Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk have been named among the substitutes for Liverpool's final game of the Premier League season against Wolves at Anfield.

The Reds need to win and hope Manchester City drop points against Aston Villa in order to win the title on the final day – otherwise Pep Guardiola's men will be champions once again.

Divock Origi misses out with a muscle injury in what would have been his final home appearance for Liverpool, with the striker leaving the club at the end of the season, reportedly on his way to Milan.

Salah and Van Dijk both suffered injuries in last week's FA Cup final win against Chelsea, although manager Jurgen Klopp indicated his confidence that both would be fit for next week's Champions League final against Real Madrid.

Klopp said on Friday both would be in contention against Wolves, along with Fabinho, but none of the trio make the starting XI. Fabinho, injured at Aston Villa before the cup final, misses out completely.

Ibrahima Konate and Joel Matip continue to pair up in defence, while Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara and Naby Keita make up the three-man midfield. James Milner – out of contract as things stand – is on the bench.

Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane start in attack, with Liverpool looking to end the season undefeated at home.

With Son Heung-min only a goal behind Salah in the Golden Boot race, Liverpool's talisman will hope to appear at some stage.

Trent Alexander-Arnold says Liverpool's quadruple tilt represents one of the greatest seasons from a Premier League side, regardless of the outcome of their final-day title tussle with Manchester City.

Jurgen Klopp's team remain in contention for the second top-flight title of his tenure when they host Wolves at Anfield, having already won the EFL Cup and FA Cup, while reaching the Champions League final.

With Liverpool one point behind City and possessing an inferior goal difference, the Reds will need Pep Guardiola's men to slip up in their home game against Aston Villa to preserve their hopes of an unprecedented quadruple.

Liverpool and City have set a relentless pace at the top of the Premier League table this season with the Reds winning 15 and drawing three of their last 18 league games, while City are unbeaten in 11 league outings after rescuing a 2-2 draw at West Ham last Sunday (eight wins, three draws).

Alexander-Arnold was part of the Liverpool team that finished as runners-up despite amassing 97 points in the 2018-19 season as City finished one point clear of the Reds.

The England international believes Liverpool's effort on four fronts this term represents a historic achievement amongst Premier League sides, whatever the outcome of Sunday's title fight.

"I think back in March, or April I was thinking 'this is going to happen again', but when there are seven or eight fixtures to go you think 'surely someone has got to drop a few points'," the full-back told Sky Sports.

"We have [a 1-1 home draw with Tottenham last month], but it's been quite even and it's all we could do. You think back to January and we were miles behind them, and we fought back and got ourselves into an amazing position.

"I think, to push the way we have in all competitions this season, it's got to be, for me, one of the best team performances over the course of a season in Premier League history.

"We've taken every trophy to the last game, that's all you can really ask for, and I think it's been a special achievement no matter what happens on Sunday."

Liverpool will be supremely confident of doing their part after going unbeaten throughout their last 22 home Premier League games (17 wins, five draws).

If the Reds avoid defeat against Wolves, they will have gone unbeaten through an entire home Premier League campaign for a fifth time, the joint-most of any club (alongside Chelsea).

However, rivals City have ended 10 of their last 13 campaigns with a victory (two draws, one defeat), not losing on the final day since suffering a 3-2 reverse against Norwich City in 2013, while the defending champions have won nine of their last 10 Premier League games against Villa.

Divock Origi will leave Anfield a "Liverpool legend" with tributes from Jordan Henderson and Jurgen Klopp, who described the striker as "one of the most important players I ever had".

Despite being a fringe player for much of his time on Merseyside, Origi has become a Liverpool icon thanks to a series of vital goals.

Most notably, the Belgium international scored twice in an epic Champions League semi-final comeback against Barcelona, before making sure of the Reds' final triumph with another strike versus Tottenham.

Origi has also enjoyed a sensational record in derbies against Everton, scoring six times in the Premier League – twice as many as he has netted against any other team in the competition.

