Main events
United haven’t won at Anfield in nearly 10 years: A Wayne Rooney goal in January 2016 was their latest victory on the red side of Merseyside. But Liverpool were second best in the sides’ most recent meeting, the 2-2 draw in January this year—remember that late Harry Maguire miss for United?
Amorim’s men will be second favorites on Sunday for sure, but the way he sets teams up against bigger and better sides, coupled with Liverpool’s clunky form makes for an intriguing contest. I can’t see it being 7-0.
Many are quite tedious ‘Who is the bigger club?’ Chat around the Liverpool v Manchester United fixture, like every. With Arne Slot’s side finding themselves in an unexpected slump before the international break and the litany of issues affecting Ruben Amorim and United, it felt a little strange not to focus on actual … football.
Here’s Arteta on Gyökeres, speaking ahead of the Gunners’ clash with Fulham tomorrow:
He brings a lot to the team. Watching the games back, I enjoy what he brings to the team.
I told him, in our first meeting ‘the nine I want is a nine that if he doesn’t score for six or eight games he can handle it. If not, you need to go somewhere else. ‘
The pressure is going to be there, the hope is going to be there, if you put the number nine shirt for Arsenal, you have to say, six games I don’t score I’m a different player? Do I act differently?
I want more of the same of what he does. When we have opportunities to put it (on the net), I’m sure it will happen.
Mikel Arteta talks about how Viktor Gyökeres has adapted to life at Arsenal. There was no shortage of naysayers after the 27-year-old’s £64m move to the Gunners from the sport; His age and inexperience in Europe’s elite leagues held against him, but Gyökeres scored three in seven in the league and impressed Arteta with his attitude.
Can Gyökeres get 20 during the league season? If he does, the title could head to North London after a 22-year absence. We’ll bring you Arteta’s comments in the next post.
Steven Smith takes the Rangers Reins for the visit of Dundee United Open, but spoke about Kevin Muscat’s suitability to become the club’s new permanent manager.
The Ibrox Club have been searching for a new manager since the departure of Russell Martin earlier this month, with former GERS defender Muscat, currently in charge of Shanghai Port, the new frontrunner.
Asked in the pre-match press conference if Muscat was the type of character rangers needed to continue, Smith said: “Maybe. It’s an interesting question. Obviously over the last four or five years we’ve had different types of managers, there’s no guarantee of success anywhere, and it’s really hard to guarantee success when you’re at a club where the expectation is to win all the time.
“That’s not going to happen. But we’ve experienced different managers, even these managers who have played here, managers who are considered more tactical types of head coaches.
“So we have every type of manager, but the priority is always to win. I am a young player [when Muscat was at Rangers]so I only met him a few times. When I was a young player, my job used to be to clean the boots of Alex McLeish and the coaching staff, so I used to pass him in the corridor and, again, as a person, he was really nice.
“I know there’s a reputation there as a player. But the communication I’ve had with him, he’s always been nice to the younger players.”
Thank you Taha. 14/17 on the test for me so I’m pretty chuffed with that.
There were many more goodies of the conference meeting for us to fall upon as we approached lunch.
That’s all I got – Dominic Booth is here to guide you through the next few hours.
Sixty four? Nah, not for me.
Matt Hughes has the latest on the WSL and its drive for growth.
Sources involved in the discussions said the WSL wanted to lead investment in women’s football rather than leave it to the clubs, whose financial commitment to the sport remains patchy, even in the top flight.
A respectable 12/17 for me.
Enzo Maresca said Palmer did not need surgery. “We are trying to protect Cole as much as possible. The most important thing is that when he comes back he will be fully fit. We hope that six weeks will be enough but it is a problem that we have to see step by step, week by week. For sure, he will be ok.”
It was initially expected that Palmer would be out until late October. He has made three league appearances this season, his last appearance coming against Manchester United on 20 September.
Cole Palmer is out for six more weeks
Sad news for Chelsea: Cole Palmer, who has not played since September, faces six weeks with a groin injury.
Government officials aim to lift ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans
The latest on Maccabi Tel Aviv’s visit to Aston Villa:
Senior government officials will meet on Friday as they review a decision by West Midlands police to ban fans of Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv from a European match at Aston Villa next month.
Eddie Howe says Yoane Wissa is back on grass, And the Newcastle manager was asked about the appointment of Ross Wilson as sporting director. “I’m not very involved [in process of recruiting him] … I went back to Ross’s appointment and hope we can work together well. “
On the rivalry with United, Slot said: “I look forward to every single Premier League but maybe more than Man United One because I know how special it is … united, I think, have had a better start to the season than the league table shows.”
In Alexander Isak: “I think now he has five, six weeks of pre-season which is normal for every player, especially if you are out for three or four months. Fitness-wise he is close to the level he should be and I think we can judge him in a fair way from now on.”
Slot lays out his side’s problems this season:
“We had a lot of goals. We scored nine of which four were from set pieces. That’s still our strength, which sounds strange if you score four … the other five were two quick breaks and three from open play. In open play we score a lot of crosses so that’s one of the things we need to address and do better.” He also mentioned how teams will last against them. “We have to find answers there.”
Slot: Alisson to Miss Manchester United Clash
Arne Slot has injury updates: Ryan Gravenberch is “fully fit”, Ibrahima Konaté is training … but Alisson will not play this weekend and is yet to return to training.
After losing their campaign opener against Lyonnes, Arsenal are on the board in the Women’s Champions League after beating Benfica. But there’s still a lot of work to do:
Arsenal midfielder Mariona Caldentey said ‘almost everything’ had to go better after a shock defeat by Benfica secured the holders’ first win of the Champions League campaign.
Here’s the latest on the news that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans will not be allowed to attend their side’s Europa League meeting with Aston Villa next month.
New Manchester United Stadium ‘A Fantastic Opportunity’ for the Region
Jamie Jackson
Collette Roche, Manchester United’s chief operating officer, believes the club’s construction of a new stadium to replace Old Trafford is “a fantastic opportunity” that could drive regional regeneration.
While plans for the facility have yet to be finalized, Roche is confident there will be broader benefits. “It’s still early in the journey, but it’s an amazing opportunity that we’ve got, not only for Manchester United, but for the region,” he said as we built this city podcast. “While we’re going to build a stadium that’s great for our team and for the club and our fans, it’s about more than that.
“It’s become a regional project and probably will be one of the biggest in Europe. As such, it’s bigger than us at Manchester United. So, we needed to get support and work with a lot of stakeholders across Manchester and central government. It’s not just a Manchester United vision. It’s a vision for the region. It’s a vision for Trafford and it’s a vision for Manchester, and that’s why Andy Burnham [the mayor of Greater Manchester] And Trafford Council are really keen to work with us. “
Preamble
Hello, Hello, Hello and welcome to the Premier League. The big one this weekend? It was Manchester United’s visit to Liverpool on Sunday, with the defending champions on a three-match losing streak. Maybe the international break ends the funk; Arne’s slot will speak to the press shortly.
Here’s a little of that as well as the rest of the weekend’s lineup. Let’s get stuck into:
