Premier League
Bullet point previews of Premier League matches
Match-by-match facts and statistics ahead of the 35th round of the Premier League from April 30 to May 2 (all times in GMT):
Saturday, April 30
Newcastle United v Liverpool (1130)
* Liverpool have won 12 of their last 13 Premier League games, keeping a clean sheet in 10 of them.
* Newcastle have won their last six league games at St James’ Park.
* Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah leads the goalscoring charts with 22 league goals, five ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min.
Watford vs Burnley (1400)
* Burnley and Watford played out a goalless draw in the reverse fixture at Turf Moor earlier this season.
* Watford have lost their last 10 matches at home in the league.
* Burnley have won only once in 16 away matches this season.
Southampton v Crystal Palace (1400)
* Crystal Palace have scored one goal in the last four games in all competitions.
* Southampton have only won one of their last eight games in the Premier League.
* The two teams drew 2-2 at Selhurst Park in the reverse fixture earlier this season.
Aston Villa v Norwich City (1400)
* Bottom side Norwich have won only one of their last 11 league games.
* Aston Villa have not won in their last five league matches. (L4 D1)
* Norwich lost 2-0 to Villa at home earlier this season.
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Brighton & Hove Albion(1400)
* Wolves have not been held to a draw so far in 2022.
* Four of the last six games between the teams have ended in a draw.
* Wolves beat Brighton 1-0 at the Amex Stadium in the reverse fixture.
Leeds United v Manchester City (1630)
* City beat Leeds 7-0 earlier this season.
* Leeds are undefeated in their last five league games (W3 D2).
* Leeds are aiming to go six Premier League matches unbeaten for the first time since April 2021. They beat City in that run.
Sunday, May 1
Tottenham Hotspur v Leicester City (1300)
* Spurs have only drawn once at home this season, a 2-2 draw against Liverpool in December.
* The teams have met 31 times in the Premier League, with Tottenham winning 14 and Leicester 12.
* Leicester have won one of their last 11 away league matches.
Everton v Chelsea (1300)
* The teams drew 1-1 earlier this season.
* Everton have won only one of their last five league games (L3 D1).
* The teams have played each other 59 times in the Premier League, with Everton winning 12 times and Chelsea 27 times.
West Ham United v Arsenal (1530)
* West Ham have not lost in their last six home games in the Premier League (W4 D2).
* West Ham have lost more Premier League matches against Arsenal (33) than against any other side in the competition.
* Arsenal forward Alexandre Lacazette has been involved in six goals in his last seven league appearances against West Ham.
Monday, May 2
Manchester United v Brentford (1900)
* Brentford have won five of their last seven games in the Premier League.
* United won 3-1 when the teams last met.
* Brentford’s Christian Eriksen has scored once and provided two assists since joining them after a long period of recovery following a heart attack.
-Reuters
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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