So let’s call it a weekend shall we? Be sure to log back on from Saturday at 12.30pm for live minute-by-minute coverage of Crystal Palace v Brighton, then at 3pm we’ll have a Saturday clockwatch taking in the goals from the afternoon’s games in the Premier League and beyond, before it’s all over to the Etihad at 5.30pm to see if Manchester City can extend their lead over Liverpool to four points by beating Watford. Bye.
It’s almost the weekend folks – and no weekend truly starts until you’ve read your Leicester v Fulham and Cardiff v West Ham match previews:
USA women's team files lawsuit seeking equal pay
An interesting development here in the United States, where the USA women’s national team have filed a federal gender discrimination lawsuit seeking pay equal to that of their male counterparts. Here’s the report from the Associated Press:
The action comes just three months before the team will defend its title at the Women’s World Cup. The class-action lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in Los Angeles under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
It alleges gender-based discrimination by the U.S. Soccer Federation. The players allege they have been subject to ongoing “institutionalized gender discrimination,” including unequal pay, despite having the same job responsibilities as players on the men’s national team. The 28 members of the current national team player pool joined in the lawsuit.
The US Women’s National Team Players Association was not party to the lawsuit, but in a statement said it “supports the plaintiffs’ goal of eliminating gender-based discrimination by USSF.” The US Soccer Federation didn’t have an immediate comment.
Updated
Jürgen Klopp has told Liverpool fans to stay off the ale and get to bed early to ensure the atmosphere is not a sleepy one at Anfield for the noon visit of Burnley on Sunday.
We always have this question about when we have a 12 noon kickoff. We don’t have issues with this anymore, we need atmosphere at 12 o’clock. If you have a ticket, go to bed at 10pm latest, don’t drink and be on your toes from the first to the last second. We will know the City result before we start our game but we won’t make a big fuss about it because we are just fighting for the top spot in the league and it’s important to be optimistic and excited.
Bolton chairman Ken Anderson’s tenure at the club looks set to end and Paul Wilson reckons Wanderers supporters will be overjoyed at the news:
Hot on the heels of the ousting of Owen Oyston at Blackpool, the departure of another unpopular owner at a famous old Lancashire club appears likely to come. Having finally paid his staff in time for Saturday’s game against Millwall to go ahead, Ken Anderson is claiming to have found a buyer for Bolton – and is preparing to sever his connections with the club.
Manchester City to be investigated by Premier League
The Premier League has confirmed it is investigating allegations of malpractice at Manchester City. The news comes a day after European governing body Uefa announced it had opened a fresh investigation into claims the club breached its Financial Fair Play regulations. The Premier League is looking into that matter, as well as other recent allegations concerning the recruitment of Academy players and third-party ownership. A Premier League statement read:
The Premier League has previously contacted Manchester City to request information regarding recent allegations and is in ongoing dialogue with the club. The league has detailed financial regulations and strong rules in the areas of Academy player recruitment and third-party ownership. We are currently investigating these matters and will allow Manchester City every opportunity to explain the context and detail surrounding them.
Manchester City released a statement in response to Uefa’s investigation saying: “The accusation of financial irregularities are entirely false.” And today Pep Guardiola said his legacy at Manchester City will not be tainted by FFP claims.
Updated
Chelsea say they are “astonished” at Fifa’s decision not to freeze the club’s two-window transfer ban while an appeal against the sanction takes place. Chelsea were last month banned from signing players for the next two transfer windows having being found guilty of breaching regulations relating to the recruitment of minors.
Chelsea denied any wrongdoing and subsequently lodged an appeal with the governing body. However, as reported earlier, Fifa’s’s appeal committee has announced that an application by the club for “provisional measures” has been rejected.
In response, Chelsea posted on the club website:
Chelsea Football Club is astonished by the FIFA Appeal Committee’s decision not to suspend its sanction pending completion of the appeal process. The club acted in accordance with the relevant regulations and has already notified FIFA of its intention to appeal against the Disciplinary Committee’s decision and sanction. As a matter of procedural fairness and equality of treatment, and Swiss law, the Club’s right to an appeal process must be afforded, before any irremediable sanction takes effect. So far as the Club is aware, in all previous cases where a registration ban has been imposed by FIFA, a decision has also been made to suspend the sanction until the appeal process has been completed. In this case, Chelsea considers that it is being treated inconsistently in comparison with other European clubs. We will consider our next steps once we have received the written reasons for this decision from FIFA. The Club notes the Appeal Committee’s statement that it has the right to appeal to CAS. In the meantime the Club will continue to fully cooperate with the proceedings.
