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Three seasons of work from the head coach on the same host body have led in a straight line to Anfield where Arteta can shape his destiny

After tea and cake and Declan Rices. After Ebe Eze and Viktor Gyökeres. Should I, after three straight second places, have the strength to force the moment to its crisis? Hmm. Maybe not. With all due apologies to the living descendants of TS Eliot, the love song of Mikel Arteta still doesn’t really scan or rhyme or have a clear endnote as yet, even as the six-year anniversary of his appointment as Arsenal manager approaches.

This is normal enough. It is obviously incorrect to conclude, as many have, that Arsenal’s manager has to win a trophy this season or be remembered not just as a fraud, but as a Lego-haired billion-pound-spend fraud, the worst kind of fraud there is. Sport doesn’t work in simple metre. Uncertainty is key to its fascination.

After missing out on Eberechi Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White, Dutchman’s arrival gives the club vital depth

After the confusion over Morgan Gibbs-White’s release clause and bitter blow of being blindsided by Arsenal when it came to Eberechi Eze, Tottenham can finally celebrate an unlikely swoop of their own. They have moved quickly to land Xavi Simons, who has been touted as a certainty to join Chelsea for much of the past month, and must be relieved not to have fallen victim to yet another late hijack.

There were understandable nerves at Spurs as they raced to complete a £51.8m deal to sign Simons from RB Leipzig. Previous attempts to bolster Thomas Frank’s options in attacking midfield had not gone well. Where next after Eze and Gibbs-White? Spurs have made a hugely encouraging start under Frank, who has won his first two league games by an aggregate score of 5-0, but they needed something extra in the final third. Son Heung-min has gone; James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are out. Mohammed Kudus has impressed since joining from West Ham for £54.5m but he is at his best on the right. The arrival of extra creativity is highly welcome. The element of surprise around Simons has given Spurs fans rare joy.

• England head coach made comments after Senegal loss

• Tuchel also reflects on dropping Alexander-Arnold

Thomas Tuchel has apologised for upsetting Jude Bellingham with his “repulsive” comment at the end of last season as he reflected on the surprise exclusion of Trent Alexander-Arnold from his England squad – and the awkward phone-call that went with it.

The head coach has given first call-ups to Elliot Anderson and Djed Spence for the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra at Villa Park and Serbia in Belgrade while there were recalls for John Stones, Marc Guéhi, Tino Livramento, Adam Wharton, Marcus Rashford and Jarrod Bowen.

• Manager to meet club owner to discuss Forest future

• Forest draw Malmö, Porto and Betis in Europa League

Nuno Espírito Santo has said he will hold crunch talks with Evangelos Marinakis during the international break to resolve his Nottingham Forest future. Marinakis, speaking after Forest discovered their Europa League opponents in Monaco, said he wants Nuno to remain in charge.

Nuno said he thought he would be in charge after the international window and plans to discuss his future with Marinakis in the coming days. The Greek billionaire will attend Forest’s home fixture with West Ham on Sunday.

• ‘Sometimes I love them … this is my way of doing things’

• United accept bid for Antony and agree loan for Højlund

Ruben Amorim admits his temperament means that on some days he “hates” his players and wants to quit and that on other occasions he loves his squad and feels he would like to be Manchester United’s head coach for 20 years. Meanwhile two of his forwards – Rasmus Højlund and Antony – neared the Old Trafford exit on Friday.

Amorim offered the remarkable insight into his personality at the end of a week in which he stirred uncertainty over his future with comments made after his team lost at Grimsby in the Carabao Cup. On Friday he said he intended to continue at United after the international break and thought he would do so but that he could not make any promises on his future.

Abdul Fatawu’s stunning early goal and Ricardo Pereira’s late effort gave Leicester a hard-fought but deserved victory over Birmingham in the Championship. Fatawu’s brilliant finish lit up a game of precious few chances, as these two Midlands rivals slugged it out under the lights at the KP Stadium.

Chris Davies’s side, who came into the contest unbeaten in the second tier, improved as the match between two of the league’s most fancied clubs wore on. But with Jay Stansfield ruled out they struggled to create enough to trouble Martí Cifuentes’s side, before the Leicester substitute pounced following 16-year-old Jeremy Monga’s memorable assist.

