Premier League relegation battle LIVE: Results and reaction as Everton survive
Leeds and Leicester were both relegated on the final day of the season
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Your support makes all the difference.Everton secured Premier League survival over Leicester and Leeds on a nervous and tense final day. Needing to defeat Bournemouth to claim their place in the top-flight next season things looked bad for the Toffees as the visitors took the early initiative at Goodison Park.
At the King Power Stadium, Harvey Barnes gave Leicester the lead over West Ham with Leeds falling behind to Tottenham up at Elland Road. That was how things stood at half-time with the Foxes out of the relegation zone and Everton in trouble.
The second half began and Leeds fell further behind Spurs effectively putting them out of the battle. Leicester extended their lead over the Hammers to gain control of their and Everton continued to struggle.
Then, Abdoulaye Doucoure received the ball on the edge of the box and smoked home a wonderful strike to put Everton in front. Sean Dyche’s men lasted through 10 minutes of stoppage to collect their three points and clinch their place in the top-flight.
Relive the action from the Premier League final day below:
Leeds vs Tottenham
Leeds have lost eight of their last 10 Premier League games against Tottenham, drawing one and winning one.
Spurs have won four of the last five top-flight clashes versus Leeds, with their only defeat coming under Ryan Mason at Elland Road in May 2021.
Mason takes charge of Tottenham at Elland Road again today. Is that a good sign for Leeds?
Everton vs Bournemouth
Bournemouth have won four consecutive matches against Everton in all competitions, scoring at least three goals each time.
The Toffees are hosting Bournemouth for the first time since the final Premier League day of the 2019/20 season, when it was the Cherries who were trying to avoid relegation - they won but still went down.
Will Bournemouth be the ones to relegate Everton this time around?
Aston Villa’s final step in European bid will be hardest – Unai Emery
Boss Unai Emery admits Aston Villa’s final step to return to Europe will be their hardest.
Villa host Brighton on Sunday knowing victory would seal a European comeback for the first time since 2010-11.
It would book seventh in the Premier League and a Europa Conference League play-off spot but Emery knows it is a tough test.
Aston Villa’s final step in European bid will be hardest – Unai Emery
Victory will seal seventh place in the Premier League for Villa.
Relegation battle talking points
Pep Guardiola’s balancing act
What kind of City side awaits Brentford remains to be seen. With the Premier League title already won, City’s hopes of a trophy treble rest with the FA Cup final against Manchester United on June 3 then the Champions League final versus Inter Milan seven days later.
It will be about finding a balance between resting players and avoiding rustiness ahead of those games, so rotation can be expected for Sunday’s trip.
Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland could be among those rested, but if Haaland plays, it will be a last chance to extend his remarkable Premier League goalscoring record of 36 this term.
Relegation battle talking points
Battle for Europe
Tottenham have their own targets to worry about during their trip to West Yorkshire. After spending much of the season battling for a Champions League spot, they could miss out on Europe altogether as they fight Aston Villa and Brentford for seventh and a place in the Europa Conference League.
Villa are in pole position and know a win at home to Europa League-bound Brighton will be enough to secure European qualification for the first time since 2010. Anything less would open the door for Spurs, who last did not feature in continental competition in the 2009-10 campaign.
Should both slip up, then Brentford can secure European football for the first time in their history if they manage to win at home to champions Manchester City.
Relegation battle talking points
Leeds need a minor miracle
Sam Allardyce faced mission improbable when he was parachuted in as Leeds manager with just four games of the season left after Javi Gracia was sacked.
And so it has proved, with Allardyce overseeing one draw and two defeats so far.
Nothing less than a win will do for Leeds against Tottenham at Elland Road and even then they need the results from both the Everton and Leicester matches to go their way.
Relegation battle talking points
Foxes’ future looks bleak
Seven years after the charismatic Claudio Ranieri masterminded Leicester’s stunning Premier League title triumph, the Foxes look Championship-bound.
They host West Ham knowing that victory over the Hammers might not be enough to keep them in the top division.
Dean Smith’s team must win and hope Everton do not collect maximum points against Bournemouth, otherwise their fate will be sealed. It is all a far cry from May 7, 2016, when Ranieri and captain Wes Morgan held aloft the Premier League trophy.
Relegation battle talking points
Everton in the box-seat
Everton are one of three clubs in danger, with two making the drop alongside already-relegated Southampton this weekend.
But the Toffees at least have control of their own destiny heading into a Goodison Park clash against Bournemouth, knowing that a 70th-successive season in the top-flight awaits if they match the results of Leicester and Leeds.
It promises to be a nervous afternoon, though, with Everton’s cause not helped by injury absentees Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Nathan Patterson and Ben Godfrey.
Sam Allardyce says future at Leeds will be determined after relegation decider
Sam Allardyce has confirmed he will discuss whether he will continue as Leeds boss with the club’s hierarchy after Sunday’s final Premier League game of the season.
Allardyce gave his biggest hint yet that he would be interested in remaining in the role, even if Leeds are relegated on the final day, after their last match against Tottenham at Elland Road.
The former England manager said: “That’s to be decided at the end. It’s always been a case of we will discuss whatever we need to discuss at the end of the season based on where we are.”
Sam Allardyce says future at Leeds will be determined after relegation decider
Allardyce was parachuted in for the final four games of the season in a bid to stave off the drop.
Leeds vs Tottenham team news and predicted line-ups
Leeds will give Patrick Bamford as long as he needs to prove his fitness before the start of the match and Rodrigo is back in training so should feature for the Whites. Manager Sam Allardyce says he will risk starting players who aren’t fully fit but have the desire to play and hopefully win the game.
Eric Dier has undergone groin surgery this week and will be unavailable for Tottenham. Cristiano Romero has picked up a knock so won’t play but Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg could feature.
Predicted line-ups
Leeds XI: Meslier; Ayling, Koch, Cooper, Firpo; McKennie, Roca; Harrison, Rodrigo, Sinisterra; Bamford
Tottenham XI: Forster; Emerson, Sanchez, Lenglet; Porro, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Davies; Richarlison, Kane, Son
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