This is a useful piece for fantasy football players:
Key events
That’s all from me today. We’ve covered quite a bit today, from Cole Palmer stubbing his toe to Celtic’s fervid AGM to the latest injuries with Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle.
Here is a handy round-up! Until next time, cheers!
Here are some further quotes from Tottenham manager Thomas Frank before his first north London derby against Arsenal and Mikel Arteta.
The interesting thing is that probably both Mikel and I would like a little bit more of a controlled game, but it will probably end up absolutely madhouse. I expect a difficult (match), but a game that can go anywhere.
Embrace controlled chaos because chaos can be good. Chaos can be transitions, high-pressure and set-piece second phases and all those areas are of course areas we would like to exploit if we can. By the way, we will never go for a 0-0. It maybe will end 0-0 but we will always try to win. Always, always, always.”
Sindre Walle Egeli joined Ipswich from Nordsjælland in August for an initial £17.5m, a record fee paid by a Championship club. Nick Ames went to meet the record scorer for Norway’s age-group sides (more prolific than even Erling Haaland), discusses his World Cup hope, being frozen out at 15 and fake tickets heartbreak at Anfield.
Paul Pogba is expected to return to action for the first time in 811 days when he is named in Monaco’s squad to face Rennes in Ligue 1 on Saturday. The 32-year-old midfielder joined Monaco during the summer after having a four-year doping ban reduced to 19 months upon taking his case to the Court of Aribitration for Sport (CAS). He has spent the intervening months working on his fitness. Pogba’s last competitive appearance was for Juventus in a Serie A match against Empoli in September 2023.
“We try to help him reach his full potential so that the team comes out on top,” Monaco manager Sebastien Pocognoli said. “He has the qualities to adapt to what we want to implement in midfield, he hasn’t lost his vision or his technique.”
When asked what Pogba could bring to his side, former West Brom and Brighton defender Pocognoli said: “Many things, including his experience and leadership, both on and off the pitch, not to mention his qualities, which will need to adapt to the pace of competition.”
I did a piece back in August on Pogba’s unveiling at Monaco. Pogba’s announcement video, entitled La Renaissance, was slick, with his unmistakeable energy and confidence on show. “Like a kid all excited for his first day of school,” narrated the Frenchman.
But a secondary video showing a tearful Pogba actually signing his contract has far more impact. In contrast to the first choreographed video, Pogba’s raw emotion comes to the fore as his doping ban, injuries and legal cases seem to melt away with the resumption of his career.
“I’m sorry – thank you for your trust,” blurts out Pogba to Monaco’s sporting director, Thiago Scuro, with the midfielder barely able to get the words out. “It is very rare to see me cry like that, so I hope you enjoyed it,” Pogba later reflected. “There were so many images that came into my mind. We know the doping story, my injury. Everything came back to me during the signing and I couldn’t hold back.”
Sheffield Wednesday edge closer to a takeover
Sheffield Wednesday’s administrators hope to grant exclusivity to a buyer by 5 December. Co-administrator Kris Wigfield said on Friday that 12 parties who have demonstrated proof of funds of £50m have already been granted access to the Championship club’s data room.
Wigfield said several parties had come forward with “sensible offers” or given assurances that they would do so in the next few days, as Wednesday prepare to take on local rivals Sheffield United on Sunday.
“This is a very strong position for the club and a clear indication of Sheffield Wednesday’s huge potential,” Wigfield said. “We will review the offers at the start of next week in the hope that by 5 December we will be able to accept a deposit and grant exclusivity, allowing the EFL’s formal checks to begin.” PA Media
Ben Fisher went along to Wolves’ training ground to meet the new manager, Rob Edwards, who is aware taking his “dream job” has let former side Middlesbrough down.
This is a useful piece for fantasy football players:
Arsenal, Chelsea and Leeds are the only teams that will suffer no losses to Afcon – every other Premier League team should lose at least one player. Sunderland are expected to lose seven players (!) while Wolves could lose up to five (depending on the call-ups).
Afcon begins on 21 December although the nations will want their players in situ at least a few days before. Last year, André Onana opted to play for Manchester United at Tottenham (a 2-2 draw) on the eve of the tournament. Bad weather and delays meant he was not present for Cameroon’s opener against Guinea. That caused quite a stir and the goalkeeper was dropped for Cameroon’s decider against Gambia and didn’t feature again for his country before arriving back in the UK.
This year, the groups stages finish on New Year’s Eve, so some teams could feasibly begin to have their players back for the FA Cup third-round ties in early January. The Afcon final is not until 18 January, so some players could be gone for at least a full month.
