West Ham United

The 35-year-old has been without a club since being released by West Ham at the end of June.

"After 18 years as a professional footballer I took the decision to retire from playing football," Zabaleta said in a social media post.

"These have been wonderful years that gave me the opportunity to enjoy unique and unforgettable moments.

"Forever I will thank all the people that shared the journey with me; clubs, team-mates, coaches and in particular my family and all my friends.

"With a lot of emotions I leave behind one of the best stages of my life. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!"

Zabaleta made 594 appearances at club level, starting with San Lorenzo in Argentina before moving to LaLiga with Espanyol.

He joined City in 2008 shortly before the takeover by the Abu Dhabi investment group and went on to become one of the club's most important players in a nine-year spell, popularly known as a 'warrior' figure.

Zabaleta won two Premier League titles, two EFL Cups and the FA Cup and was named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year in 2012-13.

He signed for West Ham in 2017 and made a further 73 appearances in England's top flight.

In 303 Premier League games in total, he recorded 953 tackles, the most of any player in the competition since his debut 12 years ago.

A winner of Olympic gold in 2008, Zabaleta won 58 senior caps for Argentina and was part of the side that finished runners-up at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The 26-year-old looked crestfallen after being forced off on just his fourth appearance since returning from four months out following the reoccurrence of a foot issue.

Martinez was surrounded by concerned United team-mates in the second half after going down clutching his right knee having been landed on awkwardly by West Ham full-back Vladimir Coufal.

The Argentina international was able to continue for a short period, only to pull up again and eventually trudge down the touchline to supportive chants from the Old Trafford faithful.

Ten Hag is fearing the worst and says “we can only pray” that Martinez, who he signed from former club Ajax in 2022, has avoided serious injury.

“I can’t say (what the situation is) but it doesn’t look good, so there’s a big concern,” the United boss said after Sunday’s 3-0 win against the Hammers.

“But we have to wait for what is the diagnosis and then we can tell you more.

“Of course we do everything to get the right diagnosis and see what the damage is.

“He is very sad, very disappointed. We are all. We feel really with him.

“First of all, it’s a personal disaster when it’s really bad but let’s wait for what it is. But also for the team it’s really bad because he definitely brings us a lot.”

The Premier League team play the first leg of their last-16 tie with AEK Larnaca on Thursday, making the trip to Cyprus amid a tough domestic season.

Victory over the two legs would take West Ham to a second successive European quarter-final appearance, having reached the last four of the Europa League last term.

Ahead of the game, Moyes pushed back on the idea success in the continent's third-tier competition represents a step back, pointing to Mourinho's success with Roma in 2022 as something to aspire to.

"If you look at the amount of people in football, there's very few that get that big opportunity to [win trophies]," he said. "Jose Mourinho showed you how much [winning] cared to him because he is a serial winner.

"Last year, we wanted desperately to win the Europa League, but we couldn't quite get past the semi-final. We've got a job to do try and reach the quarter-final.

"If West Ham we're talking about being in two quarter-finals [in Europe] back-to-back, I think that would be seen as one hell of an achievement."

Roma became the inaugural winners of the Europa Conference League last term, with a 1-0 win over Feyenoord in the final in Tirana.

Moyes saw his side slip out of the FA Cup against old club Manchester United last week, meanwhile, and with his team locked in a relegation battle, the Scotsman knows European success is a major opportunity for his team.

"I'd love to win the competition," he added. "I'd love to get to the final. I'd love to keep progressing West Ham in Europe.

"Not for a minute do I underestimate or take any of it for granted, because we've got a tough game on our hands. We never know exactly how it's going to go."

The Hammers saw off their Belgian Pro League rivals at London Stadium on Thursday thanks to goals from Said Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen, in a match marred late on by crowd trouble in the stands.

Victory further cements West Ham's place atop Group B with four wins from four, six points ahead of Danish outfit Silkeborg, who they face in a fortnight.

But with sides finishing in first place heading straight to the last-16, and runners-up having to settle for an additional play-off round with teams eliminated from the Europa League, Moyes cautioned there remains work to be done.

"I'm really pleased we've qualified for the next stage," he stated. "The big thing is to always be in Europe still after Christmas.

