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⚽ News, discussion and previews before Sunday’s action

⚽ Arsenal can reset title push | Life returns to Camp Nou John Ashdown was at Hillsborough. A couple of late flurries from the home team, the stadium all but empty. That’s a painful loss for Wednesday. Their hopes of a miracle have faded. Blades look far better, and have kept a clean sheet. Onwards and upwards for them? At least there are brighter days ahead for the Owls, though some legal wrangles, checks and balances before the revival can truly come. Tyrese Campbell ended up the Steel City derby hero. Chris Wilder is even unbeaten in this fixture and shares a moment with Barry Bannan. Sheffield Wednesday 0-3 Sheffield United Chris Waddle, his hair slicked back, has seen enough, the club legend still lives locally and is pictured by the TV cameras as he heads home. All the noise comes from those in red. Long walk back to Heeley for them; no Supertram today but the London Road will be bouncing when they get there. Bamford has just gone close, but as eight minutes of injury time are announced, Cannon shoots, and it takes a slight deflection. The Owls fans head to the exits. Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Sheffield United Chris Etchingham, on Bluesky, remarks: “Two substitutes today have been delayed coming on because they hadn’t taken off their wedding rings. ” Good they’ve settled down, though. Tommy Cannon went close for Blades but didn’t make the right connection with the [Bobby] Ball. Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Sheffield United This look to be wrapped up by Wednesday. A grim day to follow more grim days, though there is hope a takeover can rescue them, and put them back where they once belonged. Paul Pogba made his return from a drugs ban on Saturday, as Monaco lost 4-1 at Rennes. He was nevertheless glad to be back: “Seeing the crowd stand and applaud—I never imagined that would happen. I feel relieved to be playing football again, the thing I love most. But there’s still work ahead to regain full fitness and be ready to play 90 minutes… If I don’t perform well for Monaco, I can forget about the French national team. I believe in myself and my qualities, and because I knew I had done nothing wrong and it wasn’t my fault, I never lost hope. ” Result from Serie A: Hellas Verona 1-2 Parma

Mateo Pellegrino, the Argentine striker, got both for Parma, for an important win. Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Sheffield United Bamford enters the field, with a friendly arm round the shoulder from Wilder. Plenty of boos from the home fans. He was also Leeds, as well. Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Sheffield United It looks like Patrick Bamford is coming on for Blades, he is currently chatting with Chris Wilder. Looks like the awkwardness is at an end. Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Sheffield United Hefty hit on Blades’ Tanganga, who has gone down hurt, though the ref didn’t even give a foul. Jamal Lowe dished it out, and Tanganga came off badly, smashing into the advertising hoardings. Tyrese had gone close a second ago, but he’s sent away for his second and makes no mistake. Too easy, Horvath fails to get down to the ball. Leeds: Perri; Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Gudmundsson; Ampadu; Aaronson, Longstaff, Stach, Okafor; Nmecha. Subs: Darlow, James, Calvert-Lewin, Piroe, Bijol, Tanaka, Justin, Gnonto, Gruev Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; Mc Ginn, Rogers, Buendia; Watkins Subs: Bizot, Lindelof, Barkley, Malen, Sancho, Maatsen, Bogarde, Guessand, Hemmings Back underway in the Sheffield derby, to the sound of Slade. Or was it Twisted Sister? Half-time at Hillsborough and the Blades retain the upper hand, and the lead. Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 Sheffield United This is ebbing into the usual local derby stuff. Not much craft, plenty of effort. Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 Sheffield United Ten minutes to half-time and Barry Bannan is issuing terse instructions to his teammates. There’s a huge amount of grappling at a Blades corner, and Ings knocks in, but knows he’s offside. He probably wasn’t offside at all. A let-off for Wednesday. Dominic Iorfa has to leave the field and so on comes Liam Cooper, the veteran Owls defender. Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 Sheffield United Blades are looking pretty dominant right now, the Owls have not had a touch in the opposition box since the third minute. Women’s FA Cup: Oxford United lead Luton 2-0 already. That match kicked off at midday. Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 Sheffield United Blades almost double their lead when Dominic Iorfa does a no-look back-pass and almost sets up Danny Ings. Good save, fine covering from Ethan Horvath, the Wednesday keeper. It’s been pretty even until now, but then the Owls’ Valery loses possession, fine ball from Callum O’Hare and Tyrese Campbell’s finish is true. Some Virgil van Dijk quotes after Liverpool’s latest defeat. He has been defending his manager, Arne Slot, at length, and taking on a collective responsibility. “We are definitely letting him (Slot) down but we’ve let ourselves down as well. You look at yourself first and then you help each other, you help each other get out of this mess because at the moment it is a mess - that’s just a fact. “As the champions we can’t be in the situation we are in right now. What are