Greetings everyone and welcome to the latest TLFG.
Things are really winding down now and we're reliant on youth football for quite a bit of the action this week.
It's the EFL play-offs this weekend and, at the time of writing, a legal dispute over spying by Southampton means their match against Hull City at Wembley is in doubt and may well get postponed.
A few midweek Premier League games mean I'm going to hold off on previewing the final matches on Sunday.
As I mentioned last week, I was all set to go to the Actonians end-of-season awards do on Saturday.
I duly did and ended up presenting the Supporters' Player of the Year award to midfielder Kayra Karakus and I also got named 'Club Hero' for my various activities around the club - a first award in women's football.
I was not expecting this so had to ad lib an acceptance speech which went down well.
Earlier in the week, I found out I'd also been shortlisted for a volunteering award by the Middlesex FA too - thanks to another nomination from Actonians. The final will be at Brentford's GTech in July.
Talking of the GTech, it will play host to the women's World Sevens at the end of next week. There are six 30-minute matches a day and an adult ticket is only £20.
The full line-up has now been revealed - Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Leicester City, London City Lionesses, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.
I'm going on day one with a few folks and it should be a lot of fun - a great way to while away a day or two of half term if you haven't yet planned anything with the kids.
Also worth noting, the London Football Book Market makes its return on 30 May in Brixton.
Organised by Stanchion Books who are big friends of the blog, it's free to get in and you'll be able to meet a mix of publishers, authors, illustrators and other football brands.
There's also a quiz night the day before at The Volley in Old Street so there's loads going on.
Right, I think that's it from me, have a great week!
THE WEEK AHEAD
This week is dominated by the final round of games in the Premier League and the EFL play-offs, although whether the Championship one happens is yet to be decided.
It's going to be a busy weekend at Wembley as the national stadium also hosts Non-League Finals Day on Sunday.
In the women's game, we have the first ever play-off in the WSL to see if one stays up or one goes up.
As always, please make sure you check with clubs before you travel just in case a game has been called off or the venue or kick-off time has changed - this is highly possible for some of the lower non-league clubs and development matches. Also, please let me know if anything is wrong or missing.
Details on all of this week's games can be found on the following match maps. If you've never used them before, please note that when there is more than one match at a specific ground you'll only be able to see individual match pins if you zoom right in. If you don't, the pins obscure each other and you might miss them. To avoid this, you can also scroll down the list of games on the drop down menu at the top of the map page to make sure you get all the information. Games are listed from top to bottom in date order so Monday's games (yellow pin) will appear first and Sunday's (orange pin) last. Games are also ranked in terms of status so the higher the division, the higher up the list they will appear on each day.
Also if you're unfamiliar with the English league structure I indicate the level at which an individual league sits in the national 'pyramid' with the Premier League at the top (Level 1) and various minor leagues at the bottom (Level 10). Typically a top level game will see crowds of anywhere between 20,000-60,000. These figures will gradually decline as you go down the leagues until you get to Levels 8-10 where attendances of 150 or less are most common.
It should also be noted that the top four levels are for fully professional teams. Level 5 has a mixture of professional and semi-professional teams, while Levels 6-10 will see most players paid but it will vary from no more than travel expenses at the bottom, right up to several hundred pounds a week at the top.
MIDWEEK MATCH MAP
Monday fixtures - yellow pin
Tuesday fixtures - green pin
Friday fixtures - black pin
WEEKEND MATCH MAP
Saturday fixtures - blue pin
Sunday fixtures - orange pin
Monday fixtures - yellow pin
TLFG DAILY DIGEST
In the following section, I list what are in my opinion the most notable games of the week and give some brief reasons for my choice. I no longer write previews for sold out matches or ones where membership is a minimum requirement for tickets so Premier League matches will rarely appear here - they will still be on the match maps though.
Monday 18 May
Premier League
Arsenal v Burnley @8pm - if the Gunners win this game and Manchester City fail to beat Bournemouth on Tuesday, then the north London club will be crowned champions. In any other scenario, the title race will go to the final day on Sunday. With Burnley already relegated, you'd think they'll be reasonably easy to beat but with absolutely no pressure on them, who knows? Tickets are only available to members but
hospitality is available from £695
The Robert Rowan Invitational
Brentford v Paris Saint-Germain @7pm - each year, the Bees put on an U21 game to raise funds for The Heart of West London cardiac charity in memory of their former technical director Robert Rowan who died at the age of 28 in 2018. The game is being played at the GTech and
tickets are only £5 for adults
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Tuesday 19 May
Premier League
Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur @815pm - following their loss in the FA Cup Final on Saturday, the Blues' season is now effectively over. Currently 10th, they really have very little to play for. This match is, however, massive for Spurs. With relegation rivals West Ham losing at Newcastle on Sunday, a win here will confirm their place in the top flight for another year. A draw will probably be good enough too as their goal difference is way better than the Hammers'. Tickets have sold out but
hospitality is available from £345
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Friday 22 May
U18 Premier League Final
Chelsea v Manchester City @7pm - Wednesday and Thursday are looking quiet and Friday would do too if it wasn't for this youth match at Stamford Bridge. The Blues finished top of Group South of this competition whilst City topped Group North so we should get to see the cream of country's youth talent here.
