Key events
West Ham v Leeds: Addressing far more frivolous matters, Big Sam turned his attention to the game and said he hoped West Ham’s win over AZ Alkmaar last night might benefit his team as David Moyes’ players may be focussed on their Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina and subconsciously trying to avoid picking up injuries.
“My job is about getting my team playing as well as possible,” he said. “We can normally guess the team that is going to be picked but it is very difficult to look at this one. [David Moyes] made nine changes when they played Brentford last week, and of course our preparation is to try to predict a team, work out how West Ham play and do a little bit of practice against that, both offensively and defensively.
“He might change the team but he will probably play the same way. I’m pleased for him [reaching a European final]; I’ve known him many years. He’s had a fantastic career. Hopefully when we are having a drink afterwards, it is us who have the three points, not him.”
West Ham v Leeds United: With Leeds battling against relegation and Sam Allardyce taking his side to his former stomping ground of West Ham, the big man has been offering his thoughts on exactly what you might expect ahead of the big game: artificial intelligence.
“I fear for our lives, as an old timer,” he said, channeling his inner Abraham Simpson. “AI (artificial intelligence). I’ve just heard about 40,000 jobs going at BT, what are they going to do? The next piece of AI comes in, another 30,000 jobs go, what are they going to do? For me, it is not a great future, the way we are looking at the world and what we are doing with climate change. I worry for my grandchildren.”
And so say all of us, Sam.
Phil Jones to leave Man Utd after 12 years
The club have issued a statement confirming that the 31-year-old defender will leave Old Trafford when his current contract expires at the end of June.
Signed from Blackburn in 2011, Jones enjoyed a good start to his Manchester United career, winning the title in his first season with Sir Alex Ferguson making the bold and arguably unhelpful claim that Jones “could be our best player ever”.
However, a relentless catalogue of injuries derailed Jones’ career and he has barely played in recent years. Capped 27 times by England, Jones leaves United having made 229 appearances for the club, scoring six goals.
“It’s been very difficult, the last couple of years,” said Jones in an interview with the United media team. “There’s no denying that. There is no hiding away from that. My family have been absolutely instrumental in keeping me on the straight and narrow and keeping me focused, to try to get fit and try to play more.
“And, you know, I’ve missed playing football. I missed it. You grow up playing football and all you want to do is play football. It’s all I’ve known, from such a young age, is to do what you love doing for a living. I’ve been fortunate enough to do that, albeit not as much as I would have liked.”
United added: “Our No4 is now taking some time before deciding his next move and everybody at United would like to wish Phil the very best of luck for the future.”
Europa Conference League: West Ham’s joy in reaching the final of the Europa Conference League was marred by supporters of AZ Alkmaar confronting friends and family of the visiting players after the final whistle at the AFAS Stadion, writes Jacob Steinberg.
Pascal Jansen, AZ’s manager, apologised for the trouble. “I feel ashamed it happened in our stadium. It should not be happening. You have to stay in control of your emotions.” Read on …
This weekend’s Premier League action
Manchester City will be confirmed as champions for the fifth time in six year with a victory over Chelsea in front of their own fans on Sunday but will not even need a result should Nottingham Forest beat Arsenal tomorrow afternoon.
Liverpool host Villa as they attempt to keep the pressure on Manchester United and Newcastle in the race for a top four finish, while Unai Emery’s men have European aspirations of their own. Duking it out to qualify for the Europa League, Villa are breathing down the necks of a Tottenham side who host Brentford and Brighton, who host already relegated Southampton.
In the fight against the drop, Forest entertain Arsenal, while Everton travel to Wolves and Leeds are hosted by a West Ham side that might still need a point to guarantee survival. And for the third time in three weeks, Leicester have to wait until Monday night to rage against the dying of the light. An unenviable trip to St James’ Park is next on their itinerary
Premier League fixtures
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Tottenham Hotspur v Brentford (Sat 12.30pm BST)
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Liverpool v Aston Villa (3pm)
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Wolves v Everton (3pm)
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Bournemouth v Manchester United (3pm)
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Fulham v Crystal Palace (3pm)
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Nottingham Forest v Arsenal (5.30pm)
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West Ham v Leeds United (Sunday 1.30pm)
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Brighton v Southampton (2pm)
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Manchester City v Chelsea (4pm)
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Newcastle United v Leicester City (Mon 8pm)
Football, bloody hell …
It’s the morning after the night before and leading into yet another big weekend. And what a night it was, eh? In the Premier League, Newcastle United put a recent wobble behind them to boost their hopes of a top four finish by emphatically beating Brighton at St James’ Park. One win from their final two games will guarantee the Mags their first taste of Champions League group action for 21 years.
On any other Thursday evening, West Ham’s win over AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League to book their place in their first European cup final in 47 years would almost certainly guarantee top billing but at Hillsborough, Sheffield Wednesday had other ideas and yelled “hold our beer!” and rolled up their sleeves.
With angry calls for his head still ringing in his ears after last week’s League One playoff semi-final first leg humiliation at the hands of Peterborough United, Darren Moore somehow rallied his troops to pull off an astonishing comeback by overturning a four-goal deficit to qualify for the Wembley final. A 5-1 win after extra time in a terrific game took the tie to penalties and Wednesday’s nerveless players scored all five of theirs to miraculously advance.
It’s a hard to act to follow but there’s plenty of weekend action ahead in which various teams can try and we’ll be previewing plenty of it throughout the day.
