Milan's game against Roma on Saturday is "worth double" as both teams vie for Champions League qualification, says Rossoneri head coach Stefano Pioli.

Milan occupy the all-important fourth place in Serie A, but only by virtue of their superior goal difference, with Roma also on 56 points ahead of Saturday's vital clash.

Pioli's men head to Stadio Olimpico where the Giallorossi have kept seven clean sheets in their last eight home league matches, with no other team in the top five European leagues keeping more since the turn of the year.

Pioli acknowledged the importance of the fixture in his pre-match press conference, telling reporters: "We need to give continuity to our performances, making sure that the next match is the most important one.

"Tomorrow's match is worth double and we need to face it with the right spirit and convictions.

"It's worth a lot. After tomorrow there will be six games left. The more points we get, the more chance we have of getting into the top-four places, which is our great goal."

Pioli was asked about his close relationship with winger Rafael Leao, who recently said his head coach was like his "father" having accumulated 22 goal involvements in 41 appearances for Milan this season in all competitions.

"My players are all my children, from morning to night," Pioli said. "Even when I'm at home I think of them.

"I talk to them every day, both about football and about other situations: they are lucky, but they have the problems of 20-year-olds.

"Rafa is the player who has been in my office the most in recent years, so there is the strongest bond."

Liverpool and Tottenham face off on Sunday in a pivotal game for both teams' slim Champions League aspirations.

Jurgen Klopp's man have endured a hugely underwhelming campaign after narrowly missing out on the Premier League title last season, and sit seven points adrift of the top four having played a game more than fourth-placed Manchester United.

Tottenham, under the interim charge of Ryan Mason after Cristian Stellini was sacked following the 6-1 humiliation at Newcastle United, responded to that drubbing by recovering from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Erik ten Hag's side.

But Spurs are six adrift of United having played two games more, and defeat at Anfield may well be the final nail in the coffin as far as their top-four hopes are concerned.

And the omens are firmly against Tottenham.

A kind fixture for Klopp

Indeed, Liverpool have dominated recent meetings between these two sides. The Reds have lost just one of their last 20 Premier League games against Spurs (W13 D6), and are unbeaten in 10 since a 4-1 loss at Wembley in October 2017.

Anfield has been far from a happy hunting ground for Spurs, who have won just two of their last 35 away league games against Liverpool (D10 L23), winning 2-1 in August 1993 and 2-0 in May 2011.

On top of that, Tottenham are winless in five Premier League away games, losing as many games in this run (3) as they had in their previous 16 on the road beforehand (W8 D5). It's their longest run without an away league win since a run of 12 between February and November 2019.

The 31 away league goals Tottenham have conceded this season are their most in a single campaign since 2008-09 (35), while the only two clean sheets they have kept outside London this term came in victories at Nottingham Forest (2-0) and Brighton and Hove Albion (1-0). Liverpool should be very confident of breaching the Tottenham goal.

Leaky Liverpool

Liverpool have concern in defence themselves. Klopp's side have conceded four goals in their last two Premier League home games (2-2 v Arsenal, 3-2 v Nottingham Forest), as many as they had in their previous nine at Anfield. The Reds have not conceded at least two goals in three consecutive home league games since September 2012.

Alisson has failed to keep a clean sheet in Liverpool's last three Premier League games, but they have won all of those games.

Liverpool have form for prevailing this season despite consistently shipping goals. They haven't won four games in a row since November and December and conceded in each of those games.

Goals appear to be a given in this one, and the primary threats are easy to identify.

A game to savour for Salah

Tottenham will not be relishing facing Mohamed Salah again. Since he joined Liverpool in 2017, no player has scored more Premier League goals against Tottenham than the Egyptian (7). The Liverpool talisman netted both goals in Liverpool's 2-1 win over Spurs in the reverse fixture this season.

Salah has been involved in 11 goals in his last eight home games in all competitions (8 goals, 3 assists), scoring at least once in each of his last six. Not since Luis Suarez scored in eight successive home games between April 2013 and January 2014 has a Liverpool player found the net in more consecutive games at Anfield.

At the other end, Liverpool will obviously be focused on stopping Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, though that is easier said than done.

Six of Tottenham's last seven Premier League goals against Liverpool have been scored by either Kane (3) or Son (3). Kane has scored eight times against Liverpool in the competition, with only Andrew Cole netting more against the Reds (11).

But Kane goals do not automatically mean victory for Tottenham on the road. He has scored in each of his last three Premier League away games, with Spurs failing to win all three (D2 L1). The last player to score in four consecutive away appearances in the division but not win any of them was Steven Fletcher between April and September 2012.

British driver Abbi Pulling has been disqualified from both qualifying sessions on the inaugural weekend of the all-female F1 Academy series after initially topping both at Austria’s Red Bull Ring.

Lincolnshire’s Pulling looked to have secured the championship’s two maiden pole positions after laying down an emphatic marker on Friday, but a subsequent inspection found an “unintentional technical infringement” related to “non-homologated parts” on all three Rodin Carlin team cars.

The new single-seater championship features a 15-woman grid from 10 countries competing for five professional teams over seven rounds, each with three races – the second in a semi-reverse grid format.

Alpine academy driver Pulling, 20, was also a standout in W Series, where she finished fourth in her first full season on a grid that also included Marta Garcia, who inherits the two pole positions in Spielberg.

While it is easy to draw comparisons between W Series – on hiatus since financial difficulties forced organisers to curtail the 2022 season – and the F1 Academy, Pulling’s fellow W Series alumna Bianca Bustamante, 18, marked several significant differences.

All of the teams with F1 Academy entries – which also include Campos Racing, PREMA, MP Motorsport and ART Grand Prix – have well-established experience elsewhere in F2 and F3, desired destinations for Academy drivers.

That is massive for PREMA’s Bustamante, who explained: “One of the greatest things about it is you get to work with such professional teams. And I think that makes the most difference.

“I’ve only started to work with PREMA for about two to three months and I’ve learned so much.

“This opportunity would have never come about if it weren’t for the Academy. To be able to work with such a professional team, to learn with the best drivers and to get the track time.

“It makes the most difference, because now we learn all the good habits. We learn what it’s like to be at the top of the sport and competing with the best teams, the best drivers, overall the best bits.”

F1 Academy’s triple-race weekends also allow for considerably more track time which was a long-standing request from W Series drivers who competed in just one per round.

The Academy season’s venues include grand prix tracks like the Netherlands’ Zandvoort and Italy’s Monza, designed to prepare drivers for career next steps.

The team element also differs in facilitating more consistent relationships with engineers and other key personnel, while W Series rotated engineers of varying experience as part of its own development mission.

Bustamante said: “To have that consistency right from the beginning in your junior years is one of the most important things.”

Organisers of the development-focused competition hope it will provide a critical stepping-stone between karting and other junior categories to F1 feeder series like F3, with the long-term goal of one day seeing a woman back in F1.

Pulling and Philippines-born Bustamante are among the many female drivers who have faced considerable challenges funding their careers, an issue F1 hopes to mitigate by subsidising each car – a T421 Chassis developed specifically for the Academy – with 150,000 euros (£131,600).

Drivers are expected to cover the same amount, while teams provide the rest of the budget.

The series faced early criticism after it was revealed races would not be broadcast live, but instead delivered later in the form of highlights packages, complemented by what organisers promised would be extensive live content on social media.

But the PA news agency understands there are ambitions for future live broadcasts, with the Academy set to join select F1 grands prix as part of next season’s support series.

Having the weight of the increasingly-recognisable F1 brand behind the new all-female venture is also an unprecedented step for the sport, one the drivers feel is significant.

“It makes a huge difference,” added Bustamante. “To have F1’s support means a big change to the sport. We went from not having many female drivers to having our own series.

