Key events
Portsmouth v Ipswich off
The weather has hit the Championship now. Portsmouth’s home game against second-placed Ipswich has been postponed due to a frozen pitch.
That means Coventry could go 11 points clear at the top if they win at Birmingham.
Forget Luke Littler, there was another 18-year-old hitting the headlines yesterday. His name is Mateus Mane and he plays for Wolves.
The teenager, making only his third start, won a penalty and scored his first senior goal to inspire Wolves to their first win of the season – a 3-0 win over West Ham.
Manager Rob Edwards was seriously impressed: “He’s 18 but he’s almost like a little bit of a leader in there as well because I think he’s infectious, he’s rubbing off on people with his energy and his enthusiasm.
“He topped off his performance with a brilliant goal. He’s a really bright talent and someone that we should be really excited about but, at the same time, we just want to try and look after him.
“He’s got to keep his feet on the floor, which I know he will do. He’s got a good head on his shoulders.”
A couple of emails with a West Ham angle. Remember, you can get in touch here: matchday.live@theguardian.com
Richard Warwick (in the cold, western side of Scotland): “Morning David – my thoughts on Jarrod Bowen. As a currently very content Villa fan, I’d make a case for Bowen moving there. Whilst still a very good player, he’s not getting any younger. He’s lurking on the very outer edge of being considered for the England squad in a World Cup year. Even if West Ham manage not to get relegated, they’re a *poor* side. There’s probably little point him considering any of the other top 6 sides as he’s not going to get regular games at Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool or Chelsea. And with Villa looking like a very good bet for a Champions League place, even if playing for Villa doesn’t get him the nod from Tuchel for this year, he’s at least going to get European football again next season. And I think he’d fit quite well into Villa’s setup. Discuss.”
Ian Sargeant: “With my team [West Ham] now a 75% chance to go down thoughts turn to next season………….
With a son at Cardiff Met uni, I at least have a bed for the night for away days at Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea. We’ve gone down before – we’ve bounced back before – hopefully this might trigger a SullivanBrady exit. Can’t wait for the new series of the Apprentice where hapless wannabes have their efforts at running a business for 2448 hours derided by titans of industry.
“Anyway, in contrast I spent yesterday afternoon at Tonbridge Angels. I’m proud to be a community shareholder having grown up in the town. I get to 1015 games a season and get far more enjoyment from watching a team of honest hard-working lads put in a real shift. Yesterday’s 2-2 draw at home to Dorking was cracking entertainment and as interest in West Hams season wanes I’ll be lending my voicesupport cash to a club and set of players that deserve it far more.”
More buildup to the Elland Road showdown. Here’s Jamie Jackson on Manchester United boss how Ruben Amorim appearing unusually downbeat in his press conference. It appears to be related to transfer funds. Or rather the lack of them.
Just under two hours until Leeds v Man Utd. It’s a chilly day in West Yorkshire as Leeds look to stretch their six-match unbeaten run.
Leeds have won just one of their last 19 Premier League games against Manchester United, losing 12 of those, and are winless in nine since a 1-0 home win in September 2002.
However, discussions of this fixture among the home fans will always recall how Leeds, as a League One side, dumped Manchester United out of the FA Cup at Old Trafford in 2010.
Here’s the Guardian report on the game which saw Jermaine Beckford gain cult status.
It’s an early start in Italy where Lazio host champions Napoli in the first of four games dotted throughout the day.
11.30am Lazio v Napoli
2.00pm Fiorentina v Cremonese
17:00 Verona v Torino
19:45 Inter v Bologna
Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy is clinging onto his job but for how long? I did the minute-by-minute on the Old Firm derby yesterday. Celtic were actually pretty decent for the first half but their collapse after the break when Nancy was out-coached by Rangers boss Danny Röhl was alarming. Here’s Ewan Murray on Rangers’ 3-1 win that condemned Celtic to a sixth defeat in eight matches since the Frenchman took over.
Some reaction from yesterday’s Premier League matches. Arteta = happy. Nuno = sad.
Jonathan Wilson
As well as his deep dive into the Tunisian national team’s fragile psyche, Jonathan Wilson has also cast his eye on the January transfer window. The focus is Antoine Semenyo, who is set for a move from Bournemouth to Manchester City.
“The fee feels about right … yet £65m would make him the third-most expensive player in Bundesliga history. He would be the seventh-most expensive in Serie A history, the 14th-most expensive in La Liga history.”
Do City really need him? And how about your own teams? Who is on the wanted/needed list?
Afcon? So where are we? We’re in the last 16 although only 14 teams are still standing after the first two knockout ties. Jonathan Wilson is in Morocco and reports on Tunisia somehow crashing out against 10-man Mali. Elsewhere, Senegal came from behind to beat Sudan 3-1.
As for today’s matches, the hosts are in action in the early game.
16:00 Morocco v Tanzania
19:00 South Africa v Cameroon
For some insight on those two games, check out Osasu Obayiuwana’s tie-by-tie analysis.
An email about today’s Premier League games…
Sam Jones writes: “Morning David. Regarding PL predictions for today’s fixtures, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a clean sweep of home wins. They all seem set up pretty nicely.”
