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If all you care about is Aston Villa, today’s season finale against Brighton & Hove Albion means almost nothing to you. A win could move the team to 11th in the table, and a draw or better almost assures a top-half finish. Those things are neat!
But there is so much else going on today. Brighton, for instance, are playing to win the league. It’s sort of meaningless, in that they’re going to be headed to the Premier League regardless of the result today, but winning a league is still a huge accomplishment. Newcastle would need to win (with a Brighton loss or draw) or a draw (with a Brighton loss) to win the league.
Elsewhere, the promotion playoffs are set (thanks to Leeds only managing six points in their final seven matches), but the seeding is up in the air. Fulham are locked into the final spot, but Reading need a win (or a Sheffield loss... or a draw and a Sheffield draw) to secure the top seed, and Huddersfield Town could make things interesting if they get a big win against Cardiff.
And in the matches that we fans of the best team in Birmingham care about, we’ve got the relegation fight. If Blues lose (or draw, thanks to their atrocious goal difference) at Bristol City, they could be relegated if Nottingham Forest and Blackburn can win (hosting Ipswich and at Brentford, respectively). It’s a small chance, but oh my word would it be hilarious.
So yeah, Villa are playing. And a win secures a top-half finish and at least a totally neutral goal difference. But boy oh boy if the fun isn’t to be had elsewhere today. Here’s how you can follow along with the Claret and Blues, though!
UTV!
Location: Villa Park, Birmingham, England
Kick-off time: 12 PM BST, 7 AM Eastern, 4 AM Pacific
Available TV: None in the US or UK
Available streaming: beIN SPORTS CONNECT (USA), fuboTV (allows you to stream beIN in the US and Canada. You can sign up here)
Available radio: BBC WM 95.6 FM (not online), AVTV (If audio doesn’t work, try using Safari)
Other listings are available from livesoccertv.com.
Aston Villa squad
️⚽️ Here's our team for the #AVLBHA encounter this afternoon...#AVFC pic.twitter.com/J5eYA1UscZ
— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) May 7, 2017
Brighton squad
#BHAFC team v #AVFC: Stockdale; Bruno, Dunk, Tomori, Pocognoli; Knockaert, Sidwell, Stephens, Murphy; Baldock, Murray. #AVFCvBHA
— BHAFC ⚽️ (@OfficialBHAFC) May 7, 2017
#BHAFC subs v #AVFC: Maenpaa (GK), Bong, Rosenior, Kayal, Skalak, March, Hemed. #AVFCvBHA
— BHAFC ⚽️ (@OfficialBHAFC) May 7, 2017