we going to do about it? We’re going to try to turn it around and that’s the mentality everyone should have. “It is easy to point fingers but you have to do it together. What I want is for everyone to take responsibility on the pitch. We have to do that in order to push each other, to make each other better. It’s easy to maybe just think about your own situation rather than the collective side when things are not going well. “We have been through it together and won the league and everyone was part of it and happy and when you go through a tough time you have to stick together and not point fingers. “You have to be a man and face the toughness and go again, again and again because if you want to give up then you are at the wrong place in my eyes because this club has gone through much adversity over those years and we’ve always come out of it. “But it doesn’t mean it is easy, it’s tiring but there is no other way. Wednesday [at home to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League] is another game so what am I going to do, go home and cry? No, I’m going to go home and try to think how we can turn this around and hopefully that is what everyone is doing as well. ” Chris Wilder’s United have travelled to Henrik Pedersen’s Wednesday. Jeff Beck’s Hi Ho Silver Lining is pumping out. John Brewin has returned. He will keep you updated with goings-on in the Steel City derby over the next couple of hours. In Europe yesterday, Michael Olise scored twice and set up three more as Bayern Munich strong-armed Freiburg in the Bundesliga. Following a doping ban and injury problems, Paul Pogba played his first game in over two years in Monaco’s 4-1 defeat at Rennes. There were also wins for PSG and Napoli, and a hat-trick for Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav against Borussia Dortmund. Here’s our handy roundup: Verona and Parma lead the way in European football today, with their Serie A game now under way in Italy. The two teams have scored 13 goals and won just one game between them in 11 league games this season – don’t expect a classic, then. Carlos Cuesta is in charge of Parma. At 30, the former Arsenal coach is the youngest manager in Europe’s top five leagues. Younes Kaboul scored the winner the last time Tottenham beat Arsenal at the Emirates in the Premier League. Samir Nasri and Marouane Chamakh gave Arsène Wenger’s side a 2-0 lead at half-time before a goal from Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart’s penalty drew Harry Redknapp’s visitors level. Van der Vaart’s free-kick was then glanced in by Kaboul with four minutes to go. The Spurs team that day: Gomes, Hutton, Gallas, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon (Defoe ht), Jenas, Modric, Bale, Van der Vaart (Palacios 88), Pavlyuchenko (Crouch 74). That was 15 years ago this weekend … Confirmed starting lineups for the midday kick-off: Sheffield Wednesday (3-4-3): Horvath; Palmer, Iorfa, M Lowe; Fusire, Valery, Bannan, Amass; Ingelsson, Ugbo, J Lowe.

Subs: Stretch, Otegbayo, Emery, Alao, Johnson, Thornton, Mc Neill, Cadamarteri, Cooper. Sheffield United (4-4-2): Cooper; Seriki, Tanganga, Mee, Mc Callum; Brooks, Peck, Riedewald, O’Hare; Ings, Campbell.

Subs: Davies, Bindon, Cannon, Hamer, Burrows, Soumaré, Mc Guinness, Oné, Bamford. It’s a family affair in the Women’s FA Cup today, as Hednesford Town could line up with a mother-daughter frontline in their second-round tie against Sporting Khalsa. Hazzana Parnell and her 16-year-old daughter Remaya Osbourne both play in attack for the fifth-tier side. Suzanne Wrack has been speaking to them both, with Parnell sharing how she has seen football change during her playing days: I struggled. My brother used to play for Derby and I used to beg the coach to let me join in. For the last 10 minutes at the end of training he’s like: ‘Come on then. ’ It was so difficult finding other groups of girls that played football but Remaya just grew up in it. It’s nice to see that I’ve been able to make a contribution to the pathway that’s created for her to be able to access now. “Morning, ” says Dave on email. “Just want to say I thoroughly object to Pauli being described as a “hipster club”. I had a season ticket there when I lived in Hamburg in the early 00s and while they have the new, trendier crowd now, the roots of the club and the effect it’s had on German football are so deep, that just labelling them as “hipster” is insulting to the fans that built the club and its reputation. “My first game was in Bundesliga 2. against Alemania Aachen in 2000 (I think). I was stood on the Gegengerade in the middle of a biker gang, who were very free with sharing their numerous bottles of Jack Daniels with a rather intimidated Orient fan. Big bunch of terrifying, gentle giants who couldn’t have been more welcoming. That’s St. Pauli. Not in the least bit a crowd of top knots and those weirdly tight short jeans and no socks. ” Back to the NLD. The north London derby could be somewhat pivotal for both managers today, depending on how it goes. It will feel totemic if Arteta can win this game and similarly if they lose it will confirm some people's fears about his ability to have his team grab the bull by the horns and for Frank, Spurs is a big step up and managing to win a big game like this can put some of their fans mind at rest With Manchester City and Liverpool dropping more points, you get the feeling that a win over Spurs today will send Mikel Arteta’s stock sky high. A six-point lead at the top? Derby