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FA Cup semi-final buildup, plus crunch games at both ends of the Premier League – matchday live | Football
Key events
Speaking of Arsenal and the Women’s Champions League, Suzanne Wrack spoke to Olivia Smith recently about her football journey and playing in her first major European semi-final.
The FA Cup semi-final is not the only major football semi-final happening today. The Women’s Champions League semi-finals also kick off this weekend, starting with Bayern Munich v Barcelona this evening.
Arsenal then host Lyon at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow.
Fancy a bit of reminiscing on this Saturday morning, Southampton fans? Give this a read…
It’ll be really interesting to see what team Pep Guardiola names today. Will he go full strength? Or will he significantly rotate with the Premier League title race in mind?
1. I wouldn’t mind a Leeds-Saints Final. That’ll be great for neutrals and non Chelsea or City fans.
2. We hope Pep rotates. I loved the team that beat Newcastle away in the FA Cup,it was fool of fresh legs and hunger. Nico and Reijnders at the centre of it plus a rejuvenated Ake at the back with Marmoush hunting for the goals.
Not only do we have lots of Premier League action today, we also have the first FA Cup semi-final to look forward to.
Manchester City take on Southampton at Wembley at 5:15pm BST for a place in the final.
Will the underdogs prevail?
Dave Estherby has emailed in about Tottenham:
“I think Spurs could be bang in trouble today. Wolves have shown this season that as well as being fairly abject for most of it, they’re perfectly capable of playing very good, even great football when the mood strikes them.
“Tottenham probably looked at this fixture not long ago and thought, well that’s 3 points, no problem.
“Wolves are probably thinking, well if we’re going down we’re taking you with us.
“Can see Spurs getting a hiding, which with a current -11 goal difference, could be fatal.
“West Ham won’t beat Everton though…”
In a boost for Arsenal, Bukayo Saka is set to return today following a month-long absence with injury.
Mikel Arteta said: “We have given him some time because there was a moment that he was struggling to sustain the performances because he wasn’t comfortable at all. We’ve done that so he had the right treatment, the right space. He has some time as well for himself and it’s the most important part of the season and it’s part of us.
“I think it was a good moment for him as well to reflect on that, to have some peace because we’ve been constantly asking and demanding him, and it was a moment to say: ‘OK, now when you feel ready let us know and we’ll go for it.’”
The Arsenal manager added: “He was in great spirits today, you can see the sun is shining and now he’s back with the team, because he had a different energy. He’s had a tough period, we certainly missed him and he’s back with us now.
“Bukayo is a player when it comes to those moments, we expect him to produce those moments to win it for us. We need him in the squad. We have him now. Hopefully we can use him in the right way.”
If you get the chance to read this at some point today, please do. It’s a brilliant summary from Jonathan Liew of the panic going through north London right now – on both ends of the spectrum.
At the other end of the table, Arsenal host Newcastle as they look to leapfrog Manchester City and move back to first in the Premier League. The Gunners slipped to second earlier this week after City clinched a 1-0 win over Burnley.
They need a win today to keep some control in the title race.
Krishnamoorthy has messaged in to say:
“The phrase ‘throw them to the wolves’ never appeared more apt than today, even if these Wolves are neither scary nor capable. But since when did Tottenham need an enemy to capitulate?”
It does feel like West Ham have the more challenging game compared to Spurs this afternoon…
But this is the Premier League – anything can happen!
Today is when my WHU drop back into the bottom 3 and stay there. Brady has gone,hopefully soon followed by Sullivan. Next season in the Championship we can at least begin the process of becoming a football club again.
Today’s Premier League fixtures
Speaking of West Ham and Tottenham, both teams are in action at 3pm BST this afternoon. The Hammers host Everton and former boss David Moyes, while Spurs travel to face Wolves.
It could be a huge day in the race for survival.
So, my question to you today… Who will be the final team to get relegated?
Wolves and Burnley are already down, and following last night’s match it now looks like it’s between West Ham and Tottenham. What do we think?
Here’s how that result left the Premier League table…
Nottingham Forest completely stunned Sunderland last night with a huge 5-0 win at the Stadium of Light which should keep them safe in the Premier League. Goals from Chris Wood, Morgan Gibbs-White, Igor Jesus, Elliot Anderson and an own-goal from Trai Hume fired Forest to a much-needed victory, putting space between them, West Ham and Tottenham in the relegation battle.
Hello, good morning and welcome to another Matchday live! We have plenty to look forward to this afternoon, from Premier League fixtures to Championship and EFL match-ups. We also have a WSL game to preview as well as a Women’s Champions League semi-final and an FA Cup semi-final.
In the Prem, Fulham host Aston Villa at lunchtime. Everton then travel to face West Ham at the London Stadium, already-relegated Wolves take on Tottenham and Liverpool face Crystal Palace. And in the late fixture, Arsenal will be looking to return to the top of the table with a win over Newcastle.
But before we look ahead to those fixtures, let’s recap what happened at the Stadium of Light last night…
Preamble
Emillia will be here shortly to tee up a huge day of action from the FA Cup, Premier League, Football League, National League, Scottish Premiership and Europe.
To start you off, here is all the the latest team news for the first two of those competitions …
… and 10 things you need to look out for this weekend. Enjoy!
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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