And that’ll do from me today. Thanks for your comments and emails. Tim de Lisle is at the controls for Tottenham v Manchester United. Enjoy!
We’re under way at the Emirates: Arsenal host Chelsea in the WSL. Rob Smyth is on hand to bring you minute-by-minute updates over the next couple of hours:
Gary Martinson asks: “Spurs have taken something like 13 points from their past 19 home games, an utterly dismal record in front of their fans. Why are they so poor there? Is the Tottenham Stadium too easy to play in for away teams? Is this even a thing?”
Interesting question – I think at the moment their reactiveness, and maybe overreliance on set pieces, doesn’t really feed a feisty atmosphere. There is a sense of being browbeaten by last season’s low finish too and the vibe definitely has been great here in recent weeks. I think there’s the wider issue here of high prices and altered demographics too. But this stadium has hosted some classic atmospheres too: Bodø/Glimt in the Europa League semi-final a few months back was genuinely hair-raising, for example. It can turn the noise up but perhaps just needs the encouragement.
MademoiselleK asks: “I don’t think the corner has been turned just yet. This game is a key benchmark. If United win then I think belief will start to grow that the manager’s much criticised approach to the game can bear fruit. Spurs are above United in the table and had a very comfortable win in the Champions League midweek so the big question is what version of each team turns up at lunchtime?”
I’m going to regard this as asking for a prediction! I think we will see a reaction from Spurs today but that United are in a nice groove ... so it’ll be a reasonably conservative but mutually agreeable 1-1.
Hamid Shahriari asks: “Bryan Mbeumo is in good form. But, on the other hand, the gaffer who introduced him to the Premier League as a star, is on the opposing side. Is this in favour of Mbeumo, who is familiar with Thomas Frank’s defensive tactics, or more in favour of Frank, who is aware of his former striker’s weaknesses?”
Thanks for this, Hamid. Mbeumo has started the season very well and is brimming with confidence. I wasn’t sure this would be a good move for him and am being proved wrong. Frank is facing questions for the first time as Spurs manager and, maybe, for the first time in his career working in England. So I see the wind in Mbeumo’s sails this afternoon and, given Spurs’ injury list in attacking positions, you can be sure Frank would not mind having him on his side here.
Anna Calling asks: “12.30pm kick-offs v 8pm kick-offs on a Saturday. Obviously we’ve got both today, but do you think players prefer one or the other?”
I can tell you that journalists very much prefer the 12.30pm, Anna! It’s a good question though. I don’t know too many players or managers who like the lunchtimes: in too many cases it’s a little bit flat, and it’s more of a wrench to the training regime than an evening fixture. This said, the winning team today has all the more time for a nice meal and non-alcoholic beer later.
Mark Breeze asks: “Ruben Amorim says he’s feeling relaxed about Benjamin Sesko’s lack of form for United so far this season. Should he be?”
Thanks for this, Mark. In short I would say “yes”. I always come back to how Arsène Wenger said imports to the Premier League, especially strikers, need a year to settle before being judged. Admittedly that was back in the quaint old 2000s when there was, perhaps, a shade more patience going around. But Sesko is 22 and has played in Austria then Germany. Sometimes it seems to me that he struggles when given time to think, he’s more the instinctive sort, but that often smoothes out with time. There’s also the need to work out exactly how to deploy that 6ft 5in frame against the world’s best defenders. I think he’ll be OK, there’s a huge talent waiting to explode.
Tottenham v Man Utd Q&A
Stooze asks: I’ve got a question for Nick. (It’s early so, my memory hasn’t kicked in yet.) Can you (or anyone else) think of a better goal in a Spurs-Man Utd match than Glenn Hoddle’s volley that time?
Morning Stooze – the short answer to this is “probably not”, although a few worthy contenders still spring to mind. I’m old enough to remember David Beckham swerving one in at the old White Hart Lane in ... I think ... 1997, a period when Spurs could barely buy a win in this fixture. I can also recall Jermain Defoe slamming in an improbable overhead kick inside a minute in 2009 – and, for balance, a geometrically perfect angled volley by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2021. Maybe someone can top those today.
Gary Naylor emails in:
On the train from Euston up to Liverpool for the Everton match. It’s something of an irony that fans are forced to stand on the train and sit at the stadium. A reverse of how things once were and, I suppose, a reflection of which organisations have money and which don’t.
I wonder which place serves a cheaper cup of tea.
I understand your point, Micktrick, but surely there’s a middle ground here.