Two other players departing for Afcon are Manchester United’s Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo, who will represent Cameroon and Ivory Coast respectively. If that is bad news for United, then the good news is that Benjamin Sesko’s knee injury will only rule him out of action for a “few weeks”. Ruben Amorim is hopeful of having the Slovenian back on the grass before his African duo depart for the tournament in Morocco.
There was mention of Yoane Wissa’s potential return from injury this morning on this blog, with Newcastle manager Eddie Howe suggesting that the forward is “close” to full fitness once again. Wissa damaged his posterior cruciate ligaments during the September international break with DR Congo, just a few days after joining Newcastle in a £55m move from Brentford. It would be cruel on the club to have Wissa fit again just before he leaves for Afcon, but that seems to be close to the truth of what is about to happen.
Last month, Alan Shearer suggested that Wissa should reject an almost inevitable call-up from the DRC for the tournament in Morocco in December and January and, instead, prioritise playing for Newcastle. That seems like a very narrow standpoint from Alan.
Common sense! In football!
Premier League clubs will no longer be able to sell hotels or their women’s teams to get around spending controls after the competition agreed to a new financial rulebook.
At a meeting on Friday, 14 of the Premier League’s 20 clubs voted in favour of a Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) system to replace the existing profitability and sustainability rules (PSR). The clubs also voted overwhelmingly against the introduction of controversial anchoring plans.
Football Daily is live and features mention of an ironing board, a bottle of salad cream and intellectual property.
Ed Aarons has more on the Arsenal latest, including updates on Martin Ødegaard and Bukayo Saka.
Arsenal have conceded only five goals in 17 matches this season and Cristhian Mosquera or Piero Hincapié, both signed in the summer to provide more defensive cover, are in line to replace Gabriel. It is understood that the captain, Martin Ødegaard, could return from a knee injury against Spurs having been out since the start of September but Arteta would not speculate when Gabriel Martinelli, Viktor Gyökeres or Noni Madueke may be back.
Bukayo Saka is expected to retain the armband if Ødegaard is not ready to start and Arteta expressed confidence that the England forward would extend his contract, which expires in 2027. “What I’m very aware of is that he wants to continue with us, that he’s very happy,” he said.
“I would also crowbar in Ben White as a very capable replacement for Gabriel,” messages Arsenal fan Bryan. “Not as a starter though, I’d rather Mosquera with Hincapie as a safety net for MLS.”
The signings of Mosquera and Hincapié surely mean that White is seen purely as competition for Timber at right back. The Dutchman can also play centre back if needed, but is the best right back in the league right now. I agree that Mosquera, who has been impressive when I have watched him this season, seems like right choice to replace Gabriel.
Here’s our interview with the Spaniard from last weekend.
Who has taken the most shots from outside the box without scoring in the Premier League this season? Who has run the furthest in the division so far? Who has had a total 3,230 touches in his Premier League career, with only 19 of them in the opposition’s box (0.006%)?
The answers to all of these questions can be found in this nice piece from Opta’s Matt Furniss.
Here is a bit more from today’s fiery Celtic AGM, with details from a pre-prepared video made by chairman Peter Lawwell, chief finance officer Chris McKay and chief executive Michael Nicholson now coming to light. The trio have been at the centre of demands for change from supporters groups following discontent over summer transfer business and failure to qualify for the Champions League.
Fans have grown increasingly frustrated over the club’s ambition and transfer strategy and departed manager Brendan Rodgers did not hide his dissatisfaction with the speed of new arrivals during the summer.
McKay defended the club’s summer cash reserve position of £77m as he stressed they had broken their transfer record twice in the 2024 summer window with the purchase of Adam Idah and Arne Engels.
The year-end cash figure was a consequence of a very successful year in terms of Champions League performance and player trading,” said McKay. “But it’s important to note that’s a point of time, 30 June, which also happens to coincide with our cash high point in the year. But since then, we’ve invested in major infrastructure projects, we’ve been through a transfer window, and we’ve dropped to the Europa League this year. And all of that has an impact on cash, so the position today looks different. We would never be so presumptuous to assume that we would be in the Champions League every year, because history tells you something different.
Over the last year we invested the highest sums of money ever in the history of the club in the transfer window. We broke our transfer record twice. We had the highest first-team cost in the history of the club. We had the highest squad-carrying value in the history of the club. That’s not lack of ambition. That’s a willingness to back a football department and progress our team, and that’s exactly what we did.
