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Bournemouth are considering Rayo Vallecano boss Inigo Perez, Coventry manager Frank Lampard and Kieran McKenna as they plan for life after Andoni Iraola, who has decided to leave at the end of the season.

Iraola informed the club over the international break that he wanted to leave in the summer, having decided three years was a natural “end of the cycle” on the South Coast.

They made extensive efforts to persuade Iraola to stay over 15 months, offering a bumper three-year deal for him to commit his medium-term future to the club. They had hoped a successful January transfer window – with the club now complying with squad cost ratio (SCR) rules while also adding to their squad – would help persuade him that they could match his ambitions.

But in a move that sources acknowledge is a heavy “blow” to a club that have lost some of their best players over the last 12 months, Iraola will leave and seek another job. He is wanted both in the Premier League and his native Spain but he is yet to commit to another role.

It is a measure of Bournemouth’s stability in the Premier League that they are now regarded as one of the better roles for aspiring coaches.

McKenna, who has impressed at Ipswich, is a leading contender but The i Paper understands that Perez – a former coach of Iraola’s – is also on the shortlist. If they were to tempt him from Spain it would be a smooth transition given his style and manner are similar to Iraola.

But it’s understood that Lampard, who has led Coventry to the brink of promotion from the Championship, is also in Bournemouth’s thinking. Lampard has family connections to the club, with uncle Harry Redknapp having been manager and Jamie still close to many figures at the club.

McKenna has been a highly sought-after coach for many years, having been coveted by Manchester United prior to the appointment of Ruben Amorim in November 2024.

The Northern Irishman, who learned his trade on the United backroom staff, chose to sign a new contract with Ipswich, only to see his side relegated from the Premier League last season.

McKenna has again turned things around, steering Ipswich to second in the Championship this season, with Saturday’s East Anglia derby win over Norwich putting them within touching distance of another promotion.

Sources close to McKenna have told The i Paper that they see a move to Bournemouth as “the next logical step”, with the opportunity to work with the impressive sporting director Tiago Pinto of particular appeal.

Another manager thought to be keen on the vacancy is Marco Rose, who is out of work since leaving RB Leipzig and wants to work in the Premier League.

Where next for Iraola?

Iraola said it was the “right time” to step away from the club while owner Bill Foley paid tribute to his impact.

“Andoni has been instrumental in shaping the direction of this football club over the past three seasons. He brought intensity, innovation, and a clear philosophy that elevated AFC Bournemouth both on and off the pitch.”

He does not have a job lined up but the decision to announce his departure now is seen as an attempt to flag his availability to a managerial market where there remains plenty of uncertainty.

Manchester United have Iraola high on their shortlist and he is coveted by Crystal Palace. But sources close to the Spaniard believe he would be a contender at Liverpool and Newcastle if either decide to make a change. Arne Slot and Eddie Howe are under pressure after underperforming this season.

Sources have suggested to The i Paper that Manchester United were close to offering Michael Carrick the permanent role but Iraola’s availability may shift their thinking.

Read more

• Michael Hincks:  Leicester City face a fate worse than relegation
• Mark Douglas: What I’m hearing about Eddie Howe’s Newcastle future

After veteran coach Ernesto Valverde announced he will be leaving Athletic Bilbao at the end of the season, rumours swirled in the Basque Country that Iraola, a club legend as a player, would return home to coach his boyhood team.

Several sources have indicated that Iraola is more likely to stay in England, if the right job presents itself. The 43-year-old has plenty of time to return home at a later date.

Bilbao would welcome Iraola back with open arms. There is a presidential campaign coming up in May, but the current incumbent, Jon Uriarte, is expected to win unopposed. He is understood to want to try to persuade Iraola to return now.

Edin Terzic is the other leading candidate and seen as a more likely appointment.

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There have been just four back-to-back relegations from the Premier League since its inception in 1992.

A fifth looms, and this could be the most depressing of the lot, with 2015-16 champions Leicester City four points from safety in the Championship with four games to go.

Unlike owner Khun Aiyawatt “Top” Srivaddhanaprabha, Jamie Vardy was there to witness this descent steepen on Saturday, the Cremonese striker helplessly watching on from the stands as his beloved former club lost to Swansea City.

Vardy was one of the heroes of that Premier League triumph. A club legend who may well have been in town to reminisce, to shoot interviews and recall that heady campaign, but any hopes of wider celebrations for this special anniversary have surely been extinguished. Leicester are their own party poopers.

Inside the King Power Stadium, as another relegation beckons, some supporters have called for louder and angrier protests against the club’s ownership.

The problem is, the majority of fans no longer have the energy. They clap for clapping’s sake before dreading the next 90 minutes.