"[But] the form of Silkeborg at the moment looks a problem given the goals they're scoring, so we still need a point to be winners of the group.

"Hopefully we can do that but winning tonight was important. We deserved to win, but we made it much harder for ourselves than it should've been."

The final act in London - during which Anderlecht scored a late penalty to set up a tense last few minutes - was overshadowed by off-field events, with police required to keep supporters at bay.

Anderlecht subsequently criticised their own supporters in a statement after the full-time whistle, a move Moyes applauded, though the Scotsman was at pains to limit discussion on the matter.

"It's good for the press officer to stand up for the club," he added. "It's a big credit to them as they're a really good football club. They want to protect their own club and rightly so.

"Everyone's focus is taken away when there's crowd trouble in some way. I didn't have any interest in it as it's one of those things you don't want to talk about. I don't want to draw any more attention to it."

Moyes was, of course, the original successor to Alex Ferguson. The 'Chosen One', as the infamous banner read, and, to many, a harbinger of mediocrity.

That's slightly unfair on Moyes as although United won the title just before he ascended the Old Trafford hot seat, he was left with an aging squad that needed replenishing, plus the club's deep reverence for Ferguson ultimately stopped them moving with the times.

For years, Ferguson essentially operated as a head coach, recruitment director and sporting director rolled into one. The Scot was so effective and influential that, once he'd left, United were suddenly unprepared to meaningfully challenge the best teams.

This past year has arguably seen that gap reach its widest point in the Premier League era, with United posting their worst points total (58) since the competition's foundation in 1992 last season.

But in Erik ten Hag, United might finally have the right manager at the right time.

The succession

While United's woes of the short-lived Moyes era weren't just down to him, nothing over the past eight years has suggested the club was wrong to get rid of him in 2014.

Nevertheless, Moyes and every other post-Ferguson United manager had their strengths.

Moyes had an intimate knowledge of the league; Louis van Gaal brought a defined 'philosophy' and vast experience; Jose Mourinho had the name recognition and a track record of winning trophies; Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was already deified by supporters and his management style allowed players to be more expressive than under his pragmatic predecessor; Ralf Rangnick came in with 'club-building' expertise at a time when United's structure was spoken about as their biggest area of concern.

But none of them ever looked likely to be a long-term success for United. Obviously that was the hope for Moyes when he signed his five-year contract, though it quickly became apparent his personality was at odds with much of the team and his lack of tactical imagination made the side predictable, boring and ineffective.

Van Gaal did at least try to put a modern stamp on United, with his possession-based approach initially lauded upon his arrival after presiding over a fine World Cup campaign with the Netherlands. But again, the football was tedious to watch, with the Red Devils often accused of keeping possession for possession's sake rather than being able to work openings.

He's since been very critical of how United are run, perhaps casting light on why he was never quite right – maybe he would've been if there was a credible recruitment structure in place, but there wasn't.

Mourinho might argue recruitment issues were behind his downfall as well. Certainly, if you believe the media reports, United routinely missed out on players considered to be his primary targets.

But fans called his exit two years in advance. The prediction was that he'd be in charge for two seasons and then get the boot in his third, which of course came to pass.

Solskjaer arguably got the most freedom to build a team in his image, which was ironic given he was by far the least experienced of the managers to arrive after Ferguson. Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho were all desired by the Norwegian and they duly arrived, but the manager's coaching methods were widely derided from outside the club with few players appearing to improve under his tutelage.

Then the Rangnick-led rebuild ended up being a red herring. Results and performances weren't much better than under Solskjaer, and while his honest appraisals of the club's structure were appreciated by fans, the hierarchy clearly felt differently and swiftly ended his two-year consultancy shortly after Ten Hag's appointment.

Ten Hag's impact

So, what's changed?

Well, in reality we're obviously only going to really know how much United have changed in terms of the general running of the club a few years down the line.

They do at least now have a genuine sporting structure. Granted, it was questioned in pre-season when Ten Hag came in and immediately started demanding players he knew or had previously coached, but all pre-season signings have at least looked encouraging.

As for Ten Hag's management, there have been plenty of examples of him avoiding the mistakes of his predecessors.

Like Van Gaal, Ten Hag has looked to implement a more possession-focused style of play, but this United seem to be playing more on the front foot when out of possession than the LVG vintage.

