EPL

Debutant George Earthy taken to hospital after West Ham’s loss to Fulham

By Sports Desk April 14, 2024

West Ham teenager George Earthy was taken to hospital after suffering a horror head injury just two minutes into his Premier League debut.

The 19-year-old had just come on as a substitute when he collided with team-mate Edson Alvarez in the middle of the field.

Earthy fell to the ground awkwardly and appeared to have been knocked out cold, sparking worrying scenes as medics and team-mates rushed to help the stricken youngster.

After receiving treatment for eight minutes, Earthy was carried off on a stretcher. He was conscious when he was taken out of the London Stadium in an ambulance around 20 minutes after full-time.

The Hammers said: “West Ham United can confirm George Earthy will undergo an assessment in a London hospital this evening following the incident which saw him stretchered off during today’s Premier League fixture against Fulham.

“The midfielder – who entered the field as a second half substitute to make his Premier League debut against the Cottagers – was taken off in stoppage time.”

Manager David Moyes said: “I am really disappointed for George. He has been doing really well in training, done really well for the Under-21s.

“He started well with the ball, had some really nice touches. He is fine. It is a head knock. He is awake and has gone to hospital, we think he is OK at the moment. We all thought he had been knocked out but I don’t know any more.”

The incident overshadowed a 2-0 victory for Fulham courtesy of two goals from Andreas Pereira.

It was a second blow to West Ham’s European hopes in the space of four days, following Thursday night’s 2-0 Europa League first-leg defeat at Bayer Leverkusen, as a win would have lifted them to sixth.

“I thought we started well and should have been one or two goals up before they scored,” added Moyes.

“We were caught out by a long ball, we didn’t deal with it well. And we missed some opportunities to score as well. I think we dominated possession, kept the ball and passed it quite well. But we got done on the counter-attack.

“I’m gutted, today was a great chance to go sixth with five games to go, what a great position to be in.”

For Fulham it was a first win in four matches, and a first at West Ham since 2001.

Boss Marco Silva said: “Great win for us, well played from ourselves and to be honest we deserved the three points.

“West Ham had a good chance to score but after that, we scored the first goal and started to control the game. Overall we scored twice but created more chances to score as well.

“I think we were solid, compact and kept our concentration. We should have scored more goals to be even more comfortable.”

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    While Nuno Espirito Santo remains uncertain how Ruben Amorim will set Manchester United up on Saturday, he expects Nottingham Forest to face a tough test at Old Trafford.

    Forest were beaten 3-0 by Premier League champions Manchester City on Wednesday, their third defeat in their last four games.

    However, they remain within touching distance of the top five ahead of a second successive away game in Manchester, where they will face Ruben Amorim's United. 

    United suffered their first defeat under the former Sporting CP coach on Wednesday, going down 2-0 to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. 

    With Amorim still getting to grips with his new squad, Nuno does not know what tactical challenges to expect but is certain United will present a major challenge.

    The former Wolves boss said: "Their results are difficult to predict because Ruben in this moment is changing a lot. 

    "I think he is trying to get to know players better. The idea is there, we don't know exactly who is going to play, but for sure they have quality players.

    "They are quality and have talented players. The shape is there. The personnel and the players... we cannot identify who is going to start, but our approach is always the same. 

    "Let's focus on the things they have been doing but also let's look at getting the advantage. It is always a tough place to go but let's focus on being positive on the game."

    United conceded two goals from corners in their midweek defeat to the Gunners, prompting defender Matthijs de Ligt to demand improvements.

    "In the end, we are Manchester United," De Ligt told MUTV. "We lost again and, yeah, it's easy, it's not good enough.

    "So, we know that, we will work hard. We have to improve, and in two days or three days is the next game, so that will be a really important one again for us, to show again what we learned from this game and get the three points."

    PLAYERS TO WATCH 

    Manchester United – Bruno Fernandes 

    Fernandes has been involved in 11 goals in his last 10 appearances at Old Trafford (four goals, seven assists), having a hand in six goals in his last four in the Premier League (two goals, four assists). 

