That’s all from us. Thanks for your emails and for following along, enjoy the weekend’s action. And remember, the Premier League is not Disneyland.
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Andoni Iraola says it’s too early for title talk, but the chatter will only get louder if they take three points against the champions:
Every Liverpool win this season seems to come with an asterisk. Yes, they beat Brentford, but Brentford had a man sent off. Yes they beat Villarreal, but they conceded three.
On Sunday, against Brighton the asterisks finally ran out. Liverpool beat the Premier League’s top scorers 2-0, kept a clean sheet against a side that had scored 23 goals in their first seven games, and won a league match at home for the first time since April.
Liverpool have won their last five games – including knocking Chelsea out of the Carabao Cup at Anfield on penalties – and are fourth in the Premier League, but there is still the sense that nobody quite trusts what they are watching.
Full story:
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Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor has said the strength of the Women’s Super League means she cannot afford to rotate her Chelsea side.
“You can’t really have the mindset to rotate your team in the league, even when sometimes you’ve played in the Champions League in midweek,” she said.
“The level of both competitions doesn’t always give you that opportunity. In France you could easily play in the league with a really young team against some teams and you will still get a result.
“Here it’s about making sure the recovery between the games is appropriate and as efficient as possible, because the players need to perform at a really good level every three days.”
Unbeaten WSL leaders Chelsea are away to winless Charlton on Sunday, while third-placed London City Lionesses host second-placed Manchester City in the pick of this weekend’s matches.
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Going back to my recent geekery about finding the best-placed unbeaten side in the English system, how far do you have to go to find a team yet to win in the league?
Step forward Hallam FC, the world’s second oldest football club. No wins and three draws fro 15 games for the 166-year-old outfit, although two-thirds of their matches in the eighth-tier Northern Premier League East division have been away from home.
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Virgil van Dijk feels Liverpool are adapting to Andoni Iraola’s high press style
Andoni Iraola’s brand of risk-reward football is starting to take hold at Liverpool and captain Virgil van Dijk believes the players are becoming increasingly confident at committing to the game plan.
The reintroduction of a high press by the Basque this season following Arne Slot’s slower, possession-based style has seen individuals pushed out of their comfort zone and having to take additional responsibility for their decision making.
For example, there are numerous examples of Van Dijk venturing 15 to 20 yards into the opposition half to close down or right-back Ronald Araujo coming a long way infield to negate an opponent.
That can leave space in behind and Van Dijk accepts there has been some “chaos” but the benefits are starting to be seen with the Wednesday’s Carabao Cup victory over Chelsea on penalties a fifth successive victory.
Sunday presents the greatest challenge as Arsenal visit Anfield but Van Dijk said they could not treat the defending champions any differently.
“I think against every team it’s a challenge because when teams know that we want to win the ball high they try to drag you into difficult spaces and you have to read the game,” he said.
“For example, Hendo [former Liverpool team-mate Jordan Henderson] dropped deep trying to pull one of us out to leave a space in behind so you have to then think about are you going or not? So it’s just reading the game as well.
“But especially here, at the start, you have to go all-in and take that risk. If you win the ball high, you see the crowd coming up as well, and it just brings that energy that will help throughout the whole 90 minutes.
“But it’s just a trend now that everyone just goes one v one and then you just have to think about what you’re going to do.”
Liverpool appointed Iraola to bring back a high-intensity game which had disappeared under his predecessor but Van Dijk stressed this was not a return to Jurgen Klopp’s gegenpressing.
“I think it’s a different era, different times. Under Jurgen, we pressed a lot with shuffling across, we tried to box them in one side, but football has changed,” he added. Press Association
You’ve heard the best of what the managers had to say ahead of this weekend’s games – did anyone have Disneyland on their bingo card? Even better than a ride on Space Mountain, have a gander at the predicted XIs:
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It’s football geekery of the highest order, but I wondered how many leagues I’d have to go down to find an English team which is still unbeaten on the cusp of November.
Step forward mighty Boreham Wood, already ten points clear in the National League, having won 13 of their 15 matches. Clearly hell-bent on avoiding more play-off final penalty shootout heartbreak (Rochdale pipped them to promotion), they look very good for automatic promotion this campaign.
Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas has helped to fire London City Lionesses to third place in the WSL, but her impact has transformed the team off the pitch too.
