Premier League
Bullet point previews of Premier League matches
Match-by-match facts and statistics ahead of the next round of Premier League fixtures from April 29-May 2 (all times GMT):
Saturday, April 29
Crystal Palace v West Ham United (1130)
* Palace, who beat West Ham 2-1 at the London Stadium in November, are looking to complete their third Premier League double over David Moyes’s side, having achieved the feat in the 2013-14 and 2019-20 seasons.
* West Ham have lost one of their last eight away league games against Crystal Palace (W5 D2). West Ham won 3-2 on their last two visits to Selhurst Park.
* Palace have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 17 league games against West Ham.
Brentford v Nottingham Forest (1400)
* Brentford have won one of their last six league games against Nottingham Forest (D2 L3). The only Premier League meeting between the sides ended in a 2-2 draw in November.
* Brentford have won both of their home league games against newly-promoted sides this season, beating Fulham 3-2 in March and winning 2-0 against Bournemouth in January.
* Forest have lost their last six league away games, conceding at least two goals in each of those defeats.
Brighton & Hove Albion v Wolverhampton Wanderers (1400)
* Following their 3-2 win at Molineux in November, Brighton are looking to complete a league double over Wolves for the first time since 2016-17.
* Wolves, who beat Brighton 1-0 in this fixture last season, have never won consecutive away league games against Brighton.
* Wolves are winless in their last five away games (D2 L3).
Sunday, April 30
Manchester United v Aston Villa (1300)
* Villa have won two of their last three games against United (D1), as many as they had in their previous 51.
* Following their 3-1 win at Villa Park in November, Villa are looking to complete a first league double over United since 1954-55.
* Villa are unbeaten in their last 10 league games (W8 D2).
Fulham v Manchester City (1300)
* Fulham have not beaten Manchester City in 15 previous league meetings (D3 L12).
* City have won their last 13 matches against Fulham in all competitions.
* Fulham have lost five of their last seven league games (W2).
Bournemouth v Leeds United (1300)
* This is Bournemouth’s first home league game against Leeds since a 3-1 defeat in the second-tier Championship in 2014.
* Leeds have won 10 of their 13 league games against Bournemouth (D2 L1).
* Each of Bournemouth’s last six Premier League home goals has been scored by a different player.
Newcastle United v Southampton (1300)
* Newcastle have lost just one of their last 11 Premier League games against Southampton (W7 D3).
* Southampton have won just one of their last 17 Premier League away games against Newcastle (D4 L12).
* No side has lost fewer Premier League home games than Newcastle this season.
Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur (1530)
* Liverpool have lost just one of their last 20 Premier League games against Spurs (W13 D6).
* Six of Tottenham’s last seven Premier League goals against Liverpool have been scored by either Harry Kane (three) or Son Heung-min (three).
* Mohamed Salah has been involved in 11 goals in his last eight home games in all competitions (eight goals, three assists), scoring at least once in each of his last six.
Monday, May 1
Leicester City v Everton (1900)
* Following their 2-0 win at Goodison Park in November, Leicester are looking to complete the Premier League double over Everton for only the second time.
* Leicester manager Dean Smith has won four and lost none of his six Premier League meetings with Everton.
* Everton have won their last two Premier League away games against Leicester – they have never won three consecutive visits to the Foxes in their league history.
Tuesday, May 2
Arsenal v Chelsea (1900)
* Arsenal have won four of their last five Premier League games against Chelsea (L1), as many as they had in their previous 23 against them (D6 L13).
* Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka has been directly involved in 16 goals in his 16 Premier League home games this season (nine goals, seven assists).
* Chelsea have lost 11 of their 26 Premier League matches since Thomas Tuchel departed (W7 D8), as many as they lost in their 63 games under the German between January 2021 and September 2022 (W35 D17 L11).
-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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