    He's never scored or assisted in five in a row in the league at Old Trafford, while Marcus Rashford was the last United player to do so overall (seven in 2022-23).

    Nottingham Forest – Chris Wood 

    Wood has scored 12 goals in his last 14 away Premier League starts for Nottingham Forest, netting in three in a row before Wednesday's defeat at the Etihad. 

    He missed a glorious chance while Forest were a goal down last time out and will be determined to atone here.

    MATCH PREDICTION – MANCHESTER UNITED WIN

    Man United have won six of their seven Premier League home games against Forest, with the exception being a 2-1 loss in December 1994.

    They have also scored in all 14 of their Premier League games against Forest, their joint-best 100% scoring record against an opponent in the competition along with Swansea City.

    The Red Devils have won 3-0 against Leicester City and 4-0 against Everton in their last two Premier League home games. 

    They have not scored three or more goals in three consecutive home league games since February 2021, while they last did so while winning each time in December 2018.

    With United also beating Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League, Amorim has won both of his home games in charge of the side so far – only five managers have won their first three at home with the Red Devils, most recently Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2018-19.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Manchester United – 55.9%

    Nottingham Forest – 21.4%

    Draw – 22.7%

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    “We are in discussions with several persons with heritage from the diaspora, not just on the senior level but Under-17 level as well, and the Under-20 level to bolster those teams because we have an important World Cup Under-17 qualifier coming up in Costa Rica shortly,” Edwards said.

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  • WSL story so far: Chelsea make historic start, Brighton the surprise package WSL story so far: Chelsea make historic start, Brighton the surprise package

    We are now more than a third of the way through the 2024-25 Women’s Super League season, with the competition resuming this week following the international break.

    All 12 teams are scheduled to play in a super Sunday card of fixtures that includes leaders Chelsea facing surprise package Brighton and Hove Albion, while Manchester United take on rivals Liverpool.

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    Chelsea chasing invincible status?

    If there were any doubts about the transition from Emma Hayes to Sonia Bompastor at Chelsea, then those early fears have been emphatically laid to rest. 

    Bompastor has won all 12 of her matches in charge of Chelsea in all competitions, making the most successful start by a WSL manager in their maiden season. 

    She is the first ever manager to win their first eight games in charge of a team in the WSL and will be confident of making it nine in a row against Brighton.

    Chelsea are just the second team (after Arsenal – first nine in 2018-19) to win their first eight games of a WSL campaign. Bompastor’s side have been ruthless, with the Blues having already scored 26 goals in the league – an average of 3.25 per match and 10 more than second-best Manchester City (16). 

    They have also had 321 touches in the opponent’s box (nine more than any other team), and 138 shots (five more than any other side), while conceding just three goals and keeping six clean sheets.

    Guru Reiten has been the standout Chelsea star and is having a stellar season. Only Khadija Shaw (seven) has scored more goals in the WSL this term than Reiten (six).

    Reiten made her 100th WSL appearance last time out in a win over Man Utd, marking the occasion with the winner from the penalty spot. She has recorded 67 goal contributions in the competition (35 goals, 32 assists).

     

    Reiten has also been Chelsea’s most creative player, having crafted 17 chances – the third-highest total in the league behind Lauren Hemp (26) and Katie McCabe (21). 

    No player in Chelsea’s squad has had more shots than Reiten (21), who has a shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) of 50%. 

    The winger’s versatility has been key to Bompastor finding the best combination for her starting lineup. Mayra Ramirez, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Aggie Beever-Jones have all scored three league goals each for the Blues this season. Ramirez and Rytting Kaneryd are two of six players on five goal contributions in the WSL.

    Chelsea were tipped for WSL glory at the start of the season and are now even bigger favourites to win the title according to the Opta supercomputer, which hands them a massive 93% chance of retaining the crown. That is up from 59% at the start of the season.

    This Chelsea team is reminiscent of Vic Aker’s legendary Arsenal side, which delivered the quadruple in 2006-07 and went an incredible 108 league games undefeated between 2003 and 2009. 

    Whether Chelsea can join them in the history books by completing an unbeaten season remains to be seen, but Bompastor's team have all the ingredients to do something very special this term.

