Author: Guardian sport

Højlund finally finds the net, top-four battle hots up while Willian proves class once again

He finally scored. Rasmus Højlund broke his 21-match goal drought – dating back to 12 December – with a composed strike to put Manchester United 1-0 up against Leicester at the King Power Stadium. Having received the ball from Bruno Fernandes around 40 yards out from goal, he carried it into the penalty area before unleashing a powerful low shot into the bottom-left corner. You could just sense the relief on the striker’s face as he walked back to the halfway line for the restart. It was also a positive evening for Alejandro Garnacho, who ended his 25-game stretch without a goal, dating back to 28 November. It should give both players a much-needed confidence boost heading into the final stretch of the season. “The most important thing for me is the work they are putting in, especially defending,” Ruben Amorim said. “They live for assists and scoring goals. Rasmus, really good control right foot and then Garnacho is always trying to score a goal and he deserved that feeling.” Emillia Hawkins

Match report: Leicester 0-3 Manchester United

Match report: Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea

Match report: Manchester City 2-2 Brighton

Match report: Everton 1-1 West Ham United

Match report: Ipswich Town 2-4 Nottingham Forest

Match report: Fulham 2-0 Tottenham

Match report: Bournemouth 1-2 Brentford

Match report: Southampton 1-2 Wolves

Newcastle face Liverpool in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, while in-form Brighton visit Manchester City on Saturday

Saturday 3pm Venue Goodison Park

Myles Lewis-Skelly could return to an old role, Wolves are still in danger and United’s strikers are running out of time

Premier League safety is all that matters to David Moyes and an eight-game unbeaten run – Everton’s best sequence since going nine matches without defeat under Ronald Koeman in 2016-17 – has almost accomplished a task that looked much more onerous when he returned in January. Publicly, the Everton manager maintains the job is not done and that no contract issues will be resolved until the club’s top-flight status is mathematically confirmed. Privately, and beneath the more relaxed demeanour that he has brought back with him to Goodison Park, there may also be a fierce ambition to finish above two clubs who deemed him surplus to requirements. Everton can go three points clear of one, West Ham, and leapfrog another, Manchester United, with victory over Graham Potter’s visitors on Saturday. With Liverpool, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Chelsea to come after an impending two-week break, Moyes could do with a more clinical display from Everton to step closer to his aims. Andy Hunter

Everton v West Ham, Saturday 3pm (all times GMT)

Ipswich v Nottingham Forest, Saturday 3pm

Manchester City v Brighton, Saturday 3pm

Southampton v Wolves, Saturday 3pm

Bournemouth v Brentford, Saturday 5.3pm

Arsenal v Chelsea, Sunday 1.30pm

Fulham v Tottenham, Sunday 1.30pm

Leicester v Manchester United, Sunday 7pm

Ruben Amorim parks the bus, Son Heung-min shows he still has some spark and Marc Cucurella fires up Chelsea

• Premier League top scorers: the latest standings

Some observers look at Ruben Amorim and Ange Postecoglou and see the same thing: stubbornness. But there is a big difference between them. With Tottenham, you have no idea what to expect. With Manchester United, you know exactly what to expect. A whole lot of nothing in the first half. Some flickers of fight in the second. Dismal results against middling Premier League teams. Decent ones against teams at the top and the bottom. This was Amorim’s first home game against a “big six” club, but it might as well have been away. He parked the bus. His nominal 3-4-2-1 was actually a 5-4-1. United started with no No 9 and just one real forward, Alejandro Garnacho. It’s three months since any of their strikers scored in the league. Their only goal threat, Bruno Fernandes, has been shunted back to central midfield. Where once they had wingers, now they have full-backs. Even when the bus moves, the handbrake stays on. Tim de Lisle

Match report: Manchester United 1-1 Arsenal

Match report: Tottenham 2-2 Bournemouth

Match report: Liverpool 3-1 Southampton

Match report: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Manchester City

Match report: Chelsea 1-0 Leicester

Match report: Brentford 0-1 Aston Villa

Manchester City visit top-four rivals Nottingham Forest on Saturday while Manchester United host Arsenal on Sunday

Saturday 12.30pm TNT Sports 1 Venue City Ground

Cunha’s ban could reignite relegation battle, Nketiah is full of confidence and Manchester United have lost fear factor

A clear contrast in styles will be visible in a game that could have major ramifications for the Champions League qualification hopes of both Nottingham Forest and Manchester City. No team in the Premier League has averaged less possession than Forest’s 40.1% this season and no team has more of the ball on average than Manchester City (60.4%). So the fact a 59-point chasm between the teams from last season has been completely eroded – Nuno Espírito Santo’s men are actually a point better off than the champions after 27 games – suggests possession is not the footballing essential it once was. City were routine winners at home to Forest in December but beating Nuno’s side at the City Ground is a far sterner challenge. Arsenal and Liverpool are among the sides who have failed to do so in recent months. Dominic Booth

Nottingham Forest v Manchester City, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT)

Brighton v Fulham, Saturday 3pm

Crystal Palace v Ipswich Town, Saturday 3pm

Liverpool v Southampton, Saturday 3pm