“F1 has given us that exposure. They’ve allowed us to have a platform where we can expose our vision, our aspirations, and to have a voice.”

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen expects Toulouse to take his team on physically in Saturday’s clash of the Heineken Champions Cup heavyweights.

Four-time European champions Leinster tackle a club with a record five European titles under their belt.

And the semi-final clash at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium will be one of the tournament’s classic encounters if it lives up to its billing.

“(They have) a big physical pack,” Cullen told www.epcrugby.com.

“I think they will be very direct when they have the ball, confrontational.

“They kick the ball a fair amount. I know Toulouse’s reputation is free-flowing, off-loading rugby, but I think they will be pretty pragmatic, particularly at the start of the game.

“As the game starts to open up then they will start to move the ball around and you see a lot of their points come late in games.

“I think they will try to take us on physically, which is good because that is what we want as well, a good physical challenge for our guys.

“You want to test yourself against the best teams out there. It’s a great challenge. They have great quality.

“You can’t switch off for a second with some of the players that they have – game-changing players.”

Leinster beat Toulouse comfortably in last season’s semi-finals to secure their place in the showpiece, where they narrowly lost to La Rochelle.

And it is going to require another huge effort in Leinster’s quest for an Aviva Stadium return on May 20, when the winners will face holders La Rochelle or sole English survivors Exeter, who clash in Bordeaux on Sunday.

Cullen added: “Last year, they (Toulouse) had played 100 minutes (against Munster in the quarter-finals) and travelled.

“I heard some of their comments this week about that, how they got things wrong around some of the selections leading into that game, or that sequence of games.

“You need to be prepared to deal with whatever comes your way on any given day.”

Leinster will be without Ireland international centre Robbie Henshaw through injury, so Charlie Ngatai partners Garry Ringrose in midfield.

“We wanted to be the top seeds, we wanted to make sure we did everything to be here at the Aviva, and now we are,” Cullen said.

“We are here, which is great, and it is a real privilege and honour to be here at this point in the tournament.”

If a statement win was what Manchester City were after against Arsenal on Wednesday, then they got it.

City thrashed the Premier League leaders 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium to close the gap to the Gunners to two points, and Pep Guardiola's side still have two games in hand.

The reigning champions play again on Sunday, with a trip to Fulham on the cards. Arsenal, meanwhile, are next in action on Tuesday, when they host struggling Chelsea, who have lost every game under interim boss Frank Lampard.

At the other end of the table, Leicester City face Everton in a relegation six-pointer. In the race for Europe, Tottenham travel to Liverpool.

Fulham v Manchester City

City have won their last 13 meetings with Fulham in all competitions, only winning more consecutively against Watford (15 – 2013-2022) and West Brom (14 – 2012-2018) in their history.

Erling Haaland has scored 33 Premier League goals for Manchester City this season, a record in a 38-game season. He is one away from equalling the overall record for a single season, set by Andrew Cole in 1993-94 and matched by Alan Shearer in 1994-95 (34 goals) in 42-game campaigns. This will be his 30th appearance in the competition, with his 33 goals already more than 21 teams managed in total in their first 30 Premier League games.

Pep Guardiola has won 25 of his 38 Premier League away games against London sides, the highest win rate of any visiting manager to take charge of at least 10 such games (66 per cent). All eight of his defeats in the capital have come against either Tottenham (five) or Chelsea (three).

Best bet – City to avoid defeat: Fulham are winless in their last 15 Premier League meetings with City (D3 L12) since a 3-1 away win in April 2009. They have lost the last 10 in a row by an aggregate score of 28-4.

Long shot – Fulham to keep a clean sheet: Fulham have kept just one clean sheet in their 29 Premier League games against City, a goalless draw in March 2004. 

Opta prediction: City, as expected, are made big favourites (64.8 per cent). The draw is rated at 21.9 per cent, while Fulham are given a 13.3 per cent chance of victory.