Tottenham v Man Utd, Premier League team news
Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Sarr, Palhinha; Johnson, Simons, Kolo Muani; Richarlison
Subs: Kinsky, Danso, Udogie, Bentancur, Odobert, Tel, Scarlett, Akhamrich, Rowswell
Man Utd (3-4-3): Lammens; De Ligt, Maguire, Shaw; Mazraoui, Fernandes, Casemiro, Dorgu; Amad, Mbeumo, Cunha
Subs: Bayindir, Dalot, Heaven, Yoro, Mount, Fletcher, Ugarte, Sesko, Zirkzee
Nick Ames will be joining us shortly for a Q&A from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Manchester United v Aston Villa, WSL team news
Man Utd: Tullis-Joyce, George, Le Tissier, Toone, Park, Terland, Rolfö, Riviere, Naalsund, Janssen, Hinata
Subs: Middleton-Patel, Rendell, Blundell, Sandberg, Awujo, Galton, Zigiotti, Malard, Williams
Aston Villa: D’Angelo, Wilms, Patten, Deslandes, Grant, Kendall, Taylor, Maritz, Kearns, Mullett, Hanson.
Subs: Roebuck, Sallaway, Mayling, Maltby, Salmon, Daly
Arsenal v Chelsea, WSL team news: Confirmed starting lineups
Arsenal: Van Domselaar, Fox, Wubben-Moy, Catley, McCabe, Pelova, Caldentey, Russo, Mead, Foord, Blackstenius
Subs: Borbe, Codina, Maanum, Smith, Kelly, Nighswonger, Hinds, Cooney-Cross, Harwood
Chelsea: Hampton, Bronze, Bright, Björn, Charles, Cuthbert, Walsh, Kaptein, Rytting Kaneryd, Macario, Thompson
Subs: Peng, Girma, Baltimore, Carpenter, Buurman, Hamano, Jean-François, Nüsken, Kerr
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Given his connections, the Wolves job is surely one of the most attractive to Edwards, no matter where they’re at. Bit of credit in the bank, expectations are low … seems like he’s got nothing to lose. Except the respect of the Middlesbrough fans, I imagine.
Speaking of returns, Gareth Southgate is available …
England Men: Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden were the headline-makers in Thomas Tuchel’s squad announcement yesterday for next week’s World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania. Neither player has played for England since last season.
Bournemouth’s Alex Scott, who has enjoyed a run in Andoni Iraola’s in-form team this season since winning the Under-21 Euros with England in the summer, has been included in the senior setup for the first time.
Tuchel also didn’t rule out staying in the England job beyond next summer’s World Cup, after which his contract is due to expire. He seems to already be imagining ways his team could be knocked out in North America:
I think we all understand that when it comes to knockout football it’s: ‘How do we go out?’ It’s different if we lose 3-0 in a round of 32 to a huge underdog and we completely underperform, or you lose with a red card in the second minute for the goalkeeper and you go out and you put up a big fight in a quarter-final and you go out on penalties and play 120 minutes with 10 men.
More from Ben Fisher on Rob Edwards being stood down from Middlesbrough’s game against Birmingham today.
On the ball: There’s a new football trivia game to play on the Guardian app.
Every day, the identity of a mystery Premier League player (past or present) is there to be worked out. You’re given their position but nothing else. Choose to reveal additional information (nationality, clubs played for, number of titles etc.) at the cost of points – the fewer clues you take to guess correctly, the more points you finish with.
See if you can beat my total of 73 points for today’s challenge – that puts me in the top 9% of players. Just saying. Download the Guardian app and head to the puzzles section to play.
Sunderland v Arsenal: It’s been nine years since these two met at the Stadium of Light, with Alexis Sánchez and Olivier Giroud scoring two each in a 4-1 win for Arsène Wenger’s side.
Mikel Arteta, who had hung up his boots a few months before that 2016 meeting, today heads to the north east in charge of the Premier League leaders. Six points is the gap between them and second-place Manchester City, who host third-place Liverpool tomorrow.
Sunderland, though, could move to within four points of their opponents with a win today after a hugely impressive start to the season following promotion. Their defensive record is bettered only by Arsenal and they are unbeaten at home. They’ll have to find a way past David Raya, who has kept eight clean sheets in a row for Arsenal.
Wolves target Edwards stood down from Middlesbrough game
Middlesbrough have stood Rob Edwards down from taking charge of today’s match at home to Birmingham, with the 42-year-old poised to leave for Wolves. Edwards was willing to take charge but Boro felt it was impossible for him to do so. Boro rejected an official approach from Wolves on Thursday but less than 24 hours later the Championship club pulled his pre-match press conference after he did not take training on Friday, with his assistants Adi Viveash and Harry Watling doing so instead.
Uncertainty has reigned amid sustained interest from the Premier League club and following discussions with Boro’s hierarchy including the owner, Steve Gibson, yesterday, Boro have stood Edwards down from the dugout for this afternoon’s match. Boro are resigned to losing Edwards, who joined the club in the summer. Wolves want Edwards to succeed Vítor Pereira who was sacked after winning two points from 10 games.
Edwards joined Boro on a three-year contract in June, replacing Michael Carrick. Wolves stepped up their interest in Edwards after Gary O’Neil withdrew from talks over a return to the club on Monday amid a supporter backlash and doubts over the internal structure. He is now expected to return to Wolves, where he previously played and coached, working in both the academy and the first team. He also had a spell in caretaker charge in 2016, shortly after Fosun, the Wolves owner, acquired the club.
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Frank Lampard was a staple of my first fantasy teams, making my picks from the paper on a Saturday morning. His Coventry team are at Stoke today as the top two meet in the Championship and he’s been speaking to Ben Fisher this week about shadowing Guardiola, chats with Uncle Harry after games and Tuchel’s England:
‘The golden generation should absolutely have won a tournament’ … well, no, we had to go against Spain, France and Germany and it wasn’t easy. And it won’t be next summer. At the same time I can imagine the work is very good, we have got good talent in the squad; it’s exciting and I hope they do very well.
Fantasy football: The FPL deadline is coming up in just over an hour’s time. If you need help deciding who’s in and who’s out, then our weekend preview brings you probable XIs and the latest injury news from our writers in the know.
For what it’s worth, Danny Welbeck remains the captain of my side, with Granit Xhaka and John McGinn running things in midfield and James Tarkowski and Dan Burn holding firm at the back. It is called fantasy football, after all.
WSL: Title hopefuls and Champions League holders Arsenal host the reigning champions Chelsea at the Emirates today (12pm GMT kick-off).
Arsenal are struggling to keep pace with Chelsea near the top of the WSL – defeat to their London rivals today would open up a nine-point gap between the two teams. Sonia Bompastor’s side won both meetings last season but Renée Slegers did what the French coach couldn’t last campaign and beat Barcelona in the Champions League.
Rob Smyth will be here later this morning to take you through what is widely considered the WSL’s standout fixture.
Suzanne Wrack has been speaking to Arsenal’s Taylor Hinds, who recently made her debut for England despite declaring for Jamaica last year.
I had a great conversation with Sarina and she allowed me time and space to think about the decision because she knows that I have love and pride for both countries. That’s what people don’t realise, that I am proud of both countries. Hopefully everyone can respect what is a hugely personal decision … [Wiegman] understood my situation and she respected it fully.
Is it harder than it used to be to adapt physically to the Premier League? Beto didn’t have a great start to his Everton career (3 goals in 30 league games in his first season) but looked like a good fit at times last season.
Different type of player but Florian Wirtz is finding the going tough at Liverpool despite proving himself as one of the best players in Germany.
Today’s big games (3pm GMT unless stated)
Premier League
Tottenham v Manchester United (12.30pm) – Europa League revenge?
Everton v Fulham
West Ham v Burnley
Sunderland v Arsenal (5.30pm) – leaders go to surprise package
Chelsea v Wolves (8pm)
Championship
Middlesbrough v Birmingham – will Wolves target Edwards be in charge?
Stoke v Coventry – second v first
WSL
Arsenal v Chelsea (12pm) – European champions v English champions
Manchester United v Aston Villa (12pm)
European picks
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (2.30pm) – league leaders in the capital
Juventus v Torino (5pm) – Turin derby
Borussia Mönchengladbach v Köln (5.30pm) – Rhine derby
Parma v Milan (7.45pm)
Updated
Bundesliga: Werder Bremen scored a 94th-minute winner to beat Wolfsburg last night and continue their impressive recent form. Mattias Svanberg finished a move that involved Christian Eriksen to give Wolfsburg the lead in the first half before Jens Stage’s header levelled it for the hosts in the 83rd minute.
Deep into stoppage time, Victor Boniface’s botched overhead kick flew up in the air and was struck on the volley by Samuel Mbangula to spark, well, utter scenes. Werder are just three points off the Champions League places having won three of their last five games.
Elsewhere in Europe, Mikel Oyarzabal earned Real Sociedad a point at Elche with a late penalty, Jamie Vardy couldn’t stop Cremonese firing a blank in a defeat at Pisa and Breel Embolo won it for Rennes at Paris FC.
Championship: Watford’s hot streak at home was halted last night when Bristol City earned a 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road. Scott Twine’s free-kick cancelled out Marc Bola’s opener to put an end to Watford’s four-game winning run at home. Bristol City stayed 7th in the table while Watford moved up to 11th.
Twine’s opportunistic free-kick impressed the Bristol City manager, Gerhard Struber, as did his overall contribution. “Scott [has] outstanding technical power with his monster leg,” he said. “It helped us to score in this way but I like his energy at the moment – his work ethic on the field to invest everything. You do not see it that often that players on this level work really hard against the ball but this was the key – players with high technical level were involved in our defensive pressing moments.”
Marc Bola’s first Watford goal gave the Hornets a sixth-minute lead, with the captain, Imran Louza, setting him up with a 70-yard pass from his own half. That allowed Bola to sprint in behind the City defence, control the ball with an impressive first touch and slot past Robins goalkeeper Radek Vitek. The Watford manager, Javi Gracia, said: “The pass was sensational, the control and finalising was very good – it was a very good goal.” PA Media
Updated
Old habits die hard. Light at kick-off, dark by full-time – there’s something comforting about a 3pm game once the clocks have gone back in the UK. Wonder if DeadFinks is enjoying the Hill Dickinson as much as Goodison?
Moyes: Barry is costing himself minutes with stupid yellow cards
David Moyes has defended his treatment of Thierno Barry and claimed the Everton striker has cost himself minutes on the pitch by collecting “stupid” bookings.
The Everton manager has replaced Barry with Beto or vice-versa in every game bar the Premier League opener at Leeds. Barry has not completed one of his five starts since joining for £27m from Villarreal in the summer and looked despondent after being withdrawn in the 57th minute of last Monday’s draw with Sunderland.
Barry missed a glorious chance to put Everton 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light and is yet to register a shot on target in 10 Premier League appearances. But Moyes insists the 23-year-old was substituted after picking up a first-half yellow card, as he did when replaced at half-time in the Carabao Cup exit at Wolves, and that it was not a reflection of his performance.
“We are taking them off because they are probably not getting us the goals or the opportunities and we are saying: ‘Well, let’s see if the other one can do it’,” said Moyes on his revolving striker policy.
“I think we have given Barry more football than I probably expected early on if I was being honest, but he has lost himself minutes by getting a booking. He got a booking at Wolves and so we weren’t taking the chance at half-time. He got a booking against Sunderland. The slightest thing could happen and I cannot take the risk of him getting sent off. We might have taken the risk with another player, like Jimmy Garner or Idrissa [Gueye], because they are a bit more experienced.
“It is something we are mentioning [to Barry]; he will feel it himself. We don’t think he is doing that badly, at times he is doing OK. We need him to score goals whether he is doing good or bad but we are saying: ‘By the way, if you are getting yourself stupidly booked then you are making it easier for us to make that decision because we cannot take the risk of going down to 10 men.’”
Arteta: Xhaka could be a great coach
Mikel Arteta has tipped Grant Xhaka to become a “very good” manager and admitted pride that several of his former players have been inspired to begin their coaching careers while at Arsenal.
Xhaka will face his former club for the first time since he left for Bayer Leverkusen in 2023 when Sunderland host the Premier League leaders today. The 33-year-old has played a key role in Sunderland’s excellent start since their promotion via the playoffs. Arteta described his former captain as one of the signings of the summer, and his Sunderland counterpart, Régis Le Bris, has said the Switzerland midfielder is “like a second coach on the pitch”.
Xhaka started his coaching badges at Arsenal at the same time as Mohamed Elneny and Cédric Soares and took charge of a youth team that included Ethan Nwaneri. Arteta was impressed and believes Xhaka has the credentials to become a manager.
“I’m sure one day he’s going to be a great coach,” he said. “It would be up to him to decide. That’s not for me, but I think [he would be] a very good one – and many others that have started their licences while we are here. Because they feel inspired, they love it and they see an opportunity as well to improve their lives after they retire.”
Asked whether he would like Xhaka to join his coaching staff one day, Arteta said: “Let him play first. He’s playing every minute of every game, so I think you still have a long career ahead of him. Everybody has a pathway, everybody needs an opportunity. I got one, and the players and the people around you obviously need to have that. Everybody wants to develop and try things in life, and when they feel that’s the right thing to do, you have to let them fly and wish them the best.”
First, let’s do the news. There are a couple of lines coming out of yesterday’s Premier League press conferences, including Mikel Arteta on Granit Xhaka and David Moyes on Thierno Barry.
Tottenham v Man Utd Q&A
Get your questions in for the Guardian’s European sports correspondent, Nick Ames, our man at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the 12.30pm (GMT) kick-off. He’ll be on hand from the press box at 11.30am to discuss how Tottenham and Manchester United are getting on and what may lie in store when they meet in the Premier League today.
You can the dedicated matchday.live@theguardian.com email or comment below the line to ask Nick a question.
Updated
Preamble
Hello and welcome to matchday live on a weekend that is sure to set the tone for the winter ahead as Europe’s top leagues prepare to break for men’s international fixtures for the final time this year.
We’ll be building up to today’s football, including some heavyweight early kick-offs in the Premier League and WSL, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all in action in both leagues before the day is out.
We’d also like to hear from you. Whether it’s your opinions on the season so far, thoughts on Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad or your plans to watch the action today, comment below or send an email to matchday.live@theguardian.com.
Our European sports correspondent, Nick Ames, will at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a bit later on for a Q&A ahead of Spurs v Manchester United – more on that in a moment.
