That’s all from me today! Be sure to join Barry Glendenning now for minute-by-minute updates on Arsenal v Bournemouth. Enjoy!
A reminder of today’s Premier League fixtures…
Arsenal v Bournemouth
Brentford v Everton
Burnley v Brighton
Liverpool v Fulham
Our EFL Clockwatch is now live, so click below for all the latest updates from this afternoon’s fixtures.
The title race is heating up in Scotland…
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hearts | 32 | 28 | 67 |
| 2 | Rangers | 32 | 32 | 66 |
| 3 | Celtic | 32 | 23 | 64 |
| 4 | Motherwell | 32 | 25 | 54 |
| 5 | Hibernian | 32 | 16 | 51 |
It is also set to be another big day in the Scottish Premiership, with Hearts and Celtic in action. Rangers face Falkirk tomorrow.
Today’s fixtures:
Aberdeen v Hibernian
Kilmarnock v Dundee
Hearts v Motherwell
Celtic v St. Mirren
Dundee United v Livingston
Team news: Coventry City v Sheffield Wednesday
Coventry starting line-up: Rushworth, Van Ewijk, Latibeaudiere, Kitching, Dasilva, Grimes (C), Onyeka, Rudoni, Thomas-Asante, Mason-Clark, Wright.
Substitutes: Wilson, Thomas, Simms, Esse, Bidwell, Markelo, Woolfenden, Eccles, Torp.
Sheffield Wednesday starting line-up: Charles, Fusire, Palmer (C), Otegbayo, M. Lowe, Adaramola, Heskey, Chalobah, Ingelsson, J. Lowe, Yates.
Substitutes: Stretch, McGhee, Maltby, Nakamba, Thornton, Kobacki, McNeill, Grainger, Moses.
Team news: Arsenal v Bournemouth
Arsenal starting line-up: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Zubimendi, Rice (C), Havertz, Madueke, Martinelli, Gyökeres.
Substitutes: Arrizabalaga, Mosquera, Salmon, Hincapié, Nørgaard, Eze, Dowman, Trossard, Jesus.
Bournemouth starting line-up: Petrović, Truffert, Senesi, Scott, Evanilson, Christie (C), Tavernier, Jiménez, Kroupi. Jr, Hill, Rayan.
Substitutes: Mandas, Brooks, Gannon-Doak, Adams, Smith, Diakité, Adli, Enes Ünal, Tóth.
Team news for Coventry v Sheffield Wednesday is also coming up.
It’s almost time for some early team news! Lineups for Arsenal v Bournemouth will be released shortly.
Nottingham Forest take on Aston Villa tomorrow as they look to creep further away from the relegation zone. Ahead of the match, Ben Fisher spoke to Elliot Anderson about the remainder of the Premier League campaign and his World Cup dream.
League One and League Two fixtures
League One:
Lincoln City v Leyton Orient
Plymouth Argyle v Exeter City
Cardiff City v Bolton Wanderers
Bradford City v Stevenage
Huddersfield Town v Wycombe Wanderers
Burton Albion v Wimbledon
Blackpool v Peterborough United
Rotherham United v Barnsley
Wigan Athletic v Mansfield Town
Doncaster Rovers v Reading
League Two
Bristol Rovers v Crawley Town
MK Dons v Bromley
Newport County v Harrogate Town
Salford City v Gillingham
Shrewsbury Town v Oldham Athletic
Chesterfield v Tranmere Rovers
Grimsby Town v Crewe Alexandra
Cambridge United v Notts County
Accrington Stanley v Fleetwood Town
Walsall v Cheltenham
Barnet v Barrow
On the topic of squad building and transfers, Arne Slot has said last season’s title triumph “postponed” the end of an era at Liverpool but insisted the club were under no illusions a rebuild was required when appointing him as Jürgen Klopp’s successor.
We’ve reached the point in the season where players are beginning to announce their imminent summer departures. This time last week it was Kieran Trippier at Newcastle, and yesterday Andy Robertson revealed that he will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season. Bernardo Silva is also poised to leave Manchester City.
We could see a few more announce exits in the coming weeks, with the likes of Ibrahima Konaté, John Stones and Jadon Sancho all counting down the final months of their respective contracts.
Amid another big week in the Premier League, let’s take a quick look at the latest team news…
(Apologies if you have only just realised that you forgot to update your fantasy team before yesterday’s deadline)
This relegation battle is a difficult one, even if you're on the outside. For me it is anyway.
