Chelsea sacked Graham Potter on Sunday after barely seven months as their manager.

Potter, who took over from Thomas Tuchel in September, led the Blues to 12 wins, eight draws and 11 defeats.

His demise comes amid numerous changes of managers at Premier League clubs, with Tottenham last week parting with Antonio Conte.

TOP STORY – CHELSEA APPROACH TOP CANDIDATE NAGELSMANN

Chelsea have identified ex-Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann as their top candidate and approached him already, claims Fabrizio Romano.

Romano said talks will be ongoing before a final decision, while he added the Blues hierarchy are admirers of Sporting boss Ruben Amorim.

However, Sky Sports Germany claims Nagelsmann is not interested in taking over at Chelsea.

TalkSPORT claims the dismissed Potter could be offered an immediate return to management by Leicester City who sacked Brendan Rodgers earlier on Sunday.

ROUND-UP

– AS claims that Paris Saint-Germain winger Kylian Mbappe has told the Real Madrid board that he intends to join Los Blancos as a free agent in 2024. According to the report, Madrid are not willing to negotiate a transfer fee with PSG, following their long-running interest in Mbappe, with the player needing to get out of his contract to move to the Spanish capital.

– Liverpool will consider an off-season move for Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher, reports The Independent.

– Fichajes claims Liverpool are also weighing up a surprise move for Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga.

– Football Insider claims Arsenal have identified three midfield targets in Everton's Amadou Onana, West Ham's Declan Rice and Brighton and Hove Albion's Moises Caicedo.

– Manchester United's hopes of signing Eintracht Frankfurt forward Randal Kolo Muani have been set back with the Frenchman keen to join Bayern Munich in the off-season.

Brendan Rodgers has left Leicester City by mutual agreement with the Foxes in the bottom three of the Premier League.

Rodgers leaves the King Power Stadium having led Leicester to their first FA Cup trophy in the 2020-2021 campaign as well as the Europa Conference League semi-final last term.

But this season has been a far cry from his previous successes, with a dismal run of just two wins in their past 13 Premier League matches leaving the Foxes in the drop zone.

Leicester fell to a sixth defeat in their previous seven in all competitions on Saturday against fellow strugglers Crystal Palace, as Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a 94th-minute winner, with the Foxes mustering just three shots compared to the London side's 31.

With just 10 matches left to fight for their top-flight survival having famously won the Premier League in the 2015-16 season, Leicester's owners have decided to act and end Rodgers' four-year spell with the club.

First-team coaches Adam Sadler and Mike Stowell will assume Rodgers' responsibilities while the Foxes seek a new manager they believe is capable of keeping them in the division.

In a statement, Leicester's chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said: "The achievements of the team under Brendan's management speak for themselves – we've experienced some of our finest footballing moments under his guidance and will always be grateful to him and his staff for the heights they helped us to reach on the pitch.

"Off the pitch, Brendan embraced the culture of the Club and helped cultivate an outstanding developmental environment. His place in Leicester City history is assured.

"However, performances and results during the current season have been below our shared expectations. It had been our belief that continuity and stability would be key to correcting our course, particularly given our previous achievements under Brendan’s management.

"Regrettably, the desired improvement has not been forthcoming and, with 10 games of the season remaining, the board is compelled to take alternative action to protect our Premier League status.

"The task ahead of us in our final 10 games is clear. We now need to come together – fans, players and staff – and show the poise, quality and fight to secure our position as a Premier League club."

Sadler and Stowell's first game in caretaker charge will be at home to Aston Villa on Tuesday.

Josko Gvardiol won plenty of admirers during Croatia's run to the 2022 World Cup semi-finals.

The 21-year-old central defender is contracted until 2027, but has a hefty release clause that will become active in 2024.

As a result, clubs are likely to be competing to secure the Croatian's services in the next transfer window.

TOP STORY – CITY AND REAL PRIORITISE GVARDIOL SIGNING

Manchester City and Real Madrid have both made RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol their priority centre-back target for the next transfer window, according to 90min.

The report claims Leipzig wants £75m (€85m) for the Croatian defender, who almost joined Chelsea last off-season.

City and Real are also both in contention to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, complicating the Gvardiol move.

The report also claims City are willing to offload Aymeric Laporte to help facilitate any move.

ROUND-UP

– Liverpool are the favourites ahead of Manchester City in the race to sign Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount in the off-season, reports Football Insider.

