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Tuesday’s briefing: Wolves’ relegation confirmed as West Ham take valuable point
There was another twist in the Premier League relegation battle on Monday night after West Ham were held to a 0-0 draw by Crystal Palace – a result which confirmed Wolves will play in the Championship next season.
Attention now turns to the European qualification race on Tuesday when Brighton host Chelsea.
With Blues boss Liam Rosenior under pressure after a poor run only a matter of months into his tenure, all eyes will be on the Amex Stadium to see if Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls can deliver another blow.
Respect the point, but goodbye Wolves
West Ham are two points ahead of Tottenham in their bid to stay in the Premier League, but could have opened up a larger gap with victory at Crystal Palace on Monday night.
Nevertheless, a 0-0 draw was enough to consign 20th-placed Wolves to relegation.
Palace had been in European action days earlier and head coach Oliver Glasner allowed his players a night out in Florence following their Conference League triumph over Fiorentina last Thursday.
However, a largely first-choice Palace line-up showed no ill-effects and they could have won it late on but Ismaila Sarr had a late effort ruled out for a handball by Jean-Philippe Mateta to leave the relegation battle finely poised with five games to go.
More shots fired between City and Arsenal
Manchester City and Arsenal continued to take aim at each other after Sunday’s titanic clash at Etihad Stadium, with matchwinner Erling Haaland happy to remind Mikel Arteta’s leaders they usually “come up short” after three consecutive second-placed finishes.
Haaland said: “The last seasons they’ve come up short. For now they are first and they are still there, they’ve been the best team of the season. I don’t want to speak too much about them because they are an amazing team and we should focus on ourselves.”
Even though Haaland was respectful, his sentiments would have likely irked Arsenal, but captain Martin Odegaard promised it was “all to play for” despite a second straight defeat in the league and with City able to go top with victory at Burnley on Wednesday.
Owners are 100 per cent behind me, says Rosenior
Liam Rosenior believes he still has the full support of Chelsea’s owners as he battles to put the club’s ailing Champions League qualification push back on track.
The Blues have fallen seven points adrift of fifth-placed Liverpool in the Premier League on the back of losing four games in a row without scoring and boos greeted Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.
Asked if he felt support from Chelsea’s ownership, Rosenior said: “One hundred per cent. They have been supportive of me in our daily conversations, they have been magnificent in their support of me and the team.
“We’re aligned that we know we need to win games of football in the now, but that doesn’t go against what we’re trying to do.”
Cherries set for Rose arrival this summer
Bournemouth have announced Marco Rose will succeed Andoni Iraola as the club’s head coach in the summer.
The former RZ Leipzig boss has agreed a three-year deal at the Vitality Stadium after Iraola confirmed last week he would leave at the end of the current season.
“AFC Bournemouth is delighted to confirm the appointment of Marco Rose as the club’s new head coach on a three-year contract, which will begin following the conclusion of the 2025-26 season.
“The 49-year-old arrives on the south coast with a wealth of experience at the highest level of European football,” a club statement read.
What’s on today?
Chelsea, who are sixth in the table, travel to ninth-placed Brighton, who trail the west London outfit by one point.
There are eight Championship fixtures on Tuesday and Leicester’s relegation to League One could be confirmed.