And yet, Ten Hag's shown the sort of adaptability the likes of Solskjaer and Mourinho were accused of failing to embrace. He's already ditched the insistence on playing out from the back with David de Gea after the Spaniard's struggles in their first two games of the season, while the experiment of playing Christian Eriksen in defensive midfield didn't last long either.

But, arguably most important of all, Ten Hag's shown he's not shy about making tough calls. He dropped Luke Shaw and captain Harry Maguire after two games, and his exclusion of Cristiano Ronaldo from the squad to face Chelsea last weekend after the striker's refusal to come on against Tottenham was a real show of conviction and leadership.

Ronaldo was welcomed back into the starting XI against Sheriff on Thursday, though, evidence of Ten Hag finding the balance between authority and forgiveness, areas that Solskjaer, Mourinho and Rangnick all seemed to fall short in in different ways.

Of course, results are key. While it's still too early to draw any major conclusions here because who's to say they don't lose every game between now and the World Cup, there have undoubtedly been positive signs with wins against the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham. Even the draw at Chelsea was morale-boosting.

Crucially, United need to give Ten Hag time. If Solskjaer can be given three years, Ten Hag surely needs at least that long as well.

The first few months of his reign have certainly suggested United are on the right track with their latest 'Chosen One'.

Defender Collins scored his first goal for the Bees after Jarrod Bowen became the first player in Premier League history to score in each of his side’s first six away matches.

There was also a first goal in 35 matches, and 14 months, for Brentford forward Neal Maupay.

Unfortunately for West Ham, it was a first Premier League win – or even point – against the Bees which eluded them. Thomas Frank’s side have the hoodoo over the Hammers having won all five meetings since they were promoted.

Maupay’s last goal was for Everton in a 1-0 win against none other than West Ham, at Goodison Park in September 2022.

So it came as little surprise to anyone of a claret and blue persuasion that he would end his drought here. It took him only 10 minutes and it was the scruffiest of goals, but the 27-year-old could not have cared less.

Yoane Wissa had a shot blocked in a crowded West Ham penalty area and Frank Onyeka’s swipe at the rebound bounced into the ground and up for Maupay to glance past Alphonse Areola.

If that goal was not exactly one for the purists, West Ham’s equaliser certainly was.

Michail Antonio crossed from the left and Mohammed Kudus steadied himself before executing a stunning, acrobatic volley across Bees keeper Mark Flekken and into the far corner.

It was the Ghana winger’s fifth goal since joining West Ham from Ajax, on what was only his second Premier League start.

West Ham took the lead after 26 minutes as Bowen grabbed his landmark goal.

Kudus diverted Said Benrahma’s cross onto the far post and Bowen was on hand to tuck away the rebound, the goal surviving a VAR check for handball against the England winger.

West Ham should have led 3-1 at the break but Antonio, in trying to get on the end of Bowen’s cross, inadvertently made a goal-saving challenge to prevent Benrahma scoring with a far-post tap-in.

Instead, 10 minutes into the second half it was 2-2.

Hammers boss David Moyes had just been booked for chirruping away at fourth official John Busby, and his mood did not improve when defender Konstantinos Mavropanos headed Bryan Mbeumo’s cross into his own net.

West Ham would probably have settled for a point but Brentford did not, and in the 69th minute Mathias Jensen crossed from the right and Collins rose highest at the far post to head the winner.

Pardew had joined the Hammers in September 2003, having resigned as Reading boss after the Royals rebuffed West Ham’s initial request to speak to him about their vacant position.

In his first season, Pardew guided West Ham to the Championship play-off final but fell at the final hurdle against his former club Crystal Palace.

They were back in the play-off final the following summer after a season in which they failed to sustain a strong push for automatic promotion, albeit going up anyway after beating Preston 1-0 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

The Hammers made an encouraging start to life in the top flight as Pardew guided them to ninth place and the FA Cup final, where they were beaten on penalties by Liverpool at the end of a match which finished 3-3 following extra-time.

Optimism was high at the start of the following season as Argentinian pair Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano arrived at the club, but with European football added to their commitments, West Ham took a backward step.

An eight-game losing streak matched a 74-year-old club record and included an exit from the UEFA Cup at the hands of Palermo and a humiliating League Cup defeat to League One Chesterfield.