On Saturday, they saw a shot hit the post, they saw a shot cleared off the line, and then saw 15 seconds sum up their season: a free-kick near Swansea’s box, a basic pass intercepted, and then a blistering counter-attack resulting in Zan Vipotnik scoring the game’s only goal.

It came as no surprise, and a damaging set of weekend results have cut Leicester adrift of both this Saturday’s opponents Portsmouth – in what is a crucial match on the south coast – and Oxford United.

Only Sheffield Wednesday, already relegated and on minus four points after being deducted 18 points, are below the Foxes, who themselves were docked six points and saw an appeal rejected last week.

Deduction or not, Leicester would still be in trouble. With those six points they would merely be 20th, a point behind Blackburn Rovers, who as the only Premier League winners to have since played third-tier football perhaps best recognise the path Leicester are on.

The modern game though is a far cry from the 1995 version, and even the one in which Leicester completed the 5,000-1 job. The gulf gets greater by the year, and now the Premier League has become the de facto Super League, the cost of relegation is both dear and dire.

No club wants to go down – as Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest and West Ham United are all fearing – and you certainly do not want to be two tiers away.

Particularly for a club of Leicester’s size. No Championship club pays their players more, a symbol of their desperation when trying to cling to their Premier League status, and now they could pay double the price.

Leicester’s decade of highlights and lowlights

• 2015-16 – Premier League champions
• 2016-17 – Champions League quarter-finalists
• 2017-18 – Ninth in Premier League
• 2018-19 – Ninth in Premier League
• 2019-20 – Fifth in PL + Carabao Cup semi-final
• 2020-21 – FA Cup winners
• 2021-22 – Community Shield winners + Conference League semi-final
• 2022-23 – Relegated to Championship (18th)
• 2023-24 – Promoted to Premier League as champions
• 2024-25 – Relegated to Championship (18th)
• 2025-26 – Relegated again?

A drop to League One would make their finances more unstable. Whether manager Gary Rowett will stay to pick up the pieces this summer is unclear, but what really matters is how the next decade will play out given Top’s apparent detachment.

This indifference has trickled down, and rather than sleepwalking towards a second straight relegation, Leicester have been awake to the fact this fairy tale ended years ago.

Now they are the cautionary tale, a warning of what could await those who have spent too freely without thinking, or caring, about the consequences, and while Leicester fans deserve better, they feel as powerless as Vardy to prevent it.

A change at the top does not look likely. Relegation does. And with apathy a mood far worse than anger, it is a sign they are resigned to their fate.

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A Manchester United midfield overhaul is beyond overdue. At least one central option will come in this summer, with Elliot Anderson the top pick to fill the quality void in an engine room that has held a footballing behemoth back for far too long.

The growing number of supporters who relish transfer activity more than the action itself are waiting with bated breath. The summer of squad upheaval, however, cannot end there. Not if the winds of change are to continue to flow through M16.

Life under Michael Carrick thus far had bordered on the utopian. Prior to the visit of old foes Leeds United on Monday night, no team had taken more points since the caretaker’s second stint in the Old Trafford hotseat started.

Ruben Amorim had his side meandering down the road to nowhere. In the blink of an eye, Carrick was leading this fallen giant back to the promised land of Champions League football, at a canter.

With Liverpool and Chelsea the meekest of challengers, a win over Leeds would have put United within touching distance of a top-five finish. Instead, the most surprising and, more pertinently, crucial of Leeds victories, a first since on enemy territory since 1981 in the league, gives the Whites breathing space at the bottom. All while blowing the race for Champions League qualification wide open.

The shock success also proved that a defence which looks this vulnerable without 33-year-old Harry Maguire in it, a stalwart who not so long ago the club were keen to flog as a surplus-to-requirements faded force, will continue to prevent United returning to anything like their former grandeur under any manager.

Lisandro Martinez is now set to miss three matches due to his sending off in the Leeds loss – the most bizarre of dismissals for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair – joining suspended Maguire on the naughty step.

Lisandro Martínez has been sent off for violent conduct pic.twitter.com/TFGLTZUiTB

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 13, 2026

With Matthijs De Ligt no closer to a return, United are left with the inexperienced duo of Ayden Heaven and Leny Yoro as their only fit recognised central defenders for Saturday’s crucial trip to Chelsea.

The club have high hopes for both. Yoro’s nervy showing against the brutish Calvert-Lewin provided the starkest reminder yet that he is not ready to be depended upon week in, week out.

Martinez made a heroic block to deny Leeds a third before half time, but he otherwise pulled out of challenges and looked at least a yard short of pace. With options depleted, Carrick perhaps had no option other than to deploy the half-fit Argentine.

