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For better or worse, there appear to be only two teams in England: Manchester United and Chelsea. The two bitter rivals are up against each other directly in two competitions, could be up against each other in a third, and may meet three times in two weeks in May.

They’ve been neck-and-neck in the Premiership for most of the season, but didn’t play this weekend, letting others get a little bit of the limelight. The fight for third spot is interesting, with Liverpool dropping two points in a 0-0 draw at Manchester City, allowing Arsenal to come within two points of them after they beat Bolton 2-1, the Gunners in turn putting five points between themselves and the Wanderers in 5th. City manager Stuart Pearce complained after the Liverpool match that the Premiership is “not a fair playing field” because of all the money that the top four have. “The more years that tick by, the harder it becomes to win anything,” he said.

The problem, if it is a problem, is not confined to the Premiership. United and Chelsea were not on Premiership duty because they were busy winning their semi-finals to go through to the first ever FA Cup Final in the new Wembley Stadium. United had the easier task of the two, two goals from Wayne Rooney helping them to a comfortable 4-1 win over Premiership bottom club Watford at Villa Park, the home of Aston Villa, while Chelsea struggled to beat Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford. The latter game was drawn after 90 minutes and went to extra-time, Chelsea fans perhaps forgiving Michael  Ballack for some poor displays over the season when he got the winner on 108 minutes. The FA Cup semi-finals are traditionally played at neutral grounds full to capacity, but this season the Football Association was criticised for poor organisation after there were empty seats at both games. Next season, both semis will be played at Wembley.

So Manchester United have a Cup showdown with Chelsea on 19 May, ten days after they have a showdown in the Premiership, and four days before they may have a third showdown, this time in the Champions League … if they both win their semi-finals in that competition. “It would be great to play them three times between now and the end of the season,” said Chelsea coach José Mourinho. “The reality is that what Chelsea and Manchester United are doing this season is unbelievable.” Unbelievable, yes … but good for the English game in the long term? Well, that’s another question.

On the other side of the Premiership chasm, there are a handful of teams fighting desperately to avoid going down. One common factor over the weeks has been bottom club Watford, who must surely go down, although mathematically they can still survive.  Above them, West Ham, Charlton, Sheffield United, Fulham and Wigan are the most likely to have to battle it out to escape the other two relegation places. Sheffield United did themselves a big favour by beating West Ham 3-0, and Wigan got a point in a thrilling 3-3 draw at home to Spurs; the other teams lost. There will be some short fingernails among the fans of those clubs in the 4 or 5 remaining games.

If English football has been dominated by a small clique of clubs in the last couple of season, the Scottish game has always been dominated by just two, who more or less take it in turns to be No. 1; sometimes it’s Rangers, this season it’s Celtic. Once again, they couldn’t celebrate their inevitable Premier League title at the weekend because, like their English counterparts, they were involved in the Scottish Cup. Vennegoor of Hesselink got the two goals that beat St Johnstone in the first semi final, while Hibs and Dunfermline will have to replay theirs after it finished 0-0. Celtic, though, are on track for a very doable double.

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