Liverpool v Tottenham

Liverpool have lost just one of their last 20 Premier League games against Spurs (W13 D6) and are unbeaten in 10 since a 4-1 loss at Wembley Stadium in October 2017.

Tottenham are winless in five Premier League away games, losing as many games in this run (three) as they had in their previous 16 on the road beforehand (W8 D5). It is their longest run without an away league win since a run of 12 between February and November 2019.

Liverpool have won their last three Premier League matches, despite conceding in each match. The last time they won four games in a row was in November and December earlier this season, also conceding in all four victories.

Best bet – Mohamed Salah to score or assist: Salah has been involved in 11 goals in his last eight home games in all competitions (eight goals, three assists), scoring at least once in each of his last six. Since he joined Liverpool in 2017, no player has scored more Premier League goals against Tottenham than the Egyptian (seven).

Long shot – Liverpool under 1.5 goals: Tottenham have conceded 31 away goals in the Premier League this season, already their most in a single campaign since 2008-09 (35). They have only kept two league clean sheets outside of London this season, doing so in victories at Nottingham Forest (2-0) and Brighton and Hove Albion (1-0).

Opta prediction: The supercomputer hands Liverpool a 55.2 per cent probability of winning this one, while Spurs are given just a 20.0 per cent shot. The draw has a 24.8 per cent likelihood.

Leicester City v Everton

Following their 2-0 win at Goodison Park in November, Leicester are looking to complete a Premier League double over Everton for just the second time, previously doing so in their 2015-16 title winning campaign.

Everton have won their last two Premier League away games against Leicester – they have never won on three consecutive visits to the Foxes in their league history.

Dean Smith has won four and lost none of his six Premier League meetings with Everton, winning three of his four at home against the Toffees. Only Antonio Conte (seven) has faced Everton more without ever losing to them as a manager in the competition.

Best bet – Leicester to concede: Despite Everton's woeful form in front of goal this season, they should be confident of getting on the scoresheet, given Leicester have conceded in each of their last 18 Premier League games, their joint-longest run without a clean sheet in the competition. 

Long shot – Everton to win: Everton are winless in their last 12 Premier League away games (D5 L7). Since beating Brighton 2-0 in August 2021, they have won just two of their last 33 away league games (D10 L21).

Opta prediction: Everton won this fixture last season, but Opta does not give them much chance of repeating that feat on Monday. Their chances of victory are rated at only 21.8 per cent, while the draw is 26.3 per cent, making Leicester (51.9 per cent) the clear favourites.

Arsenal v Chelsea

Arsenal have won four of their last five Premier League games against Chelsea (L1), as many as they had in their previous 23 against the Blues (D6 L13).

The Gunners are looking to win three consecutive Premier League games against Chelsea for the first time since February 2004. Indeed, they could achieve their second league double in three seasons against the Blues, having done so just once in the previous 20 campaigns beforehand (2003-04).

Chelsea have lost all five matches in all competitions since Lampard's return to the club, their worst losing run since a six-game run in October and November 1993. The Blues have lost 19 games in total this season, last losing 20 in a single campaign in 1987-88.

Best bet – Bukayo Saka 2+ shots on target: Saka has been directly involved in 16 goals in his 16 Premier League home games this season (nine goals, seven assists). He has both scored and assisted a goal in three different games at Emirates Stadium in the competition this term.

Long shot – Arsenal to fail to score: Only Southampton have kept fewer home clean sheets than Arsenal (three) in the Premier League this season. However, the Gunners have only failed to score in one of their 16 at the Emirates so far this term (0-0 vs Newcastle United in January).

Opta prediction: Arsenal have had a wobble that might prove costly in the title race but will be determined to bounce back. Opta makes them the favourites (43.5 per cent), with Chelsea at 28.2 per cent. The draw is rated at 28.3 per cent.

Charles Leclerc will start on pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for the third season in a row after an impressive qualifying run on Friday.

Ferrari's Leclerc surprisingly outpaced the Red Bull pair of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, who will start second and third respectively in Baku.

The Monegasque driver kept up with Verstappen before putting in a time of one minute and 40.203 seconds to beat his opponent by 0.188s.

"I like city tracks in general," Leclerc told Sky Sports. "It's not only here but Singapore, Monaco, here, a track that I really enjoy. You can really play with the limits, more than on a normal track.

"The limit is a hard limit as it's the wall! You cannot overstep it, so it's about building up to be very close to the wall without ever touching it."

Friday's qualifying session determined the race order for Sunday’s Grand Prix, with another, standalone shorter qualifying session to take place on Saturday ahead of a 17-lap sprint event – the first of six this season.

However, Leclerc is in no doubt where his priorities lie, even though he admitted his Ferrari is unlikely to be able to compete across Sunday's 51 laps of the six-kilometre Baku City Circuit.

"It went well in the last three years, but we have another qualifying tomorrow, so it could be four poles in a row," Leclerc said. "But we have the race on Sunday, which is more important, but I believe we will struggle a bit more as I think Red Bull is still a step ahead."

Leclerc's team-mate Carlos Sainz will start in fourth on Sunday, with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton in fifth and Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin sixth.

Hamilton's team-mate George Russell will start 11th after a surprise elimination in Q2 on Friday, while there were early crashes from Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine) as a hectic start to qualifying began with red flags, both hitting the barrier on turn three.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:40.203
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.188
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.292
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.813
5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.974
6. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +1.050
7. Lando Norris (McLaren) +1.078
8. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) +1.378
9. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +1.408
10. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +1.408

Stephen Hendry criticised Mark Selby and Mark Allen for casting a “dark cloud” over the Crucible after the second session of their World Championship semi-final was halted three frames earlier than scheduled in Sheffield.

Selby battled back from a three-frame deficit to establish a 7-6 overnight advantage against his opponent after a gruelling session in which safety play prevailed and both players appeared reluctant to take on important pots.

Seven-time world champion Hendry, who was on punditry duty for the BBC, said: “A dark cloud came over the match table at the Crucible.

“It was not pretty. It’s not the snooker that I want to watch, but I understand that snooker has to be played in different ways. It’s almost like they’re trying to be too precise, too exact in their matchplay. Just play the ball sometimes.”

In complete contrast, Hendry had earlier been purring over the style of China’s Si Jiahui, who hit his third century of the match and five more breaks of 50-plus as he extended his lead over Luca Brecel to 11-5 ahead of Friday evening’s resumption.

Selby’s clash with Allen, who has been criticised for his slow play this season despite lifting three titles, was always going to be more attritional, and it took a superb pink from the latter to finally clinch a 45-minute opening frame.

That took Allen three frames clear at 6-3 but the Northern Irishman missed a golden chance to extend his lead, with out-of-sorts Selby dredging deep to claim the snooker he required before nervelessly clearing to reduce the deficit.

The four-time champion built on his reprieve as he recovered from 33 points down to take the 11th frame with a brilliant 95 clearance, and Allen paid for two more missed opportunities in the next as Selby duly levelled.

Another marathon frame went Selby’s way before the duo shook hands and went off to prepare ahead of their scheduled return on Saturday morning and what promises to be a long-drawn out concluding session on Saturday evening.

The first semi-final could hardly have presented a greater contrast as Si, ranked 80 in the world, stormed closer to becoming the youngest Crucible finalist in history and also the first debutant to win the tournament since Terry Griffiths in 1979.

His stunning pot success impressed former world champion Dennis Taylor who told the BBC: “I’ve been coming to the Crucible since 1977 and I’ve enjoyed watching this young player as much as anyone I’ve ever seen here.”

Showing no sign of nerves, Si got off to a quick start with a break of 64 before fluking a snooker by easing the white into the jaws of the top right pocket.

After failing to extricate himself, Brecel showed his frustration by slamming the white off the table, incurring a warning from referee Rob Spencer, but responded with a 65 to reduce Si’s lead.

A remarkable long blue was the highlight of a 122 break from Si in the following frame, and further back-to-back breaks of 89 and 58 moved the Chinese player five frames clear at 9-4.

Brecel, who was not doing a lot wrong, won the 14th frame in two visits but the irrepressible Si maintained his astonishing long-pot success rate as breaks of 55 and 71 moved him within sight of a place in the final.

Ryan Mason is looking for Tottenham to pick up where they left off in Thursday's 2-2 draw with Manchester United when they visit Liverpool on Sunday.

Mason took over Cristian Stellini's responsibilities as acting head coach this week, with the Italian dismissed following a dismal 6-1 defeat to Newcastle United.

While Mason's second stint as interim boss started poorly as United raced into a 2-0 lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a rousing second-half fightback saw Spurs clinch an unlikely draw.

Tottenham's failure to beat United may have killed their slim hopes of Champions League qualification, but Mason wants to see a similar performance at Anfield.

"In football, negativity can spread very quickly, but so can positivity," he said.

"If you create a good feeling and energy, it can accelerate a process. Hopefully we'll continue with what we saw in the second half.

"We were together, we had belief in what we were doing and it's important we continue in this way.

"When you have a result like we did last Sunday, there should be anger. I wanted to see an angry team."

Seventh-placed Liverpool are one point behind Spurs with a game in hand, and the two Premier League giants now appear to be fighting for Europa League football after enduring poor campaigns.

However, the Reds have posted three successive wins ahead of Sunday's game, though boss Jurgen Klopp believes they still have other gears to find.

"I liked big parts of the games, not all of it of course," Klopp said.

"There's always something to improve, and that's fine and that's what we'll try to do now.

"I'm absolutely okay in this moment but it's not like I already trust us so much that I'll say, 'that's it now, we're out of the woods.'

"This season gave us a few lessons I didn't want to learn, but I learned. We have to stay super focused."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Liverpool – Mohamed Salah

Salah has been involved in 11 goals in his last eight home games in all competitions (eight goals, three assists), scoring at least once on each of his last six appearances at Anfield.

The last Liverpool player to score in more consecutive games at Anfield was Luis Suarez, who found the net in eight successive matches there between April 2013 and January 2014.

Tottenham – Son Heung-min

Six of Tottenham's last seven Premier League goals against Liverpool have been scored by either Harry Kane or Son, with the two forwards hitting three goals apiece during that span.

Son's tally of nine Premier League goals this term is a disappointing one given he shared the Golden Boot with Salah last season, but he will hope Thursday's equaliser against United can act as a turning point.

MATCH PREDICTION – LIVERPOOL WIN

Liverpool have lost just one of their last 20 Premier League games against Spurs (W13 D6), with the Reds unbeaten in their last 10 since a 4-1 loss at Wembley Stadium in October 2017.

The omens are not good for Tottenham as they hit the road for the first time since being routed at St James' Park – they have conceded 31 away goals in the Premier League this season, already their most in a single campaign since 2008-09 (35).

Klopp's hosts come into this game having won three successive Premier League matches, despite conceding in each of those contests. Their last four-game winning run in the competition came between November and December last year, when they also conceded in each of their victories.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Liverpool - 55.2 per cent

Tottenham - 20.0 per cent

Draw - 24.8 per cent

Gary O'Neil believes Bournemouth need one final push to secure their Premier League status, with the Cherries closing in on safety ahead of Sunday's meeting with struggling Leeds United.

Bournemouth clinched their third successive away victory on Thursday, beating Southampton 1-0 to leave Saints staring at relegation and take themselves seven points clear of the bottom three.

With the most intense relegation battle in recent memory set to go to the wire, O'Neil is keen to ensure Bournemouth do not rest on their laurels.  

"It's still about avoiding the bottom three," O'Neil said. "I still believe 36 points could be relegated.

"I think maybe the world felt we were fine when we left the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and then you get a performance against West Ham where we let ourselves down, so that's a real good lesson for the boys.

"You think everything is rosy and then you get a kick up the backside.

"Hopefully that prepares us well for what will be a tough ask against Leeds, to go off the back of a huge effort last night, with two days' fewer recovery against a very intense team."

While Bournemouth are closing in on safety, Leeds are growing increasingly desperate amid an alarming drop-off.

Javi Gracia's side followed up 5-1 and 6-1 defeats to Crystal Palace and Liverpool by drawing a six-pointer against Leicester City on Tuesday, Patrick Bamford missing a glaring chance for a late winner.

With Leeds one point clear of danger and facing several challenging fixtures, Gracia has attracted fierce criticism from areas of the club's fanbase.

Asked if he was worried about his own future on Friday, Gracia said: "I'm just concerned about the situation of the team.

"When I arrived, we were in a worse position.

"We wanted to get more points but we are focused on trying our best in the five games left, and that starts with Bournemouth."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Bournemouth – Dominic Solanke

Having scored 17 goals in 23 home league games for Bournemouth in the Championship last season, Solanke has netted just once in 14 appearances at the Vitality Stadium this campaign.

However, the former Liverpool and Chelsea striker has 12 goal involvements overall in the Premier League this term (five goals, seven assists) – at least three more than any of his team-mates (Marcus Tavernier has nine).

Leeds United – Jack Harrison

As well as leading the way for chances created (50) and assists (seven) for Leeds in the Premier League this season, Harrison has made more ball carries (309) and carried the ball a greater distance (3,479 metres) than any other player for the Whites in the competition this term.

Meanwhile, only Rodrigo (11) and Luis Sinisterra (five) have bettered Harrison's tally of four league goals for Leeds this campaign. With Gracia's men on the slide, they need the winger to provide some attacking inspiration.

MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW

Leeds have won 10 of their 13 previous league games against Bournemouth (D2 L1), including nine of the last 10. That represents their best win rate against any opponent they have faced at least 10 times in their league history (77 per cent).

However, only Nottingham Forest (six) have won fewer away points than Leeds' nine in the Premier League this season, and the visitors have only kept one clean sheet in their last 18 road trips.

While Bournemouth's need for points is less pressing than that of Leeds following their midweek victory, the Cherries have taken 15 points from their last eight league games (W5 L3), so they will be hopeful of picking up a result to inch them closer to safety.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Bournemouth - 34.7 per cent

Leeds United - 37.1 per cent

Draw - 28.2 per cent

One of the biggest weekends of the Scottish football season takes place with two intriguing Hampden semi-finals.

Inverness and Falkirk meet in the first of the Scottish Cup semi-finals on Saturday before Celtic and Rangers lock horns again 24 hours later.

Here are some of the major talking points ahead of the fixtures.

Celtic will move to within two victories of the treble if they beat Rangers on Sunday and consign their city rivals to a barren season. With a 13-point lead in the Premiership, Celtic can clinch the title at Tynecastle next weekend, and setting up a final against lower-league opposition would leave Ange Postecoglou on the verge of joining Jock Stein, Martin O’Neill, Brendan Rodgers and Neil Lennon as treble-winning Celtic managers. Rangers boss Michael Beale will get some leeway if they end the season without a trophy given he arrived halfway through but he will be under added pressure to start next term well.

The champions have gone five derby games unbeaten, a sequence which has included three victories this season including the Viaplay Cup final. The run started after Rangers beat the Hoops at the same stage of last campaign and the context of this semi-final is very similar, although Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Light Blues side were well on their way to the Europa League final in 2022.

Stopping Kyogo Furuhashi, or restricting the service to the Japan forward, could be a key factor if Rangers are to turn the tables. The sharp centre-forward has netted 29 times this season and has notched five goals against Rangers this year alone. Rangers’ main goalscorer over the last six seasons, Alfredo Morelos, has only hit three goals in total against Celtic throughout his time in Scotland and is on 12 so far in what looks likely to be his final season at Ibrox.

