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Chelsea will host Arsenal on Wednesday, having won more points in Premier League London derby games this season than any other side.

Victory would equal the record for most points won in such games in a single Premier League campaign; with Arsenal in 2013-14, and Chelsea in 2005-06 and 2014-15 winning 25 points.  

Chelsea vs Arsenal Latest Odds

Chelsea are unbeaten in their last eight home Premier League matches against Arsenal (W6 D2) and another victory is valued at (1.73) with BetKing.

Arsenal have won their last two meetings with Chelsea in all competitions and a win in Wednesday's London Derby is tipped to occur at (5.00).

A draw in the London Derby at Stamford Bridge is considered to occur at (3.75).

Chelsea vs Arsenal Team News

Former Real Madrid midfielder Mateo Kovacic is expected to be unavailable for Chelsea yet again. However, Kovacic is fighting to recover in time for the FA Cup final.

Andreas Christensen will not be present to face the Gunners as he got a thigh injury. His absence could see Thomas Tuchel line up Kurt Zouma to fill the void.

Mikel Arteta, on the other hand, will miss David Luiz who is out due to a hamstring problem. Pablo Mari and Granit Xhaka will also not be available for the Gunners due to ankle and groin problems respectively.

Chelsea vs Arsenal Preview  

Chelsea have kept a clean sheet in seven of their eight Premier League home games under Tuchel, with the exception being a 5-2 defeat to West Bromwich Albion in April.

Chelsea’s last eight Premier League defeats against Arsenal have been with a different manager in the dugout; Claudio Ranieri, Avram Grant, Felipe Scolari, Carlo Ancelotti, Andre Villas-Boas, Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri and Frank Lampard. Of those eight, only Grant, Scolari, Villas-Boas and Conte lost their first league meeting with the Gunners.

Arsenal are unbeaten in their last five away league games (W3 D2), winning the last two by an aggregate score of 5-0. The Gunners haven’t won three in a row on the road without conceding since May 2013.  

Arsenal have never lost a Premier League match against Chelsea when facing them in mid-week ties (Tuesday or Wednesday). Though six of those games have ended level (W2). The Gunners’ four such visits to Stamford Bridge have all ended in a draw (0-0 September 1998, 2-2 September 2000, 0-0 April 2005, 2-2 January 2020).  

Chelsea vs Arsenal Tips and Predictions

Chelsea have scored eight goals in the last five games across all competitions and conceded just two. Arsenal have scored 11 goals and have conceded five in the same number of games and punters can take an offer of under 2.5 goals at (1.75) with BetKing.

Under 2.5 goals at (1.75) with BetKing.

Odds correct at the time of writing. Please gamble responsibly.

Former Kaizer Chiefs striker Mark Williams says Orlando Pirates are struggling in the PSL because they tend to underestimate their opponents.

This comes after the Buccaneers drew 0-0 with Stellenbosch FC in a league game that took place at Danie Craven Stadium on Tuesday.

The result saw Pirates remain fourth on the league standings and they are now mathematically out of the race for this season's championship.

"You give the instructions to the players on the day and you expect them to give at least 80 percent, you want 100 percent but 80 percent is [still] fine," Williams told SuperSport TV.

"Then they end up giving you 60 percent [during the match], this is due to lack of concentration first of all and undermining the opposition."

Bucs, who have won just one of their last six competitive games, were outplayed by Stellies in the first-half, but the hosts could not take their chances. 

"I think that is basically what it is because you look at the difference between the two teams [on the day] you think why didn't Stellenbosch win the game,: he continued. 

"For both teams, they have been up and down like a rollercoaster, Pirates are up and down and the same with Stellies, not scoring goals."

Bucs came into the clash as the favourites having thrashed relegation-threatened Black Leopards 3-0 last week, while a struggling Stellies side had failed to win their previous eight league games. 

"I don't know if it is the same team that played against Black Leopards. There is only one change [to the starting line-up], but you ask yourself if they really pitched up," he said. 

"As a coach, you have a team which had a great result against Leopards and you come here to the Western Cape and they can't say that was a chance, it is free-kick, that was a goalkeeper's goal."

"There were no clear-cut opportunities [for Pirates] and then you ask yourself where is the consistency from this Pirates team."

The former Mamelodi Sundowns marksman believes that the Soweto giants were lucky to collect a point against Stellies, who remained 12th on the league standings. 

"Stellenbosch should have taken the three points and took themselves further away from the relegation zone because they had the opportunities," he said. 

"Then you look at Pirates and you say wow with the team that they have, that is a little bit disappointing for the coach [Josef Zinnbauer], they are lucky to come away with the point."

John Obi Mikel should not consider the prospect of returning to the Nigeria Professional Football League, according to Goal readers.

After a brief stint with Turkish Super Lig outfit Trabzonspor, the former Super Eagles captain teamed up with English Championship side Stoke City on a short-term deal.

Nevertheless, his contract with the Potters expires at the end of the 2020-21 campaign and he is expected to continue his professional career.

As speculation continues to grow on the destination of the former Chelsea midfielder, we asked our readers if he should follow the footsteps of Ahmed Musa and return to the Nigerian topflight where it all started.

In a poll conducted on Goal Africa Twitter handle, a massive 60.9 percent of total votes cast advised him to forget about the prospect of lacing his boots for any Nigerian league outfit.

Mikel starred for Plateau United before Lyn Oslo after an impressive outing at the 2003 U17 World Cup Finland. In view of that, 29.5 percent support the gesture that he should return home.

Meanwhile, 9.7% of voters are undecided if he should return to the NPFL or not.

For veteran coach Henry Makinwa, should the 34-year-old consider a switch home, it would be a "massive win" for the Nigerian top flight.

“That would be highly welcomed if he can consider that option,” former Abia Warriors and Katsina United boss Makinwa told Goal.

“I once wrote about this many years back but that could not stand then. If he does that, we will welcome him back home.

“It would be a massive win for the NPFL and the local fans. I made the same appeal to our qualified Nigerian coaches abroad like Finidi George, Emmanuel Amuneke, Haruna Doda and so on to come home so that we can build the country’s football together.”

In the 2020-21 campaign, Mikel featured in 39 English second-tier games as Michael O'Neill’s men finished in 14th place after accruing 60 points from 46 outings.

He was nominated for Stoke City’s Player of the Month award for April following his stirring performances, albeit, Jacob Brown picked the individual accolade.

Gor Mahia defender Harun Shakava has stated they are still in the title race for the FKF Premier League title and has warned table-toppers Tusker to stop celebrating.

The Kenyan top-flight is set to resume on Friday, May 14, after the government lifted the ban imposed on sporting activities owing to coronavirus pandemic.

The K’Ogalo captain has insisted despite Tusker topping the 18-team table, they still have a full second leg to play for in the season and that they will still fight to the end to make sure they clinch a fourth successive title in their history.

“We are hoping games will kick off as planned, at least FKF have given us four to five days to train, so I am confident the team will be fit and ready to play, we are preparing for the start and we are ready to start again,” Shakava told Goal.

“Every season is always different, this season is tough, we are lying seventh on the table and it is a tough season but I cannot say Tusker have won the league, we still have an entire second leg to play so anything can happen and I hope if we play well, we should not be written off, we can also compete for the title, I don’t see anything difficult for us to compete for the title.”

On the problems they faced during the break caused by Covid-19, Shakava said: “Covid-19 has really affected us and the rhythm of the players, it is not easy to train individually, but we struggled to train alone, we fought to maintain our fitness level because that is the most important thing.

“But it was not easy to make it on your own, but at least now we have come together, training as a group then it will shape us well, the mood in the camp is good and we are good to go.”

On his part, former captain Kenneth Muguna told Goal: “I think it means a lot [to take the Covid-19 test], finally we have a smile back on our faces, we have missed playing as you all know, so I think this is a big step for the return of the league and we hope that we start playing as soon as possible.

“It has been great when started training as a group, you know when you train alone is not as a good as when you are in a group, there is always fun when training as a group and I think the mood in the team is now great and we are now hoping the league could just start.”

Gor Mahia, who will resume action with a clash against Nairobi City Stars, were struggling before the season was halted as they had already suffered six defeats from 14 matches and were lying seventh with 22 points.

Tusker are topping the table with 36 points from 16 matches while KCB are second with 30 points from 15 matches and AFC Leopards are third with 29 points from 14 outings.

