TREBLE-CHASING DUO VIE FOR ULTIMATE PRIZE

Achieving the holy trinity, the Uefa Champions League and domestic league and cup double in a season, ranks among the highest achievements in a club’s claim to greatness.

Pep Guardiola’s 2008-09 treble-winning Barcelona continue to be touted as the greatest football side ever. Manchester United’s 1998-99 treble-winning season ranks at the top of Sir Alex Ferguson’s greatest achievements in his 26 years at the club. Inter Milan in 2009-10 and most recently Bayern Munich in 2012-13 have also completed the treble in the Champions League era.

Newly-crowned Spanish and Italian champions, Barcelona and Juventus, who have a June 6 date for European club football’s ultimate prize, are now just two matches away from achieving this feat, having also progressed to the decider of their domestic cup competitions.

Before the Berlin showdown, Juventus will look to clinch their 10th Coppa Italia title against Lazio while Barcelona will be going for a 27th Copa Del Rey crown when they face Athletic Bilbao for the seventh time in the showpiece match.

All three finals will be live and in HD on SuperSport.

With the majority of league titles wrapped up, last-day drama will be centred on the relegation scraps and qualification for next season’s Champions and Europa Leagues.

In England, Liverpool need a win against Stoke City to fend off Tottenham Hotspur for a spot in the Europa League. Down at the bottom, it’s a three-way fight between Hull City, Newcastle United and Sunderland to avoid following Burnley and Queens Park Rangers to the Championship.

SuperSport will broadcast six fixtures live (two of which will be broadcast on channel 197 and 198), Premier League matches which feature the trophy handover to champions Chelsea, the three-way relegation scrap and Europa qualification.

Sunderland are away to champions Chelsea live on SS3 HD from 2.30pm CAT, Hull City host Manchester United on SS5 HD from 3.55pm and Newcastle United play West Ham United on SS7 HD from 3.55pm.

Live broadcast on the events channels (197 and 198) is a one-off to accommodate the football. The channels go live on Sunday, May 24 from 3.45pm CAT and close at 7pm CAT on the same day.

Another season which promised so much for Arsenal after their Community Shield win at the start of the campaign sees them end it without the league title they crave so much. With an FA Cup final to look forward to, it’s not all doom and gloom for Arsene Wenger’s charges. The Gunners will look to successfully defend the cup when they take on Aston Villa at Wembley’s hallowed turf at the end of the month.

In Spain, Cordoba are the only side whose relegation has been confirmed. Five sides, Almeria, Eibar, Granada, Deportivo La Coruna and Levante are in the scrap to avoid the drop.

Nearer the top, Valencia’s season-long tussle with Sevilla for the last Champions League spot goes down to the wire. A win will secure Valencia’s qualification.

Sevilla will get a second crack at playing Champions League football next season should they win the Europa League. Los Rojiblancos who are the Europa defending champions, have a final date with Ukraine’s Dnipro later this month. A second successive title win will see them qualify for the Champions League as per Uefa’s new rule.