Time to wrap up; I’ll leave you with 10 things to look out for in the Premier League. With a promising fixture list, a chill in the air and fans filtering back into grounds, it feels like it could be a good one. Whatever you’re up to, enjoy your weekends. Bye!
The weekend’s football has begun, with Barnsley v Bournemouth under way at Oakwell. The visitors have taken an early lead through Phillip Billing as they look to go top of the Championship.
More on Sunderland from our north-east correspondent, Louise Taylor:
Time for one more Saturday match preview. Fulham’s defensive ‘A-Team’ - Areola, Aina, Andersen, Adarabioyo and er, Antonee Robinson - were excellent against Leicester, but an improving Manchester City might be a different story:
The Nations League finals draw has been made, with the four-team knockout tournament being held in Italy next October. The hosts will play Spain in their semi-final at San Siro, with Belgium and France meeting in the other game at Juventus’ Allianz Stadium. The two winners will meet in the final on 10 October, in Milan.
Sunderland sacked manager Phil Parkinson on Sunday, and there have been developments today with a takeover of the club imminent. The Black Cats are on the verge of appointing Lee Johnson as their new head coach, according to Sky.
In other news, Kristjaan Speakman has been appointed as the League One club’s new sporting director, having spent the last nine years working as the academy manager at Birmingham City, helping to develop the likes of Jude Bellingham and Demarai Gray.
A nice interview with Danny Welbeck on turning 30, his injury nightmares and getting back to playing at Brighton.
Here’s our match preview for Chelsea v Leeds. If this game had been in September, it would have surely been 4-4, but Chelsea’s defence has tightened up and Leeds are grinding out 1-0 wins, too.
Updated
Now, what you’ve all been waiting for: international football admin news! PA reports that next year we will see not one, but two, Club World Cups. Fifa, you spoil us. The 2020 event in Qatar was put back until February 2021, and next year’s edition will be held in Japan and feature seven teams.
Plans for an expanded, 24-team Club World Cup competition to be held in China are still on the table despite the first edition being postponed indefinitely. In other news, triple-header international breaks will return in March and September next year.
This weekend, up to 2,000 fans will be allowed in at the Tottenham Stadium, Stamford Bridge and other London venues - but it may not last for long. There are reports today that with the virus still not under control in the capital, London could be moved up to Tier 3. That would mean London clubs would have to close their doors again - a situation already affecting teams in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, among many others.
There are no Premier League, EFL or WSL grounds in Tier 1 regions, where 4,000 fans would theoretically be allowed. Clubs in Tier 2 areas can admit up to 2,000 fans, while grounds in Tier 3 will remain closed.
Premier League
Tier 2: Arsenal, Brighton, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Southampton, Tottenham, West Ham.
Tier 3: Aston Villa, Burnley, Leeds, Leicester, Man City, Man Utd, Newcastle, Sheffield Utd, West Brom, Wolves.
Women's Super League
Tier 2: Arsenal, Brighton, Bristol City, Chelsea, Everton, Reading, Spurs, West Ham.
Tier 3: Aston Villa, Birmingham, Man City, Man Utd.
Championship
Tier 2: Bournemouth, Brentford, Luton, Millwall, Norwich, QPR, Reading, Watford, Wycombe.
Tier 3: Barnsley, Birmingham, Blackburn, Bristol City, Coventry, Derby, Huddersfield, Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest, Preston, Rotherham, Sheffield Wed, Stoke.
Wales: Cardiff, Swansea and League Two's Newport cannot admit spectators at present under Welsh national guidelines.
League One
Tier 2: Charlton, Crewe, Ipswich, Northampton, Oxford, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Shrewsbury, Swindon, Wimbledon*.
Tier 3: Accrington, Blackpool, Bristol Rovers, Burton, Doncaster, Fleetwood, Gillingham, Hull, Lincoln, Rochdale, Sunderland, Wigan.
*Plough Lane does not yet have a safety certificate to host supporters
League Two
Tier 2: Barrow, Cambridge, Carlisle, Cheltenham, Colchester, Crawley, Exeter, Forest Green, Harrogate, Leyton Orient, Southend, Stevenage, Tranmere.
Tier 3: Bolton, Bradford, Grimsby, Mansfield, Morecambe, Oldham, Port Vale, Salford, Scunthorpe, Walsall.
All information correct as of 3 December.
Some team news for the north London derby on Sunday: Joe Hart is set for his first league start for Tottenham, with Hugo Lloris a major doubt.
Maradona joined Napoli in 1984 and was an immediate hero; as one local paper wrote, the city didn’t have “houses, schools, buses, employment [or] sanitation ... none of this matters because we have Maradona.” Hailed as a saviour not just for the football team but the city as a whole, he delivered two Italian titles and the Uefa Cup.
Fabio Cannavaro, a fellow World Cup-winning captain who joined Napoli’s youth setup while Maradona was at the club, summed it up nicely: “Maradona is a god to the people of Naples.”
Napoli rename their stadium in honour of Diego Maradona
A bit of breaking news: The Naples city council has announced that Napoli’s Stadio San Paolo will officially be renamed the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. No official statement from the club yet, but the move is far from unexpected, with fans calling for the name change soon after news broke of the club legend’s death at the age of 60.
Updated
Thanks, Dave. Rotation is key in such a packed season, even for us MBMers. While I complete my warm-up, here’s Friday’s Fiver:
Right, before I sustain a muscle injury for carrying on too long, it’s time to hand over to Niall McVeigh.
A bit of West Brom v Crystal Palace team news for you.
Via the PA...
West Brom defender Conor Townsend is out of Sunday’s Premier League clash as he faces up to six weeks on the sidelines.
The full-back limped out of last weekend’s 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Sheffield United with a knee injury and although the damage is not as extensive as was first feared, he is expected to be sidelined for between four and six weeks.
Manager Slaven Bilic will make late decisions on deputy Kieran Gibbs and midfielder Jake Livermore, who have returned to training after testing positive for coronavirus.
Palace will be boosted by the return of Wilfried Zaha for their trip to the Hawthorns.
The attacker, who has scored five times this season, missed their defeats to Burnley and Newcastle after he recorded a positive Covid-19 test.
Roy Hodgson will be without Martin Kelly for the clash with the Baggies due to the defender having a calf injury while Wayne Hennessey (thigh), Nathan Ferguson (knee) and Connor Wickham (thigh) remain sidelined.
Have you listened to our ever-informative Football Weekly podcast?
Man Utd and Giroud in the latest one. And why not delve further back and hear nuggets about Liverpool’s new goalkeeping sensation. Apparently, Caoimhin is Irish for Kevin (thanks Barry Glendenning) and he used to be a central midfielder (thanks John Brewin) which explains why he’s good with his feet.
Oh, and floating-brain-in-a-jar Jonathan Wilson’s stuff on Maradona is something else.
Everton enjoyed their best start to a season in over 100 years when bursting out of the blocks with four straight victories. However, it’s now just one win in their last six matches and the Toffees are down to eighth. Here, via the medium of Opta, is one of the reasons why:
- Having kept a clean sheet in their opening weekend victory at Spurs, Everton have now conceded in each of their last nine Premier League matches, with only Sheffield United (13) on a longer current run without a shutout in the competition.
As for opponents Burnley, how about a Sean Dyche one...
- This game will be Burnley manager Sean Dyche’s 200th Premier League match in charge, making him the 35th different manager to reach that milestone. Only four of the previous 15 English managers to reach the milestone have won their 200th match (Alan Pardew, Roy Hodgson, Steve Bruce and Glenn Hoddle).
Less talked about - but just as real - are Everton’s problems in defence. Carlo Ancelotti is without both first-choice full-backs for the trip to Burnley so is likely to persist with his 3-4-3 formation. Seamus Coleman has a hamstring injury while Lucas Digne could be out for up to three months with an ankle problem.
Midfielders Tom Davies and Alex Iwobi operated as wing-backs in the defeat against Leeds but Ancelotti is itching to get back to his preferred 4-3-3.
“I think it’s an emergency because we have two important players in Coleman and Digne out. It is only for this reason,” said Ancelotti.
“We have the quality in the squad to play also with three centre-backs, because we have a lot of good centre-backs, but I think it’s a moment.
“The fact that we can play with three or four is good for us.”
Sergio Aguero will again be missing for Manchester City this weekend when they take on Fulham.
The striker has sat out the last two games after suffering discomfort in his knee. He’s back in training but City won’t risk him. Perhaps a home game against Fulham is part of the reason.
Then again, Fulham did win at Leicester last week. Here’s Scott Parker doing his Mike Skinner act.
Don’t mug yourself- The Streets
— Adam Collings (@Adam_Baron23) December 1, 2020
🤝
Scott Parker’s Fulham beat Leicester! pic.twitter.com/sCYwc7LmE5
Raul Jiménez scored a third of Wolves’ goals in the league last season. How will Nuno Espírito Santo deal with his absence? Ben McAleer for WhoScored asks that very question as Wolves prepare for Sunday’s trip to Liverpool...
Here’s Max Rushden on that very issue of fans returning...
Liverpool 2 Wolves 3. Not a prediction. This relates to which Tier each Premier League club is in. All the home teams in Tier 2 are allowed a maximum of 2,000 supporters this weekend.
Burnley 3 Everton 2
Man City 3 Fulham 2
West Ham 2 Man Utd 3
Chelsea 2 Leeds 3
West Brom 3 Crystal Palace 2
Sheffield United 3 Leicester 3
Spurs 2 Arsenal 2
Liverpool 2 Wolves 3
Brighton 2 Southampton 2
David Moyes’ hopes of putting one over his former team have been dented by this piece of team news which probably confirms what West Ham fans feared.
From the PA:
Michail Antonio has been ruled out of West Ham’s home game against Manchester United.
The striker returned from a hamstring injury against Aston Villa last Monday but only lasted 45 minutes.
Boss David Moyes said: “Micky is out for tomorrow, we don’t know how long he will be out for.
“He is still having a bit of a problem with his hamstring. It’s not the same injury, we think it is slightly different.”
Back to 1987 for this feature from That 1980s sports blog. Look away Spurs fans.
From reader Theothecat...
“Great to see the picture of Ian Wallace in the “iconic” brown kit, but worth noting two other recent/current Coventry kits. Last season they had a change kit that was a tribute to Two Tone that was fantastic, and they have just released a kit to celebrate Coventry being City of Culture in 2021. Both are very classy.”
More from Ole Gunnar Solskjær. The Old Trafford boss has been talking up Edinson Cavani’s impact on his Manchester United squad.
“Last season we were the youngest team in the Premier League and have been looking at ways to improve the squad with either young talent or experienced ones and with the signings of Bruno [Fernandes], Donny [van de Beek] and Alex [Telles] and Edinson the balance of the squad has been improved.
“With Edinson and his positioning, he’s a different type of centre-forward, it means we can play a different way and with his experience in world football, he’s come in and shown the young lads how to live your life and make your career last.”
Forget 1976, the current Manchester United head to London - the London Stadium to be precise - to take on David Moyes’ West Ham this weekend. Moyes probably has some old subbuteo stuff in his loft I’d imagine. Anyway, here’s Ole Gunnar Solskjær. The Norwegian hopes Marcus Rashford can overcome a shoulder problem after it forced him to leave the pitch during United’s 3-1 loss to PSG in midweek.
“Marcus has been training this morning, not fully but he’s joined in with the group,” the United boss said.
“Obviously his shoulder stopped him finishing the game, so he’s been getting treatment and hopefully he’ll be part of the squad that travels.
“He’s having treatment now after training.”
A mention of Subbuteo can’t pass without me directing you towards one of the best Guardian galleries ever done. Mick had the last laugh below.
Updated
Talking of numbers, it’s time to see what Nigel Adkins has in his advent calendar today. While I do that and open my own, here’s his best so far. That is dedicated subbuteo collecting!
Curious. Day 2. #coffeewithnige pic.twitter.com/fjpu1j8cPv
— Nigel Adkins (@TheNigelAdkins) December 2, 2020
Jurgen Klopp has certainly done his homework on the five subs rule. Some number crunching here...
“Mental health and player welfare, it’s the whole package, we will not stop fighting for it because it’s the right thing to do.
