The Premier League is back in full swing this weekend after the international break.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the key talking points heading into the forthcoming round of games.
Leaders City head to in-form Hammers
Manchester City have made a strong start to their title defence, taking a maximum 12 points from their opening four fixtures.
The treble-winners, and Erling Haaland, delivered their most potent display so far last time out with a 5-1 thrashing of Fulham which featured a hat-trick from the Norway star.
Next to try to thwart City, whose boss Pep Guardiola has returned to work after a back operation, are West Ham – and they may well fancy their chances.
David Moyes’ men welcome the champions to London Stadium on Saturday having won each of their last three games, to sit fourth in the fledgling table.
Spurs and Reds also on a roll
West Ham are among four teams with 10 points – also on that total, and three-match winning runs, are Tottenham and Liverpool.
Spurs will look to continue their impressive post-Harry Kane form under new boss Ange Postecoglou, the league’s manager of the month, when they host Sheffield United, shortly after Jurgen Klopp’s Reds play at Wolves in the early Saturday kick-off.
The other side with 10 points are 2022-23 runners-up Arsenal, visitors on Sunday to struggling Everton, who on Friday announced an agreement had been reached for the club to be taken over by American investment firm 777 Partners.
United in need of a boost
Manchester United have had a troubled start to their campaign, losing to both Tottenham and Arsenal in their first four outings.
The international break has then seen Antony given a leave of absence in order to address allegations made against him of violence towards women, while fellow forward Jadon Sancho is training away from the first-team squad due to a “discipline issue”.
The Red Devils will be eager for the positivity of a win on Saturday. But that will be no small task at home to Brighton, who are on nine points and have won each of the last three league meetings between the clubs.
Chelsea and Newcastle misfiring
Two further teams for whom a victory this weekend would certainly be welcome are Chelsea and Newcastle.
The Blues’ expensively-assembled squad has made an underwhelming start to life under Mauricio Pochettino and slumped to a 1-0 home loss to Nottingham Forest in their last game.
Newcastle, after securing Champions League football last season and opening this one with a 5-1 hammering of Aston Villa, have suffered three defeats on the bounce.
Eddie Howe’s side host Brentford in Saturday’s late game before Chelsea go to Bournemouth on Sunday.
Hatters look to hit back
Luton have found the Premier League fairly unforgiving, losing each of their first three games.
That left pundit Garth Crooks saying he could “see them down by Christmas” – and with boss Rob Edwards branding that remark “disrespectful”, the Hatters might be even more fired up when they take their search for a first point to Fulham on Saturday.
The other two sides that came up, Burnley and Sheffield United, also opened with three losses, with the latter’s 2-2 draw with Everton last time out the only point gained by one of them so far. The Clarets will attempt to get off the mark on Monday night at Forest.
Getafe 0-3 Atletico Madrid: Griezmann treble seals Champions League qualification
Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 LaLiga win at Getafe on Wednesday as Diego Simeone's side sealed Champions League qualification.
The France star opened the scoring in the 27th minute from Rodrigo De Paul's throughball and had his second shortly before half-time, flicking Samuel Lino's pinpoint pass past Getafe goalkeeper David Soria.
Griezmann completed his hat-trick in the 51st minute with a fine finish under Soria's legs, with Lino claiming his second assist by playing Los Colchoneros' all-time leading scorer into the area.
It was Griezmann's second hat-trick of the season, after he also netted three times in a 3-0 win at Celta Vigo last October.
With two games remaining, Simeone's side are now on 73 points in fourth, 11 ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who lost 2-1 against Celta Vigo on Wednesday.
Data Debrief: Griezmann repeats the trick
Griezmann is the only player to score two hat-tricks in LaLiga this season, and the only player to net a treble with all three goals coming on his left foot.
He might need to go even further to put himself in Golden Boot contention, though, with his 16 goals for this term putting him behind Artem Dovbyk (20), Jude Bellingham, Alexander Sorloth (both 19) and Robert Lewandowski (17).
