Key events
Plenty more buildup, team news and other misc footy prattle is on the way – and here’s Emillia Hawkins to take you through some of it.
Leicester host Charlton … minus Martí Cifuentes who was sacked last Sunday. Former midfielder Andy King will be in the dugout today, with the Addicks hoping to put more daylight between they and the relegation places – they start the weekend just three points above third-bottom Blackburn, who host Hull later today.
We’re just over 90 mins away from the early KOs in the Championship. Playoffs-chasing Wrexham visit beleaguered basement side Sheffield Wednesday, hot on the heels of the Owls’ takeover saga hitting another potential snag.
The EFL is assessing the prospective buyout of to establish whether the purchase would be largely funded by the proceeds of gambling and crypto-gambling operations as part of its decision regarding whether the bidders comply with the requirements of its owners’ and directors’ test.
More on that from Matt Hughes here …
West Ham: Nuno Espírito Santo believes he can get the best out of Adama Traoré, and that the “unique” winger can boost West Ham’s bid to beat the drop. Hammers head coach Nuno has been reunited with Traore, having managed him at Wolves, after rescuing the 30-year-old from a disappointing season at Fulham.
“I’ve worked with him for many years, and I know him well,” said Nuno. “He’s unique – there aren’t many players with his ability one-on-one, or with his pace.
“He’s a special person to have around. It’s not up to me to judge what’s happened to him before. I’m just happy to have him here.”
Meanwhile, West Ham have had a loan approach for Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis turned down. PA Media
Later today, Chelsea host West Ham. Liam Rosenior said his side are ready to move in the final days of the transfer window if the right players are available. The Blues are in the market for a central defender and have been optimistic that a deal for a long-term target could be reached before the end of January.
A long-term injury to Levi Colwill which is likely to see him miss the whole season has left Chelsea short of options in the position, but it is understood no emergency cover is likely to be sanctioned with the club preferring to stick with their recruitment plans from before the England defender’s injury.
“The guys are working hard to stay on top of things in terms of information on what’s out there, who’s interested in our players,” said Rosenior. “It’s about being prepared for any development.
“Certain players come up that you don’t expect to come up, and then can strengthen you. Whether that’s a striker or a wide player or a defender. If we see something, I know the guys are willing to do it. I don’t want to bring in players for the sake of bringing in players. There’s a possibility it could be busy, a possibility it could be quiet.” PA Media
Bournemouth: Andoni Iraola feels the club need to be “careful” with new signing Rayan as he contemplates handing the 19-year-old Brazilian winger a swift Premier League debut.
Rayan joined the Cherries earlier this week on a five-and-a-half-year contract after scoring 20 goals in 57 appearances across all competitions for Vasco da Gama.
The Bournemouth head coach, though, knows he cannot expect too much too soon from Rayan as he prepares the squad for Saturday’s trip to bottom club Wolves.
“Physically he is fine, he has trained normal, but we also have to be careful with him,” Iraola said ahead of what will be his 100th Premier League match in charge of the Cherries.
“In the sense that he is 19, he is going to be making a big jump, a big change, to a different country and I want him to be confident. It is going to be difficult because he still doesn’t know a lot of things about us and we are trying to give him more information, but physically there is no issues with him and he is ready.”
Iraola, though, is not expecting an easy ride at Molineux. “Probably [it] is not the best moment to face Wolves right now,” he said. “They have been really, really good in their last two home games.” PA Media
Wolves: Rob Edwards confirmed Jørgen Strand Larsen will be in Wolves’ squad for today’s visit of Bournemouth despite the forward being linked with a move away from Molineux. Strand Larsen has been attracting interest in this transfer window but Edwards sees no reason not to include the Norwegian against the Cherries.
“It’s pretty clear, he’s trained and he will be part of the squad tomorrow,” Edwards said. “He’s trained really well, so that’s as much as I can say on it.”
Edwards, whose side have had a mini-resurgence with nine points in their last six matches, remains hopeful of incomings to boost rock-bottom Wolves’ slim prospects of Premier League survival.
“We want to try and bring in the right people,” he said. “I want us to be good with the work that we do. I want it to mean something. I want people to come and be able to make a difference.
Midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde is available again, having been sidelined since 8 December with a hamstring injury, but defender Ladislav Krejci is a doubt because he has the flu. PA Media
Leeds: Daniel Farke says his side will face a daunting run of Premier League fixtures without fear, starting at Elland Road against Arsenal today.