Gor Mahia coach Carlos Manuel Vaz Pinto has explained his happiness at seeing FKF Premier League return after almost 50 days out without action owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Portuguese tactician, who stayed in Kenya after President Uhuru Kenyatta suspended sporting activities owing to a spike in numbers of the Covid-19 cases on March 26, 2021, has told Goal the Kenyan champions are ready to kick the ball again when action resumes on Saturday.

“It is very good when you come back to your job, we missed this a lot and it’s important to improve again our players to be ready to resume the action and to be honest we are ready for the action,” Vaz Pinto told Goal.

“It was very good today [Tuesday], training together, not only the coach missed such training sessions but also the players, and they have put in a lot of commitment, and these training sessions were very good and now we are very anxious to resume the league.”

Pinto has, however, bemoaned the tight schedule the teams will face when the league will resume insisting his main target is to make sure he protects his players from big injuries.

“Because the schedule changed again we need to plan about the new schedule because of that tomorrow [Wednesday] we have a meeting with my staff to plan this again,” Pinto continued.

“But what we expect of course is one schedule, not like very crowded because we stopped playing around 50 days ago and this is too much and it is not easy for the players.

“We need to prevent injuries and big injuries because we did not have enough time to do a new pre-season and now we have maybe short time to prepare for the first game and we need to take care about our players this is now what we are planning and my hope is to prevent injuries.”

The fixture for resumption of the league was once again altered after FKF pushed opening matches to May 14 to allow all players and officials of the 18 clubs in the league to undergo mandatory Covid-19 tests.

The exercise was conducted on Tuesday with Gor Mahia among the teams whose players were tested others being Bidco United, Mathare United, KCB FC, Kariobangi Sharks, Posta Rangers, and Kakamega Homeboyz.

Western Stima, Nairobi City Stars, AFC Leopards, Bandari FC, Tusker FC, Nzoia Sugar will be tested on Wednesday, at the Evangelic Harvest fellowship church, Ligi Ndogo grounds, GEMS Cambridge, Mbaraki grounds, Ruaraka grounds, and Sudi Stadium, respectively.

Ulinzi Stars, Sofapaka, Wazito, and Vihiga United will close the Covid-19 testing exercise on Thursday at the Eastleigh High School (Sofapaka), Marist College (Wazito), Senede High School (Vihiga).

Gor Mahia will face Nairobi City Stars in their first match at Kasarani Annex on Sunday.

Simba SC arrived in South Africa minus one player and official for their Caf Champions League quarter-final clash against Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday.

Goal can exclusively reveal Simba defender Pascal Wawa and the team’s trainer Adel Zrane were left in Nairobi, Kenya after they had problems with their travelling documents.

The Msimbazi giants travelled through Kenya to Johannesburg and the two could not board the plane from Nairobi owing to issues with their visas but they are now expected to link up with the team when their paperwork is sorted.

A source with the team has, however, told Goal the two have started to work on their visas and they will link up with the team soon in South Africa.

“It is true Pascal [Wawa] and Adel [Zrane] remained behind in Kenya because they had some small issues with their paperwork especially the visas but we left them behind to sort the problem,” the source told Goal.

“I am confident it will be sorted out and they will link up with us here in Johannesburg, it is nothing big to worry about because their papers had issues and must be cleared for them to travel.”

On Tuesday, Simba landed safely in Johannesburg for the first leg fixture with a squad of 24 players making the trip but conspicuously missing was midfielder Bernard Morrison, who also had issues with his travelling papers.

However, Simba team manager Patrick Rweyemamu assured Goal the Ghanaian player will link up with the team after sorting his paperwork issues in Tanzania.

“We have left for South Africa minus Bernard [Morrison] because he does not have his paperwork ready to travel, his visa was yet to arrive and we cannot wait for him,” Rweyemamu told Goal.

“The club is still working on his paperwork and when they are ready, he will then join us in South Africa, we are confident his paperwork will be done in time for the match on Saturday.”

Simba will hope to maintain the solidity they showed in the group stage, where they only conceded two goals and kept four clean sheets as goalkeepers Aishi Manula and Beno Kakolanya were used between the sticks.

Mozambique winger Luis Miquissone - who scored a clinical goal against Al Ahly in matchday three to earn Simba a surprise 1-0 win - is expected to be the club's creative brain during the knockout stage and has also been named in the travelling squad.

Striker John Bocco has also made the squad and he will fight for a starting role alongside Meddie Kagere and Chris Mugalu.

