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TOP FOUR FINISH POSSIBLE FOR WESTHAM – DAVID MOYES

West Ham boss David Moyes has said finishing in the top four of the Premier League “is a possibility” for his side this season.

The Hammers, who are currently sixth, have not finished in the top four since 1985-86.

“A top-10 position would be excellent for West Ham considering where we were – but we’re much higher up now, so I’m looking up,” Moyes told Football Focus.

“I don’t see why we can’t be around those [top four] positions.”

West Ham, who are set to face Leeds at London Stadium on Monday, have won 13 league games this season – three more than they managed in the 2019-20 campaign.

“We wanted to get away from the West Ham where you weren’t sure which West Ham was going to turn up – were you going to get a disappointing result against a team you shouldn’t, or win when you probably weren’t expecting to?” said Moyes.

He added: “The players have changed my mentality because now I’m looking up to see how high I can get – I have to praise the players for that.”

The former Everton and Manchester United boss recognises results are in stark contrast to this time last season, but thinks there is more to come from his side.

“I hope with West Ham we can build a really exciting young team – that would be my big hope for us now. This time last year we were talking about do you think you can avoid relegation, can you stay out of the bottom three?

“People are asking different questions now – do you think you can finish top four or qualify for Europe? It shows you how far we’ve come,” said Moyes.

The Scottish manager, who returned to West Ham in 2019 after being let go in 2018 after less than a year in charge, says that things feel different this time around.

“I’m glad to be back. The first time round I really enjoyed myself and I was disappointed when I wasn’t asked to stay on because I thought we’d done a good enough job to remain in the position.

“I admired the owners for coming back for me and realising the job we had done in the first place was a good one,” he said.

Moyes guided West Ham to a 13th-place finish in the 2017-18 season, despite the club being in the relegation zone when he joined in November.

“We’re in a sad world of football management at the moment where changing managers very quickly does happen.

“Managers continually have to prove themselves all of the time. Whatever you’ve got in the bag – experience, cups, medals – I don’t know if that counts for an awful lot,” Moyes added.

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LIVERPOOL, RB LEIPZIG SET FOR BUDAPEST RETURN FOR SECOND LEG UCL TIE.

Liverpool are returning to Budapest for the return leg of their Champions League last-16 clash with RB Leipzig.

Coronavirus restrictions in Germany meant last month’s first leg was switched to the Puskas Arena in Hungary’s capital, where Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane goals sealed a 2-0 win for Jurgen Klopp’s men.

The return tie will also be played on neutral territory, with UEFA confirming Budapest will again host the sides as next Wednesday’s match is moved away from Anfield.

“Liverpool can confirm the Champions League last-16, second-leg tie with RB Leipzig will be played in Budapest,” the Premier League club said in a statement.

“Puskas Arena in the Hungarian capital will host the fixture, the same venue the teams contested the first meeting at on February 16.

“Covid-19 regulations in Germany have prevented Leipzig from travelling to the United Kingdom to play the match at Anfield as planned.”

Chelsea’s first leg against Atletico Madrid was moved from Spain to Bucharest last month, while Borussia Monchengladbach’s home tie against Manchester City was played in Budapest rather than Germany.

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MASON MOUNT CONDEMNS LIVERPOOL TO FIFTH STRAIGHT HOME DEFEAT

Liverpool’s woeful home form is now a full-blown crisis as Chelsea’s 1-0 victory inflicted a fifth successive league defeat – the worst run in the club’s history.

It shows how far the defending champions have fallen that this was billed as a battle for a Champions League place but in reality there was only one side in the hunt and all it took was Mason Mount’s 42nd-minute goal to lift them back into the reckoning.

Chelsea’s last win at Anfield in 2014 effectively did for the title hopes of Brendan Rodgers’ side. This one was a blow to Liverpool’s chances of a top-four finish.

Jurgen Klopp’s side, now four points adrift of that with Everton and West Ham ahead of them, have now gone more than 10 hours without a goal at Anfield, a testament to the old adage of ‘if you don’t shoot, you don’t score’.

The hosts failed to register a shot on target until the 85th minute and Georginio Wijnaldum’s weak header was never going to test Edouard Mendy.