When Eggert Magnusson’s consortium arrived as new owners in early November they initially backed Pardew, but patience ran out with a 4-0 defeat to Bolton and Pardew was shown the door two weeks before Christmas.

Former West Ham player Alan Curbishley was named as his replacement two days later, having recently ended a 15-year spell in charge of Charlton, and he steered them to safety.

The Blades were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2006-07 season when West Ham beat Manchester United 1-0 to secure top-flight safety, with Tevez scoring the only goal of the game.

However, the Hammers were fined a record £5.5million by the Premier League for fielding Tevez and Javier Mascherano as they were ineligible to play under league rules regarding third-party ownership.

Sheffield United wanted to have their place in the Premier League reinstated, insisting a monetary fine was insufficient, but after failing in this regard they aimed to achieve financial settlement.

Regarding the ruling, then-Blades chairman Kevin McCabe said: “I can confirm that both clubs have been notified of the ruling. The arbitration panel has awarded in our favour.

“The matter is still legally in process so I do not wish to comment any further until we have completed that process.”

A statement released by West Ham said: “The club need to digest the full findings of the arbitration panel and will consult lawyers before considering the next steps that we might take on this matter. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.”

Both clubs eventually reached an out-of-court settlement over the Tevez affair in March 2009, with the agreement being described as “satisfactory settlement for compensation”.

The former Selecao star, widely considered one of the greatest to ever play the game, passed away on Thursday following a battle with colon cancer.

Pele's status as one of football's most recognised figures has drawn the sport together in mourning, with clubs across the globe honouring the late forward.

LaLiga and Champions League holders Real Madrid offered their condolences to the player's family, while paying tribute to the legacy he leaves behind.

"The legend of Pele will remain forever in the memory of all those who love this sport and his legacy makes him one of the great myths of world football," Los Blancos issued in a statement.

Fellow Spanish giants Barcelona said the Brazilian "made football greater than ever", while last season's Champions League finalists Liverpool called him an "icon" of football.

Several teams paid tribute to Pele with statements incorporating some of the game's other greats, such as Benfica, who posted a picture of him alongside late Portugal star Eusebio.

West Ham included former England captain Bobby Moore in their image after their famous battle at the 1970 World Cup, while Ajax featured Johan Cruyff, another of the game's great players, alongside the Brazilian.

Premier League trio Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City recalled their memories of Pele, with the Gunners reflecting on his visit for an encounter over four decades ago following his retirement.

Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich paid tribute to "one of the all-time greats" while Serie A champions Milan also offered condolences.

CONMEBOL, the South American Football Confederation, also issued a tribute to the late star, saying: "Thank you for putting South America on top."

Graham Potter acknowledged that being sacked at Chelsea was tough mentally, but he is now in a better place because of it.

West Ham boss Graham Potter was relieved his side got over the line in his first Premier League match in charge.

The new Chelsea co-owner – and chairman and interim sporting director – was speaking at a conference on Tuesday when he proposed the Premier League 'Americanised' (or should that be 'Americanized'?) itself a bit.

A relegation play-off tournament between the bottom four teams was one idea; but the other, which attracted most of the headlines, was for a North v South 'All-Star' game, pointing out Major League Baseball (MLB) in his native United States made $200million from such an event this year.

A potential Premier League 'All-Stars' game was the talk of football media on Tuesday, so at Stats Perform we decided to have a look at who might line up for the North and South.

It was decided the north-south cut-off point would see Nottingham Forest qualify for the North, ensuring each All-Stars team had 10 clubs to select from.

First up, we have unrestricted squads, so essentially the very best teams possible; then, we have squads that are limited to three players from each club and every single Premier League must have at least a single player selected. So, without any further ado, let's see who made the cut…

NORTH ALL-STARS (unrestricted)

4-3-3: Ederson (Manchester City); Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Andrew Robertson (Liverpool); Rodri (Manchester City), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Phil Foden (Manchester City); Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Luis Diaz (Liverpool).

SUBS: Alisson (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Joao Cancelo (Manchester City), Raphael Varane (Manchester United), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Fabinho (Liverpool), Casemiro (Manchester United), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United).