Here’s our Manchester City v Watford match preview:
If Manchester City can defeat Watford they will stretch their lead to four points and apply pressure on Liverpool who play Burnley at noon on Sunday. Do so and another game is chalked off in City’s bid to retain the title for a first time in their history and become the first club since Manchester United in 2009 to claim consecutive crowns.
Here’s the latest from the Press Association on the premature end (by four minutes) to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s Liverpool Under-23s comeback:
Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s return to competitive action after 11 months out with a knee injury ended prematurely. The England international was scheduled to play 45 minutes in the under-23s’ Premier League 2 match at Derby but was taken off four minutes before half-time as a precaution.
Oxlade-Chamberlain had been holding his right hamstring a few minutes earlier and, Press Association Sport understands, Liverpool were not prepared to take any risks in his return from serious knee ligament damage sustained last April.
The 25-year-old had shown some nice touches during the time he was on the pitch, especially one low crossfield ball to the left wing with the outside of his right foot and another 50-yard diagonal with his left which was instantly controlled by Ben Woodburn.
However, it was very much a performance of feeling his way back in as he kept himself out of any trouble and there was little in the way of driving runs from midfield for which he is associated with.
Having been taken off just before the break, he took the five-minute walk back to the changing rooms with a physio during which time he happily posed for photographs with fans. When asked how he was, Oxlade-Chamberlain said: “Yeah, all good.”
Updated
Claudio Ranieri confirmed as Roma manager
As reported in the Guardian yesterday, Claudio Ranieri has succeeded Eusebio Di Francesco as Roma manager until the end of the season.
I’m delighted to be coming back home. When Roma call you, it’s impossible to say no.
OFFICIAL | 📝 | Claudio Ranieri takes charge at #ASRoma
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) March 8, 2019
More details ➡️ https://t.co/WBqImUKTOT pic.twitter.com/RylGFKGTtv
The Roma president, Jim Pallotta, said: “We are delighted to welcome Claudio Ranieri back to the club. We have one objective remaining this season and that is to finish in the highest possible league position and secure qualification for the Champions League. At this stage of the campaign, it was important to bring in a coach who knows the club, understands the environment, can speak the language and is able to motivate the players. Claudio ticks all of those boxes and he’s very excited to take on this challenge.”
It is Ranieri’s second stint at the club, following 18 months at the helm between 2009 and 2011, a spell in which Roma finished second in Serie A.
Updated
“Which Tottenham team will show up at St Mary’s,” asks Niall McVeigh in this Southampton v Spurs match preview.
Thanks Simon. Right, to Crystal Palace, where Roy Hodgson has been talking up his right-back, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, before his side host “derby” rivals Brighton at Saturday lunchtime. Here’s the PA’s take on his press conference:
Roy Hodgson expects Aaron Wan-Bissaka to resist any temptation to play international football for the Democratic Republic of Congo and to instead commit his promising future to England.
“I personally hope he doesn’t [change allegiance] because he is a very, very good player,” said Hodgson. “I do understand players who never get a chance to play for their country, maybe playing for the country of their parents’ birth. But he is already playing for his country, playing for England (at Under-21 level).
“He was born and brought up here in England. Obviously he has a liaison to his parents with Congo. But basically speaking he has been a very important part of Aidy Boothroyd’s Under-21 team for at least a couple of seasons. He has been one of the cogs that enabled the team to qualify for the World Cup and take part this summer, which he is really looking forward to. If Aaron gets selected for the national team, we will be really pleased, of course. I don’t intend to make any suggestions to (Gareth Southgate) in that respect.”
Palace on Saturday host rivals Brighton, who will move level with them on 33 points if they win but remain at risk of relegation if they do not. “This is a very important fixture and one that means a lot to our fans,” said Hodgson.
“You prepare them to give a good performance and remind them of the importance of this game to the fans. It’s one of the nine big games we have remaining. We do realise the importance of occasions; we do realise that to a lot of supporters, this means more than even a game against Manchester United. But it’s a game that we have to make certain we don’t allow our performances to in any way be affected.”
