Word from the top-tier press conferences, including Maresca singling out Adarabioyo’s gaffes and Paquetá expecting an instant West Ham return
Continue reading...Premier League team news: predicted lineups for the weekend action
Aston Villa welcome leaders Arsenal in Saturday’s early kick-off before Manchester City host Sunderland
Saturday 12.30pm TNT Sports 1 Venue Villa Park
Continue reading...Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend
Van der Ven may be key for Spurs, Wissa could make Newcastle debut and Dyche deserves warm Everton welcome
Arsenal’s recent memories of Aston Villa are of awkward opponents. Mikel Arteta’s side squandered a two-goal lead at the Emirates Stadium when the teams last met, in January, Arsenal dropping two points, their title charge dented. With such little margin for error, it was the kind of day that boosted Liverpool and crystallised the sense that the Gunners would come up short. Villa also defeat Arsenal in 2023-24, abruptly halting Arteta’s six-game winning streak. Now Arsenal are in a different position, at the summit with a five-point lead – and six clear of Unai Emery’s team. Victory at Villa Park on Saturday, against a side that have lost only once in the league since August, would offer another significant indication that this could be the season Arsenal take the crown. Ben Fisher
Aston Villa v Arsenal, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT)
Bournemouth v Chelsea, Saturday 3pm
Everton v Nottingham Forest, Saturday 3pm
Manchester City v Sunderland, Saturday 3pm
Continue reading...Amorim ‘angry and frustrated’ after West Ham’s Magassa denies Manchester United
Until Soungoutou Magassa’s 83rd-minute equaliser Manchester United seemed to be flowering in the cold of winter on the way to a win that would have been their fifth in eight games.
Instead Jarrod Bowen’s flick-on from Andy Irving’s corner from the right had to be cleared off the line by Noussair Mazraoui, only for the ball to go straight to Magassa, who drove home a first goal for the Hammers.
Continue reading...Manchester United 1-1 West Ham: Premier League – as it happened
Diogo Dalot’s well-taken goal looked to have earned Manchester United all three points, until Soungoutou Magassa’s late equaliser denied them
West Ham, resplendent in a blend of grey, beige and cream with a dash of yellow, get the ball rolling. They’re kicking towards the Stretford End in this first half.
The teams are out! Manchester United in their red, white and black, West Ham United in second-choice ecru. According to House & Garden magazine, ecru is “a notoriously finicky colour to define” but they give it a go anyway: it’s “a blend of grey, beige, cream, and a dash of yellow, less creamy than cream, and not eggshell.” So there you have it. We’ll be off in a minute.
Continue reading...Arsenal 2-0 Brentford, Leeds 3-1 Chelsea, and more: Premier League – as it happened
Arsenal restored their five-point lead at the top of the table, while Leeds beat Chelsea and Villa came back from 2-0 down to win 4-3 at Brighton
Email! “Could this be the first time that a player with the surname Henry will grace the Arsenal pitch since Thierry’s retirement? wonders Peter Oh – no, I’m sure Karl Henry played there for Wolves, as well as Rico himself, and how good it is to see him back.
“As a Liverpool fan I would love to see Arsenal drop points today and feel some Schade-freude. Ouattara the chances?”
Continue reading...Liverpool 1-1 Sunderland: Premier League – as it happened
Sunderland were on course for their first win at Anfield since 1983 until Florian Wirtz forced an own-goal from Nordi Mukiele
1 min Liverpool kick off from right to left as we watch. They are in red; Sunderland are sporting their stylish Hummel change strip.
YNWA is being sung with the usual gusto at Anfield. The players on both sides look ready for business; let’s get it on.
Continue reading...Newcastle 2-2 Tottenham: Premier League – as it happened
Cristian Romero’s late overhead kick salvaged a point for Spurs after Newcastle were awarded a contentious penalty
Tottenham Hotspur kick off. A fine early-evening-pints-fuelled atmosphere at St James’ Park. Spurs are kicking towards the Gallowgate in this first half.
The teams are out! Newcastle in their famous black and white stripes, Spurs in 1982 FA Cup final yellow. A quick blast of the theme from Local Hero and we’ll be away. Howay!