The summer transfer window was absolutely nothing to do with the sums of money we had in the bank. We indeed wanted to spend more, but for circumstances which we’ve covered elsewhere, we were unable to deliver on that.” PA Media
Hello everyone! Given those injuries to Gabriel and Calafiori, who will line up, then, for Arsenal in the north London derby? Left back seems an easy fix, with Myles Lewis-Skelly waiting in the wings. The teenager will be eager to impress, not only so he can stay in Arteta’s starting XI, but also so he can force his way back into the England reckoning by the time the next international break (in late March!) rolls around.
Replacing Gabriel is not as straightforward, and not just because the Brazilian has been one of the standout defenders in world football this season. Arteta will choose between Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapié, their two summer arrivals who were signed for exactly this sort of crisis hiccup (this is not a crisis). Arsenal fans, who would you prefer to start, and why?
With that, I shall pass over to Michael Butler.
Arsenal: Mikel Arteta has been talking about the derby atmosphere as Tottenham cross town to the Emirates.
“When you have everybody playing with that passion and emotion with the team in every single ball, it makes a difference. We’re privileged with the way our fans have been with us at the Emirates. It is a game that emotionally requires something else. You cannot be too hot but the game demands that in every action you have to be at it a bit more than in any other game.”
Quiz, quiz, quiz: I got 15/17 though flubbed a football question.
Arteta issues Gabriel update – ‘out for weeks’
Arsenal: Not good – or certain – news for Gunners. The star centre back got hurt when Brazil played Senegal, and there’s another injured defender.
Mikel Arteta: “Yeah, Gabi unfortunately picked up an injury and he’s going to be out for weeks. We need to have another scan next Wednesday and we will have the timeline much more clear.”
Riccardo Calafiori has a knock, too, after Italy duty: “Yeah he wasn’t available, he’s been carrying a few things and we had to bring him back. He hasn’t trained yet, we have a session tomorrow so we will see.”
There may be some returnees: “We have put in a lot of energy to bring them back as quick as possible. Tomorrow we will have more clarity. I am hopeful that we will take another step tomorrow.”
Celtic: Martin O’Neill, the interim manager, has been speaking after that stormy club AGM meeting was abandoned.
I thought it was a really sad, sad morning, really sad morning. I just wonder what the great Jock Stein would have thought of it all, who preached unity at the football club, said that a club not united would never be successful. It’s as sad a morning as I’ve seen. I mean I’ve been to a few of these AGMs before and I suppose because we’ve been doing well at the time that it was nice. Not even sure I was ever asked a question in them at the time. But that was rather raucous.
There were people who would have wanted to ask questions and the board have said that they’ve made mistakes. There’s only so many times that you can apologise and then you have to get on with things again. So we’ll start again and hopefully that will start when the new manager comes in. A united Celtic will be far better equipped to compete and try and win again.
Tottenham: Thomas Frank has been speaking
“Pape (Sarr) trained today, ready and available. Lucas (Bergvall) trained today and is available. Kolo Muani, yes trained today, available – of course he has a mask he needs to play with…Dom [Solanke] is not ready yet. We are very aware that when we put him out there, we want to be as sure as we can that there will be no setback going forward. I am comfortable he will soon be ready.”
Defenders Ben Davies and Kota Takai also returned to training this week and centre-back Radu Dragusin took part in a behind-closed-doors friendly earlier this month to step up his recovery after he sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage in January.
Archie Gray is another back and Mohammed Kudus, who missed international duty with Ghana, has also returned to training in a further boost for Frank. James Maddison, Yves Bissouma and Dejan Kulusevski
Via PA Media: “The Premier League announced details of the 2026-27 season on Friday, and it is understood that commitment to a greater number of Boxing Day matches remains.
“The league has pledged that no two match rounds will take place within 60 hours over the Christmas and New Year period, in keeping with commitments made to clubs to address the congested festive schedule within the expanded international calendar.
“The season will kick off on 20 August, 2026 – 33 days on from the 2026 World Cup final.
The league said the 2026-27 season would conclude on Sunday, 30 May, 2027, ahead of the Champions League final which will be played on June 5, 2027.
Manchester United: Good news for Ruben Amorim on Benjamin Sesko’s injury. “It’s not that serious. Have to be careful. In a few weeks, expect to have him.”
He hopes Sesko will be back by the time Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo take off to the AfCon. He also thinks Lisandro Martinez might return to play in a midfield position.
It’s a year since Amorim was appointed, and he’s been reflecting on that.
“It was everything going really fast. The first thinking was the environment was different in the Premier League and I was excited with that. Right away I knew that we would struggle with some things but there was a feeling that yes, it was the best league and best club in the world. But at the same time it was a big job and it is going to take a lot of work.
