Live Blogs

WEST HAM’S European hopes are going up in smoke on all fronts.The Hammers had the chance to grab sixth place in the Premier League but Andreas Pereira piled on more misery following Thursday’s 2-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League.Andreas Pereira hails his match-winning doubleCredit: PAPereira fired an early opener at London StadiumCredit: AlamyThe Cottagers’ midfielder completed his double on 72 minutesCredit: AlamyWith their hopes of progressing to the last four all but over, the Premier League’s European race has taken huge significance once more.The players knew it, but with legs sapped from midweek could not rise to the task.Instead of taking the initiative, David Moyes’ men fluffed a huge early chance, struggled to string more than two passes together all afternoon and quickly ran out of ideas when it came to testing Fulham.With Jarrod Bowen still missing Moyes needed his big players to step up, but star man Lucas Paqueta spent the afternoon gifting the ball to the Cottagers.Had Fulham taken all the chances West Ham had offered up this could have been a repeat of the 5-0 hammering by the Thames in December.Looking to lift the spirits from Thursday in quick fashion, Moyes threw caution to the wind somewhat.The Scot went against his usual plan and started two up top as Danny Ings joined Antonio to lead the line – and they went in search of a quick start.Paqueta was flicking the ball over Alex Iwobi’s seconds after the start, while Antonio should have fired the hosts ahead after just four minutes.Hammers’ sub George Earthy suffered a serious injury on his debutCredit: RexAfter Vladimir Coufal had forced Bernd Leno to parry the ball straight to Antonio’s feet just seven yards out, he somehow blasted high over the bar.Mohammed Kudus and Paqueta went close in the minutes after – but soon the flicks and tricks, as well as a huge cock-up from Mavropanos, undid West Ham’s bright start.West Ham boss David Moyes slams Bayer Leverkusen’s bench as ‘a disgrace’ for what they did during fiery clashPaqueta tried another flick in midfield, though this one was intercepted by Iwobi.The ex-Arsenal man clipped a cross straight to Mavropanos in the box, but instead of simply clearing it the Greek defender attempted to bring it down – teeing up Pereira to round Lukasz Fabianski and undo West Ham’s promising start.Moyes will take more heat for a job not done from frustrated fans, but when those out on the pitch are struggling to even clear or control balls there is little that anyone on the sideline can do.Pereira could have had his second far earlier too when Fulham broke down the left but he could only send Willian’s cross wide on the stretch.For a team which is so often criticised for being too defensive, West Ham have even struggled to get that side of their game right this season.This was a 13th straight Premier League game without a clean sheet, with Lukasz Fabianski just as busy here as he was in Leverkusen on Thursday.The Pole, who turns 39 on Thursday, had to stop efforts from Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Muniz, before pulling off a superb diving save to tip Iwobi’s effort around the post after more appalling defending from Mavropanos.West Ham were only managing half chances when they managed to get forward.James Ward-Prowse sent a hopeful low shot at Leno before heading a cross from Paqueta high and wide, while Coufal did the same with an effort at the far post.Moyes sent on Tomas Soucek to try add some life to his flat side, but just as soon as the Czech got going Paqueta gave the ball away again.With no one showing to pass too, the Brazilian tried to do too much on the ball and was dispossessed by Palhinha.Fulham’s midfield maestro played in Pereira, sparking the sort of flowing move West Ham could only have dreamed of all afternoon.Pereira found Muniz, who slipped the ball wide to Iwobi. In space he drove forwards and crossed back to Pereira, who tucked home his brace.West Ham’s afternoon got even worse when, in the final minutes of normal time, teenager George Earthy – making his Premier League debut – suffered a sickening head injury and had to be carried off on a stretcher off and taken to hospital after being down on the ground for eight minutes.Players and staff were visibly shaken, with Marco Silva even darting onto the pitch as soon as the youngster went down.The 11 minutes added on played out like a training session, the already flat atmosphere completely sapped by Earthy’s injury. More

LIVERPOOL return to Premier League action hoping to pick up three big points against London outfit Crystal Palace.The Reds were recently humiliated 3-0 in the Europa League by Italian side Atalanta.But they’ll be expected to get back to winning ways against a Palace side who recently suffered a 4-2 home defeat at the hands of Manchester City.
Kick-off time: 2pm BST
Live stream: NOW TV
TV channel: Sky Sports Main Event / Premier League
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKER More

