The questions hang in the air as the final Sunday of a compelling season draws closer, writes Frank Malley.

Can QPR boss Mark Hughes take his team to the Etihad stadium and earn the point which would escape relegation and almost certainly deprive Manchester City, the club which sacked him, of their first league title for 44 years?

Can Manchester United defeat Sunderland and potentially hand Sir Alex Ferguson his 13th Premier League trophy?

Who will take third place and that coveted guaranteed Champions League place?

Will Arsenal hang on for a result at West Brom where manager Roy Hodgson will want to leave on a high before taking over his England duties?

Will Tottenham keep their nerve at White Hart Lane against a Fulham side guided by Martin Jol, the manager Spurs sacked so unceremoniously five years ago?

Could Newcastle, the surprise package of the entire season, go to Everton and take the three points which could be worth £30million if they earned Champions League qualification?

All things remain possible after a season which has seen the Premier League at its most thrilling at top and bottom.

And let's not give house room to the argument which says the league is not as strong as once it was.

True, the English league did not dominate the Champions League from the quarter-final stage as it has done in the past but Chelsea will still contest the final against Bayern Munich next weekend and the statistics suggest domestic standards are not slipping.

If City and United both win on Sunday they will have amassed 89 points, which is nine more than it took United to win the title last season.

If Arsenal beat West Brom to come third with 70 points, it will be just one point fewer than Chelsea amassed in coming second last season.

There has been no erosion of standards. If anything, there has been a general improvement with the prizes more difficult to win than at any time in the 20 seasons since United won their first Premier League title in 1993.

This year there is the added tension of whoever finishes fourth having a week to sweat on Chelsea's result against Bayern Munich.

Win in the Allianz Arena and Chelsea automatically qualify for next season's Champions League, thereby depriving the fourth-placed finisher of a qualifying spot.

That would be cruel on Tottenham or Newcastle. It would be devastating for Arsenal, who have never failed to qualify for the Champions League under the reign of Arsene Wenger.

So how will the drama pan out?

It is difficult to see Manchester City, with Yaya Toure hitting top form, David Silva having regained his verve and Vincent Kompany marshalling the tightest defence in the Premier League, failing now.

They should beat QPR comfortably and take the title on goal difference if United beat Sunderland by anything less than a cricket score.

It would be a deserved title, even if supporters at neighbouring Old Trafford would accuse them of having bought the trophy.

The answer to that is obvious. City may have spent hundreds of millions under Sheikh Mansour, but Ferguson's titles have been liberally sprinkled with expensive transfers, too, such as £30m Rio Ferdinand, £30m Dimitar Berbatov and £25m Wayne Rooney.

We can make a case for Tottenham, with the backing of a home crowd in a London derby, finishing third and Arsenal fourth if they manage only a point at West Brom.

That would mean Newcastle, who face an Everton side flying as usual as the season end nears, having to settle for a spot in the Europa League with Wenger biting his nails on next week's final in Munich.

As for Mark Hughes the chances are he is heading into the npower Championship with Wolves and Blackburn if QPR lose and Bolton win away at Stoke.

If Bolton fail to win, however, then Hughes wins a reprieve even if his side lose. Confused? That is how it should be.

Such conundrums are what make the Premier League's final Sunday one of the most watchable events in sport. This one is simply unmissable.