{"id":25832,"date":"2025-10-04T11:21:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T11:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=25832"},"modified":"2025-10-04T11:21:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T11:21:23","slug":"amorim-faces-crunch-clash-premier-league-buildup-and-more-matchday-live-as-it-happened-soccer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=25832","title":{"rendered":"Amorim faces crunch clash, Premier League buildup and more \u2013 matchday live as it happened | Soccer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<br \/><span class=\"dcr-90inr0\"><span id=\"key-events-carousel-mobile\"\/><span class=\"dcr-90inr0\"><\/p>\n<p>Key events<\/p>\n<p><\/span><span id=\"filter-toggle-mobile\"\/>Show key events only<\/p>\n<p><span>Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>That\u2019s pretty much it for today\u2019s matchday live blog. <\/strong>It\u2019s always a pleasure to be in charge of these so thanks for your comments and emails, which have come in by the bucketload this morning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Leeds v Spurs is our next port of call in Premier League terms but don\u2019t forget we\u2019ve got live Man City v Arsenal WSL action too. After that our live Clockwatch will follow Arsenal v West Ham and Manchester United v Sunderland and we\u2019ll pop up with a teatime blog to cover Chelsea v Liverpool as well, with dedicated reporters at each of those games of course. What more could you want?<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Thanks again. Bye for now.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a007.18 EDT<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>While we\u2019re on Bournemouth, here\u2019s a stat to shock you:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Antoine Semenyo has been directly involved in more goals than any other player in the Premier League (12 \u2013 eight goals, four assists); <em>two more than Erling Haaland<\/em> (10 \u2013 nine goals, one assist).<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Bournemouth\u2019s 26-year-old winger Justin Kluivert completed the unique treble<\/strong> after his stunning long-range strike in Friday\u2019s 3-1 Premier League victory over Fulham. The former Newcastle and Netherlands striker Patrick Kluivert\u2019s sons proved that the Dutch great\u2019s goal scoring instincts run in the family when they found the back of the net on three consecutive days for three different clubs. This week\u2019s streak began in the Uefa Youth League on Wednesday when his youngest, 18-year-old winger Shane, curled a shot home from the edge of the box past to spark Barcelona\u2019s 2-1 comeback win over Paris Saint-Germain. A day later, 24-year-old Ruben, who is a defender, headed home the second goal in Lyons\u2019 2-0 win over RB Salzburg in the Europa League.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cProud dad,\u201d Patrick, who is now head coach of the Indonesia national team, wrote on Instagram after each of his sons\u2019 teams won their matches.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Another good\/intelligent comment<\/strong> on why Ruben Amorim is floundering at United, far more smart and succinct than I put it:<\/p>\n<p>Basically, for Amorim, at Sporting he could have 2 CMs against 3 from smaller clubs and get away with it. He can&#8217;t do that at United in the PL. His CBs and WBs don&#8217;t push into midfield to help out, that is the obvious way to do it, but I haven&#8217;t seen it more than a couple of times yet. We&#8217;re always outnumbered in CM, and there are two major results. 1) We can&#8217;t play through CM as the players are always covered. 2) Other teams can play through CM as they have a spare man, and especially on the transition, can wander through in 2nd gear with a couple of easy passes, and all of a sudden they&#8217;re around the United box and threatening, without ever having to work hard to do it.<\/p>\n<p>Not sustainable, and neither is his United career.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"dcr-1wl2b6o\">On the ball \u2013 guess the footballer<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">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 \u2026 so what are you waiting for?<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>We don\u2019t share posts<\/strong> from X Twitter too often these days, but the caption \u201cAnton Stach explains his love for fun\u201d made me laugh. He likes FUN?!<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Re the Championship early games,<\/strong> William Preston gets in touch:<\/p>\n<p>With players and staff not being paid once again, and having lost a lot of people who can score goals at this level before the season even began, I think it\u2019s fair to say that Sheffield Wednesday are currently massively overachieving, despite their league position.<\/p>\n<p>The younger players have got an absolute stomp on, and there\u2019s been people thrilling heroics at Birmingham, only conceding at the last.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s potential here for this to be the best worst season ever, like the one Middlesbrough had in the mid 1990s (my uni housemate had a VHS tape that he put on formula to watch every time we came back from the pub).<\/p>\n<p>Have a great stormy day, I hope every stays safe.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"dcr-1wl2b6o\">Championship team news<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Here\u2019s a rundown of the lineups in the early kickoffs in England\u2019s second tier:<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Blackburn v Stoke<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Blackburn: Toth; Alebiosu, Miller, McLoughlin, Ribeiro; Tronstad, Gardner-Hickman, Morishita; Cantwell, Hedges, Gudjohnsen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Stoke: Johansson; Tchamadeu, Phillips, Wilmot, Cresswell; Rigo, Seko; Thomas, Bae, Manhoef; Mubama.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Hull v Sheffield United<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Hull: Pandur; Coyle, Egan, Hughes, Giles; Lundstram, Slater; Gyabi, Gelhardt, Akintola; McBurnie.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Sheffield United: Cooper; Tanganga, McGuinness, Mee; Ogbene, Peck, Matos, McCallum; O\u2019Hare, Hamer, Campbell.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Sheffield Wednesday v Coventry<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Sheffield Wednesday: Horvath; Weaver, Iorga, Lowe; Palmer, Valery, Banna, Ingelsson, Amass; Lowe, Cadamarteri.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Coventry: Rushworth; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Kitching, Dasilva; Allen, Grimes, Sakamoto; Mason-Clark, Thomas-Asante, Wright.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a006.45 EDT<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>And you can go in-depth on Leeds v Spurs coverage<\/strong> with Scott Murray, who is on top of the buildup. Should be a cracker, that one.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"dcr-1wl2b6o\">Leeds v Tottenham team news<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The teamsheets for the 12.30pm BST kick-off at Elland Road have dropped. Here we go.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Leeds:<\/strong> Darlow; Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Gudmunsson; Ampadu, Stach, Longstaff; Aaronson, Okafor, Calvert-Lewin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Subs: Meslier, Justin, Bijol, Bornauw, Gruev, Tanaka, Harrison, Nmecha, Piroe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Tottenham:<\/strong> Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Palhinha, Bentancur; Kudus, Simons, Odobert; Tel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Subs: Kinsky, Danso, Spence, Davies, Gray, Bergvall, Sarr, Johnson, Richarlison.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Please forgive me for plugging an underrated indie album song<\/strong> of the noughties \u2026 let me instead turn your attention to Billy Munday\u2019s WSL minute-by-minute. He\u2019s got you covered for team news and updates from the 12pm BST kick-off at the Joie Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Another email,<\/strong> this time from Richard Warwick in storm-hammered west Scotland, as he puts it:<\/p>\n<p>If I can just lighten the mood around Fluxdeluxe\u2019s excellent Amorim comment, can I make a case for the \u201csubtle\u201d renaming of said philosophical thought experiment [from Theseus\u2019s Ship] to \u201cTrigger\u2019s Broom\u201d? Very much more accessible to those of us of a certain age.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Yeah I\u2019m most certainly more Only Fools than Greek mythology. Talk about the dumbing down of modern journalism. Sorry.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a006.08 EDT<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>The race for the golden boot.<\/strong> Can anyone stop Erling Haaland? Probably not.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Arsenal v West Ham: what can we expect?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Nuno Esp\u00edrito Santo earned the Hammers a creditable 1-1 draw at Everton\u2019s Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday, his debut as manager after replacing Graham Potter. But this is a far tougher test for his new charges.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">West Ham have actually won their past two games at the Emirates without conceding, but you\u2019d make Mikel Arteta\u2019s in-form side heavy favourites today. The Gunners have lost just once this season, winning seven of their nine in all competitions. Despite all the \u2018handbrake\u2019 chat, they\u2019ve played pretty fluent football.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Nuno, meanwhile, has won just three times in 10 outings against Arsenal as a manager, losing four and drawing three, averaging 1.2 points a game, including a 3-1 defeat in his only North London derby (yes, I often forget Nuno was briefly Tottenham manager, too).<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Tuck into our previews<\/strong> featuring all the team news you could possibly need. Those team graphics make me oddly nostalgic for reading the Saturday sport supplement at my grandparents\u2019 house. Simpler times.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Oliver Glasner has warned Crystal Palace<\/strong> must not allow their \u201ctop level\u201d to slip at Everton on Sunday or face the \u201chigh risk\u201d of seeing a club-record 19-match unbeaten run come to a halt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cIn the Premier League, the players know you need to perform close to your top level, otherwise you have a high risk of losing the game,\u201d Glasner said on the Palace website.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cI don\u2019t think Everton have struggled. They drew against West Ham, they lost a very tight game against Liverpool and I think they had a very good performance against them. We always have to accept how the other team is playing and try to use their weaknesses to win the game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Glasner said he was not interested in revelling in Palace\u2019s hot streak. \u201cWe don\u2019t talk about it (the run) in our meetings, or on the pitch \u2013 but yes, we are asked about it more and more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThe approach is the same. We don\u2019t go to Everton saying: \u2018Let\u2019s just extend the run\u2019, we go there and will try to win the game. Every win, every good performance, increases self-confidence and this is what we can see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Oliver Glasner spoke after overseeing another Crystal Palace win, over Dynamo Kyiv, in midweek. <\/span> Photograph: Wojciech Szubartowski\/EPAShare<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Rant over.<\/strong> I\u2019m aware there are other clubs. Although I note many of the comments dropping in are about Amorim and\/or United \u2026<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>This is an interesting comment below re Ruben Amorim.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">My own attempt to explain his personal struggles as Manchester United manager (which is in stark contrast to his success at Sporting) would be to suggest the Portuguese league is far easier and primed for a differential formation like 3-4-3 which, with players better than most of their opponents, was enough for the Lisbon side to overcome Benfica and Porto. That is all you need to do.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Amorim now has better players to work with, but I think the strength of the current United squad is overestimated. The likes of Altay Bayindir, Diogo Dalot and Patrick Dorgu \u2013 who all start regularly \u2013 are mid-table players.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">There\u2019s clearly long been a culture problem at the club. Many players are still overpaid compared to their talent\/output from the Glazer\/Woodward era and that takes time to cleanse. On the field, past defeats mean the team has such a brittle mentality that the smallest piece of adversity (like a missed penalty, a perceived injustice) knocks them off their path. Only Bruno Fernandes \u2013 and he is criticised more than most \u2013 seems to have the mental fortitude to withstand the pressure cooker environment and (try to) drive standards higher.<\/p>\n<p>Amorim, good god, at this point I feel a bit sorry for all involved. It\u2019s absurd how bad Man Utd are. It\u2019s also absurd that all the players that have left seem to be living their best lives. I would be genuinely interested for some actual journalism to occur not on how bad the manager is, or how bad the signings have been, and try and look into, on a deeper level what is actually wrong with the club? At this point it\u2019s like a proof for Theseus Ship, you\u2019ve replaced everything and it\u2019s still the same thing.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Another email.<\/strong> Steve Horne gets in touch:<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><em>Hi Dominic. Anything to take my mind off Storm Amy as I shelter in my campervan in Rothes, Morayshire, so here goes:<\/em><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><em>Leeds 1-2 Spurs<\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><em>Man Utd 0- 2 S\u2019land<\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><em>Arsenal 1-1 West Ham<\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><em>Chelsea 1-3 L\u2019pool<\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Yeah it\u2019s not campervan weather, Steve. Interesting Manchester United prediction there \u2026<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>United<\/strong> will hold a minute\u2019s silence on Saturday and the players will wear black armbands as a mark of respect after the terrorist attack at a synagogue in the city on Thursday. Manchester City will do likewise for their Premier League and Women\u2019s Super League fixtures this weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"dcr-1wl2b6o\">Amorim &#8216;not naive&#8217; as he addresses Man Utd future<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Here\u2019s what Amorim has said on his own future and Manchester United\u2019s struggles:<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cNobody here is naive,\u201d said Amorim. \u201cWe understand that we need results to continue the project. We will reach a point that is impossible for everyone, because this is a very big club with a lot of sponsors, with two owners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cIt\u2019s normal. You can\u2019t run away from the results. Then you have the baggage from last season, but last season for me doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWe have had six games this season, and we lost three. So it\u2019s the results. But imagine if we won the first game against Arsenal and then you don\u2019t miss the penalty and you win against Fulham, even without playing really well. Imagine if this happened, then the trust in everything about our club, the system, the way we play, would be completely different.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cSo if you win, everything is okay. If you lose, you\u2019re doubting everything about yourself, about your team-mates, about the coach \u2013 everything. I just need one more game, because football is like that. We need one more game, we win, we get some hope and then in the next game we will see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Fairly refreshing and candid stuff from the United boss. One more game? He\u2019ll certainly get that\u2026 it\u2019s whether he gets many more after it.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Let\u2019s do the big Manchester United talk.<\/strong> I\u2019ll break it in gently by pointing you in the direction of this Daniel Harris piece: five simple solutions Ruben Amorim could try to improve United in the short-term (featuring some 3-4-3 formation chat):<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Fantasy Football Corner:<\/strong> It\u2019s too late to make transfers (as I learned to my cost, forgetting about the early deadline before last night\u2019s Bournemouth v Fulham game), but who\u2019s worth having in your team this week?<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Logic may dictate that Manchester United\u2019s Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes should fill their boots at home to a promoted team\u2026 but logic and Manchester United don\u2019t tend to go hand in hand. Arsenal are trickier to predict now Mikel Arteta has depth available to him, but I\u2019d be plumping for Gunners defenders \u2013 Gabriel is always a go-to.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">To Salah or not to Salah? The Egyptian hasn\u2019t been at his sparkling best this season but he may fancy getting on the scoresheet against old foes Chelsea \u2013 struggling themselves at the moment \u2013 with Hugo Ekitike another good pick given his strong start to the campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Feel free to absolutely deride my team, which is as follows: <em>Henderson; Munoz, Cucurella, Dorgu; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Kudus, Xhaka; Haaland (c), J.Pedro, Beto.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">I know.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Thanks for your comments, now filtering in Below The Line.<\/strong> Let\u2019s have some predictions for today\u2019s four Premier League games, like this one.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Mine?<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Leeds 1-1 Spurs; Man Utd 2-1 Sunderland; Arsenal 3-1 West Ham; Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool.<\/p>\n<p>Predictions:<\/p>\n<p>Leeds 1-3 Spurs <br \/>Man Utd 2-0 S\u2019land <br \/>Arsenal 3-0 West Ham <br \/>Chelsea 1-1 L\u2019pool<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t think this is the end for Amorim just yet. But I can\u2019t see him lasting much longer.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"dcr-1wl2b6o\">Moyes and Everton aiming for top 10<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">David Moyes admits he would settle for a top 10 finish this season but Everton are hoping for better. Moyes\u2019 men have eight points from their first six matches, currently sitting ninth and just three points off fifth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">At the same stage 12 months ago \u2013 then under Sean Dyche \u2013 the Toffees were 16th with just four points, but having guided the club to a comfortable 13th place by the end of last season Moyes is looking for continued improvement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cYou need to think back to where we were last