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And with that, I’m handing the blog over to another lucky soul. Have a fabulous footballing weekend, everyone!
Here’s a quick Manchester City story from Jamie Jackson:
Ian McGarry has an exclusive for the Daily Record in which he reports that Manchester United plan to start talks with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s agent, Jim Solbaaken, on Monday over a four-year permanent contract “worth approximately £30m plus bonuses”. They have offered Molde £7.6m for the inconvenience of losing their manager, and plan to make an announcement “before the end of the season”.
... though Goal’s Neil Jones reports the player has declared himself fine.
Oxlade-Chamberlain back to the dressing room after being replaced.
— Neil Jones (@neiljonesgoal) March 8, 2019
Posed for pictures and signed autographs. Gave a thumbs up when asked if he was ok, but subbed four minutes before half time on his comeback. #LFC pic.twitter.com/2oQ9lhEf0W
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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been playing for Liverpool’s Under-23s against Derby. He was expected to play for the first half but was taken off four minutes before the break. Carl Markham, the Press Association reporter at Derby’s training ground, says “he was maybe holding his right hamstring”.
This just in from the Associated Press, regarding Chelsea’s two-window ban, which Fifa has refused to delay:
Fifa says its appeals committee has denied a request from Chelsea to freeze a one-year transfer ban while the club challenges the punishment.
Chelsea could now ask the Court of Arbitration for Sport to grant an interim ruling, which would allow players to be signed in the close season.
Chelsea was banned from registering new players until January 2020 for breaking rules designed to protect teenage players. The club denies wrongdoing.
In previous similar cases involving top Spanish clubs, Fifa granted provisional measures which meant transfer bans were not enforced during the appeal process.
The Fifa appeal panel chairman, Thomas Bodstrom, joined soccer’s governing body after those Spanish cases were decided.
Hello again! Simon here, taking the baton back for a bit. Here’s a little preview of Crystal Palace v Brighton:
News snippet from Scotland: Rangers’ Alfredo Morelos, who’s been collecting goals and cards in more or less equal measure this season, has signed a contract extension tying him to the club until 2023. “He is a competitive individual and he is a winner. He is what Rangers needs,” trilled his manager, Steven Gerrard.
Premier League match previews and squad sheets are beginning to drop in. Here’s Newcastle v Everton:
Meanwhile down in League One, one of the most feverishly anticipated matches anywhere this weekend will be at Bloomfield Road, where Blackpool’s first match in the post-Oyston era, against Southend, is expected to draw more than 15,000, around a five-fold increase on the Seasiders’ average in recent times, as fans return from boycotting in protest at the runnning down of the club under Karl and Owen Oyston’s ownership, which was finally brought to an end last week when the club were put into receivership. “It’s going to be some occasion,” said their manager, Terry McPhillips. “Am I excited about what’s going on and taking the team out for the biggest crowd in I don’t know how long? Yes, and maybe I can’t hold that excitement back. Hopefully we can all use that excitement to our benefit.”
Simon’s just taking a well-earned lunch break so I’m stepping in briefly. And talking of Manchester City and administrative bother, Pep Guardiola has been speaking about the latest developments in the FFP-breach allegations against his club: “The club is open – I trust them a lot because I know them,” the scrupulously on-message manager said. On the pitch, Guardiola will be without Kevin de Bruyne against Watford tomorrow, the Belgian still recovering from a hamstring injury. Fernandinho also misses out while Aymeric Laporte is doubtful.
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The Times are reporting that Watford have written to the FA asking to be kept informed about the investigation into Manchester City’s approach to Jadon Sancho, and that they could seek compensation from City if it is decided that improper payments were made to Sancho’s family and agents when he moved from Hertfordshire to Manchester at the age of 14. The two clubs meet in the Premier League tomorrow.
Swiss Ramble’s take on Wolves’ 2017-18 financial results is worth a read. They key details are that they made a £57m loss, but also got promoted. The thread starts below:
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2017/18 financial results covered a successful season, when the club was promoted to the Premier League as champions after a six-year absence, led by head coach Nuno Espirito Santo under the ownership of Fosun International. Some thoughts follow #WWFC
— Swiss Ramble (@SwissRamble) March 8, 2019
Monchi, Roma’s sporting director but frequently linked with Arsenal in recent months, has left the Italian club.
AS Roma and Monchi have mutually agreed to bring an early end to their professional relationship.
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) March 8, 2019
Monchi: "I would like to thank president Pallotta, the club’s management, staff, players and fans for their support during my time at the club."
Details ➡️ https://t.co/gKoqvdvX4y pic.twitter.com/jf2wFg0aEo
Here are a couple of key reads if you want to get up to speed on the Monchi story:
All league matches in Albania have been suspended, after the decision of the referee’s association to pull out of officiating matches in response to violence against one of their members.
The referee’s association said it wants police to control stadium security after the “failed experiment” with private firms.
The federation expelled FK Kamza and three of its officials from this season’s championship and fined the club following violence against a referee last weekend. Eldorjan Hamiti was hit several times at the end of a league match against KF Laci, which ended 1-1 after the visitors were awarded a late penalty.
Here’s another highlight from that interview. Great stuff:
If you’re a good footballer but don’t know how to respect others, you’re nobody. Sometimes it’s difficult but we are humans before we are footballers. We should respect each other. On the pitch, off the pitch – why should it be different?
Key lunchtime reading: David Hytner has met Son Heung-min, who spoke at length about his childhood and his father’s rather intense coaching. Here’s a snippet:
“My father says this and I agree, as well,” Son says. “When you marry, the number one will be family, wife and kids – and then football. I want to make sure that while I play at the top level, football can be number one. You don’t know how long you can play at the top level. When you retire, or when you are 33, 34, you can still have a long life with your family.”
It is put to Son that most European managers prefer their players to marry and settle down. “Yeah, because there are many opportunities to do things off the pitch, like drinking or something like this,” he replies. “But I am not the type that likes doing this stuff.
“I just want to make sure that I make everyone happy by playing at the top level. For example, when I play for Spurs at Wembley, how many Korean flags do you see? I want to keep my level as high as possible for as long as I can, to pay back to them. This is very important for me.”
Much more here:
Here’s Jamie Jackson’s take on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s press conference this morning:
Here’s a story from Reuters about Crystal Palace’s Luka Milivojevic, whose international career isn’t going so well:
Crystal Palace midfielder Luka Milivojevic has been axed from Serbia’s squad for their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign after falling out with coach Mladen Krstajic over their group stage exit at last year’s World Cup.
“Luka is no longer ready to play for Serbia because we have failed to come to terms and put certain issues behind us,” Krstajic told a news conference on Friday. “Serbia is bigger than either Milivojevic or myself and our priority is to create a good atmosphere for what lies ahead.”
Krstajic and Milivojevic fell out after the midfielder criticised the coach’s tactics and team selection in a 2-1 defeat by Switzerland, in their second group stage match at the World Cup in Russia.
Assistant coach Milan Obradovic then accused Milivojevic of plotting a “coup” against the staff during the tournament and the Palace captain was subsequently left out of Serbia’s Nations League campaign, having denied their allegations.
Krstajic and his assistants said they met with Milivojevic in London last month in a bid to resolve the conflict but the midfielder was adamant he would not apologise for his remarks.
“We failed to find common ground despite the fact that both parties said they only wanted what’s best for Serbia,” said Krstajic after naming his squad for a Euro 2020 qualifier against Portugal on March 25 and the friendly against Germany in Wolfsburg on March 20. “It’s no longer open for discussion.”
Mauricio Pochettino will not be on the bench when Spurs visit Southampton this weekend. Here’s what he thinks about it:
Jurgen Klopp has said Mohamed Salah is a fundamental reason why Liverpool are challenging for the Premier League title as he dismissed concerns over the Egypt international’s recent form.
Salah will equal Alan Shearer’s Premier League record of scoring 50 goals in the fewest number of games for a single club should he convert once against Burnley on Sunday. The 26-year-old would also shatter the Liverpool record held by Fernando Torres in the process. Torres required 72 matches to hit the half century for Liverpool while Sunday represents Salah’s 66th league appearance for the club.
Liverpool’s 20-goal leading scorer has not scored in four games, however, and despite being deemed “unplayable” by Klopp against Watford he endured a difficult afternoon at Everton last weekend. Salah has never gone five appearances without a goal for Liverpool and his manager insists he is satisfied with the forward’s contribution.
“We very often have talks,” said Klopp. “Of course, when you are a striker or offensive player and you have chances in the game, you want to score with them in the game - that’s clear. But as a manager, I’m more than used to that players don’t score all the time. That’s how it is.
“He has an unbelievable record. His goals brought us where we are - not only, but it was a big part of it. No, we didn’t really speak about it because it’s completely normal. We have to create chances. In a very difficult game against Everton, we had four or five proper chances. We had less than that in games when we won against Everton, to be honest. This game, always one Everton leg was in between us and the goal or Pickford. That’s the situation, but nothing else.”
Liverpool welcome back Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from an 11-month injury lay-off today when the midfielder returns for the under-23s at Derby County. Klopp also expects to have Joe Gomez back after this month’s international break although James Milner and Dejan Lovren are doubts for Burnley.
The Liverpool manager added: “It’s a rather positive moment. Dejan trained yesterday for the first time completely normal. Joe is now running with 100% of his weight. Most of the things will be around after the international break, for example Joe. Dejan was out for a while so we have to see how his fitness is exactly. He’s not injured, he’s fit, but how fit we have to see.
“Rhian [Brewster] trained, looked really good, but he’s in a situation Ox was in maybe three weeks ago. Milly, we will have to see. It’s Milly, so everything heals quicker; he was already outside yesterday. He had a little bit with a muscle issue but still three days to go until the game and I think if you ask Milly he will say I will be ready.”
Scottish football news now, and Rangers have announced that Alfredo Morelos has signed a new four-year contract at the club. The 22-year-old has scored 16 goals in 24 league games this season. Steven Gerrard had this to say about the news:
It’s always important at big clubs like this one to make sure your top players are secured long term. Alfredo has been excellent for Rangers and his scoring record tells you he is in tune with what we are trying to achieve.
✍️ #RangersFC are today delighted to confirm that Alfredo Morelos (@morelos2106) has signed a new contract with the club: https://t.co/338Um5ziy5 #ElBufalo pic.twitter.com/RKi4RL6A0K
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) March 8, 2019
The last time Liverpool played Burnley Joe Gomez’s leg was broken and Jurgen Klopp was very angry, and said that Burnley’s sliding tackles turned football into 10-pin bowling:
The injury threat is massive. That was hard. You get the ball, nice, but it’s like bowling because you get the player as well. It happened four or five times
Today Klopp was asked about that game, and whether he regrets anything he said at the time:
There is nothing to say about that any more. I say what I said at the time, nearly three months ago. We are human beings, we react in the moment. I made a lot of mistakes in my life, and most of the time I regret them. For me, the game is a special situation and in different circumstances, you can imagine what is said in and around the game.
From my point of view, I don’t think there is anything to regret but I’m not sure. I have no bad feelings about that game because of something which happened in the past. It was an injury, it happened then and he [Gomez] is still not playing. That is all you can say.
So that’s a no then.
Philip Billing, Huddersfield’s 22-year-old midfield colossus, has been asked if his future lies at the club. And here’s what he said:
Yes for the last nine games, for sure it is. Whatever happens in the summer or next season, I don’t know. Anything can happen. We might go down, I might stay, I might leave, who knows? But as it stands now I’m still a Huddersfield Town player.
We’re working hard in training to give everything in our last nine games. Whether we’re relegated or stay up, we’re going to fight for each other and see what happens. But of course in football you always kind of play a bit for yourself as well to make sure in the future you have a better chance of staying in the league you want to stay in. But staying together as a team and focus on the nine games. That’s the main focus now.
So that’s a no then.
Updated
A question from the floor: “So, just to ensure I’ve got this right, Uefa essentially do their own VAR of the VAR decisions,” writes Oliver. “What happens if they determine the decision by VAR and the referee was wrong? Does the game get replayed?”
I think VAR decisions will frequently be questionable but will very rarely be entirely inexplicable, which is probably all Uefa need.
Neil Warnock has insisted he is the best man to lead Cardiff, after criticism of the job he is doing at the club and with the former players Danny Gabbidon and Nathan Blake both questioning the team spirit after they dropped into the relegation zone on the back of three successive defeats.
If they’ve been in the dressing room when I’ve not been around I don’t know. When you lose three games like we have, you are flat. Your body language is flat and training is not the same. I don’t think there’s any rift whatsoever. If I thought it’d be better to have somebody different in the place, I’d say good luck to them. But I think I’m the best one to get us over the line this year.
