This has all been so much fun that I now require a lengthy lie-down. And so, I’m off. Have a wonderful weekend, all. And by way of parting gift, here are couple more match previews for you:
Classic use of the phrase “it’s not right to discuss these things” before going on to discuss these things from Roy Hodgson here, when asked if he’d still like to sign Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek:
It is not right to discuss these things because it is a hypothesis that Chelsea are not happy with him. I don’t like to discuss players in that respect. What I’m prepared to say, and I have said it on many occasions, is that Loftus-Cheek did an outstanding job for us when he came here. We admire him and wish him well. Like other clubs I’m sure, when the day comes when he becomes available for transfer, we will be sticking our nose into that.
Contract news! Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy have both signed new five-year contracts at Brighton. Here’s what Dunk had to say about it:
I’ve been here since I was a little boy from the age of ten years old, so to commit to another five years to this fantastic club is an amazing feeling. It was such an easy decision; I’m here in my hometown playing football in the Premier League with these amazing fans behind us. I never thought I’d be lucky enough to train at a facility like this or play at the stadium we’ve got. It’s come a long way and I never thought it would be this good. You can see where the club has come from and I’ve grown up with it. It’s been an amazing experience so far, and hopefully it can keep getting better.
Here’s a preview of the latest instalment of the popular reality show, Can Cardiff Win a League Game and if so When?
Is Giovinco in spellbinding form or is this another sign of the dearth of decent Italian goalscorers? Here’s a report on the Italy squad from the Associated Press:
Sebastian Giovinco is back in the Italy squad after an absence of nearly three years, but Mario Balotelli has been left out.
Italy coach Roberto Mancini included the 31-year-old Toronto FC forward in the 28-man squad he named Friday for upcoming matches against Ukraine and Poland.
Giovinco, who has scored one goal in 23 appearances for Italy, last played for his country on Oct. 15, 2015.
There was also a recall for Lazio defender Francesco Acerbi, who made the last of his two appearances for Italy in March 2016, while Sampdoria forward Gianluca Caprari was given a first call up to the national team.
Italy plays Ukraine in a friendly on 10 October in Genoa before travelling to Chorzow to play Poland in the Uefa Nations League four days later.
The squad in full: Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan), Mattia Perin (Juventus), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino); Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Danilo D’Ambrosio (Inter Milan), Emerson Palmieri (Chelsea), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Alessio Romagnoli (AC Milan); Midfielders: Nicolo Barella (Cagliari), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Giacomo Bonaventura (AC Milan), Roberto Gagliardini (Inter Milan), Jorginho (Chelsea), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain); Forwards: Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Gianluca Caprari (Sampdoria), Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina), Patrick Cutrone (AC Milan), Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Simone Zaza (Torino).
I shall be at Vicarage Road tomorrow and I’m very much looking forward to it. It is, I feel, unlikely to be dull:
Fiver ahoy!
Jurgen Klopp thinks losing to Napoli makes it more likely that Liverpool will beat Manchester City on Sunday:
We have to start anew. Different game, different opponent, different challenge - unfortunately even bigger challenge. My faith in the team is so big. We want to show a reaction. I didn’t want to lose at Napoli but, if you ask me which is the best preparation mood-wise, it’s losing a game. We felt it now and we don’t want to have that feeling again so we will fight with all we have for a different result.
Obviously we won the last three games against City. After none of these games you go into the dressing room and think, ‘Now we’ve got it, now we know how to beat Manchester City’, because there is no real way, no one thing that you have to do. You have to be ready, you need a fantastic football team - which thank God I have - with outstanding character, ready to be really brave, ready to make mistakes. Then it can work.
That’s all we need to know. When somebody’s telling me, ‘Good luck for Sunday’, I think always, ‘Unfortunately, we need it’. But that’s no problem; if you work hard, you earn it.
In team news news, Naby Keita may be available after suffering a back spasm on Wednesday while Adam Lallana is back in full training following a groin problem.
“Rafa Benitez had the seafood risotto for dinner with Mike Ashley?” muses Peter Oh. “A symbolic choice, if you ask me. Pulling mussels from a shell while putting the squeeze on the owner for January transfers.”
I imagine the conversation after the food arrived went something like this: “Thanks for the seafood and everything Mike but I didn’t want calamari - I said it was about time you gave me a few quid.”
