Tottenham v Man Utd Q&A
Get your questions in for the Guardian’s European sports correspondent, Nick Ames, our man at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the 12.30pm (GMT) kick-off. He’ll be on hand from the press box just after 11am to discuss how Tottenham and Manchester United are getting on and what may lie in store when they meet in the Premier League today.
Thomas Frank will be expecting a better showing from Spurs in front of their home supporters after their dismal performance against Chelsea last weekend. A 4-0 win over Copenhagen on Tuesday and that goal from Micky van de Ven has calmed any discontent for now.
As for Ruben Amorim, his United side are four unbeaten and making the most of free midweeks (a consequence of losing the Europa League final to Spurs in May) to prepare for every league fixture. They’re beginning to look like a competitive team towards the top of the table once more.
You can the dedicated matchday.live@theguardian.com email or comment below the line to ask Nick a question.
Key events
Championship: Watford’s hot streak at home was halted last night when Bristol City earned a 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road. Scott Twine’s free-kick cancelled out Marc Bola’s opener to put an end to Watford’s four-game winning run at home. Bristol City stayed 7th in the table while Watford moved up to 11th.
Twine’s opportunistic free-kick impressed the Bristol City manager, Gerhard Struber, as did his overall contribution. “Scott [has] outstanding technical power with his monster leg,” he said. “It helped us to score in this way but I like his energy at the moment – his work ethic on the field to invest everything. You do not see it that often that players on this level work really hard against the ball but this was the key – players with high technical level were involved in our defensive pressing moments.”
Marc Bola’s first Watford goal gave the Hornets a sixth-minute lead, with the captain, Imran Louza, setting him up with a 70-yard pass from his own half. That allowed Bola to sprint in behind the City defence, control the ball with an impressive first touch and slot past Robins goalkeeper Radek Vitek. The Watford manager, Javi Gracia, said: “The pass was sensational, the control and finalising was very good – it was a very good goal.” PA Media
Delighted Everton and Fulham kick off at 3pm on a Saturday, absolutely delight as a supporter of both Everton and the game. Up and ready to head on down to the game, delighted.
Old habits die hard. Light at kick-off, dark by full-time – there’s something comforting about a 3pm game once the clocks have gone back in the UK. Wonder if DeadFinks is enjoying the Hill Dickinson as much as Goodison?
Moyes: Barry is costing himself minutes with stupid yellow cards
Andy Hunter
David Moyes has defended his treatment of Thierno Barry and claimed the Everton striker has cost himself minutes on the pitch by collecting “stupid” bookings.
The Everton manager has replaced Barry with Beto or vice-versa in every game bar the Premier League opener at Leeds. Barry has not completed one of his five starts since joining for £27m from Villarreal in the summer and looked despondent after being withdrawn in the 57th minute of last Monday’s draw with Sunderland.
Barry missed a glorious chance to put Everton 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light and is yet to register a shot on target in 10 Premier League appearances. But Moyes insists the 23-year-old was substituted after picking up a first-half yellow card, as he did when replaced at half-time in the Carabao Cup exit at Wolves, and that it was not a reflection of his performance.
“We are taking them off because they are probably not getting us the goals or the opportunities and we are saying: ‘Well, let’s see if the other one can do it’,” said Moyes on his revolving striker policy.
“I think we have given Barry more football than I probably expected early on if I was being honest, but he has lost himself minutes by getting a booking. He got a booking at Wolves and so we weren’t taking the chance at half-time. He got a booking against Sunderland. The slightest thing could happen and I cannot take the risk of him getting sent off. We might have taken the risk with another player, like Jimmy Garner or Idrissa [Gueye], because they are a bit more experienced.
“It is something we are mentioning [to Barry]; he will feel it himself. We don’t think he is doing that badly, at times he is doing OK. We need him to score goals whether he is doing good or bad but we are saying: ‘By the way, if you are getting yourself stupidly booked then you are making it easier for us to make that decision because we cannot take the risk of going down to 10 men.’”
Arteta: Xhaka could be a great coach
Ed Aarons
Mikel Arteta has tipped Grant Xhaka to become a “very good” manager and admitted pride that several of his former players have been inspired to begin their coaching careers while at Arsenal.
Xhaka will face his former club for the first time since he left for Bayer Leverkusen in 2023 when Sunderland host the Premier League leaders today. The 33-year-old has played a key role in Sunderland’s excellent start since their promotion via the playoffs. Arteta described his former captain as one of the signings of the summer, and his Sunderland counterpart, Régis Le Bris, has said the Switzerland midfielder is “like a second coach on the pitch”.
Xhaka started his coaching badges at Arsenal at the same time as Mohamed Elneny and Cédric Soares and took charge of a youth team that included Ethan Nwaneri. Arteta was impressed and believes Xhaka has the credentials to become a manager.
“I’m sure one day he’s going to be a great coach,” he said. “It would be up to him to decide. That’s not for me, but I think [he would be] a very good one – and many others that have started their licences while we are here. Because they feel inspired, they love it and they see an opportunity as well to improve their lives after they retire.”
Asked whether he would like Xhaka to join his coaching staff one day, Arteta said: “Let him play first. He’s playing every minute of every game, so I think you still have a long career ahead of him. Everybody has a pathway, everybody needs an opportunity. I got one, and the players and the people around you obviously need to have that. Everybody wants to develop and try things in life, and when they feel that’s the right thing to do, you have to let them fly and wish them the best.”
First, let’s do the news. There are a couple of lines coming out of yesterday’s Premier League press conferences, including Mikel Arteta on Granit Xhaka and David Moyes on Thierno Barry.
Tottenham v Man Utd Q&A
Get your questions in for the Guardian’s European sports correspondent, Nick Ames, our man at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the 12.30pm (GMT) kick-off. He’ll be on hand from the press box just after 11am to discuss how Tottenham and Manchester United are getting on and what may lie in store when they meet in the Premier League today.
Thomas Frank will be expecting a better showing from Spurs in front of their home supporters after their dismal performance against Chelsea last weekend. A 4-0 win over Copenhagen on Tuesday and that goal from Micky van de Ven has calmed any discontent for now.
As for Ruben Amorim, his United side are four unbeaten and making the most of free midweeks (a consequence of losing the Europa League final to Spurs in May) to prepare for every league fixture. They’re beginning to look like a competitive team towards the top of the table once more.
You can the dedicated matchday.live@theguardian.com email or comment below the line to ask Nick a question.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to matchday live on a weekend that is sure to set the tone for the winter ahead as Europe’s top leagues prepare to break for men’s international fixtures for the final time this year.
We’ll be building up to today’s football, including some heavyweight early kick-offs in the Premier League and WSL, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all in action in both leagues before the day is out.
We’d also like to hear from you. Whether it’s your opinions on the season so far, thoughts on Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad or your plans to watch the action today, comment below or send an email to matchday.live@theguardian.com.
Our European sports correspondent, Nick Ames, will at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a bit later on for a Q&A ahead of Spurs v Manchester United – more on that in a moment.