Simba SC squad; Goalkeepers: Aishi Manula, Beno Kakolanya and Ally Salim.

Defenders: Shomari Kapombe, Joash Onyango, Pascal Wawa, Ibrahim Ame, Erasto Nyoni, Gadiel Michael, Mohamed Hussein, Kennedy Juma and David Kameta.

Midfielders: Jonas Mkude, Rally Bwalya, Mzamiru Yassin, Luis Miquissone, Hassan Dilunga, Clatous Chama, Francis Kahata and Taddeo Lwanga.

Strikers: Meddie Kagere, John Bocco, Ibrahim Ajib and Chris Mugalu.

Chivas are interested in signing Efrain Alvarez from the LA Galaxy this summer, sources have informed Goal's Spanish edition.

The 18-year-old midfielder has already made 33 MLS appearances, with his production as a teenager making him one of the top prospects in North America. His father, Crescencio Alvarez, once played for Chivas, giving the Liga MX side hope of luring him away from his current home.

Sources have said that while no official contact has been made, an approach could be forthcoming. Alvarez would cost an estimated fee of at least $12 million.

What is known?

Chivas would want to bring in Alvarez this summer, which would conflict with the Galaxy's 2021 MLS campaign that just began.

Because the youngster is under contract, LA would require a significant monetary offer for talks to have any chance of progressing, which sources say could put off Chivas in their pursuit of the player.

Alvarez's national team allegiance

There has been plenty of drama surrounding Alvarez's national team future, as he has yet to make a permanent choice between the U.S. and Mexico.

He was part of Mexico's friendly roster in March, though that did not represent an official decision toward El Tri. He had also spent time training in the USMNT camp toward the end of 2020.

His father has described the process of choosing between countries as traumatizing.

Further reading

Al Jazira capped off a fantastic season with a 3-1 win over Khor Fakkan on Tuesday evening to lift the Arabian Gulf League title as they pipped second-placed Bani Yas by three points.

Bani Yas trailed the league leaders by a point going into the final matchday and their hope of clinching the title was if Al Jazira drop points and they win their final tie against Al Wahda. However, Bani Yas fell short and could only manage a draw while Al Jazira produced a dominant performance despite being a man down for more than 50 minutes.

It was Oumar Traore and Ali Mabkhout show at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium as they scored the first two goals inside the half hour mark.

Khalfan Mubarak was given his marching orders following an intervention from VAR. However, that didn’t cause any trouble as Traore and Mabkhout combined once again with the 18-year-old Malian scoring his second of the evening.

The visitors eventually pulled one back deep into stoppage time but that did not trouble Marcel Keizer’s team as they successfully held on to their lead and lifted silverware.

The Indian national football team is all set to play their first competitive match since November 2019, as they travel to Qatar to play their remaining three matches of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

The Blues Tigers are set to play against hosts Qatar on June 3, Afghanistan on June 7 and Bangladesh on June 11. India are currently fourth on the points table and from the remaining fixtures, they will hope to collect as many points as possible and finish third so that they can seal automatic qualification for the 2023 Asian Cup qualifying third round.

Igor Stimac's men will be travelling to Qatar amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and it will be a herculean task for both the team as well as the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to assemble a squad on short notice especially when the second wave of the Coronavirus has hit India severely.

India's challenges ahead of World Cup qualifiers

The Croatian coach's biggest headache is to select and assemble a fully fit squad for the qualifiers. Except for FC Goa and Bengaluru FC players, who took part in the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup qualifiers respectively in April, most of the Indian players last played in February or March

As a result, instead of choosing the squad solely on merit, Stimac now has to make do with the fittest possible players available.

The Indian squad that will be selected will get limited practice sessions before taking the field against giants Qatar. As lockdown has been imposed in several parts of India, it is not possible for the AIFF to arrange for training sessions of the team in India before they travel.

The following measures are implemented for travellers coming from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines, whether they are travelling through direct flight or via other countries (transit), which include:​

With such a hectic protocol to follow, it is possible that Stimac may get only three to four days of training before India face the hosts.

From the footballers' point of view, the 2020/21 season of the Indian Super League (ISL) has already been a very hectic campaign as they had to remain inside a bio-bubble for nearly six months. For players of FC Goa and Bengaluru FC, the period got extended by another month.

