With the league lost to Man Utd following the loss to Leeds on Sunday, and second place secure, Arsene Wenger will use the opportunity to blood a couple of youngsters, while also trying to preserve the fitness of his injury-hit first team squad for Cardiff.

And Saints boss Gordon Strachan has revealed his relief at the way the title race has ended. Not because he wanted his old club to win it, so much as because it means he doesn't feel obligated to give Arsenal a proper game. "That’s only right as a man and as a manager to do everything right by everybody else because you’ve got your standards that you set and principles and I wouldn’t like anybody else to do that to me if I was in trouble," he said, with typical eloquence.

So for example, Claus Lundekvam, Anti Niemi, and Chris Marsden are all likely to sit it out with minor injuries that are unlikely to see them miss the final.

A couple of youngsters that Strachan may field are Welsh U20 midfielder Arron Davies and Northern Ireland U21 midfielder Chris Baird (who has recently switched from right-back). He also may hear the pleas of Saints fans who want Francis Benali to play tonight.... and do a job on Thierry Henry.

For Arsenal, Ljungberg, Cygan, Vieira, Lauren, Edu, and Jeffers are all injured. Campbell is injured as well as being banned. Ashley Cole is expected to be rested, with Ryan Garry getting his first-team debut at left-back. Martin Keown is also said to be a favourite to be rested (with Campbell and Cygan's problems, his fitness for the final is particularly essential), leaving us with Luzhny and Stepanovs. Jermaine Pennant will play in midfield, continuing from his substitute appearance on Sunday.

Both bosses may be tempted to rest their top scorer, but Thierry Henry and James Beattie will both be keen to play both remaining matches, as they compete with Ruud van Nistelroy for the Golden Boot (he's one ahead of them both).

OPTA have found the answer to a question posed some time ago on our record-breakers page: who has the record for consecutive scoring matches at home in the Premiership. It's an important record, clearly, and the answer is that Man Utd hold it currently with a run of 40 which ended in December 2000. If Arsenal score tonight they will equal that record. The closest challengers are Chelsea with a run of 27. Unfortunately, OPTA do not comment on the real record (ie including the days before the Premiership).

Arsenal hold the records for consecutive scoring away games, as well as the longest run home-and-away (see record-breakers page). So it'd be nice to complete the set.