Hull have been relegated from the Premier League after failing to beat Manchester United this afternoon, though with Newcastle beating West Ham at St James’ Park the end result was irrelevant at the KC Stadium.
Steve Bruce‘s men needed to beat United and hope that Newcastle failed to beat the Hammers to have any have chance of avoiding the drop.
But despite the Red Devils going down to 10 men midway through the second half following Marouane Fellaini’s dismissal, Hull couldn’t make the breakthrough that would have ramped up the pressure on Tyneside.
Instead it was Newcastle who took the ascendency in the fight to avoid the drop when Moussa Sissoko – matched at [17.0] to score first – headed John Carver’s men in front approaching the hour mark.
And when Jonas Gutierrez – who earlier this year bravely battled back to fitness following testicular cancer – added an emotional second for the Magpies with five minutes remaining, Newcastle’s survival was confirmed and Hull were relegated.
The 0-0 Correct Score at the KC Stadium was matched at [17.5], while the 2-0 scoreline in the north east was matched at [12.5] In Play.
On an afternoon of little drama the biggest shock undoubtedly came at the Britannia Stadium where Stoke put six past Liverpool in Steven Gerrard‘s final ever appearance for the Anfield club.
It was a bitterly disappointing performance from Brendan Rodgers’ men though Gerrard did manage to get on the scoresheet. The Potters were matched at [4.0] to win the game, and while there wasn’t any significant amounts matched on the 6-1 scoreline, the 5-1 Correct Score was matched at [570.0] offering some lucky punters an excellent Cash Out opportunity.
Elsewhere today Manchester City ended the campaign with a sixth successive victory, beating Southampton 2-0, Chelsea came from a goal behind to beat Sunderland 3-1, and Arsenal had their game won in no time, racing into a 4-0 lead thanks to a Theo Walcott hat-trick before beating West Brom 4-1.
Tottenham confirmed their place in next season’s Europa League with a 0-1 win at Everton, Crystal Palace ended a fine campaign with a top 10 finish thanks to victory over Swansea, Burnley avoided the wooden spoon by winning at Aston Villa, and Leicester‘s incredible recent form continued with a 5-1 win over hapless QPR.
All today’s results and pick of the in-play odds matched can be seen at the bottom of this page
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Immediately following West Ham’s defeat at Newcastle it emerged that Sam Allardyce would not be having his contract renewed and that he would leave the club almost immediately.
Big Sam had spent four years at the London club, winning promotion from the Championship in his first season in charge before recording three very respectable mid-table finishes in the Premier League.
In a statement, joint chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold said, “We would like to start by thanking Sam Allardyce for his valuable work since arriving at the Boleyn Ground four years ago.
“He leaves the club in a considerably better state than when he arrived and, for that, the board are truly grateful.”
Former West Ham favourite Slaven Bilic is the early favourite to take over from Allardyce – currently available to back at around [1.9] – though the likes of proven bosses Rafa Benitez and David Moyes, and emerging managers like Eddie Howe, Aitor Karanka, and Mark Warburton are also amongst the early contenders.
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Arsenal 4 West Brom 1
Arsenal Win – 1.45
Theo Walcott First Goalscorer – 8.2
Theo Walcott to score a Hat-Trick – 80.0
4-1 Correct Score – 21.0
Aston Villa 0 Burnley 1
Burnley Win – 4.9
Danny Ings First Goalscorer – 10.5
0-1 Correct Score – 15.0
Crystal Palace 1 Swansea 0
Palace Win – 2.58
Marouane Chamakh First Goalscorer – 8.8
1-0 Correct Score – 11.0
Chelsea 3 Sunderland 1
Chelsea Win – 1.97
Steven Fletcher First Goalscorer – 17.0
Penalty Taken – 4.1
3-1 Correct Score – 15.0
Everton 0 Tottenham 1
Tottenham Win – 3.4
Harry Kane First Goalscorer – 8.0
0-1 Correct Score – 17.5
Hull 0 Manchester United 0
The Draw – 4.2
0-0 Correct Score – 17.5
Leicester 5 QPR 1
Leicester Win – 1.8
James Vardy First Goalscorer – 11.5
5-1 Correct Score – 60.0
Manchester City 2 Southampton 0
Man City Win – 1.81
Frank Lampard First Goalscorer – 11.5
2-0 Correct Score – 14.5
Newcastle 2 West Ham 0
Newcastle Win – 2.22
Moussa Sissoko First Goalscorer – 17.0
2-0 Correct Score – 12.5
Stoke 6 Liverpool 1
Stoke Win – 4.0
Mame Biram Diouf – 10.0