The final Premier League weekend before the March international break continues on Merseyside as Everton host Chelsea, with both teams in contention for European spots for next season.Chelsea claimed the spoils when these sides met at Stamford Bridge back in December, winning 2-0 courtesy of goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto, and are looking to complete a first league double over Everton since 2016/17. Everton though have a strong recent record at home against Chelsea, losing just one of their last eight home league meetings with Chelsea.

Everton came close to taking a point from their trip to league leaders Arsenal last weekend but two late goals for Mikel Arteta’s men meant David Moyes’ side went back to Merseyside with nothing.

“We did not take away what we wanted which was points,” Moyes said. “The players played really well. Scoring goals is the thing, but Arsenal make it really difficult. Overall disappointed, but pleased with how we played.”

They come into this game in eighth, with the chance to move up a spot and within two points of their opponents with a win this evening.

“They [Chelsea] are a little bit wounded, so we have to be ready for them coming to our place,” Moyes added. “Undoubtedly a talented group of players.”

James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite missed the defeat at Arsenal but are set to return this afternoon. Jack Grealish remains out for the hosts.

Chelsea have lost their last three games in all competitions, including having their Champions League campaign brought to an end in midweek, losing 3-0 at home to PSG to be condemned to an 8-2 aggregate loss to the Parisians.

“When you lose games, there is always damage attached to it,” Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior said. “There is also me, I am learning about the team, myself, my staff and the club. I learnt a lot this week. There is a resilience and determination to put things right from the team and me. We will see in the coming weeks what happens, which I am very confident about. Different challenges, every manager goes through moments like this, difficult weeks. I have had challenging periods before. At Strasbourg, we lost games. But I have always found ways to come through that. We are at that point again. As a group, we need to find a way to fight and come through a difficult period.”

Chelsea have the chance to move into fourth with a win this evening. Rosenior has confirmed that Trevoh Chalobah could be out for six weeks with an ankle injury picked up in the defeat to PSG whilst captain Reece James will also miss the trip to Everton due to an hamstring injury. Goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen will also miss this game.

Team news to follow shortly.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Saturday blocked an amendment that would ban transgender athletes from playing in women’s sports, rejecting one of President Donald Trump’s priorities as he pressures Congress to act on a broad voting bill.

Senators were holding a rare weekend session to debate the voting legislation, which would put in place strict new requirements for voter registration and require photo IDs at the polls in an effort to prevent people in the country illegally from casting ballots.

The House passed the bill earlier this year, but the Republican president has since said he wants additional priorities added to the legislation, including the sports ban for transgender athletes and a ban on all mail-in voting.

Democrats are expected to eventually block the broader legislation, arguing that it would make voting more difficult for large groups of people. Despite Trump’s pressure, Republican senators have said repeatedly that they do not have enough support to jettison the legislative filibuster, which triggers a 60-vote threshold in the 100-member Senate, or find another workaround to pass the bill. Republicans hold 53 seats.

Still, Republicans put the legislation — the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, also known as the SAVE America Act or the SAVE Act — on the Senate floor this week for a lengthy debate as Trump has said he will not sign other bills until they pass the voting measure. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D, said Saturday morning that Republicans “haven’t made any final decisions about how to conclude this.”

“What we are trying to do is ensure that we are having a fulsome debate,” Thune said, and put everyone on the record “one way or the other.”

Senate rejects Trump priorities

The amendment that was blocked by a 49-41 vote would penalize educational institutions that receive federal funding if they permitted individuals assigned male at birth to participate “in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls.”

Trump also wants Congress to block sex reassignment surgeries on some minors as part of the debate on the voting bill. It is unclear whether the Senate will hold a vote on that.

In addition, Trump has said he wants the House-passed bill to include a ban on most mail-in balloting. Trump has criticized mail in ballots for years and used it as a centerpiece of his efforts to overturn his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. A ban on mail ballots would likely face strong pushback from lawmakers.

Republicans focus on voter ID

Thune said the Senate will soon vote on an amendment that would force all states to require photo identification at the polls. Democrats blocked a similar bill on the floor last week, but Republicans say they want to put them on the record on that issue with a roll call vote.

“There are no good excuses” not to require photo identification, said Republican Sen. John Husted, a former Secretary of State in Ohio. “This works. It’s being implemented all over the country.”

Illegal voting by noncitizens is rare. Still, a poll by the Pew Research Center in August 2025 found that about 8 in 10 US adults said they favor requiring all voters to show government-issued photo identification to vote.