I can also offer you some moving pictures of Brendan Rodgers. Moving as in literally moving, they are not particularly emotional.
Here’s today’s Rumour Mill, featuring a Real Madrid fallout update and the Juventus shopping spree latest:
Camden Town Ladies FC have unveiled a rather striking new kit for International Women’s Day, celebrating some notable Camden-linked women:
Updated
Jürgen Klopp is holding his pre-weekend press conference, and has been asked what kind of impact trailing Manchester City in the league will have on his players:
The plan is clear. We have to win football games. It’s difficult enough. Probably we will know their result before we start our game. There’s no reason to make a big fuss of it. It’s like this. We are in a position we like to be. We liked the position before. We always said, we want to be in a position to fight for the top spot in the league and we are still in it and that’s all we need to be positive, to be optimistic, to be excited about the challenge. Our only problem this weekend is Burnley, actually, and that’s enough.
Uefa have released “additional information and elements that were taken into consideration by the VAR and referees” during key incidents in this week’s Champions League games. And this is what they say of the Manchester United penalty at PSG:
The VAR, after checking various different angles available to him, recommended to the referee an on-field review following the penalty area incident.
Given that the referee did not recognise the incident clearly during live play (referred to as serious missed incident in the VAR protocol) an on-field review was conducted.
Following the on-field review, the referee confirmed that the distance that the ball travelled was not short and the impact could therefore not be unexpected. The defender’s arm was not close to the body, which made the defender’s body bigger thus resulting in the ball being stopped from travelling in the direction of the goal. The referee, therefore, awarded a penalty kick.
All the above-mentioned decisions were made in full compliance with the VAR protocol.
In other words, it was the correct decision according to Uefa’s VAR protocol.
We have an exclusive interview with Barcelona’s Toni Duggan, after England’s triumph in the SheBelieves Cup:
We want a major honour, and we’re good enough to win one so it is just the start. I think we’ve always had it but the proof is in the pudding and what better way to go into the World Cup than knowing you’ve come from behind against two of the top nations in the world? There will be times when we do go behind, hopefully not, but if there are we can draw on this experience together and pull through.
Updated
Manchester United injury update: Solskjaer said that Anthony Martial is ready for action, while Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera could also be available for Sunday’s trip to Arsenal. Paul Pogba, who missed Wednesday’s win over PSG because of suspension, will be in the squad.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is holding his weekly press conference, where he has inevitably been asked about his own future, given media reports that he is about to get the job on a full-time basis.
That’s just the media. I’m not here to get excited, I’m here to do my job. And of course you cannot have two contracts when you’re a manager, so that contract [with Molde] was terminated. So I’m contracted to Man United until the end of June. We’re looking to pre-season and also we look at players and hopefully the ones the club will sign will play here for many, many years. I love managing these boys. I love working here, and as I’ve said so many times, I’m just doing the best I can every single day. If and when it comes to a decision to be made, we’ve got to think about that.
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With Crystal Palace playing Brighton this weekend, here’s an article I wrote a few years ago about the genesis of their rivalry:
There’s a football match happening right now, and here’s a great photo from it. Western Sydney Wanderers lead Brisbane Road 3-1 at half-time, as eighth plays ninth in the Australian A-League.
And here’s a superb goal from the same game:
WHAT A SHOT! WHAT A GOAL! ORIOL RIERA! 🤯
— WS Wanderers FC (@wswanderersfc) March 8, 2019
🎥: @FOXFOOTBALL #WSW #BRIvWSW pic.twitter.com/OCE6D18mHM
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Hello world!
Another Friday dawns, and it is thus nearly the weekend, and so not far away from almost being verging on the run-up to actual football being played. Here, then, are this weekend’s Premier League fixtures (all kick-offs 3pm GMT unless stated):
Saturday
Cardiff City v West Ham
Crystal Palace v Brighton & Hove Albion (12.30pm)
Huddersfield v Bournemouth
Leicester v Fulham
Manchester City v Watford (5.30pm)
Newcastle United v Everton
Southampton v Tottenham Hotspur
Sunday
Arsenal v Manchester United (4.30pm)
Chelsea v Wolverhampton Wanderers (2.05pm)
Liverpool v Burnley (12pm)
And here are 10 things to look out for in this top-flight weekend:
