Key events
Liverpool v Aston Villa: It’s a massive week for Arne Slot’s defending champions – after today’s game they face Real Madrid in the Champions League before a visit to Manchester City next weekend.
Speaking yesterday, Slot identified Liverpool’s difficulties in converting chances as being more concerning than their leaky defence. They’ve lost six of their last seven games in all competitions and tonight face a Villa side who have won their last four league games.
Against United, how many chances did we concede? Against Frankfurt when we were 3-1 up, we hardly conceded a shot on target. In all the games we played until now we haven’t conceded a lot of chances. Not at all. We do give away a bit more than last season but that has to do with us being 1-0 down so you take a bit more risk. But in general I don’t think that our issue is that we concede too many chances. Our issue is we don’t score the chances we create.
Robin van Persie’s Feyenoord could go back to the top of the Eredivisie if they beat Volendam today. The former Arsenal and Manchester United striker has been speaking to Rob Draper about his coaching career, including how a visit to shadow Pep Guardiola at Manchester City helped inspire him to become a manager:
I had lunch with him, there were a couple of water bottles on the table and he was shuffling them, saying: ‘He moves in here and he moves right. He should go, he should commit, he should come out.’ And he was talking about connections on the pitch. I arrived quite tired after a long day but I was buzzing. Watching the coaching, he was on Kevin De Bruyne, sharp as a knife. It gave me energy.
Burnley v Arsenal: The leaders are at Turf Moor this afternoon looking to go seven points clear at the top of the table.
Mikel Arteta has a decent record away at Burnley as Arsenal manager: played four, won two, drawn two – including a 5-0 rout of Vincent Kompany’s side on their last visit.
Liverpool are the only team to win at Turf Moor in the league this season, with Scott Parker appearing to make a better fist of staying in the top flight than Kompany did.
Our writers (including Jonathan Wilson below) have been assessing the state of the title race this week and asking the question: is it over already?
It’s not just that Arsenal look very good; it’s that it’s very hard to see who could put together a consistent enough run to overhaul them. Liverpool, as Arne Slot keeps admitting, have been worked out; City are also trying to accommodate a number of new players and seem overreliant on Erling Haaland; and Chelsea are blunt without Cole Palmer and look short at the back. Under pressure, there’s a chance any leader can crumble; but nobody looks capable of applying that pressure.
Tottenham v Chelsea: The headline act in the Premier League today comes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the teatime kick-off.
Chelsea have made Spurs’ new stadium a happy hunting ground since their move from White Hart Lane, especially in the last couple of seasons. Ange Postecoglou lost both league games at home to Chelsea, including last season’s 4-3 thriller that saw the visitors recover from conceding two goals in the first 11 minutes.
Thomas Frank is unlikely to throw caution to the wind today. The Dane’s pragmatic approach is in contrast to Enzo Maresca’s possession-based system. Frank’s Brentford held Chelsea to a 0-0 draw at home last season.
Jacob Steinberg has been looking at the tactical battle between the two managers:
Will Frank grant them freedom? Chelsea punished Postecoglou’s gung-ho tactics on their past two trips to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Frank will surely be smarter. Is a switch to a back five on the cards? Chelsea have conceded from three long throws this season. Spurs could have Kevin Danso chucking balls into the box. They will note that Chelsea have improved at offensive set pieces but are conceding too many chances.
Predicted lineups: our writers bring you all the latest injury news and put forward their probable XIs for all 10 Premier League fixtures, all drawn up with some handy teamsheet graphics.
Earps: I told Wiegman she was rewarding Hampton’s bad behaviour
Mary Earps has been detailing the story behind her international retirement with England. In her new autobiography All In, serialised exclusively in the Guardian, the PSG goalkeeper reveals the moment she was told by Sarina Wiegman that Hannah Hampton was going to play ahead of her.
After Hampton was initially dropped by England in 2022 because of her behaviour, she was recalled in 2023. In April 2024, Wiegman told Earps she planned to play the Chelsea keeper ahead of her in a Euros qualifier.
“I don’t get it,” Earps says she told Wiegman. “It’s a qualifier match. And bad behaviour is being rewarded.”
In an interview in the Guardian today, Earps says of Hampton: “I think we had different ideas of what being a teammate should be. I think there was a mismatch, a misalignment, of values.”
Asked to elaborate on what the disruptive behaviour was, Earps said: “I don’t want to go into the specifics because it’s not my place … She is a very good goalkeeper and I’ve tried to draw a line under all that. I have messaged her privately to say: ‘Look, no bad blood.’”
Jack Wilshere’s Luton fended off a fightback from Robbie Savage’s Forest Green as the FA Cup first round got under way last night.
Luton took a 3-0 lead, thanks in part to a double from Nakhi Wells, before their National League opponents surged back to 3-3 with 10 minutes to go at Kenilworth Road.
However, Gideon Kodua’s stoppage-time winner spared Luton’s blushes. “Credit to them,” Wilshere said. “We expected them to be like that, a Robbie Savage team. In the first half we did well with killing their spirit. We kept the ball well and it is difficult when they get a bit of momentum. We found a way and sometimes you have to find a way.”
Coventry’s unbeaten start to the season came to an end in the Championship last night. Kieffer Moore’s second-half perfect hat-trick saw Wrexham come from behind to eventually win 3-2 at the Racecourse Ground.
Frank Lampard’s team remain top of the table but Middlesbrough can move level on goal difference with a win at Watford later today. Wrexham climbed into the top half.
“It’s definitely a statement performance and win for us,” said Wrexham’s Phil Parkinson. “We’ve had some terrific performances, but I’m very pleased because this was against an excellent side. If you look at Coventry’s stats, not just the wins, they’re at the top of everything.”
Fixture list
First, a look at today’s timing from across the UK and Europe. All kick-offs 3pm (GMT) unless stated:
Premier League
Brighton v Leeds
Burnley v Arsenal
Crystal Palace v Brentford
Fulham v Wolves
Nottingham Forest v Manchester United
Tottenham v Chelsea (5.30pm)
Liverpool v Aston Villa (8pm)
WSL
Chelsea v London City Lionesses (12pm)
Manchester City v West Ham (12pm)
Championship highlights
Leicester v Blackburn (12.30pm)
Oxford Utd v Millwall
Sheffield Utd v Derby
Stoke v Bristol City
Watford v Middlesbrough
FA Cup highlights
Chelmsford v Braintree (12pm)
Bolton v Huddersfield
Burton v St Albans
Buxton v Chatham
Wigan v Hemel Hempstead
Wycombe v Plymouth
Brackley v Notts County (5.30pm)
Scotland highlights
League Cup semi-final: Motherwell v St Mirren (5.30pm)
Premiership: Hearts v Dundee
Europe highlights
Atlético Madrid v Sevilla (3.15pm)
PSG v Nice (4pm)
Napoli v Como (5pm)
Real Sociedad v Athletic Club (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)
Cremonese v Juventus (7.45pm)
Real Madrid v Valencia (8pm)
Preamble
Hello and welcome to matchday live. The Premier League title race could take another significant twist today with Arsenal and Liverpool both in action. There’s also the London derby between Tottenham and Chelsea, which so often produces storylines, and Manchester United’s quest for a fourth successive win at Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest.
Over the next few hours we’ll be building up to all that, plus the early kick-offs in the WSL and Football League, not to mention the box of tricks that is the FA Cup first round.
Please do get in touch via the designated matchday.live@theguardian.com email or comment below the line with your plans, predictions and opinions ahead of the day’s football.