Fernandes looking for strong finish to Man Utd's season
Bruno Fernandes says Manchester United must "finish the season in the best way" following their 3-2 win over Newcastle United.
The United youngsters played starring roles, with Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo and Rasmus Hojlund getting all three goals to close the gap to Newcastle in the table.
Anthony Gordon and Lewis Hall both netted for the Magpies, with the latter setting up a nervy finish with his stoppage-time effort, but their lack of clinical edge meant United earned all three points.
Erik ten Hag’s side avoided a third consecutive defeat, and what would have been a record-breaking 10th home loss of the season, and Fernandes insists they must find a way to finish positively.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the United captain said: "Obviously the job isn’t finished yet. We still have one game in the Premier League, then the biggest game of the season, the FA Cup final.
"It has been a tough season. The table shows that, and we are all aware of that. The fans have been amazing and behind us all season. We all appreciate what they have been doing for us.
"We want to do better and do differently. They [fans] have been amazing for us, and we had to do something. We have been trying, but results don’t show that. We have been working hard and everyone has been giving their best. It is not enough, and we have to do more.
"We still have two games to go, and we have to finish in the best way.
"It doesn’t exist, a captain's performance, it is a team performance. I am no different from anyone just because I have the armband. I always try my best, and we always do the best we can for the club – nobody hides that we play for a big club, and we have to lift our standards every game."
Despite returning to winning ways, United have now conceded 58 Premier League goals this season, their most across a single campaign in the competition.
Ten Hag was keen to turn the focus away from their struggling defence and onto the attacking players instead.
"Fantastic. Great goals. But it was a team effort how we made the goals. But I'm always happy at young players who are progressing very good and scored some brilliant goals," he told BBC Sport.
"Newcastle have a lot of physical power, and you have to match that, but you also have to play football. We had found the really good balance in this.
"It's always nice to win any game. It's important to win the last game at Old Trafford this season. The fans deserve this because they've had difficult times and always stayed with us.
"We are here together. We wanted to pay the fans back."
JPL finalists Mount Pleasant, Cavalier join teams from T&T, Dom Rep as early qualifiers for Concacaf Caribbean Cup
Reigning Jamaica Premier League champions Mount Pleasant FA and Cavalier FC have booked spots in this year’s Concacaf Caribbean Cup where they will again challenge for a berth in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup.
By virtue of setting up a repeat of last year’s final, Mount Pleasant, hunting their second local top-flight title, and Cavalier, seeking redemption from last season’s defeat, joined three other clubs from Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago as early confirmations.
This will be Mount Pleasant’s debut in the Caribbean Cup and first appearance in a Concacaf tournament, while Cavalier makes a return after an unbeaten run in the group stage, before finishing as runner-up to Suriname’s Robinhood FC. It also and earned them a debut appearance in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
From Dominican Republic, Cibao FC, will make its second appearance in the Caribbean Cup as the 2023 league champion from the Dominican Republic. Cibao has become a regular to Concacaf competitions, appearing in the 2018 Champions League and the 2020 and 2022 Concacaf League.
Based in Santiago de los Caballeros, Cibao became the first team in the history of the Dominican Republic to secure an official international title when they won the 2017 Concacaf Caribbean Club Championship.
Meanwhile, Moca FC, also out of Dominican Republic, returns for a second crack at the Caribbean Cup due to their standing in the 2023 season. Moca reached the semifinals in the previous edition and won the third-place match to qualify for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup, making its debut earlier this year. Gustavo Ascona is the club’s all-time leader with four goals in the competition.
Trinidad and Tobago’s AC Port of Spain will make a second appearance in the Caribbean Cup. The club will be aiming to achieved new milestones by getting their first win in the tournament and, by extension, secure a first Concacaf Champions Cup participation.
The remaining clubs in the annual 10-team tournament –that crowns a Caribbean champion and determine participants from the region for the Concacaf Champions Cup –will be determined as their respective nations wrap up their domestic seasons.
A draw will be held on June 6 to divide the teams into two groups of five.
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