And again as national duty beckons, the players will now once again have to enter a bubble for one more month. And most footballers have not had the chance to train properly for the last month or so. 

India's journey so far in the Qualifiers

India started their journey with a narrow 2-1 defeat at the hands of Oman at home followed by a historic goalless draw against Asian champions Qatar in Doha. In their third and fourth matches, the Blue Tigers managed 1-1 draws against Bangladesh and Afghanistan respectively and then they suffered a 1-0 defeat against Oman away from home.

India's recent results

In March, India travelled to Dubai, UAE to take on Oman and the hosts in two friendly matches. On March 25, India held Oman to a 1-1 draw but faced a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of UAE on March 29.

Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman took responsibility for his side's damaging 3-3 draw against Levante on Tuesday. 

The Blaugrana threw away an early two-goal lead and then a late one-goal advantage in a result that could spell the end of their title challenge. 

The draw left Barca one point behind first-place Atletico Madrid, who now have a game in hand over Koeman's side as the season winds down. 

What was said?

"As a coach I am the one most responsible," Koeman said at his post-game press conference. "I am asking myself what we did at half-time, because we had talked about continuing with the intensity and improving things defensively. Watching the second half, that didn't happen. We have lowered the intensity.

"The players, technical staff and coach, we are all sad.

"Now, we have to prepare for the last two games and prepare ourselves for the next season. But first we have to get over today's draw, which is a hard thing to do.

"We entered the second half with less intensity, reacting late to all plays. We have gone down in everything and it has been a problem."

The bigger picture

In an extremely tight Liga race, Barcelona could have taken over first place had they held on against Levante on Tuesday. 

Instead, Sergio Leon's 83rd-minute equaliser consigned Barca to long-shot status in the Spanish top flight. 

Barca have just two games remaining while Atletico, as well as third-place Real Madrid who are a point behind the Blaugrana, have three matches left. 

Atletico can move further ahead of Barca on Wednesday when they host Real Sociedad. Real will then have the chance to overtake Koeman's side when they visit Granada on Thursday.

Further reading

Ronald Koeman has been asked to resign as Barcelona manager as Blaugrana’s LaLiga ambitions suffered a massive blow with a 3-3 draw at Levante.

Barca looked to have done enough in the first half after taking a two-goal lead, however, the Camp Nou giants were ultimately made to pay as substitute Sergio Leon struck late to salvage a draw for the Frogs.

Following this damaging draw, Koeman’s men missed out on the chance to go top of LaLiga, but have moved up into second place, with Atletico and Real Madrid having a game at hand.

The club’s fans are furious and have taken to social media to ask the Dutchman to quit his role.

Sergio Busquets believes Barcelona's chances of winning La Liga are all but over after they drew 3-3 with Levante on Tuesday.

The Catalan side had a two-goal lead in the first half through Lionel Messi and Pedri, but the hosts pulled themselves level when Gonzalo Melero and Jose Luis Morales struck before the hour mark.

Although Ousmane Dembele restored Barca's advantage, Sergio Leon sealed a draw for Levante with a goal in the 83rd minute. The result leaves Ronald Koeman's team a point behind leaders Atletico Madrid and one above Real Madrid - both of whom have a game in hand.

What has been said?

Although Barca still have two games left to play this season, Busquets believes the title may be out of reach because of their latest slip-up.

"The league is practically sentenced against us," he said to Movistar.

"There are few options left, it will depend on what our rivals do, but there are very few points left," he added.

"It was our fault. In recent games we have dropped a lot of points to be able to fight for La Liga.

"We leave with bad feelings because we had a difficult time. We wanted to put pressure on but it was not to be.

"We started the game well. We got an advantage, but it has been what has happened for a large part of the season, with some mistakes, they scored easy goals."

How is the title race shaping up?

Atletico can move further ahead of Barca on Wednesday when they host Real Sociedad in the Spanish capital.

Real will then have the chance to overtake Koeman's side when they visit Granada on Thursday.

Barca will then face Celta Vigo on Sunday in their penultimate game of the season while Atletico play Osasuna and Real take on Athletic Club.

The following week, Barcelona will end the campaign with a match against Eibar, Diego Simeone's team will travel to Real Valladolid and Real will meet Villarreal.

Further reading

Bernd Leno has indicated he wants to remain at Arsenal beyond the summer despite a 2020-21 campaign he admitted has not been easy.

The goalkeeper assured supporters that he's "still happy at Arsenal" after he had suggested last month that he was open to a move . Since then, the Gunners have been knocked out of the Europa League and are set to miss out on European qualification, though those disappointing results have apparently not convinced the German to push for an exit.

Instead, Leno said on Tuesday that Arsenal are "still a big club, a big name in the world" and that no one in the dressing room is frustrated enough to quit on manager Mikel Arteta's project.

What has been said?

"It's not good to feel sorry for ourselves, we need to move forward and change it to a positive as soon as possible," Leno told Sky Sports .

"I am still happy at Arsenal. Arsenal is still a big club, a big name in the world and in the Premier League.

"There is nobody in the dressing room who says 'I want to leave the club, I am not happy here anymore'.

"We still have a good environment at the club and in the dressing room. Of course, at times it was not easy this season, but this is part of football."

Leno's record

There has been some commentary from pundits about Arsenal's decision to choose Leno over Emiliano Martinez, who was sold to Aston Villa last summer only to put together perhaps the best goalkeeping season in the Premier League this year.

However, Leno's work between the posts has by no means been poor, as he's allowing the fewest goals per 90 minutes (1.13) he's ever surrendered in a season with the Gunners.

Further reading

Mostafa Mohamed netted a brace as Galatasaray recorded a 4-1 away win over 10 men Denizlispor.

The Zamalek loanee was introduced for Emre Akbaba in the 58th minute, and he justified his inclusion by finding the net twice for Fatih Terim’s men.

Unbeaten in their last seven matches in all competitions, the Yellow-Reds travelled to the Denizli Ataturk Stadium to take on the Roosters – who are chasing their first win in 12 games.

Unfortunately, that ambition suffered an early setback as Halil Dervisoglu put the visitors ahead in the 22nd minute. The forward who is on loan from Brentford headed a well-taken corner kick from Gedson Fernandes past goalkeeper Abdulkadir Sunger.

Ten minutes before the half-time break, Ryan Babel doubled their advantage from the penalty spot following Muhammet Ozkal’s challenge on him in the box.

Akbaba could have given Galatasaray a three-goal advantage but his kick from the penalty mark in the 42nd minute was saved by Sunger.

Already demoted to the second tier, Denizlispor put up an improved performance in the second half. That paid off in the 62nd minute as Recep Niyaz reduced the deficit.

Having being teed up by substitute Mathieu Dossevi, an unmarked Niyaz drilled the ball beyond goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.

Four minutes before the end of the encounter, Egypt international Mohamed restored his side’s two-goal advantage through a penalty kick. Before then, Colombian forward Hugo Rodallega was given the marching orders for a second caution.

Three minutes later, the 23-year-old was lucky for the second time after converting a pass from Nigeria international Henry Onyekuru.

Mohamed now boasts eight goals in 15 Turkish elite division games for the Turk Telekom Stadium giants.

Peter Etebo (Nigeria), Christian Luyindama (DR Congo), Valentine Ozornwafor (Nigeria) and Sofiane Feghouli (Algeria) were not dressed for action by manager Terim.

On the other hand, Togo's Dossevi was introduced for Ali Kol in the 62nd minute, whereas, Mali's Hadi Sacko was an unused substitute.

Thanks to their impressive away win, Galatasaray are now on level points with leaders Besiktas a game left in the 2020-21 campaign.

They must defeat Yeni Malatyaspor on May 15 while hoping that Besiktas falter versus Goztepe to be crowned as league champions for a record 23rd time.

Thomas Tuchel has challenged Callum Hudson-Odoi to live up to his potential at Chelsea and compared his situation to that of Tammy Abraham.

Having started five out of Tuchel's first six games predominantly as a wing-back, the 20-year-old has found himself on the bench for his side's last eight games.

Hudson-Odoi isn't likely to push for an exit this summer but it is clear that he has fallen below Christian Pulisic, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Hakim Ziyech in the pecking order. Ahead of a home league match with Arsenal, Tuchel explained his reasons for giving Hudson-Odoi the cold shoulder.

What was said?

“No matter if he’s in talks all around Europe or not, that is not of interest to me. Everything that counts is what he does here and how he lives up to his talent that he clearly he has," Chelsea boss Tuchel told reporters.