Any conversation concerning Martinez, however, remains overshadowed by the perennial conundrum: will he be truly fully fit, at his optimum level, ever again? At least for a prolonged period?

De Ligt’s injury is a back issue nobody, even the club, seems to know much about, while his injury record before joining was rather chequered. Supporters again are left to ponder whether the Dutchman’s form earlier this term is as good as it will ever get.

United’s transfer hierarchy have looked at some potential central defensive reinforcements for next season. Nottingham Forest’s Murillo has the right blend of Premier League experience and youthful endeavour for co-owners Ineos. Bournemouth’s Marcos Senesi has been considered, but nothing more. United’s new data department has been credited with the uptick in transfer market performance of late. Now it is time for them to really earn their keep.

Eleven teams have conceded fewer goals than United this term, including Forest in 16th. No team this porous is ever going to win anything.

The defensive talent is there already, hence the laser focus on midfield investment. The issue is reliability. Without their first-choice pairing – Martinez at 100 per cent and Maguire – United can be pierced like wet tissue paper by a strikeforce without a league goal in seven hours before Monday’s pivotal success.

Going forward, there is plenty of be excited about. One left-sided winger will give United an attack to be feared. Anderson and Kobbie Mainoo can become a midfield pairing to build a successful team around.

Relying on a brittle Martinez and Maguire in his twilight years is a risk, at this juncture into Ineos’ red revolution, United’s hierarchy simply cannot take.

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Gateshead are used to problems piling upon problems, but this season was a special case. A failed takeover in May 2025 led to the chairman and vice-chairman leaving and sorry warnings from the club that they could not foresee how another year could be funded. Gateshead were barred from registering players until July and the manager had resigned.

The underlying issue: a home stadium that they do not own that is too big for them. The Gateshead International Stadium is between 90 and 95 per cent empty on a matchday. The club don’t have the money to sort that out or to move. The focus is always keeping the lights on.

With Alun Armstrong as the new manager, Gateshead actually started pretty well: three wins in their first five league games and 14th in the league on 1 October. Then they lost 4-0 to York City, 2-0 to Solihull Moors, 3-1 to Forest Green Rovers and the rot set in. And how.

The longest run of defeats in the history of English professional football stands at 18, set by Darwen in the Second Division in 1989-99.

Gateshead made 13 in the league but added three cup exits into the same equation. Armstrong left his position with former manager Rob Elliot replacing him, although Armstrong continued as head of football development. Elliot also lost his first five matches in charge.

“I was helping out anyway and I had a chat with the club and I knew it wasn’t right,” Elliot says.

“It wasn’t pretty for anyone. It just felt like all the moments were against us. When we lost to Brackley and we were X number of points behind, it seemed like all hope was gone.”

The relevant date is 17 February. At that point, Gateshead had taken 19 points from 29 league games and none from their last 39 available. They were marooned at the bottom of the National League table.

That night, they went to Halifax Town and won. Four days later, they went all the way to Truro City and won there too.

“After Brackley I said to the players that, for me, the mentality and the consistency of the performance were huge because the results will come if you nail down the performance,” Elliot says.

“And credit to them: the lads didn’t come away from it, they stuck to it and went and got two fantastic wins against Halifax and Truro.”

And then, just as they had kept on losing, Gateshead kept on winning.

It didn’t matter who they played or their league position. They beat York, Scunthorpe United and Halifax and drew with Carlisle United and Southend United; all of those are in the top eight.

Last weekend, Gateshead won 1-0 at Aldershot Town and confirmed their survival from relegation with two games remaining. It is hard to picture a turnaround so emphatic and astounding.

Since the day of the Halifax fixture, Gateshead have taken more points than any other team in the division and that followed a run of 16 straight losses. They took zero points from 13 league games and then 31 points from 15. You look through the annals and it is unprecedented.

“It has been a mad revival,” Elliot says.

“I think the scary thing is that they have done it at a canter really: three games to go and we didn’t even need to win to stay up. It probably hasn’t sunk in just quite what they have done. But it’s something we’re incredibly proud of.

“Also, if I’m being really honest, it’s the bare minimum I expect from them. I’m not saying we’ll always get 31 points from 15 games because that’s ‘winning the league’ form.

“But if the lads apply themselves, buy into the culture, the structure and the way we want to play, there’s so much more to come from the group. I don’t think they have maxed out what they are capable of.”

The club stepped up; Elliot is keen to point that out.

After the summer delays over transfer activity, they were able to move more quickly thereafter. Of the starting XI that won at Aldershot, seven arrived in January, February and March. Almost all were free transfers from a pool of those released by fellow National League clubs.

I joke to Elliot that he must wish that the season could carry on, given Gateshead’s form and the new mood around the place.

It’s fair to say that he sees it in a slightly different way. He’s knackered. The players are knackered.