“I got some numbers from the Scottish league; 65% substitutions were for load management, 30% for tactical and 5% for injury reasons.
“When people tell me we don’t make enough changes that is the problem with three subs, because the third sub, sometimes two subs, you have to keep because so many players are on the edge. You don’t know who will go down first.
“So you cannot make early changes otherwise you could end the game with nine or 10 players and the Premier League is too strong for that. It [five subs] is just the right thing to do.”
Klopp also says it has ramifications for England boss Gareth Southgate.
“Next summer it will become a problem for Gareth Southgate because most of the players he wants to pick will have played three times a week all the time.
“So Gareth will get what we can give him and if we stick with three subs then he has the problem then. So it’s an FA problem, in my understanding.”
Some Liverpool v Wolves Opta stats to keep you going until Sunday’s evening kick-off...
- Liverpool have lost just one of their 12 Premier League meetings with Wolves (W9 D2), winning each of the last seven in a row by an aggregate score of 15-2.
- Liverpool (6) have dropped more points from winning positions this season than they did in the whole of last season (5), with their 1-1 draw at Brighton last time out the third time this campaign they’d let a Premier League lead slip.
- Liverpool are currently enjoying the second longest unbeaten home run in English top-flight history – 64 games. The Reds have won 53 of these (D11), scored 169 goals (2.6/game) and conceded 42 (0.7/game).
Beyond the hopes that Naby Keita and Trent Alexander-Arnold could return against Wolves, Jurgen Klopp gave a definitive answer about Liverpool’s other sidelined stars.
“Apart from Naby and Trent, nobody is coming back, no.”
However, he did offer an update on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has yet to feature this season due to a knee injury sustained at the pre-season training camp in Austria.
“Ox looks really promising, he is doing a lot of stuff. He is warming up with the team now, some ball work, a lot of stuff, but we will develop that now over the next few days.
“Then we will see from which moment on it makes sense to throw him in. He is not too far away.”
Jose Mourinho on Arsenal. You’d never guess they were 14th.
“I think everybody knows what Arsenal did recently, the way they beat Chelsea and (Manchester) City to win the FA Cup.
“The way they played in Liverpool in spite of defeat, the way they beat United at Old Trafford, the way they normally play against the top teams.
“The number of players they use in the defensive process, the way they go in fast counter-attacks and fast transitions. I don’t think I need to (warn the players about complacency).
“But probably I will, but I don’t think we need that. We all know that a derby is nothing to do with form, momentum, injuries, suspensions. It’s nothing to do with that. It’s just Tottenham v Arsenal.”
The champagne must be good...
For ballot for Leeds game, Club Chelsea members offered "premium plated package. Luxury seat in West Stand middle tier. Glass of Champagne on arrival. Pre-match three-course fine dining. Complimentary bar inc beer, wine, house spirits, soft drinks. Teamsheet & programme". £470.
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) December 4, 2020
That St. Pauli kit, eh. As some of you have pointed out, it brings Coventry’s 1970s brown away strip to mind. Try not to get distracted by Ian Wallace’s barnet.
— Dave Tindall (@DaveTindallgolf) December 4, 2020
Updated
Mourinho: 'We played four matches in one week and nobody was crying'
José Mourinho has never been scared to voice an opinion and this time the Tottenham manager’s ire has been raised by the number of Premier League fixtures that have yet to be rescheduled. The postponement of Newcastle against Aston Villa means Dean Smith’s side will have played two games less than the rest of the division after this weekend, with another four clubs only having played 10.
Mourinho revealed that he has been trying to find out whether the matches will take place before the halfway point in the season “because it can affect the competition” but to no avail.
“I think it is also very difficult to accept that four clubs have one match less than the others and I don’t even know when they’re going to play these matches which in every [other] country would be impossible,” he said.
“They have to be played until at least the end of the first round [of games] so until matchday 19, they should be playing these matches. And I don’t even know when Burnley, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Manchester United and probably Newcastle and Aston Villa twice.
“It’s difficult to accept that because it can affect the competition. But I was trying to know. I was trying for an answer this week and no-one can give me that answer. By the way, we played four matches in one week and nobody was crying or supporting us about it. And now my colleagues, when do they play these matches?”
Updated
Thanks very much Tumaini. Quite a lot of grumpy Klopp at the moment. Something of a contrast to the usual perception of uber-positive Klopp as seen here on Spitting Image...
That’s all from me today. Thanks for following as usual and I leave this blog in the capable hands of David Tindall.
Klopp hits back at Neville over five substitutes
Jurgen Klopp had one clear message for Gary Neville on the subject of five substitutions:
“I heard what Gary Neville said, It’s not about Liverpool. Whatever he thinks, it’s maybe an evidence of how he would deal with a situation like this. But he should not think that I am like him because I am not like him. I speak about all the players and not only Liverpool.”
Updated
Jurgen Klopp on the challenge of Wolves:
“When you play them, they don’t even play like the 7th of the league, they play like a top team. They had now, especially in the last year, the European league to deal with and they did it exceptionally well. That’s a really tough task after getting promoted only a year before that, so absolutely outstanding. Nuno is doing an exceptional job. Top, top recruitment.”
“Nothing bad to say about them. Now they changed systems slightly. Not sure if they will play against us like that but it makes it even more tricky that we don’t know exactly what they will do. They don’t know exactly what we will do, which is good. So, same situation. Let’s play the game.”
Jurgen Klopp is up for his pre-match press conference before Wolves:
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Naby Keita will do the first steps in team training. Aside from them, none of the injured players will return in time for Wolves.
“There’s a chance that Naby and Trent can be in the squad, but if they can play, I don’t know.”
Klopp was asked about the Premier League shareholders’ meeting, in which the subject of increasing substitutions to 5 was not brought up.
“In the manager meeting, if we would have voted that day, which we are not allowed to, then it would have been through 100% with 15 or 16 votes. That it didn’t happen since then is obviously a sign that some CEOs, sporting directors see it differently to their managers. That’s now not a really good sign, to be honest, because it shows that these people now really ignore the player welfare. The coaches don’t do that anymore, but these people do it and that’s not OK.”
🗣"When your top scorer is not scoring goals of course you are concerned"
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) December 4, 2020
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's goal drought is a slight concern so far this season pic.twitter.com/FEeC2SkgTS
With no Premier League fixture tonight after the postponement of Aston Villa vs Newcastle, the match of the evening is surely another round of the still quite new Bundesliga derby between Hertha Berlin and Union Berlin in Germany’s capital city. Here is a short and sweet explanation of the rivalry.
Updated
We have a quiz.
An email from Kristof:
“Whoa, this St.Pauli kit is a stunner, I’d go as far as claiming it’s one of the most beautiful football jerseys I’ve ever seen. Can’t wait to get one, not even a Pauli fan. As someone who’s working in print/textile, I’m not surprised at all none of the big brands could provide anything near their standards...?”
There are a few comments on this so here is St.Pauli’s own description (with thanks to Google Translate) of their new kits on their website for more context:
For us, fair play is more than just football. We play fair in all areas: on the pitch, with our social commitment and now also in jerseys that not only meet the highest performance level, but also our claim to 100% sustainability. And because up until now it has always been said: “This is impossible, it doesn’t work”, we do it ourselves - with DIIY. The first self-produced unisex team sports line that is ecologically sensible and socially responsible in every manufacturing step.
Rooted in the greatest, most beautiful and best district in the world and at home everywhere: That creates responsibility - socially and socially. That is why we at DIIY pay attention to socially responsible production at all levels of value creation. We are committed to fair wages and good working conditions and work uncompromisingly against child labor and discrimination. And so we remain in solidarity - even when putting on the jerseys.
No throw-away products and no fast fashion: What we produce should be worthwhile. For us, for you and for the planet. Fair enough! That is why our DIIY textiles are developed to be durable and of high quality and we use recycled or certified organic materials for all products.
We know our suppliers personally and are regularly on site ourselves - that is the prerequisite for a good partnership at eye level. We also know exactly where our products and materials come from, so we keep a close eye on our supply chain.
“It’s not unfair”, says Ralph Hasenhüttl on the return on 2000 fans.
🗣"For us it doesn't make a difference"
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) December 4, 2020
Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl does not think 2000 fans will make to much difference as his side face Brighton away this weekend pic.twitter.com/mvdIM5wSeL
This month’s candidates for Premier League player of the month:
- Ben Chilwell
- James Ward-Prowse
- Jack Grealish
- Bruno Fernandes
- Pierre-Emile Højbjerg
- Angelo Ogbonna
Updated
Olivier Giroud on his future while speaking with the Chelsea official website:
‘I had a conversation with [Didier] Deschamps and he said if the situation stayed like that, I will have to take a decision in January. I am pretty sure I can get some more game time and stay at Chelsea because that is what I want. I want to win trophies with Chelsea so basically that’s it.
‘You never know in football, everything is going very fast, but right now I am very happy. I am a happy man and I am proud to be a Chelsea player.’
Here is Suzanne Wrack on South Sudan’s drive to attract more female footballers.
On this day in 1994, some typical magic from Alessandro Del Piero.
Questo non è un #GoalOfTheDay normale... @delpieroale 😍 pic.twitter.com/emxRHXlv3m
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) December 4, 2020
Patrick Viera has officially been sacked by Nice after five consecutive defeats. Nice are currently 11th in Ligue 1 and 8 points from the top. In the Europa League, they have 1 win and 4 losses in 5 games.
This is nice.
.@fcstpauli_EN have unveiled their home shirt for NEXT season. The Hamburg-based club have taken the decision to produce their kits in-house, after failing to find a mainstream manufacturer that meets their sustainability and fairness standards. pic.twitter.com/cQ3XNZT0xr
— MUNDIAL (H) (@MundialMag) December 4, 2020
Some good news for Southampton as Danny Ings has returned to training and may take part in Monday’s game with Brighton.
Ralph Hasenhüttl: “Yesterday was his first time training with the team. We must have a look at how his body reacts to the training, and then we can say more, but he looked good yesterday.”
“We’re not downbeat. We had a good week in training. Good talks.
— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) December 4, 2020
The system works. You can see how many chances we created. It’s just the final thing, that comes down to a bit of confidence.”
- David McGoldrick speaking at this morning’s press conference. 👊 pic.twitter.com/S7Q6JrqJ94
Sean Dyche, the longest serving English manager in the Premier League, will take charge of his 200th Premier League game tomorrow as Burnley face Everton at home. He was in a reflective mood yesterday:
“It is enjoyable in a strange kind of way, finding your way through those tough times and how you make them work, and learn a lot about yourself as a person.
“When you do find those ways and you do make things right then it’s very rewarding to you as a manager - not just the financial rewards but the feeling that it gives you to work so hard to get things right.
“To have done that for 200 games I’m actually pretty proud of that because I don’t think it’s easy for English and British managers at the moment to get 200 games in the Premier League.”
Dyche marked his 8th year at the club in October. In team news, Nick Pope will return to action after missing Burnley’s annual 5-0 loss to Manchester City with concussion.
Via PA.
It was different. It was a bit eerie. But it was so good seeing fans back in the Emirates 😍
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 4, 2020
The lucky attendees were treated to a classy Arsenal display 🔴
Smiles (behind masks) all around! pic.twitter.com/CJNczD9qlW
Tomorrow marks Ralph Hasenhüttl’s two year anniversary with Southampton, which he discussed during his press conference this morning.
“I’m very happy where I am. I feel that fits absolutely together. That’s the reason why when I got the chance I extended my contract.”
Hasenhüttlthen talked about the tough periods he has faced since his arrival, especially last season.
“We are more and more coming in the direction where I want as the manager of this team”
Back then Southampton 18th in the league and now they sit in 6th place. On Monday they face Brighton away.
The #PL has reinforced its commitment to promoting equality and diversity by agreeing a new two-year strategic partnership with @stonewalluk
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 2, 2020
Learn more about the partnership: https://t.co/u2azpfdwES #RainbowLaces 🌈 pic.twitter.com/J86QBnQD9f
A boost for Tottenham fans.
🗣"He is going to play"
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) December 4, 2020
Harry Kane was not involved in Tottenham's Europa League match with LASK on Thursday but Jose Mourinho thinks he will be back to face Arsenal in Sunday's North London derby pic.twitter.com/EIOprVVb3u
🗣"I spoke to Sir Alex & David Moyes"
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) December 4, 2020
Wayne Rooney says his former managers Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes have both given him some tips since he took charge of Derby County as interim player-coach pic.twitter.com/CCZxGOk2E8
Scott Parker on the effect of Fulham’s very impressive 2-1 away win against Leicester last week as they prepare to face Manchester City away tomorrow afternoon.
“It’s done a lot. Of course, I do always say that this season we need to keep morale, we need to keep spirit high and that has been the case, although we haven’t won many games.”
“But in saying that, when you do get a result against a very tough team, I don’t think anyone expected us to get a result and we went and got a result and played extremely well.”
“So with that brings a little bit of extra confidence and an extra bit of belief and that helps on the way. So a big result for us on Monday and something for us to build on. Not just to build on come Saturday or against Liverpool but for the remainder of the season really.”
Of course, Manchester City may have received their own boost after their annual 5-0 battering of Burnley. Few people envy the task ahead of Parker’s Fulham tomorrow.
Via PA.
Marcelo Bielsa on his current relationship with Frank Lampard two seasons on from ‘spygate’, Via PA:
“It’s not bad. The relationship I have with him is similar to the ones I have with the rest of my colleagues.”
“This is a moment that has already gone past. It was already resolved by the authorities, who judge how these actions need to be punished.”
In 2019 Leeds were fined £200k after a staff member was caught spying on Lampard’s Derby during a training session. Bielsa later revealed that he had done the same thing against every opposing club and he says that he paid for the fine himself.
There are no new developments with injuries. Pablo Hernandez, Diego Llorente and Jamie Shackleton are all on the road back to recovery but will not feature on Saturday evening.
Updated
Graham Potter on the prospect of welcoming 2000 fans back to Brighton when they face Southampton on Monday night:
“We hope that it’s a really positive impact. I am sure the players will look forward to seeing them and playing in front of them. It’s what makes football, ultimately.
“We have had games at home even after lockdown - Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool - the games we have lost are arguably the ones where you really need the supporters, we have had to play those behind closed doors.
“We hope we can use the support, we hope that we can play well and get them involved in the game, that they provide a good atmosphere and that can help us against a good opponent and get a positive result.”
Potter also said that Adam Lallana will be out for a further two weeks after exacerbating his groin injury in his brief appearance during Brighton’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool last week.
Via PA.
It has not been a bad start at all.
🔴 Happy Birthday, @DiogoJota18! 🎈@LFC record: 15 games, 9 goals 🔥#UCL pic.twitter.com/oehChmZAcc
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 4, 2020
Some pieces to catch up on
Tim Stillman on the feeling of reconnecting with Arsenal in person after 9 months away:
Rob Davies on the imminent review of gambling laws, which could potentially see sports sponsorship by betting companies banned.
Manchester United vice-chairman Ed Woodward distanced the club from calls for a so-called European Super League. By David Conn.
Ten things for everyone to keep an eye on this weekend.
Preamble
Hello! Welcome to another Friday of football news as we count down the hours until matchday 11 in the Premier League. This weekend is, of course, particularly notable as we will see fans streaming through the turnstiles of some stadiums once more.
Kicking things off on Saturday at 12:30pm will be Burnley versus Everton, which will be followed by Manchester City against Fulham at 3pm. West Ham United vs Manchester United begins at 5:30pm before Frank Lampard’s Chelsea hosts Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds to close off play at 8pm. The headlines will of course be about Lampard and Bielsa as they cross paths again after the ‘spygate’ drama whilst Lampard was head coach at Derby.
Sunday begins with West Brom against Crystal Palace and then Sheffield United taking on Leicester City at home. Then we will finally see the fixture of the weekend as an ascendent Tottenham Hotspur face Arsenal at home in another North London derby. Liverpool close off the weekend with a 7:15pm battle against Wolves.
There will be no game tonight after a Covid-19 outbreak in the Newcastle United camp forced the cancellation of their away game against Aston Villa.
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