– Manchester United are keeping an eye on Joao Felix 's situation with the Atletico Madrid forward currently on loan at Chelsea, claims Mundo Deportivo. Chelsea have been linked with a permanent deal for the Portuguese.

– The Sun claims Leicester City are keen on re-signing Harry Maguire on loan from Manchester United amid talk he will exit Old Trafford.

– Arsenal 's desire to land Dusan Vlahovic from Juventus could see the Gunners offer up Granit Xhaka and Nicolas Pepe as part of a deal, reports Calciomercatoweb.

– Fichajes claims Manchester City and Chelsea will battle it out to sign Milan full-back Theo Hernandez.

– Barcelona have prioritised a move for Liverpool winger Luis Diaz in the next transfer window, according to Fichajes.

Roy Hodgson celebrated Crystal Palace's dominance during their 2-1 victory over Leicester City, after the Eagles posted a 28-plus shot advantage at Selhurst Park.

The veteran boss returned to Palace for a second spell in charge last month following Patrick Vieira's dismissal after a 12-match winless streak in the Premier League.

In his first game back, the 75-year-old saw his side dominate against the Foxes, notching 31 shots to their opponents' three, though it took Jean-Philippe Mateta's injury-time winner to seal three points.

Even with the first-half loss of captain Wilfried Zaha, Palace were uncharacteristically dominant on Hodgson's return.

Indeed, they registered 20 shots during the first half - the most in a Premier League game since Liverpool did so against Leicester in December 2015.

And the former England boss could not hide his delight at such a triumphant return to the dugout.

"That was a fantastic way to win a game, and I'm not just talking about the fact it was a last-minute goal," he told BBC Match of the Day.

"The way the team played throughout the 94 minutes was worthy of a lot of credit. The scoreline certainly didn't flatter us."

Hodgson acknowledged Zaha's loss was a significant blow, though he was unable to put any timeline on a return from what he believes to be a muscle strain.

"I'm certainly concerned," he added. "If we're very lucky, it might not be as long as [we fear]. I just have to wait and trust the physios.

"In the first half, he looked like he was almost going to win the game off his own back. He was almost unplayable at moments. That does have a bit of a psychological influence on everybody."

Leeds United, Everton, Southampton and Leicester City all earned big results on Saturday in their efforts to beat the drop.

The Premier League's struggling sides were the big winners from the five matches to take place.

Leeds beat fellow relegation candidates Wolves 4-2, while Everton pegged back Chelsea twice at Stamford Bridge and Southampton came from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 with Tottenham.

Leicester, meanwhile, snatched a draw at Brentford, though 19th-placed Bournemouth lost 3-0 at Aston Villa.

Wolves 2-4 Leeds United: Six-goal thriller and two reds at Molineux

Leeds came out on top in an enthralling encounter at Molineux, with Javi Gracia's side claiming what could be a vital three points in their bid to survive this season.

Jack Harrison put them ahead early on, and he has now been directly involved in four goals (two goals, two assists) in his four Premier League games under Gracia, just one fewer than in his previous 21 matches under Jesse Marsch and Michael Skubala this season (five).

Luke Ayling netted his first league goal since doing so against Wolves exactly a year ago (March 18, 2022) to make it 2-0, with Rasmus Kristensen putting Leeds three ahead.

Their hopes of a comfortable win were dashed when Illan Meslier, on the day he became the youngest goalkeeper in Premier League history to reach 100 appearances, made a mistake that Jonny pounced on, volleying in from 41 yards. That is the furthest distance a player has scored from in the top flight since Wayne Rooney's 58-yard strike for Everton against West Ham in November 2017.

A deflected Matheus Cunha strike gave Wolves hope, but Jonny became the first Wolves player to both score and be sent off in any league game since September 2008. 

Julen Lopetegui was fuming that Wolves were not awarded a first-half penalty and that a foul was not given in the build-up to Rodrigo's late effort for Leeds, with Matheus Nunes then sent off even though he was on the substitutes' bench.

"I'm not waiting for [further apologies]. I just want them [the officials] to do their job," Lopetegui said.

Southampton 3-3 Tottenham: Conte left seething after Ward-Prowse seals comeback

Southampton came from two goals down to avoid defeat for a second time in the Premier League this season, with only Manchester City (P3 W2 D1) avoiding defeat having fallen two goals behind on more occasions this term.

Tottenham, who took the lead through Pedro Porro but saw it cancelled out by Che Adams, restored their advantage through Harry Kane – he has now scored nine headers in the league this season, equalling Duncan Ferguson's single-season record in the competition from 1997-98.

Ivan Perisic took Spurs' tally of Premier League scorers to 162, with only West Ham (164) having more different scorers in the competition's history, yet Theo Walcott pulled one back for Saints. The former Arsenal winger has more top-flight goal involvements (12) and goals (seven) against Tottenham than he does against any other opponent.

Yet Spurs conceded a 14th goal since the season restarted when Pape Sarr was deemed to have fouled Ainsley Maitland-Niles, and James Ward-Prowse converted the penalty. He has been involved in more Premier League goals against Tottenham than he has any other opponent (nine – five goals, four assists).

Brentford 1-1 Leicester City: Barnes holds the Bees

Brentford remain without a win against Leicester in the Premier League (P4 D2 L2). The Bees have not beaten the Foxes in the league since March 1953 (P8 D3 L5 since).

Leicester ended a run of four consecutive defeats in the Premier League but this was just the eighth point they have picked up in 2023 (P10 W2 D2 L6). Only Crystal Palace (five) have picked up fewer points since the turn of the year, while only Everton and Bournemouth (20 and 18 respectively) have conceded more goals in the competition this calendar year than Leicester's 17.

Only Ivan Toney (eight) has scored more home goals for Brentford in the Premier League this season than Mathias Jensen (five), whose goal was the Bees' 19th from a set-piece this term – more than any other side in the division.

Leicester scored from their only shot on target of the game. Harvey Barnes' goal was his ninth of the season – his joint-most in a single Premier League campaign (also nine in 2020-21).

Chelsea 2-2 Everton: Simms snatches huge point

Substitute Ellis Simms scored his first goal for Everton as Sean Dyche's team drew 2-2 at Stamford Bridge, twice coming from behind.

Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 28 Premier League home games against Everton (W15 D13), but the Toffees can take plenty of confidence from this result.

Joao Felix put Chelsea ahead with his first home goal for the Blues, but Abdoulaye Doucoure equalised from a corner; four of Everton's seven goals under Dyche have come from set-pieces.

Kai Havertz converted a spot-kick to restore Chelsea's lead. He has scored in three consecutive games for the Blues for the second time, previously doing so in March 2022.

However, Simms came on from the bench to earn a point for Everton. The Toffees have now had 13 different goalscorers in the competition this season, with only Arsenal, Chelsea and Leeds (14 each) having more.

Borussia Dortmund are reportedly fighting to keep hold of forward Julian Brandt amid interest from England and Italy's biggest clubs.

Brandt, 26, is enjoying arguably his best season in the yellow and black, with nine goals in all competitions tying his best return since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen ahead of the 2019-20 campaign.

The Germany international, with 39 senior caps to his name, has capitalised on the extra eyes pointed towards Dortmund this season, delivering strong performances alongside super prospects Jude Bellingham and Youssoufa Moukoko.

A slew of Champions League clubs are said to have enquired about the availability of Brandt, although Dortmund are reportedly desperate to keep him at the club long-term.

TOP STORY – PREMIER LEAGUE AND SERIE A LEADERS LOOK TO BRANDT

According to Football Insider, Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Newcastle United, Napoli and Inter have all been closely monitoring Brandt as he nears the final 12 months of his contract.

The report states Dortmund feel confident they will be able to retain their in-form talent, despite the rising interest, but they could be forced into a move if Brandt does not indicate he will remain with the club beyond next season.

With an enormous windfall on the horizon due to Bellingham's expected sale, the club are likely under no financial pressure to move on from Brandt earlier than they would like.

ROUND-UP

– Fichajes.net is reporting that Real Madrid are surprise suitors for Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku, who is not expected to return to Stamford Bridge when his current loan at Inter ends.

– According to The I, Newcastle will make 26-year-old Leicester City midfielder James Maddison a priority signing at the end of the season, and the interest will be mutual if the Magpies can make the Champions League.

– Barcelona are planning a €100million double move to secure both 25-year-old Villarreal right-back Juan Foyth and 18-year-old Athletico Paranaense forward Vitor Roque, per Fichajes.net.

