While Manchester rivals City and United pursue the English Premier League title on Sunday, Bolton and Queens Park Rangers will battle to avoid relegation.
Winning the trophy brings global prestige, but the financial rewards from surviving in the world’s richest league can be equally significant to teams at the wrong end of the standings.
Clubs are guaranteed around STG40 million ($A64.5 million) in television income and prize money from the league, with the title winners only receiving about STG20 million more.
Wolverhampton Wanderers and Blackburn have already been relegated and Bolton, who are hoping to secure a 12th successive top-flight campaign, are in the third relegation place going into Sunday’s final match at Stoke.
Bolton are two points behind QPR and the only way the northwest club can realistically avoid the drop is by winning and hoping their London rival lose to leaders Manchester City.
“We know this is the last-chance saloon and we have to be ready to capitalise on that,” Bolton manager Owen Coyle said.
“The lads are desperate to go out there and win the game … whatever happens elsewhere is irrelevant unless we win.”
Relegation would come at the end of a season that had started with Bolton being top of the Premier League after beating QPR on the opening day.
But Bolton has been blighted by injuries, with key players Stuart Holden (knee) and Lee Chung-yong (leg) heading a lengthy casualty list.
Compounding Bolton’s problems, midfielder Fabrice Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during a FA Cup game at Tottenham in March and fought for his life before staging a remarkable recovery.
“The events that have taken place involving this football club this year have been beyond belief,” Coyle said. “You couldn’t have made this stuff up. But it’s happened, we’ve had to deal with it and that is what we have done.”
Staying in the Premier League could be the perfect tonic for the recovering Muamba.
“With everything that happened to Fabrice … it has been great to see his smile now,” Coyle said. “How well he is recovering is a big positive that has come out of everything.”
Helping Bolton’s survival cause is Manchester City’s potential need to beat QPR to win the Premier League. City are above Manchester United going into the final round, but only due to superior goal difference.
“City have got a lot riding on this match but so have we,” QPR defender Anton Ferdinand said. “This game determines whether people keep their jobs or not at our club.
“We have got to do our best to make sure we stay in the Premier League, so that every single person at this club keeps their job.”
A point will be good enough to keep QPR in the top flight as manager Mark Hughes returns to City, who fired him in 2009.
But QPR have only picked up one point away from Loftus Road since Hughes was hired by owner Tony Fernandes in January.
“We have got to go to Manchester City and try to get a point, if not all three,” Ferdinand said. “I have faith in my teammates and I have faith that we can do that.”