• Club agree £23.4m fee for Toulouse’s Jaydee Canvot

• Approach made for Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji

Oliver Glasner has made clear that Crystal Palace must not sell Marc Guéhi before Monday’s transfer deadline because finding a replacement for the England defender will be “almost impossible”.

Palace, who confirmed the signing of Spain forward Yeremy Pino from Villarreal on Friday, have agreed a fee worth up to €27m (£23.4m) with Toulouse for Jaydee Canvot, with the France Under-20 defender expected to sign a five-year contract.

• La Liga game would be against Villarreal

• Plan also needs approval from Fifa and others

Uefa will decide in September whether to approve a request by the Spanish football federation for Villarreal and Barcelona to contest a La Liga game in Miami in December.

European football’s governing body is expected to discuss the matter at its next executive committee meeting in Tirana on 11 September and, should no move be made to block the request, a landmark event will edge closer to reality. No major league has held a domestic game on foreign territory, despite prolonged attempts from the Spanish top flight to do so. Uefa’s signoff would clear a huge section of path, although the plan also requires approval from Fifa, US Soccer and Concacaf.

• Guardiola pondering recall for Ederson

• Decision on No 1 ‘depends on many reasons’

Pep Guardiola says James Trafford needed comforting after his mistake against Tottenham last week and that he has yet to decide whether the Manchester City goalkeeper will keep his place against Brighton on Sunday.

Trafford was at fault for the second goal in the defeat by Tottenham and has been heavily criticised, leaving Guardiola to ponder a recall for Ederson, who was on the bench. The Brazilian has consistently been Guardiola’s No 1 but missed the opening-day win over Wolves before being named as a substitute against Tottenham. A final decision will be made on selection on Saturday, Guardiola said.

All the latest Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A deals and a club-by-club guide

• Women’s transfers summer 2025: all the moves

Every deal in the NWSL, WSL, Liga F, Frauen-Bundesliga, Première Ligue and Serie A Femminile as well as a club-by-club guide

• Men’s transfers summer 2025: all the moves

Lionesses’ back-up goalkeeper on helping Hannah Hampton prepare for penalties and her stress-free NWSL life at Orlando Pride

“We were like: ‘If Chloe scores this, we win, right? Wait a second – this is it!’” That is what went through Anna Moorhouse’s mind as she stood alongside her teammates while Chloe Kelly stepped up to take England’s decisive penalty in the Euro 2025 final. Suddenly it was “just running and pure emotion” for the goalkeeper and her fellow substitutes. Moorhouse was the third-fastest to reach Kelly in the ensuing sprint, after Esme Morgan and Maya Le Tissier.

The delirious celebrations continued all the way to the Mall in London two days later but by Wednesday that week Moorhouse had landed back in Florida to rejoin Orlando Pride and play a National Women’s Soccer League fixture on Sunday. The 30-year-old says she slept for the whole of her transatlantic flight before receiving a joyous welcome from her teammates at the club, where she was soon signing a contract extension to stay with the defending NWSL champions until the end of 2027.

How Ruben Amorim could stop the rot, Brighton to go Greek and an Anfield baptism of fire for Eberechi Eze

Calling Chelsea “Cole Palmer FC” is not much of an insult. Oh no, you have one of the best attackers in the world. Oh no, you got him for a bargain price. Oh no, he won you the Club World Cup last month. Still, no side ever wants to be completely reliant on one player. Chelsea aim to depend more on the collective than the individual. They have struggled without Palmer in the past but thrived in his absence against West Ham last week. Palmer withdrew with a groin injury during the warm-up and is a doubt to face Fulham in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off. However, Enzo Maresca has options. Estêvão Willian came in for Palmer against West Ham and was exceptional on the right wing. João Pedro and Pedro Neto were excellent. Chelsea have enough talent at their disposal to beat Fulham without Palmer. Jacob Steinberg

Chelsea v Fulham, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)

