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Premier League buildup, Coventry on verge of promotion, and more – matchday live | Football
Key events
Championship fixtures
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QPR v Bristol City
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Coventry City v Sheffield Wednesday
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Norwich City v Ipswich Town
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Oxford United v Watford
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Leicester City v Swansea City
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Stoke City v Blackburn Rovers
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Southampton v Derby County
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Middlesbrough v Portsmouth
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Sheffield Untied v Hull City
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Charlton Athletic v Preston North End
It’s also another big day in the Championship as Coventry City look to take another huge step towards promotion. They face already-relegated Sheffield Wednesday in one of the early games.
David Estherby has messaged in to say:
“Have to agree with godfrey007 (8.33); it’s clear Ange prioritised a cup over league position last year, theres no way he would’ve let them slide to 17th or worse again. More importantly, there’s not a chance Spurs would be where they are if Vertonghen and Alderweireld were still there, let alone Kane. Club’s a mess but until the board prioritise Tottenham Hotspur over the Jacksonville Jaguars/Beyonce/the karaoke singer from the Bricklayers not a jot will change.
“S**t runs downhill, folks.”
Some more on Spurs…
I think the problems at Spurs go deeper than the coach. But saying that – the decision making at the club has certainly contributed – especially with the choices of coach post Ange.
Frank inherited a squad built for the front foot, proactive football. We were promised flexibility from Frank after Ange’s mostly myopic approach, but instead we kind of got a non-football under Frank which seemed to leave the players confused. Spurs didn’t really have problems scoring goals under Ange. But that became difficult under Frank – with a focus on set piece play for a team that used to like to press from the front, have possession, play the ball on the floor and dominate games. With Frank Spurs started to launch it long (with a keeper who couldn’t) – and that was the start and downhill from there. Historically bad xG’s occurred game after game, players pölayed out of position or simply mis profiled. Frank’s tenure was absolutely awful. Injuries played their part (when don’t they at Spurs?) – and the club selling two season’s in a row top scorers who weren’t replaced certainly added bluntness in front of goal to the mix.
De Zerbi sees players in this Spurs team that can play the game in his style -or at least to his principles . As we’ve seen with West Ham – they are getting out of this mess by trying to win games. Spurs need to be more positive in their intent and they actually have the players to do this. Let’s see if De Zerbi can raise the confidence levels.
The firing of Ange – after delivering a trophy – and with most of the season having a depleted squad as we have now (for context) – was an achievement. This talk of Spurs getting used to losing is denied by the EL win – an ultimate in winning. There was a sense of togetherness between players, fans and coach after Bilbao. The club decided to end that abruptly and the club hasn’t recovered.
Today’s Premier League fixtures
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Arsenal v Bournemouth
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Brentford v Everton
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Burnley v Brighton
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Liverpool v Fulham
Arteta also admitted he is proud to be coming up against former team-mate Andoni Iraola, who is also from the Basque Country.
He said: “Yes, it’s amazing what he has done together with the club. The consistency that they’ve shown, the manner that they’ve done it and the amount of players they’ve sold – how they’ve then reinvented themselves. The run that they are on is incredible because we know how tough the Premier League is. When it comes to pride, it’s huge, when it comes to rivalry on matchday, it’s even bigger – it goes out the window.”
Mikel Arteta urged Arsenal fans to bring the noise at the Emirates Stadium this afternoon as the Gunners look to go 12 points clear at the top of the table.
He said: “We know the meaning of every match here and the opportunity that we have, especially when we play at home. We need to maximise every result. It’s about each individual and how we turn up there. It’s actually impacting the game, the atmosphere and energy in the stadium. Whoever comes tomorrow, I ask them to be with that mindset, energy and commitment, because the team is going to respond beautifully to that.”
It should be a good match between Arsenal and Bournemouth this afternoon, although I don’t think anything could beat this game… the DRAMA!
Now from one end of the table to the other… Arsenal will look to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table with a win over Bournemouth at lunchtime. The Gunners currently lead by nine points, although second-placed Manchester City have a game in hand.
This could be a huge weekend for the title race, with Pep Guardiola and Co facing a difficult clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge tomorrow.
Speaking of “Ange-ball” – Roberto De Zerbi wants to bring it back as he attempts to prevent Tottenham’s first relegation in 49 years.
Another question for Tottenham fans, do you think the club would be in this position if Ange Postecoglou had stayed?
De Zerbi to bring back Angeball. Along with the majority of other Spurs fans, I can’t help thinking that the club should never have sacked Ange in the first place! A terribly run club
With Burnley and Wolves looking pretty much certain to go down, the battle to avoid that last relegation place is heating up. Tottenham slipped into that spot last night following West Ham’s 4-0 win – and they face a challenging game away at Sunderland tomorrow.
Nottingham Forest and Leeds United are also down there. The question is, who will face the drop? Let me know what you think!
Thank you, James, for getting this Matchday live up and running while I battled through train delays to make it into London! I just about made it… eventually!
Anyway, Premier League football is back and we have four games to look forward to later today. Arsenal will look to extend their lead at the top of the table when they face Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium. Brentford then host Everton, with Brighton travelling to face Burnley at Turf Moor.
And in the late game, Liverpool will look to bounce back from defeats to Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain when they take on Fulham at home.
Friday night’s European roundup
Real Madrid had to settle for a 1-1 draw against mid-table Girona in La Liga, extending the hosts’ winless run to three games in all competitions and giving leaders Barcelona the chance to stretch their advantage at the top.
Federico Valverde put Madrid ahead six minutes after half-time but Girona levelled in the 62nd minute through Thomas Lemar. Álvaro Arbeloa’s side are six points behind with league leaders Barça, who have a game in hand against Espanyol on Saturday and could move nine clear with seven games to play.
West Ham’s rout of Wolves sends Spurs into bottom three
Jacob Steinberg
Two-nil up in a must-win game, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side looked unrecognisable from the doomed bunch who dropped seven points off 17th place in early January. This is a different West Ham. This is a West Ham with a punch in attack and, if this daring escape act does end with Premier League football secured for another season, a key part of the story will be how Nuno strengthened his squad in January.
While Axel Disasi has brought order in defence, the best way to compliment Castellanos and Pablo Felipe is to call them the modern equivalent of John Hartson and Paul Kitson.
West Ham, after all, have form in this department. They were fired to safety in 1997 after signing Hartson and Kitson halfway through a difficult campaign and, 29 years on, have given themselves a fighting chance thanks to the mid-season arrivals of Pablo and Castellanos.
Preamble
Emillia will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s what happened in east London last night …
We’ve another stacked lineup today, including Coventry’s push for the Premier League and Arsenal’s latest test as they close on the top-flight title, along with much, much more. Let us know if you’re at a game anywhere today or how you’ll be following from around the world, just drop us an email via the link in the standfirst.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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