09/05/2026

PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

All matches in Malaysian time

TODAY (10pm unless stated) Liverpool vs Chelsea (7.30pm) Brighton vs Wolves Fulham vs Bournemouth Sunderland vs Man Utd TOMORROW (9pm unless stated) Man City vs Brentford (12.30am) Burnley vs Aston Villa Crystal Palace vs Everton Nottm Forest vs Newcastle West Ham vs Arsenal (11.30pm) TUESDAY (3am) Tottenham vs Leeds

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SATURDAY | MAY 9, 2026

No room for sentiment Rice targets Arsenal win against former club West Ham in quest to end 22-year wait for EPL title

Who wants to be Chelsea manager?

A RSENAL’S Declan Rice will park any sentiment in the dressing room when he returns to West Ham United tomorrow (11.30pm Malaysian time) knowing a win would put the visitors within touching distance of the Premier League title and could leave his old side staring at relegation. With three games left, Arsenal are five points ahead of Manchester City who have a game in hand and could cut the deficit to two points by beating Brentford in an earlier match tomorrow (12.30am). Even if City get the job done at home to the Bees, however, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal team would still their own destiny as they seek to win the title for the first time since 2004. Arsenal have scored a com bined 11 goals in their last two League visits to the London Stadium but will be wary of a des perate West Ham side whose target is simply to extend their 14-season stay in the top flight. The Hammers sit in 18th place, one point behind London rivals Tottenham Hotspur who leapt above them and out of the relega tion zone by beating Aston Villa away last weekend. A surprise victory for West Ham would pile the pressure back on Spurs, who host Leeds United on Tuesday (3am), but for midfielder Rice his only thoughts are making sure Arsenal get the win, even if that pushes his former club closer to the trap door. “(West Ham) are the club that gave me everything. Without West Ham, there’s no me and I honestly believe that,” Rice, who captained West Ham to the Conference League title three years ago before joining Arsenal, said this week after his side beat Atletico Madrid to reach the Champions League final. “They gave me a chance when Chelsea didn’t and a lot of people there really did push me on. Loads

against one of the best teams in the League, in this moment,” said De Zerbi, who has led Tottenham to victo ries in their last two matches. “In the last five or six games, Leeds won against Manchester United, they drew in Bournemouth playing well. For that we have a big respect. “We can’t think in a

of good things about that club. It’s not nice to see the position they’re in … But it’s football and I have a job to do.” Nothing will be decided at the top or bottom of the table this weekend but things could certainly look a lot clearer. Arsenal have 76 points from 35 games with City on 71 from 34. If they both keep winning then the title race will go to the final day of the season but another City slip this weekend and an Arsenal win would all but seal it for Arteta’s side. At the other end of the table, fourth-from-bottom Tottenham’s back-to-back wins under new manager Roberto de Zerbi have put them in control of their fate. They have 37 points, with West Ham on 36 also from 35 games. If West Ham lose and Spurs beat Leeds, the Hammers’ hopes will hang by a thread. De Zerbi’s side won 2-1 at much-changed Villa last weekend after Unai Emery rested his key players to prioritise yesterday’s Europa League semifinal against Nottingham Forest. Villa’s lacklustre performance sparked debate about their influ ence on the relegation dogfight but De Zerbi said Tottenham’s injury crisis, which has robbed the Italian of several key players, made Villa’s switches irrelevant. “I can say one thing, we played without (Cristian) Romero, (Dejan) Kulusevski, (Mohammed) Kudus, (Dominic) Solanke, Xavi Simons, (James) Maddison and maybe more players than Villa,” he told reporters yesterday. “It is better if the people speak about us than we speak about them. In Italy we are used to think ing in the bad way about this situa tion but it is not true. It is not true.” After hosting Leeds, De Zerbi’s team travel to London rivals Chelsea on May 19 before finishing their season at home to Everton on May 24. “First of all we are playing

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different way. We have to keep this mentality. We must remain humble. Nothing has changed. We have to prepare for an important game. “We have to

focus on this type of game, with this type of attitude, spirit and

showi ng the quali ties of the players.”

W h i l e third-placed

Manchester United have assured themselves of a return to the Champions League next season before they visit Sunderland today, the battle to qualify for Europe looks like going all the way to the final weekend. Liverpool and Aston Villa are strong favourites to complete the top five and join United in the Champions League but both are struggling for form and will need wins against Chelsea and Burnley this weekend respectively to soothe any nerves. Sixth-placed Bournemouth have an outside chance of a top five finish and a victory at Fulham today would keep them in the hunt, while below the Cherries a host of clubs are vying for European qualification, with even 13th-placed Newcastle United hoping for a late surge to finish high enough. – Reuters/AFP

Man with a plan

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Thin red line

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Arsenal’s Declan Rice in action during the Champions League quarterfinal 2nd leg match against Sporting CP at the Emirates Stadium on April 15. – REUTERSPIC

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