier and said he would be very surprised if Southampton are chucked out of the playoffs if found guilty of spying on a Middlesbrough training session.

When Leeds were found guilty of spying on Derby County in 2019, they were fined £200,000, which their then head coach Marcelo Bielsa insisted on paying out of his own pocket. The difference is that there is now a specific rule against club’s spying on each other that wasn’t in place back in 2019. Watch this space …

Championship playoffs: As if the playoffs weren’t stressful enough, today’s semi-final first leg between Middlesbrough and Southampton at the Riverside Stadium has been lent added intrigue and no end of needle. Southampton have have accepted a charge of misconduct by the English Football League after a man alleged to be a junior member of Tonda Eckert’s coaching staff was caught spying on a Boro training session under the cover of some nearby shrubbery.

Southampton have not denied the allegations and have said they will fully cooperate with an independent disciplinary commission set to be convened “at the earliest opportunity”. If found guilty, the club could face a wide range of punishments ranging from reprimands to fines, points deductions and even expulsion from the competition. A couple of minutes ago, Talksport reported that Southampton have said they will fully cooperate with the investigation. Reports suggest they claim the spy in question was a rogue agent who was not acting on club orders. I’ll bring you more news on that as I get it.

Notwithstanding English football’s latest Spygate scandal, this Championship playoff semi-final is hard to call but Middlesbrough’s hopes have been significantly boosted by the news that Hayden Hackney could feature at some point over the two legs after returning from an injury that has kept him sidelined with a calf injury since mid-March. “Hayden has been on the pitch for the first time on the grass, so that’s a big step forward,” said Boro’s Swedish head coach Kim Hellberg in an interview with BBC Radio Tees. “Then if it’s possible to have him on the bench for Saturday, we’ll see. Then if it’s possible on Tuesday.” Boro’s Australian midfielder Riley McGree is available for selection but has only played 45 minutes of football in the past month.

With Eckert, his staff and players expected to be on the receiving end of endless binocular-based mime and abuse this afternoon, Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert is expected to ring the changes after resting several key players for their win over Preston. Finn Azaz, Ryan Manning, James Bree and and Cyle Larin are all expected to return. Flynn Downes is available after serving a three-match ban, while Jack Stephens is also pushing for a starting spot after a spell out injured.

And with that, it’s time for me to hand this live blog over to Barry Glendenning…

Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa has defended players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni, saying their apologies for having scuffled were enough to settle the incident that led the club to fine both of them a whopping €500,000.

“My players recognised their mistake, expressed their remorse and asked for forgiveness,” Arbeloa told reporters on Saturday in his first public appearance since the fight.

“That is enough for me,” he said. “What I am not going to do is burn them on a pyre in a town square, because they don’t deserve that. It is time to turn the page.”

The tussle by the two midfielders on Thursday ended with Valverde at the hospital to treat a head wound. Valverde said he had hit his head on a table, calling the incident “a meaningless fight.”

Madrid said both players apologised to one another the next day when they met with club officials investigating the incident. They also apologised to their teammates, coaching staff and fans.

In case you somehow missed it this week, Real Madrid’s Fede Valverde was taken to hospital to have stitches after a second confrontation with teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni.

Lafua Michael says:

“As a United fan, I’d really love Arsenal to capitulate at West Ham tomorrow, as much as I’d love City to breeze through Brentford at the Etihad. Yeah, yeah – it might sound all jazz to the Gunners but you never can tell, after all the EPL is a plethora of twists and turns. On to other jazz, congrats to Bruno Fernandes on his latest accolade, even though most Gunners think Rice was worthy of the crown. The only Arsenal employee worthy of the crown is Nicolas Jover, the set piece coach.”

Use this post as a reminder to update your Fantasy Premier League team. For all the team news you’ll need, click below!

Karen Timms has messaged in to say:

“First time emailing but had to communicate, and ask. - how do you diehard fans survive any season with this degree of shenanigans?! I’m only 4 years in to Man City fandom, thanks to Altrincham born partner, and I have increased my alcohol intake considerably.

“Also, I’ve done university level maths and I’m still struggling with the permutations and combinations of any results. It’s just going to be a matter of sheer grit with a dash of pride isn’t it? Reckon Arsenal would have to all come down with food poisoning not to win the League though.

“Regardless we’ll be watching from South East Australia, early AM, beer and crisps on hand.

“Thanks for all the commentary and punter inputs. Many times I’m in for the football but stay for the comedy.”

Crystal Palace’s remaining Premier League fixtures

• Crystal Palace v Everton 10/05

• Manchester City v Crystal Palace 13/05

• Brentford v Crystal Palace – 17/05

• Crystal Palace v Arsenal – 24/05

Oliver Glasner says Crystal Palace will not be to blame if his decision to rotate his squad helps decide the Premier League title race. Palace can play kingmaker in the coming weeks as they face a trip to Manchester City next Wednesday and a visit from Arsenal on the final day.

With the Eagles all but safe from relegation, Glasner does not need to risk his key players ahead of their Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano on May 27.

He said: “If somebody criticises, for me it would be nonsense.

“So it’s just the last game but there were 37 games played before, so that means if another team on matchday 25 rotated against City or Arsenal they affected the title race as well.

“I’m not responsible for Arsenal and not responsible for Manchester City. I’m responsible for Crystal Palace and I get paid for doing the best things for Crystal Palace.

“I don’t know what we are doing. Maybe we play the same line-up that we play against Vallecano.

“But a league title maybe just feels like it’s decided on the last day but at the end it’s the result of 38 matchdays and everybody gets what they deserve.”

Speaking of Manchester City, they take on Brentford this evening, and Brentford full-back Michael Kayode spoke to Ben Fisher ahead of the match…

Kelvin Nel has messaged in to say:

“City have always been outsiders this year. If we win the FA Cup this will be a good season for a transition one. Arsenal have the easier run in and are ahead so will win the league.

“But looking back it would have been more of a contest had we not drawn silly game against struggling teams at the time.”

As always, feel free to email in with any thoughts, feelings, predictions, observations and all that jazz. What are your plans for the weekend? Where will you be watching the football? Let me know!

How the Premier League table looks as things stand…

Ahead of the match at Anfield this afternoon, Andy Hunter and Jacob Steinberg looked at the disappointing seasons both Liverpool and Chelsea have endured.

Today’s Premier League fixtures

• Liverpool v Chelsea

• Fulham v Bournemouth

• Sunderland v Manchester United

• Brighton v Wolves

• Manchester City v Brentford

We all love the play-offs, but how did they come about? Who thought of the idea and why?

If you’re interested, be sure to give this feature from Sam Cunningham a read…

Championship & EFL play-offs

Championship:

• Hull v Millwall (0-0 after first leg)

• Middlesbrough v Southampton

League One:

• Stevenage v Stockport

• Bolton v Bradford

League Two:

• Grimsby v Salford

• Chesterfield v Notts County

In case you missed the news yesterday, Southampton have been charged with misconduct by the English Football League and will face an independent disciplinary commission set to be convened “at the earliest opportunity”.

Middlesbrough remain furious after catching a man they maintain belongs to Tonda Eckert’s backroom staff allegedly spying on a vital training session before today’s Championship playoff semi-final first leg against Southampton at the Riverside Stadium.

Middlesbrough face Southampton in the other play-off semi-final today. The match kicks off at 12:30pm BST at the Riverside Stadium.

It’s sure to be an interesting one after the events of the last few days…

The Championship play-offs kicked off last night, with Hull and Millwall holding each other to a 0-0 draw. It’s all to play for in the second leg, which takes place on Monday.