That’s all from me today. Be sure to join Rob Smyth now for minute-by-minute coverage of Nottingham Forest v Chelsea.
Here’s a reminder of today’s Premier League fixtures…
Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (12:30pm BST)
Sunderland v Wolves
Burnley v Leeds United
Crystal Palace v Bournemouth
Brighton v Newcastle
Manchester City v Everton
Fulham v Arsenal (5:30pm BST)
On the club’s recent form, Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson tells TNT Sports: “Things haven’t quite clicked yet. We want to come out on the front foot today. The lads have had a good week training and hopefully today we can get our first win. We are a lot more possession based now and last season we were a lot more attacking. We just need to hit the back of the net.”
John Stones’s Manchester City future will be reliant on the defender’s fitness, according to Pep Guardiola. The England international’s contract expires in the summer and the club must decide if he deserves an extension after an injury-hit spell at the Etihad Stadium.
In the Scottish Premiership today, managerless Rangers host Dundee United, while league leaders Hearts travel to Kilmarnock.
Today’s fixtures (all kick-off at 3pm BST unless otherwise stated)
Motherwell v Falkirk
Hibernian v Livingston
St. Mirren v Aberdeen
Rangers v Dundee United
Kilmarnock v Hearts (5:45pm BST)
Enzo Maresca will serve a touchline ban this afternoon following his red card against Liverpool. The Chelsea head coach was shown a red for his celebration after Estêvão’s last-gasp winner at Stamford Bridge.
He tells TNT Sports: “I have a connection with the bench, but we have two or three coaching staff on the bench who can manage the situation.”
Jamie Harris asks: “Chris Wood and Igor Jesus are substitutes today. If they were both fit, who would you prefer? Or should they even be playing together?”
I really like what I’ve seen from Igor Jesus, who scored twice at Swansea and Real Betis. Wood has proven a tour de force for Forest for a while so him being on the bench is a surprise. Taiwo Awoniyi gets the nod up front, one of five changes from defeat at Newcastle last time out.
Gareth Fletcher asks: “If Ange stays till the end of the season, where do you think they will finish? Can they improve as he thinks they will? And can they really win a trophy this season?”
Well, on current form, they will do well to avoid a bottom-half finish. It has not all been bad, there were encouraging signs against Real Betis and Swansea but the way they lost their way in those games was alarming. A big factor in his appointment was Marinakis believes he can win a trophy after investing another £200m on the squad this summer. They are already out of the Carabao Cup, after that defeat at Swansea. Europa League? They have one point from a possible six before hosting Porto on Thursday.
Nottingham Forest v Chelsea team news
Nottingham Forest starting line-up: Sels, Williams, Morato, Murillo, Sangaré, Anderson, Awoniyi, Gibbs-White, Douglas Luiz, Milenkovic, Zinchenko.
Substitutes: John, Hudson-Odoi, Wood, Ndoye, Domínguez, I.Jesus, Yates, Jair Cunha, Savona.
Chelsea starting line-up: Sanchez, James, Acheampong, Chalobah, Cucurella, Gusto, Lavia, Neto, Andrey Santos, Garnacho, Joao Pedro.
Substitutes: Jörgensen, Tosin, Hato, Caicedo, Buonanotte, Estêvão, Gittens, George, Guiu.
Simon Patterson asks: “Are Forest already in a relegation battle? If so, is Sean Dyche, not Ange, the best man to fight that battle?”
Can I sit on the fence and say if Forest don’t get anything today then it would feel certainly that way. I think a change of manager would also in effect confirm Marinakis believes Forest are in a relegation scrap. Sean Dyche is out of work, lives locally, and it is hard to envisage Forest going down with a Dyche-type in the building. At the same time, Marinakis was excited by the prospect of Postecoglou’s freewheeling football – and his track record of winning a trophy. At this point it feels right to throw to Postecoglou’s zinger yesterday. “If you let the story play out, I’ll tell you how it finishes.
