Key events
The Tyneside derby is the standout Premier League game this weekend. Sunderland beat Newcastle 1-0 in the reverse fixture. The Sunderland head coach Regis le Bris said:
The first game set the tone and the standard. It will be a different occasion, but our focus is on us. We’re not overloading the game with emotions, we’re just controlling the controllables.
Away from England, there’s injury news for Portugal’s national team. Cristiano Ronaldo has been ruled out of their friendlies against Mexico and the United States. No reunion for Ronaldo and his friend Donald Trump then.
We also have a quiz for you to enjoy!
Which clubs will be relegated from the Premier League? Check out our piece and email me with your thoughts.
Guglielmo Vicario will have an operation on a hernia next week. The Spurs keeper will still play against Nottingham Forest this weekend and is expected to recover from his operation sometime next month.
He also spoke about Confederation of African Football’s decision to strip Senegal of the Afcon title and its effect on Senegalese left back El Hadji Malick Diouf.
What happens in the pitch stays in the pitch for me. For me, Malick is a champion, it’s over and all the decisions that come after that. For Malick, he’s happy and he deserves a medal.
Nuno Espírito Santo spoke to the press before West Ham’s game against Aston Villa. Addressing Jarrod Bowen’s England call up he said: “I’m very happy and I think it’s deserved … I didn’t see the makeup of the England squad. I just got the info Jarrod is in it and that’s enough.”
Here’s another message from Krishnamoorthy:
Arteta may be playing the situation by the rules suppressing all his emotions and pressures. It is, nevertheless, pretty obvious that a lot rests on this apparently ‘just another trophy’. The positive of winning this , and starting the Quadruple dance, can’t be over emphasized. Lose it and probably the dominoes start to fall. This final is probably the most important game of this season in my opinion. Pivotal.
Igor Tudor has revealed that James Maddison could still play a part in Tottenham Hotspur’s relegation fight. The attacking midfielder has been out for almost 10 months with a knee injury and it was touch and go whether he would play this season. But in his press conference ahead of a huge relegation crunch match against Nottingham Forest, Tudor said that Maddison is “positive” and there is a chance he returns before the end of May. “Maddison is already doing interesting things as well with the ball,” Tudor said. “Sprinting as well. I saw him.”
Thanks Luke! “>Keep on sending in your thoughts on the England squad and this weekend’s games.
That’s the lot from me, Xaymaca has returned to steer you through the afternoon.
“Is Trent Alexander-Arnold really not worthy of a place in 35 man squad?” asks Sai on email.
“If Reece James was there, I understand his exclusion as James does offer what TAA can in attack. But to not have him when Reece James is injured is boggling my mind.”
A reporter asks Mikel Arteta: “There has been talk about “trusting the process”. Does that apply on Sunday?”
“I don’t know. At the end you have to win a lot of games. People have to believe in the project …”
Well, if that doesn’t get you excited for Sunday, what will?
Whatever you do, don’t miss Barney Ronay on Millwall, the club’s new 999-year lease at the Den, and much more besides:
“It’s about the next step, the next game … you need certain moments to go your way,” Arteta continues.
“Winning always helps. It gives you confidence, a feeling you can do it when it comes to that moment.”
This is electrifying stuff!
“It is going to be one of the defining moments of the season … we need to prove our point, that’s clear, it needs to be done on the pitch,” says Arteta.
“It’s not about the apprentice and the master. In this profession you are constantly learning, constantly evolving … I was lucky to work with Pep but you have to continue to evolve.”
Is Arteta nervous?
“No. Not today.
“Excited. Enthusiastic. Positive.”
“We are focused on preparing and making it happen in the next 48 hours,” says Arteta, answering a question about this match maybe having wider ramifications than just the trophy. “Only that.”
Arteta has never lost at Wembley as a player or coach (four times in each capacity). Why?
“I don’t know. But let’s keep it the same.”
Micky Arteta is speaking now before the Carabao Cup final: “The Arsenal” v Manchester City at 4.30pm on Sunday. He reveals he has no fresh injury concerns.
Nice email Russell, thanks.
I’ve not thought hard enough about it to say I agree or disagree. What I can say with confidence is that if you start Kane, you need as much pace as possible everywhere else in forward areas, because he obviously poses no threat running behind and beyond the opposition defence. At a major tournament that is a BIG problem unless you compensate for it as much as possible with pacey players to run beyond and around. And even then it’s arguably still a major problem unless you keep the ball exceptionally well. (Which England traditionally have never been capable of in major tournaments.)
“My reaction upon seeing the squad is, in essence this is England’s big problem that had been building for a while, now come to a head,” emails Russell. “A real need to develop world-class forwards that had been identified during the nadir of the late 2000s and early 2010s has manifested in a surfeit of attackers, all peaking at the same time and all of whom would justifiably feel they’ve earned a look-in, and we’re even still talking about Dowman. But realistically, you can’t take them all, and even if you did, what would be the point?
