Today’s PREMIER ESSENTIAL
Today’s games – 3.0pm
Arsenal v Everton
HIGHLIGHTS: BBC1, 10.30pm
EVERTON boss Ronald Koeman has no doubt that Arsenal would consider Europa League football next season a failure — but he can’t wait to get stuck into it. Everton will be starting out in the competition at the end of July, just three weeks into their pre-season, but Koeman (right) insists: ‘It’s a nice challenge. We take it really seriously because we like to play in Europe.’ Arsenal, unbeaten in their last 20 Premier League home games against Everton, have won each of their last nine home matches staged on the final day.
Burnley v West Ham
HIGHLIGHTS: BBC1, 10.30pm
SLAVEN BILIC has promised injury-prone striker Andy Carroll he won’t be jettisoned despite going into this game without his star striker. Carroll (right) has managed only 22 games in all competitions this season, but Bilic said: ‘I’m not going to give up. The impact, whether he started or comes from the bench, is big. It’s massive. When he played we won six out of nine.’ Of Burnley’s 40 points this season, 33 have come at Turf Moor, though the Clarets have lost their last three league matches against West Ham.
Chelsea v Sunderland
HIGHLIGHTS: BBC1, 10.30pm
ANTONIO CONTE’S men will receive the Premier League trophy today and David Moyes is hoping the victory parade will inspire the youngsters he will field in the face of a late-season injury crisis. Moyes (right) said: ‘Maybe seeing what it’s like to be winners, maybe seeing what it’s like to be champions can influence some of the players.’ Sunderland have only ever won one of their 14 final-day matches, as Chelsea go in search of a Premier League record 30th win in a single season.
Hull v Tottenham
HIGHLIGHTS: BBC1, 10.30pm
HARRY KANE is a game away from the Golden Boot but Mauricio Pochettino also believes fellow striker Son Heung-min deserves credit for his goal haul. The South Korea forward (right) has scored 21 goals this season and Pochettino said: ‘He was key for us during the season. When we didn’t have Harry, he was our main striker and he scored a lot of goals and gave us a lot of points.’ This will be the fifth season that Hull end the season at home in the Premier League — they’ve never scored in their four previous final-day contests.
Leicester v Bournemouth
HIGHLIGHTS: BBC1, 10.30pm
BOURNEMOUTH captain Simon Francis (right) believes his manager Eddie Howe can transform the Cherries into European contenders next season. Victory at Leicester today would secure a top-10 finish, and Francis is aiming higher still. ‘I don’t think European football is out of our reach,’ he said. ‘As long as we keep improving under the manager, it’s not too far off.’ If Josh King scores twice for Bournemouth, he will be the joint-highest scoring Norwegian in a Premier League season, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s 18 for Man Utd in 1996-97.