“We are showing that [improvements] but the important thing is that it doesn’t matter what we did in the recent games we cannot forget that we still started in that point and suffered a lot last year and we have to take that into account. We have to play every game like it is the last one or the first one. But if you ask me, I expect a team with more control and more dominance, playing better football and the most important thing that we are more competitive in every way.”
More Fulham: These quotes from Marco Silva are not exactly fully committed to staying on at the Cottage.
“Not many things to share. First of all, grateful for the interest from the club. Even last season, we had some conversations. I am in permanent contract with the owner, but more with our CEO every single day. I was with Mr Khan a month ago when he showed again the interest to renew.
“We had some meeting like we normally have, not just about the contract but about the next man, the situation about Rodrigo [Muniz], the situation about what we want to do, and what will come in December and January for us and for us to be ready for it.
“They know I love to be in the football club, the Premier League is very hard, I am not an easy guy to deal with sometimes because I am very ambitious. And after almost five years with me to show the interest to keep me with the project going with the same person here is a very good sign.
“With myself, they should never worry. I never let them in this situation. Football is about results, about progressing, developing things. We know and they know, I know what the club needs to progress and develop. The feedback is there.’”
I’d be worried if I was a Fulham fan. Silva has done a fine job.
Fulham: Marco Silva, with talk he’s been offered a new contract this week, has been short of firepower all season. Now, his best striker Rodrigo Muniz, has broken down in his recovery from injury.
Magic Marco. “Sad news for us, for [Rodrigo] Muniz. Painful for himself, a player that has big aims for the season to improve his numbers. It’s always difficult when you see a player has taken a long time to come back, to recover from the injuries, and has a setback that obligates him to go for surgery and sort it out. The middle of February could be the time for him.”
Fulham play Sunderland tomorrow at Craven Cottage. There’s been wild rumours Silva could be replaced by Brendan Rodgers.
Wolves: A bit more Rob Edwards here, hitting the cliches pretty hard.
“Not looking at the table right now, just next session and game. I’ll be clear with players this is what we are going to do and how to win games of football and get points. It’s going to come from hard work.”
When do managers start looking at the table?
Liverpool: Interesting line from Arne Slot on Alexander Isak and Dominik Szoboszlai from earlier: “Alexander Isak with Sweden have 1 point out of 6 games in their group, and they still have a chance to reach the World Cup because they won Group ‘C’ of the Nations League. Meanwhile Szoboszlai’s Hungary played 2 good years of football, picking up quite a lot of points, but has no chance to qualify anymore. But luckily he’s used to disappointments lately here with this club [laughs].”
Seems Szob may be in for a new contract soon. He deserves one on current form.
Wolves: Ahead of his first game as manager, Rob Edwards has been speaking. “I did not want there to come a moment in 10/20 years where I look back and turned down this job,” he says. His team face Crystal Palace tomorrow, and need to start winning at home or he will be back in the Championship. “Feels amazing to be back. Really proud. Genuinely proud. I told staff and the players that. I will not lie, it has been an aim of mine since I got the under 18s job. It is something I’ve always wanted to do. I want some clarity and to get to know the players. Interesting week with international break. Trying to get our messages across with as much clarity as possible, while trying to get to learn the lads. There’s no perfect job in football. I know the scale of the task. But also really excited by the challenge as well and got full belief in group.”
Handover: John Brewin is here to take up the cudgels, while I go for a lie-down.
Andoni Iraola: Semenyo will continue to be our player
Bournemouth: Andoni Iraola endured a rather miserable international break, losing his Scottish winger Ben Gannon-Doak to a serious hamstring tear and his Dutch forward Justin Kluivert to an adductor muscle injury. Bournemouth’s Spanish head coach has also had to listen to – or try to ignore – no end of gossip linking Antoine Semenyo with a January move to a dizzying array of other clubs at home and abroad.
“We are in November,” he told reporters ahead of tomorrow’s match against West Ham at the Vitality Stadium. “Antoine is our player, he will continue to be our player. In January, you can ask me about the market but right now, I am not worried about the next market. I am not worried about the situation. In January, we will talk about whatever happened, the players we need.”
In slightly better news for Iraola and Bournemouth fans, both Adam Smith and Tyler Adams have been cleared to play tomorrow after undergoing concussion protocols that curtailed their training schedules during the international break.
Paul Pogba set to return after 811 days out
Ligue 1: Paul Pogba is expected to return to action for the first time in 811 days when he is named in Monaco’s squad to face Rennes in the French top flight tomorrow. The 32-year-old midfielder joined the Ligue1 club during the summer after having a four-year doping ban reduced to 19 months upon taking his case to the Court of Aribitration for Sport (CAS). He has spent the intervening months working on his fitness.
