Southampton launched themselves to the brink of Premier League safety this evening courtesy of a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium.
Manolo Gabbiadini got the only goal of the game in a winner-takes-all encounter between two sides who began the day level on points but either side of the relegation dotted line.
Southampton must now simply avoid an unlikely swing in goal difference on the final day to survive, whereas Swansea need to beat Stoke City on Sunday and hope that Huddersfield Town lose their final two games of the season to stand any chance of staying up.
The result in South Wales also condemned West Bromwich Albion to relegation.
Find out how all of the action unfolded courtesy of Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.
Premier League matches do not come much bigger than this, with these two sides sitting either side of the dreaded dotted line but separated only by goal difference. It is Southampton who find themselves in a position of safety as things stand, but that could all change this evening. Victory for either would leave them on the brink of survival, while fans of West Bromwich Albion will also be keeping an eager eye on proceedings as anything other than a draw would result in their relegation from the top flight.
Let's start with a look at the team news...
Well, the headline news as far as the home side are concerned is that Kyle Naughton returns to the starting lineup for tonight's match, having missed the defeat at Bournemouth on Saturday due to a stomach bug.
Naughton comes back into the side as part of Swansea's back three, with Mike van der Hoorn the man to drop out of the team as he takes his place on the bench.
The teamsheet released by Swansea suggests that Clucas will play in a forward three alongside the Ayew brothers Andre and Jordan, taking Nathan Dyer's place in the team as the winger drops to the bench.
Tom Carroll is the man to make way for King in midfield, but in all there are not wholesale changes made by Carvalhal despite the disappointing nature of that defeat to Bournemouth. The hosts are again expected to deploy a 3-4-3 formation, although that could easily switch to a 5-4-1 system should they need to protect a lead.
Alfie Mawson is arguably the player who would be most in demand if the Swans do suffer relegation, but the likes of Fernandez, Naughton, Fabianski, Ki and Andre Ayew are all likely to have plenty of suitors too.
The prospect of the Saints suffering relegation is sure to interest a number of teams who would like to sign a few of their players for a cut price, with the likes of Stephens, Cedric, Romeu, Bertrand, Tadic, Austin and Redmond all likely to be in demand - and that is just from today's starting XI!
Lemina is replaced in the starting lineup by Nathan Redmond, who finally ended his long goal drought to open the scoring against the Toffees at Goodison Park and has since been backed to rediscover his confidence by manager Mark Hughes.
Jack Stephens comes into the starting lineup in place of Yoshida this evening, slotting into the back three alongside Bednarek and Hoedt, both of whom retain their places in the team.
There is plenty of attacking talent in that Southampton side - from Charlie Austin's finishing ability to Nathan Redmond's pace and the creativity of Dusan Tadic. Even on the flanks they have two very good attacking full-backs in Cedric and Bertrand, so there is no reason why Southampton can't come away with all three points here.
Should the Swans lose this match then it would take a significantly swing in goal difference on the final day to keep Swansea up, while even a victory for the Swans would still leave them needing to avoid defeat on the final day of the season to guarantee their Premier League status.
It should not be forgotten that huddersfield are also still in the mix and that they have a worse goal difference than both Swansea and Southampton, so if Swansea lose tonight and Huddersfield lose against Chelsea on Wednesday then the Swans could still save themselves at the Terriers' expense on the final day.
Victory for either side would actually lift them not only three points clear of the relegation zone, but also above Huddersfield into 16th until at least tomorrow, when David Wagner's side face Chelsea.
Swansea come into this match without a win in their last eight matches across all competitions stretching back to March - including seven in the Premier League. It is a very poorly-timed dip in form which has plunged Swansea back into trouble just when it looked as though they might have escaped it. Prior to this ongoing eight-match winless run, the Swans had lost just one of their previous 13 outings.
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That means that this will be the first Premier League game Swansea start in the relegation zone since March 3, when they beat West Ham 4-1 to climb out of the bottom three. A repeat of that performance and result tonight would be priceless for the hosts.
No team has scored fewer goals at home either (16), with the Swans having drawn a blank in seven league games at the Liberty Stadium this season - a joint league-high for home games.
They are winless in their last three home games across all competitions - following a run of seven consecutive victories - but in the Premier League they have lost just one of their last six outings in front of their own fans - including wins over Liverpool and Arsenal.
A draw would also be a gamble for the visitors tonight, though, as they would then need to match or better Swansea's result on the final day which, considering they are facing top of the league and Swansea are facing bottom of the league, could prove problematic.