This has been the longest three months of his life, he jokes. The manager has to absorb all of the pressure to let the players play. It’s tough. Everyone needs to spend some time around their loved ones.

Read more

• Daniel Storey: Something frightening is happening in English football
• Daniel Storey: How Southampton accidentally stumbled on a golden ticket

We end on an important point. Gateshead have been through a lot recently. The supporters have suffered, the small band of them who travel home and away more than the rest.

The problems haven’t gone away for good, even if the crisis has been averted. That is what must change now. Miracles are great, but you should never need them.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for everyone to sit down, look at where we were, where we now got to, and how we make sure we give the club the best opportunity to never ever get in that position again,” Elliot says.

“There’s nothing to say we won’t be pushing to stay up next year and fighting to stay up again, but we need to make sure on and off the pitch that we don’t get into the position of this season.

“It must be set up so that when the days happen that key people leave, the club keeps running smoothly. It’s been a brilliant ride, but we have to learn from the mistakes before it.”

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The pressure is rising on Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe ahead of a huge clash with Bournemouth on Saturday that feels significant.

Three weeks without a game was supposed to see the Magpies brush off derby disappointment and launch themselves into a late charge for the European spots that they desperately need to help finance their summer overhaul. Instead it was a dispiriting case of more of the same.

Newcastle have six games left of a rollercoaster season. The run-in now feels very important for Howe’s future.

What are the problems?

Newcastle are not asserting themselves in games any more. Their ferocious press has long since dissipated and the edge that made them a nightmare to play against has been blunted.

Clearly they have failed to adapt to losing Alexander Isak, who was the focal point of the team last season. The £55m signing of Yoane Wissa has been an absolute disaster (a signing that, with financial rules structured the way they are, will weigh heavily on them for years) and Howe appears to have made a decision on Nick Woltemade as a forward in his system. Unbelievably, William Osula, who nearly left the club in September, is now the club’s first-choice striker.

Late goals and protecting a lead are both huge issues. An incredible 32 per cent of the goals they have conceded this season have been after the 80th minute and most have cost them. Inside the club they recognise the problem but have not been able to solve it.

Is he under genuine pressure?

For the first time in his reign it feels like there is genuine uncertainty about the manager’s future. Howe is not under any imminent threat but chief executive David Hopkinson’s “no stance” comment a fortnight ago was not said by accident.

“Frustration” was how one source summed up the mood on Monday. Everyone is feeling the pressure of a dreadful run of three dispiriting losses.

Defeat at Crystal Palace was certainly not make or break but it did add into the narrative that this season has been like Groundhog Day – the same problems, the same lack of solutions.

Of course there is mitigation: 11 goals conceded in stoppage time has cost them six points. They have let 25 points slip from winning positions. The margins have been razor thin. Howe is the lightning rod for criticism but his players – who he has defended publicly – have clearly let him down too.

As a manager he has been transformative at St James’ Park, the best the club has had in the modern era. But it is becoming clear that success does not represent a free pass. If results don’t improve and they finish around or lower than the position they currently occupy, the pressure will ramp up ahead of a huge summer when Newcastle have no choice but change course on recruitment and their trading strategy.

Internally there is a feeling in some quarters that the club “need more information” before a detailed end-of -season debrief that will map out what Newcastle do next.

That means the next six games are crucial, as are Howe’s plans to turn things around in the future. If they bring wins and positive performances the pressure dips. More of what we saw on Sunday and the questions – on the terraces and for the club’s decision makers – are not going anywhere.

What comes next?

The Cherries have been a nightmare for Newcastle in recent seasons and are unbeaten in seven meetings since Howe took over. Last year’s 4-1 defeat was particularly painful.

With supporter sentiment less sympathetic than it was then, Howe and Newcastle need a reaction. There were not many left in St James’ Park by the end of the Sunderland defeat but those who were there made their feelings known. It feels like a crowd on the edge.

While the team struggles on the pitch, the strategy is shifting off it. Recruitment meetings are ramping up in preparation for the summer with the suggestion Newcastle want to be “ready to go” from the start of the transfer window and Howe is involved in those talks.

Read more

• Mark Douglas: Newcastle’s stance on Sandro Tonali with Man Utd and Arsenal waiting in wings
• Mark Douglas: Newcastle’s summer transfer budget revealed – and four areas they are targeting

But this will not be a summer of bringing in top flight-ready players. Over £100m of striker talent sat on the bench told its own story on Sunday and while the previous strategy brought two Champions League campaigns and a Carabao Cup, with financial restrictions biting hard it might well have run its course.

“Sometimes you need to do different things,” one source admitted.

There is no doubt that change is coming at Newcastle, but whether Howe is around to lead it feels less certain than it once did.

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Crystal Palace 2-1 Newcastle United (Mateta 80′ 90+4’ pen | Osula 65’)

SELHURST PARK — There was only so long Jean-Philippe Mateta was loathed by some fans at Crystal Palace.

The Frenchman had experienced bundles of animosity after trying to force a move away during the winter transfer window, eventually agreeing to join AC Milan before failing a medical. His ambition to leave — with 18 months left on his contract — was not the issue, but rather the manner of his attempted exit.

On his return in the Conference League against AEK Larnaca last month, following both the collapsed transfer and recovery from a knee injury, Mateta was booed and abused.

However, this week — after three weeks without a game — Palace fans drew a line under the saga, helped by three crucial goals as he worked his way back into their good books. This is his redemption arc.

A 14-minute brace enabled Palace to recover from behind to beat Newcastle United 2-1 on Sunday. This, less than 72 hours after he scored Palace’s first goal in their scintillating 3-0 Conference League quarter-final first leg win over Fiorentina.

BOOM! Jean-Philippe Mateta levels for Crystal Palace! pic.twitter.com/txTXfPjucj

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 12, 2026

His display against Newcastle had more intensity than Thursday night as he gradually builds back to full fitness.

It was a re-energised, physical performance from the bench, cancelling out William Osula’s first-half strike and cementing his return to favour. Introduced in the 65th minute, Mateta chased every loose ball, pressed the Newcastle centre-backs and played with real menace. Palace had been stable against Newcastle, but his vigour provided the catalyst for the turnaround.

The 28-year-old geed up both his teammates and the crowd, immediately making an impact from the bench as he won a set-piece, before conducting the supporters to ramp the volume up.

It was a perfect move from the Eagles to draw level as they built at speed. Daniel Munoz’s cross to Mitchell was centralised for Mateta, who floated into space at the back post and headed into an empty net.

He had Sven Botman to thank for his second, with the Newcastle centre-back pulling Jefferson Lerma down inside the area when a long throw was launched into the box, forcing the referee to award a penalty. Mateta coolly slotted away to Aaron Ramsdale’s left to earn three points.

Mateta was awarded the Premier League’s Man of the Match, but in his typical jocular fashion, refused to take the award from Tyrick Mitchell, who was making his 200th Premier League appearance for Palace and assisted Mateta’s first, insisting he was more worthy.

His Vengaboys “Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom” theme song, played after he scores, was met by deafening shouts of “Boom”. Just a few weeks ago, he was being booed. It’s amazing what a few goals can do.

“I was delighted for JP,” said Palace boss Oliver Glasner. “This [reception] is what he deserves. As soon as it was clear he would stay at Crystal Palace, he said he would work very hard to come back and help the team win and achieve our goals. He’s getting back to his top fitness. It’s good to have him back.”

The Premier League is somewhat of a supporting act for Palace now, with the Eagles all but safe and chasing European glory.

Read more

• Daniel Storey: Something frightening is happening in English football
• Mark Douglas: Palace and Man Utd battle for Iraola – and where he’s most likely to end up

But the win against Newcastle, Glasner’s side are now six games unbeaten and maintain momentum ahead of Thursday’s second leg against Fiorentina.

Palace’s season will be judged on the Conference League; they must not get too high or too low in the Premier League and use the domestic fixtures to gain as much impetus as possible.

With Mateta back among the goals, the accrued confidence could make him a vital weapon on the road to Leipzig.

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Hoo boy, we actually have a title race and it has bounced back into relevance because Arsenal are tensing up all the more while Manchester City are having such wonderful fun. “We fight ‘til the end,” they chanted at Stamford Bridge and you’d have to be stupid not to believe them.

The other big story of the weekend came in Sunderland, where Roberto De Zerbi picked up where Igor Tudor left off, the occasional bright spark overshadowed by an inability to respond to adversity. Tottenham Hotspur are in the bottom three and they will not merit escaping it until they display some fight.

Finally, we have a magnificent race for European football. Assuming it goes down to at least eighth place, there are eight clubs within five points of making it. Which is delicious fun.

Here is one piece of analysis on each of the top flight clubs who played this weekend (in reverse table order)…

This weekend’s results

• West Ham 4-0 Wolves
• Arsenal 1-2 Bournemouth
• Brentford 2-2 Everton
• Burnley 0-2 Brighton
• Liverpool 2-0 Fulham
• Crystal Palace 2-1 Newcastle
• Nott’m Forest 1-1 Aston Villa
• Sunderland 1-0 Tottenham
• Chelsea 0-3 Man City

Back to panic stations for Wolves

In the build-up to Friday evening, Rob Edwards promised that Wolves “would be competitive” and we believed him. Wolves had taken seven points from their previous three league games and not lost by more than a two-goal margin since 8 December.

