West Ham sneaks past Southampton in tense relegation six-pointer

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West Ham edged past Southampton in a scrappy encounter as the Hammers eased their relegation fears.

FULL MATCH REPLAY

A first half header from Nayef Aguerd was enough for West Ham to secure the 1-0 win over their relegation rivals, as Southampton’s Paul Onuachu hit the crossbar late on in a tight, tense affair at London Stadium.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA

The win moves David Moyes’ side out of the relegation zone and on to 27 points, while Southampton remain bottom of the table and on 23 points as they are three points from safety with nine games to go.


Cagey encounter proves just how tight relegation scrap is

This was not a classic. And there may be plenty of Premier League games like this between now and the end of the season because are so many teams involved in the relegation scramble. They can be slugfests which see teams go toe-to-toe and deliver hugely entertaining games but this game showed off the understandable nerves teams have about being relegated. West Ham were slightly better with their quality in the final third and that is why they won. However, as the Premier League table suggests, there is very little between the bottom nine teams this season. That gives hope to anybody down there, including Southampton, that they can get out of this.


Stars of the show; West Ham vs Southampton player ratings

Lukasz Fabianski: Made some smart stops down low on his return from injury. A calming influence.

Romeo Lavia: Won the ball back often and tried his best to get Saints moving forward from midfield.

West Ham vs Southampton
Graphic via FotMob.com

What’s next?

The Hammers host Newcastle on Wednesday, April 5. Southampton host Manchester City on Saturday, April 8.


How to watch West Ham vs Southampton live, stream link and start time

Kick off: 9am ET, Sunday
TV Channel: USA Network
Online: Stream via NBCSports.com

FULL TIME: West Ham 1-0 Southampton – A nervy win but a hugely important one for the Hammers. They move out of the bottom three and Saints remain bottom. It is still so tight around the relegation zone.

CROSSBAR! Paul Onuachu flicks a header against the bar. The first cross Saints have whipped into the box and the sub was so close to scoring his first Premier League goal.

CLOSE! Bowen’s cross into the box is deflected towards goal by Caleta-Car but Bazunu does really well to tip it over. From the resulting corner Lucas Paqueta lifts a shot over the bar.

Just over 15 minutes to go. It is very sleepy.

SAVE! Fabianski with a low save as Romeo Lavia picked up the loose ball from a corner and drilled an effort in. Moments later Carlos Alcaraz has a shot from distance saved by Fabianski.

West Ham are inviting a lot of pressure on themselves here. Sat back so deep.

Sulemana wins the ball back, drives forward and drills a shot wide. Good stuff from the sub. Saints need to get him the ball as much as they can.

Carlos Alcaraz and Kamaldeen Sulemana are both coming on for Southampton. Can this duo spark Saints’ sluggish attack into life? They are really missing the injured Che Adams today.

We are back underway in the second half. No subs at half time. The bubbles are still drifting across the pitch. Southampton are pretty good at second half comebacks, as their 3-3 draw against Tottenham last time out proved. Just going to leave that there…

HALF TIME: West Ham 1-0 Southampton – Really strange first 45 minutes. The Hammers scored with a set piece goal as Aguerd headed home but that was very subdued for a relegation scrap.

CROSSBAR! Jarrod Bowen curls a beauty which beats Gavin Bazunu but hits the bar and comes back out. Almost a second for West Ham just before half time after a lovely counter attack.

It is all very easy for West Ham now. Southampton haven’t been able to connect any passes in the final third consistently.

SAVE! Romain Perraud’s low show is brilliantly pushed wide by Lukasz Fabianski. Almost an immediate response from Saints.

GOALLL! West Ham 1-0 Southampton. After a lengthy VAR check, Nayef Aguerd’s header counts. It was given offside on the pitch but VAR checked it and he was just onside. West Ham score with the first real chance of the game as a free kick was swung in and Southampton failed to switch on. Really poor defensively from Saints.

Very quiet around the London Stadium as Southampton have had the better chances so far and have pressed West Ham high. Not the start the home fans would have wanted and they are starting to get on the back of their players a little. Lot of passes back and sideways from the Hammers.

A very even start so far. Both teams just feeling their way into this and understandably looking a little nervous.

We are underway in east London! What an atmosphere. Both teams have to go for it but West Ham are under more pressure.


Key storylines & in-form players to watch

Declan Rice is the main man for West Ham and he is doing his best to dig in and drive them forward. Other than that, Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen, Gianluca Scamacca and Danny Ings all need to find some form, and fast, if they’re going to drag West Ham up the table and away from this relegation battle they were never supposed to be anywhere near.