Defeat, on the other hand, could be the final nail in Southampton's coffin as it would leave them needing to beat Manchester City and hope that Swansea or Huddersfield lost their final-day matches - and indeed that Huddersfield lose on Wednesday too.
The Saints were just seconds away from making it back-to-back wins for the first time all season on Saturday when they led Everton 1-0 at Goodison Park, but a 96th-minute deflected strike from Tom Davies cruelly denied them a win which would have left them in a much stronger position heading into this match.
Indeed, their last 23 league games stretching back to November have yielded only two wins, with 10 defeats and a whopping 11 draws in that time.
A large reason behind both statistics is Southampton's inability to hold on to a lead, with the Saints having dropped 21 points from winning positions this season - second only to West Bromwich Albion in the top flight. Eight of those 21 points have come in Mark Hughes's six games in charge too.
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Indeed, only relegated Stoke have lost fewer away games than Southampton's two victories this season, but despite that the Saints would actually sit 13th - above Arsenal - if only away form counted. That is largely thanks to their eight draws on the road, with the Saints having lost fewer away games than Arsenal, Everton and Newcastle - all of whom are currently in the top half of the table - this season.
The Swansea Marriott cited a virus as the reason behind their cancellation, but the hotel remained open to the public and Southampton may well suspect a bit of foul play there. They were instead forced to relocate to the Vale of Glamorgan hotel near Cardiff, which means a longer drive to the ground today.
This is such a huge game, and it is a tough one to call considering how poor Swansea's results have been of late. Southampton look more like the team on an upward trajectory, but Swansea have been good at home - even in defeat to Chelsea in their most recent home game - and that advantage could make the difference. It is a match which could easily go either way or end up as a draw, but I am going to plump for a home win.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Swansea 2-1 Southampton
A repeat result tonight would make things very interesting indeed, and it is a result West Brom fans will be cheering on too as that would take their bid to pull off the greatest of escapes right down to the final day.
Swansea's biggest problem this season has been putting the ball in the back of the net, and it is a similar story in this fixture too as they have failed to score in seven of those 11 previous Premier League clashes.
The only time they have conceded - and lost, for that matter - at this stadium was on their most recent visit, though, when Alfie Mawson and Gylfi Sigurdsson scored in a 2-1 win last January.
Mark Hughes, meanwhile, has already beaten Swansea once in the Premier League this season, with his Stoke side running out 2-1 winners in December.
SWANSEA STARTING XI: Fabianski; Naughton, Fernandez, Mawson; Roberts, Ki, King, Olsson; Clucas, A Ayew, J Ayew
SOUTHAMPTON STARTING XI: McCarthy; Bednarek, Hoedt, Stephens; Cedric, Romeu, Hojbjerg, Bertrand; Tadic, Austin, Redmond
It has been an understandably edgy affair and a scrappy opening 45 minutes so far, but the best chances have fallen the way of Southampton. As things stand, though, it is West Brom who are the big winners tonight.
The first saw him played through on goal by Hojbjerg before drilling a low strike towards the bottom far corner, but in the end it was too easy for the Swansea keeper to get down and save. The second was a very sweetly-struck volley after Romeu had flicked Cedric's cross on, but it was straight at Fabianski, who plucked it out of the air.
The closest they have come was a header from Clucas which bounced narrowly wide of the far post, while Andy King and Jordan Ayew have also had sights of goal for the hosts.
There is so much riding on this game, of course, but a draw doesn't do much for either side so it will be interesting to see who ups the tempo first and really pushes for the victory in this second half.
#Swans come inches away through Jordan Ayew! https://t.co/zkQazwhA5t
— Sky Sports PL (@SkySportsPL) May 8, 2018
It is a scrappy goal, but they won't care one bit. A cross into the box is kept alive at the back post and then flicked on by Romeu to Austin, who again fires his effort too close to Fabianski, who reacts well to keep it out. However, the ball bounces back out into the area and Gabbiadini reacts quickest to fire home the rebound!
Depending on events in Huddersfield's match tomorrow, that means that Southampton can afford to lose on the final day and still stay up - so long as there isn't a nine-goal swing in goal difference with Swansea also winning.
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's crucial relegation showdown, which has gone the way of Southampton as they move to the brink of Premier League survival at Swansea's expense. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
There is plenty more Premier League action to come tomorrow too, so check back in for that! From me, though, it is goodbye for now!