Premier League
Bullet point previews of English Premier League matches
Match-by-match facts and statistics ahead of the next round of Premier League fixtures from April 1-3 (all times GMT):
Saturday, April 1
Manchester City v Liverpool (1130)
* Manchester City have lost only one of their last 13 Premier League home games against Liverpool (W7 D5).
* Liverpool are looking to complete the league double over City for only the second time in the last 17 seasons.
* Liverpool have taken only 12 points from their 13 Premier League away games this season (W3 D3 L7), compared to 30 at home. They have the biggest difference between points won at home and on the road in the Premier League this season (18).
Arsenal v Leeds United (1400)
* Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 13 meetings with Leeds in all competitions (W11 D2), since a 3-2 home loss in May 2003 that ended their title bid that season.
* Arsenal have won their last six Premier League games, their joint-longest such run under manager Mikel Arteta. They last won seven in a row between August and October 2018 under Unai Emery.
* Both Arsenal and Leeds have had a joint-high 14 different goalscorers in the Premier League this season (excluding own goals, Chelsea also 14).
Bournemouth v Fulham (1400)
* Each of the last three league meetings between Bournemouth and Fulham have been drawn, with the away side opening the scoring each time.
* Fulham won their only previous top-flight away game against Bournemouth, picking up a 1-0 win in April 2019 courtesy of striker Aleksandar Mitrovic’s penalty.
* Since the resumption of the Premier League following the World Cup, no side has lost more games (eight), won fewer points (eight) or scored fewer goals (seven) than Bournemouth.
Brighton & Hove Albion v Brentford (1400)
* Brighton have alternated between victory (three) and defeat (two) in their last five home league games against Brentford, winning this fixture 2-0 last season.
* Brentford are looking to complete their first league double over Brighton since the 2014-15 campaign when the sides were in the second-division Championship.
* Five of Brighton’s seven Premier League defeats this season have come against London clubs, including three of their four home losses.
Crystal Palace & Leicester City (1400)
* After winning four consecutive Premier League games against Leicester between 2017 and 2019, Crystal Palace are now winless in their last seven against the Foxes (D3 L4).
* Crystal Palace are winless in their last 13 games in all competitions (D5 L8), since beating Bournemouth 2-0 on New Year’s Eve.
* Roy Hodgson, the Premier League’s oldest ever manager at 75, returns to Crystal Palace having previously taken charge of them for 148 Premier League games between 2017 and 2021.
Nottingham Forest & Wolverhampton Wanderers (1400)
* Nottingham Forest have won only one of their last eight league games against Wolves (D2 L5), a 2-0 away win in the Championship in January 2018.
* This is the first time Nottingham Forest are hosting Wolves in a top-flight match since November 1983, when they won 5-0 under manager Brian Clough.
* Wolves have had a league-high six red cards in the Premier League this season.
Chelsea & Aston Villa (1630)
* Chelsea have won nine of their last 11 Premier League games against Aston Villa (D1 L1), with the only defeat in that run coming at Villa Park on the final day of the 2020-21 campaign.
* Chelsea have won two of their last three Premier League games (D1), as many wins as in their previous 15 combined (D6 L7).
* Since Unai Emery’s first away Premier League game in charge of Villa in November, only Manchester City (16) and Arsenal (15) have picked up more points on the road than Villa (13 – W4 D1 L1).
Sunday, April 2
West Ham United & Southampton (1300)
* West Ham have lost only one of their last 10 Premier League games against Southampton (W6 D3).
* Southampton have picked up as many points in their six Premier League games under Ruben Selles (W2 D2 L2) as they had in their 17 games before Feb 18. (W2 D2 L13).
* No other sides have kept fewer clean sheets in the Premier League this season than Southampton (four) and West Ham (five).
Newcastle United & Manchester United (1530)
* Newcastle are winless in six Premier League games against Manchester United (D2 L4). They have not gone three league games without defeat against United since January 2012 (W1 D2).
* United have won more Premier League away games against Newcastle than any other side (14).
* United forward Marcus Rashford has been involved in seven goals in his eight Premier League starts against Newcastle (four goals, three assists). Only against Arsenal and Leicester (nine each) has he been involved in more.
Monday, April 3
Everton & Tottenham Hotspur (1900)
* Everton have won only one of their last 20 Premier League games against Spurs (D9 L10), picking up a 1-0 away win in September 2020.
* Tottenham have conceded as many Premier League goals this season as they did in the whole of last term (40).
* Everton have won three of their four Premier League games at Goodison Park under manager Sean Dyche (L1), more than their first 10 home league games of the season under Frank Lampard beforehand (W2 D2 L6).
-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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