Pep Guardiola has urged his Manchester City stars to keep their emotions under control as the Premier League leaders bid to pip Liverpool to the title on a dramatic final day of the season.

Guardiola's side are one point clear of second-placed Liverpool's heading into Sunday's do-or-die matches.

City face Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium knowing a victory would clinch their fourth English title in five seasons.

But if City drop points, Liverpool will be crowned champions for a English record-equalling 20th time if they beat Wolves at Anfield.

It is the culmination of a thrilling title race, which has seen Liverpool relentlessly chase down City after the reigning champions held a 14-point lead in January.

Guardiola knows the high-stakes denouement will pile pressure on his players, who drew 2-2 at West Ham in their previous game after Riyad Mahrez missed a late penalty that would have left them needing only one point against Villa.

But the Spaniard, hoping to win the 10th league title of his glittering managerial career, said: "I told the players it's just a football game, don't think of the consequences, of how happy we will be if we win or how sad we will be if we lose. Just think about what you have to do to win against Aston Villa.

"They are human beings, they have feelings. Maybe we will have to live through something unexpected, be uncomfortable, but what we can do is react the best way possible, be positive and don't give up."

Holding off Liverpool would be arguably City's finest achievement in Guardiola's six-year reign.

Liverpool, who were beaten to the title by City on the last day of the 2018-19 season, are in the midst of an historic attempt to win the quadruple.

Having already won the FA Cup and League Cup, as well as earning a Champions League final date with Real Madrid in Paris on May 28, Jurgen Klopp's team could become the first English club to claim all four major trophies in a single season.

- 'A joy to be part of it'-

Klopp has continually played down Liverpool's astonishing chase for a clean sweep and he insisted the season has already exceeded his wildest expectations.

"Imagine somebody tells you before the season, you're going to be in all three cup finals and want to fight for the league. You would say 'Yeah, good luck with that'," said Klopp, who led Liverpool to their first title for 30 years in 2020.

"It has been tough but great. It's absolutely a joy to be part of it. Being part of this group is exceptional. Now we have to make sure we enjoy the last two massive games."

While the climax to the title race is the main focus at the end of an enthralling season, there will be plenty of drama elsewhere.

The fight to qualify for next season's Champions League via a top-four finish has gone down to the wire, with fourth placed Tottenham controlling their fate.

Antonio Conte's side are two points ahead of fifth-placed Arsenal with a vastly superior goal difference.

Tottenham should be certain of returning to the Champions League after a two-season absence if they avoid defeat at relegated Norwich.

"We know the importance of the game. If someone thinks the situation is easy I am not that person and I don't transfer these thoughts to my players," Conte said.

Spluttering Arsenal have to beat Everton at the Emirates Stadium and hope their north London rivals lose to steal fourth spot.

With incoming boss Erik ten Hag set to watch from the stands, sixth-placed Manchester United must win at Crystal Palace to avoid the ignominy of slipping into the Europa Conference League.

A draw or defeat for United would open the way for West Ham to leapfrog them into the Europa League if they beat Brighton.

At the other end of the table, Burnley and Leeds are locked in a tense fight for survival.

Third bottom Leeds are behind fourth bottom Burnley on goal difference and will be relegated if the Clarets beat Newcastle at Turf Moor.

If Burnley drop points, Leeds could stay up depending on their result at Brentford.

– BSS/AFP

Iga Swiatek refused to take victory at the French Open for granted despite romping to a third Rome title when sweeping aside Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-3 in Saturday's final.

World number one Swiatek will be red-hot favourite to successfully defend her Roland Garros crown afer comfortably prevailing on the clay against second-ranked Sabalenka.

In front of a packed centre court crowd Swiatek became the first woman since Serena Williams in 2013 to win on the clay surface at Madrid and Rome in the same season.

She can join Williams in a European capital city hat-trick if she wins her fourth French Open title, and third in a row, with the clay-court Grand Slam starting in Paris on May 26.

"Obviously I am confident. I feel like I'm playing great tennis but that doesn't change the fact that I just want to stay humble," Swiatek told reporters.

"Grand Slams are different. There's a different pressure on the court and off the court. Of course I love to come to Paris and be there. It a great place for me to be and I really enjoy my time there.

"But these are a hard seven matches that you need to win so I don't take anything for granted."

Swiatek won her 12th successive match on clay by besting Belarusian Sabalenka as she did in the recent Madrid final.

The Pole took her winning record over Sabalenka to 8-3 in another hugely impressive display from what has been an almost flawless tournament from the four-time Grand Slam winner, who didn't drop a single set on her way to another championship victory.

Saturday's match was less dramatic than Madrid's three-set thriller as Sabalenka, who has won the two most recent Australian Opens, gave herself too much to do.

Swiatek took the opening set in just 36 minutes in a clinical display of tennis against Sabalenka, who has said repeatedly that Rome is her dream tournament to win.

Going into Saturday's final Swiatek had won 97 percent of her matches in which she went one set ahead since the start of 2022 and Sabalenka didn't help her cause by wasting seven break points over two games in the second set.

After Swiatek broke Sabalenka's serve in game seven it was only a matter of time before she closed out the match and championship.

"I would say the first set I didn't play well at all. I wasn't, I don't know, feeling my game well," Sabalenka told reporters.

"In the second set I just tried to stay a little bit more aggressive... I just tried to put her a little bit under pressure.

"I had couple of opportunities to break her serve. Probably if I would take that opportunity, the match would go differently. I didn't use it, so it is how it is."

On Sunday Alexander Zverev bids to win his second Rome title when he faces Nicolas Jarry in the men's final.

Zverev is in his 11th Masters final, equalling Boris Becker's record for the most by a German since the series began in 1990.

England will face South Africa in the opening match of the ICC Women's Twenty20 World Cup to be held in Bangladesh later this year, the International Cricket Council announced on Sunday.

The event will run from October 3 to 20 in the capital Dhaka and the northeastern city of Sylhet, with warm-up matches starting on September 27.

Hosts Bangladesh and the top six teams from the previous edition in South Africa -- Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and the West Indies - qualified automatically for the tournament, with Pakistan joining them as the next best ranked team.

Ireland, the UAE, Sri Lanka and Scotland are in contention for the remaining two places, with the semi-finals of the qualifying tournament being held in the UAE.

Six-times winners and current world number one Australia will play in Group A alongside India, New Zealand, Pakistan and a Qualifier 1.

Neighbours and rivals India and Pakistan will face off on October 6.

Group B will feature South Africa, Bangladesh, England, West Indies, and Qualifier 2.

"Over the last six to seven years we have seen women's cricket grow exponentially," ICC chief executive officer Geoff Allardice said at the announcement of the fixture list and trophy unveiling in Dhaka.

"This is going to be a very special tournament," he added.

It will be the ninth edition of the tournament, with Bangladesh previously hosting in 2014.

Lionel Messi continued his rich vein of scoring in MLS, scoring twice as league leaders Inter Miami came from behind for a 4-1 win at the New England Revolution on Saturday.

With his brace Messi, the top scorer in MLS, took his tally to nine goals from seven appearances this season.

A crowd over 65,612 turned up at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the stadium the Revolution share with the NFL's New England Patriots, to see the Argentine World Cup winner.

New England, who had been hit by a flu bug in the build-up to the game and bottom of the Eastern Conference, delighted the bumper home crowd after just 40 seconds through an Argentine of their own -- Tomas Chancalay.

Miami defender Nicolas Freire gave the ball away to Spanish midfielder Carles Gil who clipped a ball over the top to Chancalay, who spotted Drake Callender well off his line and chipped it over the stranded Miami keeper for the opening goal.

Messi got Miami back on level terms in the 32nd minute when he was found by Robert Taylor's through pass and the 36-year-old made no mistake, slotting home.

The eight-times Ballon d'Or winner struck again to put Miami ahead in the 68th minute when he collected a superb defence-splitting pass from his former Barcelona team-mate Sergio Busquets and finished with his usual ease.

Miami added two more in the final stages -- both created by Messi.

Substitute Benjamin Cremaschi made it 3-1 in the 83rd minute, pouncing after a Messi shot was parried out. Luis Suarez completed the scoring, finding the top corner after a pass inside from Messi.

Danielle Collins and Ekaterina Alexandrova will meet in the semi-finals of the WTA Miami Open after victories in the last eight on Wednesday. Collins powered into the last four with an emphatic 6-3, 6-2 win over France's Caroline Garcia before Alexandrova emerged triumphant from a near two-hour three set battle with American fifth seed Jessica Pegula.

Thursday will see the opening semi-final with three-time Miami winner Victoria Azarenka up against fourth-seeded Elena Rybakina, the highest ranked player left in the tournament.

Garcia went into the match against Collins on the back of an upset win over third-seeded American Coco Gauff but was unable to get a foothold against the Floridian.

Garcia still appeared to be troubled by an injury to her right shoulder and received some treatment early in the second set.

Collins broke to go 5-3 up in the first set and then held serve for the set, then in the second set broke in the third game and never looked back as she wrapped up the win in one hour and 19 minutes.

Collins reached the semi-finals of Miami six years ago as a qualifier and at 53rd is the lowest ranked semi-finalist in the tournament.

The 30-year-old American is now 4-0 against Garcia and has yet to lose a set to the Frenchwoman but said the numbers didn't tell the true story.

"I think against someone like Caro, it forces me to be more concentrated. I know I don't want to give her an inch or she can get in there," Collins said.

Garcia said she had felt the pace of back-to-back tournaments.

"It's been a long two weeks for the body for me, between the back at the beginning and then the she shoulder which came back," she told reporters, adding that the shoulder issue was a recurrence of a previous injury.

"I think it's nothing too serious but (shoulder) is always quite problematic for a tennis player," she said, before adding that Collins had played "an amazing match".

Collins intends to retire at the end of the year but while she agreed she had a relaxed look to her play, she rejected the idea that it was a result of her impending departure from the sport.

"I think I feel pretty relaxed, but that could be due to a number of things. I've got a new hobby. I'm playing some more golf, running more, Pilates, all of these different things," she said.

"My dog is here. I'm feeling relaxed because I get to be with him at night. I don't know," she said with a smile.

- Home favorite -

Alexandrova beat home favorite Pegula 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, showing plenty of grit in a third set where both players showed signs of fatigue.

Pegula broke to go 4-3 up in the first and broke again to clinch the set but the Russian fought back, breaking in the first game of the second set.

Again 14th seed Alexandrova broke early in the third but she let Pegula back into the set when she double-faulted on break point to leave the set balanced at 3-3.

The pair produced a fantastic rally in the subsequent game which Pegula was able to hold, but at 4-4, Alexandrova struck the decisive blow with Pegula going long on a back-hand return on the second break point.

The Russian held to grab the win and fell to her knees in joy at the result.

Alexandrova, who upset world number one Iga Swiatek in the previous round, said it was tough to break down Pegula's gritty defense.

"I couldn't understand how it was possible to return that ball it was always back. She was everywhere so I needed to do something," she said. "I tried to wait and use any opportunities that I got."

The win was Alexandrova's third against a top five player this year and she said her success was the result of developing patience.

"You have to wait and wait and something is going to come - and then you have to use it," she said.

Simona Halep returned to tennis on Tuesday, losing in three sets to Spaniard Paula Badosa at the Miami Open and then hit back at Caroline Wozniacki after the Dane criticised the decision to give her a wildcard into the tournament.

Former world number one Halep was given a warm welcome by the Miami crowd before fading as she lost 6-1, 4-6, 3-6 in her first game since the 2022 US Open.

But while the Romanian flags and chants of her name showed she retains plenty of support after having her doping ban reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last week, former world number one Wozniacki questioned the way Halep was allowed into the tournament.

"This is not directly at Simona, but if someone purposely cheats, if someone has tested positive for doping... I understand why a tournament wants a big star in the tournament, but it's my personal belief, and it's not a knock on anyone, but it's my personal belief that I don't think people should be awarded wild cards afterwards," said the Dane.

"If you want to come back, and it's been a mistake, I understand, you should work your way up from the bottom. That's my personal opinion upon things.

"Simona's situation has obviously dragged on for a long time. She got her suspension reduced. It wasn't a clearance, it was a reduced sentence," she added.

Asked about Wozniacki's comments, Halep said she did not understand her motivation.

"Why did she say that? I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't cheat. I didn't dope. So it's better if we read the decision from CAS that it was a contaminated supplement, it wasn't doping. I never had something to do with doping. I never doped, so I'm not a cheater.

"Thank you to the tournament for giving me the wild card and have the possibility to play in such a big tournament. It was great to be back," said the 32-year-old.

"Only one person being negative about me is not that important because I have hundreds of people that are giving me love, so I will take that," added Halep.

Halep looked like her old self in the opening set, cheered on by a small but passionate crowd, including many of her compatriots, she struggled later in the near two-hour contest.

There were the familiar chants of 'Simona' as she broke to go 4-1 up in the first set and the fist-pump showed the level of motivation after her lengthy, enforced absence.

But she needed treatment to her shoulder during the second set and she lost the accuracy of her serve while looking increasingly tired.

But she was upbeat about her fist match after such a long absence from the court.

- Positive emotions -

"It felt really good. I had emotions, but positive emotions. To see the crowd supporting me so nice gave me a lot of energy. The level of tennis was pretty good. Unexpected, I think, for most of the people.

"At this high level, like Paula played, I think I did a good job today. So I'm happy with the first match coming back," she said.

Halep's career had been on hold since October 7, 2022, the date of the start of her provisional suspension after testing positive for roxadustat at the US Open.

The winner of the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon singles titles was then caught up in a second affair, this time "irregularities" in the data of her biological passport.

She was handed a four-year ban by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) which would have effectively ended her career.

Halep appealed to CAS in February, arguing her positive test for roxadustat -- used to treat anaemia and banned as a blood doping agent -- was the result of a tainted supplement.

CAS determined that Halep had "established, on the balance of probabilities" that the banned substance did come from the contaminated product and her violations were therefore "not intentional."

CAS also ruled that the "irregularities" cited by the ITIA in Halep's biological passport, a longterm monitoring tool of an athlete's blood indicators that can provide evidence of doping, did not, in fact, support "the doping scenarios put forward by the ITIA."

Halep had protested her innocence and refused to accept the ITIA decision, which would have kept her off the courts until October 6, 2026.