You knew the starting XI was going to look like that even before reading, didn't you? Manchester City and Liverpool obviously dominated the first team here, but it feels difficult to argue with almost any selection here.

The goalkeeper choice was probably the toughest, but only because Ederson and Alisson are both so strong and simultaneously significantly better than any other eligible shot stoppers in terms of their all-round game – Ederson ultimately got the nod owing to 13 more clean sheets over the past three-and-a-bit years, but either could've got the gig.

Similarly in defence, many of the North's options pick themselves. The centre-backs, Van Dijk and Dias, have each won the Premier League Player of the Season award in the past four years, while Alexander-Arnold and Robertson have at least 12 most assists than any other defender since the start of the 2019-20 season.

While the defence had a distinctively Liverpool look to it, City dominate the midfield because… well, they tend to dominate the midfield. Rodri provides the control and defensive protection, while Foden and De Bruyne can wreak havoc going forward and towards the flanks.

Salah and Haaland were obvious picks in attack. The Egyptian has been involved in 96 goals (66 scored, 30 assisted) since the start of the 2019-20 season, more than anyone else, while Haaland is arguably the most in-form striker in world football, having already netted 12 times in seven games for City.

Luis Diaz was perhaps the most uncertain one, but he's quickly become a key figure at Liverpool. His ability to cut inside or head for the byline makes him an unpredictable asset, and he's something of a double threat in terms of goals and creativity.

Cristiano Ronaldo's appearance on the bench owes much to his solid goal-scoring form last season.

SOUTHERN ALL-STARS (unrestricted)

4-2-3-1:Hugo Lloris (Tottenham); Reece James (Chelsea), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Kalidou Koulibaly (Chelsea), Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal); Declan Rice (West Ham), N'Golo Kante (Chelsea); Raheem Sterling (Chelsea), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Son Heung-min (Tottenham); Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal).

SUBS: Edouard Mendy (Chelsea), Thiago Silva (Chelsea), Marc Cucurella (Chelsea), Jorginho (Chelsea), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Martin Odegaard (Arsenal), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace), Ivan Toney (Brentford).

This team has it all. A World Cup-winning goalkeeper, a defence with an ideal blend of youth and experience, a combative midfield and four world-class attackers.

Lloris gets the nod in net. He's been one of the most consistent goalkeepers in the league since his arrival from Lyon 10 years ago, and based on Opta's expected goals on target (xGOT) conceded metric, Lloris has prevented 3.8 goals since the start of the 2020-21 season, significantly better than his South All-Stars back-up, Chelsea's Edouard Mendy (-3.8).

Chelsea star James is the right-back, with his 16 goal contributions (six goals, 10 assists) since the start of last season topping the charts for a defender. Koulibaly and Romero are a formidable centre-back pairing, while Zinchenko has four Premier League titles to his name from his time at Manchester City.

James and Zinchenko are brilliant attacking full-backs, but the defence will need screening, and that is where Kante and Rice come into their own. Both super ball-winners, Kante's relentless energy will be complemented by Rice's ability on the ball, as he has demonstrated at West Ham.

That midfield protection will be needed, with a four-pronged attack ready to lay waste to the North's defence.

Sterling might not have made a flying start at Chelsea but is the best pick on the right wing, with Son – who shared the league's golden boot award last season – on the opposite wing. Kane will play a slightly deeper role, behind Jesus, who has had more touches in the opposition box (66), attempted more dribbles (34), more dribbles in the box (8) and won more fouls (21) than any other player in the Premier League this season.

NORTHERN ALL-STARS (restricted)

4-2-3-1: Jordan Pickford (Jordan Pickford); Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Vigil van Dijk (Liverpool), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Andrew Robertson (Liverpool); Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle United), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City); Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Pedro Neto (Wolves); Erling Haaland (Manchester City).

SUBS: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Diego Carlos (Aston Villa), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Renan Lodi (Nottingham Forest), James Maddison (Leicester City), Youri Tielemans (Leicester City), Jack Harrison (Leeds United), Antony Gordon (Everton), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United).

Our self-imposed restrictions of no more than three players from a given team gives the North All-Stars a distinctly different feel – nevertheless, Van Dijk, Dias, Robertson, De Bruyne, Salah and Haaland retain their places, for obvious reasons.