This just in from Newcastle:
In the wake of Rafa Benitez’s night out at an Italian restaurant in Ponteland with Mike Ashley and the Newcastle squad - (Rafa had seafood risotto and Mike spaghetti bolognese washed down by a, for him, modest two pints of lager) - Benitez says he “is 100% confident” Newcastle will now stay up. That’s significant as, all season, he’s been reiterating they are in relegation trouble. There have been far too many false dawns on Tyneside to be overly optimistic but maybe, just maybe, Ashley has realised he’s got it wrong and might be set to make an 11th-and-a-half hour intervention to put things right. January will be a very big month.
Jamie Jackson has filed a news story about Pep Guardiola’s hope that Manchester City’s coach will be allowed to reach Anfield on Sunday unmolested. Here’s how it starts - a full version will be online imminently:
Pep Guardiola has called on Liverpool and their fans to ensure there is no repeat of last season’s attack on Manchester City’s coach, with the manager wishing the police could be at home “drinking a beer” instead of having to offer protection for Sunday’s game at Anfield.
City suffered serious damage to their bus ahead of last April’s 3-0 Champions League opening leg defeat. Merseyside Police failed to make an arrest, and a City fan group, 1894, have stated on social media they may line the players’ entrance to Anfield to shield the coach.
Guardiola said: “The best way is that we should not need the Police.. Why should the Police need to be there? For what? We arrive there, both sides, to play a Premier League game. Why should our fans have to protect our bus? Are you kidding me?
“I would like the Police to go home at 4.30 with their families, drinking a beer and loving the show, that is what they should do. But that depends on the Liverpool people, not on Manchester City.”
Here’s Rafa Benítez on Manchester United’s travails:
In all my time in England, I don’t remember any fragile Manchester United team. All of them have been really strong every year with good managers, good players, so I don’t see any fragile Manchester United team. I can see a team that everyone was expecting to be higher, but it’s a question of time, like us. Who is at the top of the table in the Premier League? The three teams who spent more money than anyone. Who is at the bottom of the table? Teams that didn’t spend so much money. That is a normal situation.
According to the Press Association “Southampton manager Mark Hughes feels it is too early to say whether Eden Hazard is Chelsea’s greatest ever player”. Not to mention a complete waste of time. I mean, he’s really good. Is that not enough? Anyway, here’s Hughes’s full response:
Debates of that type are probably better made when he’s a little bit older and got grey hair like me and then everybody can discuss the merits once everybody’s finished. He’s an outstanding player. You look at his stats this year, he’s had an impact in almost every game he’s played.
Pochettino criticises Martínez over Vertonghen
Hello again! So Mauricio Pochettino has, in standard footballese, “slammed” Roberto Martinez for telling the world about Jan Vertonghen’s hamstring injury before he was good and ready.
It was not a good injury. We’re so disappointed with that. We’ll see if it’s six weeks or less. We hope as soon as possible it can be fixed but we cannot guess.
Before my press conference you knew about the Vertonghen situation because Roberto told the media in Belgium before us. But in the end it’s our player, our Tottenham player. Our Tottenham employee. We arrived here and we needed to explain.
It’s difficult. They need to call us. If they call us, we are more than open to talk - and give our opinion. But if they don’t call, our door is always open to receive (a call). The players are here every day and in the end our job is day-by-day and for them it’s every month. I don’t want to create a problem but that is the normal behaviour - that the national team calls you.
Updated
Time to hand back to Simon. I’ll leave you with our sport quiz of the week, which should help you while away your Friday afternoon:
Everton are at Leicester tomorrow in a match that seems pointless to try and predict. Marco Silva has said André Gomes and Yerry Mina, signed on deadline day from Barcelona, are still not available, but should return after the international break.
Here’s Roy Hodgson, whose Crystal Palace team lost to Bournemouth on Monday in a match I totally forgot had happened.
“Over the 90 minutes we played very well, but Mamadou [Sakho] made a mistake – it’s unfortunate for him because he’s been so good for us.”
Like Southampton, Palace are chasing a first home win of the season when they take on Wolves. “All we can do is prepare the best we can, to win the game. The game will be what the game is,” he adds enigmatically.
Mark Hughes has been in front of the mic before Southampton’s game against Chelsea, obviously:
On home form: “I haven’t been in charge of too many home games – six out of 19 – but I think we’ve lost that feeling of being rigid and apprehensive. We try to be more expansive and there’s a more positive feeling, but we sometimes try too hard to protect what we’ve got.”