So this was surprising and surprisingly rotten, Wolves collapsing almost as soon as West Ham had taken the lead. It was their joint-worst result of the season (0-4 vs Man City on the opening weekend) and one of their most dispiriting performances.

For all the improvements in 2026, Edwards’ task is to maintain a half-decent mood before next season. In that context, this last stretch matters more than any other. Terrible start.

Burnley have become lame ducks

Scott Parker blamed “computers and robots” for ruling that two offside situations were in fact offside. He also stressed that Burnley have plenty of energy and endeavour but lack a little quality in the final third. Which is both perfectly reasonable but also ignores some of the flaws that Burnley could have improved.

The home record has been appalling. Burnley have not won a league game at Turf Moor for 177 days and counting. Having taken seven points from their first three in 2025-26, it’s four points from 12 games since and supporters are allowed to expect more despite the quality gap to most teams.

Parker’s tactics may have played a part. He can bemoan tight offsides and missed chances, but Burnley have had 9.28 shots per game this season (the least in the league). Without the ability to count upon clean sheets, as they did last season, Burnley have simply become lame ducks.

Nothing has changed at Tottenham

In his pre-match press conference, Roberto De Zerbi conceded that he couldn’t change too much tactically in a short period of time. Instead he would focus on the personality and attitude of his players.

So… where was that? Tottenham could consider themselves slightly unfortunate to fall behind against Sunderland, given the huge deflection off a defender’s leg. But their response to the goal was entirely abject, unable to build up territorial momentum quickly enough and then extraordinarily wasteful when Sunderland sat back.

All is not lost yet – De Zerbi has presentable home fixtures beginning next weekend. But if the supposition was that this new manager would do far more than the last new manager, the differences between Tudor and De Zerbi’s Spurs were miniscule and the end result the same.

West Ham’s spine for survival

West Ham knew that Friday night left no room for maybes. This was their most gentle fixture remaining this season. After the FA Cup exit against Leeds, Nuno Espirito Santo needed to offer a reminder that there is plenty enough in this squad to stay up. To win 4-0, vastly improving the goal difference gap to those above them, was a significant statement.

But why should we be surprised; West Ham have a dependable spine now. Mads Hermansen is back in goal and far more comfortable than he seemed in early season. Axel Disasi’s loan signing in January has made an enormous difference because there is competition for places that doesn’t include struggling Max Kilman. Up front, Taty Castellanos is busy, bullish and is now adding goals.

Konstantinos Mavropanos has scored again to give West Ham an emphatic 4-0 lead pic.twitter.com/LsWACF7xIw

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 10, 2026

But don’t underestimate the old guard. Since mid-January, Tomas Soucek has started 12 Premier League matches and West Ham have only lost three (Liverpool, Chelsea and Aston Villa – all away). Of the 17 games he missed before then, West Ham won only four.

Why Forest should try two up

The long-awaited return of Chris Wood from injury presents Vitor Pereira with an interesting option.

It’s especially salient given Nottingham Forest’s inability to create clear chances for their forwards at home. The last time a Forest striker scored at home in the Premier League was Wood on the opening weekend against Brentford. A bit has happened since then.

On 65 minutes against Villa, Pereira brought on Wood but kept Igor Jesus on the pitch. Given Jesus is busy but struggles to take chances and Wood was brutally efficient last season, it’s a combination that could work if Pereira chooses to tweak his formation, Forest have to beat Burnley at home next weekend.

Leeds

Play Manchester United on Monday night.

Same old Howe, same Newcastle result

Eddie Howe can talk up his own appetite for the job and the support he has received internally, but he knows that the next six weeks are a mini audition to keep his job. Newcastle United continue to make noises about bigger, better and dominance. Howe must prove he belongs in that picture.

Sunday was the worst possible start because it proved Howe’s weaknesses. Almost all of last summer’s expensive signings were left on the bench, proof of those serious mistakes.

And what do we know that Howe struggles with? Managing leads without sitting back and inviting pressure. Newcastle have now dropped 25 points from winning positions in the league. The manager declared himself bemused by the collapse at Selhurst Park. He must be the only one still surprised.

Palace fans should give Glasner his flowers

We are very quick to criticise managers when they make mistakes. That includes Oliver Glasner, whose public displays of mutiny and announcement of his summer departure left a bad taste in the mouths of most Palace fans.

But Glasner deserves credit for his handling of Jean-Philippe Mateta following the failed move to Milan in January.

Jean-Philippe Mateta converts from the penalty spot and Palace steal the win at the last! pic.twitter.com/pJiHnO8KPH

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 12, 2026

Mateta was initially kept out of the limelight, not starting a game in February or March. He started – and scored – against Fiorentina on Thursday to build up match fitness and goodwill. Mateta then won the game for Palace on Sunday. That’s excellent management.

