Our daily round-up of the latest news from clubs and players across the Premier League
Here is your daily briefing for the latest Premier League stories on Monday 27 April.
Simons injury worsens Spurs’ attacking void
Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt yet another major blow in their bid to avoid relegation with the news that Xavi Simons has ruptured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL).
The Dutch playmaker went down in the second half of Spurs’ crucial 1-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, their first Premier League victory of 2026. With surgery required, he will now miss the remainder of the season, and the World Cup.
Spurs’ win percentage has been broadly similar this season whether or not Simons starts (26.3 per cent) or does not start (20 per cent).
However, he had looked somewhere near his best under Spurs’ new head coach Roberto De Zerbi, finishing top of his team’s rankings for goals and assists (two), shots (four) and dribbles attempted (four) in the 2-2 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion, which was Simons’ last full match.
With Mohammed Kudus, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert and Dominic Solanke also on Spurs’ extended list of injured players, Simons’ absence adds to a major lack of creativity at De Zerbi’s disposal.
How Gibbs-White became Premier League’s form man
By the turn of the year, Morgan Gibbs-White had scored only three Premier League goals. However, since 1 January, no player in the top flight has scored more than his 10.
The real upturn has occurred since March, with Gibbs-White finding the net seven times in his past seven league outings.
He has flourished under Vitor Pereira, who succeeded Sean Dyche as Forest’s head coach in mid-February and appears to have unlocked Gibbs-White’s attacking capabilities.
Heat maps showing where Gibbs-White has been most active on the pitch in 2025/26
In a tactical shift midway through Forest’s 4-1 win against Burnley earlier this month, Gibbs-White shifted to the left of midfield. He promptly scored a hat-trick, and then added another goal to his tally in Friday’s 5-0 win at Sunderland.
“When the team is struggling in the game, a lot of players could prefer to hide themselves, they do not want the ball,” said Pereira. “But Morgan wants the ball, he wants the responsibility. He wants to score goals, he wants to assist.”
Chelsea FA Cup win ‘brings confidence back’
Chelsea interim manager Calum McFarlane admitted his side had to “break the momentum” in their FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United on Sunday, having failed to score in five consecutive Premier League defeats.
A 1-0 win courtesy of an Enzo Fernandez header did just that, not only securing a shot at silverware in the final against Manchester City, but hopefully changing the entire feeling of the squad, according to McFarlane.
“It was important to break the momentum and the form that we were in,” he said. “There were times in the run that we’ve had recently where you felt like things were going against you a bit.
“I think we hit the post three times against Man Utd [when Chelsea lost 1-0] and you just feel like, ‘is this going to change?’
“[Winning] changes the feeling of the group and brings confidence back. If we can put that sort of performance in, we will win more than we lose.”
Chelsea currently sit eighth in the Premier League table, with four games remaining as they look to secure a European spot.
Arsenal’s marathon midfield duo
All eyes were on the streets of London on Sunday, when Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe became the first man to run a marathon in under two hours in a competitive race.
But, just a day earlier, Arsenal’s midfield maestro pair continued their epic running shift in the north of the city as Mikel Arteta’s side beat Newcastle United 1-0 to regain their place at the top of the Premier League table.
Martin Zubimendi has started every league game this season, with Declan Rice missing just one. Between them, they have completed a combined 711.7 kilometres in the Premier League, which equates to 16.8 marathons.
In fact, Arsenal were represented in the London Marathon by former players Tony Adams and Aaron Ramsey. Premier League Hall of Fame inductee Adams completed the 26.2 miles in just over six hours (6:21.17), while Ramsey clocked an impressive 3:00.30, weeks after announcing his playing retirement.
Gary Neville: Premier League is Arsenal’s best silverware chance
Arsenal are still firmly in the hunt for a historic double, sitting top of the Premier League table with a three-point lead over Man City and preparing for Wednesday’s first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final at Atletico Madrid.
The Gunners are unbeaten in Europe this season but eight-time Premier League winner Gary Neville believes they stand a better chance of domestic glory than they do of triumphing in Europe.
“A lot of these [Arsenal] players don’t know how to win a Champions League, but they’ve been so close in the title race and they’ll be so desperate not to fall short in that,” he said on The Gary Neville Podcast.
“I do think that Mikel Arteta has to go for every single game and not prioritise any over the other. But he knows that the Premier League is the one that’s easier to win than the Champions League right now.
“I think there are better teams in there than them in the Champions League and it’s a cup competition. They’ve got three games left [in Europe] and they’ve only got four left in the league, so you could argue that it’s easy to win both [trophies].
“But I don’t see them getting past Atletico Madrid or [in the final] the other teams in the semi-finals, though I do see them having a chance with the league.”
Battle for Premier League promotion
Into the final week of the Championship season, the race is on to see who will join Coventry City in the Premier League next season.
Frank Lampard’s Coventry side followed up their recent title-sealing victory by beating playoff hopefuls Wrexham 3-1 on Sunday, but four teams remain in the hunt for the second automatic promotion spot.
Southampton host Ipswich Town on Tuesday night in a fixture that could have huge implications for two sides relegated from the top flight last season.
Victory for Ipswich would ensure second place (barring an inconceivable goal difference swing), while Southampton must win to keep their automatic promotion hopes alive.
Millwall and Middlesbrough will be watching intently, hoping they get a shot at promotion glory on the final day of Championship action this Saturday.
The three sides that do not gain automatic promotion are already guaranteed play-off places alongside one of Wrexham, Hull City and Derby County.