Leeds, who saw the gap between them and the relegation zone cut to six points last week, face the title-chasing Gunners, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Manchester City in four of their next five league fixtures.
Farke said: “Yes, it’s a tough run of fixtures to be honest. But we’ve already had a few tough runs and during those periods, a bit surprisingly perhaps, we have collected many points.
“We had surprising results against Liverpool, for example, or against Chelsea and we came pretty close to a surprising point [against Manchester City] at the Etihad and for that we are not scared anyhow.”
Farke said Jaka Bijol remains on the sidelines with injury. Lukas Nmecha may also miss out after a hamstring strain in the warm-up against Everton.
Gabriel Gudmundsson and Daniel James are in contention to feature. PA Media
Bit of round the grounds ahead of today’s 3pm GMT KOs in the Premier League …
Brighton: Fabian Hürzeler urged his side to start turning recent good performances into wins when they host Everton.
The Seagulls have won just one of their last 10 Premier League games and with pockets of unrest starting to appear at the Amex Stadium. But Hürzeler stressed there was no need to panic and remained convinced his squad could soon start moving in the right direction up the top-flight table.
The manager said: “The recent performances were good. There’s a lot of frustration about the results. We have tried to channel the frustration during the week. We all know that we want to reach our goals and for that we need wins. We need to stick together and tomorrow is a great opportunity to do that.
“We are all positive because we see that we are close. We see that we are there. We just have to manage the key situations of the game better. We just have to manage these key moments better.”
Hürzeler reported no new injury concerns for the fixture, with Diego Gómez expected to recover from a minor injury in training and Igor Julio available after returning from his loan move to West Ham. PA Media
I was one of those who didn’t like the new ” Champions League play offs ” format. I have to say I enjoyed the last night of this format. One minute Benfica where going out only for the goal keeper to come up and score a last minute header. The delirium from Morihno and his backroom staff was a goosebumps moment. It must also have been disappointing for those teams who were eliminated in the dying minutes.
I am so looking forward to Benfica versus Real Madrid, part two.
I was on Newspaper Drawing Up duty on Wednesday. Our first edition print deadline is 10pm. That goal went in at 10.04pm. The final League Phase table landed at 10.08pm. As Paul Daniels used to say in a reference possibly only of use to British readers of a certain age … every second counts in this game.
Happily, being a highly professional operative with many years’ experience in these matters, I kept my cool while we waited for the table to arrive … and then sent the wrong page to the printers.
But it was all fine.
And that Trubin goal was just gorgeous. We can sometimes get a bit huffy about late, result-changing action when you’re up against a deadline, but if we ever get to the stage where moments like that don’t tug your heartstrings and feel caught up in the magic of it all, that’s the time to pump us full of embalming fluid.
Got the Guardian app? Hey, get the Guardian app!
What’s that, you have the Guardian app? Play On the ball!
I bottled it slightly today – took an extra clue. 50pts put me in the top 58% of players today, so kudos to the brave 42% who went good and early.
What’s happened to the lunchtime kick off? The bane of Jurgan Klopp is hardly staged anymore it seems.
As far as today’s concerned, the Championship says hi. Point taken though – it’s always jarring when that slot’s absent.
Next weekend: it returns, with Manchester United v Spurs the 12.30pm attraction.
Sterling on the move again, you’d still have him wouldn’t you unless you’re Arsenal or City
i thought i wouldn’t want him at Spurs but I would, just to see Sterling in a Spurs top then if he’s no good we can ship him on
Having watched him storm through at Liverpool, it’s been incredibly strange to see his career drop off a cliff, somehow even more quickly than his initial emergence. Even in among the tricky time he endured at Arsenal, there were glimmers there … weren’t there?
Hopefully there’s another chapter coming for him, and if anyone fancies cobbling a Michael Owen-style promotional brochure for him, his medals-on-the-table page won’t be struggling for content.
Meanwhile, below the line …
‘Arteta compares Dowman to Messi’ – just about the least helpful thing a Manager can say about a player.
No pressure there then. ICYMI, Arsenal’s manager had this to say about the 16-year-old, who has signed a pre-agreement for his first professional contract.