Manchester United v Burnley, Saturday 3pm

Tottenham v Bournemouth, Saturday 3pm

Sunderland v Brentford, Saturday 3pm

Wolves v Everton, Saturday 3pm

Leeds v Newcastle, Saturday 5.30pm

Brighton v Manchester City, Sunday 2pm

Nottingham Forest v West Ham, Sunday 2pm

Here’s how to follow along with our coverage – the finest writing and up-to-the-minute reports

Permanent move to Goodison Park and return of long-term injury absentees brings sense of optimism for Brian Sørensen’s squad

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 8th (NB: this is not necessarily Tom Garry’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 8th

Sonia Bompastor’s side have room to improve despite last season’s treble and are boosted by arrival of Ellie Carpenter

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 2nd (NB: this is not necessarily Suzanne Wrack’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 1st

Dario Vidosic has lost plenty of knowhow but return of Michelle Agyemang will help maintain lofty expectations

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 5th (NB: this is not necessarily Sophie Downey’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 5th

Mix of youth and experience bolsters hopes that Villa can build on encouraging start made under Natalia Arroyo

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 6th (NB: this is not necessarily Sophie Downey’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 6th

Liverpool and Arsenal clash at Anfield on Sunday while a beleaguered Manchester United host Burnley on Saturday

Saturday 12.30pm TNT Sports 1 Venue Stamford Bridge

• Saka and Havertz to miss match; Ødegaard major doubt

• Arsenal close in on loan deal for Leverkusen’s Hincapié

Mikel Arteta has backed Eberechi Eze to make an impression on his debut as Arsenal prepare to face ­Liverpool on Sunday without several key ­attacking players including Bukayo Saka. Arteta is, however, close to having a new defensive option in Piero Hincapié after loan terms were agreed with Bayer Leverkusen.

The England forward Saka will miss the trip to Anfield after ­picking up a hamstring injury against Leeds last Saturday, although Arteta was hopeful Saka could be back after the international break. The ­Arsenal manager also confirmed Kai Havertz had undergone surgery on a­ knee problem that will keep him out for several weeks. Martin Ødegaard and Leandro Trossard are major doubts for the game against the ­champions.

• Head coach says team must improve to defend trophy

• ‘Most wins were only by one goal and we had to fight’

Arne Slot has said Liverpool should not fall into the trap of romanticising last season’s title triumph as a convincing stroll, when the reality was a hard slog that required a change in style.

The Liverpool head coach insists he had to modify his team’s approach this season to implement the improvements necessary to defend the Premier League title. Liverpool won the league with four matches to spare and a 10-point cushion over Sunday’s opponents, Arsenal, but Slot has warned his players not to forget how difficult it was to break clear. The additions of Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitiké – and quite possibly Alexander Isak before the transfer deadline – were designed to make Liverpool a more dominant force.

• Swedish striker looks set to get his Liverpool move

• ‘I have no control over it,’ admits Newcastle manager

Eddie Howe has denied suggestions he promised Alexander Isak a transfer out of Newcastle this summer but indicated it may be in everyone’s best interests if the striker departed.

Rumours that Newcastle’s manager had informed Isak he would be free to join Liverpool once a replacement was signed have been circulating in the 10 days since the striker posted an emotional Instagram post talking of “broken promises” but Howe has rejected that notion quite vehemently.

• Aston Villa’s opponents include Feyenoord and Maccabi Tel Aviv

• Rangers and Celtic will play Roma at home

Nottingham Forest will host a rerun of their 1979 European Cup final win over Malmö on their return to continental action after 30 years away.

The Swedish champions will visit the City Ground for one of Forest’s eight Europa League ties, evoking memories of Trevor Francis’s winning goal in the first of their back-to-back European titles. It is the standout fixture in a draw whose buildup was peppered with controversy. Forest are competing on this stage only after swapping places with Crystal Palace, who were demoted to the Conference League after being ruled to have breached multi-club ownership rules.

Fans will continue to lap up massive games but perhaps the teams involved will conclude they are not that important

Liverpool v Real Madrid! Arsenal v Bayern! Chelsea v Napoli! Madrid v Manchester City! Bayern v Chelsea! Newcastle v Barcelona! Inter v Liverpool! PSG v Bayern! City v Napoli! Madrid v Juventus! Chelsea v Barcelona! It can’t be denied that the Champions League draw threw up some ties that look like massive games.