– 90min is reporting Manchester United, City, Newcastle, Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and Brentford are all scouting breakout 20-year-old Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga, who has a £35m (€40m) release clause.

– According to journalist Florian Plettenberg, 24-year-old Napoli striker Victor Osimhen dreams of one day playing in the Premier League, and would be open to a move to either England or Bayern Munich.

A week certainly is a long time in football.

Just six days ago, jaws were on the floor as Liverpool handed in-form Manchester United their heaviest defeat in over 90 years, thumping their old rivals 7-0 at Anfield.

On Saturday, Jurgen Klopp's men went down 1-0 to previously bottom-of-the-table Bournemouth, who bounced back from their agonising last-minute defeat at Arsenal last time out.

Manchester City also had a tough away game at Crystal Palace but came out on the right side of a one-goal outcome to close the gap on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.

Chelsea continued their rise in form with a third win in a week, while Antonio Conte's mood presumably improved as his Tottenham side beat Nottingham Forest.

Stats Perform has taken a look into some Opta data from the pick of the day's action.

Bournemouth 1-0 Liverpool: Reds bubble popped by Cherries

Last week at Anfield, it felt like Liverpool would score every time they surged forward. On Saturday at the Vitality Stadium, they looked like they would struggle to find the net even if Bournemouth had left the field for a few minutes.

This was just Bournemouth's second ever competitive win against Liverpool, and their first since their famous 4-3 victory in December 2016. It was also just their second clean sheet against the Reds and their first since January 1968 (0-0).

Philip Billing's first-half strike was his sixth goal in the league this season, twice as many as he had managed in his previous three campaigns in England's top-flight combined (three in 77 games).

Mohamed Salah was electric against United, but his only moment of note this week saw the Egyptian smash a second-half penalty wide, the first time he had missed the target from the spot in the Premier League (18 scored, two saved prior to Saturday).

The Reds lost consecutive Premier League matches against opponents starting the day bottom of the table for the first time since December 2010-February 2011 (vs Wolves and West Ham respectively), and have failed to win away against all three promoted clubs (D1 L2) in a single Premier League campaign for only the third time, also doing so in 2010-11 (L3) and 2003-04 (D2 L1).

Leicester City 1-3 Chelsea: Potter weaves his magic to get Blues firing again

Before last week, Graham Potter's Chelsea were a mess, having won only two of their previous 15 games.

Seven days later and they are on a run of three wins, completing the league double over Leicester for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign.

It also meant an end to a run of eight Premier League away games without a victory for the Blues (D4 L4), with this their first win on the road since a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa in October.

This was Leicester's 16th Premier League defeat of the season, with no team having suffered more (Southampton also 16), and they conceded first for the ninth consecutive league game, doing so 14 times in total this season, only Southampton (18) and West Ham (17) have shipped the opening goal of the game more often in 2022-23.

Chelsea's goals came through Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic, with Havertz scoring his first Premier League away goal since October (v Brighton).

Foxes manager Brendan Rodgers has suffered as many as 16 defeats in a single league season for the first time in his career, which was not an ideal way to celebrate his 150th Premier League game as Leicester manager (W64 D29 L57). Only Martin O'Neill has managed more games in the competition for the club (152), while only Claudio Ranieri (44 per cent) has a better win percentage than Rodgers (43 per cent).

Tottenham 3-1 Nottingham Forest: Kane able to reignite Spurs' season

Taking advantage of Liverpool's slip in the race for the top four, Tottenham recovered from their Champions League exit to Milan by easing past Forest thanks to goals from Harry Kane (two) and Son Heung-min.

Despite the 0-0 against Milan at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday, none of Spurs' last 24 home league games have been drawn (W17 L7), while today was the first time they have had a two-goal lead at half-time in a Premier League home game since beating Arsenal last May.

Steve Cooper's Forest have lost all four of their league games in London this season by an aggregate score of 14-1. It is the first time they have lost four consecutive league games in the capital since February 1999 (a run of five).

Kane has now scored eight headed goals in the Premier League this season – only former Everton and Newcastle United striker Duncan Ferguson has ever netted more in a single campaign (nine in 1997-98).

The England captain has also scored 20 goals in a Premier League season for the sixth time, with only Alan Shearer (seven) doing so in more different campaigns than the Tottenham striker.

