Palmer fit to start against Arsenal, Gueye red card appeal rejected – football live

4.51pm GMT Football lucre hasn’t escaped from Rachel Reeves’ budget. Though why would it? The change will leave many top-flight players with significantly larger tax bills and several agents have said that is likely to be passed on to clubs, particularly for players who sign new contracts before the measure takes effect. Many players receive image rights paid to limited companies for commercial earnings, such as sponsorship deals and advertising income. From April 2027 these will be subject to the 45% top rate of income tax, rather than the corporate tax rate of 25%. Related: Increased tax bills for players may lead to demands for higher wages from clubs 4.49pm GMT Dave Estherby gets in touch: “At this rate, come May Roy Keane’s comment (15.19) will be both still 50% true and the understatement of the decade.” 4.46pm GMT Brentford v Burnley (Saturday, 3pm) Tough trip for Burnley to Brentford. Their manager, Scott Parker, has been speaking. “Brentford are a strong team, make no mistake about it. They’re a team that have been around this division for a while now, and you can see that in their performances. Keith has done a fantastic job in the short time he’s been in charge there - it’s going to be a tough game for us. “They know how to get results, in particular at home - it’s always a tough place to go.“On the flip side, we’ve prepared for this game with the ambition of going there and getting a result - I certainly feel we can go there and cause them problems. We’ll go there with full steam ahead.” 4.10pm GMT Edan Tal gets in touch: “Apparently, Roy Keane was seen at Bob Dylan gig in Ireland this week. Wondering what his review would be? Is Dylan a bad champion for not defending his Nobel Prize?” Just imagining Roy’s face after hearing this cover. And watching this video. Some familiar faces here. 3.46pm GMT West Ham v Liverpool (Sunday, 4.30) Nuno Espirito Santo on Arne Slot’s travails. “All the managers in the Premier League and all over the world, there are always questions. The press raises the questions; it is part of the industry. I will salute him and keep it normal. But you keep asking me, I am thinking about myself, how can I help my players, how can we prepare tomorrow, and then Sunday will come, and we will have to compete.” 3.22pm GMT Crystal Palace v Manchester United (Sunday, 12pm) Ruben Amorim on those comparisons with his 3-4-3 and that of Oliver Glasner: “We play the different way. You can understand that by data. But it’s hard to explain everything. Like you said, it’s a different club and they are doing things better than us. So that is quite simple. You don’t say that all 4-3-3 play in the same way, right? We play in a different moment, we defend in a different space, we try to attack in a different way. They are just doing things better than us.” The same but different, it’s not you, it’s me etc. 3.19pm GMT “Bad champions” was the label Roy Keane came up with. How do this season’s Liverpool rate? Related: Who are the worst champions in Premier League history? 3.02pm GMT Right, as a Kevin Keegan video from his Newcastle era once said, who knows where this magical adventure ends? 2.58pm GMT And with that update, my stint on the coalface of football news is up. Here to guide you gently on, is John Brewin. 2.55pm GMT Sunderland v Bournemouth (3pm Saturday) Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola provided an update on the fitness of a number of his players ahead of taking on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. Midfielder Ryan Christie has been ruled out after an MRI scan revealed a knee injury sustained on recent international duty with Scotland, but there is better news over Antoine Semenyo, who is set to return after missing last week’s draw with West Ham, while Justin Kluivert is also making progress on the sidelines. Iraola said: We still have to train today but he has been doing modified training with the team the previous days. If everything goes well today, I think he (Semenyo) is going to be available for tomorrow, yes. 2.47pm GMT West Ham v Liverpool (Sunday, 2.05pm) West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo is not reading anything into Liverpool’s poor form as he prepares his side to take on the ailing Premier League champions. Arne Slot’s side head to the London Stadium on the back of nine defeats in 12 matches, the club’s worst run in more than 70 years. West Ham will have Lucas Paqueta available following suspension, while Crysencio Summerville and Dinos Mavropanos are both stepping up their recovery from injury, but Nuno is taking nothing for granted: Liverpool is a good team and in football, what matters is what you do on the day. So what we expect is the champions of the Premier League, players that are talented and capable of doing good things, so we have to get ready. The history of the results before, the form of the teams, doesn’t really matter. It is about the day. It is going to be a new game, so it up to us to try and play good, knowing that we are going to face a very good team, that has players capable of doing fantastic things, so we have to get ready, to try also to go in and compete. 