However, his contract is up at the end of the season, and while James Milner, in the same situation, could yet stay at Liverpool, Klopp confirmed the imminent departure of an Anfield favourite.

Asked if Origi and Milner could expect special receptions against Wolves in the final home game of the season, Klopp said: "We can only do that if we know it definitely."

But he added to his press officer: "I think that's only Div, right?"

Captain Henderson had suggested as much in his pre-match programme notes, published ahead of Klopp's news conference.

Pointing out Origi had scored the winner in the reverse fixture at Wolves, Henderson wrote: "It looks like today [Sunday] will be Divock's last at Anfield for Liverpool, so I hope he gets the kind of send-off he deserves.

"Actually I know that he will because he has been such a special player for us, but he is also an incredible person who has taken this city and its people to his heart. 

"His legacy will be his achievements for this club, but it will also be the good causes he has supported, like the local students he is helping to put through university.

"Today should be a celebration no matter what happens, and as club captain I will certainly be celebrating Divock and wishing him all the best for the future. The big fella deserves nothing less."

Klopp added: "I expect Divock to get a special reception or farewell or whatever. He is and will be for me forever a Liverpool legend, one of the most important players I ever had.

"That sounds completely strange [with] the amount of games he had, but it is and was a pure joy to work together with him. It's not over yet, just because it's the last Premier League game.

"He deserves all good thoughts we can generate somehow for his future. Wherever he will go, he will be a success 100 per cent.

"He is an outstanding player, outstanding boy, everybody in the team loves him. He's such a relaxed guy, a lovable guy

"It will be a harsh moment when he actually leaves. For us, it will not be now, but whenever he leaves, it will be harsh. Since I'm here, Div is here.

"I remember so many things about Div that are incredible. Important goals, injuries, bad injuries, all these kind of things, ups and downs, so he is a Liverpool legend, no doubt."

Klopp had been asked about the possibility of other exits, with Takumi Minamino among those on the fringes, and he replied: "I don't want to see anyone leave, but that's life, that's the situation.

"Nobody came to me and said, 'I want to go', no agent called me. We will see what happens. Honestly, it's not the time."

Indeed, Klopp said he has "no idea who wants to go" and urged focus instead on the final two matches of the season, which could yet add Premier League and Champions League titles to their EFL Cup and FA Cup wins.

Henderson said: "The final home game of the season is always a special occasion. It's something that the players, staff and our families all look forward to, particularly if it has been a decent campaign, because Anfield feels even more festive than usual. 

"It is also something that is especially true today as we head towards the last game of a season which will go down as one of the most incredible in the history of this great club.

"As things stand, it is not yet incredible in terms of trophies. Up to now we have won the two domestic cups and, while that is absolutely brilliant, we still want more, and we are also well aware that previous Liverpool teams have won more.

"But in terms of playing every possible game in every competition, fighting to the very end in all four, and creating stories and memories that will live with all of us forever, it could only be described as incredible."

Jurgen Klopp understands Mohamed Salah would be keen to play on the final day of the Premier League season and clinch the Golden Boot, but neither Liverpool nor the player are willing to take any risks with his fitness.

Salah sustained a groin injury in Liverpool's FA Cup final win over Chelsea last weekend and missed the midweek victory at Southampton that keeps the Reds in contention for the title.

There could yet be a double celebration for Klopp's men on Sunday, with City only one point ahead while Salah (22 goals) narrowly leads Son Heung-min (21) in the scoring charts.

But given Liverpool also have the Champions League final against Real Madrid to consider the final week, they have to be sure Salah is fit to play.

The winger – who has been nominated for the PFA Fans' Player of the Year, alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Conor Gallagher and Declan Rice – is not the cup winners' only injury concern either.

Virgil van Dijk (knee) was also injured at Wembley, while Fabinho (hamstring) hobbled out of the prior match against Aston Villa. Joe Gomez, who has a history of serious injuries, had an ankle problem at Southampton.

