Key events
Thanks Emilia, morning everyone. Let’s have a look at some of the action across Europe, starting in Germany. Bayern Munich, who are 11 points clear after 18 games, are at home to Augsburg this afternoon and will expect to maintain or extend their lead. Second-placed Dortmund visit Union Berlin later in the day.
You can see all the Bundesliga fixtures on our live scores page.
And with that, I’m handing over to Rob Smyth who will continue the countdown to the lunchtime kick-offs…
Just a reminder that you can email in at matchday.live@theguardian.com ahead of today’s fixtures or leave a comment below the line.
We want to hear from you!
Paul MacInnes
“In this World Cup year, Fifa has come out of the blocks quickly. In the past few weeks any number of initiatives have been announced or activated, from a data partnership with Opta to facilitate more betting, to the Fifa Pass for speeding up visa applications for the US this summer, to the unveiling of the official Lego World Cup trophy. Among the ever-expanding list is an intriguing deal with TikTok, a partnership that will give digital creators front-row seats at the 104-match tournament…”
Liverpool fans, what are your thoughts on Andy Robertson’s potential departure?
Still don’t know what to feel if Andy Robertson is, in fact, going to join Tottenham Hotspurs but I do know we are always weaker without him, Kostas Tsimikas or no Kostas Tsimikas and that is never good when you are trying to win things. So I don’t understand any decision to do so by Liverpool.
It was revealed yesterday that Tottenham have made an approach to sign Andrew Robertson from Liverpool. The Premier League champions are open to allowing the long-serving left-back to leave, with only five months remaining on his contract.
League Two fixtures (3pm GMT kick-off unless stated otherwise)
Barnet v Oldham Athletic (12:30pm)
Notts County v Crewe Alexandra (12:30pm)
Newport County v Chesterfield
Cambridge United v Tranmere Rovers
Cheltenham Town v Grimsby Town
Barrow v Crawley Town
MK Dons v Shrewsbury Town
Bromley v Swindon Town
Walsall v Accrington Stanley
Harrogate Town v Gillingham
Salford City v Bristol Rovers
Colchester United v Fleetwood Town
League One fixtures (3pm GMT kick-off unless stated otherwise)
Huddersfield Town v Bradford City (12:30pm)
Cardiff City v Stockport County (12:30pm)
Plymouth Argyle v Luton Town (12:30pm)
Bolton Wanderers v Leyton Orient
Stevenage v Mansfield Town
Doncaster Rovers v Wigan Athletic
Port Vale v Exeter City
Reading v Barnsley
Blackpool v Northampton Town
Rotherham United v Wimbledon
Wycombe Wanderers v Peterborough United
Should Chelsea beat Arsenal this afternoon, next weekend’s meeting between the Blues and Manchester City will be very interesting…
Talking of the WSL, the next 8 days are pivotal, Chelsea vs Arsenal is big especially for Manchester City who’d love a draw, but next Sunday the top 2 clash in City vs Chelsea, if Manchester City stretch their lead in the next 8 days, a City WSL title will then be very much on the cards, so a tense 8 days for the WSL. And a shout out to Norwich City Ladies, second in the League, and their pivotal fixture is on February 8th versus 1st placed Fulham, so let’s get as many Canaries fans down to the Nest in Horsford on February 8th.
Championship fixtures (3pm GMT kick-off unless stated otherwise)
Middlesbrough v Preston North End (12:30pm)
Millwall v Charlton Athletic (12:30pm)
Leicester City v Oxford United
Bristol City v Sheffield Wednesday
Hull City v Swansea City
QPR v Wrexham
Blackburn Rovers v Watford
Sheffield United v Ipswich Town
Birmingham City v Stoke City
While we’re on the topic of women’s football, be sure to sign up to receive our Moving the Goalposts newsletter for a weekly roundup of all the top news from across the world.
Ahead of the huge fixture at Stamford Bridge this afternoon, Sophie Downey sat down with Chelsea forward Alyssa Thompson to discuss her move to London and how she has adapted to English football.
In the WSL today, the two most successful women’s teams in England go head-to-head in a London derby as Chelsea host Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. A win today would see the Blues move within three points of league leaders Manchester City, while victory for Arsenal could prove huge in the race for Champions League qualification and potentially – though unlikely at this stage – the title race.
Jacob Steinberg
West Ham, who host Sunderland later, have agreed to terminate Guido Rodriguez’s contract by mutual consent. The Argentina midfielder is heading to Valencia. West Ham are also pushing to complete a deal for the Fulham winger Adama Traore.
This weekend’s fixtures are the reverse of the first weekend of the Premier League season way back in August. Given that was five months ago, Sachin Nakrani and David Hills have looked back at those results and how each team has changed since them…
The last Premier League game of the day sees Liverpool travel to Bournemouth as Arne Slot and Co look to close the gap to the top three. The Reds go into the clash following a 1-1 draw with Burnley and a 3-0 win over Marseille in the Champions League, while Bournemouth were most recently held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton following a 91st-minute equaliser from Charalampos Kostoulas on Monday.
We have three Premier League fixtures kicking off at 3pm GMT this afternoon – all of which will be covered as part of our clockwatch later on.
Fulham and Brighton are separated by just one place and one point in the Premier League table, with the London-based side 11th and the Seagulls just behind. A win for either could put them into the Europa League places.
Elsewhere, Burnley host Tottenham at Turf Moor, with both in desperate need of the points. Burnley trail 18th-placed West Ham by three points and currently face relegation, while Spurs have dropped to 14th in the table amid a run of poor form in the league. Anything less than a win today for the Lilywhites could put head coach Thomas Frank in serious danger of being dismissed.
And over in Manchester, City host Wolves at the Etihad Stadium as they look to close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal. Pep Guardiola’s side need a win today following their 2-0 derby loss to Manchester United last weekend and their shock 3-1 defeat to Bodø/Glimt on Tuesday, which saw the Norwegian side win their first-ever Champions League match. Meanwhile, any points picked up for last-placed Wolves are huge.
In the lunchtime Premier League clash today West Ham take on Sunderland at the London Stadium. The Hammers go into the game off the back of a huge 2-1 win away at Tottenham. However, they still remain five points from safety in the table following Nottingham Forest’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal last weekend.
Meanwhile, Sunderland sit fairly comfortable in ninth, having won their last match against Crystal Palace last Saturday. A win over the Hammers would see them move up to fifth – at least temporarily/.
As always, feel free to email in at matchday.live@theguardian.com with any thoughts, feelings or predictions ahead of today’s fixtures. You can also leave a comment below the line.
If you need a short and snappy update on all the team news across the Premier League for this weekend, look no further! You can see all of our predicted lune-ups right here…
Today’s Premier League fixtures (3pm GMT kick-off unless stated otherwise)
Preamble
Hello, good morning and welcome to another Matchday live! We’ve got five Premier League fixtures to look forward to this afternoon, along with a huge WSL derby as Chelsea host Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
We’ll also be looking at some of the ongoing transfer dealings ahead of the final week of the window and recapping some of this week’s big talking points.
Stick with us as we count down to the lunchtime kick-offs!