Probably the biggest casualty is Alexander-Arnold, but the North benefits from having another excellent forward-thinking option at right-back in Trippier, while Jordan Pickford starts between the posts – David de Gea was another option here, but the England international is better with his feet.

Bruno Guimaraes comes into the midfield, offering a valuable combination of bite and craft, while Fernandes will take up the number 10 position with De Bruyne dropping a little deeper – this shouldn't stifle the team's creativity too much given the Belgian is the only player with more chances created (239) than Fernandes (224) since the latter's Premier League debut.

The other new face in attack is Pedro Neto. Perhaps a wildcard choice, but the Portugal international is an exciting winger with lots of pace and trickery. While Salah will cut in off the opposite flank, Neto looks to get crosses into the box, and that could be an effective route to goal knowing the predatory instincts Haaland has.

Again, Ronaldo is held back in reserve.

SOUTHERN ALL-STARS (restricted)

4-3-3: Robert Sanchez (Brighton and Hove Albion); Reece James (Chelsea), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Joachim Andersen (Crystal Palace), Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal); James Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Declan Rice (West Ham), Mason Mount (Chelsea); Raheem Sterling (Chelsea), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Son Heung-min (Tottenham).

SUBS:Neto (Bournemouth), Ben Mee (Brentford), Tariq Lamptey (Brighton and Hove Albion), Joao Palhinha (Fulham), Lucas Paqueta (West Ham), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace), Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford).

Robert Sanchez has been a standout performer for Brighton under the now Chelsea boss Graham Potter, and he replaces Lloris now the restrictions have come into play. He has kept 24 league clean sheets since making his debut in November 2020, which trails only four other goalkeepers.

James, Romero and Zinchenko all keep their places in defence, though Koulibaly does not. He makes way for Joachim Andersen, who has been excellent since signing for Crystal Palace in 2021.

We have switched to a midfield three for this side, with Rice staying in the team but playing a deeper, anchoring role. Alongside him are two new faces in the form of England team-mates Ward-Prowse and Mount. Both provide energy and creativity in abundance.

Ward-Prowse's set-piece quality – no midfielder has scored more goals or created more chances from set plays since the start of last season as the Southampton captain – is a huge threat, while Mount has contributed to 21 league goals since the beginning of 2021-22.

Jesus is the unlucky striker to drop out of the starting XI, though he is on the bench, with Sterling, Kane and Son leading the line.

Two goals and two assists in the Anfield rout showed the Egyptian is getting back to somewhere near his very best for Jurgen Klopp.

Salah has Bournemouth in his sights on Saturday, and our four fantasy team selections for the weekend are players heading out on the road.

Kaoru Mitoma has been in eye-catching form for Brighton and Hove Albion, who head to Leeds United on Saturday, while World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez has four clean sheets already in 2023 for Aston Villa, who visit West Ham on Sunday.

Chelsea's Ben Chilwell returns to an old stomping ground on Saturday as the Blues travel to his former club, Leicester City.

Using Opta data, Stats Perform has looked at why these four could help you bring in useful points this weekend.

Mohamed Salah (Bournemouth v Liverpool)

It was pretty clear Salah needed a rest amid a hectic schedule, and he got it during the World Cup after Egypt failed to qualify. Since games resumed after Qatar 2022, last season's joint-top scorer has been slowly building up to the sort of display that left United in tatters last Sunday. He has totted up nine goal involvements (5 goals, 4 assists) since the World Cup, with only Erling Haaland and Marcus Rashford (11) having more in that time.

Five of Salah's eight Premier League goals against Bournemouth have come at the Vitality Stadium, netting in every appearance in the Premier League there, so he will be looking for more of the same. If he wasn't in your team last week, can you really resist him this time around?

Emiliano Martinez (West Ham v Aston Villa)

There's no denying Villa went through a rocky spell recently, shipping 11 goals in three games, but two clean sheets have followed as Unai Emery looks for resilience.

Only Liverpool (6) and Tottenham (5) have kept more Premier League clean sheets in 2023 than Villa (4). Since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, Martinez is one of only six goalkeepers to have kept over 30 clean sheets in the top flight. This weekend he will try to complete three in a row for the first time since March 2022. West Ham have failed to score in 11 games this season, in case that heightens the temptation to pick Martinez.