Is this the long goodbye for Fulham?

There has been much talk of Fulham “being able” to keep hold of Marco Silva when his contract expires this summer.

But Fulham podcast Fulhamish asked for three-word post-match reviews from supporters and their answers on Saturday night were revealing: “Silva going stale”, “Let’s part ways”, “Good bye [sic] Silva”, “Time for change”.

These may merely reflect the aftermath online anger of a defeat, but it’s still interesting. Fulham have failed to score in four of their last five matches, have dropped points against West Ham and Forest and tumbled out of the FA Cup to a Championship side at home. Silva has been magnificent here, but how this season ends really matters.

Bournemouth’s next attacking sensation

The focus understandably lingered long upon what Bournemouth’s victory at the Emirates meant for their opponents, but Andoni Iraola is creating magic again.

This win took Bournemouth to 12 games unbeaten in the Premier League, their longest ever streak. And this club sold its best attacking player in January.

Their next attacking sensation might well be Eli Junior Kroupi. His goal on Saturday means that Kroupi has scored 10 Premier League goals as a teenager from just 36 shots and – a ludicrous – 17 shots on target. He’s also the youngest player to reach 10 in a debut Premier League season for more than 25 years.

Sunderland’s bad boy absolutely deserves a ban

Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey can consider himself incredibly fortunate not to receive a second yellow card for his push on Tottenham defender Cristian Romero. It would be no surprise if the Football Association chose to charge him for dangerous, reckless play.

You can argue – with some logic – that this type of incident happens all the time. Players wrestle for the ball and push opponents while doing so. But Brobbey was never going to get there and must have seen the potential collision.

Nordi Mukiele's shot deflects off Micky van de Ven and ends up in the back of the net! pic.twitter.com/oPqTbBSFpS

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 12, 2026

It’s an outcome-based scenario (on the vast majority of occasions nobody gets hurt), but so what?If you push a player away from the ball and they get hurt, that’s on you.

Hurzeler states Brighton’s European ambition

In a landscape where managers typically refuse to make any statement at all for fear of being tripped up, it was refreshing to hear Fabian Hurzeler say after the win at Burnley that the ambition had to be qualifying for Europe.

Hurzeler has also got a handle on his squad again. Players are no longer being routinely picked out of position, Brighton seem capable of absorbing opposition pressure without conceding and there is far less of the powderpuff attacking of the winter.

Fun fact: the Seagulls have more points in their last six matches than any other team in the division.

Comebacks define Moyes’ second era at Everton

If there is one thing to define Everton’s battle to qualify for European football way ahead of anyone’s expectation, it is their ability to squeeze points out of adversity. As Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall said at the end of Saturday’s game, if you aren’t going to win then make sure that you do not lose.

In 2023-24, the last full season before David Moyes came back, Everton took a frankly miserable four points from losing positions despite trailing in 19 of their 38 matches. In 2024-25, Everton took 12 points from losing positions but seven of those came from February onwards (after Moyes had taken over).

And this season, Everton have taken 16 points from losing positions. Whatever your criticisms of Moyes, he has always been able to produce teams that excel when required to reflect his own personality. Fire up the Moyesy in Europe dance again.

Brentford’s player of the year contender

He’s likely to miss out to the Arsenal and Manchester City cohort, but Igor Thiago should be in the conversation for the Premier League Player of the Year award. Since 2020, only six players had scored more than 20 goals in a Premier League season: Isak, Haaland, Salah, Palmer, Kane and Son.

Thiago has joined that club with six matches of his league season remaining. Last July, you could get 250-1 on him being the top scorer this season.

Now he’s competing alongside Haaland and he doesn’t even play for an elite club. That deserves serious recognition, given his injury history and his tireless work to get back to this position.

Chelsea have no defence for these standards

There are myriad ways to epitomise Chelsea’s mismanagement; Sunday offered a glaring snapshot into another. City’s second goal was created by Rayan Cherki, a magician by any measure, but it was scored by Marc Guehi. Guehi ran towards the away end at Stamford Bridge like a man not used to arrowing shots into the bottom corner. You can forgive that.

“Marc Guehi is a Blue; he hates Chelsea,” that away end sang to taunt those glum faces around them. Which probably isn’t true, but does allude to Guehi’s own history. He was sold by Chelsea for £18m in 2021, going to Crystal Palace to develop and become one of the best central defenders in the country.

Why is that so relevant? Because of the way Chelsea were cut open so easily as soon as City upped the tempo on Sunday. Because of the space Guehi found for himself for the second goal and how limp the marking was for the first.

So far this season, Chelsea have used nine different central defensive combinations: Acheampong and Chalobah. Chalobah and Tosin, Chalobah and Hato, Acheampong and Badiashile, Fofana and Chalobah, Tosin and Badiashile, Chalobah and Badiashile, Chalobah and Sarr, Hato and Fofana. It was the latest of those pairings on Sunday.

There are reasons to fear such change even if all the options are of peak age and good enough for a club that has spent a billion pounds and has supposed title ambitions now or soon. But when none of those players are as good as the one you sold on the cheap, it becomes a terrible look for everyone involved.

Liverpool’s fast starts have been the sorry exception

Although they took until the 36th minute to score their opening goal against Fulham, Liverpool finally showed some intent in the first throes of a match. Their five attempts in the opening 20 minutes equalled their league record in 2025-26.

It’s where Liverpool have fallen painfully short during their title defence. They have scored only four goals in the first 20 minutes of matches, a total higher than only Wolves and Sunderland. It’s particularly surprising given Liverpool’s successful 2024-25 strategy of taking the lead and then controlling matches.

Rio Ngumoha scores his FIRST goal at Anfield at just 17 years old!! pic.twitter.com/vWLvlZBFyS

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 11, 2026

This is the energy Liverpool need on Tuesday night. The only way they will overhaul Paris Saint-Germain is by starting furiously, scoring early and creating doubt. There is nothing to lose and it may well be Arne Slot’s last chance to keep his job beyond the summer.

Aston Villa’s starting XI shows the short-term need

Aston Villa have two chances to reach the Champions League and it would be no surprise if they assured it through both means. A decent point after Thursday exertions that would have been three had they taken one of three decent opportunities in the second half.

But I wanted to pick out something that shows why making the Champions League is so crucial here. We know that spending will be limited this summer and that Morgan Rogers may have to be sold. So it’s interesting that the starting XI against Forest was their oldest in a Premier League game since March 2001.

This is why everything must happen now. This squad is reaching the end of its peak – Watkins, McGinn, Mings, Martinez, Digne, Barkley, Torres. The money needs to come in for it to be rebuilt gradually.

Man Utd

Play Leeds United on Monday night.

Cherki helps Man City make a statement

It is 3-0 to the visitors at Stamford Bridge on an afternoon so sunny you could believe that it is late May. The celebrations in the away end could convince you of it too: Manchester City fans celebrating a statement victory like it’s a coronation.

“Are you watching Arsenal?” those from Manchester crow, and you’d have to imagine that they had probably switched off several minutes earlier when the contest ceased to exist. On the front row, one supporter had a plastic bottle with the Arsenal crest on the side, waving it towards the cameras. As visual metaphors go, it’s a little on the nose.

Anyone of Arsenal persuasion watching beforehand will have seen a team currently capable of doing what they are not; shifting through the gears with frightening ease. The first half was perfunctory and a little dull. Erling Haaland took no shots, had no touches in Chelsea’s box and had the fewest in total of any player on the pitch.

What a finish from Manchester City's Marc Guehi! pic.twitter.com/Q1NUwbNOdh

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 12, 2026

Cut to 30 minutes later and a chasm between one team quickly perfecting a new tactical identity and one that edges closer to its own ignominy under a manager who shouldn’t be here. Near Liam Rosenior, Pep Guardiola applauded two goals and looked astonished at the other. Him and us both.

Cherki was the architect because how could anyone not be with those dancing feet and that insouciant attitude towards pressure? It doesn’t always work because magic isn’t famed for its consistency, but there are few players in the world that you would be happier giving the ball to. There are even fewer who you would want to watch more when they get it.

City have now won 29 of their 32 league matches in April under Guardiola. They are the kings of fighting season because they know winning now means you win twice: once for yourselves and once for the pressure you put on the rest.

Read more

• Daniel Storey:
• Kat Lucas: West Ham are showing why they deserve to stay up – at Tottenham’s expense

Arsenal’s obvious problem

It’s something that I mentioned in this column on Arsenal last week, but almost all of Mikel Arteta’s discussion about his team’s response to adversity is to talk up emotional characteristics: “Fire in the belly”, “Look in the mirror”, “poison in the tummy”.

But does any of this actually help? Arsenal’s obvious problem is not that they have no concept of what is required, but that the strategy itself is flawed. And if you focus on the emotion rather than the tactics, you make it more likely for players to tense up than relax.

Arsenal created 0.19 open play xG against Bournemouth; that is the problem. They have become so good at – and so reliant upon – set pieces that opposition managers can prepare one-dimensionally: stop them and you have a decent chance of stopping Arsenal. Arteta might still win the league doing it, given the gap, but it’s going to be a tough watch.

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