These are games that have massive teams in them. They are happening in a massive competition. There will be famous players in famous kits in famous stadiums. There will be Champions League branding. They will play the Champions League theme tune. They will use the Champions League ball, taking its cues this season from the night sky and featuring hand-drawn zodiac signs in gold that symbolise heroic deeds and heavenly destiny. It will all look like something really important.

On the eve of his home debut, residents of Los Angeles’ Koreatown neighborhood describe a community abuzz over the ex-Premier League star

Sitting at the table at Baja’s Grill in Los Angeles’ Koreatown, Daniel Cho uses his stylus to add an outline to a new sticker. It’s two fingers in an L shape, framing a box with the No 7, a replication of Son Heung-min’s signature celebration. Nearby, fans are banging on drums, shouting “Ole ole ole ole, LAFC I love you. Wherever even in my dreams, I’ll follow you,” in a mixture of Korean and Spanish, a chant adapted from one belonging to fans of the Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the K-League, Korea’s top division.

Growing up in Argentina, Cho was accustomed to soccer being the dominant focus. His friends all supported Boca Juniors. Cho emigrated to America at the age of 17 and settled in Koreatown, where Lionel Messi’s popularity piqued his interest. But it wasn’t until he met other Los Angeles Football Club fans at church that he grew to be a loyal, weekly watcher. Now, his Son Heung-min art will adorn the stands at BMO Field, LAFC’s home stadium where the former Tottenham Hotspur star will make his home debut this weekend.

Heart, organisation and bravery found a way on a night that will be talked about in pubs and playgrounds for decades

Some nights you know, even as they’re happening, will stay with you for ever. Wednesday night at Blundell Park was one of them. A full house, the world’s media watching, and Grimsby Town delivering the sort of performance that will be told and retold in pubs, workplaces and playgrounds for decades.

The pitch looked perfect under the lights. The performance was even better. When Manchester United’s manager, Ruben Amorim, admitted afterwards that “the best team won”, it felt like a moment of truth. For once, the cameras weren’t pointing at the Premier League’s aristocrats but at a small port town on the Humber. For once, the headlines belonged to us.

Premier League clubs have already spent more than £2.6bn this summer but they aren’t done yet

By WhoScored

As deadline day looms, fans of Premier League clubs should brace themselves for their annual dose of mayhem, where last-minute deals, car window interviews, fax machine fiascos and car park sagas take centre-stage on one of football’s wildest days. Premier League clubs have already spent more than £2.6bn this summer – surpassing the record set two years ago – but, with managers chasing urgent reinforcements, that figure could rise substantially.

Newcastle are in a hurry to sign a striker given that Alexander Isak is pushing for a move to Liverpool; Manchester United are chasing a goalkeeper as André Onana’s form falters; West Ham are scrambling for midfielders as they seek to stop the rot; and Tottenham are pursuing a No 10 after missing out on Eberechi Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White.

Carabao Cup humiliation is the latest setback for a coach who may actually be the last real thing at Manchester United

Further and deeper into the jungle. Taunted by the quivering vines, mocked by the rubber trees, bitten and bruised by the asphyxiating vileness of nature. Ropes groaning, extras muttering, mud and rock resisting. Rasmus Højlund to Napoli, maybe tomorrow, maybe not. Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea, maybe this week, maybe next.

Grimsby in the evening. Grim faces in the morning. Kobbie Mainoo wants out. Carlos Baleba wants in but is not going to go on strike or down tools; plenty of time for that once he actually gets to Old Trafford.

Plus: long title droughts in capital cities, a meeting of (very) young minds and the ultimate pass master

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“Seven of the nine matches in Ligue 1 last weekend finished 1-0,” notes Liam Togher. “That’s 78% of the games. Has there ever been a more common instance of one specific scoreline in a single gameweek?”

This is a question that George Graham would love, and Chris Roe has done the hard yards to find an example that can beat the above though, alas, it doesn’t involve the Arsenal team of the late 1980s who made 1-0 scorelines famous.