2.39pm GMT Everton v Newcastle (Saturday, 5.30pm) Everton failed with an appeal to get Idrissa Gueye’s red card for fighting with teammate Michael Keane in Monday night’s 1-0 win over Manchester United overturned. Toffees manager David Moyes said at the time that he liked the spirit of his players holding each other to account and that he thought the red card was harsh. Gueye has apologised and even staged a mock boxing match on social media with Keane this week, but the 36-year-old Senegal midfielder must still serve a three-match ban. Speaking ahead of Everton’s meeting on Saturday with Newcastle, Moyes said: We have appealed it and our appeal was turned down. We haven’t been given any reason why it was turned down but we did appeal it. [The incident] was over immediately, it was done, that was it, we moved on quite quickly and it was all sorted within the dressing room. 2.24pm GMT Guardiola accuses his Manchester City side of playing with fear against Leverkusen Pep Guardiola has accused Manchester City’s players of performing with fear in their 2-0 defeat by Bayer Leverkusen. The head coach made 10 changes for the Champions League match and said those selected had not taken the risks needed to win. After two straight losses, City hope to return to form when Leeds visit on Saturday. Daniel Farke’s side have won once in their past six Premier League games, leaving them in the relegation zone. Guardiola is likely to recall many of those rested from the start on Tuesday. “We didn’t try and in football when you play on the green you have to try things and we didn’t try,” Guardiola said of the loss to Leverkusen. “Maybe I have a theory to rotate because it’s impossible to sustain but I had a lot of confidence in them and I still do. I have a huge value for what they are as football players. Maybe I think higher of them than they think about themselves. It was a good lesson for me, as experienced as I am as a manager it was a good lesson for me for the future.” More from Guardiola’s press conference from Will Unwin here: Related: Pep Guardiola accuses his Manchester City side of playing with fear in Leverkusen loss Updated at 2.49pm GMT 2.16pm GMT Wiegman has had to rejig defence and captaincy for a Wembley friendly with China When England welcome China to a sold-out Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon, it will mark the sixth meeting between two nations who have been on different trajectories in recent years. The marketing has focused on the clash of continental champions – England as the holders of the European Championship and China as the winners of the 2022 Asian Cup – but there has since been a change in fortunes between the two. The widening gap was evident the last time they met, at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, when England put six past the Steel Roses to progress to the last 16. It caught the eye not only because of the score but because of a bold tactical change from Sarina Wiegman – a switch from 4-3-3 to 3-5-2 – to deal with the absence of Keira Walsh. It kicked the Lionesses’ campaign into life and they made the final, while China exited, registering their worst finish at the tournament. Read Sophie Downey’s full preview of the Lionesses friendly against China Related: Walsh takes lead role as England face new test in clash of continental champions 2.07pm GMT Chelsea v Arsenal (Sunday 4.30pm) Back to Sunday’s game in west London, Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has been making promising noises around the availability of Leandro Trossard, who limped off in one of the few bum notes from the Gunners’ mid-week win over Bayern Munich: With Leo, there is another test today. We will have to see how he is feeling. There’s a good chance [he is available]. Arsenal also played a behind-closed-doors game on Thursday to get some minutes into other players on the fringes of the squad: Gabi [Gabriel Jesus], Ethan [Nwaneri] as well wanted some minutes, so we took the opportunity for players who wanted exposure. It was very positive. 1.57pm GMT Iran to boycott World Cup draw over visa row Iran is to boycott next week’s draw for the 2026 World Cup in Washington, DC, in protest at the limited allocation of visas it has been permitted by US officials. The Iranian football federation spokesman Amir Mehdi Alavi told domestic sports news outlet Tarafdari: “The Iranian delegation will not be present for the World Cup draw in relation to the latest status of issuing visas for the Iranian delegation to attend the draw ceremony.” The US has long-standing strict visa restrictions on Iranians for political and security reasons. Alavi said the US had granted visas to four members of the Iranian delegation, including head coach Amir Ghalenoei, but had not granted a visa to Mehdi Taj, the president of the Iranian football federation. “Given that the decisions taken are unsportsmanlike and the path has deviated from the sporting process, it was decided that the Iranian delegation will not attend the draw ceremony,” Alavi said. The federation said it had been in contact with FIFA for two days and informed president Gianni Infantino and the secretary general. “FIFA has said it will follow up on the matter seriously,” Alavi added. Iran secured qualification for the World Cup in March after a 2-2 draw with Uzbekistan in Tehran, sealing a seventh appearance at the tournament and fourth in a row. Reporting by Reuters Updated at 2.14pm GMT 1.47pm GMT Nott’m Forest v Brighton (Sunday, 2.05pm) Big boost for Nottingham Forest, Morgan Gibbs-White is expected to return from injury against Brighton on Sunday. The Forest and England midfielder missed Thursday’s 3-0 victory over Malmö with a back problem but Sean Dyche is optimistic Gibbs-White will be available: We’re hopeful he’ll be all right for the weekend. When we got in, I just said: go and play. I just wanted him to play with a smile again, because there had been a lot of [transfer] noise in the summer and it can carry a bit of weight. Updated at 1.51pm GMT 1.45pm GMT Cole Palmer available to start against Arsenal Chelsea v Arsenal (Sunday 4.30pm) As reported by Jacob Steinberg earlier, Cole Palmer is ready to return for Chelsea’s big London clash with Arsenal on Sunday. Confirming the news, Enzo Maresca said: [Palmer] is available for both [to start and to play]. Everyone is happy. The teammates are happy, we are all happy. The most important thing is that Cole is happy, he needs to play games. He is our best player, we are happy he is back, we need to give him time to be 100% fit. He has done fantastic in the past and no doubt he is going to do very good for this club in the future. Updated at 1.49pm GMT 1.40pm GMT Crystal Palace v Man Utd (Sunday, midday) Injury updates coming out of Manchester United, Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko and Harry Maguire will miss the game against Crystal Palace. Here are Ruben Amorim’s words: Sesko a little bit more time. Harry [Maguire] the same. Matheus the next one [game], not this one. 1.33pm GMT Hi everyone, I’ll be keeping you across the big stuff in football for the next couple of hours. Coming up soon we have Enzo Maresca’s press conference ahead of Chelsea’s meeting with Arsenal. But first, a bit of news from Barcelona. Hansi Flick’s side lost to Chelsea in midweek but are starting to get to get back their key players after a bit of an injury crisis. The return of Raphinha, who has now made two appearances as a second-half substitute after missing nearly two months with a hamstring injury, is key, while Pedri and defender Ronald Araujo are also on the comeback trail. Here’s what Flick said: I missed him [Raphinha]. I see him as one of the most important players in our team ... he also has the hunger and the will to show how good he really is. I really appreciate what I see in training. We’re focused, we have a lot of quality. And of course, players coming back now, Pedri is back ... Raphinha, Marcus [Rashford] from the cold he had. We nearly have everyone. Updated at 1.34pm GMT 1.09pm GMT It’s time for me to hand over to Tom Bassam, who will hopefully squeeze a bit more juice from the news cycle. Ta-ra! 1.08pm GMT Manchester City v Leeds (Saturday, 3pm) Leeds are on a poor run of five defeats in six, but their head coach Daniel Farke is calm. Calmer than you are. We are fully concentrated and focused. I’m confident and I’m also fully convinced. To be honest, myself and my players were fully prepared for such a situation that this would happen. We know for which club we’re working and there’s always outside noise. There was in the past even after our best season in our history (points-wise) last season. We fully expected that this would also happen this season. When we started, the goal was to finish 17th or above and to finish 17th would be a great success. We want to stay in this league. I didn’t expect it would be an easy ride. We had to work with limited resources in the summer with profit and sustainability rules, we had challenges also in the summer transfer window and it was always clear there would be a period where not all performances and results go our way. I see what the lads are doing, how they train, how tight they are together and when I judge the objective data, it gives me lots of confidence that we have enough to succeed. I’m fully confident and fully convinced. 1.07pm GMT Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner has been reflecting on last night’s defeat to Strasbourg. Maybe like the late defeat at Everton, it just feels that it was completely unnecessary and it is our fault. On the other side, we have to accept it. The effort was there but it is a game we shouldn’t definitely lose, at least getting a goal, but like always, we try to learn from it. It just shows how much it means for this club and then of course everybody is playing on their top level, highly motivated. We always have to match this motivation, because the small margins decide it, and yesterday it looked like we didn’t match the motivation on the same level, maybe a few percentage less, and that’s why we lost at the end. 1.00pm GMT Full time: Ukraine 1-1 Scotland The debutant Maria McAneny scored a 96th-minute equaliser to give Scotland Women a draw in their friendly in Jerez. Scotland trailed from the 38th minute, when Roksolana Kravchuk put Ukraine ahead, but the Celtic midfielder McAneny – who came off the bench in the second half to win her first cap – scored with almost the last kick of the game. Updated at 1.00pm GMT 12.49pm GMT On this day in 2007… Liverpool give Porto a doing, and Scott Murray launches THE GUARDIAN UNLIMITED PATENTED RAFA BENITEZ TANTRUM-O-METER®. Here’s the proof. Updated at 12.50pm GMT 12.47pm GMT Rodri to miss City’s match with Leeds Pep Guardiola is talking to the press ahead of Manchester City’s game at home to Leeds tomorrow. This is the news on Rodri. No Rodri. Not far off. Hamstring. Six words, eight syllables: you can’t get much more efficient than that. 12.38pm GMT How about another plug for Suzanne Wrack’s story on the UK bid to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup? Related: UK unveils bid for 2035 women’s football World Cup with 15 cities and 22 stadiums in mix 12.37pm GMT 77 min: Ukraine 1-0 Scotland Still 1-0 to Ukraine in Jerez. I don’t know what else to tell you. 12.36pm GMT On this day in 1992… the leaders Norwich win a thriller away to title rivals Aston Villa. 12.25pm GMT Scotland Women are playing Ukraine in a friendly in Jerez. It’s just past the hour and Ukraine lead through a goal from Roksolana Kravchuk. 12.23pm GMT On this day in 2022… “One of the wilder matches of the World Cup group stage was Cameroon v Serbia,” writes Kári Tulinius. “While the match did peter out a bit towards the end, it was an absolute rollercoaster until then, featuring an outrageous goal by Vincent Aboubakar, and a liquid team goal from Serbia.” And here’s the proof. 12.12pm GMT On this day in 1998… a gorgeous goal from West Ham’s Trevor Sinclair against Spurs. 12.08pm GMT On this day in 1993… Ruben Sosa’s injury-time penalty earns Internazionale a 2-2 draw against Juventus. Check out the foul (sic) on Dennis Bergkamp that led to the penalty. 12.05pm GMT On this day in 2025… not much is happening, I’m afraid. I’m sure we’ll have some hardcore news after lunch. In the meantime, here’s another plug for our piece on tomorrow’s Copa Libertadores final. Related: How Palmeiras and Flamengo became South America’s football superpowers 12.00pm GMT On this day in 2004… Neil Mellor stuns Arsenal’s Invincibles in a match of three gorgeous goals. Related: My favourite game: Liverpool v Arsenal, Premier League 2004 Updated at 12.02pm GMT 11.58am GMT On this day in 1987… an imperious Liverpool continue their march to the title. 11.52am GMT On this day in 1990… Lee Sharpe scored a hat-trick, Danny Wallace played like Romario and Manchester United took Arsenal to the cleaners at Highbury. Updated at 11.52am GMT 11.40am GMT Yoane Wissa has trained with Newcastle’s for the first time since joining the club. Wissa suffered a knee injury on international duty straight after signing for Newcastle in September. “He is doing well, he trained with us for the first time on Wednesday so I was really pleased with how he looked,” said Eddie Howe. “That’s his first time competitively with the group. Let’s see how he responds today. “We’ve got (a return date) in mind, but it’s probably best if I keep that to myself. We don’t want to disappoint anyone. Of course, we want to involve him as soon as possible.” 11.28am GMT Lionesses v China (Saturday, 5.30pm) We’ve got some quotes from the England camp ahead of tomorrow’s game. Sarina Wiegman We have four friendlies. It gives opportunities to players to show themselves. We want to experiment a little bit and see players, try out things and that’s exactly what we are doing tomorrow. We want to play countries from different continents because they challenge us in different ways. We know China are disciplined and have good structure. It’s a natural thing with retirements and injuries. We can see where they are at and we have players in the squad that are already competing for a starting position and more minutes. It’s good to give opportunities and I think players are getting those opportunities because they deserve it with good performances. [On the UK bid to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup] “It is really exciting. I would have never dreamed we would be here where we are now. But we have a long way to go. This opportunity in 10 years’ time and what it will bring and boost will be exciting. It’s not done yet but it is exciting to see what it would look like. The women’s game is growing and we want to keep pushing. Keira Walsh (who will captain the side in the absence of Leah Williamson) It is really special. Leah is England captain and she does an incredible job at that. The competitions we have won she has been monumental in those moments for us. I could never step into Leah’s shoes in that sense but I think it is really special and for my family as well, to captain your country there is not many better moments in football than that. I’ve been getting a lot of stick from the girls in this camp, they’ve been calling me skipper all the time. Captains do tend to be a bit older. It’s a nice moment to be captain but doesn’t change me as a person or how I play. It’s nice to have a bit more responsibility. 11.25am GMT Two arrests made at Aston Villa v Young Boys Two people have been arrested after police were assaulted by away supporters during Aston Villa’s Europa League win over Young Boys at Villa Park. Supporters of the Swiss side threw items, including broken seats and coins, at Villa players and police officers, with Dutch forward Donyell Malen being struck on the head. The disorder broke out during the first half of the tie, which Villa won 2-1. Officers said two away fans were arrested on suspicion of affray and assaulting a police officer. Superintendent Paul Minor said: “We won’t tolerate violence of any kind at football matches. The majority of the crowd was in good spirit, but unfortunately, a small minority of away fans caused violence and disrupted the game. “An investigation has been launched, and officers are reviewing body-worn video and CCTV from the stadium of the disorder.” The violence broke out in the lower tier of the Doug Ellis Stand when Villa took the lead and dozens of police officers were deployed in riot gear. Young Boys were fined 28,250 euros (£24,729) for similar issues involving their supporters at Manchester City two years ago and around 18,000 euros (£15,756) for the use of pyrotechnics at Celtic in February. Updated at 11.36am GMT 11.17am GMT Estudiantes president Juan Sebastian Veron – youse remember him – has been banned for six months by thr AFA after refusing to form a guard of honour for the new champions Rosario Central. The Estudiantes players turned their backs on the Rosario Central team ahead of a match on Sunday. Veron has received “a six-month suspension from all football-related activities”. The players who “engaged in the reprehensible conduct” have been suspended for two matches. Updated at 11.17am GMT 11.06am GMT Match report: Australia 5-0 New Zealand In the 26th minute of the Matildas’ 5-0 win over New Zealand, Australia already leading 2-0, an Amy Sayer shot bounced off the post and out to Ellie Carpenter, who had come forward from her post at right-back to be the most advanced player on the park. As she does. Her resulting shot sailed over the bar but rather than grimace, she jogged back with a big grin splashed across her face. And given how easily the Matildas were doing it, and with how much fun they looked to be having, you could hardly blame her. Related: High-fives all round for the Matildas as they crush New Zealand in friendly 11.01am GMT The first leg of the Women’s Nations League final betwen Germany and Spain takes place tonight in Kaiserslautern, with the second leg in Madrid on Tuesday. Here’s Sophie Downey’s preview. Related: Spain and Germany renew battle in Nations League final showdown 10.50am GMT On Tuesday night Pep Guardiola was contrite after his 10-man reshuffle of Manchester City backfired in the dire 2-0 defeat by Bayer Leverkusen. Expect, then, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Rúben Dias and other frontline acts to be restored against visitors who won 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium in April 2021 but have lost the four games since by a 16-2 combined margin. Leeds arrive third-bottom with 11 points from 12 games and City, despite losing two in a row for a second time this term after last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Newcastle, really should win. If not then their title credentials really will be questioned. Related: Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend 10.49am GMT Everton v Newcastle (Saturday, 5.30pm) Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has been talking about the form of Nick Pope, who made errors in recent defeats at West Ham, Brentford and Marseille and is under pressure from Aaron Ramsdale for his place. There’s always two sides, isn’t there? I actually think his goalkeeping has been very good. His shot-stopping has been incredible. He has made some great saves and a lot of those saves are underrated and go under the radar. Because he delivers so many of them, it’s almost expected. The life of a goalkeeper is always on a knife edge. You’re judged on a couple of moments and sometimes you get no reprieve. There’s no-one to save you the other way. I think Nick knows that. He’s been in the game long enough. It’s nothing new to him. It’s been a very strong [season] apart from a couple of high-profile moments. Changing a goalkeeper is possible, of course, but it’s a big call to make. Depending on the style of goalkeeper, a lot changes and defenders in front get used to a style. That’s something for me to consider. Certainly rotating the goalkeeper position isn’t something I want to do. 10.44am GMT Keir Starmer his chimed in on the UK’s bid to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup. Our bid to host the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup shows the UK’s passion for football. The Lionesses’ success has inspired girls across our country, and we’ll build on that momentum by welcoming millions of football fans from around the world to a tournament that will benefit communities and businesses in host cities up and down the UK. With significant investment in school sport and grassroots facilities through our Plan for Change, we’re creating opportunities for girls to play for their national team. 10.28am GMT Manchester United have confirmed their ambition to have the club’s proposed new stadium constructed in time to host Women’s World Cup 2035 matches. Collette Roche, the chief operating officer, said: “We are proud to be part of the rich sporting and cultural fabric of Trafford and the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2035 is a brilliant opportunity for us to showcase our home to the rest of the world. Our ambition is to build a new 100,000-seater stadium fit to host the biggest international football games. This will be part of a wider regeneration of the area around Old Trafford, with far-reaching benefits for the local community, Greater Manchester and surrounding region. “We also want to be a leader in the growth of women’s football, in our own neighbourhood and around the world. All these objectives come together in Trafford’s bid to be a host city for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2035.” United are yet to firm up any plans regarding the new facility. 10.26am GMT Chelsea v Arsenal (Sunday, 4.30pm) Noni Madueke has said he ignored criticism on social media over his move to Arsenal and gained confidence from the reception he has received from supporters. The England forward scored his first Arsenal goal in Wednesday’s impressive 3-1 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League in his second appearance since returning from a knee injury sustained in September. Madueke said that the injury was “horrible timing” given his good start after joining from Chelsea for £48.5m plus up to £3.5m in bonuses. Some supporters voiced opposition online to his arrival and a petition entitled #NOTOMADUEKE was launched. That garnered only 5,000 signatures and the 23-year-old insisted he had “taken it all in his stride”. “You are in the public eye, people can say whatever they want about you,” he said. “But being in the stadium, and how the fans have taken to me in the stadium, is unbelievable. I am not really worried about all of that. It is in the distant past. The last game versus Tottenham was incredible and that gives me such a boost. I play on the side of the pitch, I can feel them [the fans], I can hear them. When they are that positive about me it gives me a massive boost. Honestly, I am made up about it.” Related: Madueke brushes off Arsenal fan criticism of his signing and gears up for Chelsea return 10.19am GMT On the ball – guess the footballer The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for? Related: Upgrade your downtime with Guardian Puzzles 10.15am GMT So anyway, the race for the golden boot is hotting up. Related: Premier League top scorers 2025-26: who is leading race for golden boot? 10.12am GMT Sports quiz of the week I think there’s a mistake in this as it refers to an Ashes Test?!?!?! Related: Sports quiz of the week: Ashes defeats, Arsenal goals and Deaflympics medals 10.10am GMT UK submit bid to host 2035 Women's World Cup England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have submitted their bid to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup as the largest single-sport event staged in the UK. The Lionesses’ leading goalscorer, Ellen White, described the bid as “really special” and compared it to her experience of the 2012 Olympics as a part of Team GB. “We felt it in the Olympics in 2012, that exposure, that amazing sense of togetherness,” she said. “The whole worldwide captivation was really special. Seeing all the different nations, the cultures, the diversity, the inclusivity, was really special to be involved with. The fact that it’s a World Cup [means] it is worldwide and all eyes will be on us and people will want to come and be a part of it.” Related: UK unveils bid for 2035 women’s football World Cup with 15 cities and 22 stadiums in mix Updated at 10.17am GMT 10.06am GMT “One of the problems for Arne Slot is that he’s building a post-Salah side with Salah still in it,” writes Tim Woods. “And while he almost certainly didn’t listen to them, the resounding view from pundits just a few months back was that Liverpool should ‘pay Salah what he wants’. Personally I think it would be utter madness to even think of sacking Slot, and to the (growing number of) Liverpool fans who claim he only won the title with Klopp’s team: well, he won it is as often as Klopp did with that team.” 10.06am GMT Nectarios Triantis made his Greece debut last week after switching allegiances from Australia. The midfielder, who left Sunderland for Minnesota United is already causing a stir in Greece, leading to interest from Panathinaikos becoming very interested in the 22-year-old who was wanted by a number of clubs in the UK in the summer. He has impressed in his first season in MLS, scoring a goal from the halfway line on his debut. 9.58am GMT Europa League: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys Donyell Malen has a cut to the head and two more goals to his name after leading Aston Villa to the verge of automatic qualification for the last 16 of the Europa League against a backdrop of more crowd violence from Young Boys supporters. The Netherlands striker exemplifies Villa’s strength in depth but this 10th win in 12 games was marred by visiting fans ripping up seats, throwing missiles at stewards and Villa players – one striking Malen – and fighting with police. Related: Aston Villa see off Young Boys in win marred by away fans fighting with police 9.54am GMT Europa League: Nottm Forest 3-0 Malmo “Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that,” came the chant as Nottingham Forest supporters, not for the first time, enjoyed getting one over on Malmö. A lot has happened since Trevor Francis’s stooping header clinched the European Cup in Munich in 1979 but Forest still, rightfully, cherish those days. A lot has also changed in the five weeks since Sean Dyche took the reins, Forest reinvigorated and another comfortable win, this time courtesy of goals from Ryan Yates, Arnaud Kalimuendo and Nikola Milenkovic, enhanced their hopes of qualifying for the Europa League knockout phase. Related: Kalimuendo strikes in Nottingham Forest’s nostalgic European win over Malmö 9.51am GMT Palmeiras and Flamengo meet in the Copa Libertadores final on Saturday night (9pm BST). Caio Carrieri explains how the two became the envy of South American football. Related: How Palmeiras and Flamengo became South America’s football superpowers Updated at 9.52am GMT 9.39am GMT Cole Palmer set to return against Arsenal Enzo Maresca will address the media later today and all being well he should have some good news for Chelsea fans on Cole Palmer. Assuming he’s not bumped into any more doors in the night the Chelsea attacker should be fit to return from a broken toe against Arsenal on Sunday. Palmer has been out since September with a groin injury and his return was delayed by a freak accident at home last week, but he’s been in training and it sounds as if he is making good progress. Of course, there could always be a surprise from Maresca… 9.38am GMT Arne Slot: 'Every small mistake is leading to a goal' Liverpool manager Arne Slot has been speaking ahead of their must-win/musn’t-lose match at West Ham on Sunday. It would also be nice if we would reward ourselves in the moments we play well because people are very focused, and correctly, about the parts we don’t play well. There are definitely large parts of the games that we do play well and do create a lot of chances - we tend to forget to reward ourselves in those moments. Every small mistake, or small error, immediately leads to us conceding a goal. I don’t see it (confidence) being low when we start the game. I didn’t even see it being low after we conceded (the first goal in Wednesday’s 4-1 defeat to PSV Eindhoven). Even when we conceded the 2-1 and again had a disappointment we were able to generate enough chances but after they scored the 3-1 I could see it hurt the players and that wasn’t the period where our fighting spirit was the best in the game, to say it mildly. After the 3-1 it is very difficult to get a message across when I’m on the sideline but before (the game) and during half-time I think the message comes across to them. If I see how we create our chances it is a lot of the things we train on and what is in the meeting but unfortunately it doesn’t lead to goals and that is difficult for them, for me, for everyone. But the message that comes across is very clear from me from the way we generate our chances.” Updated at 9.39am GMT 9.36am GMT “Hi Rob,” writes Krishnamoorthy V. “Talking about confused metaphors or twisted aphorisms, there is some sound advice to Arne Slot. Don’t just do something, simply stand there.” Are you saying all you have to do is nothing? 9.35am GMT The Lionesses are in action this weekend; they play China at Wembley tomorrow evening. And as I type, Australia are playing New Zealand in a friendly in Gosford – the first major sport of any kind to take place in Australia in ages. You can follow the action with Jo Khan. Related: Australia v New Zealand: women’s international football friendly – live 9.25am GMT Chelsea v Arsenal (Sunday, 4.30pm) Here’s a good one from the archive, Scott Murray on six classic Chelsea/Arsenal matches. Chelsea won their first and only pre-Mourinho championship in 1954-55 under the auspices of Ted Drake, but a series of mid-table finishes, and a slow start in 1961-62, saw the former Arsenal legend sacked and replaced by Tommy Docherty. The Doc’s first game in charge was a 4-0 tonking at Blackpool, and at the end of the season Chelsea were relegated. But they bounced straight back with a side built around Peter Bonetti, Ron Harris, Terry Venables, and their young captain Bobby Tambling. Their first season back in the top flight was, for such a young team, a triumph. The standout result was a 4-2 win at Highbury, Tambling scoring all four goals on a mudbath, capitalising on three mistakes by Ian Ure, the other a delicious lob. Before the game, Arsenal – built around the attacking talents of George Eastham, Joe Baker and George Armstrong, had held faint hopes of sustaining a title challenge, but they’d been found out. The result seemed to set both teams down very different roads. Chelsea finished in fifth, three places ahead of out-of-puff Arsenal. Docherty’s side were instantly anointed as one of the teams of the decade. Tambling scored in their victorious League Cup final against Leicester in 1965, and the 1967 FA Cup final defeat to Spurs. And the club would round off the decade with their first FA Cup win in 1969-70. Arsenal meanwhile ... Related: The Joy of Six: Arsenal and Chelsea showdowns | Scott Murray 9.22am GMT Europa League: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic Feyenoord manager Robin van Persie said his decision to give son Shaqueel a senior debut in their Europa League game against Celtic was made in his role as his coach, not his father, after the Dutch side lost 3-1 at home on Thursday. The 19-year-old signed his first professional contract with the Dutch club in 2022 and was an unused substitute in Sunday’s Eredivisie defeat by NEC Nijmegen after being called up to the first-team squad for the first time. The forward’s senior debut came four days later against Celtic when he came on to replace defender Jordan Lotomba in the 81st minute, with Feyenoord trailing by two goals. “I made that call as a coach, not as a dad because we needed a goal,” former Arsenal and Manchester United forward Van Persie said. “Shaqueel is a player who can score a goal from all angles. That was the reason I brought him on.” The substitution did not have the desired effect as Feyenoord conceded a third just a minute later, Benjamin Nygren’s goal sealing the win for the Glasgow side. “From a father’s point of view, when your son makes his debut that is always a special moment,” the coach said. “But I wasn’t that busy with enjoying that moment, I was doing my work like Shaqueel was.” Related: Europa League roundup: Celtic win at Feyenoord, Rangers held at home by Braga Updated at 9.23am GMT 9.00am GMT Preamble Hello, good morning and welcome to our Friday football blog. Think of it as the guy behind the guy, the other guy being the actual football that takes place over the weekend. And the football that was played last night, to which we’ll have reaction and comment. So maybe it’s the guy between the guys. Enough of the confused metaphors. Here’s a full list of this weekend’s Premier League fixtures Saturday (3pm unless stated) Brentford v Burnley Manchester City v Leeds Sunderland v Bournemouth Everton v Newcastle (5.30pm) Tottenham v Fulham (8pm) Sunday (2.05pm unless stated) Crystal Palace v Man Utd (midday) Aston Villa v Wolves Nottm Forest v Brighton West Ham v Liverpool Chelsea v Arsenal (4.30pm) Ten games, ten whole things to look out for. Related: Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend