Month: May 2023

– Arsenal are chasing a club record-equalling 26th league win of the season
– Wolves have lost each of their last three league games on the road 
– Recommended bet: Arsenal to win to zero 

Arsenal missed out on a first Premier League title since 2004 this season but it has nonetheless been a scintillating campaign from Mikel Arteta’s men, who host Wolves on the final day.

The Gunners are guaranteed to finish second regardless of the result, while Wolves are locked in mid-table obscurity with little to play for other than pride.

Team news

Reiss Nelson, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard are all being monitored by the Gunners, who will be without Gabriel Martinelli, William Saliba, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Mohamed Elneny.

Wolves will not have manager Julen Lopetegui on the sidelines as he prepares to serve a one-game touchline ban following his fourth yellow card of the season in the game against Everton.

The visitors will also be without Sasa Kalajdzic and Chiquinho.

The stats

Arsenal have won 13 of their 18 Premier League matches at the Emirates Stadium this season.

On the road Wolves have been poor recently, failing to win any of their last seven away fixtures in the Premier League.

As part of that away run, Lopetegui’s side have scored only four goals, drawing three blanks in the process.

Arsenal shot-stopper Aaron Ramsdale has kept 13 clean sheets in this season’s Premier League. Only David De Gea (17), Alisson (14) and Nick Pope (14) have kept more.

Prediction

Arsenal will be disappointed to have not taken the title race to the final day of the season but second spot is still a fantastic achievement for Arteta’s side, who should run out comfortable winners against Wolves on the final day.

The Gunners have been guilty of taking their foot off the pedal of late, losing without scoring against Brighton and Nottingham Forest, but both of those matches were against teams with something to fight for.

On Sunday, however, Arsenal will be back in front of their own fans and should be in a jubilant mood with the future looking bright for Arteta’s side.

They are up against a Wolves team who are locked in mid-table and have been underwhelming on the road recently, failing to win any of their last seven away fixtures in the Premier League.

Lopetegui has done a tremendous job at the Midlands club, lifting them off the foot of the Premier League table and guiding them to safety.

But his influence on the final day will be diminished as he is banned from the sidelines and his side may struggle to even lay a glove on this Arsenal team.

Wolves have lost their last two away games 6-0 against Brighton and 2-0 against Manchester United and another defeat without scoring could be on the cards.

Back Arsenal to win to zero at 11/8 with LiveScore Bet.

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Chelsea have secured a fourth successive Women’s Super League title and sixth under Emma Hayes’ management.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the key games in the Blues’ latest successful league campaign.

Chelsea 2 Manchester City 0, September 25

Having suffered a shock 2-1 loss at Liverpool in the opening match of their title defence, Hayes’ side bounced back in fine style in the following game.

They got off the mark by defeating Gareth Taylor’s City at Kingsmeadow via Fran Kirby’s 42nd-minute goal and a Maren Mjelde penalty with 12 minutes to go.

Manchester United 1 Chelsea 3, November 6

City’s derby rivals Manchester United made a perfect start to their campaign, winning each of their first five games – before coming up against Chelsea at Leigh Sports Village.

Goals in quick succession after the break from Sam Kerr and Lauren James put the visitors in control, and after Alessia Russo pulled one back for United, substitute Erin Cuthbert wrapped things up in stoppage time.

Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0, March 12

Chelsea then completed the double over Marc Skinner’s team four months later.

Kerr’s delightful effort in the 23rd minute proved the difference and moved the Blues two points clear at the top with a game in hand.

Chelsea 2 Liverpool 1, May 3

It looked as if another surprise result against Liverpool, managed by ex-Chelsea boss Matt Beard, could be on the cards when Emma Koivisto put the Reds ahead in the second minute.

But after Niamh Charles had drawn things level just prior to the interval, Kerr struck late on to keep the hosts on track – at this point four points behind United, but with two games in hand.

Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0, May 21

Chelsea closed in on the title as they saw off Jonas Eidevall’s Gunners at home in their penultimate match, with Guro Reiten and skipper Magda Eriksson on target in the first half before Arsenal’s Katie McCabe missed a second-half penalty.

That temporarily put the Blues five points clear at the top, but Manchester United beat rivals Manchester City later that day to take the title down to the final week.

Chelsea secured their fourth consecutive Women’s Super League title by beating Reading on the last day of the season.

The Blues completed a double after winning the FA Cup earlier this month and did so despite the absence of players such as Millie Bright and Fran Kirby for the run-in.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the key players in Chelsea’s title-winning campaign.

An influential winger in the Chelsea set-up, Reiten has had a sterling year for the club.

The Norwegian tops the charts in terms of assists in the league this season, providing 11 in total and linking up well with striker Sam Kerr.

Additionally Reiten has found goals for Chelsea when needed, scoring nine goals across the campaign including the opener against Arsenal on Sunday and the clincher against Reading after setting up Kerr’s opener.

After playing in a variety of positions for Chelsea, including as a full-back and forward, this season has seen Cuthbert settle into a regular role in central midfield.

The 24-year-old has stamped her authority in this position, but is also able to work across the pitch to fill in gaps where needed for the Blues.

Kerr proved an important cog in the Chelsea machine once again despite not returning her usual numbers in front of goal.

The Australian international only has 12 WSL goals this season compared to last year’s Golden Boot season of 20, but she has scored when it mattered.

Her strike proved to be the difference in the crucial 1-0 win over Manchester United in March, and she scored an 86-minute winner against Liverpool earlier this month and an 89th-minute equaliser against Arsenal back in January before netting twice against Reading.

Operating as a full-back and occasionally higher up the pitch if needed, Charles has made an impact on Chelsea’s success in the second half of the season.

The last couple of months have seen the 23-year-old help keep clean sheets in their last four league matches.

Charles has really come into her own with her attacking threat, however, bagging two goals and three assists in her last seven WSL matches to help Chelsea as they hit the home stretch of the season.

Borussia Dortmund suffered final-day heartbreak as they missed out on a first Bundesliga title for 11 years on goal difference, despite fighting back for a 2-2 draw against Mainz.

Edin Terzic’s side squandered the opportunity to be crowned champions of Germany as Bayern Munich snatched the title with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Koln, Jamal Musiala hitting a late winner for Thomas Tuchel’s men.

Dortmund were always playing catch-up after falling 2-0 down to first-half goals from Andreas Hanche-Olsen and Karim Onisiwo, while Sebastien Haller saw a weak penalty saved.

Raphael Guerreiro gave them hope in the second half, but Musiala’s late strike for Bayern at RheinEnergie Stadion rendered Niklas Sule’s last-gasp BVB equaliser academic.

After Bayern went ahead early in Koln, Signal Iduna Park was silenced in the 15th minute as Hanche-Olsen headed in Edimilson Fernandes’ corner.

Dortmund squandered a great opportunity to respond within four minutes, Finn Dahmen saving Haller’s tame penalty after Dominik Kohr fouled Guerreiro in the box.

The hosts were duly punished five minutes later, the unmarked Onisiwo afforded too much space to nod Lee Jae-sung’s cross beyond Gregor Kobel.

Julian Brandt and Donyell Malen went close at the other end but Mainz almost added a third after half-time, Lee calling Kobel into action and Onisiwo rattling the post. 

Opportunities went begging for Haller and Malen, but Dortmund finally broke through in the 69th minute as Guerreiro exchanged passes with substitute Gio Reyna before slotting past Dahmen.

Dortmund required a further two goals, but Marco Reus missed a great chance while Haller and Reyna headed straight at Dahmen.

It was not until the 96th minute that Sule levelled but following the dramatic developments in Koln, it was too late for the hosts to find a third goal to take the title away from Bayern.

What does it mean? Despair for Dortmund

Dortmund became only the sixth Bundesliga team to surrender top spot on the final matchday – and the first since Bayer Leverkusen did so 23 years ago.

It was just not meant to be for Terzic’s side, despite them registering a staggering 29 shots on goal and enjoying 73.3 per cent of the possession.

Bayern subsequently maintained their stranglehold on the Bundesliga crown.

Defiant Dahmen denies Dortmund

Although Dortmund took a while to get into their stride, their cause was certainly not aided by Dahmen’s exploits between the sticks.

The Mainz goalkeeper generally kept the hosts at bay with eight saves, including a smart stop to deny Haller from 12 yards in the first half.

Heartbreak for Hummels

A four-time winner with Bayern, the veteran defender missed out on becoming the first player in Bundesliga history to win the title three or more times with two different clubs.

Hummels would also have been the fourth different player to win three league titles with Dortmund after Stefan Reuter, Lars Ricken and Sebastian Kehl, but it was not to be.

What’s next? 

Dortmund will hope to finally break Bayern’s dominance next season, while Mainz will look to improve on their top-half finish.

Jamal Musiala’s 89th-minute strike saw Bayern Munich win 2-1 at Koln and snatch the Bundesliga title from Borussia Dortmund in stunning fashion on Saturday.

A shock 3-1 loss at home to RB Leipzig last weekend meant Bayern needed a win against Koln – combined with Dortmund failing to beat mid-table Mainz – to retain the trophy.

Despite BVB drawing 2-2 with Mainz, the title looked to be on its way to Dortmund after Dejan Ljubicic’s 81st-minute penalty cancelled out Kingsley Coman’s brilliant opener for Bayern.

However, Musiala found the bottom corner with a terrific effort as stoppage time loomed, sealing Bayern’s 11th straight Bundesliga crown in a dramatic ending to an enthralling title race.

Bayern went ahead after just eight minutes, Coman cutting onto his right foot before arrowing superbly into the top-right corner.

Thomas Muller nearly doubled his team’s lead when his acrobatic header came back off the woodwork, as news reached the ground of Dortmund falling two goals behind against Mainz.

Sane thought he had made it 2-0 before half-time when he coolly slotted into the bottom-left corner, but a VAR review penalised him for handball in the build-up as Bayern went into the break 45 minutes away from another title.

Dortmund would pull a goal back, and Bayern’s title hopes looked to have received a killer blow nine minutes from time, Serge Gnabry handling from Denis Huseinbasic’s cross before Ljubicic coolly slotted his penalty into the bottom-left corner.

There would be another twist, though, as Musiala rifled home late on to spark wild celebrations and haul Bayern back to the summit.

Niklas Sule scored a 96th-minute equaliser for Dortmund, but it would count for nothing as Bayern held on for three points and a spectacular Bundesliga triumph.

What does it mean? Tuchel delivers title after mid-season arrival

There were eyebrows raised when Julian Nagelsmann was sacked in March despite Bayern being just a point behind league leaders Dortmund, but his replacement Thomas Tuchel has managed to get the Bavarian side’s name etched on the trophy yet again. 

They were certainly made to work against Koln, who accumulated 1.28 xG to Bayern’s 1.26 and can probably feel aggrieved not to have earned at least a point.

However, a moment of magic from Musiala meant Tuchel’s men became the first team in 23 seasons to go into the final matchday not in first place and still claim the Bundesliga title.

Musiala’s iconic moment snatches title

Musiala’s rise to stardom has been special and his goal to steal the title from Dortmund will go down as his best moment to date.

The 20-year-old came on with five minutes to play and sealed the win with a sublime finish, cutting onto his right foot before drilling his only shot of the game into the bottom-right corner.

Bayern win despite profligate Sane

This could have been a completely different story had Musiala not popped up with his excellent late goal, rendering a big miss from Sane moments earlier insignificant.

Sane was put through by Mathys Tel, but his shot was saved by Marvin Schwabe. It summed up a wasteful display from the former Manchester City man, who hit the target with just one of his six attempts and failed to score from his 0.84 xG.

What’s next?

Bayern will head into next season bidding for a 12th straight title in Tuchel’s first full campaign at the helm, while Koln will look to build on their steady 11th-placed finish.

Manchester United were once again grateful for substitute Lucia Garcia but their bid for Women’s Super League glory was dashed as Chelsea claimed the crown by beating Reading.

Garcia came off the bench to score a late winner against Manchester City last weekend and ensure the title race went to the last day of the season, where United needed to beat Liverpool and hope Chelsea slipped up.

The first part was accomplished as Garcia’s 72nd-minute strike secured a 1-0 win for United at Prenton Park, but Chelsea preserved the two-point gap between the sides by overcoming the relegated Royals 3-0.

Up until Garcia struck three minutes after being introduced it had been a frustrating afternoon for United, who nevertheless have achieved their highest finish in the WSL in being runners-up to Chelsea.

Any hope of cranking up the pressure on the Blues with an early goal failed to materialise despite United dominating pressure without really putting their hosts under significant pressure.

Indeed, it was Liverpool who came closest to breaking the deadlock early on as Shanice van de Sanden’s cross-shot just crept past a post while at the other end Nikita Parris headed at Rachael Laws.

The Liverpool goalkeeper made a stunning save to tip Parris’ strike onto a post and keep the scores goalless at half-time, by which point Chelsea were already 2-0 ahead.

Goalkeeper Mary Earps had to be alert to keep out Emma Koivisto’s shot from an acute angle, but just as it looked set to be a frustrating afternoon for United, up popped Garcia moments after coming on for Parris.

Garcia beat the offside trap, chipped a Liverpool defender and while the Spaniard seemed to fluff an attempted volley, on the second attempt she drove beyond Laws at her near post to put United ahead.

Liverpool, thrashed at Leigh Sports Village 6-0 when the teams met earlier in the season, were unable to fashion a comeback as United held on to claim three points but ultimately it was Chelsea’s day as they claimed a fourth successive league title.

– Stockport have lost only two of their last 22 matches 
– Carlisle have won only three of their last 13 games 
– Recommended bet: Stockport to be promoted

Stockport are chasing back-to-back promotions after last season’s National League-winning campaign and the Hatters are warm favourites to seal the deal in their League Two play-off final with Carlisle at Wembley.

Stockport twice came from behind to level up their semi-final tie with Salford before prevailing on penalties, while Carlisle did well to overhaul Bradford 3-2 on aggregate after extra-time of their final-four showdown.

Only three points separated the pair in the regular season with Stockport finishing fourth and Carlisle fifth, so these were the two highest-ranked sides at the start of the play-offs.

It is, therefore, fitting that they get the chance to slog it out for promotion in the capital but Stockport may be feeling the more confident of the duo, having taken four points from their two meetings earlier in the season.

Team news

Having played a key part in their push to the League Two play-off final, Carlisle will be gutted that centre-back Ben Barclay is ineligible to face his parent club Stockport at Wembley.

The Cumbrians do at least have Jon Mellish back available for selection after he served a three-game ban.

Stockport remain without leading scorer Kyle Wootton, who netted 14 goals this season, but have been boosted by the return of Will Collar.

Collar was introduced from the bench in last weekend’s success over Salford and will be pushing for a start, having scored 13 goals and provided six assists this season.

The stats

Stockport took time to find their feet in League Two this season as they won only three of their opening 13 games.

However, the Hatters finished with a strong late surge to end the season in fourth, collecting 79 points after losing only one of their final 20 matches.

That was the opposite of Carlisle who started the season encouragingly before falling out of automatic promotion contention with only two wins from their final 11 matches.

Stockport took four points from their two meetings with Carlisle in the regular season, winning 2-0 on home soil in October before the pair played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at Brunton Park in mid-April.

Play-off finals tend to be cagey and it would be no surprise was this contest to follow suit given there have been two or fewer goals in 11 of Carlisle’s last 13 games in regulation time.

Stockport also boasted the second best defence in League Two this season with only 37 goals conceded in 46 games, keeping 22 clean sheets.

Prediction

Stockport were installed as League Two title favourites in pre-season on the back of their National League-winning exploits and they lived up to that promise at the back end of the campaign.

Dave Challinor’s side finished the season as well as anybody, losing only one of their final 20 games, and did take four points from their two meetings with Carlisle.

There is no doubting that the injury to star man Kyle Wootton has done some damage to their promotion chances but having Paddy Madden and Will Collar back from injury during their second-leg win over Salford has helped negate his loss.

It looks sure to be a nervy occasion, with goals set to be in short supply, but Stockport may have the greater quality in forward areas and are taken to edge a tight affair.

Back Stockport to be promoted at 8/11 with LiveScore Bet, while a narrow 1-0 Stockport win is also worth considering at 17/4.

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Mauricio Pochettino has “everything to succeed” in his first season if appointed as Chelsea’s new head coach, according to former Blues winger Willian.

Pochettino has been out of management since being sacked as Paris Saint-Germain boss at the end of last season, but he is reportedly close to taking over at Stamford Bridge ahead of next campaign.

His rumoured arrival comes at the end of a tumultuous season for Chelsea, who have sacked Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter on the way to their lowest-ever points tally in the Premier League era.

But Willian, who won two Premier League titles as well as the Europa League during his seven-year spell with the Blues, believes Pochettino is the man to bring success back to the club.

“He is a great manager,” Willian told Stats Perform. “He did a great job while he was at Tottenham and he has everything to succeed.

“Chelsea is a giant club, it’s a club that is always used to winning titles. Chelsea might not win anything one year, but the next year they’ll be fighting for a title.

“Chelsea has been winning titles this way for a few years now, and sometimes they don’t do well in a league, but they win a European trophy or a cup.

“Chelsea is a club that will always fight for titles, and I think they have everything to fight for a title again next year.”

Chelsea have spent over £600million in the transfer market since Todd Boehly’s consortium took control of the club, including £323m on acquiring eight players in the January window alone.

Willian feels the new signings will come good, adding: “I think the team has quality players.

“They have signed a lot of players, but you can see they have a lot of quality players and I think they have everything to succeed, yes.”

Willian now plies his trade with Chelsea’s west London rivals Fulham, who have secured a top-half finish in a successful first Premier League campaign following their promotion last term, sitting nine points above the Blues with one game remaining.

Willian remembers his time at Stamford Bridge fondly, though, claiming they were the best years of a career that has also included spells at Arsenal and Shakhtar Donetsk.

“Chelsea was the best moment of my career,” Willian said. “It was almost eight years, I won titles, I was very happy.

“Even before I was there, I already dreamed of playing for Chelsea. I watched Chelsea games on TV and I had this dream of playing there, and I was able to make that dream come true.

“For me, those were the best years of my career. Those were incredible years.”

Chelsea have been crowned Women’s Super League champions for the fourth successive season after beating Reading 3-0 on the final day of the season.

Goals from Sam Kerr and Guro Reiten ensured Emma Hayes’ side won the title once again.

The Blues also completed the domestic double for the third year running, having seen off the Red Devils to win the FA Cup at Wembley last weekend.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more details become available. Please keep refreshing the page.

Hibernian manager Lee Johnson took aim at his Hearts counterpart Steven Naismith as tempers flared in the aftermath of a fiery Edinburgh derby at Tynecastle.

The pair were at loggerheads throughout as the 10-man Jambos, who had Alex Cochrane sent off in the first half, held on for a point to secure fourth place in the cinch Premiership and prevent their city rivals leapfrogging them.

Johnson, whose side levelled through a Kevin Nisbet free-kick after Yutaro Oda’s early opener, even had a hot-water bottle thrown in his direction from the home dugout after he entered the Hearts technical area to retrieve the ball.

After the two managers frostily shook hands at full-time, Johnson appeared to dig Naismith in the ribs with his fist, before a skirmish erupted in the centre circle when Hearts sub goalkeeper Ross Stewart leaned his elbow into the Hibs boss as he walked past him.

Johnson, Stewart, Hearts goalkeeping coach Paul Gallacher and Hibs defender Rocky Bushiri were all shown red cards afterwards, while an investigation is likely after Hibs substitute Marijan Cabraja appeared to be struck by a Hearts supporter while attempting to grab the ball to take a throw-in.

Asked about what caused the tension, Johnson said: “I couldn’t even tell you. It was a classic ‘my dad’s bigger than your dad’ melee-type thing.

“It was a frustrating game in terms of the ebb and the flow because there was no flow. The time-wasting was quite embarrassing at times.

“It was a case of two managers who don’t like each other very much and that’s what started it.

“I’ll keep the hot water bottle that was thrown at me for winter!

“There was a bit of needle but it happens, technical areas are a passionate place. It’s not a problem, we move on.

“I’ve been a manager that long, you see it all in the technical area. It means nothing.”

Pressed on why there was needle between he and Naismith, who has been in charge of Hearts since Johnson’s former team-mate Robbie Neilson was sacked in April, the Hibs boss said: “He’s had seven games as a manager and I just think the way he speaks is disrespectful to the previous manager.

“We’ll see after 250 games if he’s lucky enough to still be in charge of any club and if he still has that attitude.”

Naismith dismissed Johnson’s claims of disrespect towards Neilson.

“He’s fishing I think, that’s what he’s doing,” he said.

The 36-year-old also defended himself in the face of Johnson’s dig about only having been a manager for seven games.

“I’ve got a 15-year career at the top level,” he said. “I’ve managed to pull things from some of the best managers around Britain.

“I’ve been in a role for the last two years under arguably Scotland’s best manager (Steve Clarke) for a long period of time.

“I’m not naive to think I know everything, but what I have done is my homework. I’ve had two solid years of good coaching.”

Asked about the post-match flare-up, Naismith – whose side are guaranteed a crack at the Europa Conference League next term – said: “I’m not sure to be honest, I was shaking hands and getting out of there, I wasn’t getting involved in anything.

“I know these situations can turn into things, especially in a derby with high emotions, but I was just buzzing to get the result and enjoy it with the fans.”