While Sky show a highlight reel of José Mourinho’s haircuts, here’s some injury news:
- Jan Vertonghen could be out for up to six weeks
- Christian Benteke is still out for Crystal Palace
- Federico Fernández faces a Newcastle fitness test
- Shane Long is fit again for Southampton
- Christopher Schindler could return for Huddersfield
Updated
Speaking of that match, José Mourinho served up a brief press conference at 8am today. Here’s more on what he did, and didn’t say:
Rafa Benítez takes his Newcastle team to Old Trafford tomorrow teatime, but is being quizzed on his meeting with Mike Ashley this week. Luckily Rafa has his spirit level out to play with the straightest of straight bats.
“It was a pleasant dinner,” says Rafa. “Having a meeting with the owner or president is a normal thing in football. Everything was relaxed, and that’s it. We were talking about Manchester United. It was fine, normal, but we have to concentrate on the game.”
Does Klopp know what went wrong against Napoli, and does he know how to fix it? “Yeah, and yeah” is his reply, followed by a hearty chuckle.
“Napoli deserved to win,” he adds. “We had a few wrong decisions, there was a lot of times which was close to being good but no real perfect decision that night. We will have three days and make the boys aware of what was wrong – but we have to stay cool.”
And here’s Jürgen Klopp on Sunday’s showdown:
“I don’t think it makes too much sense at the moment to think about the title, but it’s a home game against Man City and it’s tough. It’s always tough, even when we won 3-0 in the Champions League. In the 4-3 they were really good, they never gave up.”
“We have to be spot on, and really on our best to keep them away from our goal and create chances. It will be hard work, no problem with that, everybody knows it.”
Guardiola doesn’t plan on doing anything different at Anfield on Sunday despite the Champions League and Premier League defeats there. “We played two really good games in the Champions League,” he claims, somewhat disingenuously.
He’s also predictably asked about his poor record against Klopp (the German has eight wins to his five) but has only praise for the manager and his team: “Liverpool is one of two greatest teams in England. We try to be close to them. They are top side and we try to be closer every time.”
And here’s Big Paper’s own Jamie Jackson, asking why the Champions League games won’t have a bearing: “It’s a knockout competition, you can miss your chance in 10 minutes,” Guardiola replies. “In the league, there are a lot more points to play for.”
Updated
Pep speaks! Grey sweater, yellow ribbon and nonplussed expression all present and correct. He’s asked if Liverpool have figured out a way to beat his side. “Yes” is his rather curt answer, “but we won the Premier League.”
Guardiola also says Kevin de Bruyne may be available for the trip to Anfield – “we’ll see tomorrow”. Benjamin Mendy came back to training today, he adds, and is also in contention.
He says Anfield is a “special place” but rejects the idea that this is their toughest away game. “The points at Liverpool are the same as anywhere else,” he adds.
Keïta could play against Manchester City
Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola are both mid-presser right now, with the Liverpool manager confirming that midfielder Naby Keïta suffered a back spasm against Napoli, but could be fit to play on Sunday.
“He had a back spasm and so we have to wait a little bit. He will be in today. If he can do something on the training ground, I don’t know. Tomorrow, we have to decide. It didn’t look too serious so there’s a chance, but we don’t know.”
Updated
Niall here, filling in while Simon gets a break. Plenty of pressers kicking off at 1.30, starting with Spurs’ Mauricio Pochettino.
On Cardiff: “The most difficult game is the one that everyone outside the team believes you must win. It’s so important to be motivated. We made a massive effort [on Wednesday] but the competition doesn’t wait for you.”
On questions about squad depth: “We have a squad that has enough to compete in every single game. We cannot compare ourselves to Barcelona. The team fought, never gave up, and we were so close to scoring and drawing the game.”
The Juventus manager, Massimiliano Allegri, says he could pick Cristiano Ronaldo in his team to play Udinese on Saturday despite allegations on rape that have led to the player being left out of the Portugal squad:
Up front it’ll probably be two from Dybala, Mandzukic and Ronaldo, or it could be all three, depending on what I see from them in training today. I must say that I’ve only known him as a person for three months, but over the years I’ve seen him as a serious person, both on and off the pitch. He has broad shoulders, so much so that he can be completely focused on tomorrow’s match. After having had a break from the Champions League, he is extremely ready to return, as he demonstrated in training yesterday.
Dwight Yorke is on the blower to Sky Sports News, where he is very much throwing his hat into the Aston Villa managerial ring.
Nuno Espirito Santo has held his pre-weekendly press conference, where he was first asked about his manager of the month nomination:
I think it reflects on the players and the way they’ve been playing, the way they’ve been working. It’s an honour of course, but at the same time it gives us more responsibilities. Because of the standards, we want to keep on improving them.