"Joe has good news," Klopp said ahead of Sunday's match against Wolves. "We want a reassuring further scan, but the first was like he and we thought after the game – we were lucky.

"It was a proper knock, but nothing happened. It's the leg where he was injured, so I understand 100 per cent everyone was concerned; I was, until I saw Joe's face in the dressing room, because most of the time we know best about our body.

"The result of this [second] scan is not here yet, but we don't expect anything really different. It's just about reassuring it's all fine.

"And then from there, we go. If it's fine, then it's about pain: how can he deal with pain? We'll see what Joe can do today or tomorrow, but I don't know at the moment.

"With the other boys, it looks all good. What we do with them at the weekend, I have no idea.

"I understand 100 per cent the goalscoring battle with Son Heung-min, but there is no chance we take any risk; Mo doesn't want to take any risk, there's no doubt about that.

"But it looks good, the boys made steps. We will see.

"My preferred solution would be they all could play at the weekend, for rhythm reasons, stuff like this, or at least could be on the bench and we could bring them on or not. But if not, then we take it from there. I cannot say 100 per cent."

Pep Guardiola labelled Kevin De Bruyne Manchester City's "key man" after the midfielder scored four in a 5-1 thrashing of Wolves, while he expressed his excitement to manage Erling Haaland next season.

City ran riot at Molineux to restore their three-point lead over Liverpool at the Premier League summit, and now need just four points from their final two games to win a second consecutive league title.

De Bruyne became the fourth different player to score four goals for City in a Premier League match (after Edin Dzeko, Gabriel Jesus, and Sergio Aguero – who did so on three occasions), as City bolstered their goal difference, which could yet prove to be crucial in the title race.

City are now unbeaten in 10 Premier League games (eight wins, two draws), and have become the first team in English top-flight history to win five consecutive games by a margin of three or more goals.

Guardiola's men also became the first team to have five or more shots on target while scoring each in a Premier League game since Liverpool in December 2019 (a 5-2 win against Everton), thanks in large part to De Bruyne's incredible display of finishing.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the win, Guardiola hailed the midfielder as "incredible" after he reached 19 goals for the season in all competitions, saying he had been City's most important player in the run-in.

"The way he's playing in the last two or three months, especially in the Premier League, has been outstanding. In the Champions League as well," he said. "He has been our key man in the last part of the season. 

"It's not just what he creates and the goals and everything, I'm happy because he always had a sense for the assists and was so generous, always thinking what's best for the team.

"But we always tried to push him, [saying] 'you have to win games, you have to score goals', and this year I think is his most prolific season in this sense."

City were widely criticised after falling to a 6-5 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals last week, but responded with consecutive thrashings of Newcastle United and Wolves.

Guardiola was keen to praise his team's character after they produced a dominant performance on their first away trip since Madrid.

"Did you have any doubts after what these guys have done in the last five years? They have personality, they have character, they have everything," he added. 

"We were in control, we started really well, scored a goal, and one moment where we didn't defend the transition properly we conceded a goal [Leander Dendoncker's equaliser]. After, we found the goal quick and it helped us a lot."

Although City have already hit 94 Premier League goals this season, their attack will be further bolstered after the announcement that Borussia Dortmund striker Haaland has agreed a move to the Etihad Stadium.

Guardiola said he was excited to work with the Norway star, who has hit 85 goals in all competitions since joining Dortmund in January 2020, and believes the 21-year-old will have no problem adapting in England.

"It's a decision for the club to make a good signing for the future, he'll come for many, many years, hopefully. I'm pretty sure he'll adapt perfectly to our team, but it will be next season," he added on Haaland.

"I'm excited in my job and of course, I like to work with good players, because the players make you a good manager. 

"Of course, he's an incredible young talent with a perfect age, and I'm pretty sure we're going to help him settle as quickly as possible."

Kevin De Bruyne hailed his four-goal haul as "special" after Manchester City restored their three-point lead at the top of the Premier League by thrashing Wolves 5-1 – but said he should have scored more.

After watching Liverpool beat Aston Villa 2-1 on Tuesday, City ran riot at Molineux as De Bruyne scored four goals, the first three coming in the opening 24 minute to help put Pep Guardiola's team within four points of the Premier League title.

De Bruyne's initial treble represented the third fastest hat-trick at the start of a Premier League game, after Sadio Mane's 16-minute salvo against Aston Villa in May 2015 and Dwight Yorke's 22-minute feat against Arsenal in February 2001.

The Belgian then added a fourth after an hour, becoming just the second City player to hit a quartet of goals in an away Premier League game after Edin Dzeko against Tottenham in August 2011.

De Bruyne, who is enjoying his best goalscoring season for City after reaching 19 strikes in all competitions, was delighted with his showing, but insisted he should have added a fifth when striking the post late on.

"[It was] pretty nice! When you score four goals its always something special, it should have been five to be honest," he told Sky Sports. 

"I think we played well, maybe except a couple of counters in the first half, I think we controlled the game well.

"We could even have scored more, and to do that against a Wolves team that's really defensively sound was impressive. I think our front four were able to find the right moments to go deep or come in, and it worked really well. 

"My right foot is my stronger foot, but I'm not afraid to shoot with the left. Even if it doesn't go in, it creates a problem for the opposition".

Wolves coach Carlos Cachada, meanwhile, said the hosts could do little to stop De Bruyne's talismanic display, telling Sky Sports: "When it comes to players like this they can score four goals and finish the game, with that performance, we can do nothing about it."

City's dominant win saw them extend their unbeaten Premier League run to 10 games (eight wins, two draws), and they now need just four points from their final two games to wrap up the title. 

De Bruyne, however, insists Liverpool could still make up the required three-point and seven-goal swing, saying the two teams had set a "crazy" standard.

"We know at the moment we have a little bit of an advantage in goal difference, but even with seven, with Liverpool that can happen," he added. "We just need to concentrate on Sunday, it's going to be a really tough game at West Ham, so we need to recover and be ready.

"It's a little bit crazy, the standards we both set, you can only respect it. We know how hard it is, and both teams have ultimate respect. We play hard, that's all we can do."

The Premier League title is the only major trophy available to City this term after they crashed out of the Champions League with a stunning 6-5 aggregate loss to Real Madrid last week.

While De Bruyne, who was substituted before Madrid launched their remarkable comeback at the Santiago Bernabeu, was still disappointed with that loss, he said it was time for City to move on. 

"Its very difficult to explain because it was just a mad five minutes. It's not that we played bad or something, it was just five minutes that you can't explain as a player," he recalled.

"I don't know what happened, I was out of control on the bench anyway, so you feel a little bit in shock, it's not nice and the feeling is still not nice.

"But you need to move on, we're trying now to win the title and whatever happened unfortunately happened, we have to move on."

Kevin De Bruyne recorded an astonishing four-goal haul as Manchester City restored their three-point lead at the Premier League summit with a 5-1 win over Wolves.

In Ruben Dias, John Stones, and Kyle Walker, Pep Guardiola's team were missing several key defenders as they looked to respond to Liverpool's 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Tuesday, but recorded a routine victory courtesy of a talismanic showing from De Bruyne.

The Belgian's hat-trick, sealed with a stunning left-footed strike from long range, put City in charge after Leander Dendoncker briefly restored parity in an absorbing first half.

De Bruyne grabbed a fourth to make the points safe before Raheem Sterling rounded off the scoring late on, as City took another huge step towards defending their title.

Guardiola's men needed just seven minutes to hit the front, with De Bruyne playing a brilliant one-two with Bernardo Silva before drilling a low effort into the bottom-right corner. 

Wolves responded within four minutes when Dendoncker converted Pedro Neto's cut-back following a devastating counter-attack, but the visitors were back in front after 16 minutes when De Bruyne latched onto a loose ball to fire into the roof of the net.

The midfielder secured his treble nine minutes later as he arrowed a terrific strike into the bottom-left corner after 24 minutes.