Pogba’s last competitive appearance was for Juventus in a Serie A match against Empoli in September 2023. The World Cup-winning France international and former Manchester United midfielder was due to make his Monaco debut against Lens just before the international break but had to delay his return due to an ankle injury. Monaco currently sit in sixth place in the French top flight, seven points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain. Should Pogba get a run-out tomorrow, he will make his Ligue1 debut.
Brighton: On the eve of his 50th Premier League game in charge (P49 W20 D17 L12) of the club, Fabian Hurzeler has been talking about what an honour it is to manage Brighton. “I’ve always emphasised that being the head coach of Brighton is a privilege,” he told reporters this morning. “So, I am really proud and really proud of working with really good staff members, really good experts that drive a really good culture.
“I am really privileged that I work with great leaders, great personalities as players, with a really great group, a group that drives the togetherness and tries to get better every day, no matter the circumstances or adversity that they face. The biggest thing I really love about the job is to see a team developing, an individual developing, and all these kinds of things, I really enjoy doing it.
“I always emphasised that this club is special, this club has a great identity, and I think identity is the most important. We are going to keep on trying and working hard. We are known for our great values, but we want to be known for success.”
Brighton host Brentford tomorrow and ahead of the game, Hurzeler revealed that it isd “not easy to predict” when Karou Mitoma will return from the ankle injury that has kept him out since the end of September. Solly March, Adam Webster and James Milner all remain out. Jack Hinshelwood has recovered from ankle ligament damage and should be among Brighton’s substitutes after being sidelined for over two months.
Premier League clubs reject top-to-bottom anchoring
Paul MacInnes
Explainer: Premier League clubs have voted overwhelmingly against the introduction of controversial anchoring plans but agreed a squad cost ratio system, as the top flight moved to a new era of financial regulation, writes Paul MacInnes.
Top-to-bottom anchoring (TBA) would have tied the spending of the league’s clubs to a multiple of the revenue earned by the division’s bottom-placed side the previous season in central payments passed on by the league. The plan has long been opposed by the top flight’s two Manchester clubs and a vote in London on Friday brought 12 votes against the measure and seven for, with Burnley abstaining.
The vote on squad cost ratios proved less divisive, with the necessary majority of 14 clubs voting in favour and six against. This means that from next season clubs will be limited to spending no more than 85% of their “football revenue” and “net profit/loss on player sales” on “on-pitch spending”, which includes player transfer fees and wages.
A third measure, referred to as sustainability and systematic resilience (SSR), which will bring real-time monitoring of finances and the introduction of liquidity buffers, was approved unanimously.
Brentford: The west London club announced last night that Fabio Carvalho has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament, an injury that will rule the Portuguese winger out for the rest of the season and end any hopes he might have had of staking a claim for a place in the Portugal squad for next summer’s World Cup. Keith Andrews has been discussing the latest misfortune to befall the injury prone player.
“It’s been a tough week for obvious reasons – it’s devastating for him,” he said. “He did it around a week ago in training, unfortunately. Devastating news for him. I feel for him. He’s someone who I have a lot of respect for as a man. This season he’s not been given as much of an opportunity as I ideally would’ve liked. He knows that.
“We were in constant communication before the injury about his development as a player and ambitions. Unfortunately, that’s been taken away from him for a period. We’ll support him really well as we always do. Fabio knows he’ll get support from everybody at the football club during this difficult period.”
Premier League rejects top-to-bottom anchoring
Football finance: Premier League clubs have rejected the idea of introducing top-to-bottom anchoring (TBA), which would prevent any club from spending more than five times the money earned the previous season by the league’s last-placed side in central payments passed on by the league. They did, however, at a meeting on Friday agree to bring in squad cost ratio (SCR) and sustainability and systematic resilience (SSR) proposals.
A league statement said: “SCR will regulate clubs’ on-pitch spending to 85% of their football revenue and net profit/loss on player sales. Clubs will have a multi-year allowance of 30% that they can use to spend in excess of the 85%. Utilising this allowance will incur a levy and once the allowance is exhausted, they will need to comply with 85% or face a sporting sanction. The new SCR rules are intended to promote opportunity for all clubs to aspire to greater success and brings the League’s financial system close to Uefa’s existing SCR rules which operate at a threshold of 70%.”
The Sustainability and Systemic Resilience rules assess a club’s short, medium and long-term financial health through three tests – Working Capital Test, Liquidity Test and Positive Equity Test.
Celtic AGM abandoned inside five minutes
Celtic: The club’s annual general meeting was adjourned moments after it began when board members were jeered. Directors were met with boos and dozens of red cards from shareholders as they entered the Kerrydale Suite at Celtic Park.
Cries of “Out! Out! Out!” followed before there were cheers for interim manager Martin O’Neill when he was introduced by chairman Peter Lawwell. As a season review video began to play on big screens, Celtic Trust vice-chair Jeanette Findlay approached the top table to ask that the meeting move immediately to questions. As more shouts and chants of “sack the board” came from shareholders, Lawwell said: “This disruptive behaviour is not on. It’s got to stop. We have to have respect for everyone else in the room.”
Amid shouts of “you respect us”, Lawwell called a 30-minute adjournment before the meeting resumed shortly after 11am. The board has been under major criticism from supporters’ groups over the club’s summer transfer business and failure to qualify for the Champions League. Principal shareholder Dermot Desmond was not present at the meeting, which took place in a packed Kerrydale Suite. Other fans watched via video link from another function suite.
Cole Palmer broken toe update: So it turns out he stubbed it on a door. I’ve done it myself, pulling the door open over an uncovered big toe and while I managed to avoid breaking mine, it doesn’t half hurt!
If my experience is anything to go by, I suspect that the effing and jeffing emanating from chez Palmer at the exact moment the bottom edge of the door struck his toe and started removing the skin from the knuckle could be heard from miles around.
Brighton: Fabian Hurzeler plans to celebrate his 50th match in charge of Brighton with the acquisition of three points, but wants more tangible success moving forward. The 32-year-old become the youngest permanent boss in Premier League history when he was hired in the summer of 2024 and after an eighth-placed finish last season, the Seagulls are 11th with 16 points after 11 games this term.
Brighton have often been talked up as one of the most innovative clubs in England for their ability to develop players and deal with constant changes to staff, but Hurzeler wants to be known for bringing success on the field. “I am really proud of being head coach and really proud of working with really good staff members,” he said ahead of tomorrow’s match against Brentford at the Amex Stadium.
“I think the biggest thing what I really love of the job is to see a team developing, to see an individual developing and all these things I really enjoy. I always emphasis that this club is special, it has a great identity and identity is the most important. We try to keep on driving and keep on working hard.
“On the one side, we are known for great values but on the other side we want to be known for success and this is really what we live for, what we work for and we have to keep pushing to achieve it.”
Of the job being done by his opposite number, the Brentford boss Keith Andrews, Hurzeler had this to say: “Yeah, really impressed. I know him a little bit and he is a great person. He had a great start with Brentford and they really understand how to win games.”
Newcastle United: Having spat the dummy in a bid to get a move from Brentford to Newcastle during the summer transfer window, Yoane Wissa has yet to make his debut for his new club having missed pre-season before injuring his knee while on duty with DR Conga in the first international break of the season. Eddie Howe has been discussing the striker’s fitness or lack thereof …
“I have not got a clear, defined return date for you,” he told reporters. “He’s working well. He’s not back training with us yet but he’s close. He’s working with the sports science team and almost entering a pre-season with them currently.
“He’s doing a lot of work, he’s looked good and looked better with every session. He’s close to training with us but until he gets there, it’s very difficult to give you a return date.”
Upon being asked if Wissa might be fit enough to go to play at Afcon, which kicks off on 21 Dec and ends on 18 January, Howe said: “Well, we will wait and see what happens.” DR Congo are also in the Global Intercontinental World Cup playoffs which are scheduled for March, when they will play either New Caledonai or Jamaica in Guadalajara for a place in next summer’s tournament.
Manchester City: We’ve mentioned elsewhere that despite it only being November, Erling Haaland has already scored a phenomenal 32 goals for club and country this season. The 25-year-old banged in his most recent four for Norway in two World Cup qualifiers against Estonia and Italy during the international break to help his country qualify for next summer’s jamoree in North America. The City striker goes into tomorrow’s match against Newcastle having scored eight goals in his past five games.
“He has been incredible this season,” said Pep Guardiola. “He has broke all the records and is breaking a lot of personal and individual records in the Premier League and for Norway.
“I’m happy for him and his national team. Many of the squad from Norway were not even born when they were last at the World Cup. They have had an incredible qualification, scoring lots of goals and playing very good. He is a world class player and deserves to play in the World Cup. He is the perfect age. I am so happy for him.”
Pep Guardiola: ‘The real season starts now’
Manchester City: Pep Guardiola’s side begin the weekend four points behind Arsenal in the title race but will reduce the deficit to just one and ramp up the pressure on their rivals ahead of Sunday’s North London derby if they beat Newcastle tomorrow evening. Pep was asked for his thoughts on the strong start to the season enjoyed by Mikel Arteta’s side and how he thinks his own team is getting on.
“The truth is the team as strong as Arsenal in the last season, they have been impeccable in many things,” he says. “The feeling that I have had in the past, where we have fought incredibly against Liverpool, I have had the feeling that we will not drop many points and if they can take a lot of distance it will be difficult to catch up with them.
“When the distance is too big it is more difficult but at the same time we are in November and in November, in this league, nothing is defined. What happens in February, March? Be careful. But now is the start of the season.
“Now, the international break is done, we have games every three or four days and the real season starts now. The important thing is to be there and to be close and after that, arrive at the end of the season with a chance that we can fight it. Winning tomorrow would be an important step for us.”
Newcastle: Eddie Howe on the threat Newcastle face tomorrow: “Manchester City have lots of threats from lots of different areas of their team so if you focus too much on one, I don’t think that’s right,” he says. “But of course, Haaland is an outstanding goalscorer and can score all different types of goals so we’re going to have to defend really well.
“There’s not one way of doing it. If you press high there’ll be weaknesses and if you drop low there will be weaknesses to that – you have to do what you think is right based on the players you have.”
Manchester City: Pep Guardiola faces the press ahead of Manchester City’s trip to St James’ Park to play Newcastle tomorrow. He says that all his players are fit and available for selection apart from Mateo Kovacic and Rodri. He also tells reports that “the real season starts here”. Grrrr!
Jacob Steinberg
Chelsea: It seems Palmer’s toe is broken. Jacob Steinberg has the latest from Enzo Maresca’s press conference: “Bad news for Chelsea fans, who have been left reeling by the revelation that Cole Palmer’s comeback from a groin injury has been delayed by the forward fracturing a toe in a freak accident at home,” he writes.
”Speaking ahead of his side’s trip to Burnley, Enzo Maresca said: ‘He is not available for tomorrow for sure, Barcelona for sure or Arsenal for sure. Unfortunately, he had an accident at home where he hit his toe but it is nothing important but he won’t be back in the next week. It’s fractured.’ I’m reminded of this …”
Domestic mishap delays Cole Palmer’s return …
Chelsea: Enzo Maresca has revealed that Cole Palmer’s eagerly awaited return to the Chelsea line-up following his recovery from a groin injury will be delayed because the midfielder has hurt his toe in some unspecified accident at home. The Chelsea head coach says he doesn’t know whether or not the little piggy in question is broken.
“I wake up many times in the night to go to the toilet,” he says. “I hit my head and leg and everything. It can happen. He was very close. He was back with us almost with the groin, which is very good news, but he has this small problem. We don’t know it’s fractured. The only thing we know he is not available for this week and next week.”
Palmer will miss tomorrow’s match against Burnley, Chelsea’s midweek Champions League match against Barcelona and next weekend’s visit of Arsenal to Stamford Bridge.
Burnley: Scott Parker says forward Armando Broja “maybe dodged a bullet” with an ankle injury he suffered against England appearing to be less serious than first feared. Broja could yet face former club Chelsea on Saturday having trained since Wednesday but that certainly had not looked like being the case when he left Albania’s World Cup qualifier against England on a stretcher on Sunday.
The 24-year-old’s reaction was understandable given the number of injury problems he has faced in recent seasons, but this time the news appears to be better. “It was his ankle,” Parker said. “I think maybe the mechanism of the injury, I think maybe there was an element of shock for him and obviously a bit of fear there because it looked like he rolled the ankle and felt it was on an ankle that he’s previously done as well.
“I’m sure there was an element of, ‘Oh, I’ve done something serious here’. But while there was initial pain, it seems to have settled down really, really quickly. There’s an injury there, but it’s very, very, very minor and it looks like we’ve maybe dodged a bullet.”
Burnley go into Saturday’s game hovering above the relegation zone on goal difference, with Parker looking for his side to improve on a number of details in their game but generally happy with the progress shown. “We’ve developed and definitely I’ve seen a massive improvement from us,” he said. “They’re just little tiny bits at this present moment in time [we need to work on].”
Newcastle: Eddie Howe is rocking the mic and has some injury updates. Anthony Gordon has “worked very hard over the break” to recover from his hip injury and is touch-and-go for tomorrow’s match against Manchester City. Tino Livramento is “very close” after recovering from the knee ligament injury that has kept him sidelined since the end of September and is also in contention for tomorrow’s game. Nick Pope is “fine” after undergoing concussion protocols, while Joelinton and Sandro Tonali are also both fit to face City.
Liverpool: Slot has been asked about Liverpool’s title chances and in light of Andy Robertson’s heartbreaking post-match admission that he spent the day leading up to Scotland’s win over Denmark thinking about and crying over the tragic summer loss of his good pal Diogo Jota, has also addressed the subject of grief.
““I’ve said many times, at this moment in time we are not thinking or talking about it,” he says of Liverpool’s hopes of retaining their title. “Same last season when we were top of the league, it is just about the next game. The best way to judge a league table is after 38 games. The next best, in my opinion, is after 19 games. Let’s see where we are then. For now, the only focus we have is on winning games of football.”
On Robertson’s interview: ““We are always judged, sometimes fair, sometimes not fair. But I saw the interview live and I know that it is an issue for us, which is completely normal. At this moment in time, I always think how must it feel for his wife and his children?
“Because it is so, so, so much harder for them than it is for us. But that we will miss the player and the person is completely clear. Now we play Nottingham Forest, last season there we were 1-0 down and it only took him [Jota] one minute to score the equaliser. So now I am talking about the player that we miss for sure. That we also miss him as a person is also clear.”
On grief: “It is good for us to remember him [Jota] at all times it is possible because of the person and player he was. It is impossible to measure what it does to the players and to our results. The last thing I would do is use it as an excuse. I don’t know. What I do know is that we miss the player, that is 100% sure, and we miss the person, but I cannot measure the impact that has on our results. That is impossible for me to say and we will never use it as an excuse.”
Bradley, Wirtz and Frimpong all out for Liverpool
Liverpool: Hurzeler and Howe must be watching the cricket, because it’s Arne Slot who is the first managerial cab off the rank. He comes bearing mixed tidings for Liverpool fans ahead of their match against Nottingham Forest at Anfield tomorrow.
A quick summary: Alisson has fully recovered from his hamstring injury, but Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong will be out for at least three weeks. Florian Wirtz is also unavailable, while Joe Gomez missed training yesterday but should be OK for today. However, Slot is reluctant to risk him for 90 minutes. “Maybe one or two players have to play in positions they normally don’t do,” he says.
Premier League press conferences: I don’t have today’s schedule to hand but it’s normally a toss-up between early birds Fabian Hurzeler and Eddie Howe to see who is first out of the traps. It’s a state of affairs that ensures football reporters on the Brighton and Newcastle beats have to be up with the lark on Friday mornings.
Brighton’s form this season has been up and down like an Eiffel Tower elevator but their home form is good, so you’d fancy their chances this weekend against a Brentford side who aren’t great on the road under Keith Andrews.
If you haven’t been paying close attention to Newcastle, it may come as a shock for you to learn they could finish this weekend in the relegation zone if they lose at home to Manchester City and results elsewhere don’t go their way. It’s an unlikely scenario but not one that’s totally inconceivable.
The omens for the Mags aren’t great because Howe’s record against Pep Guardiola in the Premier League is little short of dismal. In 18 attempts to mastermind a league win against him as Bournemouth or Newcastle manager, he’s drawn twice and lost 16 times.
Not football: They’re still playing in the final session of the Ashes series opening day in Perth, where England’s seam bowlers have helped their team mount a stirring recovery following a depressingly chaotic and kamikaze first innings with bat in hand. The doyen of over-by-over reporting that is Rob Smyth has the latest from Western Australia, mate …
Premier League fixtures
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Burnley v Chelsea (Sat 12.30pm GMT)
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Liverpool v Nottingham Forest (3pm)
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Bournemouth v West Ham (3pm)
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Wolves v Crystal Palace (3pm)
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Brighton v Brentford (3pm)
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Fulham v Sunderland (3pm)
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Newcastle v Man City (5.30pm)
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Leeds v Aston Villa (Sun 2pm)
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Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur (4.30pm)
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Man United v Everton (Mon 8pm)
Preamble
And just like that, a chaotic, emotionally charged and often wild international break is over. Selected highlights: Troy Parrott knocking Portugal and Hungary off their respective perches, Erling Haaland propelling Norway to the World Cup, a magnificent seven from Wales, and Scotland sealing their place in the tournament courtesy of a bonkers, late-night, six-goal Hampden Park thriller against Denmark.
After all that excitement it’s back to the weekly grind. The Premier League returns this weekend, kicking off its twelfth match-week with all the glorious, high-stakes drama we love. The big questions, as always: whose star players have survived the past fortnight unscathed.
We’re here to filter through the noise so you don’t have to. The Guardian’s Friday Football blog is open for business, bringing you all the pithiest quotes, rambling monologues and pertinent team news from today’s pre-match press conferences. We’ll be flagging up every significant injury scare, tactical hint, and managerial mood swing ahead of kick-off tomorrow.
Source From: Premier League | The Guardian
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