The next game is tomorrow, against Crystal Palace. We know how difficult it’s going to be, so we must be ready for it.
We are happy with the squad, the way all the players have been working. The strength is the squad, which allows us always to choose a strong XI.
Here’s a Burnley v Huddersfield match preview!
Eddie Howe has spoken about Bournemouth’s decision to put on hold plans to build a new stadium within the next two years:
I know their will is to complete the stadium, to take the club forward and build the training ground. They want what every Bournemouth fan wants - what I want - but it is not right at this moment in time for them, so you have to respect that decision and just focus on the football.
We would love a new stadium, really for the supporters. It would be for them, to get more people here to watch their local team, of course for the players to play in a bigger stadium and take the club forward. But my mindset is very much to focus on what we do have rather than what we don’t have. We do have a stadium which works for us and has served us well at home this year, we love playing here.
There are different ways of working. Some clubs are focused on facilities first and the team second, here we focused on the team first. It is only what is right for you. We’ve moved the team forwards every year and pushed to improve. That is working for us at the moment.
Long term we all do hope we can build the club from the inside more. I do think we can improve facilities and we all want the same thing.
On tomorrow’s trip to Watford he said:
“The importance is to deliver another good performance. We know we’ll have to do that again this weekend to get a result.”
Manchester City have fitted 15 high-quality video cameras to their team coach so they can identify ne’er-do-wells should they come under attack on their way to Anfield as they did last season.
As we reported yesterday, they will also travel to the ground by a different route in a bid to confound flare-wielding nasties:
And here’s an interview with Jack Ross, Sunderland manager and author of Alfie the Adventurous Winger, a book described by the only person to have reviewed it on Amazon as “excellent”.
The September Premier League manager of the month shortlist has been announced, and it’s between Unai Emery, Nuno Espirito Santo, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. Here’s a thing about Emery, whose Arsenal team have won their last eight matches (despite not really playing very well):
Belgium have announced their latest squad, which is predictably packed with Premier League names:
📝 Squad list ! 🇧🇪#REDTOGETHER#BELSUI #BELNED #NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/yn4L3CiPXV
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) October 5, 2018
Here’s Javi Gracia, who remains decidedly chirpy even though Watford have failed to win any of the four games they played in the last month, losing two of them:
Our feeling and the stats show that we are doing good work, not only looking about the results. We have put in good performances whether we are winning, losing or drawing in different games. We have a good feeling, good performances and we need to not only keep this level, but improve little details. Taking care of these little details (will) mean we are able to get better results.
If you speak only about the results, the last month was not good, but for me that is not the most important thing. We competed really well against [Manchester] United and Arsenal, with chances to get a better result. In all of the games, we have had the same or more shots than the other teams. You can feel with this statistics we are close to being able to win all the games we are playing. I think we are (going) in the right way.
Happily Gracia declared that Gerard Deulofeu, the summer signing who is yet to appear in a matchday squad this season as he battles back from a muscle injury, is now in full training and available for selection for tomorrow’s game against Bournemouth. “It will be a very demanding game against a very well-organised team,” said Gracia. “I expect a tough game, with both teams playing well.”
Neil Warnock says he won’t mind if he gets the sack from Cardiff. This just in:
Vincent [Tan] is as difficult as any owner but his heart is in the right place and he wants to do well. If the time came when he felt someone would be a better option I wouldn’t have a problem with that. Every big agent nowadays is pushing managers’ names and I’ve already heard two or three been mentioned for my job. What’s the worst scenario? I could go away with [his wife] Sharon to Italy or somewhere and have a nice, relaxed Christmas.
Today’s official Guardian Sport picture of the day is a post-nutmeg classic:
Sport picture of the day: Bruma sweeps past Rosenborg for RB Leipzig https://t.co/AdGS3RyYoU (Photo: EPA) pic.twitter.com/HO0JXlgcPE
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) October 5, 2018
This and more on our Instagram page.
Updated
I’ve been picking over the weekend’s fixtures in search of classic meetings from the distant past. Huddersfield’s best memories of Burnley possibly come from the Christmas of 1925, when the defending and future champions did the festive double over their rivals, beating them 5-1 away on Christmas Day and 2-0 at home on Boxing Day. At the end of the season Huddersfield were top, and Burnley avoided relegation by a point (Manchester City went down instead, with Notts County).
The Guardian’s write-up of those Christmas games was sadly minimal. “Burnley’s double reverse at the hands of Huddersfield (for whom C Wilson scored four goals on Christmas Day) puts the Turf Moor club back into the position of anxiety from which a series of successes had just relieved them,” we wrote. And, um, that’s it.
And here’s Boothroyd on his new pick, Phil Foden:
Phil has got great respect from us. He’s another player we want to push through and we can see him playing in the senior team but he’s got to prove himself with us. He is a massive talent. We want him to get games and the more he gets the better he’ll become. He’s also training with the best players in the world and the current champions. He is going to get a great education at Manchester City. If you can train with that calibre of player and coach and get game time that’s the holy grail. That’s what’s going to develop them. We can trust Manchester City, they know what they’re doing.
Here’s the England Under-21 squad in full.
Gunn (Southampton), Henderson (Sheffield United, on loan from Manchester United), Woodman (Newcastle), Chilwell (Leicester), Clarke-Salter (Vitesse Arnhem, on loan from Chelsea), Fry (Middlesbrough), Kenny (Everton), Konsa (Brentford), Tomori (Derby, on loan from Chelsea), Walker-Peters (Tottenham), Wan-Bissaka (Crystal Palace), Barnes (West Brom, on loan from Leicester), Cook (Bournemouth), Davies (Everton), Dowell (Everton), Onomah (Sheffield Wednesday, on loan from Tottenham), Abraham (Aston Villa, on loan from Chelsea), Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Foden (Manchester City), Lookman (Everton), Nelson (Hoffenheim, on loan from Arsenal), Sessegnon (Fulham), Solanke (Liverpool).
Here’s a story from Louise Taylor about Steph Houghton, captain of the England women’s team, whose husband was recently diagnosed with motor neurone disease:
Aidy Boothroyd has just named his Under-21 squad for their last two Euro 2019 qualifiers, against Andorra and Scotland. England need one point to reach the tournament, which will be held in Italy and San Marino. The headline name is that of Phil Foden, who is in the squad for the first time. Arsenal’s Reiss Nelson, on loan at Hoffenheim, and Leicester’s Harvey Barnes, who is currently on loan at West Brom, are also included.
I’ll post the full squad when I’ve got it...
The world of football is still reeling from last night’s FA Youth Cup tie between Nuneaton Borough and Halesowen Town, in which the home side led 4-1 at half-time, 7-2 after an hour, and then lost 8-9. Absolute ludicrousness, in the best possible way.
What a game we have here it's Now Nuneaton 7 Yeltz 4 #UpTheYeltz #YeltzYouth #FAyouthcup
— Halesowen Town FC (@halesowentownfc) October 4, 2018
Absolute scenes here it's Nuneaton 8 Yeltz 8 #UpTheYeltz #YeltzYouth #FAyouthcup
— Halesowen Town FC (@halesowentownfc) October 4, 2018
It's all over, let's take a breath, from 7-2 down the Yeltz triumph 8-9 absolutely fantastic #YeltzYouth #UpTheYeltz #FAyouthcup @FA
— Halesowen Town FC (@halesowentownfc) October 4, 2018
And here are this morning’s hottest transfer rumours:
Here’s Jamie Jackson’s news story from the Manchester United press conference:
José Mourinho has already held his Friday press conference. Scheduled for the unusually early time of 8am, it ended after less than four minutes. Highlights included:
Why are things not working as you’d like?
For many different reasons.
Can you tell us those reasons?
No
Would you say that United’s recent results are unacceptable for a team of their size and ambitions?
Yes, I accept
Are the fans assured that you’re doing everything that you can to try and turn this around?
No answer. Press conference ends.
He did say a couple of whole sentences, though:
Only one defeat at home all season, only one defeat in the last seven matches. But not victories at home in the past three matches - three draws. Not the feeling of the defeat, but not the happiness of the victory. So, yes, it is important for us to try and win this match on Saturday.
For completists, the Manchester Evening News has a full transcript here.
Updated
Hello world!
And so we stand on the threshold of another Premier League weekend, and a Friday jam-packed with thrills, spills and managerial press conferences awaits. Here are the big fixtures:
Friday
Brighton & Hove Albion v West Ham United (8pm)
Saturday (3pm unless stated)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town
Crystal Palace v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Leicester City v Everton
Manchester United v Newcastle United (5.30pm)
Tottenham Hotspurs v Cardiff City
Watford v Bournemouth
Sunday
Fulham v Arsenal (12pm)
Liverpool v Manchester City (4.30pm)
Southampton v Chelsea (2.15pm)
And here are some things to look out for this weekend:
Right then. Strap yourselves in, it’s going to be one hell of a ride.