Familiar tones of rage, pain and betrayal that envelop men’s football were missing during England’s joyful run to glory

“You can’t stand their voices? ALL women’s voices?” “Yes.” “Are you married to a woman?” “I am. And she feels the same.” Hmm. To be fair to Dave from Egham, whose name has been changed to protect the confused, the whole setup here was pretty bleak. It was Dave’s destiny a week on from England’s victory at Euro 2025 to find himself going viral after an appearance on LBC radio.

In the clip Dave objects to the sound of all women’s voices, even if they’re Adele or Billie Holiday. Specifically he objects to women talking about women’s sport, which Dave hates because it is being thrown down his throat, and thrown down his throat to the extent he has to ring up a radio station and talk about the women talking about the women’s sport, simply to disentangle its tendrils from his throat, to steal a few gargling, sputtering final breaths.

Its young, diverse and passionate fanbase offers a huge opportunity, but too many clubs are only scratching the surface

The Lionesses are simply the most successful England football team in history, winning back-to-back European Championships and becoming the first England senior team to win a major tournament on foreign soil. It is an incredible achievement and one that will reverberate through the women’s game for many years to come.

The head coach, Sarina Wiegman, is simply world class; it’s an overused phrase but absolutely fitting in this case. To reach five major finals in a row (including a European Championship win and a World Cup final with the Netherlands before joining England) is a record that may never be surpassed. She was an inspired choice by Kay Cossington, the former Football Association technical director who targeted her for her ability to build a strong culture and sense of team as much as her obvious tactical acumen.

• Carter feared Lauren James would face similar abuse

• ‘It’s about knowing how it’s going to be if we miss’

Jess Carter has said she was relieved when three of her white England teammates joined Lauren James in missing penalties in the Euro 2025 quarter-final shootout against Sweden. Carter, who was the target of online racism during the tournament, feared James would be on the receiving end of similar abuse if she had been the only one to miss.

Beth Mead, Alex Greenwood and Grace Clinton then missed as well, but the Lionesses progressed before going on to defeat Spain in the final in another shootout.

Choosing the best matches from Switzerland provokes plenty of debate along with the outstanding players and the pick of the goals

England seemed to have lost it once, twice, three times against Sweden on a night of nail-shredding drama that sharpened the sense that destiny had rich bounty in store for Sarina Wiegman’s side. It was also the first match, no doubt of many over the coming years, that made a hero of Michelle Agyemang. Nick Ames

With Leverkusen and Dortmund in transition after losing key players, the stage is set for champions to reign again

The newly named Franz Beckenbauer Supercup has many uses. Unlike some of its continental counterparts, this curtain-raising meeting between league and cup winners tends to brim with a pleasing intensity. It unfolds in a partisan atmosphere too, taking place at one of the two competitors’ stadium rather than at a neutral venue, so we feel the real straight away.

Telling us what to expect for the coming nine months in the Bundesliga, however, isn’t often one of the Supercup’s strengths. Bayer Leverkusen gave a faithful impression of their double-winning form in emerging victorious in last year’s edition by punking Stuttgart with a late Patrik Schick goal before winning on penalties, having played a huge chunk of the match with 10 men. The year before, Harry Kane made an inauspicious Bayern Munich debut at the end of “a crazy 24 hours”, entering the field to tumultuous acclaim only for his new team to subsequently be flattened by Dani Olmo’s hat-trick for Leipzig. Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, never won it in his three years at Bayern.

Kylian Mbappé’s second-half penalty secured for Real Madrid a hard-fought 1-0 home victory against Osasuna in their opening La Liga game of the season on Tuesday, giving Xabi Alonso a winning start in his first league match in charge of the hosts.

After struggling to break down a stubborn Osasuna defence in the opening half, Mbappé won the penalty and converted from the spot six minutes after the break to give Real the lead, but the home side were unable to increase their advantage.

• Universidad de Chile v Independiente was abandoned

• Violent clashes resulted in injuries and more than 300 arrests

Violent clashes between fans at Wednesday’s Copa Sudamericana match between Independiente and Universidad de Chile in Buenos Aires resulted in the second leg of the last 16 tie being abandoned.

Players left the field in the second half as security concerns grew at the Estadio Libertadores de América. The tie was locked at 1-1 when the match was suspended, with the Chilean side leading 2-1 on aggregate.

The last country in the world without an international soccer team has arrived after two games in Arkansas

It was not the typical reaction to a national team going down 4-0. But, of course, this was not a typical national team match.

After the Marshall Islands conceded a fourth goal to the US Virgin Islands, the crowd came to its feet, some waving flags. “This is the RMI! Keep your head up!” one fan yelled.

Crystal Palace forward was released by club aged 13 and rejected by others before his breakthrough at QPR

They say good things come to those who wait. But for Eberechi Eze, it has taken 14 years for his dream to come true. The England forward made a dramatic entrance during Crystal Palace’s open training session on Wednesday before their Conference League playoff when he was last to emerge from the changing room with frenzied anticipation that his expected move to Tottenham was close to being agreed.

Even if he had been aware of Arsenal’s intention to step up their longstanding interest in him, Eze was certainly giving nothing away when he signed autographs and spoke to supporters on his way out of Palace’s training ground in Beckenham.

Club say they want to keep Isak but a move is now in the interest of both and Eddie Howe is best off chasing other targets

As a general rule, it is almost always best to sleep on things before making important decisions or reacting to provocations. So why, at close to midnight on Tuesday, did Newcastle rush out a seemingly kneejerk response to Alexander Isak’s incendiary Instagram post claiming that, amid broken promises, his relationship with the club was over?

In a statement reflecting an appreciably tougher tone than at any time during this summer saga, Newcastle insisted no promises had been broken and that their intention is to keep Isak. The message was that the Sweden striker’s attempt to force a move to Liverpool had failed and he would need to end his one-man strike before being welcomed back to first-team training. The only problem is that while you can lead a horse to water it sometimes really is impossible to make them drink.

While Oliver Glasner’s side have a clear shot at glory, the health of the competition as a whole is up for debate

It is hard to imagine Uefa will be spared the wrath of Selhurst Park when Crystal Palace begin Conference League life there on Thursday night. A red-letter event in the club’s history has been soured by their demotion from the Europa League and the sight of Norway’s cup winners, Fredrikstad, mid-table in the Eliteserien, lining up against Oliver Glasner’s players will hardly lend itself to a sense of glamour.

For all the burning sense of injustice, there is a clear upside for Palace. They will probably never have a better chance of European success if history and raw numbers are measures to go by. Any Premier League club should start as hot favourites to win the continent’s third-tier competition, such is their financial advantage over all of the contenders. That status has been justified in two of its four editions and there is inspiration to be taken from the scenes of joy when West Ham and Chelsea took the trophy home.

Knighthead’s ambitions are big but it will be telling to see how a profit-driven approach collides with an independent regulator

I grew up in a Britain coloured grey. During the 1970s, even though memories of the war had faded into the distance and rationing had long ended, scarcity still hung in the air. Clothes were handed down, treats were rare and the country felt smaller and more muted than the one talked about in history books. Geoff Dyer’s memoir, Homework, captures it perfectly, a postwar Britain where Airfix models seemed exciting and front rooms kept “for best” epitomised a place looking inwards, slightly embarrassed about its ambitions and potential.

America existed for me in a weekly burst of Technicolor on TV. When Entertainment USA arrived in the 1980s it brought news of Disneyland, Hollywood, pizzas the size of tabletops, Pelé playing for New York Cosmos, and skies that seemed permanently blue. It appealed to all the appetites of a teenage boy in Grimsby. Later, discovering Jack Kerouac, the lure deepened – open roads and adventure felt a world away, but I had to get there. One afternoon, aged 16 in the local library, I found a book on scholarships, sent out 100 letters, and received 99 rejections. That one positive reply eventually sent me to high school as an exchange student and began a lifetime of transatlantic travel that continues to this day. Over the next three decades I crossed the ocean for work, meeting bosses, pitching to investors and building businesses with an American footprint. I have always admired the optimism, scale and willingness to take a punt that seems hard-wired into the US mindset.

The fallout from a Newcastle v Liverpool thriller, Mr Bodycam and Arsenal veteran Max Dowman

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Hill Dickinson Stadium’s development has not always been smooth, and teething problems linger, but it can transform both club and community

Builders were working on the signage high up on Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday while renovations were being carried out inside one of the bars opposite Everton’s magnificent new ground. It would have been a predictable scene of final preparations for the first league game at the £800m venue but for an unusual sight in this part of town: holidaymakers.

They were cruise-ship passengers to be precise, dozens of them. Instead of disembarking the Regal Princess and turning right towards the Royal Albert Dock and city centre when it docked in Liverpool, as one might expect, they had turned left and walked 20 to 25 minutes along Regent Road to visit the finest new addition to the Premier League. They would have sailed past it on entering the River Mersey, too. No wonder Everton plan to sell stadium and dockland tours on board cruise ships in the near future.

As Alexander Isak pushes hard to leave Newcastle, here’s a reminder of those who have taken a similar path

Following Alexander Isak’s decision to post an incendiary message on Instagram as part of his increasingly bitter attempt to force an exit from Newcastle, we look at how some others Premier League players have tried to inflict bitter breakups on their employers. Some were successful, some were not.

Similar grand promises made when building US sports arenas are now being used to justify a huge outlay in the UK, with little return to show for them

In March, Manchester United officially unveiled images and plans for a new 100,000-seater stadium to replace their aging home, Old Trafford. While the grandiosity of the circus-tent-like structure attracted widespread attention, something else did, too: as part of this project, United are planning to secure land not by paying for it themselves – but by having the UK government do it for them.

In order to clear the site that the club wants to use, a rail freight hub will need to be moved to out near St Helens, between Manchester and Liverpool. The cost of moving the hub is estimated to be between £200m and 300m ($270-405m), but that may be an optimistic appraisal; in the past, the project budget was estimated at closer to £1bn ($1.35bn).

No one had Liverpool winning the title by March or Palace winning the FA Cup last season – this is all just pure guesswork

The important thing to remember about predictions is that they are not just a bit of fun. Within them they display your deep hatred of insert your club here, your thinly veiled agenda against insert Arsenal here. Ignore the apologies for relegating you with the “I’ve got to pick someone” defence. It’s a list that represents vitriol and indifference in equal measure.

Prediction is too pompous a word for it. What we are doing here is called guessing. And whatever you do guess will be less fanciful and ridiculous than what actually happens. None of your “in the knows” had Liverpool sewing the title up by March, Manchester City winning one in 13, Manchester United 15th, Spurs 17th, Crystal Palace winning the FA Cup, Chris Wood scoring 20.

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Fifty-five years have passed since James Brown, singer, songwriter and minister of new super-heavy funk, released a song about people who “like a dull knife [that] just ain’t cutting”, were “talking loud and saying nothing”. Manchester United would probably have preferred to prompt thoughts of Brown’s I Feel Good but they are where they are – and if they ever do shake their money-makers they could probably then benefit from dropping a few of them. Sometimes we don’t get to choose which 70s deep funk classic we unwittingly call to mind, and Ruben Amorim left no doubt when after Wednesday night’s ineffably miserable defeat by Grimsby he opined about feeling “my players spoke really loud today … At half-time I told them that they were speaking really loud to me. I understand what you are doing, what I am seeing.” Like a dull knife, they just weren’t cutting.

Physically, because they’re small, they look like wee boys. They’re clearly not wee boys, and they won’t thank me for saying that, they’ll hate me saying it, but they look like wee boys. There’s no men, you need men. And your men don’t need to be 6ft 5ins, 6ft 6ins. They just need to have heart, head and a bit of organisation and desire” – Not-tall Ally McCoist on a theory as to how Club Brugge, currently fourth in the Belgian Pro League with six goals from four games, found a way past Russell Martin’s rattled Rangers 6-0 (9-1 agg) in Bigger Cup playoffs.

Grimsby Town supporters had a grand old celebration last night. How long will it take for the FA to spoil the fun by putting the club on the naughty step for the pitch invasion?” – JJ Zucal.

