Tomorrow, 3pm. Kick-off in what the marketing men claim is The Most Important Afternoon In The World Ever. And it is true that the battle for the Barclays Premier League title, the first time in 40 years that two teams fighting for the title have been level on points with a game to go, is pretty big.

Some momentous events have happened on May 11: riots on Paris's Left Bank in 1968, the assassination of prime minister Spencer Perceval in 1812, the closing of Cats in the West End in 2002. Some would say that tomorrow's matches at Stamford Bridge and the JJB Stadium are more important than any of those.

Tomorrow at 3pm, many streets will be deserted. In the Wild West there would be tumbleweed blowing through town, but in 21st-century Britain it is plastic bags. In homes and pubs, eyes will be glued to television sets, ears craning towards radios, mouths glugging down pints of whatever it takes to get through 90 minutes of suspense.

Bolton Wanderers will never have as many fans again as they will get from the “We Hate Chelsea” brigade tomorrow. “Za vashe zdorov'ye, Emile Heskey,” will be the toast made by babushkas in Chukotka, the Russian province governed by Roman Abramovich, if the Wigan Athletic forward downs Manchester United. And there is the small matter of top-flight survival to occupy Fulham, Birmingham City and Reading fans.

It may be a good time to do some shopping if you do not care much for football. A spokesman for the AA said yesterday: “We expect a noticeable decrease in traffic volumes during the matches, particularly in town centres as fans congregate to watch.”

The National Grid, by contrast, is not expecting a power surge, not even for the fabled half-time cuppa.

Sky is showing the Wigan v United game on Sky Sports 1, Chelsea v Bolton on Sky Sports 2 and both at the same time on a split screen - with the possible addition of Birmingham v Blackburn Rovers, making an eye-watering triptych - via the interactive button. The broadcaster would not predict viewing figures, but with six million subscribers, plus tens of thousands of pubs showing the matches, they are likely to be substantial.

BBC Radio 5 Live, which averages 2.48million listeners for Saturday afternoon football, is also expecting a large audience for its coverage of the match in Wigan, plus updates from all other games. talkSPORT has the rights to the Chelsea game.

And for those who are not bothered, there is a repeat of Inspector Morse on ITV3. It involves tension, violence and ultimately heartbreak for the curmudgeonly lead character. An omen for Sir Alex Ferguson?