They have taken one point from the last 21 on offer at home since Christmas and scored just two goals, one of which was a penalty.

None of their established front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane or Roberto Firmino managed the feat but the sight of Salah, the Premier League’s leading scorer, being substituted just past the hour looked baffling.

The Egypt international thought so as he sat shaking his head having been replaced by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Chelsea, by contrast, looked full of threat with Timo Werner – a player Liverpool were interested in but decided they could not afford last summer – a constant problem for the hosts.

Despite one goal in his previous 17 Premier League outings he caused problems with his movement, drifting out to the left, then popping in the middle to give Fabinho a real headache on his return to the side.

The Brazil midfielder, replacing Nat Phillips after he became the latest centre-back to pick up an injury, was partnering Ozan Kabak in Liverpool’s 15th different central defensive starting partnership in 27 league matches.

Faced with a statistic like that is is perhaps understandable why there was a lack of cohesion at the back and Werner should really have profited.

He fired one early shot over and then failed to lift his effort over Alisson Becker, back in goal after the death of his father in Brazil last week.

Even when the Chelsea forward did beat Alisson, who had another rush of blood in charging out to meet Werner only for the ball to be tipped over his wild swing of the leg allowing the Germany international to slot home, VAR ruled the attacker’s arm had been offside 20 yards earlier in the build-up.

Liverpool’s one chance fell to Sadio Mane but Salah’s first-time ball over the top got caught under his feet and missed his shot with only Mendy to beat.

Chelsea were still controlling the game and caught their opponents on the counter-attack when N’Golo Kante quickly swung a loose ball out to the left wing from where Mount cut inside to beat Alisson having been given far too much time to pick his spot.

All five of Mount’s league goals have come away from home.

Tuchel spent the first five minutes of the second half screaming at his players to press harder and play higher up the pitch but Liverpool’s players were equally vocal when Firmino’s cross hit the raised arm of Kante from close range but there was to be no penalty award.

Andy Robertson cleared off the line from Hakim Ziyech after Alisson parried Ben Chilwell’s shot as Chelsea continued to look more dangerous.

Klopp’s attempt to change the direction of travel saw him send on Diogo Jota for his first appearance in three months and Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Jota’s first touch was a half-chance from a deep cross but he was, understandably, not sharp enough to take it.

Werner, meanwhile, was doing everything but score as Alisson’s leg saved another shot as he bore down on goal.

Chelsea’s organisation, drilled into them by Thomas Tuchel in the short time he has been at the club, served them well as Liverpool ran down blind alleys, aimed hopeful crosses into the box but generally ran out of ideas.

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CRYSTAL PALACE AND MANCHESTER UNITED BATTLE TO GOALESS DRAW

Manchester United extended their club-record unbeaten away run to 21 Premier League matches as they earned a 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace.

Man Utd controlled the early proceedings, and a deflected strike from 25 yards out by Nemanja Matic was superbly tipped around the post by Vicente Guaita.

The visitors passed up two further chances in the first half, as Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood both fired wide.

Palace responded after the break with Andros Townsend’s volley off target, while Greenwood shot just over from distance.

The home side could have won it in the 90th minute, but Patrick van Aanholt’s close-range effort was saved by Dean Henderson, starting in the absence of David De Gea.

Palace stay 13th on 34 points, while Man Utd are second on 51 points, 14 behind leaders Manchester City.

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MC GOLDRICK ON TARGET AS SHEFFIELD UTD EDGE ASTON VILLA 1-0

David McGoldrick’s first-half goal was enough for 10-man Sheffield United to earn a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa at Bramall Lane.

Villa had the better of the early play, with John McGinn and Ollie Watkins both going close before Sheff Utd took the lead.

On 30 minutes, George Baldock fired in a shot that was heading off target, before McGoldrick stretched to divert it in off the underside of the crossbar.

The visitors pressed for an equaliser that almost came on 54 minutes, but Watkins’ header hit the join of the crossbar and post.

A minute later, Phil Jagielka was initially shown a yellow card for bringing down Anwar El Ghazi, which was upgraded to a red after consultation with the Video Assistant Referee.

But Sheff Utd held on for their fourth win of the campaign that leaves them bottom on 14 points, 12 adrift of safety.