You know how we all have a first love and maybe some affection for another team 'on the side' (perhaps a big and small local team, or another side because of moving away...whatever) ? - well, we can often have bits of affection for so many other teams for whatever reasons too, can't we.
Maybe it's a part of your childhood memories, or some old relative, friends at school, a random game you went to once... whatever...
And then there are those teams some people just actively dislike. (I don't have any of them - maybe it's an age thing - but as a Liverpool man some people have expected me to actively dislike Man United, Everton...and as an English lad, Scotland, etc, for years and years of my life).
Yeah, I'll laugh at shitty results, but dislike or even hate ? - Nah.
And then I think (for most of us) there are many teams we are just 100% indifferent to. You just don't care what happens with them.
For me, the 4 in the relegation battle are all in the 'bit of affection' bracket for one reason or another, so honestly, I'll be quite sad to see any of them go down this season.
Jeff Sax has emailed in to say:
“I cannot imagine what the suits at Spurs are thinking after reading that De Zerbi wants Ange football! I am speechless.”
How are you feeling, Coventry fans?
A momentous day for Coventry City. A win vs Wednesday virtually guarantees promotion, given their superior goal difference over Millwall and Middlesbrough. It won't be easy though, no such thing in the Championship.
This has been a fantastic season, and all credit to Lampard and the players. And massive shout to owner Doug King, who has finally secured the stadium for the club. 24,000 season tickets sold, every game home and away sold out. Whatever happens from now on, we'll talk about this season for the rest of our days.
Championship fixtures
QPR v Bristol City
Coventry City v Sheffield Wednesday
Norwich City v Ipswich Town
Oxford United v Watford
Leicester City v Swansea City
Stoke City v Blackburn Rovers
Southampton v Derby County
Middlesbrough v Portsmouth
Sheffield Untied v Hull City
Charlton Athletic v Preston North End
It’s also another big day in the Championship as Coventry City look to take another huge step towards promotion. They face already-relegated Sheffield Wednesday in one of the early games.
David Estherby has messaged in to say:
“Have to agree with godfrey007 (8.33); it’s clear Ange prioritised a cup over league position last year, theres no way he would’ve let them slide to 17th or worse again. More importantly, there’s not a chance Spurs would be where they are if Vertonghen and Alderweireld were still there, let alone Kane. Club’s a mess but until the board prioritise Tottenham Hotspur over the Jacksonville Jaguars/Beyonce/the karaoke singer from the Bricklayers not a jot will change.
“S**t runs downhill, folks.”
Some more on Spurs…
I think the problems at Spurs go deeper than the coach. But saying that - the decision making at the club has certainly contributed - especially with the choices of coach post Ange.
Frank inherited a squad built for the front foot, proactive football. We were promised flexibility from Frank after Ange's mostly myopic approach, but instead we kind of got a non-football under Frank which seemed to leave the players confused. Spurs didn't really have problems scoring goals under Ange. But that became difficult under Frank - with a focus on set piece play for a team that used to like to press from the front, have possession, play the ball on the floor and dominate games. With Frank Spurs started to launch it long (with a keeper who couldn't) - and that was the start and downhill from there. Historically bad xG's occurred game after game, players pölayed out of position or simply mis profiled. Frank's tenure was absolutely awful. Injuries played their part (when don't they at Spurs?) - and the club selling two season's in a row top scorers who weren't replaced certainly added bluntness in front of goal to the mix.
De Zerbi sees players in this Spurs team that can play the game in his style -or at least to his principles . As we've seen with West Ham - they are getting out of this mess by trying to win games. Spurs need to be more positive in their intent and they actually have the players to do this. Let's see if De Zerbi can raise the confidence levels.
The firing of Ange - after delivering a trophy - and with most of the season having a depleted squad as we have now (for context) - was an achievement. This talk of Spurs getting used to losing is denied by the EL win - an ultimate in winning. There was a sense of togetherness between players, fans and coach after Bilbao. The club decided to end that abruptly and the club hasn't recovered.
Today’s Premier League fixtures
Arsenal v Bournemouth
Brentford v Everton
Burnley v Brighton
Liverpool v Fulham
Arteta also admitted he is proud to be coming up against former team-mate Andoni Iraola, who is also from the Basque Country.