"We were very happy with Callum since we arrived here and in the last weeks there were a few tough decisions against him because we played many times against a back five.

"Against a back five, we relied a bit more on really learned defensive guys like Azpi [Cesar Azpilicueta] and Reece [James], who are a bit stronger in defence. On the inside position where he played against Man City, this is maybe his best position, we agree on that and the big change and the big impact he had now when we brought him on was that it was not only one action that he had, but it was two or three accelerations.

"Callum needs to understand how to use his potential, he needs to understand how to push himself to the absolute limit and not to be happy with 80, 85, 90, 95 per cent, simply be not happy about it any single day.

"This is the thing he needs to learn and live up to. Once he does this, he will make his way and leave his footprint. It's about his position. It's about assisting, it's about scoring, it is about that, we don't need to talk around it.

"It's about putting things to an end. Big talent, big responsibility. This is what he's trying, sometimes, sometimes better, sometimes OK, sometimes very, very good and when we have a chance we let him play.

"Please don't forget we only have three changes here in England which is a big advantage for the guys like Callum, like Tammy, like others we've spoken about in the last few weeks. We cannot give them 20 minutes here and there which could make a huge, huge difference for their feeling and development.

"But it's not like this, but if you have only three then you more or less only have two because the last one is a bit of a risk for injuries and finishing the game with 10 people."

What else did Tuchel say?

Tuchel then turned his focus to the transfer market and hinted he must be careful about new signings because he took over an already-harmonious group.

"A big part of my personality is on coaching and guiding my team and pushing it to the limit. No matter if we win or lose. Being part of a high-level club and well-structured club," he added.

“I have zero ambition to ruin this atmosphere not for myself or for anybody else. Do we have some ideas how to improve the squad? Yes, we do but will we fight about it? No we will not. We will discuss it and first of all we will finish this season because it is not time to reflect now.

"I embrace the simplicity. I hope I can continue to live like this on the job. Because it is pure fun, very exciting. Very pure the feeling I have right now even though it is a big challenge and the big games keep coming.

"We have some ideas but it is crazy times out there that will influence the transfer market and I don’t see any big problems."

How Chelsea are shaping up for Arsenal

Both Andreas Christensen and Mateo Kovacic are out for the upcoming clash against Mikel Arteta's side on Wednesday but all the Blues' other players are fit.

They will need to manage their minutes carefully, however, with a FA Cup final against Leicester City coming up on Saturday evening.

Further reading

Thomas Tuchel has admitted that he still exchanges messages with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who he previously coached during his time at Borussia Dortmund.

Aubameyang scored 141 goals in 213 games at Dortmund, where he was coached for two years by Tuchel after being brought to Germany by Jurgen Klopp.

Ahead of their first meeting in English football, Tuchel gave his opinion of the Gunners captain, who has faced increased criticism amid his side's struggle to qualify for any European competitions.

What Tuchel said?

"He does not get younger, that’s the problem," Tuchel said when asked whether he wanted to sign him for the west London club.

“Back in the days at Dortmund, it was a pure pleasure to have him in the squad. Auba was a fantastic striker, a fantastic finisher on the pitch. But more than that, he was a fantastic worker off the pitch. I think he did not miss one single training in two years.

"Maybe he arrived five minutes late on the training ground, that can happen with him! But if he does this, he is in a hurry, he excuses, he feels sorry, he has still a smile on his face.

"Yeah, it was a very reliable relationship because he delivered an unbelievable amount of goals, his speed was unique in Bundesliga and he was a crucial player. It was a pleasure to work with him, always a smile on his face, very, very honest guy.

"A bit of a crazy guy, but this is nice crazy. We still are in touch from time to time and exchange messages when some of us has a big win. In some way, he will still always be my player and feels like he will always be my player, so you want him to succeed and have a good time wherever they are.

"This contact never fully stopped and it’s nice to see him because he’s always on for a hug and it’s nice to see him laugh, but, of course, we want to stop him and there is no exchange now before the games. It’s not the first time we played against the guy we trained so nothing special there.”

Tuchel was then asked whether Aubameyang is unlucky not to have won more in his career and he responded: "Yeah because he is a winner, he is a winner. We won the cup together in Dortmund.