Villa drop down to ninth on 39 points.

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EPL: IHEANACHO VOLLEY EARNS LEICESTER A POINT AT BURNLEY

A stunning volley from Kelechi Iheanacho earned Leicester City a 1-1 draw with Burnley at Turf Moor.

Matej Vydra had given Burnley a fourth-minute lead when he pounced on a mistake by Hamza Choudhury to score his first Premier League goal since February 2020.

But Leicester were back on level terms in the 34th minute through Iheanacho’s sublime first-time volley from Wilfred Ndidi’s pass over the top.

Sean Dyche’s men almost restored their advantage shortly after half-time, but Chris Wood’s header was brilliantly saved by Kasper Schmeichel.

Burnley continued to press for a winner and a sweet half-volley by Ashley Westwood came back off the post.

The result keeps Burnley in 15th on 29 points, six above the relegation zone, while Leicester remain third on 50 points.

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DUBLIN TO LOSE EURO 2020 HOSTING RIGHTS FOR POSTPONED GAMES

Dublin is one of three cities set to lose its European Championship hosting rights.

Ireland’s capital was one of 12 cities selected by Uefa as part of a first-ever pan-European hosting of the tournament, which was deferred by 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As the Irish Examiner reports, the 51,000-capacity national stadium is scheduled to stage three groups matches and a last-16 tie from June 14 but the cautious approach taken by the State around easing lockdown restrictions has raised doubts about that plan.

FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill admitted last week Dublin would only be retained by Uefa if health authorities permitted spectators back into stadia.

Mr Hill confirmed on delegates on Tuesday that he’d held a meeting with the government’s deputy chief medical officer Ronan Glynn earlier that day on the subject of Euro 2020, without divulging details.

It is understood that both Glasgow and Bilbao have also come under scrutiny due to a lack of guarantees around the return of spectators.

Ireland won’t be involved in the tournament taking place in 100 days’ times after losing a play-off semi-final last October.

Their conquerors, Slovakia, along with Poland and Sweden, are due to have fans arrive into Dublin for the matches during June.

Uefa will make a final decision on whether to change format in early April.

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FORMER BARCA PRESIDENT JOSEP BARTOMEU ARRESTED IN CLUB RAID

Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu was arrested on Monday as part of a police investigation into last year’s ‘Barcagate’ scandal, a source with knowledge of the case told AFP.

Bartomeu, who resigned as president in October, was among four arrests made just six days ahead of the club’s new presidential elections on Sunday.

Barcelona’s current chief executive Oscar Grau, head of legal services Roma Gomez Ponti and Bartomeu’s advisor Jaume Masferrer were also arrested by Catalan police, who searched the club’s offices on Monday morning.

Grau and Gomez Ponti were released late on Monday but Bartomeu and Masferrer would spend the night at a cell at a Barcelona police station before appearing before a judge on Tuesday, Spanish media reported.

Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, said in a statement the arrests were made as part of “an investigation into alleged crimes related to property and the socio-economic order” that has “been going on for almost a year”.

Barcelona released a statement confirming the operation is linked to last year’s ‘Barcagate’ controversy, when the club was accused of covering up payments made to a company called I3 Ventures, hired to boost the image of then-president Bartomeu on social media.

Part of the social media campaign included criticising current and former players, like Lionel Messi, Pep Guardiola and Xavi Hernandez. Messi described the controversy as “strange” in an interview with Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo.

“FC Barcelona have offered up their full collaboration to the legal and police authorities to help make clear facts which are subject to investigation,” the club said in its statement.

“The information and documentation requested by the judicial police force relate strictly to the facts relative to this case.”

Spanish radio station Cadena Ser claimed Barca paid I3 Ventures an inflated fee and put payments through in smaller, separate amounts to avoid the club’s financial controls.

Emili Rousaud, who resigned as Barcelona vice-president in March last year, said in an interview with RAC1 at the time: “If the auditors tell us the cost of these services is 100,000 euros and we have paid one million, it means someone has had their hand in the till.” The club took legal action against him.

Rousaud was among six Barca executives to leave their posts, with a joint letter citing the scandal as a key issue needing to be resolved.

Bartomeu maintained the company had been hired only to monitor posts on social media and announced an internal audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which cleared the club of financial corruption in July.

“Let one thing be clear,” Bartomeu said. “To the question: Have we commissioned the monitoring of social networks? The answer is yes.

“To the question: Have we commissioned to discredit people or institutions through social networks? The answer is no and we will take action against all those who accuse us of that.”

Yet Bartomeu resigned in October, avoiding a vote of no confidence triggered after more than 20,000 club members signed a petition against him.

His departure came in the same month Barcelona announced losses of 97 million euros ($114 million) for last season and debts that had more than doubled to 488 million euros.

As well as a series of political blunders, Bartomeu had also overseen a dramatic decline in performances on the pitch and a personal falling-out with Messi, who tried to leave for free last summer.

Messi accused the club of “always juggling everything and plugging gaps” under Bartomeu’s leadership.

Bartomeu’s successor is due to be elected on Sunday, when club members will choose between the final three candidates, Joan Laporta, Toni Freixa and Victor Font.

“In light of events that took place today, we express our respect for the police and the judiciary, and we defend the presumption of innocence. And we deeply regret that these events diminish the reputation of the club,” said Laporta.

“Too many people want to hurt Barca,” wrote Freixa on Twitter. “We will not allow it.”

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RICHARLISON STRIKE SEALS EVERTON VICTORY OVER SOUTHAMPTON TO GO LEVEL WITH LIVERPOOL

Richarlison scored for the third straight match as Everton beat Southampton 1-0 to earn their first home win of 2021 and move level with Liverpool in the top-four fight.

The Brazilian, who scored against Manchester City and Liverpool in his previous two matches, gathered a through-ball from Gylfi Sigurdsson and rounded Saints’ recalled goalkeeper Fraser Forster to slot home in the ninth minute.

Michael Keane thought he had doubled Everton’s lead, but his header was overturned for offside against Mason Holgate after a Video Assistant Referee review.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin went close after the break, but the Toffees then allowed Southampton back into the match.

Mohammed Salisu headed over and Moussa Djenepo fired wide from a good position inside the box, before Jannik Vestergaard forced Jordan Pickford into a match-winning save in the 90th minute.

Everton remain seventh but move on to 43 points, only behind Liverpool on goal difference, and with a match in hand on everyone above them.

Southampton are now winless in nine Premier League matches and stay 14th on 30 points, seven above the relegation zone.

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FORMER NEWCASTLE AND WESTHAM BOSS GLENN ROEDER DIES AT 65.

Former West Ham manager Glenn Roeder has died aged 65 after a long battle with a brain tumour.

Roeder played for QPR and Newcastle, worked as a coach under Glenn Hoddle with England and managed the Hammers, the Magpies, Gillingham, Watford and Norwich.

While in charge at West Ham in April 2003 Roeder, who had led the club to a seventh-placed finish the season before, was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

He had to undergo surgery and a period of recovery before returning to the dugout in July the same year.

His last role in the game was as a managerial advisor at Stevenage in 2016.

League Managers Association chairman Howard Wilkinson said: “A cultured defender as a player, he managed with a studious style and was always generous with his time and ideas.

“Glenn was such an unassuming, kind gentleman who demonstrated lifelong dedication to the game. Not one to court headlines, his commitment and application to his work at all levels warrants special mention.

“Football has lost a great servant today and our sincere condolences go to Glenn’s family and friends.”

As a player Roeder captained QPR in the 1982 FA Cup final against Tottenham, which they lost following a replay, and to the Second Division title in 1983.

At Newcastle he made 219 senior appearances in five years and also led them to promotion from the Second Division in 1984.

LMA chief executive Richard Bevan said: “Glenn achieved so much throughout his lifelong career in the game.

“After retiring as a player, he became one of the country’s most respected coaches, working across all levels of the professional game, in senior and academy football, and acting as a trusted advisor to many coaches and players.

“At every club, he chose to develop new talent and to give opportunities to the younger players in his charge. He will be sorely missed by all of the LMA’s members and his colleagues from across the game.

“Our heartfelt thoughts are with Glenn’s wife Faith, his daughter Holly, his sons Will and Joe and all of Glenn’s family and friends at this difficult time.”