IN the end it was ruthless.Luton’s brave rearguard action that had lasted for over an hour to keep the scoreline at 1-0 was eventually dismantled.Man City thumped Luton at the EtihadCredit: GettyErling Haaland’s deflected strike got Man City off to the perfect startCredit: EPAThen the floodgates opened.It is okay Rodri, you have your rest, we can take it from here.Rodri was allowed to put his feet up after complaining following the 3-3 draw in the Bernabeu that he was tired and needed a rest.The man who replaced him provided the moment that eased any nerves their might have been in The Etihad.Mateo Kovacic blasted the ball home on 64 minutes for Manchester City’s second.A penalty from Alfie Haaland on 76 minutes started to give the scoreline a more just reflection of the domination Pep Guardiola’s side enjoyed.A brief response from Ross Barkley on 81 minutes prompted Jeremy Doku and Josko Gvardiol to go back up the end to grab another two.Pep Guardiola had understandably made changes for this game.BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERStill,you can change the names on the Manchester City start sheet but the football and the results stay the same.They are unbeaten now in their last 27.Avoid defeat to Madrid on Wednesday and it will be 42 straight unbeaten at home, a record that has stood since set in 1919 and equalled in 1921.This victory put them back on top for the first time since November with Liverpool and Arsenal both playing on Sunday (tomorrow).It also helped greatly with the goal difference that could yet decide this great title race.It was something of a victory for Luton that they actually managed to get to half-time just one-nil down.The half-time stats were remarkable given that City only had one goal to their name.City had 78 per cent possession, hit 18 shots to Luton’s non and had 10 corners to the Hatters one.Still it was only Haaland’s wickedly deflected effort after just 66 seconds of play that separated the team.Kevin  De Bruyne, missing from the game in Madrid due to sickness, supplied one of those sublime through balls that have graced this turf for so long.Threading the needle, he sent Haaland through one-on-one but Kaminski did brilliant to block his effort.The ball was still alive with Doku’s own deflected shot that found Haaland again and his miscued volley hit Daiki Hashiok on the head and went past his own goalkeeper.The same Luton player had also helped Arsenal out with an ‘og’ less than a fortnight ago, the second in a 2-0 win for the Gunners.Floodgate creaking you would have thought as City immediately piled forward for more.Gvardiol has clearly got a taste for goal after his spectacular effort in the Bernanbeu.Receiving the ball about the same distance out as last Tuesday he tried to replicate that goal but this time the goalkeeper was equal to it.Doku was buzzing around the left flank and when he made it to the byline and pulled the ball back Matheus Nunes was there but his effort was weak and straight at the ‘keeper.De Bruyne and Haaland linked up again but this time the Norwegian goal machine eased the ball over the bar on the half volley.On it went. Nunes clipped the far post, De Bruyne had an effort of his own saved at full length and when the half-time whistle went there was a sense of deflation at the scoreline in The Etihad.That would change by the final whistle as Luton finally whilted after Kovacic’s strike.Alvarez and Doku played a shot corner between them and the former delivered a ball to the edge of the area which Kovacic caught absolutely perfectly with a scorching volley that fizzed past Kaminski.A foul by Fred Onyedinma on the lively Doku saw referee John Brookes to the spot and Haaland sent the goalkeeper the wrong way for his 31st goal of the season.Not bad for a league two player.Luton didn’t down tools and a Matheus Nunes mistake even gave their visiting fans something to cheer as Ross Barkley picked a loose ball beat his man and fired across Ederson to score in the 81st minute.It only served to anger City into a further response.Doku got the goal his performance deserved on 87 minutes as he wriggled his way into the box before sliding the ball into the net.Then in injury time up stepped Gvardiol with another stunner.Ruthless. More

NOTTINGHAM FOREST continue their fight for Premier League safety with a tough test against Midlands rivals Wolves.Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were dealt a huge blow to their survival hunt last weekend having lost 3-1 to Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham.But it was also a disappointing time for Wolves last time out as they lost to a late goal by West Ham’s James Ward-Prowse.BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKER More