Continue reading...Cristian Romero overhead kick snatches late Tottenham draw to deny Newcastle
Two late goals from Cristian Romero enabled Thomas Frank to leave Tyneside celebrating the sort of dramatic draw that can be construed as a form of moral victory.
The Tottenham captain’s equaliser in stoppage time, his second leveller of the scrappiest of games, not merely camouflaged plenty of visiting flaws but surely reinforced his manager’s recently fragile looking job security.
Continue reading...Fulham 4-5 Manchester City, Barcelona 3-1 Atlético Madrid and more – as it happened
Manchester City win a whirlwind game against Fulham, Barcelona extend their lead at the top of the table
Elsewhere … England are playing Ghana in a friendly. Join Yara El-Shaboury for that one.
Barcelona: Joan García; Koundé, Cubarsí , Balde, Gerard Martín; Pedri, Eric García; Olmo, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha; Lewandowski.
Continue reading...Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are showing the resilience of champions
In the past, moments like Chelsea’s shorthanded goal might have sent Arsenal reeling. No longer
The gap at the top is five points. Arsenal have now played two of their three toughest away games of the season. They’ve come through a potentially extremely tricky week with reputation enhanced, despite being without one of their starting centre-backs for all three games and both for one of them. If there is any sense of disappointment, it is only that they failed to beat Chelsea, whom they have become accustomed to getting the better of, despite having a man advantage from the 38th minute on Sunday.
But really there shouldn’t be any disappointment. Coming out of the international break, having conceded a late equaliser to Sunderland in their previous game, Arsenal looked potentially vulnerable. Despite having been by far the most impressive side this season, their lead over Manchester City was only four points. They were without Gabriel, who probably ranks alongside Declan Rice as their most important player. They faced Tottenham, Bayern and Chelsea over the course of eight days, and Manchester City appeared to be beginning to gather momentum.
Continue reading...Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s football
Ruben Amorim is happy to ‘steal’ from others, Phil Foden is central to City and Thomas Frank is in trouble at Tottenham
As Barney Ronay has noted, Arsenal are facing a weekly renewal of the Game You Just Have to Win If You Want to Be Champions. Did this represent a Game You Just Have to Win Because Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo Was Sent Off? Yes and no. The hosts will naturally be more pleased with a point in the context of the first-half red card, while Arsenal perhaps looked a little jaded and below their best overall. But Enzo Maresca’s side were excellent throughout, despite having to play so much of the match with 10 men, and they deserved something from it. Compared with some Chelsea v Arsenal encounters from the olden days (when more overtly physical iterations of the Blues traditionally used to crush the fragile Gunners) there were no signs of weakness, mental or otherwise, from Arteta’s Premier League leaders in a fierce and physical derby. They will experience few harder tests than this, and a point was fair. Luke McLaughlin
Continue reading...Arsenal held by 10-man Chelsea in feisty draw after Moisés Caicedo gets VAR red
Arsenal would surely have taken a draw beforehand, against a Chelsea team that have emerged as surprise title rivals in recent weeks – and especially when they realised they had to play without William Saliba, who injured himself in training on Saturday.
It was a different story when, in the 38th minute, Chelsea were reduced to 10 men after Moisés Caicedo’s X-rated challenge on Mikel Merino. It was one of those that made you wince upon each replay, the stand-in Arsenal striker fortunate to emerge unscathed.
Continue reading...Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal: Premier League – as it happened
Moises Caicedo was sent off for a nasty tackle on Mikel Merino, who later equalised after Trevoh Chalobah’s opening goal
5 min All a bit stop-start for now, with another stoppage when Rice is penalised for a foul on Caicedo.
Caicedo then shoves Merino (I think) out of his way off the ball.
Continue reading...West Ham United 0-2 Liverpool : Premier League – as it happened
Alexander Isak broke his Premier League duck as the fallen champions got back on track
Andy Flintoff gets in touch: “Looking at that Liverpool line-up, the two players with squad numbers >11 could so easily be switched with Endo & Salah with not a lot of positional changes required, which would leave it with a very retro looking 1-11.”
Arne Slot has been explaining his team selection to Sky Sports.
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