What he’s done with us at the age of 15, me personally, I haven’t seen it before. Only with a guy that used to play in Barcelona but maybe not even that. He has a certain charisma as well and personality that he doesn’t get overwhelmed, whether it’s by the situation or the stadium or the opposition, and that’s a huge quality to have.
To be fair, whatever happens next, he’s doing just fine so far.
WSL strugglers West Ham brought in Norwegian midfielder Ylinn Tennebø yesterday, and there were several other moves across women’s leagues in Europe yesterday …
Speaking of tomorrow, Crystal Palace have left Jean-Philippe Mateta from their squad to face Nottingham Forest while Milan sniff around to try and seal a potential deal for the striker.
That’s very much not a done deal at this stage. But check out our interactive for all those that are …
With Antoine Semenyo now being on Manchester City’s books, none of the top three in this season’s Premier League Golden Boot standings are in action today.
Still, can Leeds’ Dominic Calvert-Lewin – fourth with nine goals – get a brace against Arsenal to join Semenyo in third? Will João Pedro, Bruno Guimarães, Hugo Ekitiké or Danny Welbeck find two to take them to double figures?
No surprise to see who’s leading the race – Erling Haaland and Igor Thiago get chance to add to their tallies tomorrow.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal face Leeds at 3pm GMT, hoping to bounce back from home defeat by Manchester United last Sunday. However, Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Kairat offered confidence boosts to goalscorers Viktor Gyökeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli.
As Barney Ronay highlights here, they are top, but their leading scorers this season (Gyökeres and Leandro Trossard) only have five league goals apiece. It’s a very different, efficient but not massively exciting kind of title tilt …
A clip of Anatoliy Trubin’s astonishing winner for Benfica against Real Madrid in midweek has just passed my eyes. One I imagine we’ll keep seeing for years and years.
Yesterday’s Champions League draw set up an instant rematch between the sides in the playoffs for a last-16 slot, while Newcastle have a 3,000-mile trip in store as they were drawn to face Qarabag.
David Moyes will, however, be without Jack Grealish both today, and – the manager expects – probably for the rest of the season as the on-loan winger recovers from a fractured foot.
Among the 3pm KOs in the Premier League today is Everton’s trip to Brighton. In the runup, Will Unwin caught up with the Blues’ French striker Thierno Barry …
AI fun for WSL fans – it’s been noted that various corners of the internet, Google very much included, appear to be listing Arsenal v Leicester as a 12.30pm KO today.
Not so. That fixture was postponed due to the Gunners’ participation in the Women’s Champions Cup (basically a Club World Cup under a different name). They stormed past AS Far on Wednesday with a 6-0 victory, and will face Corinthians in the final at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium tomorrow.
That’s a 6pm GMT kick-off, and will be preceded by Gotham v AS Far in the third-place playoff (2.45pm).
A date has yet to be announced for the Leicester fixture, and meanwhile Manchester United get a chance to swipe third spot from Arsenal as they host Liverpool tomorrow.
Transfer news: Luton’s Makosso set for Oxford switch
Will Unwin
Congolese defender Christ Makosso, who has racked up 15 appearances for Luton this season, is set to join Oxford.
A deal has been agreed for the 21-year-old to swap Kenilworth Road for the Kassam Stadium, and a medical is due to take place today.
There are no early KOs in the Premier League today, which offers Fantasy Premier League addicts a bit of extra time to (if you’re me) excessively tinker with their lineups. Today’s deadline to finalise your teams is 1.30pm GMT.
Personally, I’ve got Bruno Guimarães on the bench, so brace yourself for him scoring and assisting approx 14 goals later today.
For inspiration, here’s our always dead accurate predicted lineups for this weekend’s games.
Tomorrow … February (bad enough), but also 10 years precisely from the day Manchester City named Pep Guardiola as their incoming manager.
Please address any and all complaints re: the passage of time to your creator of choice where relevant.
And lastly from Friday’s late action – Lazio edged a five-goal thriller against Genoa 3-2 … with three of the goals coming via penalties.
And it went the distance too – with the match level deep, deep into stoppage time, Danilo Cataldi put away his spot-kick in the 100th minute to give his side the points. Leo Ostigard was the particularly heartbroken party, having handled in his area.
It proved a particularly sickening loss for Genoa, who had fought back from 2-0 down.
Serie A fixtures
All times GMT
Pisa v Sassuolo (2pm)
Napoli v Fiorentina (5pm)
Cagliari v Hellas Verona (7.45pm)
Bundesliga table
In Germany’s top tier there was also one game last night. Cologne pipped Wolfsburg 1-0 thanks to a first-half goal from Linton Maina. It leaves Die Wölfe looking over their shoulders. They sit 12th of 18 in the Bundesliga, but only four points above safety.
Bundesliga fixtures
All times 2.30pm GMT unless stated
Augsburg v St Pauli
Eintracht Frankfurt v Bayer Leverkusen
Hoffenheim v Union Berlin
RB Leipzig v Mainz
Werder Bremen v Borussia Mönchengladbach
Hamburg v Bayern Munich (5.30pm)
There was also a smattering of European action last night. In La Liga, Espanyol missed a chance to consolidate their high-flying position as they lost 2-1 at home to Alavés – they took the lead through Roberto Fernández in the 15th minute, but Antonio Blanco levelled 12 minutes later … and the points were secured when Lucas Boyé finished a counterattack from close range with 19 minutes remaining.
It means Espanyol go into the weekend fifth … but that defeat extended their winless run to five games.
La Liga fixtures
All times GMT
Real Oviedo v Girona (1pm)
Osasuna v Villarreal (3.15pm)
Levante v Atlético Madrid (5.30pm)
Elche v Barcelona (8pm)
That left the Championship picture looking like this …
Friday match report: Derby hit five at Bristol City
Derby thrashed Bristol City 5-0 at Ashton Gate to leapfrog their opponents and move into the Championship playoff places.
First-half goals from Rhian Brewster, Ben Brereton Diaz and Bobby Clark were added to by Patrick Agyemang and Lars-Jørgen Salvesen as the rampant Rams recorded a third win in four games.
The visitors took a 13th-minute lead when Callum Elder’s cross from the left found Brewster unmarked to send a low right-footed volley past Radek Vitek from a 12 yards out.
Before City could recover, they were caught playing out from the back and Clark’s pass set up Brereton Diaz, who drove home a 16th-minute shot through a defender’s legs from a narrow angle.
And it was 3-0 after 36 minutes as a fast Derby break saw Brereton Diaz supply the pass from the right to send Clark racing through a non-existent City back-line before coolly slotting past the exposed Vitek with his left foot.
Derby continued to dominate after the break and the fourth goal came in the 66th minute when Agyemang comprehensively outjumped George Tanner to head in.
Rams boss John Eustace had the luxury of substituting all four of his goalscorers in the closing stages, giving a debut to new signing Jaydon Banel, on loan from Burnley, and sending on former City player Andreas Weimann among the substitutes.
Salvesen completed the rout when he turned in Weimann’s cross from inside the six-yard box two minutes from time. PA Media
A busy, buzzy day in England’s second tier is in prospect. After an eye-catching result last night (of which more shortly), five of the top six are in action.
Table-topping Coventry will be hoping Loftus Road proves a fruitful road trip, while second-placed Boro host a perplexing Norwich side who are down in 18th … but on a run of four wins in all competitions as they enjoy a delayed new-manager bounce under Philippe Clement.
Want to stay abreast of the three early games? Stick around.
Championship fixtures
(3pm unless stated, all times GMT)
Leicester v Charlton (12.30pm)
Sheffield Wednesday v Wrexham (12.30pm)
Stoke v Southampton (12.30pm)
Blackburn v Hull
Ipswich v Preston
Middlesbrough v Norwich
Millwall v Sheffield United
Oxford United v Birmingham
Portsmouth v West Brom
QPR v Coventry
Watford v Swansea
No early game in the Premier League today … but plenty of interest in affairs at the top, middle-but-ambitious and bottom.
Premier League fixtures
(3pm unless stated, all times GMT)
Brighton v Everton
Leeds v Arsenal
Wolves v Bournemouth
Chelsea v West Ham (5.30pm)
Liverpool v Newcastle (8pm)
Preamble
Happy Saturday everyone! Another festival of football is on the way, with early Championship action a-comin’, all the way through to Liverpool v Newcastle in today’s 8pm GMT game.
Meanwhile there’s a transfer window flapping open in the breeze, and managers have been chinwagging with varying degrees of satisfaction about their current lot.
On your way to a game today? Let us know! Don’t feel up to speed with where things are this weekend? We’ll put that right as we go. Stand by …