12:30 Leeds v Man Utd
15:00 Everton v Brentford
15:00 Fulham v Liverpool
15:00 Newcastle v Crystal Palace
15:00 Tottenham v Sunderland
17:30 Man City in Chelsea
It’s certainly not beyond the realms with Man Utd and Liverpool failing to convince in recent times. Both go up against teams who are pretty decent at home. Do we trust Spurs though?!
Have you played On the Ball – our new football game exclusive to the Guardian app? The daily puzzle involves guessing the identity of Premier League footballers, past and present.
My score … I fluked it a bit this time due to the answer being a player I was a big fan of. My score of 65 puts me in the top 10% of players today apparently. Better than yesterday’s abysmal effort with Emile Heskey.
The League Two programme has been hit by a number of weather-related postponements today. Five matches have been called off so don’t head to any of these.
Bromley v Oldham
Harrogate v Swindon
Notts County v Gillingham
Salford City v Shrewsbury
Walsall v Fleetwood
Paris Saint-Germain beat the rest of Europe last season but today it’s finally about local bragging rights as they stage the first Paris top-flight derby for 36 years. Paris FC were promoted last season and are doing okay, sitting 14th in Ligue 1. However, this game has probably come at the wrong time. Paris FC have picked up just two points from their last three games while PSG went into the winter break showing an uptick in form. They still trail Lens but victory today will seem them pull to within a point of the leaders.
The match kicks off at 19:45 GMT. Oh, and it’s Luis Enrique’s 100th domestic game in charge of PSG.
Doncaster v Luton off
Doncaster have announced their Sky Bet League One clash with Luton has been postponed because of a partially frozen pitch at the Eco-Power Stadium. Second-bottom Doncaster announced on Saturday a pitch inspection would take place around 8:30am on Sunday morning, with frost sheets and lighting rigs used this week to offset the cold weather.
However, despite “extensive efforts” to get the game on, Rovers announced it had been called off and a rearranged date will be announced in due course.
Europe now, starting with a round-up of Saturday’s action. Barcelona are now seven points clear in The League while there was an unusual amount of media interest in Strasbourg v Nice? Why? The hosts are managed by Liam Rosenior, the man heavily linked with the vacant Chelsea job.
As well as being a Belle and Sebastian song, Jonathan David is now in the unfortunate group of players who have fluffed a Panenka penalty. His mishap cost Juventus victory in a 1-1 home draw with struggling Lecce.
A quick look at today’s Premier League fixtures. Plenty of intrigue in that lot. Predictions?
12:30 Leeds v Man Utd
15:00 Everton v Brentford
15:00 Fulham v Liverpool
15:00 Newcastle v Crystal Palace
15:00 Tottenham v Sunderland
17:30 Man City in Chelsea
Time to cast our eyes to the Championship where there’s (nearly) a full programme. Leicester host West Brom on Monday night but everyone else is in action today and one of the three 12pm kick-offs features runaway leaders Coventry. It’s a spicy one as Frank Lampard’s men are away to Birmingham in a Midlands derby. The hosts are down in 17th but in the mad world that is the Championship, Birmingham are only nine points adrift of the play-off spots. Coventry have lost just one of their last 10 games against Birmingham although they did lose this fixture 3-0 last season.
How about some league tables to give that all a bit of context and see how the land lies ahead of today’s action. It’s looking good for Arsenal while West Ham fans will surely be clogging phone-in lines today. Are you a Hammers fan with something to say? Get in touch!
Is this now a genuine three-horse title race in Scotland? Hearts have a healthy six-point lead although they were hardly convincing when scoring a 1-0 home win over bottom club Livingston yesterday.
There was plenty of drama on Saturday so let’s check in with that first. Arsenal shipped a daft early goal at Bournemouth before hitting back to win 3-2 and extend their lead at the top to six points. With Manchester City hosting Chelsea in today’s 5.30pm kick-off, Aston Villa jumped to second with a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest.
At the bottom, there were crazy scenes as Wolves picked up their first win of the season – and in some style – with a 3-0 victory over reeling West Ham. More routine was Brighton’s 2-0 home win over strugglers Burnley.
In Scotland, Wilfried Nancy still has a job it seems although the pressure ramped up further on the new Celtic boss after a 3-1 home defeat to Rangers in the Old Firm derby. That’s six defeats in eight matches for the Frenchman.
Some reports:
Preamble
Morning everyone. If you’ve got up to watch the cricket and not been able to get back to sleepy times, you’re in the right place!
Yes, we’re building up to quite the day. The beauty of a rather limited Premier League schedule on a Saturday is a bumper programme for Sunday. We have six top-flight games to get stuck into, starting with a 12.30pm kick-off between those fierce northern rivals Leeds and Manchester United.
Perhaps you’re going to a game, or maybe this is one final day of excess on the sofa, polishing off the Christmas chocolate. Either way, get in touch – matchday.live@theguardian.com – and let us know your thoughts and predictions. We’re all about the interaction.
We’ll also be reflecting on some dramatic action from Saturday and looking ahead to more last-16 ties at Afcon and some big action around Europe.
It’a s busy one. Let’s kick this into gear right now!