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• Atletico Madrid must improve in top-four chase, says Simeone

  Atletico Madrid need to step up in order to secure Champions League qualification, head coach Diego Simeone said ahead of Saturday's LaLiga trip to Mallorca.

  Simeone’s men are fourth in the standings with 64 points, seven behind third-placed Girona with five matches left. Atletico lead Athletic Bilbao, in fifth place, by three points.

  They were knocked out of the Champions League after a 5-4 quarter-final aggregate loss to Germany's Borussia Dortmund and Simeone feels the Spanish top flight is also getting more intense with every year.

  "We are thinking about the game, hopefully we can be in the top four as we have been these years, but it is more difficult every day," Simeone told reporters at his pre-match press conference.

  "There is improvement in the other teams, so we have to improve."

  Atletico have struggled defensively this season, having failed to keep a clean sheet since a 5-0 home win over Las Palmas in February.

  "When you talk about defence, people misunderstand and think that it's only the defenders," Simeone said.

  "The defence is a team and we have conceded a lot of goals because we haven't been able to work as a team."

  The Argentine said his team will have their work cut out to claim all three points against 16th-placed Mallorca.

  "We have a tough opponent like Mallorca... they work with a coach who I admire for his calmness and his ability to compete," added Simeone. 

  "I admire those coaches. We will face a tough and difficult game.

  "When the season is over and the accounts are closed, I'll be able to comment on how I feel and what I think about the objectives [since I took charge of Atletico]."

• Emery demands Villa adapt after European defeat before Seagulls visit

  Unai Emery says Aston Villa must adapt to the varying challenges of European and domestic football ahead of Sunday's Premier League meeting with an "amazing" Brighton at Amex Stadium.

  Villa boss Emery has become renowned as somewhat of a European mastermind, having won three Europa Leagues with Sevilla and another when in charge of Villarreal.

  Yet the Spaniard will have been disappointed as Villa slipped to a 4-2 home defeat against Olympiacos in Thursday's Europa Conference League semi-final first leg.

  Emery acknowledged his Champions League-chasing Villa must prepare differently for different challenges in Europe as they prepare to return to domestic action against Brighton.

  He said: "We want to grow up in Europe, playing Europa League and Champions League. I like it.

  "The players have to adapt to that situation playing more matches than normal and then try to take experiences and manage those competitions and try to be successful in both."

  European football is on the cards next term at Villa Park, too, with Emery's fourth-placed side seven points clear of Tottenham, who have played a game fewer.

  Villa can move one step closer to an unlikely Champions League qualification with victory at Brighton, though Emery knows a tough task awaits against Roberto De Zerbi.

  "The respect for Roberto de Zerbi is high," he added. "He is an amazing coach, he was playing very good last year.

  "It is amazing how they play."

  Brighton, meanwhile, are winless in six straight Premier League games and have been demolished by Bournemouth and Manchester City in recent weeks.

  That winless run leaves the Seagulls 12th in the table and Brighton head coach De Zerbi is desperate for a response on Sunday, even if they are out of European contention.

  "I spoke about motivation not because we want to go on holiday tomorrow or next week," De Zerbi said. "When the target is not so close it is tough to accept for a team who is used to fighting for the important target.

  "This season until the Brentford game, until maybe the Burnley game, we have had the chance to qualify for another year in the Europe League.

  "I think after that we lost something of energy and of motivation."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Brighton – Joao Pedro

  Brighton have not managed a goal from one of their own players since Danny Welbeck scored after just two minutes in the March 31 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield.

  De Zerbi may look to Joao Pedro to end that struggle, with the forward's eight league goals leading the club's scoring charts – though he has not scored since March 2 against Crystal Palace.

  Aston Villa – Ollie Watkins

  Ollie Watkins has scored six goals in his last four Premier League appearances against Brighton, including a hat-trick in Villa’s 6-1 win earlier this season. It’s the most goals he’s netted against an opponent in the competition.

  The England striker has also been involved in eight goals in his last five Premier League away games, scoring six and assisting two. His 10 Premier League away goals overall this season is the most of any English player in the competition.

  MATCH PREDICTION – ASTON VILLA WIN

  The Opta supercomputer struggled to split these two sides in the pre-match predictions, though Villa are the narrow favourites for this one considering recent head-to-head clashes.

  Emery's men won 6-1 in this season’s reverse Premier League fixture against Brighton – they last netted more than six against an opponent in 2020-21 vs Liverpool (8), while their most goals against an opponent in a season is 10 against Wimbledon in 1994-95.

  Brighton have also lost their last five Premier League matches against Villa by an aggregate score of 14-3. The Seagulls last suffered six defeats in a row against a side between 2019 and 2022 against Man Utd.

  Villa, meanwhile, will be looking to register six consecutive top-flight wins against an opponent for the first time since between 2005 and 2010 against fierce rivals Birmingham City.

  The visitors may be confident of doing so given De Zerbi's men have lost their last two league games by an aggregate score of 7-0.

  The Seagulls last lost more in a row in the competition in March 2022 (run of six – the third of which was at home to Villa), while they last conceded 3+ goals in three successive league matches in October 2011 as a Championship side.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Brighton win – 35.4%

  Aston Villa win – 35.7%

  Draw – 28.9%

• Luton boss Edwards urges Hatters to keep the faith in Premier League relegation scrap

  Rob Edwards urged his Luton Town team and the club's supporters to keep the faith as the Hatters aim to stay in the Premier League.

  A 1-1 draw with Everton at home on Friday was not the result Luton truly needed as they look to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.

  It moved Luton onto 26 points, level with 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, who face already-relegated Sheffield United on Saturday.

  Forest could yet be in to get some of the four points they were deducted for a breach of the Premier League's financial rules back, however, with a decision on their appeal expected to arrive in the coming days.

  Edwards hinted at that uncertainty in his comments after the Everton game, as he asked his team to keep going.

  He said: "We wanted a win. We threw everything at it. We tried. We were the team pushing right until the end.

  "In the end a draw wasn't what we wanted. I'm proud of the players, the club, the supporters. They stayed with us until the end. We tried to do all the right things. We're still in the mix.

  "On another day we could have won the game but we didn't. We've got to keep going. We don't have a crystal ball. It might be four points, five, six. It might be enough. We've got to believe it is, [so] we go again."

  Luton head to West Ham next week, before hosting Fulham on the final day of the season.

  Everton, who took the lead through Dominic Calvert-Lewin's penalty but were pegged back by Elijah Adebayo's strike, were already sure of their Premier League status heading into Friday's match.

  Asked if he had a preference on which team out of Forest, Luton and his former club Burnley avoided the drop, Sean Dyche told reporters: "No one cared about us at Everton when we were down there last season, so they will have to fight it out.

  "We had to fight it out last season and take care of ourselves, all the clubs will have to fight it out.

  "We took care of ourselves again this season with many challenges and I am very proud of that, but it is not for choosing ifs, buts and maybes and sides.

  "I have been down there myself and you have to take care of yourself. No one gives you anything, they have all got to fight it out and see who gets the job done.”