Aro Muric might have thought it was impossible to top his howler at Everton last week – but he did. By a mile.The Burnley keeper was embarrassed at Goodison Park a week ago when his attempted clearance hit Dominic Calvert-Lewin and looped into the net for a winner.Arijanet Muric had a howler for the second week running to damage Burnley’s safety hopesCredit: ReutersMuric saw the ball roll under his foot after a pass backCredit: ReutersBut the equaliser he gifted Brighton was a whole lot worse – so bad, it will haunt him for the rest of his career.There was no danger at all as Sander Berge rolled a pass back to the Kosovan keeper with 11 minutes left.But somehow, Muric allowed the ball to roll under his boot and into the net – as Burnley’s fans howled in anguish.It came just five minutes after substitute Josh Brownhill looked to have given the Clarets a glimmer of hope in their survival bid as he pounced on an error at the other end.The midfielder charged down Bart Verbruggen’s attempted clearance to score after the keeper had been sold short by Carlos Baleba’s underhit back pass.But no-one will remember Verbruggen’s moment of misery, because Muric surpassed it.Vincent Kompany’s side desperately needed a lucky break, with games running out and the drop looming – but this wasn’t their day.Fortune was against them when the lively Wilson Odobert tumbled over Pervis Estupinan inside the area early on, with Simon Hooper turning away the penalty appeals, and a VAR check backing up the referee.BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERBut Burnley had only themselves to blame as they passed up two glorious chances in the first half.Danish winger Jacob Bruun Larsen failed to score in the 17th minute, when he was left unmarked at the far post yet somehow swept Wilson Odobert’s cross wide from three yards out.Then right on half-time, Chelsea loanee David Datro Fofana darted into the centre to meet another superb ball in from French teenager Odobert, only for the ball to whizz past off the top of his boot.But in between, Burnley had to see off plenty of first-half pressure from a Brighton side who had failed to score in five of their previous eight matches.Simon Adingra’s burst down the right took him past Vitinho and within sight of goal, and although Muric blocked his shot, there was then a nervy moment for the keeper, who had to clear quickly in a crowded box as Maxime Esteve fired a back pass at him.The Kosovan keeper was kept busy during the first half – he held another Adingra shot comfortably enough, then spilled a long-range effort from Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba, having to scramble to gather the loose ball.Here’s how the game played out on paperBurnley looked more threatening despite having less of the ballMuric could only watch as Joao Pedro stole in behind Vitinho to glance wide from Pascal Gross’ superb angled cross, but was alert later in the half to push away Jakub Moder’s free-kick, and blocked Danny Welbeck at close range as the striker closed in from a tight angle before the break.Esteve had to make a brilliant tackle early in the second half as Adingra raced through on goal, with Brighton starting to pick holes in the Burnley back line.Fofana had one chance to make up for his first-half miss before being hauled off with just over an hour gone, and he flung himself at a right-wing cross from Lorenz Assignon to plant a diving header just wide.But Brighton had a strong spell after that as the hosts got sloppy with the ball, with Gross seeing one shot deflected just wide with Muric stranded, and then having another tipped over by the keeper after Sander Berge had lost possession cheaply.Gross took the resulting corner and caused more Burnley panic, with Joao Pedro glancing a header just wide.Kompany sent on Jay Rodriguez in a desperate bid to find a goal, and was almost rewarded, with the striker steering a low shot, gathered by keeper Bart Verbruggen, after Odobert’s run had teed up the chance.At that point, the game looked to be drifting towards a 0-0 draw, but then came Brownhill’s breakthrough – followed by the mother of all howlers from Muric.BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKER More

BRENTFORD and Sheffield United battle this afternoon for three Premier League points.Oli McBurnie’s stoppage-time strike rescued a point for the Blades against Chelsea.And they will be determined to build on that courageous draw against a Brentford side who recently shared the spoils with Aston Villa.BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKER More