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George Jones asks: “If Nottingham Forest lose today and Marinakis sacks Postecoglou, isn’t there a danger that decent managers might be put off the job of replacing him, given how temperamental the owner is?”
I don’t think so, to be honest. There are only so many jobs and only 20 in the Premier League, with only two clubs making a change this season, one of those of course being Forest. The perception of Marinakis is interesting in that at Forest at least he has not been as trigger-happy as maybe suggested. He has actually been quite loyal to managers in recent seasons, with Steve Cooper and Nuno Espirito Santo also given time in difficult periods. Until Edu’s arrival, Nuno’s relationship with Marinakis was strong and Cooper and the Greek billionaire also had a positive bond.
David Moyes has told Tyler Dibling that learning from Jack Grealish should be part of his Everton education as he backed the young winger to impress with time.
Grealish will not be available for Everton this afternoon against his parent club, Manchester City.
We have received some questions for Ben Fisher’s Nottingham Forest Q&A – please keep sending them by emailing matchday.live@guardian.com or leaving a comment below the line.
Arsenal need a win today against Fulham to really assert themselves at the top of the Premier League table. Having significantly strengthened their depth over the summer, this could finally be their season to go all the way.
Ruben Amorim has challenged his Manchester United players to show they are heading in the right direction in Sunday’s Premier League meeting with Liverpool.
United have not won at the home of their great rivals for nearly a decade, but they have taken a point from their last two visits, including January’s 2-2 draw. “We played well,” said Amorim, who is yet to oversee back-to-back wins in the league.
“I was really upset at the end of the game because we proved that day that we can compete against any opponent. I know that it’s special for our club, I know they are fighting all the time for the number of titles, I know what it means to the fans. But it’s one game that we need to prove again that we are playing better.
“I think we are playing better. We need to do better in both boxes. It’s one more game that we need to win.”
Arne Slot admits Liverpool are well aware of the scrutiny on his side after three successive defeats, but does not believe the players “wake up at night”.
As they seek to avoid losing four in a row for the first time since November 2014, the head coach does not believe their poor run is weighing heavily on his squad before they face arch rivals Manchester United on Sunday. “These players might need me - but I don’t think they need me - to tell them what has happened,” he said.
“Results don’t lie, if you lose three in a row we have to do better. But I think these players that have experienced so many things don’t wake up at night thinking: ‘Oh, we lost three times’. We need to be aware of that and we are aware of that and we need to react to that, but we have to give the same reaction if we win three times in a row and Manchester United is on the fixture list. “But maybe if you lose three times you are hoping for that spark or that one or two per cent more, not only from us but from our fans on Sunday.”
Just a reminder that Ben Fisher will be on hand at 11am BST this morning to answer any questions you may have about Nottingham Forest, Ange Postecoglou, Evangelos Marinakis or today’s early game.
Be sure to email matchday.live@guardian.com with your questions for the Q&A session or leave a comment below the line.
It’s ‘Der Klassiker’ in Germany and Bayern Munich’s perfect run in the Bundesliga faces its toughest test of the season so far when unbeaten Borussia Dortmund visit the champions. The Bavarians have won all 10 of their matches in all competitions and top the Bundesliga on 18 points, four ahead of second-placed Dortmund. Vincent Kompany’s team have chalked up six league wins on the trot, scoring more than four goals per game on average. Harry Kane has bagged 11 goals in the league already, and the England captain also scored twice on Tuesday in a 5-0 win over Latvia that sealed their spot at the 2026 World Cup.
New signing Luis Diaz has seamlessly integrated into the Bayern side, adding another five league goals and four assists, but both forwards will have their work cut out against Dortmund, who have conceded one goal in their last five Bundesliga games. The Ruhr Valley club have emerged as Bayern’s main title rivals under coach Niko Kovac, with a defensive strength and stability that has been lacking in previous seasons. In 2019, Kovac led Bayern to a league and cup double. Dortmund have earned a win and a draw in their last two visits to the Allianz Arena but Kovac said Bayern remained overwhelming favourites on Saturday and “are on another level”.
