Photo credit: www.theguardian.com
Key events
A chance for Aston Villa at Brighton: A well-executed play transitions the ball from defense to attack. Digne delivers a cross that finds McGinn in the center, but his header narrowly misses the target, sailing a couple of yards wide.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Leicester City (Grealish, 2 mins)
What a remarkably straightforward goal to score so early in the match! Leicester mishandles the ball in their own half, allowing Manchester City to push it out to the right side. Grealish, positioned centrally just 15 yards out, receives a pass that trickles to him, and he effortlessly slots it home!
Jack Grealish gets the scoring underway for City. It appears to be a challenging evening ahead for Leicester.
In recent matches, Leicester has faced disheartening results, accumulating no points, failing to score, and conceding ten goals over their last four games. This abysmal form is noteworthy, although they are not the only struggling team; Southampton shares similar woes with a goal difference of -11. Interestingly, Manchester City finds themselves in a less favorable position as well, sitting at a disappointing 16th in the last-four-game standings with just four points and missing key player Erling Haaland. Could this open a sliver of hope for the visiting team?
No, that prospect seems rather bleak.
Meanwhile, outside the Etihad Stadium, a protest is taking place regarding the club’s recent alliance with Viagogo, a ticket resale platform which marks the ninth such partnership for the club. Supporters are encouraged to refrain from entering their seats until nine minutes into the match or to maintain silence during the first nine minutes as a form of dissent. The sentiment expressed reads:
Viagogo has been added as an official partner for ticket resale, with no price freeze on season tickets, leaving long-standing fans feeling overlooked. Action is needed now.
Support this collective stand for the first 9 minutes against Leicester.
Proudly backing this initiative are @WeAre1894 and @MCFCfoodbank pic.twitter.com/ljD22PlzwJ
Stephy Mavididi is sitting on the bench for Leicester against Manchester City tonight. Reports indicate he faced some issues with his headphones prior to the match. There was one-ear Mavididi:
Stephy Mavididi of Leicester City arrives at the stadium ahead of the Premier League fixture.
And then no-ear Mavididi. This is not typically how headphones are expected to function:
Stephy Mavididi looking ready before the match.
Liverpool versus Everton has its own dedicated liveblog, so if you’re inclined to follow just that contest, I recommend joining Michael Butler for updates. Nonetheless, here are the line-ups for both fixtures:
Liverpool: Kelleher, Jones, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz, Jota. Subs: Jaros, Endo, Nunez, Chiesa, Gakpo, Elliott, Tsimikas, McConnell, Quansah.
Everton: Pickford, O’Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Gueye, Garner, Harrison, Doucoure, Alcaraz, Beto. Subs: Virginia, Patterson, Keane, Ndiaye, Chermiti, Young, Broja, Coleman, Iroegbunam.
Referee: Sam Barrott.
Premier League teams
Team updates are coming in. Let’s compile the Premier League line-ups here:
Bournemouth v Ipswich
Bournemouth: Arrizabalaga, Smith, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez, Christie, Cook, Ouattara, Scott, Semenyo, Evanilson. Subs: Dennis, Senesi, Brooks, Adams, Soler, Jebbison, Hill, Silcott-Duberry, Winterburn.
Ipswich: Palmer, Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Burgess, Townsend, Morsy, Cajuste, Johnson, Enciso, Broadhead, Delap. Subs: Walton, Woolfenden, Phillips, Chaplin, Jack Taylor, Greaves, Hirst, Philogene-Bidace, Clarke.
Referee: Robert Jones.
Brighton v Aston Villa
Brighton: Verbruggen, Hinshelwood, van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan, Gomez, Ayari, Adingra, Gruda, Mitoma, Joao Pedro. Subs: Rushworth, March, Cashin, Minteh, Welbeck, Baleba, O’Riley, Tasker, Wieffer.
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Kamara, Tielemans, Rogers, McGinn, Ramsey, Rashford. Subs: Olsen, Disasi, Mings, Watkins, Garcia, Malen, Maatsen, Onana, Asensio.
Referee: Stuart Attwell.
Manchester City v Leicester
Manchester City: Ederson, Matheus Luiz, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly, Gonzalez, Gundogan, Savio, Grealish, Doku, Marmoush. Subs: Ortega, Kovacic, De Bruyne, Silva, Vitor Reis, Foden, Bobb, Lewis, McAtee.
Leicester: Hermansen, Faes, Coady, Thomas, Justin, Ndidi, Soumare, Kristiansen, Daka, El Khannous, Vardy. Subs: Buonanotte, Coulibaly, Skipp, Ricardo Pereira, Ayew, De Cordova-Reid, Okoli, Mavididi, Stolarczyk.
Referee: Darren England.
Newcastle v Brentford
Newcastle: Pope, Trippier, Schar, Burn, Livramento, Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton, Murphy, Isak, Barnes. Subs: Dubravka, Wilson, Krafth, Osula, Willock, Longstaff, Miley, Neave, Shahar.
Brentford: Flekken, van den Berg, Collins, Pinnock, Lewis-Potter, Norgaard, Janelt, Mbeumo, Yarmolyuk, Schade, Wissa. Subs: Valdimarsson, Mee, Ajer, Damsgaard, Konak, Maghoma, Kayode, Kim, Morgan.
Referee: Peter Bankes.
Southampton v Crystal Palace
Southampton: Ramsdale, Stephens, Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis, Walker-Peters, Downes, Ugochukwu, Manning, Fernandes, Onuachu, Sulemana. Subs: McCarthy, Aribo, Bree, Wood-Gordon, Sugawara, Archer, Dibling, Welington, Bella-Kotchap.
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Clyne, Lacroix, Guehi, Munoz, Wharton, Lerma, Mitchell, Sarr, Eze, Mateta. Subs: Turner, Ward, Nketiah, Franca, Kamada, Esse, Chilwell, Devenny, Kporha.
Referee: Andrew Madley.
Hell world!
The season draws to a close next month, and at this juncture, all teams understand their standings and what they are fighting for. Strategies are forming as the end approaches, and insights into each team’s ambitions are being sharpened.
Consider Newcastle and their manager, Eddie Howe: “There are 10 games left, with many teams vying for Champions League spots. It’s one of the closest Premier League competitions we’ve witnessed in recent years, with little separating those in contention, making consistency vital. Naturally, we aspire for that consistency and will strive to secure our position in these final games.” Unai Emery of Aston Villa shares a similar sentiment: “There’s fierce competition for these places. We’re poised for both an FA Cup semi-final and a Champions League quarter-final – it’s remarkable how we approach the final stretch. We recognize the challenges and know we must improve significantly.” On the other end, Ivan Juric of Southampton expresses concern: “I want to avoid being labeled as the worst team in Premier League history. Our aim is clear: we must work hard to escape the bottom of the table.”
The outcomes of tonight’s matches may further clarify the fates of these teams. Do Ipswich or Leicester have a fighting chance of survival? Will any other teams drop off from the intense Champions League race? Additionally, there’s a subplot involving the Championship survival battle and the scramble for promotion in League Two.
Here are tonight’s fixtures in full (all kick off at 7:45 pm BST unless noted):
Bournemouth v Ipswich
Brighton v Aston Villa
Liverpool v Everton (8 pm)
Manchester City v Leicester City
Newcastle United v Brentford
Southampton v Crystal Palace
And in the Championship:
Derby County v Preston North End
Also in League Two:
Notts County v Milton Keynes Dons
Source
www.theguardian.com