Fraser Forster's late penalty save from Andre Ayew was the fourth of his last eight penalties faced in the Premier League that he has kept out.

Crystal Palace 0-1 Manchester City: Haaland steps up again as Palace fire blanks once more

It was far from a typical dominant Man City display, but Erling Haaland's late penalty earned them three points at Selhurst Park.

Despite their uncharacteristic wobbles this season, City have won five of their last six Premier League games (D1), and are on the longest current unbeaten run in the competition (six games).

Palace defended well in the main, but also became the first team on record (since 2003-04) to fail to have a single shot on target in three consecutive Premier League matches.

The Eagles remain winless in their 10 league games in 2023 (D5 L5), while no side has failed to score in more different Premier League games this season (12).

Haaland scored his 10th away goal of the season in the league – with 18 also scored at home, he is just the second City player to reach double figures both home and away in a single Premier League campaign, after Sergio Aguero in 2014-15 (13 home, 13 away).

No player has scored more penalties in England's top-flight this season than Haaland (five, level with Brentford's Ivan Toney). Only Yaya Toure has scored more from the spot in a single campaign for the Citizens (six in 2013-14).

Graham Potter believes Chelsea's impressive week is indicative of the development of his team following their 3-1 win at Leicester City.

Prior to last Saturday's win over Leeds United, Chelsea had claimed just two wins from 12 games.

But that victory was followed by a 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund that sent them into the Champions League quarter-finals and a strong seven days was capped in style at the King Power Stadium.

Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic were all on target for the Blues, with Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk each performing well as several of the host of new additions Chelsea brought in during the January transfer window provided compelling evidence they are settling into the team.

Chelsea remain 11 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham and face a battle to play any kind of European football next season.

Potter, though, was very upbeat after their third successive win.

He told Sky Sports: "It's been a really positive week for us, three wins against Leeds, Dortmund and today says a lot about the development of the team.

"It's a hard fought game, as they always are, but in the end I thought we deserved to win.

"Three wins in the week at this level is very pleasing. Now we have to follow that up with a win next weekend and then into the international break. We will try to get three points against Everton."

Chilwell and Wesley Fofana got a frosty reception as they faced their former club, but Potter was thrilled with their response.

"Ben answered it in the perfect way, it was one of those games where the home crowd made it difficult but they handled it well," he added. 

"It wasn't a straightforward game, Leicester had chances and we had to suffer but that will get better as we keep going.

"Our defensive record has been good in terms of goals conceded in the Premier League and the mentality is strong in the team. They give everything, they want to keep the ball out of the net and we have players on the other side who want to put the ball in the back of the net."

Chelsea capped an excellent week in style with an entertaining 3-1 Premier League win at Leicester City, who ended the game with 10 men.

The Blues' midweek win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League served to greatly ease the pressure on Graham Potter, and he was given more reason to cheer at the King Power Stadium.

Former Leicester full-back Ben Chilwell gave Chelsea the lead in the 11th minute, and although Patson Daka levelled for the hosts, Kai Havertz's superb sixth league goal of the season restored the advantage.

Mateo Kovacic made sure of the points with a stunning third, providing further evidence a Chelsea team who added several players in January may finally be starting to click. 

Chilwell broke the deadlock with his second league goal of the season, beating Danny Ward at his near post with a well-struck half-volley.

Leicester almost responded instantly, Daniel Amartey somehow diverting James Maddison's cross wide from point-blank range with the goal at his mercy.

Joao Felix would have put Chelsea in command had his effort not bounced off the right-hand post, but the visitors were then grateful for the woodwork as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's deflected long-range effort cannoned off the crossbar.

There was further frustration for Joao Felix when he saw a goal disallowed for offside, and he was then guilty of losing possession just outside his own area as Daka levelled in style, bending a vicious effort just inside the right-hand post.

Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga had no answer to that strike but was crucially equal to shots from James Maddison and Kelechi Iheanacho to prevent Leicester completing the turnaround.

There was another twist in added time of an engrossing first half when Chelsea retook the lead, Havertz deftly flicking beyond Ward from Enzo Fernandez’s exquisite ball over the Leicester defence.

Joao Felix was withdrawn by Graham Potter for the second half, but Chelsea continued to create chances, Wesley Fofana seeing a header kept out by Ward, who produced heroics to prevent Havertz doubling his tally shortly after Mykhailo Mudryk had blocked a goal-bound Harry Souttar effort.