The visitors were denied a fourth as Sterling was flagged offside having tucked home two minutes after the restart, but ended the contest when De Bruyne steered in after Rayan Ait Nouri's weak clearance after 60 minutes. 

De Bruyne teed up Phil Foden to side-foot against the post before Sterling wrapped up another dominant City win by tapping home a late fifth, with De Bruyne then striking the woodwork himself at the end of a terrific performance.

What does it mean? City remain in pole position

De Bruyne's brilliance saw City overcome their defensive injury crisis to extend their unbeaten run to 10 Premier League games (eight wins, two draws) as they edge closer to consecutive titles.

With only West Ham and Aston Villa to play, Guardiola's men require just four points to beat Liverpool to their eighth top-flight title.

Devastating De Bruyne stars

De Bruyne's four strikes took him to 19 goals in all competitions this term, his best tally in a single season for the club, and restored City's all-important advantage over Liverpool.

Meanwhile, the Belgian became just the second City player to score four goals in an away Premier League game, after Edin Dzeko did so at Tottenham in August 2011.

City extend record away run

The victory ensured City stretched their unbeaten away run to 17 away Premier League matches (14 wins, three draws) – the longest such sequence in the club's league history.

However, Dendoncker's goal prevented Guardiola's side from keeping a sixth consecutive away clean sheet in the competition.

What's next?

City continue their push for the title when they travel to West Ham on Sunday, while Wolves host relegated Norwich City on the same day.

Pep Guardiola would not confirm that Manchester City will be signing Erling Haaland, but he teased that "everybody knows the situation".

Haaland has been linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium from Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season, with City said to be ready to trigger the striker's release clause, believed to be around €75million (£64.2m).

Speaking at a media conference ahead of his team's trip to Wolves in the Premier League, Guardiola explained he could not talk about any transfer, but did say it was because the two clubs involved told him not to.

"Everybody knows the situation," Guardiola told reporters. "I shouldn't talk because I don't like to talk about the future or next season.

"Dortmund and Man City told me I'm not allowed to say anything until it's completely done. We'll have time to talk.

"I'd love to talk, they tell me don't say anything until the legal actions [are done]. We'll have time to talk, not because I don't want to."

Norwegian striker Haaland has scored 85 goals in 88 games for Dortmund, though City have not exactly struggled for goals themselves this season, hitting five against Newcastle United on Sunday, meaning they have now bagged 89 goals in 35 Premier League games, more than anyone else.

Guardiola said new players can always help his team to improve, whether it comes in the form of transfers or through the youth set-up, and insisted he approves of the steps the club are taking.

"We have I guess new players in the squad, some from the academy come up next season," he said. "New players always helps [us] to be a stronger team. But not one defender or striker will solve our defensive or scoring problems.

"The club always has to have a vision for the future. The decisions the club makes I am aware and supportive 100 per cent."

The 5-0 win against Newcastle took City back to the top of the table, leading Liverpool by three points ahead of both teams' midweek fixtures.

Jurgen Klopp's Reds were travelling to face Aston Villa on Tuesday before City's game at Wolves on Wednesday, and Guardiola understands that the quality of Liverpool means the clash at Molineux is a final for his team.

"Nothing changes, we can't affect what Liverpool do," he said.

"Both teams have done another impressive season. We know what we have to do, we will try to be there. Tomorrow is a final for us, an opportunity to arrive in the last game here with the title in our hands. It's massive for us."

The City boss also confirmed that none of his injured players will return on Wednesday, with defenders Kyle Walker, John Stones and Ruben Dias not expected to play again this season.

"Nothing changed after the game against Newcastle," Guardiola said. "We are who we are for the next three games with the players we have. We have problems in one department, the others will solve it."

Thomas Tuchel said his Chelsea side took too many risks as they threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday.

On the day a £4.25billion sale of the Blues was agreed, Romelu Lukaku scored his first Premier League goals since a 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion on December 29 to put the hosts 2-0 up before the hour mark.

