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Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi is confident his players will be ready for a first European adventure if they manage to grasp the prize dangling before them. The Seagulls suffered a setback on Thursday evening when they went down 4-1 at Newcastle in the battle of the Premier League’s top-six gatecrashers. However, they return to action against relegated Southampton on Sunday knowing wins in two of their last three games – against the Saints, champions elect Manchester City and Aston Villa – will secure a place in the top six and the rewards that would bring. Reflecting on a bruising evening on Tyneside, De Zerbi said: “We are not used to playing three games in a week and we suffered a lot. “There are many players – for example Moises Caicedo, Pervis [Estupinan] in the first half – they didn’t play well, but I love them. They have to learn to play two games in four days. “Next year we will be better, we will be ready to play every day.” The defeat at St James’ Park came in Brighton’s fourth game in 15 days, a run which includes famous victories over Manchester United and Arsenal, but also a 5-1 home drubbing by Everton. De Zerbi felt he had no option but to leave on-loan Chelsea defender Levi Colwill out of the matchday squad in the north east with Alexis Mac Allister, Julio Enciso and Evan Ferguson starting on the bench. With injuries biting deep into his squad – he was also without Solly March, Adam Lallana, Adam Webster, Joel Veltman, Jakub Moder, Jeremy Sarmiento, Enock Mwepu and Tariq Lamptey – the Italian admitted he had been presented with a selection headache. However, he added: “Yes, but we have to be strong in a difficult period, a tough period. I don’t like making any excuses, but we have eight, nine, I don’t know, I don’t remember how many injuries we have now. “We are playing four games in 12 days. The first XI today, Colwill wasn’t available to play, Mac Allister can’t play 90 minutes today and 90 minutes on Sunday, Welbeck, Buonanotte, Gilmour and Undav the same.” De Zerbi expects to have 20-year-old Colwill, who was rested at Newcastle as a result of fatigue, back in the fold for Sunday’s game. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has promised to continue with his unorthodox policy of cutting interest rates to reduce sky-high inflation if he is re-elected on May 28.

The phrase "nobody's perfect" just might not apply to José Mourinho when it comes to European soccer finals.

Arab leaders have been joined by Syrian President Bashar Assad for the first time in more than a decade at an annual Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia

Fans will be thrilled to see the return of a familiar figure from past installments of the 'Fast and Furious' series

Leeds boss Sam Allardyce has urged Patrick Bamford to respond to threats made on social media by scoring the winner at West Ham on Sunday. Allardyce also wants “the police to do a lot more” after Bamford’s penalty miss in last week’s home draw against Newcastle prompted online abuse directed at both the striker and his family. Leeds issued a statement this week condemning the threats posted on Twitter and Allardyce said: “He’s been OK, he’s obviously extremely upset about the situation. It’s something which leaves a very, very bad taste indeed. “I would like the police to do a lot more, but it appears when it’s social media, they rule and run the world and can say and do what they want unfortunately, which is why the world is in such a big mess, isn’t it? “He’s handled it pretty well, I think the club gave him as much support as he needed, particularly security-wise. “It wasn’t just about him, it was about his family. The best way to respond is to go out on the pitch on Sunday, perform to his highest level, try and score. “And it would be even greater if he scored the winner. Hopefully it won’t affect his performance.” Leeds are desperate for all three points at West Ham in their bid to climb out of the relegation zone and cling on to their top-flight status. They sit third from bottom, one point from safety, with Sunday’s trip to the London Stadium followed by a home game against Tottenham on the final day. West Ham reached the Europa Conference League final with victory over AZ Alkmaar on Thursday and Allardyce hopes his former club’s success could play to Leeds’ advantage. He said: “They’ve got a final to think about, haven’t they? Subconsciously, you’ll never know whether that may affect the players in terms of when they go out and play. “They’ll go out and play and try their best, (but) subconsciously, they won’t want to get injured. “So they might be a little more tentative, who knows? But my job is about my team playing to the best they possibly can play.” Leeds will be without suspended defender Junior Firpo on Sunday, but skipper Liam Cooper has returned to training and could be included in the squad. Tyler Adams (hamstring), Luis Sinisterra (ankle) and Stuart Dallas (fractured femur) remain long-term absentees. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Roberto De Zerbi: Brighton will be ready for fixture pile-up next season A look at the greatest comebacks in sporting history Mikel Arteta: Granit Xhaka’s future at Arsenal to be decided at end of season

A West Ham fan has gone viral after single-handedly defending a section of the club’s fans against violent rival hooligans. The unsavoury scenes unfolded at the AFAS stadium after the Premier League side beat Dutch team AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League semi-final 1-0. In videos capturing the incident, the West Ham fan could be seen defending an area of the stand from a large group of AZ Alkmaar “ultras” who wore dark jackets with their hoods up. According to reports, the area of the stand they were trying to invade housed the family and friends of West Ham players and staff. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Footage showed the fan standing at the top of the stairs bravely preventing the mob from reaching them in an incident that caused West Ham players to also rush into the stands. The fan, reportedly called 'Knollsy' was widely praised online for his actions and one person even called for him to receive a “lifelong season ticket”. One person joked: “No amount of stone island and balaclavas is a match for TK Max and 20 pints.” “What a guy,” another commented. Someone else said: “About 50 ultras getting held at bay by a steak bake inhaling cockney geeza, fairs.” Another said: “Give the blokes a lifelong season ticket!!!” Following the match, West Ham manager David Moyes said: “I can't explain what happened and why it happened. “Players were involved because it was the family section… that was probably the reason for the reaction. “I don't want that in any way to blight the night because the West Ham fans weren't looking for trouble. Hopefully, they'll look into it.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that he has begun a visit to Saudi Arabia where Arab leaders are holding a summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he landed Friday in Saudi Arabia, host of an Arab League summit attended by long isolated Syrian President Bashar...

Greece's outgoing conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and leftist challenger Alexis Tsipras will make a final push for votes at closing rallies on Friday ahead of the most...

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan has dialed down his campaign of defiance, saying he would allow a police search of his home over allegations that he was harboring suspects wanted in recent violence during anti-government protests by his supporters

Brentford want to tie Ivan Toney down to a new contract and will not let him leave the club amid his eight-month ban from football.