     

    City and Arsenal chasing

    Manchester City currently sit second with 19 points and will be demoralised to trail Chelsea by five at this early stage. 

    City made headlines earlier this season with a landmark Champions League win against holders Barcelona, but they have also been held to a draw by Arsenal and defeated by Chelsea. 

    Boss Gareth Taylor (currently 71) is one win away from equalling Nick Cushing (72) for the second-most wins by a manager in WSL history; only Joe Montemurro (76%) has a better win rate in the competition than the City boss' 74%, among those to take charge of 10 or more matches. 

    He will be desperate to further cement his legacy with a title, but City are already in danger of falling adrift. 

    Lauren Hemp’s recent injury is a major blow to their hopes. She has averaged 1.1 goal contributions per 90 this term in the WSL. She has scored twice, providing five assists – a league-high figure. Hemp has also created 26 chances, five more than any other player in the league (ahead of McCabe – 21). 

    Man City have the highest xG (17.3) in the WSL, though they have slightly underperformed, netting 16 times from 133 shots. A failure to match Chelsea's ruthlessness in front of goal cost them the title last season, and they are also behind the Blues' pace this term.

     

    Arsenal, meanwhile, experienced their worst-ever start to a WSL season, not getting a win on the board until Matchday 5 when they beat West Ham 2-0. The Gunners' poor start led to Jonas Eidevall leaving the club. 

    Since Eidevall departed in mid-October, Arsenal have won three of their four WSL matches and scored 11 goals, trailing only Chelsea (16) in that period, while their 8.2 xG in that timeframe is the third-highest in the competition.

    They have as many victories since Eidevall left as they managed in their final seven games under him (three wins, three draws, one loss).

    Interim boss Renee Slegers has turned things around and Arsenal have had 63 shots under her – the second-most in the WSL in that span – and registered a 17.5% conversion rate. Defensively, they have only given up opportunities worth 2.2 xG since the change of coach, keeping three clean sheets. 

    City are still deemed Chelsea's most likely challengers for the title, with the Opta supercomputer giving them a 6.3% chance of topping the pile, but that is down massively from their 23.2% probability in pre-season.

    Arsenal’s hopes are now at a mere 0.6%, whereas they won the league in 16% of the pre-season simulations run by our predictive model.

    Seagulls flying high 

    The surprise name among the chasing pack is Brighton, who – perhaps aside from Bompastor's flying start at Chelsea – have been the story of the campaign to date.

    They were tipped to be relegated ahead of the season, with the supercomputer making them the favourites to go down (26.6%) – yet they now sit third and have a 52.7% probability of finishing in the top five, though our model hands them only a 0.2% chance of placing in the top three.

    Coach Dario Vidosic joined from Melbourne City in pre-season and has been a revelation, with some canny work in the transfer market paying off for the Seagulls.

    Experienced WSL campaigners Fran Kirby and Nikita Parris have both been excellent since joining. Kirby recently surpassed 100 goal contributions in the WSL, and the former Chelsea star has been involved in a team-leading 28 open-play shot-ending sequences this term.

     

    Parris has scored three league goals for Brighton and is just four goal contributions from reaching the 100 milestone herself.

    Kiko Seike is Brighton’s leading scorer, with her four goals coming from just 1.4 xG, showing the high level of her finishing this term. Indeed, of players to score at least twice in the WSL this season, only Tottenham’s Eveliina Summanen (50%) has a better shot conversion rate than Seike (36.4%).

    The Seagulls, however, will resume their campaign at Chelsea on Sunday in their toughest test yet. The Opta supercomputer gives them little hope of getting something out of the game with their win probability at 3.1%, with Chelsea overwhelming favourites with a 90.8% win probability. 

    The relegation battle

    It has been a tough start for new kids on the block Crystal Palace, who sit bottom on five points in their maiden WSL season. 

    However, they – and any other team in the bottom half – could quite quickly turn things around, as there are only four points between them in 12th and Liverpool in sixth. 

    Palace have struggled defensively and have the highest xGA figure in the WSL (16.7), though their actual goals conceded stands at 20, 3.3 more than anticipated based on the quality of shots they have faced. That suggests they have improvements to make defensively, but also that they have been unfortunate to face some ruthless opponents.