Substitute Trincao set up a dramatic finale with a fine goal in the 79th minute, before Conor Coady sealed a point for Wolves with a header in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

That goal was the second-latest Chelsea have conceded in the Premier League since Opta have exact times available (from 2006-07), after Luis Suarez's strike for Liverpool in April 2013 (96:30).

The result meant the Blues failed to win a top-flight game in which they were 2+ goals ahead for the first time since October 2020 against Southampton (3-3), having won 24 consecutive such prior matches.

Although Tuchel was largely happy with his side's display, the German bemoaned an inability to play things safe after Lukaku's brace had put them in pole position to claim all three points.

"I thought we started both halves well with an offensive 5-3-2," he told a media conference.

"We knew about the risks and we need to be disciplined. We showed discipline over most moments of the first half. In some situations we took too many risks.

"That cost us some dangerous moments at the end of the first half. I reminded the players at half-time to stick to the plan. We were 2-0 up and again we took too many risks.

"We invited the counter-attacks and big chances. Once you do this, you lose confidence and invite the opponent to smell something is possible when it is unnecessary.

"It's not about dropping too much, it's about where we were losing the ball and the opponent taking a crazy approach. Big chances that we don't create, the pass is missing, the dribbling is wrong.

"At some point we played like we were 2-0 down not 2-0 up. We tried to change the structure. I don't know if that was the right decision from me, I need to watch it back."

Tuchel refuted suggestions that the announcement of the takeover, led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjorg Wyss, had any bearing on his side's late collapse. 

"I don't think ownership is a reason for lack of focus," he added. "We showed when the situation began that we can still focus. I would not consider this as an advantage for Leeds [who Chelsea play on Wednesday].

"It does not change much for us as the sanctions are not lifted. It's not worth thinking about, we have our own stuff to solve and make better."

Conor Coady scored with almost the last touch of the game as Wolves fought back to draw 2-2 with Chelsea on the day a £4.25billion sale of the Blues was agreed.

Todd Boehly, who leads the consortium that will complete a takeover later this month, was in attendance at Stamford Bridge as Romelu Lukaku scored his first Premier League goals since a 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion on December 29 to put the hosts 2-0 up before the hour mark.

Substitute Trinaco set up a dramatic finale, though, with a sumptuous goal 11 minutes from full-time.

Coady then popped up in the seventh minute of stoppage time to head home Chiquinho's cross and seal the most unlikely of points for the visitors.

Wolves will be without head coach Bruno Lage for Saturday's trip to Chelsea in the Premier League after he contracted coronavirus.

Lage returned a positive COVID-19 test on Friday, with Wolves confirming he will not travel with the squad to Stamford Bridge.

Coronavirus restrictions in the United Kingdom have been all but removed in recent months, but government guidance does still urge people to "try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for five days".

Lage's absence comes as a blow for Wolves at a critical stage of the season as they still harbour hopes of qualifying for the Europa Conference League.

Wolves, who have lost four of their past five including three on the bounce, are three points behind West Ham in the final European qualification spot but have a game in hand on the Hammers.

Manchester United reportedly have a clear runway to sign West Ham midfielder and England international Declan Rice in the upcoming transfer window.

Rice, 23, has emerged as one of England's brightest young talents after being released from Chelsea's youth setup back in 2014.

He is expected to command a transfer fee in excess of the £100million Jack Grealish was signed for by Manchester City in a British record – but United may not be engaged in a bidding war.

TOP STORY – RED DEVILS LOOM AS RICE'S SOLE ENGLISH SUITOR

ESPN are reporting that United will not be facing competition from fellow Premier League clubs in the pursuit of Rice.

Sources have allegedly claimed the goal is to make Rice into a "modern day version of [Paul] Ince", who helped ignite the rise of legendary boss Alex Ferguson with his arrival from West Ham in 1989.

City are said to be using their resources on Erling Haaland; Chelsea are hampered by their ownership situation and the need to replace Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Romelu Lukaku; and Liverpool would prefer to wait for Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham at a cheaper price.

Despite a lack of bidders to drive up Rice's price, West Ham are reportedly firm on their £100m-plus valuation.

ROUND-UP

– Everton would accept a £50m fee for Brazilian striker Richarlison, and are confident of getting such an offer, according to Football Insider.

– According to ESPN, Milan and Juventus are the leaders in the race to sign United's Jesse Lingard.

– Sport are reporting Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves has chosen Barcelona over Premier League clubs United and Arsenal.

– Lazio's Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is said to be for sale for a €80m price-tag, with Sky Sport claiming United and Paris Saint-Germain are the leading suitors.

– Arsenal have renewed their interest in Inter striker Lautaro Martinez, per The Times. 

Real Madrid have reportedly made Chelsea's Reece James their primary transfer target ahead of next season.

Despite his time on the pitch being limited by injuries, the 22-year-old right-back has been a potent force going forwards this season, contributing five goals and six assists in 22 Premier League fixtures.

While Chelsea will likely do all they can to hold on to their homegrown England international, Madrid have had plenty of opportunities to scout the man top of their wish-list as he played all 210 minutes across their two Champions League legs, with the second going to extra-time.

TOP STORY – MADRID MAKE JAMES A PRIORITY

Todofichajes is reporting Los Blancos have identified right-back as a position of weakness, spelling bad news for incumbent Dani Carvajal.

Madrid, who won LaLiga on Saturday, are said to have assessed other options at the position, such as Sporting CP's Pedro Porro, but ultimately landed on James after getting an up-close look at him in the Champions League.

James still has three years remaining on his contract, and 90min is reporting a revamped new deal is one of Chelsea's top priorities once the sale of the club is complete. He is expected to fetch a transfer fee of at least €60million.

ROUND-UP

- Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes is a target for Juventus in the upcoming window, according to TEAMtalk.

- The Daily Mail is reporting Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans would prefer a move to Spain if he leaves the club, with Madrid said to have a strong interest.

- According to Birmingham Live, Manchester United sent a senior scout to watch Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.

- Juve are interested in bringing Chelsea midfielder Jorginho back to Italy before his contract expires, per Todofichajes.

- Fabrizio Romano is reporting Chelsea left-back Marcos Alonso is keen to return to Spain, and Barcelona have made contact. 

- Romano also claims that Chelsea are still eager to sign Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde. The France defender has an €80m release clause.

The Premier League has rearranged games involving Manchester City and Liverpool to set the final schedule for what promises to be an exciting title race.

Pep Guardiola's side are one point ahead of Jurgen Klopp's Reds at the top of the table with five league games remaining for both.

City's trip to face Wolves at Molineux, which was originally supposed to be played on the weekend of their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Liverpool, will take place on Wednesday, May 11.

Meanwhile, with Liverpool's involvement in the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday, May 14, their away game at Southampton has now been set for Tuesday, May 17.

That means Jurgen Klopp's men will have to play two games in the final week of the campaign, with the last matchday scheduled for Sunday, May 22.

Reigning champions City still have to play Leeds United (a), Newcastle United (h), Wolves (a), West Ham (a) and Aston Villa (h).

Meanwhile, Liverpool's remaining games are against Newcastle (a), Tottenham (h), Aston Villa (a), Southampton (a) and Wolves (h).

WIth both teams also involved in the Champions League semi-finals, it promises to be an intense end to the season, especially for Liverpool, who can still win what would be an unprecedented quadruple.

Divock Origi kept up his run of scoring against Everton as his late goal helped Liverpool claim a 2-0 win in the Merseyside derby.

The Reds were made to work hard by struggling Everton, who went into Sunday's match in the relegation zone after Burnley had defeated Wolves earlier on.

Liverpool are now back within a point of their Premier League title rivals Manchester City, while third-placed Chelsea moved five points clear of fourth-placed Arsenal with a last-gasp win over West Ham.

Brighton and Hove Albion and Southampton played out a 2-2 draw in the day's other game. Here, using Opta data, Stats Perform checks the best facts from Sunday's action.

Chelsea 1-0 West Ham: Pulisic spares Jorginho's blushes

Chelsea turned in a below-par performance against West Ham, but got over the line thanks to Christian Pulisic's last-gasp winner.

The Blues had lost their previous two matches at Stamford Bridge and looked set to be on their way to a third home game without a win when Jorginho sent a poor penalty straight at Lukasz Fabianski.

Jorginho had converted each of his last 13 penalties for Chelsea, excluding shoot-outs, with this being his first failure to score from the spot for the Blues since Boxing Day 2020.

But Pulisic swept in from Marcos Alonso's cross to win it. The United States international has been directly involved in 10 goals in 32 appearances for Chelsea across all competitions this term (seven goals, three assists), matching his tally from last season when he made 43 appearances.

Burnley 1-0 Wolves: Clarets out of the bottom three

Burnley claimed a second win on the bounce to lift themselves above Everton and move out of the relegation zone.

They have now won three home Premier League games in a row for the first time since a run of five between December 2016 and January 2017, and that is the same number of victories as they managed across the 26 games beforehand.

Indeed, Burnley have picked up seven points in their three Premier League games under Mike Jackson (W2 D1), the same number of points as Sean Dyche picked up during his final eight league games at the club (W2 D1 L5).

Wolves, meanwhile, have now suffered more defeats in their last five away league games (four) than they had in their first 12 on the road this season (W7 D2 L3).

Matej Vydra grabbed Burnley's winner. Four of his eight top-flight goals for the Clarets have been ones to claim three points.

Brighton and Hove Albion 2-2 Southampton: Ward-Prowse closes on free-kick record

James Ward-Prowse scored both of Southampton's goals as they came from behind to rescue a point in the south coast derby against Southampton.

Despite scoring as many goals on Sunday as they did in their previous seven home Premier League matches, Brighton failed to win a game in which they led by at least two goals for just a third time in the competition (P23 W20 D2 L1), having won each of their previous 13 such matches.

But after an own goal put Brighton further ahead, Ward-Prowse's excellent free-kick halved the deficit. He has now scored 14 direct free-kick goals in the top flight, just four shy of David Beckham's record, while only the Manchester United great and Laurent Robert (both five) have netted more free-kicks in a single season.

Ward-Prowse doubled his tally and restored parity with another long-range effort, and 44 per cent of his league goals for the Saints have come from outside the box (17/39).

Liverpool 2-0 Everton: Origi strikes again to give Toffees the Blues

It took Liverpool until the 62nd minute to break the deadlock at Anfield, though they were arguably fortunate not to have conceded a penalty not long before.

Nevertheless, Liverpool's dominance finally told as Everton's back-to-the-wall display was broken – Andy Robertson heading in before Origi scored late on. The striker has now netted six times in nine league appearances against Everton, scoring once every 62 minutes on average.

Liverpool have lost just one of their last 23 Premier League games against Everton (W10 D12), completing the league double over their neighbours for the first time since 2016-17. They now have 79 points, 50 more than Everton, which is the joint-largest margin they have held in the competition (along with the 2019-20 season).

Everton will end the day in the relegation zone for the first time since December 2019 (also after a derby defeat at Anfield), while this is the furthest into a season, after 32 games or more, the Toffees have found themselves in the bottom three since 1998-99.

They have lost 11 of their last 12 Premier League away games (D1), including each of the last seven in a row. It is their longest run of consecutive away defeats since a run of eight between April and October 1994.

Origi has now scored 11 goals as a substitute in the Premier League, the outright most by a Liverpool player, overtaking Daniel Sturridge's 10. 

Liverpool recorded a possession figure of 82.7 per cent against Everton – only Man City (83 per cent v Swansea City in April 2018) have recorded a higher such figure in a Premier League game since Opta started collecting this data (2003-04).