Thirty-six states require some form of identification at the polls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, and 23 states require photo identification. The SAVE America Act would require photo identification and could override many forms of ID allowed in states across the country — including fishing and hunting licenses or college IDs. It would also require that people voting by mail include a photocopy of their ID with their ballot.

Democrats say they support some voter ID laws, but argue that the proposed ID requirements in the bill, along with strict new requirements for voter registration, would prevent many people from voting. The bill would also allow the Homeland Security Department to review state voter rolls, which Democrats say could lead to voters being purged.

The new rules would be “a bureaucratic nightmare,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

“They want to end vote by mail, end registering online, end registering on college campuses and in churches, and even end registering at the DMV, where of course you have to show ID,” Schumer said.

Timing ahead is unclear

Trump, backed by an enthusiastic online campaign of his supporters, has made the voting legislation his top congressional priority. He has said it is necessary for Republicans to win the midterm elections – even after Republicans won the White House and Congress without it in 2024.

“THERE IS NOTHING THAT IS MORE IMPORTANT FOR THE U.S.A.,” Trump posted on social media on Friday.

He has pressured Thune to scrap the filibuster, but Thune has stood firm in saying that there isn’t enough Republican support to do that. He is expected to eventually end the floor debate and call for a vote to move forward on the legislation, and Democrats would then block the bill.

But it’s not clear when that will happen — or if Trump will be satisfied enough with days or weeks of debate to lift his promised blockade on other legislation.

Thune would only say on Saturday that “at some point that’s a that’s a possibility” that Republicans will start the process of ending the debate. The Senate is scheduled to leave town at the end of next week for a two-week spring recess.

Republican senators have largely backed Thune’s efforts. But they say the end point is uncertain, for now.

“I don’t know,” when it will end, Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said. “I don’t think anybody does.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Saturday he will order federal immigration officers to take a role in airport security starting Monday unless Democrats agree on a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security.

In a pair of social media posts, Trump first threatened and then said he had made plans to put officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in airports if the congressional standoff continues. He made the announcement as a partial shutdown contributes to long lines to pass through screening at some of the nation’s largest airports.

The Republican president suggested ICE agents would bring the administration’s immigration crackdown into the nation’s airports, promising to arrest “all Illegal Immigrants.”

“I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, “GET READY.” NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!” Trump wrote while spending the weekend in Florida.

The move appears to be a pointed effort to expand the type of immigration enforcement that has become a sticking point in Congress. Democrats pledged to oppose funding for DHS unless changes were made in the wake of a crackdown in Minnesota that led to the fatal shootings of two protesters. Democrats are asking for better identification for federal law enforcement officers, a new code of conduct for those agencies and more use of judicial warrants, among other measures.

The Minnesota operation was tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents. On Saturday, Trump said ICE officers sent to airports would focus on arresting immigrants from Somalia who are in the United States illegally. Repeating his criticism on Somalis, he said they “totally destroyed” Minnesota.

“If the Democrats do not allow for Just and Proper Security at our Airports, and elsewhere throughout our Country, ICE will do the job far better than ever done before,” Trump said.

Trump’s posts did not offer additional detail on how ICE would take a role in airport security and what it meant for the Transportation Security Administration, which screens passengers and luggage for hazardous items.

The vast majority of TSA employees are considered essential and continue to work during the funding lapse, but they are doing so without pay. Call-out rates have started to increase at some airports, and DHS said at least 376 have quit since the partial shutdown began Feb. 14.

On Saturday, in a rare weekend session, the Senate rejected a motion by Democrats to take up legislation to reopen TSA and pay workers who are now going without paychecks. Republicans argue that they need to fund all parts of the DHS, not just certain ones. A bill to fund the Cabinet department failed to advance in the Senate on Friday.

There were signs of progress, though, with the restarting in recent days of stalled talks between Democrats and the White House. On Saturday, Republican and Democratic senators were set to meet for a third consecutive day with White House officials behind closed doors as Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York spoke of “productive conversations.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., urged the bipartisan group to act quickly. He has said repeatedly that Democrats and the White House need to find compromise as lines at airports have grown.

“If that group that’s meeting can’t come up with a solution really quickly, things are going to get worse and worse,” Thune said Saturday.

___

Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.

The BBC released a statement, saying: “We would like to say a huge and heartfelt thank you to Karen Hauer for her incredible contribution to Strictly Come Dancing over the last 14 years.

“As the longest-serving female professional dancer in the history of the show, Karen has given so much of herself and her time to the programme, and we are extremely grateful for the passion, creativity and dedication she has brought to every single performance.”

Shaw’s speedy hat-trick beat the previous record set by ex-Arsenal striker Kelly Smith in 2014 when she scored three goals in 16 minutes against Bristol Academy.

Remarkably, it was Shaw’s fourth successive hat-trick against Tottenham in the WSL at Joie Stadium.

It took her tally to 18 goals in 18 WSL matches this season and 16 goal involvements (15 goals, one assist) against Tottenham during her five-year spell in England.

Her exploits are likely to take her to a third successive WSL Golden Boot at the end of the campaign and she will surely be in the running for Player of the Year.

“It was a good afternoon, I must say. Especially off the back of the [0-0 draw with Aston Villa] last week,” said Shaw. “I have amazing players around me and I just try to do the best I can at the top end of the pitch.”

While her goalscoring hits the headlines, it is Shaw’s work-rate off the ball that really caught Coffey’s attention.

“I feel like what you see, is what you get. She is so electric, she’s so good and she’s so dominant,” added Coffey.

“I loved her defensive efforts [against Tottenham]. When she is pressing, I think she is one of the best pressing number nines in the world.

“She’s been such a joy to play with. I’ve obviously respected her for years but now getting to know her and be her team-mate is a privilege.”

For any opponent, facing Shaw is one of the biggest challenges in football.

Tottenham boss Martin Ho conceded his side could do little to stop her, other than try to prevent the ball reaching her.

Does she incite fear in opposing players?

“I wouldn’t say it’s fear but it’s definitely doubt,” said Ho. “She is the best forward in the world by a mile.

“She scores with her feet, with her head, has good link-up play and good movement.

“There were times in the first half where we could have got closer or stopped crosses and when you don’t do that, you get punished.”

Luke Humphries issued a stinging response to a social post claiming he was in danger of missing out on a top-four finish in the Premier League after this week’s darts action

Luke Humphries hit out on social media after being told he is ‘giving in to Luke Littler’ following another barren night in the Premier League.

Humphries, the World No 2, has yet to win a nightly event this season, making the finale just once during seven weeks of action. He is currently fourth in the league rankings with six wins, eight points behind leader Jonny Clayton, who is two clear of Littler in second.

A social media post sharing an article expressing fears that Humphries could miss out on the top four drew a stinging response from the man himself on Saturday evening, with the 31-year-old claiming the comments were disrespectful.

“Whoever said this is absolutely clueless!!,” Humphries wrote on X. “I’m sure it was someone with bags of experience and not just some random person who’s never thrown a professional dart in their life..”.

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In a separate post, Humphries added: “Disrespect to someone who absolutely dedicates his life to being the best version of himself and sportsman! Always someone that wants to dig the knife in when I’ve had a not even a bad last 6 months with 4 major finals”.

Humphries and Littler have competed for some of darts’ biggest prizes since ‘The Nuke’ burst onto the scene back in the 2024 World Championships, with the former beating him in a pulsating final.

While Humphries was beaten in the semi-finals by Gerwyn Price during Thursday night’s Premier League action in Dublin, Littler grabbed headlines by winning the night in spectacular fashion, reeling off six straight legs against Price after going 5-0 down.

Littler himself admitted that his latest heroics took even himself by surprise. “I have no idea how I have done that,” he told Sky Sports.

“I got the first leg, had a bit of fun. Then I got my 180, but Gezzy had set up tops, so I waved them goodbye.

“The rest is history. I was gone. When Gerwyn Price is on tops he doesn’t usually miss. Absolutely, I thought I was gone. I may as well have been off the stage. This is darts, things happen.

“I played very well against Stephen and got the two points. Then it was another brilliant game with Michael. The final. Nothing to say.

“I am just closing that gap on Jonny [Clayton]. Obviously, I have finished top the last two years, and I want to do it again. Jonny and the start he has had, it is good to see I am in second, but I am right behind him now and chasing.”

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On this occasion, two howlers from Sanchez — one punished, one not. First a heavy first touch from a Jorrel Hato pass-back saw Sanchez tackled by Everton striker Beto. An open goal so nearly presented itself to the Guinea-Bissau international, the goalkeeper fortunate Beto was slightly sluggish, allowing him to tackle him back and Chelsea to clear.

A disappointing loss means Liverpool move no higher than fifth in the table, where they began the weekend, while Brighton jump up from 12th to eighth as things stand, their fourth win in five league games opening up the possibility of European football next term for themselves. Relive all the action from the Amex Stadium below in our dedicated match blog, featuring expert insight and analysis.