year, how we were going to be as a football club,\u201d he said before tomorrow\u2019s visit of in-form Crystal Palace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cI think we\u2019ve had a positive start; I think we could have taken more points \u2013 that\u2019s the message in the dressing room and they know it as well. That\u2019s the challenge, to keep it up. If you gave me this position at the end of the season I\u2019d be absolutely delighted as it would be a huge improvement on where we\u2019ve been but we are striving for more and hoping we can get more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">David Moyes has overseen an improvement at Everton in the past few months. <\/span> Photograph: Matthew Childs\/Action Images\/ReutersShare<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Phil Parkinson insisted Wrexham are \u201cgrowing\u201d into the Championship<\/strong> after a third successive 1-1 draw against Birmingham in Friday night\u2019s \u201cHollywood derby\u201d \u2013 even though the Welsh club have not won any of their five home league games since promotion from League One.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a squad which is growing together and the signings are getting better all the time,\u201d Parkinson said after Wrexham had extended their unbeaten run to five games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cI\u2019m sure when we wake up tomorrow we\u2019ll be looking at a team which is growing into the division well. We\u2019re very confident of the group and just need to start turning these draws in into wins. We\u2019ve just got to keep growing as a team and we will do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Phil Parkinson after Wrexham\u2019s draw with Birmingham City last night.<\/span> Photograph: Nick Potts\/PAShare<\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a004.16 EDT<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Former Bath City striker Alex Fletcher<\/strong> called for changes after crashing into concrete hoardings three years ago. As far as he is concerned, nothing happened as a result.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Here\u2019s Paul MacInnes reporting on the tragic death of Billy Vigar and an important debate now being had in English football.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Paris FC are doing rather well in Ligue 1.<\/strong> The new kids on the block in the top tier of French football beat Lorient 2-0 last night\u2026 they may not yet be ready to challenge their high-profile neighbours, but they\u2019re likely to stay up \u2013 as three wins from their first seven games since promotion suggests.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Elsewhere in Europe last night there were 1-0 away wins for Sassuolo at Hellas Verona and K\u00f6ln at Hoffenheim. Osasuna snatched a late 2-1 win over Getafe in La Liga.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>I very much enjoyed this column by Barney Ronay,<\/strong> who poses an interesting question: what do you actually know about Florian Wirtz. The eighth most expensive footballer of all time has got off to an inauspicious start at Liverpool but should we be surprised given his astronomic transfer fee?<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>It\u2019s worth looking at the big fixtures away from the Premier League today.<\/strong> Manchester City v Arsenal at midday (BST) takes centre stage in the WSL; neither side has been at their best since the season started and that looks a tough game to call. Hearts v Hibernian is always big in Scotland but today\u2019s Edinburgh derby (5.45pm) takes on even greater significance given that Hearts are top of the Scottish Premiership. Celtic don\u2019t play until tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In Spain, Real Madrid host Villarreal at 8pm with early season pacesetters Barcelona facing Sevilla tomorrow. Borussia Dortmund v RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt v Bayern Munich are important contests in the Bundesliga. Serie A\u2019s main event comes tomorrow evening with the giant clash between Juventus and AC Milan at one of European football\u2019s many Allianz Stadiums.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Hearts fans, get in touch:<\/strong> you could see your side go five points clear at the top with victory today!<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>An early email<\/strong> has landed in my inbox via Krishnamoorthy:<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cGood morning Dominic. Has his excellency Pope Leo spoken to Amorim? Do we expect a decent fight or another shoddy performance?<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThat makes me wonder \u2013 who will go first Ange or Ruben?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><em>I would have thought Postecoglou will get some time to bed in his ideas at Forest, whereas defeat to Sunderland today could spell serious trouble for Amorim. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong>Last night wasn\u2019t just about Antoine Semenyo scoring twice<\/strong> to boost everyone\u2019s FPL teams (except my own). The \u2018Hollywood derby\u2019 in the Championship finished 1-1 between Wrexham and Birmingham while in-form Manchester United disrupted Chelsea\u2019s 100% start to the Women\u2019s Super League season as they drew 1-1 at Leigh. Marc Skinner\u2019s side are now just two points off the WSL summit having begun the campaign strongly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Fulham will be wondering what on earth happened to them at the Vitality Stadium last night, mind you. When Ryan Sessegnon fired them into the lead 20 minutes from time, Marco Silva\u2019s side were in pole position, only to be undone by a late Cherries siege, which included Semenyo\u2019s double and a Justin Kluivert scorcher from 25 yards.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"dcr-1wl2b6o\">Mateta on &#8216;dream&#8217; France callup at 28<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-sa35sa\">Ed Aarons<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Jean-Philippe Mateta has described his first call-up to the senior France squad as \u201ca dream come true\u201d after the Crystal Palace striker was selected by Didier Deschamps for the World Cup qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Iceland.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The 28-year-old was one of France\u2019s overage players at last year\u2019s Olympics and scored five goals as Thierry Henry\u2019s side won a silver medal. Mateta, who played the first half of Palace\u2019s win over Dynamo Kyiv on Thursday night in Poland, has also represented <em>Les Bleus<\/em> at various youth levels.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">He revealed that he had watched the squad announcement with his compatriot Maxence Lacroix\u2019s in his hotel room in Lublin after the Palace defender had a feeling that the former Lyon and Mainz striker\u2019s time had come.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cI feel very, very happy; it\u2019s like a dream come true,\u201d said Mateta. \u201cI hope I will stay a long time with this team and help them to win. I saw it on TV. Maxence said: \u2018Today they will call you.\u2019 He came to my room and we watched together the list. Didier Deschamps was talking and he said my name. He always told me to work hard and you will get your call. I kept working hard and I got my call.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Asked whether experiencing international football could help his form at Palace, he said: \u201cIf I play, I hope I will help the team there to win. Of course, I will come back with confidence. I always have confidence. I think it will bring me more confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"dcr-1wl2b6o\">Preamble<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Good morning all! The Premier League grind never stops and Bournemouth\u2019s stylish win over Fulham last night got another weekend off to a riproaring start. Antoine Semenyo, eh \u2026 what a player.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Anyway, we\u2019re building up to Saturday\u2019s action, as usual, on Matchday Live, the countdown\/news\/interactive football blog where we encourage you to get in touch with your thoughts, comments, predictions and whatever else you have planned for this footballing Saturday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In terms of live action, <strong>Leeds v Tottenham<\/strong> is the early top flight offering, plus four games in the Championship, while <strong>Arsenal v West Ham and Manchester United v Sunderland<\/strong> are the 3pm games. Can Nuno Esp\u00edrito Santo kickstart the Hammers at the Emirates? And will there be more trouble for Ruben Amorim against the high-flying Black Cats? The evening game of <strong>Chelsea v Liverpool<\/strong> should be just as intriguing, with Arne Slot hoping to avoid a third successive defeat and Enzo Maresca looking to avoid a third successive <em>Premier League<\/em> defeat. So there\u2019s form.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">With our writers dropping in bits of colour from across the country and continent, there\u2019s plenty to stay tuned for. Let\u2019s get going \u2026<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature That\u2019s pretty much it for today\u2019s matchday live blog. It\u2019s always a pleasure to be in charge of these so thanks for your comments and emails, which have come in by the bucketload this morning. Leeds v Spurs is our next<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[13785,4485,1535,639,2395,419,3504,132,8422,1706,1544],"class_list":{"0":"post-25832","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-amorim","9":"tag-buildup","10":"tag-clash","11":"tag-crunch","12":"tag-faces","13":"tag-happened","14":"tag-league","15":"tag-live","16":"tag-matchday","17":"tag-premier","18":"tag-soccer"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}