Tickets are only £4
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Saturday 23 May
Championship Play-Off Final
Hull City v Middlesbrough @330pm - as you may well be aware, a huge amount of drama has surrounded this fixture over the last few days. Southampton were originally set to take part instead of Boro but allegations of spying by the Saints against them and two other teams saw them expelled from the play-offs on Tuesday. An appeal the day after was also lost. Preparations for this game for both sides have been chaotic with Hull threatening further legal action if they lose - they and even some Boro fans have said that the Tigers should perhaps have just been promoted. Dubbed the richest game in football because of the incredible wealth just one season in the Premier League delivers, this is always a high-stakes match. Middlesbrough had the better 2025/26 but with very little time to prepare, who knows how this will go? Tickets were only available to members and appear to have sold out
Women's Super League Play-Off
Charlton Athletic v Leicester City @1230pm - in the women's game, we have a match of similar importance. With the WSL expanding, two teams went up automatically from WSL2 and a third one has the chance to go up via this play-off. Unlike the EFL system which sees the teams in third to sixth battle it out for one spot, in this division the team in third plays the team who finishes bottom in the WSL with the winner of this game either going up or staying up. Charlton are the second-tier team and to boost their chances, they've also been given home advantage with this match being played at The Valley. The Foxes' form coming into this has been pretty dreadful so they'll do well to win.
Tickets
EAL Senior Division Cup Final
Chadwell Heath Spartans v FC Petrocub London @6pm - if you want a non-league option, then this 11th tier cup final would appear to be the best on offer. Petrocub, who primarily represent members of London's Moldovan community, were runners-up in the league and start as favourites for me. The match is being played at Dagenham & Redbridge. I've no idea how much admission will be but it shouldn't be more than £5. The same venue will also be hosting another final for clubs in the 13th tier at 2pm if you fancy a doubleheader
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Premier League
Fulham v Newcastle United @4pm - level on points in midtable, this game has the least riding on it of any in London on the Premier League's final day. Both clubs have the slimmest of chances of grabbing a place in the UEFA Conference League but their goal difference makes it near impossible. However, where you finish dictates how much Premier League prize money you end up with and the difference can be significant. Either of these sides could technically finish the day in eighth or 14th - last season an eighth-place finish would have seen you £15m better off than the team in 14th. The difference between 12th and 13th was £5m so to say these sides have nothing to play for is untrue.
Tickets Tottenham Hotspur v Everton @4pm - with Arsenal having already won the title, the main focus will be on who goes down. A point against Chelsea in midweek would have almost certainly been enough for Spurs to stay up but they lost and now they have to try and get something out of this game or West Ham could overtake them. The Toffees were looking good for a European spot and held Manchester City to a thrilling 3-3 draw a couple of weeks ago. However, their recent form hasn't been great and their season is realistically over. Tickets are available to members and their guests
West Ham United v Leeds United @4pm - the Hammers won the play-offs in 2012 to get back into the Premier League after one season away and have remained there ever since. The last few weeks have been a rollercoaster for the east London club and at one point they looked far more likely to stay up than Tottenham. However, at the crucial moment, the two clubs' fortunes have flipped and now survival is out of West Ham's hands. Given Spurs' much better goal difference, only a win will do if they are to have any hope. Sadly for them, Leeds are one of the most in-form teams in the division and they recently won here in the FA Cup.
Tickets
League One Play-Off Final
Bolton Wanderers v Stockport County @1pm - former Premier League club Bolton will hope to take a large stride back towards the top flight with a win at Wembley on Sunday. With only one win from their last six, they limped into the play-offs but managed to see off Bradford City over two legs to set up this match. Stockport were a second-tier club at the start of this century but had fallen all the way down to National League North by 2013. Since then, they've got their act together and three promotions since 2019 now see them just 90 minutes away from completing the comeback. They had the better season and took four points off Bolton during the campaign. Tickets are available in both ends so choose whether you want to sit with the
Bolton fans or
Stockport ones
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Monday 25 May
League Two Play-Off Final
Notts County v Salford City @3pm - all eyes will be on Wembley again on Bank Holiday Monday. Notts County have been a top-flight club during my lifetime, last gracing the level in 1991/92 just before the Premier League began. Since then, they've been all the way down to the National League but in 2023 they managed to get out of it after four seasons. They made the League Two play-offs last year but lost to AFC Wimbledon. Finishing one point ahead of them in the regular season, Salford are a former non-league club who are looking for a place in the third tier for the first time. Famously taken over in 2014 by a consortium including Manchester United legends Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes, the club has risen from the eighth to the fourth tier. After their initial rapid climb through the divisions, they've been stuck at this level for seven seasons and will hope to finally push on. Tickets are available in both ends so choose whether you want to sit with the
Notts County fans or
Salford ones
If you're going to see a game, whether you're a local or a visitor, please let me know what you've been up to. If you're interested in reviewing a ground in the London area for this blog then get in touch. I also very much welcome photos of your football travels.
Got any questions about visiting London? Don't hesitate to ask - be they football or more general travel/touristy queries. I do not charge for this advice like some other sites so don't hold back!
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