“Everyone knows come matchday 1, Kane will start. At most, two of the other 10+ will play alongside him. One or two more might run on when games are safe or desperately need chasing. Who of the remaining 6-7 will be willing to sit there, at best, hoping for 15 minutes against Panama, assuming no result is needed by then? It cannot help but be tokenism.
“Meanwhile, none of the central defenders (a position of such strength for England in the 2000s) are world-class, one of the right-backs (Spence) isn’t really a right-back and the left-back has had two caps. Even the best virtues of the best midfielders are offensive rather than defensive (the one who could actually offer the most balance, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who has had a fine season, is extremely unlucky). None of this is Tuchel’s fault, obviously, but just like Eriksson’s managerial epitaph was “couldn’t make Lampard and Gerrard work”, Tuchel’s could well be “too many forwards”.”
“It was a beautiful sensation, a feeling of togetherness with the fans,” Tudor says of the win against Atletico Madrid that nonetheless saw them eliminated from the Champions League . “Very rare I felt this. I enjoyed the feeling, the sensation we were doing good on the pitch, but together with them. Really nice – rare. We need to continue all together, this if we can say, this small positive moment, after these two games.
“We can recognise small but important things for the squad. There is a positivity … [Forest] is an important game but it will probably not decide anything.”
Tudor says Dominic Solanke did not train today, but probably will tomorrow, and “will be OK”.
Of his misconduct charge from the FA for comments about the referee after defeat by Fulham, he says: “To focus on the game is the most important thing.”
What did he learn about his players this week? “Nothing new.”
Is it an advantage that Forest went to penalties midweek? “It is not an advantage.”
How important will set-pieces be against Forest? “Set-pieces are important. We need to win them if it’s possible. It’s not just set-pieces. We need to be “inside” from the first second of the game. Big respect to them … but we need confidence and courage in what we do.”
Igor Tudor is having a chat with media now before Tottenham’s relegation six-pointer against on Sunday.
A video of super Tommy Tuchel below, talking about the Trent omission, with a dash of Max Dowman:
“It’s important the players stay level-headed,” says the Coventry manager Frank Lampard before tomorrow evening’s Championship test at Swansea City. Cov were beaten 2-1 by Southampton last time out.
“I know they’re a good group, resilient … I know they are good players, the table says so.
“You’re going to take a few hits in this league, there are 46 games. We’ve been the team that have been proven to be at the top of that so far. We need to take confidence from that and move forward.”
“So sad that Trent’s not included,” emails Claire of Tuchel’s latest playing panel.
“Do you think he would have been left out of the French/Spanish/Portuguese squad? (If he were any of those nationalities, of course.)
“I can see why he might not fit well in a Thomas Tuchel team – which I see as exciting, dynamic and efficient but not massively creative … Hmmm.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan was just on my telly talking about his incredible 153 break in Yuhan.
“I just wish I got paid more for it, that’s all.”
Stay classy, Ronnie.
Also from Andrews, on Igor Thiago’s Brazil call-up and the possibility of the forward winning the Premier League golden boot:
“He needs to keep striving, keep pushing hard – he’s an amazing character.
“He’s had a big week with his call-up to Brazil. Such a proud moment for him and his family, and us as a football club. It’s pretty special. We’re going to keep supporting him, like we always have, and hopefully he can keep scoring consistently.”
A quick injury update from Keith Andrews, the Brentford boss, before his side’s Premier League trip to Leeds tomorrow night.
“Dams [Mikkel Damsgaard] was on the grass today. Which was obviouslly positive. We’ll give him every chance for tomorrow.”
Andrews is asked about all the predictions, before the season, that Brentford would be relegated.
“I’m not aware of what was said. I had a decent idea at the time … I don’t read or watch very much. I focus on what I can control. We’ve spoken a lot about our journey which has been very pleasing and gives us a lot of pride about what we stand for. We’ve got eight huge games left.
“All our focus naturally just goes in to what we do day today. Then what people say is their prerogative.”
Liverpool condemn online racist abuse of Konaté
Andy Hunter
Liverpool have condemned the “vile and abhorrent racist abuse” aimed at Ibrahima Konaté following their Champions League win over Galatasaray and accused social media companies of allowing racist hatred to spread unchecked.
Konaté has received racist abuse, comments about the recent death of his father and even about Diogo Jota having been involved in the incident that left Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen with a fractured arm at Anfield on Wednesday.
Liverpool have not only condemned the abuse in the strongest possible terms but widened their criticism to include social media companies who fail to prevent it or take action against it.
“This behaviour is utterly unacceptable. It is dehumanising, cowardly and rooted in hate,” read a club statement. “Our players are not targets. They are human beings. The abuse that continues to be directed at players, often hidden behind anonymous accounts, is a stain on the game and on the platforms that allow it to persist.
“Words of condemnation alone are not sufficient. Social media companies must take responsibility and act now. These platforms have the power, the technology and the resources to prevent this abuse, yet too often they fail to do so. Allowing racist hatred to spread unchecked is a choice – and it is one that continues to harm players, families and communities across the game.