After Mudryk saw a goal disallowed, Kovacic had the final say to put the game to bed 12 minutes from time, beating Ward with an acrobatic volley. Wout Faes was then shown a second yellow card for a bad tackle on Carney Chukwuemeka.

Reece James will miss Chelsea's trip to Leicester City on Saturday through illness, but boss Graham Potter is hopeful N'Golo Kante will make his long-awaited return next week.

James has endured a frustrating few months, making just 11 Premier League appearances this season and missing England's World Cup campaign after suffering a knee injury ahead of the tournament.

The wing-back missed last Saturday's 1-0 win over Leeds United with a hamstring issue, though he returned as Chelsea overcame a Champions League last-16 deficit to eliminate Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, easing the pressure on Potter.

The latest setback to befall James will see him sit out Chelsea's trip to the King Power Stadium, while fellow England international Raheem Sterling is also a doubt.

"Reece has been ill and he's not trained today, so he won't make the game tomorrow," Potter explained at Friday's pre-match press conference.

"Raheem had a feeling in his hamstring, more tightness than anything, so he's looking doubtful for tomorrow as well."

Six of Chelsea's nine Premier League wins this season have come in the 11 games in which James has featured. The Blues have won just three of their 14 matches without the 23-year-old.

Chelsea count the likes of Kante and Thiago Silva among their more long-term absentees, with the former last featuring in August's 2-2 draw with Tottenham after suffering a hamstring injury and the latter aiming to return in April from a knee problem.

While Potter ruled out Kante returning against the midfielder's former team, the Blues boss revealed next week's home clash with Everton was a realistic target.

Asked whether Kante would be available at Leicester, Potter said: "No, he won't. He still needs some more time to build up. We're aiming more towards Everton, but unfortunately it won't be tomorrow.

"The most important thing for [Kante and Silva] is to get them back injury-free. The more good players we have, the better."

Chelsea's back-to-back victories have gone some way to easing pressure on Potter, after he watched his team win just one of their first 11 matches of the calendar year.

Asked if he felt a weight had been lifted in the last week, Potter said: "Yeah, in some way. It's always nicer to win, it's as simple as that. Everything feels a bit better, like you've taken a step forward.

"But I'm not getting carried away, it's just two wins. We have to focus on Leicester. The boys have stuck together through a bad time, and there's a lot to be said for that.

"The supporters have been really fair. Results-wise we haven't done that well, so you understand the criticism.

"It's hard for them to get behind something when the results aren't something to get behind. I have nothing to say about how we've been treated by the supporters, they've been great."

Mohamed Salah delivered for Liverpool in the sensational 7-0 win over Manchester United last weekend – and doubtless he had many fantasy bosses celebrating too.

Two goals and two assists in the Anfield rout showed the Egyptian is getting back to somewhere near his very best for Jurgen Klopp.

Salah has Bournemouth in his sights on Saturday, and our four fantasy team selections for the weekend are players heading out on the road.

Kaoru Mitoma has been in eye-catching form for Brighton and Hove Albion, who head to Leeds United on Saturday, while World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez has four clean sheets already in 2023 for Aston Villa, who visit West Ham on Sunday.

Chelsea's Ben Chilwell returns to an old stomping ground on Saturday as the Blues travel to his former club, Leicester City.

Using Opta data, Stats Perform has looked at why these four could help you bring in useful points this weekend.

Mohamed Salah (Bournemouth v Liverpool)

It was pretty clear Salah needed a rest amid a hectic schedule, and he got it during the World Cup after Egypt failed to qualify. Since games resumed after Qatar 2022, last season's joint-top scorer has been slowly building up to the sort of display that left United in tatters last Sunday. He has totted up nine goal involvements (5 goals, 4 assists) since the World Cup, with only Erling Haaland and Marcus Rashford (11) having more in that time.

Five of Salah's eight Premier League goals against Bournemouth have come at the Vitality Stadium, netting in every appearance in the Premier League there, so he will be looking for more of the same. If he wasn't in your team last week, can you really resist him this time around?

Emiliano Martinez (West Ham v Aston Villa)

There's no denying Villa went through a rocky spell recently, shipping 11 goals in three games, but two clean sheets have followed as Unai Emery looks for resilience.