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR, it’s happened again. New manager? Check. New players? Check. Demolished at St James’ Park? Of course. Alexander Isak scored twice to put Newcastle in the Champions League raceCredit: AFPAnge Postecoglou’s side was not at the races at St James’ ParkCredit: ReutersAnthony Gordon also put Spurs to the sword todayCredit: ReutersHere’s how the game went on paperNewcastle proved too much for Spurs for most of the gameBattered 6-1 here last year, it was Ange Postecoglou’s turn to leave Tyneside feeling blue. The shellshocked Aussie couldn’t believe his eyes as his Champions League-chasing side crumbled to their heaviest defeat of his reign. Throw on a Spurs kit at St James’ and they just can’t help disintegrating. Newcastle started the mauling with two first-half goals in 95 seconds and the abject North Londoners never recovered. If you’re looking for the worst individual performance of the season then look no further than Micky van de Ven.The defender had a howler for the first three goals, though he was far from the only culprit.Alexander Isak was the Toon hero, scoring a brace to make it 17 Prem goals for the campaign and seven from his last seven.Anthony Gordon was the other tormentor-in-chief, bagging his 10th of the season and running bedraggled Tottenham ragged all afternoon in front of England boss Gareth Southgate.BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERIt’s back-to-back wins for the first time since December, leaving a Europa League spot – unlikely just a few weeks ago – well within their grasp.Sorry Spurs have now won just two of their last 10 away games.Every Premier League stadium ranked by the number of pubs nearby with one boasting over 130 local boozersAnd after fluffing their lines in spectacular fashion, nervous fans will be left cheering on Arsenal today against Aston Villa to keep their Champions League dream alive.It didn’t take long for a sense of deja vu to take hold in the sunshine – and to think they started so brightly.Timo Werner had the best early opening after Brennan Johnson gassed Dan Burn down the right and put it on a plate at the back post, but the German skied his volley halfway up the Gallowgate.He was then teed up six yards out by James Maddison, only to completely shank it off his left peg.Butchering huge chances is what Werner does better than most, and these ones came at a huge cost as Newcastle scored two goals in the blink of an eye 30 minutes in.The Geordies were happy to sit back and counter, with Gordon looking threatening every time he got it.Eddie Howe was all smiles as Toon laid down their claim for a UCL spotCredit: RexPedro Porro had a horror show against the MagpiesCredit: AFPAnd the Scouse winger created the first, beating Destiny Udogie’s weak challenge to latch onto Bruno Guimaraes’ floated ball up field and feed Isak.The red-hot striker did the rest, cutting inside to leave Van de Ven on his backside before firing home.If that wasn’t embarrassing enough, the exact same thing happened to the hapless Dutch defender just 95 seconds later.Spurs quickly lost possession from the kick-off and Pedro Porro carelessly hooked it inside straight to Gordon, who left calamitous Van de Ven in a heap again and powered through Vicario.Tottenham were 5-0 down after just 21 minutes here last term, so this was some improvement.But the self-destruct button had been struck again, with potentially disastrous consequences for their Champions League hopes.Son Heung-min was hooked by Postecoglou as Newcastle ran rampantCredit: ReutersThe defence was all over the shop and they were fortunate not to have been further behind by the break.Whatever a furious Postecoglou said at the break had no impact as they quickly found themselves dead and buried at 3-0.And Van de Ven was at fault AGAIN. Supposedly the quickest centre-back in the Prem, Isak left him for dead on halfway to race onto Bruno’s long ball.Bearing down on goal, Vicario bizarrely stayed rooted to his line, making life so easy for Isak as he had all the time in the world to pick his spot and bury.Ange rang the changes with a triple sub, but it was too little too late.His rabble were well beaten and it quickly became a case of whether the Mags could match or even better last year’s hammering in the final half hour.Fortunately for Spurs, the hosts took their foot off the gas – though there was still time for one more.Emil Krafth came closest to getting the fourth, firing a volley off the post.And just as the Toon Army were happy with their lot as they eyed up celebratory pints on the Bigg Market, up popped Fabian Schar to nod home a brilliantly-worked corner.
Kick-off time: 12:30pm BST
Live stream: discovery+
TV channel: TNT Sports 1
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKER More

MANCHESTER UNITED face Bournemouth TODAY in a crucial clash in the race for top four. Erik ten Hag’s side currently sit sixth in the table, 11 points behind Tottenham in fourth and Aston Villa in fifth with just seven games remaining.
Kick-off time: 5.30pm BST
Channel/stream: NOW TV/Sky Go
Man Utd XI: Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Kambwala, Maguire, Dalot; Casemiro, Mainoo; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Højlund
Bournemouth XI: Neto; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez; Cook, Christie; Sinisterra, Kluivert, Ouattara; Solanke
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKER*Odds courtesy of Paddy Power and are correct at the time of publication.Cherries form
Bournemouth lost their last Premier League game to Luton Town.
Before that defeat, Andoni Iraola’s side had won three out of three as they cemented themselves in the league for another season.
A win today could put the hosts on level points with 10th-placed Brighton.
Copy linkCopiedUnited’s recent league form
Erik ten Hag will be desperate for his side to pick up their first win since March.
In the Premier League, United have not won since March 9 when they beat Everton 2-0 at Old Trafford.
Since then they have drawn to Brentford and Liverpool and lost to Chelsea.
Credit: Getty
Copy linkCopiedUnited looking to avoid record
Manchester United will be looking to avoid losing to Bournemouth for a second time this season.
Should the Cherries win the match it will be the first time they have ever done the double over the Red Devils.
Bournemouth won the reverse fixture 3-0 at Old Trafford earlier in the season.
Copy linkCopiedWheatley makes team
Ethan Wheatley is a new name for Man United as he was named on the bench to face Bournemouth.
The 18-year-old gets the nod as Erik ten Hga manages an injury crisis.

Copy linkCopiedCherries XI
Here is a look at the Bournemouth team to face Man United.
Credit: X
Copy linkCopiedMan Utd team news
Manchester United have named their XI to take on Bournemouth today.
Credit: x
Copy linkCopiedWelcome to Bournemouth vs Man Utd!
Hello and welcome to Bournemouth’s clash with Manchester United at the Vitality Stadium.
Erik Ten Hag’s men need a big win if they’re to keep up pace in the race for top four.
But Dominic Solanke and Co will be looking to upset the odds in this evening’s Premier League kick-off.
We’ll have all the latest from the south coast right here at SunSport.
Copy linkCopied More