“We will continue to offer Ibrahima our full support and will work with the relevant authorities to identify those responsible wherever possible. But the burden cannot keep falling on players and clubs to respond after the damage has already been done. The current situation cannot be allowed to continue. It must be confronted, challenged and eradicated – not tomorrow, but now.”
Thomas Tuchel says England will not take risks with Jude Bellingham’s fitness as the Real Madrid star continues his recovery from a hamstring injury.
The 22-year-old was reduced to tears after pulling up injured in the opening stages of the Spanish giants’ 2-1 La Liga victory over Rayo Vallecano on 1 February.
Bellingham is yet to return to action and watched from the stands as Real overcame Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday, but three days later the midfielder was included in England’s 35-man squad.
Tuchel believes it is important to have the midfielder in the final camp before the World Cup but tried to set expectations ahead of the friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.
“Everyone had the same interest, which is not always the case,” the England boss said. “But in this case, we all had the same interest.
“I wanted Jude to be in camp, Jude wanted to be in camp and Real Madrid is happy for him to come to camp because we can provide, basically, team training for him, which is a bit difficult because Real Madrid is just like on the international break.
“We can provide that, so all boxes are ticked. I think it was very important to get the expectations right – it is maybe also very important to get your expectations right (in the media) about Jude in this camp.
“We will continue his progress in integration into team training. We will be very careful and not take any risk with Jude regarding a risk of re-injury.
“It’s a very rare injury for him to have a muscle injury, so he’s not experienced in it, so we will be very, very careful with it and not take any risk.
“The best case scenario is that he gets some minutes against Japan. That is the framework and then we will adapt from day to day.” PA Media
A few bits from earlier, including things to look out for this weekend:
In other recap news. Why did Tuchel leave Trent Alexander-Arnold out of his squad again?
“It is more the evidence we have, that we were good in September, October, November, than any reflection on Trent.
“I know very well what Trent can offer us … I played many times against him [as a club manager], and suffered … I know what he can give.
“We have evidence of how good we were in September, October, November … those full-backs have to push, they have to show again they deserve their spot.”
That of course is David Hytner’s news hit on the 35-man England squad, if you missed it earlier.
David Hytner
Thomas Tuchel has recalled Harry Maguire and Kobbie Mainoo for the Wembley friendlies against Uruguay and Japan in an enlarged England squad of 35 players. The manager said he has picked almost two groups for the matches in order to give opportunities to fringe players and, initially, rest to other more established ones at this critical stage of the season.
Tuchel’s other headlines were the decisions to bring back Lewis Hall, Fikayo Tomori, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Dominic Solanke. He has also given a first call-up to James Garner. Tino Livramento is back. The most eye-catching omissions were those of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Morgan Gibbs-White and Ollie Watkins, who have to fear for their World Cup places.
I can exclusively reveal that I have a ticket for England v Uruguay next week.
Do you?
You can mail me with your reaction to Tuchel’s squad, and his decision not to involve 11 front-line players against the South Americans.
Is it ironic that Arsenal have adopted the dark arts after Arteta criticised Guardiola for the same? (Jamie with the question again.)
“Did you hear me talk about dark arts and Arsenal? [Or] Do you say that?”
“What time is the conference in London? You have time to go to London and ask Mikel about that …
“The officials have to handle it or the guys, behind the scenes …
“Look what happened around the world … The world is going to collapse, and we are here talking about the “dark arts” from one team or the other team … there are more important things than that.”
Note: The world is not going to collapse.
Our very own Jamie Jackson asks: Was there a falling out between Arteta and Guardiola last year, after the game when Rodri got injured? Are they friends now, do they have dinner together?
“I don’t have time to go to London and I think he has no time, with four competitions, to come to Manchester … all the managers have a lot of business to do … if you want to try to create some conflict between me and Mikel, I am old enough to do that.” [I think he means old enough to see it coming and not rise to it.]
“To be there [in the final] is a big honour and a big challenge,” Guardiola says of facing Arsenal at Wembley on Sunday.
What impresses him about Arsenal’s progress under Mikel Arteta? Admittedly I didn’t catch all of it but this featured:
“They control many things, many aspects of the game. A spirit of many years of winning. You see a solidarity in all the aspects. They control when they defend deep, when they are high, the buildups, long balls, second balls … many, many good things. They have alternatives, there is a fluidity in his [Arteta’s] buildup, there is no pattern, consistent pattern – as I said, fluidity. Champions League they won all their games in the group stage … exceptional team. It’s a big challenge for us to see our level.”
How focused is Erling Haaland?
“I’m pretty sure he’s focused, like all of us. I didn’t speak with him. We had two days off. I’m pretty sure he’s ready.
What about Antoine Semenyo, big moment for him, first game at Wembley?
“As with James [Trafford, the goalkeeper who Guardiola says will start], for all of us. To reach these finals is really tough.
“Being there … it’s a big opportunity … you never know when it’s going to happen again.”