If Ruben Amorim was pleased at how a lack of European football would benefit his Man Utd squad, he must be delighted now that they will no longer be troubled with contesting the Carabao Cup either. They’ll be unstoppable at this rate” – Tom Dowler

It is no longer funny. Making a joke out of yet another Man U debacle appears indecent. You can’t beat a dead horse. Let them rest in peace” – Krishna Moorthy

Lukas Kwasniok’s get-up from the weekend makes it look like the actual manager has got injured and a call has gone out in the stadium for a qualified fan to replace him on the touchline” – Jim Hearson

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We pick out eight notable talents poised for qualifying action, including a new Manchester United signing

The second round of Women’s Champions League qualifying gets under way on Wednesday with several notable teams entering, among them Manchester United, Brann, Glasgow City and Roma. The winners of Wednesday’s semi-finals will progress to Saturday’s finals and play for a place in mid-September’s final round of qualifying. Here are eight players to keep an eye on this week.

Julia Zigiotti (Manchester United): With Fridolina Rolfö continuing to recover from the injury that hampered her at Euro 2025, plenty of eyes will be on her compatriot and now club-mate Zigiotti. The Swede was United’s other marquee signing this summer and brings a wealth of experience. The tenacious defensive midfielder arrived after a double-winning season with Bayern Munich and was at the heart of her country’s run to the quarter-finals in Switzerland. Zigiotti will be familiar to Women’s Super League fans from her two-year spell at Brighton. Her key qualities lie in her ability to link the transition from defence to attack as well as her quality in the press and work ethic. Her introduction will perhaps allow Dominique Janssen to return to her more natural defensive position.

Winning at Old Trafford may not prove to be as common as last season, making Arsenal’s result stand out among the title hopefuls

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There was a thought at times in the second part of last season, when the set-piece goals dried up, that Arsenal had become over-reliant on them. And perhaps that was true, but they’re a useful weapon to have. Some games are won by overwhelming opponents through superior technical ability and some games are won by organization and hard work, by finding a way to score and a way to keep their opponent out. Arsenal’s 1-0 win at Old Trafford on Sunday was definitely one of the latter.

Manchester United do not defend inswinging corners well. Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka both excel at taking inswinging corners. In that sense, the fact that the game was decided by United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir’s flap at a Rice inswinger was entirely to be expected. What was less predictable was the nature of the game that followed as United hit the post and David Raya was called into seven saves. Mikel Arteta, quite reasonably, praised his side’s “character and spirit” while acknowledging they had made “mistakes that are very far from the standards that we normally have.”

The decorated Japan international on why the newly promoted side are already targeting a top-four finish in the Women’s Super League

If you’re seeking a metaphor for the London City Lionesses project, just look around their Cobdown Park training facility. It is a place in flux, a mixture of building sites contrasted against perfect pitches and other areas that have benefited from the first waves of investment by the club’s billionaire owner, Michele Kang.

Keeping up with the team’s incomings and outgoings is as hard as tracking the movement of rubble on site: the arrival of Alanna Kennedy and Katie Zelem from Angel City on Wednesday added to the other 12 new players who have already filed through the doors this summer. London City mean business on their arrival in the Women’s Super League.

Today’s fluff is singing when it’s fishing

Today’s tittle-tattle starts with a Manchester club scrabbling around to resolve their goalkeeping situation. City’s Ederson continues to attract interest from Galatasaray, and a move could unlock the departure of Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain to the Etihad, Sky Sports reports. Donnarumma’s people, PSG’s people and City’s people have been in contact to thrash out possible details, and further agreeable lunches are anticipated. As for Ederson, City say they want to keep him as well but while Al-Nassr’s interest in the Brazilian appears to have cooled Galatasaray remain keen and a deal could yet happen.

Thursday’s Newcastle striker talk has them moving for Roma’s Artem Dovbyk, initially on loan. The Serie A club are reportedly open to the move becoming permanent but would want at least €30m for the Ukraine international, and a purchase obligation clause in the small print of any loan deal.

Max Rushden is joined by John Brewin, Lucy Ward and Jonathan Liew as Liverpool beat Newcastle 3-2 away from home thanks to a debut goal in the 100th minute from teenager Rio Ngumoha

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On the podcast today; the game looked over when Hugo Ekitiké made it 2-0 to Liverpool against 10-man Newcastle early in the second half but what resilience they showed and how heartbreaking to concede in the 100th minute and somehow leave the game with nothing.