Saturday’s semi-final sees Inverness and Falkirk reunited eight years after meeting at the last stage of the tournament. Ten-man Caley Thistle triumphed that day to take the trophy back to the Highlands for the only time and consign Falkirk to a third final defeat in 18 years. Both sides have experienced relegation since – Caley Thistle are in the Championship and the Bairns in League One – but both are hoping for promotion via the play-offs. It will be a thrilling finale to the season on two fronts for the winners at Hampden.

The introduction of video technology to Scottish football has been far from smooth since October but Celtic and Rangers will at least know what to expect, to a certain extent. Falkirk and Inverness will be experiencing the system for the first time as it is only in use in the Premiership and selected cup ties. Inverness manager Billy Dodds admitted he was “wary” of its impact while Falkirk boss John McGlynn has stressed to his players to play to the whistle and not expect decisions to come instantly.

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from April 28.

Jesse Marsch loves Ted Lasso.

Wembley Stadium celebrated a big birthday.

Fabian Schar was ‘furious’ with Dan Burn after being denied a superb goal against Everton by VAR, which showed his Newcastle team-mate in an offside position.

Matt Targett was more than happy with the 4-1 result though.

Marcus Rashford urged Manchester United not to lose heart as the season reached a critical stage.

Alejandro Garnacho signed a new deal at Manchester United.

F1 returned after a month-long absence with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc made it a hat-trick … but only after a tense tie with Max Verstappen early in Q3.

Organisers of the Women’s Six Nations showed off the competition’s new silverware.

The Houston Texans shook up the top of the draft, taking their quarterback of the future at number two and trading up to the very next pick.

The New York Jets made a young fan’s dream come true – earning him a high-profile admirer.

The Everton Fan Advisory Board has called for club chair Bill Kenwright to be replaced, saying it has no confidence in his leadership.

The statement from the group, which was formed in 2021 and is officially recognised by the club, comes a day after the relegation-battling Toffees suffered a 4-1 Premier League home defeat to Newcastle to drop to 19th place, and reflects long-running issues between fans and the board.

The FAB has repeatedly wanted increased communication between the club and supporters during a second consecutive season fighting against the drop, and also one in which Everton has been referred by the Premier League to an independent commission over an alleged breach of financial regulations.

Kenwright angered many fans with a letter to supporters last week in which he defended the board’s actions, a statement seen by many as being tone deaf considering the club’s predicament.

Members of the board have not attended fixtures at Goodison Park since January, when the club said there were concerns for their safety.

Friday’s statement from FAB said: “The chair of any organisation has a core responsibility for leading the board, ensuring its focus on strategic matters and direction, overseeing the company’s business, and setting high governance standards.

“We were therefore hugely disappointed at the chairman’s statement last Friday.

“At a critical time for our club, when we most needed leadership, understanding, accountability and a recognition of the strength of feeling and concern across large parts of the fanbase, we got the absolute opposite.

“The situation as it stands is not sustainable, not befitting of our great club and as Evertonians we do not deserve it. After careful consideration, we are therefore making a call of no confidence in the current chair of Everton Football Club.”

The statement went on to demand that majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri implements broader changes in the boardroom.

“The FAB is also calling on the majority shareholder to urgently take charge of securing stronger expertise, experience and more appropriate leadership for our club and ask that he be ready to explain to fans the action and timetable for making this happen,” it said.

“Finally, we want to acknowledge the work of those doing the day to day work within the club in what must be extremely difficult circumstances, as well as Evertonians who have shown time and time again that they will stop at nothing to support our club.”

Kenwright has been on the Everton board since 1989, acquiring a majority holding in 1999 and becoming chair in 2004. He remained in the post following Moshiri’s purchase of a 49.9 per cent stake in the club in 2016, which he increased to 94 per cent in 2022.