Only Liverpool (6) and Tottenham (5) have kept more Premier League clean sheets in 2023 than Villa (4). Since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, Martinez is one of only six goalkeepers to have kept over 30 clean sheets in the top flight. This weekend he will try to complete three in a row for the first time since March 2022. West Ham have failed to score in 11 games this season, in case that heightens the temptation to pick Martinez.

Kaoru Mitoma (Leeds United v Brighton and Hove Albion)

Brighton's 4-0 demolition of West Ham last weekend included a goal from the twinkle-toed Japanese forward Mitoma. He has been involved in 11 goals across all competitions for Brighton this season (8 goals, 3 assists) with only Pascal Gross (12) having more involvements.

Seven of those involvements from Mitoma have come on league duty, with six goals and one assist, and it's especially good going when you consider he only made his first start in the competition at the end of October.

Leeds will need to be careful. Among all Premier League players, no one has had more take-ons in the box than Mitoma (17) in this season's competition, while only team-mate Solly March (6) has had more chance-creating take-ons than his five.

Ben Chilwell (Leicester City v Chelsea)

Chelsea could make it three wins in a row at Leicester. Successive clean sheets against Leeds and Borussia Dortmund count in Chilwell's favour, as does his attacking prowess.

Among defenders with at least 500 minutes played in the Premier League this season, only Liverpool's Konstantinos Tsimikas (133) has a better minutes-per-goal-involvement rate this season than Chilwell (237).

Granted, he has had only three such involvements so far, but having missed a large chunk of the season through injury, Chilwell is out to make up for lost time. His former club will be on guard, aware of his talent.

Manchester United have reportedly been sending scouts to watch Roma striker Tammy Abraham, although their pursuit could be complicated by interest from his former club.

Abraham, 25, left Chelsea following the 2020-21 season for a £34million fee, and the England international has already exceeded his Chelsea haul of 82 appearances and 30 goals in less than two seasons in Italy.

After racking up 53 outings and 27 goals in his debut campaign with Roma, Abraham has come back down to earth this time around, with just seven goals in 34 games.

There is said to be interest from United in the striker with 11 senior caps for England, although Chelsea will ultimately have the final say about whether they allow him to head to Old Trafford.

TOP STORY – CHELSEA HOLD THE KEYS TO UNITED'S ABRAHAM PURSUIT

The Athletic is reporting United are closely monitoring Abraham's progress this season and have been present at a number of Roma games for that reason, but Chelsea have negotiated a buy-back clause that will give them the option of first refusal.

As part of the sale to Roma, Chelsea included a stipulation that allows them to bring Abraham back for £70.9m (€80m) after at least two seasons have passed – meaning it will activate this coming offseason.

The report adds that Chelsea are in desperate search of a new centre forward, and that while the fee involved may be significant, it is believed to be far less than the demands expected from Napoli for 24-year-old Victor Osimhen.

ROUND-UP

– According to Mundo Deportivo, citing Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter have enquired about 29-year-old Barcelona centre-back Samuel Umtiti, who will be available for an affordable fee after rejuvenating his prospects with a strong loan spell at Lecce.

– Tottenham are trying to pry 28-year-old midfielder James Ward-Prowse away from Southampton, who would almost assuredly leave his club if they cannot fight their way out of the relegation places, according to Football Insider.

– Sport is reporting Barcelona have an interest in signing 27-year-old Real Madrid winger Marco Asensio if he allows his contract to expire in a few months and can join on a free transfer.

– According to Calciomercato, Inter are hoping to replace outgoing centre-back Milan Skriniar with Lille 22-year-old Tiago Djalo.

– Newcastle United are eyeing Manchester United's Scott McTominay and Leicester City's James Maddison as potential midfield reinforcements for next season, per Football Insider.

Rafael Leao's name has long been in the rumour file given his contract status with Milan.

The forward is contracted with the Serie A side until July 2024 but has stalled on an extension, with no agreement on a salary increase.

There was speculation in January that a renewal was close but nothing materialised.

TOP STORY – MILAN'S LEAO BOOST

Rafael Leao would prefer to stay with Milan rather than move elsewhere, amid interest from a host of top clubs, claims Fabrizio Romano.

Manchester City, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Barcelona have all been linked with the 23-year-old Portugal international.

But it is claimed Milan could renew Leao's deal before the next transfer window, effectively warding off their interest.

ROUND-UP

– Erik ten Hag wants to add at least two major signings at Manchester United in the off-season, with Ajax's Mohammed Kudus and Napoli's Victor Osimhen on their list, claims the Manchester Evening News.

– Manchester City are weighing up a move for Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic, according to The Telegraph. The Croatian's contract expires in mid-2024. Football Insider reports City are also interested in Chelsea's full-back Ben Chilwell.

– Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig both have an interest in signing Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita, who is out of contract at the end of this season, claims Bild.

– Atletico Madrid have reached an agreement for Leicester City defender Caglar Soyuncu to join as a free agent in the off-season, reports 90min.

– El Nacional claims Dusan Vlahovic has also spoken to Real Madrid about a potential move to Spain from Juventus.

– Juventus are also keen on signing out-of-favour Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, according to Fichajes.

Mikel Arteta believes managing the minutes of Gabriel Martinelli gave the Brazilian the energy to score the winner for Arsenal at Leicester City on Saturday.

In Arsenal's previous four games, Martinelli had either been substituted for new arrival Leandro Trossard, or in the case of the 4-2 win at Aston Villa, came off the bench for the Belgian.

Both started the 1-0 victory at King Power Stadium though, and it was Martinelli who scored the only goal of the game in the first minute of the second half to cement the Gunners' place at the top of the Premier League.

"Sometimes you have to give someone a breather to come back with even more energy and enthusiasm," Arteta said, adding he was "delighted" that Martinelli had recently signed a new deal until 2027.

Arsenal otherwise struggled to get going in the game in an attacking sense, but impressively restricted the hosts to just one shot overall and none on target.

Arteta was pleased with the performance and the win, which increased his team's lead at the top of the league to five points prior to Manchester City's visit to Bournemouth.

He added: "We dominated the game almost from start to finish. In general, I think our play and understanding of spaces was excellent. 

"We just lacked that final pass to score more. We had the decision with [Bukayo Saka's] disallowed goal, which was frustrating to take, but to restrict Leicester to one shot at home is great."

Leaders Arsenal have two home games next week against Everton and Bournemouth as they bid for a first league title since 2004.

Arsenal moved five points clear at the Premier League summit as Gabriel Martinelli's strike secured a 1-0 win over Leicester City on Saturday.

Mikel Arteta's side ended a three-game winless run in the league with a 4-2 victory over Aston Villa last weekend and they picked up where they left off with a convincing win at the King Power Stadium.

Martinelli scored the deciding goal less than a minute into second half, and the Brazilian was lucky to escape serious injury after being caught on the knee by Wilfred Ndidi as he slotted past Danny Ward.

The win stretched Arsenal's lead at the top of the table, although champions Manchester City can cut that back to just two points with victory over Bournemouth later on Saturday. 

Arsenal thought they had taken the lead shortly before the half-hour mark when Leandro Trossard whipped into the top corner from 18 yards.

Their joy was short-lived, however, as referee Craig Pawson ruled the goal out for a foul on Ward by Ben White following a pitch-side review.

Leicester had the ball in the back of the net through Kelechi Iheanacho soon after, but that was also chalked off after the Nigerian had strayed offside.

Arsenal started the second half in electric fashion and were ahead within 51 seconds of the restart, Martinelli sliding past Ward after being played in by Trossard.  

Leicester threw on Jamie Vardy and Youri Tielemans after that, yet Arsenal's grasp on the three points never looked in danger in the closing stages as they cantered to another important victory. 

What does it mean? Patience pays off for Gunners

Arsenal were frustrated by Leicester in the opening half, but it did not take long for Arteta's men to make their dominance count after half-time.

The Gunners have now won three consecutive away league games against the Foxes for just the second time, previously doing so between December 1913 and September 1925.

Magical Martinelli

Martinelli was chosen ahead of Eddie Nketiah in the Arsenal attack and the 21-year-old did not disappoint. He scored the decisive goal to add to his strike off the bench against Villa last week and finished the game with a higher pass completion rate than anyone else on the pitch (92.5 per cent).

Tete sums up Foxes woes

Tete endured a torrid outing for the hosts, failing to take a single shot or play any key passes before he was replaced by Tielemans shortly after the hour mark. The Brazilian also attempted just eight passes – the lowest of any starter.

What's next?

The Gunners host Everton at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, with Leicester at home to Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup fifth round a day earlier.