Southampton’s main man James Ward-Prowse is also dragging Saints through games and an unlikely resurgence from the fit-again Theo Walcott has played a big role in them picking up plenty of points since Selles took charge. The young duo of Romeo Lavia and Armel Bella-Kotchap continue to progress nicely in midfield and defense respectively and Saints now feel like they have a chance of getting out of the bottom three.


West Ham team news, injuries, lineup

OUT: Gianluca Scamacca (knee)

Southampton team news, injuries, lineup

OUT: Juan Larios (thigh), Armel Bella-Kotchap (shoulder), Valentino Livramento (hamstring), Che Adams (calf), Mohammed Salisu (knock)



Reports: Tottenham Hotspur to hire Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou as next manager

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Multiple reports say that Ange Postecoglou will be leaving Celtic to become the next manager of Tottenham Hotspur.

Celtic had reportedly granted permission for Spurs to speak with their trophy-collecting boss, and things apparently progressed quickly as the 57-year-old looks set to oversee the club’s big rebuild.

[ MORE: Recalling Zlatan’s “unicorn” career ]

Spurs suffered through an inconsistent 2022-23 season with Antonio Conte at the helm, followed by Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason in interim stints.

Tottenham will not have European football this season and is at risk of losing legendary center forward Harry Kane. The club has eight players including Kane going into the final year of their contracts, including Ivan Perisic, Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, and Hugo Lloris.

Spurs finished eighth last season, 15 points off the top four despite spending much of the season inside of it. The club’s finished fourth just once in the past four seasons despite qualifying for the Champions League the previous four seasons.

Ironically, Celtic is being linked with pursuit of Brendan Rodgers and Jesse Marsch if Postecoglou departs this week.

Who is Ange Postecoglou?

Postecoglou, 57, was born in Greece and moved to Australia at a young age, starring for South Melbourne as a player and earning for caps for the Socceroos.

He is coming off a domestic treble with Celtic and won five of six trophies available to him in his two seasons with the Bhoys.

At Celtic, Postecoglou played with a 4-3-3 for much of the first half of his tenure but played a lot of this campaign in a 4-2-3-1.

Postecoglou won trophies as a manager with South Melbourne, Brisbane Roar, and Yokohama F. Marinos, claiming the Asian Cup during his stint as Australia national team coach.

He said he expects tricky early times wherever he goes.

“Wherever I’ve been, the initial part is always rocky, because my ideas are… well they’re not extreme to me but I can see how they can be seen as extreme from the outside. It takes a while. Usually it can take me six months, it can take me a year to really bed them in, depending on how many opportunities I have to change the playing squad and the staff and all those kinds of things.”

Five players to watch in the Premier League’s summer transfer window

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There’s going to be turnover in the Premier League this offseason, and it seems likely the big boys will again be looking to the top young talents in other leagues to get in when the getting is good.

There will be big price tags attached to some players this summer, but in the case of the players below we may be talking about players just a window away from having unattainably high price tags for most clubs.

[ TRANSFER NEWS: Arsenal | Liverpool | Chelsea | Tottenham | Man City | Man United ] 

Most of these names have danced through ProSoccerTalk‘s transfer rumor mill at least once during the past season or two, and in one case have been on the radar for a half-decade or so.

Here’s a look at five players who may well find their way to the Premier League in the very near future, and could move somewhere this summer.

Xavi Simons, PSV Eindhoven

At times the teen hype around Xavi Simons coming out of Barcelona’s academy was akin to the recruitment of Martin Odegaard out of Norway so many years ago. But Simons couldn’t break through at Barca and his move to Paris Saint-Germain didn’t take off as expected. So Simons, who just turned 20 in April, landed at PSV Eindhoven. All he did was lead the Eredivisie in goals. PSG has a buyback clause but Simons would have to want to go there… and there are plenty of rumored suitors for the playmaker. Simons chipped in eight assists and was Fotmob’s highest-rated Eredivisie player.

Possible fits: Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool

Jurrien Timber, Ajax

Still 21 for a couple more weeks, Timber got Mancunian tongues wagging when he attended the FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Manchester City. The star center back played under United boss Erik ten Hag at Ajax and now has 15 caps for the Netherlands senior team. He has a ridiculous passing and ball progression profile for his position, and has showed enough attacking acumen to get any team excited about him.

Possible fits: Manchester United, Manchester City

Randal Kolo Muani, Eintracht Frankfurt

The 24-year-old has acknowledged dreams of playing in the Premier League following a blockbuster first season at Eintracht, where he scored 23 goals with 17 assists amongst all competitions. Moving to a new country did not slow him at all after his time at Nantes, and he was linked with a number of PL sides even before he admitted his interest in the league.