    The Eagles have also struggled to get control of their games, seeing just 39.1% of the ball on average – lower than any other team.

    At the other end of the pitch, ninth-placed Everton have been one of the WSL's worst performers, netting just three times, with one of those being a penalty and another being an own goal.

     

    Tenth-placed Leicester City, meanwhile, have netted just two goals, with their 4.4 xG also a league-low figure. Leicester and Everton have had the fewest touches in the opponents’ box, too (113 for the Foxes, 123 for Everton). Both can expect to struggle if they cannot find a way of carving out more chances.

    Seventh-placed Tottenham have conceded the most goals (21), though they are also the fifth-highest scorers with 12 goals, so they may feel they have the attacking quality to steer clear of danger. 

    The Opta supercomputer currently makes Leicester favourites for the drop, with the Foxes propping up the table in 34.4% of season simulations and Palace going down in 28.3%.

    West Ham – who have continued their struggles from last season and face Palace in a huge six-pointer on Sunday – go down in 19.4% of scenarios, with Everton doing so in 8.8%, Aston Villa in 7% and Tottenham in just 1.6%.

    Shaw leads Golden Boot race

    Shaw has picked up where she left off last season. It is her and Reiten who lead the way at the top of the scoring charts, with seven and six goals respectively.

    Reiten has scored five non-penalty goals from a non-penalty xG of 2.4. That +2.6 gap between non-penalty xG and non-penalty goals is the joint-largest positive differential recorded by any player in the WSL this season, along with Brighton’s Seike.

    Shaw, meanwhile, has the fourth-highest non-penalty xG overperformance (+1.5) in the division. Arsenal’s in-form Frida Maanum has registered a +2.2 overperformance.

    City star Shaw is a high-volume shooter and has had 35 shots, at least 10 more than any other player in the competition, though she has only been accurate with 48.3% of those (17).

     

    With eight to her name, Shaw leads the way for goal contributions, too, with team-mate Hemp (seven – five assists, two goals) and Chelsea's Reiten (six – six goals) hot on her heels. Seike, Kirby, Ramirez, Rytting Kaneryd, Maanum and Rachel Daly are all on five goal contributions each. 

    Shaw is netting every 89 minutes, while Reiten averages a goal every 112. Seike’s minutes-per-goal ratio this term is 104, and among players to score at least three times in the WSL this season, Chelsea's Beever-Jones – who has only started twice – is scoring at the best rate after Shaw, averaging a goal every 95 minutes.

    Ones to watch

    Some hidden gems have already shone in the WSL this season and the data highlights multiple players who might be worthy of further attention.

    Spurs’ Ashleigh Neville has won 27 tackles, more than any other player, while she also leads the competition for interceptions (21), ahead of Lucy Bronze and Ruby Mace (both 19).

    Manchester United’s Grace Clinton, meanwhile, is having a breakout season after returning from a loan spell with Spurs. She has contested (128) and won (61) the most duels in the competition. She also made an impact on the international stage during the latest hiatus, netting England's winner against Euro 2025 hosts Switzerland.

    United also have a new star between the sticks following Mary Earps' move to Paris Saint-Germain. According to Opta's expected goals on target (xGoT) model, Phallon Tullis-Joyce has been the best goalkeeper in the WSL when it comes to goals prevented (5.9).

    There are also a few new names impressing for lesser-fancied teams. Leicester's 19-year-old winger Shana Chossenotte – signed from Reims in August – has created five chances following carries this term, with only Hemp (12), Rytting Kaneryd and Mariona Caldentey (six apiece) recording more.

    Liverpool, meanwhile, brought in 20-year-old Canada international Olivia Smith ahead of the campaign and she has recorded a league-high 11 shots following carries.

     

    Of all players to attempt at least 20 dribbles this campaign, meanwhile, the Reds winger has the best dribble success rate, at 66.7%.

    Even if Chelsea are threatening to run away with the title, there are plenty of interesting storylines to follow across the division, and plenty of players hoping to turn heads as the season progresses.

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