Hristo Stoichkov back to his best in their 1-1 draw at Betis last Sunday will almost certainly

Hristo Stoichkov, back to his best in their 1-1 draw at Betis last Sunday, will almost certainly start. The Bulgarian, sent off in January’s 5-0 debacle, had been dropped by Cruyff for a fortnight prior to last weekend’s match.The Dutch international Ronald Koeman is also tipped to line up for his last Barcelona-Madrid match before returning to the Netherlands at the end of the season. But if Real, six points clear of Deportivo, extend their lead by a point they will be champions for the 26th time.Barcelona have watched Real flourish this season while their own ambitions have faded, and the idea of Real parading a championship trophy around the Nou Camp stadium is more than most Catalans can bear.Barcelona’s coach, Johan Cruyff, is expected to fall back on experience after several weeks experimenting with youth. Their fortunes are tied to those of Deportivo La Coruna, who need a home win over Real Betis to keep alive their hopes of a first title. Real demolished Barcelona 5-0 in the Bernabeu stadium in January and the stage is set for a Spanish classic.
Real’s destiny does not rest entirely in their own hands. Real Madrid will be hoping for the perfect finish to a splendid season tomorrow when they travel to meet their arch rivals, Barcelona, in a match that could take the title back to the Spanish capital. It would be Real’s first championship success since 1990, while Barcelona are in danger of ending the season out of the Uefa Cup places.

Plouto Vourliotis, one of six men over 6ft 8in, was frequently stranded on the perimeter as Marc Schiltz smoothly found the space to lead Luxembourg’s scoring with 17 points. Spencer Dunkley had 23 points for England.EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP Qualifying round (NEC Arena, Birmingham) Second round: England 102 Luxembourg 72; Georgia 97 Denmark 86 Poland 111 Wales 71.. After an easy start, England must step up a gear tonight against Georgia as they seek one of the three qualifying places for the semi-final round beginning in the autumn.
Luxembourg exposed the leaden side of England’s huge line-up. Substitute not used: Watt (gk).Referee: J McCluskie (Stewarton).. Luxembourg went the way of the Welsh at Birmingham’s NEC last night, battered into submission by England’s bulky battalion who won 102-72 in the second round of the European Championship qualifying tournament, writes Duncan Hooper.

Substitute not used: Westwater (gk).Aberdeen (4-4-2): Snelders; Wright, Irvine (Inglis, 80), Smith, McKimmie; Hetherston, Grant, Glass, Miller (Kane, 76); Shearer, Dodds. Brian Irvine found Duncan Shearer on the left and his low cross along the goalmouth was side-footed into the net at the back post by Joe Miller.Dunfermline salvaged some pride in the 71st minute when Paul Smith chiipped the ball over Snelders but, with 10 minutes to go, Stephen Glass rounded the goalkeeper to add a third for Aberdeen.Dunfermline Athletic (4-4-2): Van De Kamp; McNamara, Todd, McCathie, Fleming (Hawkins, 90); Bieman, Smith, Robertson, McCulloch (Shaw, 54); Moore, Petrie. Before the interval, simmering tensions boiled over with several players involved in a skirmish which elicited no action from the referee.Aberdeen effectively sealed their place in the Premier Division for next season with a goal four minutes after the interval. Stephen Wright struck a perfect cross to the head of Billy Dodds who aimed his header for the bottom corner of the net to give the Dons a 4-1 aggregate lead.On 65 minutes any lingering hopes Dunfermline may have harboured were finally dashed by a second Aberdeen goal. He followed up with another block, this time from Brian Grant. Gradually Aberdeen extended their influence on proceedings and it took two excellent saves from Guido van de Kamp to prevent Billy Dodds from scoring.

Bert Paton, the Dunfermline manager, promised the Premier Division side a hot reception.Although Paton’s players were fired up they struggled to threaten Theo Snelders in the Aberdeen goal to any great degree. It will take the committed attitude of the players to be spread over a whole season and not just five games for Aberdeen to give their fans real success to cheer in the near future.A full house at East End Park created an atmosphere reminiscent of the glory European nights of the 1960s for Dunfermline. If McStay’s quiet fire takes hold, the hoops may be too hot for Airdrie.. Dunfermline Athletic 1

Aberdeen 3
(Aberdeen win 6-2 on aggregate)Joy unconfined for Aberdeen as the first-ever play-off resulted in a preservation of the status quo, with the Dons remaining in the Premier Division and Dunfermline left to languish another season in the First.Over the two legs, Aberdeen were always too good for their oppponents and the relief that they had avoided the first relegation in their history produced carnival scenes.