Possible fits: Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United

Sepe Elye Wahi, Montpellier

The 20-year-old nearly scored as many goals as his age in his third season with Montpellier’s first team, and has attracted interest from Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, and Chelsea amongst others. Wahi is still very raw when it comes to passing the ball but part of his statistical deficiencies could have to do with his club’s relative struggles. A eager presser, his best traits are finishing and that’s the stat that drives the bus for him.

Possible fits: Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal

Gabriel Veiga, Celta Vigo

Here’s another playmaker linked with Arsenal, but you can see why he could fit in Mikel Arteta’s system. His 11 goals were 13th in La Liga this season and his four assists means he had a goal contribution on 15 of Celta’s 43 league goals. An eager dribbler, he delivered 80 shot creating actions this season and ranked in the 99th percentile for midfielders when it came to non-penalty goals.

Possible fits: Newcastle, Arsenal, Man CIty

How many times has a team won the treble? Man City goes for history

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There’s been a lot of treble talk these days, talk that’s found a new level of buzz since Manchester City moved within one win of joining the club.

It’s an elite club, by the way, of teams that have won their domestic league, top domestic cup, and the European Cup.

Nine times in history has a team won the treble, and only once has it been done by a Premier League club.

[ MORE: Recalling Zlatan’s “unicorn” career ]

That’s why Man City’s defeat of Manchester United earlier this month in the FA Cup Final rings so true for the Citizens; The blue side of Manchester would join the red side as treble supporters, as United won the treble in 1998-99.

Man City goes for the third jewel of its treble crown on Saturday versus Inter Milan in Istanbul when it kicks off the UEFA Champions League Final.

For more treble trivia, head below the jump.

How many times has the treble been won?

Bayern Munich and Barcelona have each done it twice, with Bayern doing it in 2012-13 and 2019-20 and Barca pulling it off in 2008-09 and 2014-15.

Celtic was the first to win a treble, doing it in 1966-67, while Ajax was the next in 1971-72.

PSV Eindhoven then won it in 1987-88 before Man United made it happen 11 years later. Inter Milan is the only Italian team to pull it off, winning in 2009-10.

(UEFA.com)

Manchester City vs Inter Milan: How to watch Champions League Final, odds, predictions

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Manchester City is on the chase for a historic treble and standing in the way is Inter Milan, one of Europe’s precious few clubs to claim such an honor.

[ LIVE: Manchester City vs Inter Milan ]

The Premier League winners three times running have an FA Cup under their belt after beating Manchester United on June 3 and the final jewel in their treble crown awaits with a win in Istanbul on June 10.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

Pep Guardiola could lead a second club to a treble after he did it with Barcelona in 2008-09, and they would give heated rivals United domestic company on the treble stage right down the road.

Guardiola says it’s now okay to talk about the treble. We agree, and we’ve laid out why the achievement is so special after the jump.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Manchester City vs Inter Milan.


How to watch Manchester City vs Inter Milan live, stream link and start time

Dates: 3pm ET June 10, 2023
Online: Live updates via NBCSports.com
How to watch: TUDN, Paramount+


What Premier League clubs have won the treble?

Manchester United won the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League in 1998-99.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s Red Devils are the lone Premier League club to win it.

That’s it. For now.


How many times has the treble been won?

Nine times in history has a team won its domestic league, top domestic cup, and the European Cup.

Bayern Munich and Barcelona have each done it twice, with Bayern doing it in 2012-13 and 2019-20 and Barca pulling it off in 2008-09 and 2014-15.

Celtic was the first to win a treble, doing it in 1966-67, while Ajax was the next in 1971-72.

PSV Eindhoven then won it in 1987-88 before Man United made it happen 11 years later. Inter Milan is the only Italian team to pull it off, winning in 2009-10.

(UEFA.com)


Champions League Final odds (Betting odds provided by our partner, BetMGM )

BetMGM is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on BetMGM for the first time after clicking our links. 

Man City (-250) vs Inter Milan (+625) | Draw over 120 mins (+380)

Over 2.5 goals (-160). Under 2.5 goals (+110)


Champions League Final predictions

Joe Prince-Wright: Man City 2-1 Inter Milan
Andy Edwards: Man City 3-1 Inter Milan
Nick Mendola: Man City 2-0 Inter Milan


Manchester City team news, injuries, lineup options

QUESTIONABLE: None

Inter Milan team news, injuries, lineup options

QUESTIONABLE: Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Joaquin Correa. OUT: Dalbert.