Kaoru Mitoma(Leeds United v Brighton and Hove Albion)

Brighton's 4-0 demolition of West Ham last weekend included a goal from the twinkle-toed Japanese forward Mitoma. He has been involved in 11 goals across all competitions for Brighton this season (8 goals, 3 assists) with only Pascal Gross (12) having more involvements.

Seven of those involvements from Mitoma have come on league duty, with six goals and one assist, and it's especially good going when you consider he only made his first start in the competition at the end of October.

Leeds will need to be careful. Among all Premier League players, no one has had more take-ons in the box than Mitoma (17) in this season's competition, while only team-mate Solly March (6) has had more chance-creating take-ons than his five.

Ben Chilwell (Leicester City v Chelsea)

Chelsea could make it three wins in a row at Leicester. Successive clean sheets against Leeds and Borussia Dortmund count in Chilwell's favour, as does his attacking prowess.

Among defenders with at least 500 minutes played in the Premier League this season, only Liverpool's Konstantinos Tsimikas (133) has a better minutes-per-goal-involvement rate this season than Chilwell (237).

Granted, he has had only three such involvements so far, but having missed a large chunk of the season through injury, Chilwell is out to make up for lost time. His former club will be on guard, aware of his talent.

Some will be looking to consolidate lofty positions, but many will be eyeing a gamble in a late attempt to shuffle up the standings.

It comes down to analysing form, whether recent or over a longer course of time.

Using Opta data, Stats Perform selects four players you might consider for the latest set of matches.
 

Jose Sa (Leicester City v Wolves)

In a midlands battle between hosts in the relegation mire and visitors who are creeping clear of trouble, Wolves may need goalkeeper Jose Sa to be at his sharpest.

Only three teams have recorded more Premier League shutouts than Wolves in 2023 (5), while Sa is the eighth different goalkeeper to have recorded at least 20 clean sheets since the start of last season.

He is targeting a third successive clean sheet this weekend, and since the start of last season, only Alisson (14.2) and Bernd Leno (9.9) have prevented more goals than Sa (6.4), based on Opta's xG model.

Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace v Everton)

We've seen an April shower of goals from Crystal Palace this month, and now lowly Everton are the visitors to Selhurst Park.

Since the start of April, only Manchester City (11) have scored more goals in the Premier League than Palace (9), with Eberechi Eze netting three of those.

With seven goals and three assists this season, he has already equalled his best tally for goal involvements in the Premier League season (also 10 in 2020-21), and under Roy Hodgson's leadership he is clearly thriving again.

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool v Nottingham Forest)

Setting penalties to one side, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah has been showing some serious form of late, hitting a double last time out at Leeds United.

Only Ollie Watkins (14) and Erling Haaland (13) have been involved in more Premier League goals in 2023 than the Liverpool forward, with Salah totting up 11 involvements (8 goals, 3 assists), nine of which have come since the beginning of March.

In his last 10 Premier League games against teams that have come up from the Championship, as Forest did at the start of this campaign, Salah has been involved in nine goals (6 goals, 3 assists).

Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth v West Ham)

When Dominic Solanke gets hot, the opposition soon know about it.

He has become just the fifth different player for Bournemouth to record at least five goals and five assists in a Premier League season, achieving that by scoring once and providing two assists last time out against Tottenham.

The 25-year-old former Liverpool player had a stunning 2021-22 campaign in the Championship with the Cherries, and while he has not consistently hit the same heights in the top flight, the Tottenham game was the third of the Premier League season in which he has both scored and assisted. Nobody in the league has done so on more occasions, heading into this weekend's round of games.

Chelsea are looking to get their Premier League season back on track when they welcome West Ham to Stamford Bridge for a London derby.

West Ham want to end the season on a high, but so do Ipswich Town, who play their last top-flight game at Portman Road before relegation.

West Ham have steadied the ship by taking four points from their last two Premier League matches, leaving Julen Lopetegui looking up.

Graham Potter's first Premier League game in charge of West Ham will see them welcome Fulham to the London Stadium.

West Ham are looking to extend their winning streak against a Newcastle United side that have struggled on the road of late.

Tottenham are looking to end their losing run and travel to a West Ham side also in need of a Premier League win on Sunday.