Key events
With the start of the Women’s Super League season fast approaching, we are rolling out our team-by-team previews.
Here is Tom Garry on how Everton are shaping up for the campaign:
I know exactly what you’re thinking … how did Racing Santander get on against Elche last night? Find out in our European roundup HERE:
Worth noting that Liverpool v Forest is massive for Forest and new head coach Oliver Glasner after two defeats to start their campaign. They went down 1-0 to Leeds last weekend and were then beaten 2-0 by the same opponents in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday. Let’s remind ourselves of what Glasner said after that Cup defeat: safe to say that all is not well at the City Ground.
“This is a little bit the assessment after six weeks here, that maybe – and not just in the team, it’s maybe in the club – that there’s a little bit of ignoring the reality,” Glasner said.
“Right now, we are far away from where we want to be, and what I’m really convinced in that where we will be.
“The fact is that this team had a relegation battle for nine months. Very turbulent season and it ended with a huge effort to stay in the league, and this is our starting point.
“It’s really very important not to blame anybody because sometimes I tell them facts and they say, ‘Oh, Glasner is complaining’.
“No, no, no. But then maybe your best midfielder [Elliot Anderson] leaves the club and now we expect we compete for European places because Oliver Glasner is in. Sorry, this is what I can’t deliver within six weeks.
“I’m no magician, no messiah, just hard work. That is what we have to do.
“It doesn’t make sense talking about seventh two years ago. It’s hard, it’s tough, but if you ignore the reality then you live in dreamland and this is never the best thing to do.” (Quotes via PA Media)
Reports: Liverpool agree deal to sign Barcola
Liverpool have wrapped up a deal for Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain, according to reports today.
The 23-year-old will arrive for a fee of well over £100m, with add-ons and precise sums involved TBC.
Here’s our story on the matter from Thursday:
How will Liverpool line up against Nottingham Forest? How will Nottingham Forest line up against Liverpool?
Predicted lineups for the 12.30pm (UK time) kick-off, and of course the rest of the weekend’s top-flight action, here:
The Iraola story, about wanting his forwards to exhaust themselves, is interesting. It feels quite heavy-metal football. Iraola intends to press high and not allow Liverpool’s opponents time to settle on the ball. Sounds sensible and the fans will like it. Invoking the Pep Guardiola school or, dare I say it, even the Ian Rush era at Anfield.
It’s exactly this sort of thing, from RawSharkTest in the comments, that has brought this great game of ours to its knees.
Without wishing to be too incendiary in my language, I’m hoping for a favourable result for my team in their match later today.
The men’s transfer interactive is here, and the women’s transfer interactive is here. Your one-stop shop for all the transfer window deals.
Suzanne Wrack
Lucy Bronze does not stop. Her brain runs a hundred miles a minute. She does not need traditional entertainment. “I’m not good at watching TV – I can’t sit still,” Bronze says, sitting sort-of still, on a bench shielded from the wind, overlooking Chelsea’s training pitch at Cobham. “Someone recently asked me what I listen to in the car and someone else jumped in and was like: ‘Lucy has her own podcast going on in her own head.’ I don’t listen to music, I don’t listen to podcasts, I just have a million thoughts going on.”
Bronze’s late ADHD and autism diagnosis help it make sense, but her mum had always suspected she might have one of the conditions, so it wasn’t a surprise. “Naomi Girma said to me: ‘I’ve never met someone who trains so hard in the gym with zero music on; it does not make sense.’ I was like: ‘It’s literally in my head, I don’t need anything else.’”
Andy Hunter
Andoni Iraola has said it is more important for Liverpool’s forwards to exhaust themselves than perform for 90 minutes as he prepares to make an “emotional” Premier League bow at Anfield.
The Liverpool head coach hopes his attacking options will be improved by the arrival of Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain and another winger before Tuesday’s deadline, with only Victor Muñoz added to his front line so far. The Basque coach has outlined the demands he will put on his forwards as they adapt to a new era at Liverpool.
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Liverpool v Nottingham Forest, Saturday, 12.30pm
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Coventry v Hull, Saturday, 3pm
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Bournemouth v Everton, Saturday, 3pm
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Tottenham v Newcastle, Saturday, 5.30pm
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Chelsea v Brighton, Sunday, 2pm
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Leeds v Brentford, Sunday, 2pm
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Sunderland v Fulham, Sunday, 2pm
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Man Utd v Ipswich Town, Sunday, 4.30pm
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Aston Villa v Arsenal, Monday, 8pm
There you have the Premier League fixtures to come over the weekend, including Aston Villa v Arsenal on Monday.
Here you have the Premier League fixture that has already happened: Jacob Steinberg’s report of Manchester City 4-1 Crystal Palace (Haaland 2, Cherki 2):
Barney Ronay
This week Central Cee launched his new Premier League song, called The Team. It owes its existence to a youth-centred, fist-bumping corporate tie-in with Coca-Cola, the press release for which appears to have involved a man in golf-casual clothing frowning at his computer screen for half an hour before typing “cool urban street words, what are?” into the AI search box, then nipping off for a quick brain-bowl strategy lunch with Roger from the Bluesky Synergy hub.
The song is really good, because Central Cee is really good. He’s super-smart with words, funny and snappy, but also surprisingly tender and raw.
And yes, this is an oh-no-dad’s-talking-about-rap moment. You can just scroll down if you like. The whole thing moves on to Cole Palmer very quickly, why he’s both the best English footballer and very easy to love currently, for various reasons.
Preamble
Football is back, and will remain so for quite some time. Saturday’s early top-flight match – Liverpool v Nottingham Forest – is looming into view, kicking off another busy weekend of association football, with four Premier League matches to enjoy today plus a full Championship programme, Scottish Premiership, Leagues One and Two, the top European leagues … footballers are going to be busy until May, and so are we, trying desperately to watch all the football, while also keeping across the transfer-window action, the ongoing Fifa farrago, and everything else.
Let’s go.