He said: “Yes, it’s amazing what he has done together with the club. The consistency that they’ve shown, the manner that they’ve done it and the amount of players they’ve sold - how they’ve then reinvented themselves. The run that they are on is incredible because we know how tough the Premier League is. When it comes to pride, it’s huge, when it comes to rivalry on matchday, it’s even bigger - it goes out the window.”
Mikel Arteta urged Arsenal fans to bring the noise at the Emirates Stadium this afternoon as the Gunners look to go 12 points clear at the top of the table.
He said: “We know the meaning of every match here and the opportunity that we have, especially when we play at home. We need to maximise every result. It’s about each individual and how we turn up there. It’s actually impacting the game, the atmosphere and energy in the stadium. Whoever comes tomorrow, I ask them to be with that mindset, energy and commitment, because the team is going to respond beautifully to that.”
It should be a good match between Arsenal and Bournemouth this afternoon, although I don’t think anything could beat this game… the DRAMA!
Now from one end of the table to the other… Arsenal will look to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table with a win over Bournemouth at lunchtime. The Gunners currently lead by nine points, although second-placed Manchester City have a game in hand.
This could be a huge weekend for the title race, with Pep Guardiola and Co facing a difficult clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge tomorrow.
Speaking of “Ange-ball” – Roberto De Zerbi wants to bring it back as he attempts to prevent Tottenham’s first relegation in 49 years.
Another question for Tottenham fans, do you think the club would be in this position if Ange Postecoglou had stayed?
De Zerbi to bring back Angeball. Along with the majority of other Spurs fans, I can't help thinking that the club should never have sacked Ange in the first place! A terribly run club
With Burnley and Wolves looking pretty much certain to go down, the battle to avoid that last relegation place is heating up. Tottenham slipped into that spot last night following West Ham’s 4-0 win – and they face a challenging game away at Sunderland tomorrow.
Nottingham Forest and Leeds United are also down there. The question is, who will face the drop? Let me know what you think!
Thank you, James, for getting this Matchday live up and running while I battled through train delays to make it into London! I just about made it… eventually!
Anyway, Premier League football is back and we have four games to look forward to later today. Arsenal will look to extend their lead at the top of the table when they face Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium. Brentford then host Everton, with Brighton travelling to face Burnley at Turf Moor.
And in the late game, Liverpool will look to bounce back from defeats to Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain when they take on Fulham at home.
Friday night’s European roundup
Real Madrid had to settle for a 1-1 draw against mid-table Girona in La Liga, extending the hosts’ winless run to three games in all competitions and giving leaders Barcelona the chance to stretch their advantage at the top.
Federico Valverde put Madrid ahead six minutes after half-time but Girona levelled in the 62nd minute through Thomas Lemar. Álvaro Arbeloa’s side are six points behind with league leaders Barça, who have a game in hand against Espanyol on Saturday and could move nine clear with seven games to play.
West Ham's rout of Wolves sends Spurs into bottom three
Two-nil up in a must-win game, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side looked unrecognisable from the doomed bunch who dropped seven points off 17th place in early January. This is a different West Ham. This is a West Ham with a punch in attack and, if this daring escape act does end with Premier League football secured for another season, a key part of the story will be how Nuno strengthened his squad in January.
While Axel Disasi has brought order in defence, the best way to compliment Castellanos and Pablo Felipe is to call them the modern equivalent of John Hartson and Paul Kitson.
West Ham, after all, have form in this department. They were fired to safety in 1997 after signing Hartson and Kitson halfway through a difficult campaign and, 29 years on, have given themselves a fighting chance thanks to the mid-season arrivals of Pablo and Castellanos.
Preamble
Emillia will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s what happened in east London last night …
We’ve another stacked lineup today, including Coventry’s push for the Premier League and Arsenal’s latest test as they close on the top-flight title, along with much, much more. Let us know if you’re at a game anywhere today or how you’ll be following from around the world, just drop us an email via the link in the standfirst.
Good luck to Coventry today. They were a top flight fixture for all of my formative football watching years, and has it really been 25 years since they went down?
I'm struck by johnno64's line about this being a year they'll never forget. I feel the same about the absolutely wonderful 2001/02 season under Keegan in the then 1st Division. 99 points, 108 goals scored and 56 conceded - classic King Kev football.
What a squad - Weaver, Pearce, Dunne and Howey, Horlock, Goater, Begovic, Benarbia, Wright Phillips, Dickov, Huckerby, Haaland...
There were in fact a couple of superb games against Coventry, an amazing 4-3 loss away and a 4-2 win at home. Unforgettable season.