Key events
In Manchester City on-field news, Erling Haaland is back fit to face Aston Villa at Villa Park tomorrow, PA reports. The Norway striker was not risked in City’s Champions League victory over AEK Athens in midweek after a blow to the foot in the previous game against Ipswich.
City will continue to assess Nico O’Reilly, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes, who also suffered knocks in the same game. The manager, Enzo Maresca, said: “They could all be available or not. There are still doubts. Erling is the only one who is 100 per cent available and for the other three we need to wait.”
Jonathan Liew’s column on how Brazil’s footballing and political dysfunction feed each other is a good read:
We hear a lot about football’s power to unite a nation. Perhaps we underestimate the extent to which it can also divide; the way it can reflect the very worst of ourselves, our greed and vindictiveness, our lust for feuds and, petty entertainment. There is a Women’s World Cup being hosted in Brazil next summer and while Lula has sought to fast-track the professionalisation of women’s football, Bolsonaro’s only public utterances in the field of women’s sport have been to assert his opposition to trans athletes playing it.
Asian confederation backs Infantino
In courage of their convictions news, the Asian Football Confederation has decided to endorse Gianni Infantino’s Fifa presidential re-election bid.
The AFC president, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa, speaking at the body’s extraordinary congress in Tokyo on Friday, embraced Infantino with a large hug in front of the membership as he delivered his endorsement.
“We affirm our full commitment to supporting you and your leadership as you seek a new mandate as the Fifa president.” Sheikh Salman said. “You’ve visited a lot of countries in Asia. I’ve spoken to a lot of members within this continent. I know your feeling and I think your commitment is clear as well.”
Preamble
Morning everyone. What about them Cherries eh? Before we dive deep into weekend previews, Manchester United melodramas and what have you, some moments to reflect on last night’s action. Chief among them was the continuation of Bournemouth’s European fairytale – a deserved 3-0 Europa League shellacking of Milan, a result barely conceivable two decades ago, but, as Nick Ames sagely points out in his match report, not a great surprise given the resources even mid-ranking Premier League clubs can now command compared to fading Serie A giants.
Elsewhere, Sunderland dug in for a draw at Lech Poznan, Crystal Palace’s mixed start to Europa League life continued in a 2-2 draw at Besiktas, and … oh Celtic. A third European defeat on the spin for Martin O’Neill’s side as they surrendered a 1-0 lead to lose the Celt derby 2-1 to Celta Vigo, who brought 3,000 fans to Glasgow – reportedly their biggest ever European away turnout – for a cultural love-in.
Anyway, we’ll have pre-match news, interviews and comment through the day, and feel free to mail in your thoughts. Off to a game this weekend? Tell us your hopes for it. In the meantime, to get in the mood, here’s 10 English top-flight things to look out for.
Leave a Reply