“Her impact on our commercial business is extraordinary,” club chief executive Martin Lemmens tells Tom Garry. “From a leadership point of view, she allows us to start thinking about really winning. The environment today feels like it can beat Man City on Sunday and that’s a lot down to her.”
He acknowledges that Putellas, a World Cup winner with Spain and four-time European champion with Barcelona, and her brand – she has more Instagram followers (3.7m) than a men’s club the size of Porto, for example – were pivotal in helping the club secure what they claim is the largest front-of-shirt sponsorship deal in the women’s game, with Nike. The club say it is worth more than the new NWSL franchise Atlanta’s sponsorship of $4m (£3m) a year.
Read Tom Garry’s full story:
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Newcastle’s Jaissle wants to scream while Grealish leaves Moyes speechless
While it is customary for fans of top-flight clubs with delusions of grandeur to cope with Fizzy Cup exits by pretending the competition is beneath them, this is no longer an option that is open to supporters of Newcastle United.
Winning the trophy sponsored by a low-calorie, fruit-flavoured energy drink brand from Thailand may only rank fifth in the domestic pecking order behind the Premier League, FA Cup and both transfer windows, but nobody will ever forget how much it meant to hundreds of thousands of overjoyed Geordies when their team did exactly that the season before last to end a trophy drought dating back to the Jurassic era.
The full Football Daily:
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The pick of the Scottish action this weekend? League leaders Celtic are away to Falkirk on Sunday and it’s semi-final time in the Scottish League Cup Premier Sports Cup.
Rangers play Aberdeen tomorrow evening, with Hibs against Hearts in a tasty Edinburgh derby at Hampden Park on Sunday. Phwoar.
In Wouter Vrancken and Marink Reedijk, both of their coaches have come from the Belgian leagues.
“We know the weight of the game,” former Genk manager Vrancken said. “We want to win for the fans who are supporting us all year in the good and difficult moments.
“When you have these derbies, it’s always good to have some rivalry because it gives more emotions outside for those games. As long as it’s not going too far, then it’s for sure OK.”
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Nicolas Jackson is banging in goals for Aston Villa, with seven in all competitions. Keep going in the same vein and Chelsea will regret letting hm head up the M40.
Asked what Jackson needs to do to become one of the Premier League’s top strikers, his manager Unai Emery urged there is still work to do:
Time and consistency. And high demand himself in his task every day, he’s showing us. I know him like that, being very professional, focusing [on] football as a priority in his life.
He has this commitment with football, to try and get his responsibility as high as possible to try and get his best with Aston Villa.
I’m happy but as well I know he has a lot of work to do to try to get better and be consistent. He needed to make adaptations at the beginning and still needs it now.
Iraola: It's too soon for Liverpool title talk
Liverpool might have won their last five matches, but Andoni Iraola is not getting ahead of himself.
“It’s still October, take one game at a time. I always say the first reference is normally when we have played against each other once, halfway through the season, and then you can start looking at the standings,” he said today.
“Now we are in a position where we need to improve, keep getting better. Can fans dream? It’s good if they have expectations and think we can win. But if you ask me, it is still early.”
His side are fourth, six points behind leaders Manchester City. Opponents Arsenal have not won at Anfield since 2012 and he also won three of his last four matches against Mikel Arteta’s side as Bournemouth manager.
Liverpool could be bolstered by the return of Dominik Szoboszlai and Victor Muñoz, who have recovered from a hamstring and knee injury respectively.
Saka thigh issue compounds Arsenal injury issues
Mikel Arteta is running low on wide, attacking players in his midfield and Bukayo Saka could be out until December with the quadriceps injury he suffered against Bayern Munich. “He needed another scan to see the amount of fluid there was resolving, afterwards we will know more about it,” Arteta said.
Asked whether he will be ruled out of the mid-November England fixtures, Arteta said: “I don’t know, it looks likely but we’ll have to wait and see next week.” He was also non-committal about Noni Madueke’s availability, seeing they would see after tomorrow’s training session.
However, Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori and Christos Tzolis all trained and the Arsenal manager indicated they will be available if they got through traning on Saturday.
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Gary O’Neil has warned Ipswich against complacency ahead of Saturday’s trip to fellow Premier League new boys Hull.
O’Neil has enjoyed an impressive start to life at Portman Road with three wins and a points total of 10 from their first eight league fixtures this season.
Hull have also caught the eye on their top flight return, but O’Neil was quick to highlight how punishing Premier League football can be.
“This Premier League is ruthless,” O’Neil told a press conference. “If you drop the level by even a fraction, it can get you, so trying to make sure that we stay there really.
“It doesn’t guarantee us results. We’ve won three and we’ve lost four games already and losing football matches isn’t ideal, but you can still be successful doing it in this league. It is that type of league.
“You just have to make sure you keep performing, keep performing. Accept the losses, review them, make sure you’re ready to go again.
“So really the consistency and the resilience of the group so far, I think, has been exceptional.”
Ipswich will make a late check on midfielder Sasa Lukic (groin) after a recent spell on the sidelines. Press Association
US forward Christian Pulisic has signed a contract extension with AC Milan through 2031, the Serie A club said on Friday.
The 28-year-old had spells at Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea before joining Milan in 2023. The American has recorded 44 goals in 141 appearances for the Rossoneri and finished the 2024-25 season as their top scorer.
“Pulisic’s contract extension reflects a shared commitment to building on the progress made together in recent years, with the ambition to keep improving, achieve new milestones and write more memorable chapters in the Club’s history,” Milan said in a statement. Reuters
Ben Bernards writes in regarding clubs fighting over the services of Robbie Savage:
“The game’s gone, etc.”
This time last year, it was thought that Estêvão could rival Lamine Yamal in the battle of the teenage prodigies.
It hasn’t worked out that way at all. Despite lacking game time, playing 47 minutes in the top flight this season, Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has said that the Brazilian would get game time.
Asked at a press conference this afternoon whether the 19-year-old forward could go out on loan, Alonso replied: “No discussions about that.
“The season is long and there will be moments for everyone. It’s a process for the team, for Este, for myself.
“But I’m sure that in the season he’ll have his games, his minutes. And we’re still early in the season but he’ll be there.”
Ahead of tomorrow’s game against Manchester United, fifth-placed Chelsea have a crowded treatment room: Joao Pedro and captain Reece James are sidelined and defender Maxence Lacroix is expected to miss a “few weeks” with a hamstring injury.
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'Not in Disneyland': Arteta's warning for Dowman
In the aftermath of the youngster’s Carabao Cup dismissal, Mikel Arteta believes he has to balance the 16-year-old’s youth with the cold, hard realities of top-tier football.
He wanted to be straightforward with Dowman and treat him as he would other players in the squad. “Otherwise, we are in Disneyland. We are not in Disneyland, we are in the Premier League at this level and we look after him so much that you cannot imagine,” the Arsenal manager said today.
“But at the same time, we’re going to demand from him like anybody else because he needs to earn the right to play. Otherwise, the rest of the boys, what are they going to tell me? You need to be fair.”
Arteta also urged the need to be very protective of Dowman, while also being clear about what he expects of players, the team and the club.
Regarding Arsenal’s rejected appeal against his 85th minute red card against Fleetwood, the Spaniard was “very disappointed, especially with the reckless tackles that he received, and then his reaction is minimal in relation to the action … it could have been really bad, yeah. And we are lucky today that he hasn’t had a broken foot.”
Dowman’s absence for Sunday’s match away to Liverpool leaves Arteta with a dearth of wide players.
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Andy is refreshed and ready to go, so I’m off again. Ciao.
Maresca clarifies that Donnarumma is not un-droppable
Enzo Maresca has clarified that Gianluigi Donnarumma is droppable like any other Manchester City player, having said following Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win over Brighton that it is “Giogo plus 10”.
Donnarumma’s form is currently uneven, with City’s No 1 at fault for Aston Villa’s winner in last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat. The Italian also made errors for two goals in the 4-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month.
In reference to the City manager’s comment about his team being Donnarumma and 10 others, Maresca was asked if there are any other undroppable players.
“I think one thing is to say that in this moment it is Gigio is plus 10 and another thing to say [he is] un-droppable,” the City manager said. “Yes, there are two different things. There is no player that is un-droppable. But at this moment it is Gigio plus ten.”
Maresca also brushed off Fabian Hurzeler’s comments after the Carabao Cup tie, where the Brighton head coach stated City had the “luck” and that Saturday’s league meeting between the sides at the Etihad Stadium is about “revenge”.
Maresca said: “This is what he said. Every manager can say something different. It depends on what you see with your eyes. But I respect what he said. “We’re going to try to do our best and try to win the game. If it’s revenge or these kinds of things, it’s more about them, not about us.”
Apart from Antoine Semenyo, who has a knee injury, Maresca has all of his squad available.
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Spurs get Maddison injury boost ahead of Palace clash
James Maddison will be available for Tottenham when they take on Crystal Palace despite an injury scare after he limped off in the 51st minute of Spurs’ 2-0 victory at Chelsea.
After Maddison had endured a slow start to the campaign with caution preached over his fitness following a May return from anterior cruciate ligament damage, his substitution last Saturday looked to be another setback.
But, ahead of the Palace game, Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi said: “James is available. This week he didn’t work like the other players, but for tomorrow he is available and he is a special player for us. A special player because of the character and he has unique characteristics.
“For James Maddison or the players who are coming from a long injury, they have to work more than the other players, but he has already four or five weeks he is working very hard and consistently.
“So, I think it’s not a problem if he loses two days (training), but then we have to analyse if we take risk or not.
“If we take risk like Pedro Porro (against Aston Villa) or (Dejan) Kulusevski. We are lucky to have a big squad and it’s important to not take risk with new injuries.” Press Association
Fenerbahce name Kuyt as interim manager
Former Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt will be in the Fenerbahce dugout when his old club visit Istanbul in the Champions League next week after the Turkish club named him as interim manager.
Kuyt, 46, took over from Ismail Kartal, who resigned following Monday’s 2-1 derby defeat by Galatasaray and Fenerbahce’s baord have now confirmed the Dutchman will remain in charge until the next international break.
“The committee established by our board will carry out the work to appoint our new head coach, and the process will be accelerated,” Fenerbahce said in a statement.
The former Netherlands international spent six seasons at Liverpool between 2006 and 2012 before joining Fenerbahce, where he won the Turkish league title in 2014.
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‘There’s a new chapter to write’: Le Bris upbeat as Sunderland eye Coventry reunion
Twenty seconds of stoppage time remained when Enzo Le Fée picked up the ball and kissed it before taking a corner. As intended, the Frenchman’s perfect, right-footed delivery dropped into the corridor of uncertainty that leaves goalkeepers torn between leaving their line or standing firm.
It also dipped at the right moment for Dan Ballard to power a header in off the crossbar. Extra time in the 2025 Championship playoff semi-final second leg was almost over and Sunderland had secured a 1-1 draw that consigned Coventry to a 3-2 aggregate defeat.
As an outpouring of the loudest, most raucous emotion imaginable left the Stadium of Light feeling as if it was literally shaking, Régis Le Bris momentarily looked bewildered. By the time joyous comprehension began spreading across the Sunderland manager’s face, Frank Lampard was already a study in misery. Sunderland were on their way to Wembley, leaving Coventry in the Championship for another year.
Read Louise Taylor preview of Sunderland’s meeting with Coventry in full:
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Hello, me again. Shall I kick-off with some Super Franky Lampard? Here he is discussing this weekend’s bottom-of-the-table clash between Coventry and Sunderland.
Asked whether Saturday’s result could be key for both sides, the Sky Blues manager replied:
No, it’s too early for that. It’s a good opponent who are a very strong team.
They are a strong team and in Europe, been in this league now for a couple of years. It is very early to talk about where they are and where we are.
To find the consistency is what top teams manage to do. Some of our players in terms of Premier League experience are learning in real time. We have to learn quickly, improve quickly.
We’ve all been given another challenge and they have to relish it and take it head on.
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Right, I’m off for some lunch but I leave you in the very capable hands of Tom Bassam.
Maresca on 'aggressive' Brighton and City's right direction
Round two of Man City v Brighton at the Etihad after their midweek Carabao Cup game there went all the way to penalties.
“They are doing very good, on and off the ball, they are very aggressive, man-to-man oriented, they attack very good with so many players. It’s going to be a tough game,” City manager Enzo Maresca said in a press conference, adding that they score many goals against teams. No Premier League side has more than Brighton (23) this season.
Asked whether there is no more established Premier League Big Six, he replied: “You can have one or two surprises every season but now the level is so similar, you can drop points against any team and win against any team. It’s more of a similar level.
It’s very good for the Premier League, that’s why so many people probably love the Premier League because you never know.”
Four months have passed since Maresca’s appointment. Unsurprisingly, he is happy with how his table-toppers are faring. “I think we go in the right direction. I said in the last press conference, after changing manager and many players after so many years, it takes time to compete again – and we are competing in all competitions.”
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More details from England’s controversial U15 World Cup win over Bolivia, sealed with an uncontested penalty:
It appears that the Bolivian goalkeeper chose not to try and save England’s decisive penalty in protest at what he saw as an inaccurate call by the referee. Bolivia felt the foul which led to the spot kick had occurred outside the box.
After England then loudly celebrated their goal, Bolivian players then ran over to the ref to berate him. While they were held back by coaching staff from both countries, one player was ultimately shown the red card.
FIFA are awaiting the officials’ report on the game. This was, remarkably, the 936th game of the tournament, and England’s last, after they finished in Tier B of the competition.
The Tier A final will be contested later today by Czechia and Spain.
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Munich air disaster memorial targeted by thieves
The Manchester Munich Memorial Foundation (MMMF) charity has said it is “deeply saddened” after items were stolen from a memorial to the Munich air disaster in the German city.
The memorial display in Manchesterplatz honours the 23 victims of the disaster, which occurred when the plane transporting Manchester United home from a European Cup tie in Belgrade crashed after refuelling in Munich on February 6, 1958.
The tragedy took the lives of eight United players.
The MMMF said it was notified earlier this week that the memorial display case had been vandalised and that items had been taken.
They said United had offered to pay for repairs but that it had already agreed to cover the costs.
MMMF chair Ifty Ahmed said: “The Manchester Munich Memorial Foundation is deeply saddened by this act of vandalism and theft.
“Manchesterplatz is a place of enormous significance to the families of the 23 people who lost their lives as a result of the Munich air disaster, and to Manchester United supporters across the world.
“Those responsible may have damaged a display case and stolen treasured items, but they cannot steal our memories, diminish our friendship or destroy the legacy of those we remember. Their memory will endure, and the bond between Manchester and Munich will remain unbreakable.” Press Association
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Forest Green launch legal proceedings against former manager Savage's departure
Forest Green owner Dale Vince says the club have started legal proceedings over their former manager Robbie Savage’s departure to Peterborough.
Vince told Sky Sports News: “We are suing Peterborough and Robbie Savage for £2m, which was the buyout clause that we were cheated out of. And that process began last week.”
Vince claimed there was “an abundance of evidence of an approach” made by Peterborough’s chair, Darragh MacAnthony.
Peterborough declined to comment on the latest development, but Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony has previously posted on X that the appointment of Savage was “100 per cent proper, following all rules”.
Savage left National League side Forest Green four weeks ago.
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Under-21 football should be scrapped. There are 18-year-olds retained only so clubs have a big enough squad to support the one player who could become a diamond. A boy should be released at latest 18. Those who stay should be in the first team or on loan.
Young players need the competitiveness of senior football as soon as possible. Academy football is tidy and highly technical but has little resemblance to the frenetic, physical senior game.
It also doesn’t test whether a boy has the mentality to cope in a tough dressing room where older players don’t want you taking their place. As a young player at Nottingham Forest I dribbled in training past an older teammate who warned: “Do that again, son, and I’ll break your leg.” It’s not like that any more but you need a certain character.
Full story:
Arbeloa: Fulham need to be more clinical
After two Premier League wins on the trot, Fulham took a back-step on Wednesday with a 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup, despite controlling play and dominating possession.
“I think we can do better in the final third,” manager Álvaro Arbeloa said in his press conference this morning. “We controlled the game, we had the possession but even with that, we could have created more chances. It’s something we need to improve. We need to work on it and do better in the final pass and be more clinical in the finishing.”
He said that front men Gonzalo García and Rodrigo Muniz needed better service. In a clash of Spanish managers, his side face Unai Emery’s Aston Villa tomorrow evening.
“We are in a process as a team; in every process, there are ups and downs. I think we need to learn from our mistakes,” he said.
He also said that Emile Smith-Rowe, a peripheral player this season, needed to be patient for his chance. “Emile is a very talented player, like others,” he said. “They need to keep working as they are doing and they need to wait for their opportunity.”
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Brighton hope to have Chema Andres and Ferdi Kadioglu available for their second trip to Manchester City of the week.
Andres and Kadioglu sat out Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie at the Etihad Stadium after suffering hip injuries at Liverpool on Saturday.
But both are expected to return for the Premier League visit this weekend, when Charalampos Kostoulas will also be available after he was rested in midweek.
However, Pascal Struijk will not be available when Brighton look for revenge after being knocked out of the cup on penalties.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler said at a press conference in Manchester on Thursday: “A positive was that (Yankuba) Minteh and Mats Wieffer had their comeback yesterday.
“Ferdi, Chema, also Kostoulas (who) we rested yesterday, we are quite convinced that he will be an option for Saturday.” PA
Michael Carrick: United players have 'hunger to do better'
Should he stay or should he already have gone? It doesn’t get any easier for under-fire Michael Carrick as his side face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in tomorrow’s early kick-off.
Following their 3-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth, Manchester United are 16th in the Premier League and on their worst run without a victory in all competitions since 2015.
“The boys, I have to say, are hungry,” Carrick said in a press conference today. “We’re hurting because we haven’t won enough football games, but there’s an intensity, there’s a bit of an edge, there’s a disappointment, there’s a hunger to do better, for sure.”
Surely this match is Carrick’s last chance. He appears to be ignoring all the noise. “My responsibility is the players,” he said. “The outside is not anything for me to focus on.
“I know what we can affect, I know what we need to improve. I know as a group, leading a group, what help they need a little bit as well and a bit of guidance at certain times and dealing with certain things.”
Carrick also confirmed that Bruno Fernandes retains the club captaincy and is “fully committed” to the cause.
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Everton manager David Moyes’ news conference is due to start in a few minutes’ time, we’ll bring you the news from that. I’m sure the dropped Jack Grealish will come up again…
They were on song last night at home in the Carabao Cup last night against Newcastle, with Jordan Pickford showing his pedigree in the first-half before goals from James Garner, Hayden Hackney and Thierno Barry. They will play Fleetwood in the quarter-final.
But first, more of the same: they are away to Newcastle on Monday night.
Read Andy Hunter’s full report from the Hill Dickinson Stadium:
Cristiano Ronaldo moves closer to 1,000-goal milestone
985 not out… yes, that shy and not retiring (yet) Portuguese mega-star is nearing the magical mark.
He scored a 15-minute hat-trick to help Al-Nassr to a 5-3 win over Al Kholood yesterday. His club are second in the Saudi Pro League behind Al Qadsiah on goal difference. Never mind his 30-day suspension for walking out on a Portugal training camp – at this rate, the 41-year-old could hit four figures in early 2027.
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News to wound hipster football fans: Inter and Milan have unveiled plans for their new Generali Stadium, which will replace the San Siro from the 2031-32 season.
It will have a capacity of 71,500 seats and is expected to cost £1bn.
Say it ain’t so. Looks nice, but it’s not got the beauty or dignity of the spiral walkways, has it?
Compare and contrast:
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Arsenal’s appeal against Max Dowman’s red card in their Carabao Cup defeat at Fleetwood has been rejected by an independent commission. That means no wonder boy in the squad when they play Liverpool on Sunday, as well as their next games against Hull and Newcastle. (To be fair, Dowman has had precious few Premier League minutes so far this season.)
A headline-making minor setback in the 16-year-old’s embryonic career then. I still don’t think his reaction warranted a red card, mind. What do you readers make of it?
Full story:
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Uncontested penalty seals England win in U15 World Cup
More drama involving England. They beat Bolivia 3-2, with the goalkeeper standing passively by the goalpost and making no effort to save the match-winning spot kick.
According to the PA, Bolivia players then appeared to confront the referee, as well as England players, before both sides finally left the pitch in Azerbaijan, which is hosting the tournament.
This comes four days after the abandonment of their match against the Republic of Ireland on Monday after a player reported being subjected to a racist slur. The matter has been referred to a FIFA independent disciplinary committee.
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Ballard and Mundle out for Sunderland
The Premier League’s bottom two teams play on Saturday, as Sunderland travel to Coventry.
Wearsiders will have fond memories of Dan Ballard’s late winner in the 2024-25 Championship play-off semi-final against Frank Lampard’s side. No chance of a similar intervention this time round, with the centre-back absent due to a thigh issue. Romain Mundle is also out, with knee problems.
With two wins in their last three matches, Coventry are on the up and “competitive”, according to Régis Le Bris, who spoke in his press conference about what changes with promotion to the top tier:
“Now you don’t have the same amount of possession so it’s a new balance and you have to learn.
“It’s always a new story. Coming from last year to this season, we had the World Cup, a few injuries and a tough start in the Premier League with a busy schedule.
“It means they have to adapt and to learn with this new I won’t say overload, but this new journey and schedule and it takes time.”
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In case you missed it last night: Everton left Jack Grealish out of their squad for yesterday’s 3-1 Carabao Cup win over Newcastle United following a “breach of club discipline”.
It is understood the 31-year-old missed training on Monday without permission and the decision to drop him was taken by manager David Moyes in conjunction with the club’s chief executive Angus Kinnear.
Everton paid £12m in total to have Grealish on loan last season and are paying a similar sum for this campaign. He will become a free agent at the end of this season when his lucrative contract with City expires.
Full story:
The 'nervous system changes' behind Kulusevski’s comeback
Dejan Kulusevski returned to competitive action for Tottenham after a 17-month injury layoff to play the last few minutes in the club’s 3-1 home victory against Coventry last week and followed that up with another substitute appearance in Saturday’s win at Chelsea.
Kulusevski had multiple setbacks after knee surgery in May 2025. But a second procedure in March finally set him on the road to recovery.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s match against Crystal Palace, the 26-year-old Kulusveski told SpursPlay: “It had been like one year and a couple of months and I still can’t walk on the stairs. I can’t walk on the stairs like a normal guy. I have to play football so in my head I’m not going to give up, but I have to think that if this doesn’t work out, what do I do?
“I went to a physio in Sweden. He was able to change my nervous system and then it felt different. When I did the exercises, I said, ’I don’t have pain, like this hurt yesterday. Why is this not hurting today?’
He added: “There was still pain but it was different. Now I had control of my leg and then that is when the grind started that summer. I started to play football and it got better every day. I was limping and everything, but it was different now.
“I got much stronger in a short time and I went from ’this guy will not play football any more’ to playing really good football in just a couple of weeks.” AFP
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Thanks Tom. From the Premier League to South Korea, experiencing an autumn of discontent after their poor World Cup showing.
Coach Hong Myung-bo and KFA president Chung Mong-gyu resigned, were questioned by parliamentarians and then police raided KFA offices.
This divided team’s leading man is Son Heung-min, but even his place is not guaranteed, as John Duerden explores. The discussion around the ex-Spurs veteran could move to whether he should start at all, which was previously borderline unthinkable.
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Alas, my time on the blog is up for now. Good news, Andy McGrath is here to take over.
Bruno Fernandes owes Manchester United a performance, Mathys Tel has arrived at Spurs and Liverpool are improving… here are your ten things to look out for this weekend in the Premier League:
Fifa to miss equal Women’s World Cup prize money ambition set by Infantino
Fifa is to fall short of gender equality with the prize money on offer at next year’s Women’s World Cup, despite making a record $15bn (£11.2bn) in revenue from this summer’s men’s tournament.
Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, said in 2023 that the organisation’s “ambition” was to have “equality” for the prize pot for 2027, saying: “Fifa is stepping up with actions, not just with words.” There had, therefore, been widespread hope across the women’s game that 2027’s prize pot would match the men’s on at least a per-team basis.
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Kroupi not yet ready to start for Bournemouth
Marco Rose will hold Bournemouth forward Junior Kroupi back for a little longer despite more minutes in midweek. A foot injury sidelined Kroupi for the first three months of the campaign, but the highly rated French attacker returned in the 3-0 win over Manchester United and was introduced in the 80th minute of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup triumph over Aston Villa.
Ahead of Saturday’s visit of Leeds, Rose told a press conference: “We still need to build up his game time. I’m really happy to have him back, to have his quality, but he knows that he has to be patient in this situation to not get in a difficult situation with another injury.
“We need to get him fit, in a good spot with more and more match time in between good sessions of training.”
The Cherries remain without Alex Scott, but he could return from a thigh injury next week.
Brighton hope to have key duo back for round two with City
Head coach Fabian Hurzeler said he is confident that Chema Andres and Ferdi Kadioglu will be available as Brighton seek immediate revenge on Manchester City after being knocked out of the Carabao Cup at the Etihad Stadium on penalties in midweek.
Andres and Kadioglu suffered hip injuries at Liverpool last weekend, but both are expected to return at the Etihad after sitting out the cup tie, while Charalampos Kostoulas will also be available after he was rested on Wednesday night.
However, summer signing Pascal Struijk will not be available, he is out with an undisclosed knock.
Hurzeler told media in Manchester on Thursday: “A positive was that (Yankuba) Minteh and Mats Wieffer had their comeback yesterday.
“Ferdi, Chema, also Kostoulas (who) we rested yesterday, we are quite convinced that he will be an option for Saturday. This is the new information we can give.
“Regarding Pascal Struijk, he won’t be an option for the weekend, but we are quite convinced that he will be back afterwards.” Press Association
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U-turn on Afcon as tournament reverts to two-year cycle
The Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) will revert to being held every two years after the continent’s ruling body reversed its decision taken last year to move to a four-year cycle.
The African Football Confederation (Caf) said in a statement that it had: “Unanimously decided that the CAF Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) will return to taking place every two years.”
Caf said part of the reasoning for performing a U-turn on the decision was the length of time it would take for Afcon’s replacement competition, the Africa Nations League Pan-African Competition, to become financially viable.
“We were also concerned by the several years required before the proposed new Africa Nations League Pan-African competition, (which was supposed to be identical to the current Afcon and take place every two years), could make the substantial financial and football development contributions for African Football and Caf competitions to be globally competitive and self-supporting,” Caf president Patrice Motsepe said in the statement.
Motsepe added that the decision was also taken in the interests “of African players employed by football clubs outside Africa”. That may prove contentious with their clubs looking at losing key players every two years as opposed to four.
Next year’s tournament is being co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and CAF said the following three would take place in 2028, 2031 and 2033.
“The forthcoming Fifa World Cup will take place in 2030 and in accordance with the Fida tradition, the final tournament of the Afcon and other confederations national team competitions may not take place during the year of the Fifa World Cup,” said Motsepe, explaining the three-year gap between the 2028 edition and the scheduled 2031 tournament. AFP
Manchester City’s hopes of avoiding the ‘punishment round’ of the Women’s Champions League took a blow last night. Tara Elimbi Gilbert’s late effort handed City their third consecutive draw of the league phase and the English champions now probably need to wins on each of the last three matchdays to avoid the knockout phase play-offs in February.
“Annoying is not the right word but it’s a little bit a feeling of ‘argh’,” said City manager Andrée Jeglertz, post-match “We deserved more, I think, but that’s how it is in the Champions League. When you dominate games and you don’t score, the opponent will take their chances and that’s what they did.”
Read Tom Garry’s full report from the Joie Stadium:
Preamble
After a week of Carabao Cup action, we are counting down to the weekend football action.
Last night saw the last of this round of matches as Everton beat a poor Newcastle side to move into the quarter-finals, crucially without Jack Grealish. The England international was dropped for what the club described as a ‘breach of club discipline’, with David Moyes later saying he supported the decision without offering further details. Interestingly, Everton travel to Newcastle for Monday night football, whether Grealish will travel for that one will surely gather a lot of attention.
Away from the drama on Merseyside, is the drama at Old Trafford. Last Friday we were treated to Michael Carrick’s six-minute monologue after which his Manchester United side crumbled at home to Bournemouth. Remarkably Carrick is still in situ and this weekend United are on the road for a nostalgia-tinged trip to Chelsea, a fixture that was once key to the top four battle, and kind of still is but now it’s just a bit sadder.
We are due a slate of pre-match Premier League press conferences, which we’ll be keeping you across, plus looking back at last night’s Women’s Champions League action and more. Your football weekend starts here, (I like to imagine that bit with quite a Sky Sports News heading to the ad break style delivery).