"I never had a feeling that he lacks a certain of the edge of mentality when you want to win stuff. But clearly, he cannot do it alone and he also needs a top squad to play in to compete for the highest level."

What stories did Tuchel have?

"When we wanted him to be on time, we told him the meeting was 10.45am when the meeting was 11am so there was a good chance he would be there with everyone else," he added.

"You could hear the car from far away. You could hear him from a kilometre away, we could prepare everything, start the video because he will arrive soon!

"I don't know and I still don't know how he managed to keep the driving licence in his pocket because from the sound of the car, I don't know if he was always on the speed limit.

"That's him. It's hard to be really mad with the guy because he comes with a big smile, he has a big heart and gives an excuse to everybody and you could accept to have one or two guys like this in the team.

"It's not the biggest problem. But don't forget that he was also a top, top professional who never missed any training session, never sneaked off the training pitch one minute early or the opposite because he was always dressed and ready for training."

Further reading

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted that Manchester United will need to strengthen this summer if they are to have any hope of closing the gap to Manchester City.

United's 2-1 loss to Leicester on Tuesday was enough for City to claim the title with three games left to play in the Premier League season.

City have amassed a 10-point lead over their local rivals and, having now clinched the title, have finished ahead of Man Utd every season since Sir Alex Ferguson left Old Trafford.

What was said?

"If you want to take up the challenge with them we need to strengthen our squad," Solskjaer told BT Sport.

"Congratulations to them. They have had a fantastic season. I am very pleased with my boys that have made it to the last 10 days with a Manchester City side ahead of us that are lauded as the best in Europe.

"We want to take the next step and it might be that we need a couple more to strengthen the squad."

A slow start

Manchester United's loss to Leicester was the club's third game in five days, with Solskjaer understandably having to rotate his squad.

The Red Devils emerged victorious from their two-legged tie with Roma despite a narrow loss on Thursday, booking their spot in the Europa League final, before taking down Aston Villa over the weekend back in the Premier League.

Due to the sudden rush of fixtures, Man Utd were not at their best on Tuesday, but Solskjaer was left impressed by what his squad did muster against a strong Leicester team.

“We started off slow as you might expect because they have not had any time to prepare for the game but after they scored we had nothing to lose. We played some very good stuff and I was pleased with it," he said.

“You see the leadership with Nemanja [Matic]. Mason [Greenwood] looked like a seasoned professional and he is only 19. We have not had too much time to prepare and we went into half-time pleased out didn’t get out of the traps and they got a goal from a corner that should have been a throw.

“It can’t be like this again. We can’t play like Thursday, Sunday, Tuesday to Thursday, it is impossible that’s the reason we made the changes. It’s unheard of. It is impossible for the players to perform at this level going from Thursday, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday."

Up next

The run of fixtures doesn't end just yet as Man Utd are back in action on Thursday against rivals Liverpool, who know they need a strong run of results to have any hope of securing a Champions League spot.

After that, they'll have games against Fulham and Wolves within a 10-day period before taking on Villarreal in the Europa League final on May 26, three days after their Premier League finale.

Further reading

Orlando Pirates dropped points in the PSL when they drew 0-0 with Stellenbosch FC at Danie Craven Stadium on Tuesday and the Soweto giants' hopes of the league title have evaporated.

The Buccaneers remained fourth on the league standings and they are now mathematically out of the race for the championship and they will now look to go all the way and clinch the Caf Confederation Cup. 

Their next game is against a formidable Raja Casablanca side in the Confederation Cup quarter-final first-leg at Orlando Stadium on Sunday, with the Moroccan giants having won all six of their group stage games.

Many took to social media to share their views on Pirates' draw against Stellenbosch and some are not convinced that Bucs are ready to face Raja, while others criticized coach Josef Zinnbauer.  

Here is how Twitter reacted to the clash between Stellenbosch and Pirates:

Manchester City’s English Premier League triumph has sent social media into meltdown.

The Etihad Stadium giants claimed the 2020-21 honours following Manchester United’s 2-1 defeat at home to Leicester City at Old Trafford.

City missed the chance to get over the line on their own terms in a home date with Chelsea - as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat against Thomas Tuchel’s Blues.

However, Leicester's win on Tuesday means Pep Guardiola’s men will feature in next season’s Champions League as English champions.

Below are some tweets on how fans celebrated the Citizens'success.