Today’s Bundesliga fixtures (all 2.30pm unless stated)
Heidenheim v Werder Bremen
Cologne v Augsburg
Mainz v Bayer Leverkusen
RB Leipzig v Hamburg
Wolfsburg v Stuttgart
Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund 5.30pm
More on Marc Guéhi from Ed Aarons…
This is your one-hour warning to change your FPL tam if you haven’t already!
Given it’s been two weeks since we had a game, it’s worth reminding you that the Fantasy Premier League deadline is coming up, 11am BST today. Heading into Gameweek 8 there are big decisions to be made on the high-ticket players: Cole Palmer is out for six weeks, Mo Salah has endured some mixed returns and Arsenal change their attack every other game these days.
So do you splash out on the in-form Erling Haaland and bank on his goal streak going on and on? Crystal Palace are surely the team to be mined for FPL talent at the moment. Daniel Muñoz brings in some attacking returns from defence, Ismaïla Sarr looks underpriced at £6.5m and Jean-Phillipe Mateta is that rare thing – a striker you can guarantee will start every week and score goals.
More on Forest…
There is plenty of Nottingham Forest talk in the comments today. It seems the general consensus among fans is that the main problem is not the manager, but instead the owner, Evangelos Marinakis.
Unai Emery is preparing for a “huge challenge” when his Aston Villa side travel to Tottenham on Sunday. Villa failed to win any of their first five Premier League games, but went into the October international break having won two in a row in the league and four in all competitions.
They now take on a Spurs side who have only lost once in 10 matches in all competitions since the start of the season, and Emery believes it will be a test of his side’s progress.
“Tottenham is one of the contender teams to be in the top seven,” he said. “Last year they didn’t achieve it, but of course this year they are really playing fantastic, getting good results, they are now in the top with 14 points, and playing at home, they are feeling strong. For us, it’s really a huge challenge.”
Emery is expecting to have Ollie Watkins, Emi Buendia and Jadon Sancho available after knocks, while Tyrone Mings could also return.
Top-level club football returned across Europe last night, with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Mönchengladbach in action.
Ligue 1 champions PSG were held to a 3-3 draw by Strasbourg at Parc des Princes. The visitors found themselves 3-1 up by the 50th minute thanks to a brace from Joaquín Panichelli and a strike from Diego Moreira following Bradley Barcola’s early opener. Gonçalo Ramos scored from the penalty spot before Senny Mayulu levelled things up with 11 minutes of normal time to play.
In La Liga, Espanyol managed a 2-0 win away at Real Oviedo thanks to late goals from Kike García and Pere Milla. Meanwhile, in the Bundesliga, Union Berlin cruised to a 3-1 win over Mönchengladbach with Danilho Doekhi netting a brace and Rani Khedira getting on the scoresheet. Haris Tabaković fired one home for the visitors in the first half but it was not enough to spark a comeback.
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Elsewhere in Europe today
La Liga:
Sevilla v Mallorca
Barcelona v Girona
Villarreal v Real Betis
Atlético Madrid v Osasuna
Serie A:
Lecce v Sassuolo
Pisa v Verona
Torino v Napoli
Roma v Inter Milan
Ligue 1:
Nice v Lyon
Angers v Monaco
Marseille v Le Havre
Bundesliga:
Mainz v Bayer Leverkusen
RB Leipzig v Hamburg
Köln v Augsburg
Heidenheim v Werder Bremen
Wolfsburg v Stuttgart
Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund
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La Liga players will protest this weekend the league’s decision to hold a regular season game in Miami, the Spanish soccer players’ union said on Friday.
Players plan to pause for 15 seconds after kickoff in games in the ninth round held from Friday through Monday, Spanish media reported.
League Two fixtures
Salford City v Oldham Athletic (12:30pm BST)
Cambridge United v Bromley (12:30pm BST)
MK Dons v Crewe Alexandra
Chesterfield v Fleetwood Town
Shrewsbury Town v Crawley Town
Grimsby Town v Gillingham
Newport County v Cheltenham
Barnet v Notts County
Accrington Stanley v Swindon Town
Bristol Rovers v Tranmere Rovers
Walsall v Barrow
Colchester United v Harrogate Town
League One fixtures
Burton Albion v Peterborough United (12:30pm BST)
Lincoln City v Stevenage (12:30pm BST)
Bradford City v Barnsley
Blackpool v Wycombe Wanderers
Rotherham United v Leyton Orient
Luton Town v Mansfield Town
Cardiff City v Reading
Plymouth Argyle v AFC Wimbledon
Wigan Athletic v Port Vale
Stockport County v Exeter City
Doncaster Rovers v Northampton Town
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Championship fixtures
Southampton v Swansea (12:30pm BST)
Oxford United v Derby County (12:30pm BST)
Queens Park Rangers v Millwall (12:30pm BST)
Birmingham City v Hull City
Stoke City v Wrexham
Charlton Athletic v Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United v Watford
Norwich City v Bristol City
Coventry City v Blackburn Rovers
West Brom v Preston North End
Leicester City v Portsmouth (7:45pm BST)
Who else is making the 300-mile journey from Newcastle to Brighton today? I imagine there must have been some early alarms this morning!
From the pressure on Ange Postecoglou to the absence of Rodri for Manchester City, here are 10 things to look out for in the Premier League this weekend:
Enzo Maresca has said Cole Palmer will miss another six weeks with a groin injury, raising doubts over whether the Chelsea forward will be able to regain his England place before the 2026 World Cup.
Palmer, who has been unavailable during the past two international breaks, has been struggling with his fitness since the start of the season and has not played since limping off against Manchester United last month. Chelsea have tried to manage the 23-year-old’s groin injury with rest and are confident it does not need surgery but Maresca has dashed hopes of his most influential player making a swift return.
“Unfortunately he needs to be out for another six weeks,” Chelsea’s head coach said as he prepared for his side’s trip to Nottingham Forest on Saturday. “We try to protect Cole as much as we can. The most important thing is when he comes back he is fully fit. The medical staff are not magicians. We hope six weeks are enough.”
Guéhi confirms plan to leave Palace
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner revealed last night that club captain Marc Guéhi will leave Selhurst Park at the end of the season. Guehi came close to joining Liverpool in a £35m transfer on deadline day before the deal collapsed at the last minute. He will now leave as a free agent next summer.
Glasner said: “I think Marc has already told us that he doesn’t sign a new contract, so he will leave next year. The club wanted [him to stay]. They offered Marc a new contract. But he said, ‘no, I want to make something different’. And that’s normal.
“And for us, it’s how we can deal with this situation? [What] is the best way to get this next step done? And that’s all about how we are talking together.”
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Speaking of Nottingham Forest, Ben Fisher will be on hand at 11am this morning to answer any questions you may have about the club.
Be sure to email matchday.live@guardian.com with your questions for the Q&A session or leave a comment below the line.
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Ange Postecoglou’s future at Nottingham Forest is on the line this afternoon. The 60-year-old is yet to win a match with Forest and is already at risk of being sacked – despite only arriving just over one month ago.
Postecoglou urged the club’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, to maintain faith in him during his press conference yesterday.
Today’s Premier League fixtures
Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (12:30pm BST)
Sunderland v Wolves
Burnley v Leeds United
Crystal Palace v Bournemouth
Brighton v Newcastle
Manchester City v Everton
Fulham v Arsenal (5:30pm BST)
Preamble
Hello, good morning and welcome to another Matchday live! Premier League and EFL football is finally back after (what felt like) a long international break and business resumes as normal. I’ll be bringing you all the latest updates until the early kick-off which sees Nottingham Forest take on Chelsea at the City Ground.
We’ll also go over some of the top talking points from yesterday’s press conferences - including a huge update on the future of Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi - and preview each of today’s Premier League fixtures.
So, without further ado, let’s get cracking.
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