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Despite only taking charge of 15 games this season, the impact which Michael Carrick has had since being installed as caretaker head coach at Manchester United has earned him a place on a six-man shortlist for the Premier League's Manager of the Season award.

Carrick is joined by the two managers vying to win this season's title in Arsenal's Mikel Arteta and Manchester City's Pep Guardiola.

Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola and Brentford's Keith Andrews, who have both managed to put their clubs in contention for European football, and Regis le Bris, who has overseen Sunderland's seamless return to the top-flight, have also been nominated.

Manchester United

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Since taking up the role as caretaker head coach at Old Trafford following the sacking of Ruben Amorim in January, Michael Carrick has won 10 of his 15 matches in charge - losing just twice - to guide United from seventh to third in the Premier League table and secure a return to the Champions League.

No Premier League club has won more points than the 33 United have collected since Carrick's appointment on 13 January.

Impressive wins against title contenders Manchester City and Arsenal in his first two games in charge, and further key victories over Champions League rivals Aston Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool, have contributed to a 66.7% win rate to ensure a return to Europe's elite club competition.

Manchester United

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We'll be hearing from Michael Carrick very soon, before his Manchester United host Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

We learned this week that United's chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox are expected to recommend that Michael Carrick be appointed as permanent manager following his impressive spell as caretaker when they meet with the club's minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

The former United midfielder has been viewed as favourite for the job since securing qualification for next season's Champions League, and his side could confirm third spot this weekend.

Right call, United fans?

From a neutral perspective I'd quite like for title and relegation matters to come down to goal difference on the final day.

Think of the goals! Think of the split-screen drama!

So, we've laid out the state of play before the final two rounds of fixtures in the Premier League.

The title, race for Europe, and final relegation spot are all to be decided.

It's Friday, so let's get creative. I want to hear the unlikely twists and turns you think could happen before the end of the season - the further we stretch the 'could happen' aspect of this the better, I reckon...

Send in your thoughts by clicking the Get Involved button on this page!

Micah Richards
Former Man City defender on MOTD

We constantly say with Arsenal, have they got the leader to take them over the line? They have shown they have, they are the favourites now and nobody can say they are bottling it anymore.

They weren't playing well, but turned their fortunes against Fulham and then again against West Ham. They lost [at Man City] and maybe for the Arsenal of last season the confidence would have drained.

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Could the order of Arsenal and Manchester City's remaining fixtures have a significant impact on the Premier League title race?

Both sides have two league games and a cup final to come with before the end of May, but City's three matches will be played over just nine days.

Pep Guardiola's side face Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday before travelling to Bournemouth next Tuesday and hosting Aston Villa a week later in their final Premier League fixture.

The Gunners, meanwhile, play at home to Burnley on Monday before completing their league season at Crystal Palace a week on Sunday, with the Champions League final against Paris St-Germain not until 30 May.

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Arsenal and City's remaining fixtures:

• Sat, 16 May: Chelsea v Man City (FA Cup final, 15:00)
• Mon, 18 May: Arsenal v Burnley (20:00)
• Tue, 19 May: Bournemouth v Man City (19:30)
• Sun, 24 May: Crystal Palace v Arsenal & Man City v Aston Villa (both 16:00)
• Sat, 30 May: Paris St-Germain v Arsenal (17:00)

Here's a run through of what we have to look forward to in the Premier League this weekend.

• The title race will take centre stage on Monday and Tuesday, with Arsenal hosting already relegated Burnley before Manchester City travel to Bournemouth just three days after the FA Cup final.
• The race for a place in next season's Champions League should become clearer after tonight's meeting between Aston Villa and Liverpool at Villa Park (20:00 BST).
• Bournemouth and Brighton, who face Leeds, still have hopes of breaking into the top five, while Brentford will hope to maintain their push for a first season in Europe against Crystal Palace.
• West Ham will have the opportunity to put the pressure on relegation rivals Tottenham by moving out of the bottom three with victory at Newcastle on Sunday, before Spurs visit rivals Chelsea on Monday.
• Elsewhere, Manchester United will aim to wrap up third spot when they host Nottingham Forest, Everton host Sunderland, and Fulham visit Wolves.

Here is how things stand with two gameweeks to go.

Arsenal have a two-point lead over Manchester City after Pep Guardiola's side beat Crystal Palace 3-0 in midweek.

Liverpool and Aston Villa meet tonight at Villa Park, where both clubs have the opportunity to secure Champions league football with victory.

Meanwhile, Tottenham begin the weekend two points above West Ham in the fight for survival. Is that going to go down to the wire too?

Hello, folks!

We've arrived at the penultimate weekend of the 2025-26 Premier League season. Time flies, doesn't it?

It means Arsenal are potentially a little over a week away from lifting the Premier League trophy for the first time in 22 years.

But, with the race for Europe and relegation battle also yet to be decided, there remains plenty of opportunity for major twists and turns before the curtain falls on this campaign.

Let's get into it.

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