bragging rights? Arteta’s job will be mainly about managing expectations after that. The defeat to Chelsea a few weeks ago has done Thomas Frank’s reputation a bit of damage, given how poor Spurs were. But they’ve done fairly well in the Premier League and Europe so far (considering last season). Winning today will be liftoff for him at Tottenham, surely? As a Spurs fan I have very little confidence going into today's game. Defensively we are still a shambles, with Vicario having to bail us out regularly. We also have no recognised (reliable) striker, but the goals are somehow still coming, so one can only hope the team continue to spread them around. Arsenal are due a slip up - I just don't see it happening today. Spurs don’t tend to share goals around in the north London derby. Cristian Romero is the only player not called Harry Kane or Heung-min Son to score against Arsenal in the last four and a half years. In France, Lorient make the short journey south from Brittany to take on Nantes. Both teams have struggled so far this campaign but Lorient have a decent record at home, holding PSG to a 1-1 draw a few weeks ago – aside from a 7-1 hammering at the hands of Lille. In Germany, there’s the hipster club derby as St Pauli host Union Berlin in Hamburg. Both clubs, renowned for their progressive politics, continue to punch above their weight but neither can be sure of safety in the Bundesliga this season. St Pauli this week posted a profit of €2m for the last financial year. Union, meanwhile, come into this one having stopped the might of Bayern Munich before the international break, holding the league leaders to a 2-2 draw after they had won all 10 previous games this season. In Spain, Atlético Madrid make the short journey to the Coliseum to play Getafe. Managers José Bordalás and Diego Simeone are cut from the same cloth in terms of their approaches to the game. Expect the referee to be busy. Real Madrid have the opportunity to reclaim top spot in La Liga following Barcelona’s win yesterday when they travel to Elche tonight. Jude Bellingham, ironically given the intense coverage Madrid get in the Spanish press, will be glad to be away from the England spotlight. Real Oviedo are bottom and in desperate need of points. They host Rayo Vallecano having not won since the end of September. Keep calm and Carrión, oviedistas. Thanks John. Let’s have a bit of a look at some of the more interesting fixtures in Europe. In Italy, three different teams could go top of Serie A at some point today. Third-place Roma are away at Jamie Vardy’s Cremonese, while second-place Inter and fifth-place Milan meet in the Derby della Madonnina at San Siro tonight. Is there a more intense local rivalry in Europe? And with that the reins are handed to Billy Munday. Here’s Jonathan Wilson’s derby preview. In that sense, a derby may not be the worst way to reset after the international break. It has a meaning in and of itself. The ramifications for the Premier League table, at least temporarily, retreat behind issues of parochial pride. And those are real enough, not least because the two sides, since Arsenal made the journey north from Woolwich in 1913, have had so much in common. Yet Arsenal, since the moment in 1919 when they were granted what Tottenham believe should rightfully have been their place in the First Division, have taken on the role of older cousin. We’ll be providing updates from the Sheffield derby in this blog. Both clubs have been victims of football’s push for growth, and been left behind. Such a shame, as it’s a great football city, perhaps the world’s first, as Paul Mac Innes reports. To talk football in Sheffield feels like stumbling over an unending, and sometimes obscure, succession of firsts. The city codified the first set of football rules (later supplanted by the London-devised code of the Football Association). But given that its two biggest clubs, Wednesday and United, languish at the foot of the Championship, there is a belief among some that it may be time for the city to assert its identity as the home of football a little more forcefully. Have a go at today’s On the ball on the Guardian app, it’s a tough one today. I got 60 points…and I set the answers. Can I also recommend the movie quiz, too? Fiendishly difficult. A fair point made here though Liverpool’s demise is the unavoidable lead item. We have been here before, but you would think from the commentary and articles that Liverpool lost to their own B team. There is hardly any analysis of Forest's superb return to form, or the impact of their new manager. Fair coverage and comment please. Or do you all just want a rigged super league? Sean Dyche has done a fine job and is working with the best squad of his managerial career. Good quote from him at Anfield. “As a younger coach I might have thought: ‘This could change at any minute’, ” admitted Dyche. “But sometimes your gut instinct is correct and I felt the way the team handled their performance got stronger as the game went on. We gave a really good performance tactically and that ensured they didn’t really deliver a serious threat. ” Plenty of chat about Liverpool’s demise below the line. Arne Slot inherited a great well established squad from Klopp and the players had been drilled to play in a system that was proven to produce results. They started very well under Slot and it appeared Liverpool had recruited an excellent manager. But, the longer he’s been at the club the steadily worse results and performances have generally been. Dumped out the FA Cup last season by Plymouth, outplayed in the EFL Cup final by Newcastle, totally outplayed by PSG home and away in the Champions League, the scoreline only respectable due to the brilliance of Allison in Paris and some poor finishing by PSG. When they were winning in the Premier League last season it was generally by a single goal. Teams were not put away easily. In his first season his two main title rivals (Arsenal and City) both fell apart with numerous injuries to key players. Any manager is unlucky to have a valued and popular squad member killed in a horrific accident. Let’s not forget they couldn’t even identify Jota and his brother such was the carnage of that car wreckage. They had to wait for analysis to come from Madrid just to discover which brother had been driving. Andy Robertson was emotional after the Scotland - Denmark game admitting he had struggled all day thinking about Diogo. The impact that has had on Liverpool can’t be underestimated and it must be very difficult for new players walking into a grieving dressing room. But there is no doubt things were not great end of last season before that tragedy and things are falling off a cliff now. That’s surely not all down to bad luck. That’s a manager failing to motivate world class players, failing to get tactics and team selection right. He’s been found out and there is little sign he can actually improve the team or turn around the slump. The writing is on the wall and I’ll be surprised if he’s still in the job come January. The Championship is very interesting this season. Grim for Norwich fans, their team separates the Sheffield clubs in the table. Ed Aarons is our Arsenal man, and he’s been considering what Mikel Arteta will do in the absence of Gabriel. Statistics show Gabriel has played a crucial role in Arsenal conceding only five goals in the Premier League. He has more blocks (20) than anyone else in the division and is also his side’s highest-ranked player for aerial duels, clearances and headed clearances. The Brazilian’s prowess in the air means he is also a significant threat at the other end. He has scored twice and added three assists already this season, taking his total since arriving from Lille in 2020 to 18 goals from set pieces – three more than anyone else in that period. And when Gabriel is not playing, Arsenal’s win rate in the Premier League drops from 64. 3% to 40%, or 2. 1 points per game compared to just 1. 5. Thomas Frank is under a modicum of pressure but he’s still capable of stonewalling a journalist’s question. Via PA Media. Thomas Frank has brushed off the topic of one-time summer target Eberechi Eze ahead of Tottenham’s trip to rivals Arsenal, the transfer hijacked at the last minute. Frank joked: “Who’s Eze? Very good player. He plays for Arsenal. A team we want to beat on Sunday. I really like to speak about players who are here. The only other two I will speak about are [Lionel] Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo. “I’ve said before I’m happy with my squad. It’s two clubs on two different journeys. I hate to say it but they’re a little bit ahead of us. But we know that’s one thing, on one game, 100 per cent sure we will be very competitive. Of course we can win on Sunday. Then of course in general we know squad depth is good and important but I’m not really looking at other teams. I’m just looking at my team there. ” To build up to the north London derby, David Hytner spoke to key Tottenham midfielder, Joao Palhinha. Palhinha has nonetheless heard criticism, most searingly from Jamie Carragher after the Chelsea debacle, the Sky pundit accusing him of not being good enough to progress the ball. There has also been muttering from the Spurs support about Frank’s use of Palhinha alongside Rodrigo Bentancur in front of a back four. Does the partnership lack zip in possession? Sunday’s key fixtures Premier League Leeds v Aston Villa, 2pm Arsenal v Tottenham, 4. 30pm Championship Sheffield Wednesday v Sheffield United, 12pm Scottish Premiership Aberdeen v Hearts, 3pm La Liga Elche v Real Madrid, 8pm Serie A Inter v Milan, 7. 45pm The table, as it stands. And the top scorers in the Premier League. No Palmer, still party for Chelsea at Burnley. Doom for Wolves on Rob Edwards’ first game in charge. I was at Fulham where the match was almost as rotten as the weather though the best team won. Sunderland were a little disappointing. Brighton made a fine comeback in the battle of the B-teams, while another B, Bournemouth, showed their fighting qualities. Talking of fallen champions. Manchester City’s title charge faltered on Tyneside. The story of the season is the fall of the champions. Just what is going on at Liverpool? A historic day on Saturday, the new Nou Camp open for business. Sort of. Sid Lowe was on architectural duties. Above all, for most there was a kind of comfort, familiarity, the sense that this could be both a way back to where they were and a new beginning. The Camp Nou rebuild is not done: only three sides of the lower two tiers are open, allowing for a maximum 45, 401 of the 105, 000 it will eventually hold, and at times, in truth, the day of fiesta was a little flat, quiet and underwhelming, but Flick said “it’s a really good feeling to be back here”, and back is the word. Good morning, football. A full day of football awaits, and there’s also a big day on Saturday to consider. The big one comes in north London but there’s plenty of other action, including in the Steel City. Join us.