Watch Portugal vs Denmark in the Nations League for FREE from anywhere as the holders play their first match since the retirement of legendary forward Cristiano Ronaldo. FourFourTwo has all the live stream details and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Ronaldo has dominated the headlines in Portugal since calling time on his extraordinary 23-year international career last week, but attention now returns to Jorge Jesus' side, who need only a point to seal top spot in Group A4.

Denmark sit second in the table and could guarantee their place in the quarter-finals with a win in Braga. If they can't find those three points today, it will all come down to Tuesday's game against Norway.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information on how to watch Portugal vs Denmark online, on TV, and from anywhere.

Watch Portugal vs Denmark for FREE

Fans in the Republic of Ireland can watch Portugal vs Denmark for free on Virgin Media Two and Virgin Media Play, complete with English commentary.

The Nations League clash is also being streamed live at no cost by Portuguese public broadcaster RTP.

‼️ Those away from Ireland or Portugal today can unlock their free stream with NordVPN (30-day money back guarantee).

Watch Portugal vs Denmark from anywhere

Away from home? You don't have to miss Portugal vs Denmark.

A VPN can, subject to your broadcaster’s T&Cs, bypass geo-restrictions and unblock your usual streaming services abroad, while also improving your general internet security.

The tech experts at Tom's Guide review a lot of VPNs and right now they reckon NordVPN is the best VPN you can buy. And the good news is that NordVPN are currently offering an amazing deal on the service...

How to watch Portugal vs Denmark in the UK

Portugal vs Denmark is live on Amazon Prime Video in the UK, with coverage available for just £2.49 on a pay-per-view basis. You don't even need an Amazon account to access the Nations League match.

Kick-off is at 7:45pm GMT, with coverage starting ten minutes before on Prime Video.

Visiting the UK from Ireland? You need NordVPN to access your Amazon Prime Video stream from anywhere in the world.

How to watch Portugal vs Denmark in the US

Viewers in the US can watch Portugal vs Denmark live on Fox Sports, the official broadcast partner of the Nations League in the States.

Fox Sports 2 is the place to go to watch the game, which kicks-off at 2:45pm ET.

The channel is available via cord-cutters such as Sling, YouTube TV, Fubo and DirecTV Stream. Alternatively, in-house streamer Fox One carries FS2, with a 3-day free trial available on the platform.

Not in the US? Access your usual Fox Sports stream with a VPN.

How to watch Portugal vs Denmark in Australia

Viewers in Australia can watch Portugal vs Denmark live on beIN SPORTS.

The game will be shown on beIN SPORTS 3 and beIN SPORTS CONNECT, with kick-off at 6:45am AEDT on Sunday.

beIN SPORTS CONNECT prices start from AU$16.99/month, while annual plans get you 12 months for the price of 10.

Abroad? Unlock your Portugal vs Denmark stream on beIN SPORTS with a VPN.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Portugal 2-1 Denmark

No Ronaldo, no problem — we expect the hosts to extend their 100 per cent record in Group A4.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch Northern Ireland vs Ukraine for FREE from anywhere, as Michael O'Neill's side aim to take a giant step towards promotion from Nations League Group B2. FourFourTwo has all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Northern Ireland need just four points from their final two Nations League games to secure promotion to the top tier, with tonight's clash at Windsor Park an excellent opportunity to eat into that tally ahead of Sunday's showdown with second-place Hungary in Budapest.

Ukraine's only hope of gaining automatic promotion rests on them winning in Belfast, which should make for a fascinating contest.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Northern Ireland vs Ukraine online and from anywhere in the world.

How to watch Northern Ireland vs Ukraine for FREE in the UK

Northern Ireland vs Ukraine will be broadcast live and for free in the UK on BBC iPlayer. Kick-off is at 7:45pm GMT.

Remember, you need a TV licence and a UK postcode (SE1 7PB) to watch the coverage.

Abroad for Northern Ireland vs Ukraine? Use NordVPN to unlock your stream from anywhere in the world.

Watch Northern Ireland vs Ukraine from anywhere

Away from home? You don't have to miss Northern Ireland vs Ukraine.

A VPN can, subject to your broadcaster’s T&Cs, bypass geo-restrictions and unblock your usual streaming services abroad, while also improving your general internet security.

The tech experts at Tom's Guide review a lot of VPNs and right now they reckon NordVPN is the best VPN you can buy. And the good news is that NordVPN are currently offering an amazing deal on the service...

Watch Northern Ireland vs Ukraine in the US

Fans in the US can watch Northern Ireland vs Ukraine on Fubo TV, with live coverage on Fubo Sports Network 2. The game kicks-off at 2:45pm ET.

Not in the US? Watch Northern Ireland vs Ukraine on Fubo TV with a VPN.

Watch Northern Ireland vs Ukraine in Australia

beIN SPORTS is the place to watch Northern Ireland vs Ukraine in Australia.

The game is live on the beIN SPORTS CONNECT streaming platform, with kick-off at 6:45am AEDT on Sunday.

Abroad? Watch Northern Ireland vs Ukraine on beIN SPORTS with a VPN.

Northern Ireland vs Ukraine: Preview

It should be quite the atmosphere at a sold-out Windsor Park as Northern Ireland host Ukraine in a crunch Saturday-night fixture in Belfast.

Michael O'Neill's side know a victory would keep them top of Nations League Group B2 heading into the final round of fixtures, while they could even seal an historic first promotion to the top tier if they beat Ukraine and Hungary lose to Georgia.

Teenage Arsenal winger Ceadach O’Neill has withdrawn from the squad with an injury, while Conor Bradley, Ali McCann, Dan Ballard, Eoin Toal and Jamie McDonnell remain unavailable for the same reason.

Ukraine will be out for revenge after losing 3-0 to Northern Ireland in their 'home' fixture in Slovakia, in which Oxford United defender Ciaron Brown scored his first two international goals and West Bromwich Albion's Isaac Price also found the net.

They have the added incentive of knowing that a victory would put them right back in the hunt for automatic promotion, although they would likely then be relying on O'Neill's men to beat Hungary in Budapest on Tuesday.

AEK Athens winger Oleksandr Zubkov has dropped out of the squad due to injury, with Dynamo Kyiv's Mykola Shaparenko and Vladyslav Vanat, of Spanish side Girona, called up in his place.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Northern Ireland 2-0 Ukraine

We expect O'Neill's side to take all three points, roared on by their passionate fans.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch Austria vs Republic of Ireland for free from anywhere as Heimir Hallgrimsson's side travel to Linz for a huge Nations League clash. FourFourTwo has all the live stream details and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

The hosts are unbeaten in Group B3 and will gain promotion to the top tier with a match to spare if they beat Ireland.

Hallgrimsson's men sit third but a victory would see them go above their opponents courtesy of their superior head-to-head record, after the sides drew 2-2 in Dublin last month.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information on how to watch Austria vs Republic of Ireland online, on TV, and from anywhere — including for FREE.

Watch Austria vs Republic of Ireland from anywhere

Away from home? You don't have to miss Austria vs Republic of Ireland.

A VPN can, subject to your broadcaster’s T&Cs, bypass geo-restrictions and unblock your usual streaming services abroad, while also improving your general internet security.

The tech experts at Tom's Guide review a lot of VPNs and right now they reckon NordVPN is the best VPN you can buy. And the good news is that NordVPN are currently offering an amazing deal on the service...

Watch Austria vs Republic of Ireland in the UK

Fans in the UK can watch Austria vs Republic of Ireland live on Amazon Prime Video, with coverage available on a pay-per-view basis. Kick-off is at 7:45pm GMT.

Abroad? Unlock your Austria vs Republic of Ireland stream on Amazon Prime Video with a VPN.

Watch Austria vs Republic of Ireland in the US

Fubo TV will broadcast Austria vs Republic of Ireland on the Fubo Sports Network 3 channel. The game kicks-off at 2:45pm ET.

Not in the US? Access your usual Fubo TV stream with a VPN.

Watch Austria vs Republic of Ireland in Australia

Austria vs Republic of Ireland is live on beIN SPORTS in Australia, with coverage on the beIN SPORTS CONNECT streaming service.

Kick-off is at 6:45am AEDT on Sunday.

Austria vs Republic of Ireland: Nations League preview

Austria will be aiming to seal promotion from Nations League Group B3 in their final home game of the campaign, before they finish with an 'away' fixture against Israel in Hungary on Tuesday.

Ralf Rangnick's side were favourites to win the group and results have so far gone broadly as expected, with the Austrians unbeaten and holding a three-point lead over both Kosovo and the Republic of Ireland. Their superior head-to-head record over the former means a victory over the Irish in Linz tonight would be enough to secure top spot.

Rangnick has brought 17-year-old Sturm Graz wonderkid Luca Weinhandl into his squad for the games against Ireland and Israel, but he will be without several players through injury including captain David Alaba and centre back Max Wober.

Ireland have reported a clean bill of health ahead of two crucial matches, which could end with them finishing in any position from top to bottom of Group B3.

Heimir Hallgrimsson's side will believe they can return from Linz with all three points after taking a 2-0 lead against Austria in Dublin last month, courtesy of two Troy Parrott goals, before conceding twice in the second half.

Ireland know they will guarantee top spot — and promotion to League A — if they win their final two games, with this match followed by Kosovo's visit to Dublin on Tuesday.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Austria 2-1 Republic of Ireland

Rangnick's men are depleted but home advantage could see them edge this one.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

After six years in Italy and Scotland, Paul Gascoigne returned to English football in March 1998 when he signed for Middlesbrough.

At this stage of his career, Gazza was no longer the force of nature that lit up Italia 90 and Euro 96 as he body struggled to keep up the pace with his footballing brain.

However, his ability to be at the centre of attention and to entertain all around him, remained undiminished.

Schwarzer on Gazza’s time at Boro

Former Boro goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer had a front row seat for all of Gazza’s pranks and hijinks - whether they lit up the dressing room, or left team-mates seeing red.

“Gazza has a heart of gold,” Schwarzer tells FourFourTwo. “All he wants to do is make people laugh, have fun and bring smiles to people’s faces.

“He’d do stuff that was outrageously funny and wrong, but there was never any malice.”

When Gascoigne arrived at the Riverside Stadium, he joined from Rangers at the tail end of a campaign which had seen him score just three goals in 28 games and while his impact had clearly diminished from his early ‘90s pomp, it was clear to Schwarzer that the ability was still there.

“On the pitch, he showed glimpses of the player he had been, but there was frustration because his mind wanted to do things his body couldn’t always keep up with,” he continues.

“What a player, though, and what a person to be around.”

As well as Gazza the player, the Boro squad also saw Gazza the character.

“Sometimes he’d come into training wearing the same clothes for days,” Schwarzer continues.

“One day, he took his socks off and went “Oh my God, these are horrendous”, then found Gianluca Festa’s Armani ones and swapped them for his own. Festa came back, realised what he’d done and started running around the building looking for him.

“When Festa exploded, he exploded, but he couldn’t find Gazza, thank goodness. Festa ended up going home with no socks, because there was no way he was wearing Gazza’s!”

Watch Norway vs Wales for FREE from anywhere as Erling Haaland and Co. seek revenge against Craig Bellamy's side in the Nations League. FourFourTwo has all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Norway are aiming to salvage their Group A4 campaign after taking just three points from their opening four matches, which included a shock 2-1 defeat against Wales in Cardiff.

That victory is all Bellamy's men have to show for their efforts so far, but both teams remain just three points behind Denmark and still have a chance of reaching the quarter-finals.

Here are all the details you need to watch Norway vs Wales live streams online, on TV, and from anywhere.

How to watch Norway vs Wales for FREE in the UK and Ireland

Norway vs Wales will be broadcast for free on BBC Two in the UK, while S4C has Welsh-language coverage of the Nations League clash. Kick-off is at 5:00pm GMT.

The game will also be available to stream at no cost on BBC iPlayer.

Meanwhile, fans in the Republic of Ireland can watch Norway vs Wales for free on Virgin Media Two and Virgin Media Play, complete with English commentary.

‼️ Away from home right now? A good VPN such as NordVPN will unblock your usual streaming services even while you're abroad – more on that below.

Watch Norway vs Wales from anywhere

Away from home? You don't have to miss Norway vs Wales.

A VPN can, subject to your broadcaster’s T&Cs, bypass geo-restrictions and unblock your usual streaming services abroad, while also improving your general internet security.

The tech experts at Tom's Guide review a lot of VPNs and right now they reckon NordVPN is the best VPN you can buy. And the good news is that NordVPN are currently offering an amazing deal on the service...

How to watch Norway vs Wales in the US

Fox Sports is the official broadcast partner of the Nations League in the US, with live coverage of Norway vs Wales on Fox Sports 2. The game will kick-off at 12:00pm ET (midday).

Visiting the US from the UK? Access your BBC iPlayer stream with a VPN.

How to watch Norway vs Wales in Australia

Australian viewers can watch Norway vs Wales on beIN SPORTS, which is available via beIN SPORTS 3 and the beIN SPORTS CONNECT streaming service. Kick-off is at 4:00am AEDT on Sunday.

Abroad? Unlock your Norway vs Wales stream on beIN SPORTS with a VPN.

Norway vs Wales: Preview

After their run to the World Cup quarter-finals this summer, Norway would have started this Nations League campaign believing they could finish top of Group A4.

However, a 3-2 win over Denmark in their opening game was followed by three successive defeats — including the shock loss to Wales in Cardiff — and they now need at least four points from their last two matches to snatch second place, and with it a quarter-final spot.

Injured Crystal Palace striker Jorgen Strand Larsen is the only notable absentee for Stale Solbakken's side, with the likes of Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard expected to start as usual.

Wales' victory in the reverse fixture represented the biggest scalp of Craig Bellamy's reign, but they still have work to do to avoid automatic relegation to the second tier.

The trip to Oslo is followed by a home game against group leaders Portugal on Tuesday and the Dragons almost certainly need to win one of those two matches to finish third or higher.

Bellamy is able to call upon several players who were unavailable in the previous international window due to injury, including goalkeeper Karl Darlow, key centre back Joe Rodon and influential playmaker Harry Wilson.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Norway 2-1 Wales

Solbakken's side will be favourites and need a good result to keep their quarter-final hopes alive, so we are backing them to claim an important three points.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

By 1985, Kenny Dalglish had already established himself as an all-time Liverpool great.

But after eight years as being the Reds’ talismanic force on the pitch, Dalglish was handed the opportunity to play an even bigger role at the club, when he was asked to succeed manager Joe Fagan.

While Dalglish would excel in his new dual player-manager position, it was not a role he had expected to take on, but he admits he was unable to refuse the offer.

Dalglish on taking over in the Anfield dugout

“I don't know why the club asked me to become player-manager in 1985,” the Scot tells FourFourTwo.

“But they did, so I said, ‘OK, no problem for me. If that's what you want, I'll have a go.’”

For Dalglish, it was the structure and culture of the club that made what would be a daunting transition more manageable.

“The people around me were important – there was a vast experience in that dressing room, with the coaching staff, and Bob Paisley came back to help,” he continues.

“He was fantastic. The people upstairs, the chief executive, they'd do all the negotiations for wages and transfers, I didn't want to be involved in money. It was really well organised.”

This backing from everyone in the club allowed Dalglish to focus on the on-pitch matters.

“They said, ‘All you can do is be your best' – to come out of the dressing room and sit in the manager's office, those were my team-mates and it was tough at times, but it wasn't something that you could turn down,” he adds.

And Dalglish’s best would prove to be more than good enough, as he would win the first of three league titles as manager of Liverpool in that very first season in his new role.

In the mid-2000s, Freddy Adu was earmarked as the next big thing in world football.

After making his professional debut as a 14-year-old for D.C. United in 2004, he became the youngest ever player to appear in professional sports in the United States. His international debut came at the age of 16, amid reported interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

But the career that followed was a nomadic one, as his progress stalled and Adu would turn into something of a globetrotter in search of fresh opportunities.

Adu on his nomadic career

This saw the American take in stints in Portugal, France, Greece and Serbia amongst other places, but Adu believes that a key issue with his career was the fact that these teams were often more interested in the marketing buzz that signing him would generate, rather than handing him opportunities on the pitch.

“I’d sign for teams, then you’d find out they were just trying to use you for the marketing part of it, to get eyeballs on their team,” Adu tells FourFourTwo.

“Then when you’re not playing for that team, it’s like ‘Why am I here? I’m living in a different country, I’m trying to get my career going and I’m not getting a chance to play’.

“At some point, you just figure out ‘This isn’t going to work out’.”

For Adu, the mixed messages from clubs he signed for would prove to be extremely frustrating at times when he was looking to get his career back on track.

|There were so many different places where the front office wanted you, but the coach had different ideas,” he adds. “I’d been brought in under false pretences.

“Then you go to another team, sometimes you’re playing and it works out at the start, but then it doesn’t work out.

“After a while, it wasn’t fun any more, you start losing confidence in yourself, like ‘How am I here, and how am I not getting a chance to play here?’ You start questioning the reasons why you were brought in.”

For Adu, this cycle began in 2008, when Monaco brought him in initially on loan from Benfica for the 2008/09 season, before declining to make the move permanent at the end of that campaign.

“The whole thing started when I was in Monaco – the president wanted to bring me in, I knew him, I was cool with him, but the coach had different ideas.”

Watch Netherlands vs Greece for free from anywhere, as the top two teams in Nations League Group A2 contest a crucial clash in Amsterdam. FourFourTwo has all the live stream details and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

The Oranje start the night ahead of their opponents on goals scored, having beaten Serbia 2-1 last month to move into top spot.

Greece have had an excellent campaign so far and a victory would guarantee their place in the quarter-finals.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information on how to watch Netherlands vs Greece online, on TV, and from anywhere — including for FREE.

Watch Netherlands vs Greece from anywhere

Away from home? You don't have to miss Netherlands vs Greece.

A VPN can, subject to your broadcaster’s T&Cs, bypass geo-restrictions and unblock your usual streaming services abroad, while also improving your general internet security.

The tech experts at Tom's Guide review a lot of VPNs and right now they reckon NordVPN is the best VPN you can buy. And the good news is that NordVPN are currently offering an amazing deal on the service...

Watch Netherlands vs Greece in the UK

Netherlands vs Greece is live on Amazon Prime Video in the UK, with coverage available on a pay-per-view basis. Kick-off is at 7:45pm GMT.

Travelling outside the UK? You need a VPN to access your Amazon Prime Video stream from anywhere in the world.

Watch Netherlands vs Greece in the US

Viewers in the US can watch Netherlands vs Greece live on Fox Sports 1, the official broadcast partner of the Nations League in the States.

FS1 is the place to go to watch the game, which kicks-off at 2:45pm ET.

Not in the US? Access your usual Fox Sports stream with a VPN.

Watch Netherlands vs Greece in Australia

beIN SPORTS has live coverage of Netherlands vs Greece in Australia.

The game is live on beIN SPORTS 3 and the beIN SPORTS CONNECT streaming service, with kick-off at 6:45am AEDT on Saturday.

Abroad? Watch Netherlands vs Greece on beIN SPORTS with a VPN.

Netherlands vs Greece: Nations League preview

Friday nights in Amsterdam usually get pretty lively, and it should be no different at the Johan Cruyff Arena. Netherlands host Greece in a clash of the top two in Nations League Group A2, with the winners guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals.

Barcelona legend Xavi has made a promising start to life as Oranje head coach, claiming two wins over rock-bottom Serbia and twice seeing his side fight back to draw, against Germany and Greece. The Netherlands lead Group A2 on goals scored and a win would mean they can finish no lower than second, by virtue of having a superior head-to-head record over the Greeks.

The bad news for Dutch fans is that they are missing several key players, with captain Virgil van Dijk, Brian Brobbey, Ryan Gravenberch and Kenneth Taylor all injured. However, in-form Roma striker Donyell Malen returns to the squad to add quality in attack.

Greece are aiming to claim a first-ever competitive victory over the Netherlands, having been forced to settle for a 2-2 draw in Thessaloniki last month after taking a two-goal lead.

Ivan Jovanovic's side arrive in Amsterdam knowing a win would see them finish top of the group, beating both the Netherlands and Germany on head-to-head, while a draw would also put them in a strong position to qualify ahead of Sunday's finale at home to Serbia.

Midfielder Christos Zafeiris and defender Manolis Saliakas are both suspended, but Greece have plenty of quality in their forward line, including Arsenal winger Christos Tzolis and Brighton & Hove Albion striker Charalampos Kostoulas.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Netherlands 1-1 Greece

The Greeks have proved tough to beat and we are backing them to take a point in Amsterdam.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Howdy. If another disruption to your football routine has left you in need of a distraction, we've got just what you're looking for. It's a new FourFourTwo Weekend Crossword and we hope you enjoy it.

There are 23 clues in this week's FourFourTwo Weekend Crossword. It's a standard crossword, so your acrosses will help you get the 'down' clues and vice versa.

Remember to let us know how you get on in the comments.

Love football crosswords? Here are some handpicked football quizzes we know you'll enjoy

There's plenty more football trivia where that came from. We have a huge vault of quizzes covering the length, breadth and depth of the beautiful game. Here are some of our recommendations, all powered by Kwizly.

You've been focused on words and letters, so here are a couple that are all about pictures. First, we have a new football club badge quiz that will ask you to identify some famous team crests from a tiny square snippet of each. There's not much to go on, but true experts will have no problems.

Next, we're looking for your knowledge of historical moments in English football's top division. Our Premier League Years Picture Quiz is made up of a series of photographs, each of which captures a legendary match or incident. All you need to do is tell us which seasons those photographs were taken in.

The Ballon d'Or was first awarded in 1956, when Stanley Matthews was recognised as the world's best footballer ahead of Alfredo Di Stefano. Since then, there have been 18 World Cups. Can you name the Ballon d'Or winner in every World Cup year since 1958?

Of course, 2026 is one of those World Cup years. But how much can you remember about the places where the matches were played over the summer? 16 stadiums were used in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Can you name every World Cup 2026 stadium?

For all the matchday knowledge you need, subscribe to our newsletters for regular briefings and hand-picked trivia. And, to complete your transfer to terrace legend status, lock in your spot in The Club, our free membership hub where you can unlock secret hints for our toughest quizzes, climb global leaderboards, and debate the latest topics directly in the comments.

Watch Japan vs Brazil for free from anywhere in the world as Singapore hosts a prestige international friendly. Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the live stream details and TV channels wherever you are in the world.

Japan and Brazil are in Singapore for an international friendly at the National Stadium, mere months after a dramatic encounter at World Cup 2026.

Brazil came out on top in Houston, knocking Samurai Blue out of the tournament in the round of 32. They needed Gabriel Martinelli's winner deep in stoppage time to do so.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information on how to watch Japan vs Brazil online, on TV, and from anywhere.

Watch Japan vs Brazil from anywhere

What if you're away from home when Japan vs Brazil is on, and find access to your usual streaming service geo-blocked? The solution is a VPN, a piece of software that sets your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s colleagues TechRadar are experts in this field, and they reckon NordVPN is the best VPN provider on the market.

Can I watch Japan vs Brazil in the UK?

Unfortunately, Japan vs Brazil has not been selected for broadcast in the UK.

Visiting the UK at the moment? Unlock your stream with NordVPN.

Can I watch Japan vs Brazil in the US?

Japan vs Brazil has not been selected for broadcast in the United States.

Visiting the US at the moment? Unlock your stream with NordVPN.

Can I watch Japan vs Brazil in Australia?

Japan vs Brazil will not be broadcast in Australia.

Visiting Australia at the moment? Unlock your stream with NordVPN.

Japan vs Brazil: match preview

This is the third match between Japan and Brazil in exactly 13 months. Last October, Hajime Moriyasu made history by becoming the first manager to lead a Japan team to a senior international win over the Selecao.

Takumi Minamino, Keito Nakamura and Ayase Ueda scored the goals as Japan overturned a 2-0 deficit in the second half of a friendly match in Tokyo.

Moriyasu is still in post, but not for long. He was due to step aside after the Asian Cup, handing the reins to former Kashima Antlers boss Go Oiwa. The confederation championship in January and February has been postponed, and Moriyasu's number of remaining matches significantly reduced.

Brazil went on to lose to Norway in the last 16 after their victory over Japan in July. This is their fourth match in a row against AFC opposition after they spent the last international break in Australia and India.

Carlo Ancelotti has named a squad that's missing a handful of experienced players, not least injured skipper Marquinhos, but the attacking talent at his disposal is no joke. Vinicius Jr and Raphinha lead the way.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Japan 1-2 Brazil

The postponement of the Asian Cup has left Japan in an uncertain spot. FourFourTwo predicts that Ancelotti's men will have the edge.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch Argentina vs Uruguay for FREE as two old foes resume hostilities in the Rio de la Plata Derby, a fierce rivalry dating back well over a century. FourFourTwo has all the live stream details and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

The Albiceleste play their first game since Lionel Messi's farewell fixture against Benin last month and head coach Lionel Scaloni must now plot a route forward without the legendary former captain. Striker Lautaro Martinez and centre back Cristian Romero are also absent for this friendly at Buenos Aires' La Bombonera, the iconic home of Boca Juniors.

Uruguay have fond memories of this ground, winning 2-0 on their previous visit here in November 2023. They now have ex-Manchester United striker Diego Forlan in charge and are looking to claim a third successive victory under their new manager.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information on how to watch Argentina vs Uruguay online, on TV, and from anywhere.

Watch Argentina vs Uruguay for FREE

Free-to-air Argentinian broadcaster Telefe has live coverage of Argentina vs Uruguay.

AUF TV, the official channel of the Uruguayan FA, is also showing the game at no cost.

Not in Argentina or Uruguay? Use NordVPN (77% off) to unlock your free stream from anywhere in the world — more info below.

Watch Argentina vs Uruguay from anywhere

Away from home? You don't have to miss Argentina vs Uruguay.

A VPN can, subject to your broadcaster’s T&Cs, bypass geo-restrictions and unblock your usual streaming services abroad, while also improving your general internet security.

The tech experts at Tom's Guide review a lot of VPNs and right now they reckon NordVPN is the best VPN you can buy. And the good news is that NordVPN are currently offering an amazing deal on the service...

How to watch Argentina vs Uruguay in the US

Viewers in the US can watch Argentina vs Uruguay live on ViX, which will carry Spanish-language coverage of the game.

ViX plans start at $6.99/month and will gain you access to a whole host of live football, including the Nations League, Champions League, Europa League and major international friendlies.

Not in the US? Access your usual ViX stream with a VPN.

Can I watch Argentina vs Uruguay in the UK or Australia?

Unfortunately, Argentina vs Uruguay isn't being shown on TV in the UK or Australia.

Want to watch Argentina vs Uruguay? You need a VPN to access your stream of the Rio de la Plata Derby.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Argentina 1-0 Uruguay

This contest should be as fierce as ever, with the Albiceleste claiming a narrow victory.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has delivered a damning assessment of his old club’s trajectory, insisting the squad has failed to improve - and may have actually regressed - while questioning their reliance on inexperienced forwards.

Speaking candidly about the current state of affairs at Old Trafford, the two-time Premier League winner did not hold back when asked if Jason Wilcox and the INEOS recruitment model put in place was working.

"No, definitely not," Saha said. "It’s very clear, and you don’t need to know much about football. Even my partner can say that, and she doesn’t watch much football, but every time she hears me, she can look at the games and have a very simple take on it."

Saha: 'The team has not improved'

Michael Carrick was sacked as Manchester United manager on Thursday and will be replaced by USMNT boss Mauricio Pochettino.

But Saha says the problems run deeper than the manager and pointed to the void left by seasoned campaigners like Casemiro as a primary reason for United’s struggles, arguing that the current midfield lacks the necessary steel and know-how to control matches at the highest level.

"It’s obvious the team has not improved, if it hasn’t got worse, because, I’m saying, Casemiro was a guarantee," he explained to FootballPredictions.com. "He was someone who had this experience, that aggressiveness at the right moment. I think we do lack physical power."

Beyond the engine room, Saha expressed deep concern over United’s recruitment strategy in the final third. While acknowledging the immense expectations that come with wearing the Manchester United shirt, the Frenchman argued that tasking young, foreign players with leading the line is setting them up to fail.

"With no disrespect to other teams, it’s a special club, with the Champions League," Saha added. "I don’t think a striker should be young at the top of this team. For me, it doesn’t make sense. It’s a lot of pressure, especially when you come from another country. You have too many of those who don’t have the experience to be the solution, and I think that’s a big mistake. It’s just a big mistake."

Reflecting on Sir Alex Ferguson’s era - where Saha competed alongside the likes of Wayne Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Cristiano Ronaldo - the 48-year-old admitted he is baffled by the current lack of prolific firepower.

"I don’t like to refer to the past again, but before, it was maybe four or five strikers who used to score 20 goals a season, and now you have only one or two. I don’t understand."

Louis Saha was speaking to FootballPredictions.com

Watch Scotland vs North Macedonia for free from anywhere, as Sebastien Pocognoli hunts his first home win as manager in this Nations League fixture. FourFourTwo has all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Scotland manager Pocognoli is aiming to make it third time lucky at Hampden Park, after seeing his side fall to defeats against Switzerland and Slovenia in the previous international window.

It should be a milestone night regardless, with captain Andy Robertson set to win a record-equalling 102nd cap, drawing him level with the great Sir Kenny Dalglish.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Scotland vs North Macedonia online, on TV, and from anywhere — including for FREE.

How to watch Scotland vs North Macedonia for free in the UK

Viewers in the UK can watch Scotland vs North Macedonia live and for free.

The game will be shown on BBC Two, BBC Scotland and online on BBC iPlayer, with kick-off at 7:45pm BST.

Outside of the UK? Use NordVPN to unlock your BBC iPlayer stream from anywhere in the world.

Watch Scotland vs North Macedonia from anywhere

Away from home right now? You don't have to miss Scotland vs North Macedonia.

The solution to your geo-restriction nightmares is a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a piece of software that can make your devices appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate NordVPN as the best VPN you can buy.

How to watch Scotland vs North Macedonia in the US

Viewers in the US can watch Scotland vs North Macedonia live on Fox Sports, the official broadcast partner of the Nations League in the States.

Fox Soccer Plus has live coverage of the clash at Hampden Park, which kicks-off at 2:45pm ET.

Not in the US? Access your usual Fox Sports stream with a VPN.

How to watch Scotland vs North Macedonia in Australia

Scotland vs North Macedonia is live on beIN SPORTS in Australia.

The game is live on the beIN SPORTS CONNECT streaming service, with kick-off at 6:45am AEDT on Saturday.

Abroad? Watch Scotland vs North Macedonia on beIN SPORTS with a VPN.

Scotland vs North Macedonia: Preview

Scotland are aiming to finish their Nations League campaign with a flourish after a mixed start to Sebastien Pocognoli's reign as manager.

Their best performances in Group B1 have come on the road, in a 0-0 draw with Slovenia and 2-0 win over North Macedonia, while the Scots' displays at home have left a lot to be desired. Defeats of 3-0 and 2-1 by Switzerland and Slovenia respectively mean they look set to finish third in the table, which would send them into a relegation play-off against a team in the tier below.

Pocognoli will still believe his side can catch second-place Slovenia, though, and a first home win in charge would keep them in the hunt as long as Bostjan Cesar's team do not beat Switzerland.

Influential midfielder Scott McTominay returns to the squad after a successful heart procedure, while striker Che Adams is back from injury and Rangers' James Penrice is included for the first time. Meanwhile, captain Andy Robertson is set to equal Sir Kenny Dalglish's national caps record as he draws level on 102 appearances.

North Macedonia travel to Glasgow more in hope than expectation after a chastening opening four games in Group B1, in which they scored no goals and conceded ten. In fact, the minnows have failed to find the net in any of their past eight matches, with their most recent goal coming in a 7-1 thrashing by Wales 12 months ago.

Only a victory will keep alive North Macedonia's hopes of overtaking Scotland into third place. Among the players aiming to do that is former Leeds United defender Ezgjan Alioski, who could win his 93rd senior cap, but Rangers forward Bojan Miovski has been left out.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Scotland 3-0 North Macedonia

The Scots eased past these opponents in their own backyard and we expect them to do the same on home turf.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

At the time, it was called “the biggest scandal in the history of European football” – a sporting earthquake that was off the Richter scale. Dubbed by some onlookers as ‘Moggi-gate', it became more widely known as Calciopoli, a match-fixing scandal that dominated Italian football and overshadowed the Azzurri's 2006 World Cup success.

It resulted in Italy's richest and most decorated football club, Juventus, being kicked out of Serie A, despite many saying that, given the club's connection to the powerful Agnelli family – the owners of Fiat motors – such a thing could never happen. Of the other clubs charged with match-fixing, Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina were each deducted 30 points for the 2005-06 season, even if they were allowed to hang on to their Serie A status. The Rossoneri still finished third and qualified for the Champions League, despite their tally falling to 58.

What exactly was Calciopoli and how was it allowed to come about? Who were the power-brokers that made up Luciano Moggi's network? In the months that followed, the scandal left far more questions than answers.

In understanding it all, the logical place to start is with Moggi, the man whose name became synonymous with football corruption. A former railway stationmaster from Tuscany, he was one of the most controversial figures in Italian football for more than 20 years. He started out as a talent scout for Juventus, then had periods as sporting director at Roma, Lazio, Torino and Napoli, before returning to Juve in 1994.

During that period, Moggi began to weave his web of useful contacts. His methods were controversial and he was tagged ‘Lucky Luciano' after surviving a number of investigations, including claims that he laid on prostitutes for referees in UEFA Cup games while at Torino – claims that he denied.

Back at Juventus, the trophies began to pile up, but players and fans of rival clubs suspected that Moggi was using his weighty book of contacts to influence results. Everyone in the game had a story about Moggi, but no-one could prove anything. Moggi himself revelled in the mystique his power had created, sometimes jokingly referring to himself as ‘The Devil'.

The suspicions, it was later discovered, were not completely unfounded. The findings of an Italian Football Federation tribunal claimed that, making more than 400 phone calls a day, Moggi controlled referees, as well as having federation bosses and television presenters in his pocket.

His downfall came through intercepted calls. The Turin magistrates, who had brought criminal charges against Juve's managing director Antonio Giraudo and club doctor Riccardo Agricola for alleged doping offences (Giraudo was acquitted at the initial trial, while Agricola's charges were later thrown out by the Appeal Court), tapped the phones of the club's directors for 48 days in 2004.

What the magistrates heard was of no use to their inquiry, but they passed the transcripts on to the football federation and to magistrates in Naples, who separately had been investigating links between football and organised crime in the south of Italy. The Naples magistrates tapped the phones of dozens of people from the world of football for the 2004-05 season and Moggi-gate exploded in early May 2006, when excerpts from those two sets of phone taps were leaked to the press.

"Graham Poll?"

The selection of referees for games in Serie A was entrusted to two ‘designators': Paolo Bergamo and Pierluigi Pairetto. The names of referees were sorted into groups, according to experience. Then, in theory, they were drawn, lottery-style, and matched up with the weekend's fixtures.

The evidence from the first wave of leaks suggested that not only was the selection of referees for Serie A matches not as random as it should have been but, even more alarmingly, that Moggi held some sway over the choice of refs for Juve's Champions League games via Pairetto, who was also a member of the UEFA referees' committee. Before Juventus travelled to face Ajax in Amsterdam on September 15, 2004, Pairetto phoned Moggi.

PAIRETTO: I know that you've forgotten about me but I haven't forgotten about you.

MOGGI: Go on…

PAIRETTO: I've put a great referee for the game in Amsterdam.

MOGGI: Who?

PAIRETTO: Meier.

MOGGI: Great!

PAIRETTO: Anyway, it was just to tell you this. You see, I remember about you.

The referee was the Swiss, Urs Meier, most famous in England for being in charge of the Three Lions' quarter-final loss to Portugal at Euro 2004. Juventus beat Ajax 1-0. There has never been any suggestion that Meier was in on the arrangement or acted at all improperly. It was by no means the first time that Moggi and Pairetto had spoken. After Juventus had drawn 2-2 at home to Swedish club Djurgarden in a Champions League qualifier the previous month, in which German referee Herbert Fandel disallowed a goal by Juve's Fabrizio Miccoli, Moggi had angrily disapproved.

MOGGI: What the f**k kind of referee did you send us?

PAIRETTO: Fandel is one of the best…

MOGGI: Miccoli's goal was valid.

PAIRETTO: No.

MOGGI: It was valid, it was valid. He can f**k himself. I have to make the return match in Stockholm secure, no? With another like [Fandel], it's going to be a bit difficult, no? You follow me?

Juve won the return leg in Stockholm 4-1, with Graham Poll refereeing. Again, there has never been any suggestion that Poll was aware of the relationship between Moggi and Pairetto or acted improperly. After the match, Moggi clearly had nothing to grumble about, but the appointment of Poll had come as a surprise to him. Two days before the game, Lucky Luciano called the secretary of the Italian football league.

MOGGI: The ref is Cardoso, right?

SECRETARY: I've got Graham Poll written here.

MOGGI: Um… where's he from?

SECRETARY: He's English.

Minutes later, Moggi called Pairetto.

MOGGI: So it's Cardoso, eh?

PAIRETTO: What?

MOGGI: It's Paul Green! [He meant Poll]

PAIRETTO: What?

MOGGI: Paul Green!

PAIRETTO: Well something has happened at the last minute, he was sick or something.

MOGGI: Find out.

PAIRETTO: Yes, yes. I'll look into it right away.

Innocenzo or guilty?

For domestic games, by rigging what was supposed to be a random draw, Pairetto and Bergamo could choose from a pool of referees who were considered to be pro-Juventus. Massimo de Santis had been due to officiate at the 2006 World Cup until the scandal broke, after which he was hurriedly withdrawn by the Italian Football Federation.

It was later claimed that the referees in the ‘pro-Juve pool' would give Moggi's men the benefit of the doubt in most situations, award non-existent penalties or deny the opposition blatant ones, and disallow perfectly good goals. They would use different criteria for Juventus and their opponents when deciding what merited a yellow card – most seasons, the Turin club had the lowest yellow cards to fouls ratio.

Sometimes they would be assigned to a game featuring a team that was due to play against Juve the following week. In those games, it was claimed that their job was to book or send off key players so they would be suspended by the time they faced Juventus.

They were not being paid for their favours or receiving lavish gifts. The system was much simpler. It was made clear to refs by Pairetto and Bergamo that if they wanted to get on, wanted to take charge of the big games, to have a career, they had to toe the line. Moggi also had a contact on the inside, the Italian Football Federation vice-president Innocenzo Mazzini.

When the Italian federation opened disciplinary hearings, Moggi's network was described as a “sophisticated system which undermined one of the fundamental principles of sport: the independence of referees”.

Investigators alleged that Moggi also controlled what some television programmes said about the referees, to temper any public backlash against controversial decisions that had gone in favour of Juventus. The approach was subtle – the presenters were only to take Juve's side in situations where there had been a close call. If a foul or penalty was obvious to everyone, it would have been counter-productive to pretend it hadn't happened.

The following wiretap conversation, as later translated by a University of Perugia report, was between Moggi and Fabio Baldas, a former referee who was an expert pundit on a television programme called Il processo del lunedi [The Monday Trial].

According to investigators, the pair spoke before nearly every programme to discuss what was going to be said, but Baldas received criticism from fans for taking Juventus' side when he analysed a controversial decision made by an official during a match.

BALDAS: Luciano, they tore me to pieces!

MOGGI: They tore you to pieces?

BALDAS: I tried to defend myself, but they attacked me from all sides and said I was a Juventus fan!

[Since this article was first published in 2006, criminal proceedings against almost all the journalists caught up in the wiretaps were dropped in 2007, although several were suspended by Italy's Order of Journalists]

The other clubs

Lazio and Fiorentina were both run by businessmen who were new to football: Claudio Lotito and Diego Della Valle. The two men sensed there was something rotten in the state of the Italian game from the moment they arrived on the scene. Lotito talked about “moralising” the sport, while Della Valle attacked the system of selling TV rights, which ensured the big three – Juve, Milan and Inter – earned fortunes and everyone else shared the rest.

Key decisions seemed to go against their teams – as the 2004-05 season drew to a close, they were heading towards the trapdoor to Serie B. What to do? Go down with your principles still intact? Get real.

According to prosecutor Stefano Palazzi, phone taps showed that Lotito asked federation president Franco Carraro for help in four end-of-season matches. Carraro told ref designator Bergamo that he should “give Lazio a hand”. Fiorentina asked Mazzini for help in two vital relegation games.

Unfortunately for the two clubs, the federation's sporting code makes no allowance for acting in self-defence. Attempting to alter the outcome of a game is an offence and the two clubs were later hit with 30-point deductions for 2005-06, with more points docked for the following campaign.

They argued that in comparison to Juventus they'd done nothing, but the trio of clubs relegated in 2004-05 – Bologna, Brescia and Atalanta – were unsympathetic. They also knew how the system worked, but asked no favours and went down playing football.

Quite why Milan ever got involved is a mystery. Perhaps they realised what Juventus were up to and felt they were being denied titles that were rightfully theirs. Palazzi accused Adriano Galliani, Milan's vice-president, of backing the dodgy operations of the club's referees' assistant, Leonardo Meani: “Meani was in phone contact with linesmen, who were asked, when in doubt, to favour Milan, and Galliani approved.”

As Milan's links with friendly linesmen became public, the joke within Italian football circles was that Juve controlled the refs and Milan the linesmen, while Inter – perennial underachievers at that stage – controlled the ball boys.

The punishments

By the end of May 2006, Carraro and Mazzini had resigned from the Italian federation and were joined by Pairetto and Bergamo. On July 14, five days after Italy's victory in the World Cup final, the federation's disciplinary tribunal handed out sentences:

• Juventus were sent down to Serie B with a 30-point penalty for 2006-07, and stripped of their last two titles; Moggi and Giraudo were both banned for five years
• Milan remained in Serie A but with a 44-point penalty for 2005-06 and a further 15 points for 2006-07, while Galliani was banned for a year
• Lazio were sent down to Serie B with a seven-point penalty for 2006-07, and Lotito was banned for three years
• Fiorentina were sent down to Serie B with a 12-point penalty for 2006-07, and Diego Della Valle was banned for four years
• Carraro was banned for four-and-a-half years, Mazzini for five, Pairetto for two-and-a-half and De Santis four-and-a-half. Bergamo resigned, effectively banning himself from football for life

Later, appeals further softened many of the penalties. Juventus remained in Serie B but with only nine points docked. They were stripped of two titles – the 2004-05 Scudetto was not reassigned to another club, but the 2005-06 title was awarded to Inter, making them champions for the first time since 1989.

Lazio and Fiorentina were back in Serie A, docked three and 15 points respectively for the 2006-07 season, plus 30 each for 2005-06. Milan had the same punishment for 2005-06, as well as eight deducted for 2006-07. Carraro's ban was reduced to an €80,000 fine.

The reduced sentences caused outrage. Giovanni Semeraro, president of Lecce, one of the clubs relegated in 2005-06, said: “It's something to be ashamed of, no?”

The verdicts had come against a background of increasing calls for clemency, or even a total amnesty, on the grounds that it wouldn't be fair to punish the clubs that had provided so many of Italy's World Cup winners. Populist politicians from both sides of parliament lined up to argue for mercy, and they were backed by the mayors of Rome, Turin and Florence. A member of the appeals panel admitted that the panel had also been worried about a violent reaction from fans if three teams – Juventus, Fiorentina and Lazio – had been kicked out of Serie A.

There were other factors in the softening of sentences. Lazio's case was strengthened considerably when the club was allowed to call as a witness Daniele Tombolini, the referee who had been in charge of Lazio vs Brescia, one of the games in which the Rome club was alleged to have sought favours. Tombolini told the appeals tribunal that, far from giving Lazio a hand, he'd made mistakes in the game that had favoured Brescia.

Milan appeared to have convinced the appeals tribunal that its referees' assistant, Leonardo Meani, had collaborated independently, and for whose actions the club should not be held directly responsible.

There remained an enigma at the heart of the matter. Moggi was widely recognised as a master of the transfer market. He'd never played at a high level, but had an eye for a player and discovered many who would go on to become legends. At Juve, he finally had the financial clout to hire Italy's best coaches and the world's top players.

By ‘signing up' referees, journalists and federation officials to the club's cause as well, according to investigators, he was admitting that the best wasn't good enough – a surprising lack of faith in his own abilities and an insult to a generation of great footballers, from Alessandro Del Piero to Zinedine Zidane.

Moggi continued to protest innocence, though, seeing himself as a scapegoat who had been ritually sacrificed to pay for the sins of an entire system, with no intention of going quietly.

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge probably spoke for many in European football when he said in August 2006: “I feel sorry for Juventus, but the important thing is that people like Moggi are not around any more.” Asked whether he would return to football, Moggi told the newspaper Repubblica: “Of course, but this time I'm going to be the guy who breaks everybody's balls. I'll finger them all, by their first names and surnames. I'll break the balls of all the false moralists who think that everything is clean now because they got rid of Luciano Moggi.”

This feature first appeared in the October 2006 issue of FourFourTwo

Watch Chelsea vs Manchester City in the WSL, with all the broadcast details right here in this guide.

Just two points separate these two sides ahead of Saturday's meeting, with champions Manchester City ahead of the Blues.

But the eight-time WSL champions will see this as an opportunity to leapfrog their rivals who snatched the title off them last season, after six successive seasons of dominance.

With both sides unbeaten in the league so far, who will come out on top at Stamford Bridge?

FourFourTwo has all the information on live streams and TV channels so you can watch Chelsea vs Manchester City in the WSL online, on TV, and from anywhere.

Watch Chelsea vs Manchester City for free

Chelsea vs Man City will be broadcast for free on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.

All you will need is an account with a valid TV license to watch online.

Outside the UK? Use a VPN to access your free stream from anywhere in the world.

Watch Chelsea vs Manchester City from anywhere

Away from home right now? You don't have to miss Chelsea vs Manchester City.

The solution to your geo-restriction nightmares is a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a piece of software that can set your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate NordVPN as the best VPN you can buy.

How to watch Chelsea vs Manchester City in the UK

Chelsea vs Manchester City is live on BBC One in the UK, with kick-off at 13:30pm GMT.

Outside the UK? Unlock your Chelsea vs Manchester City stream thanks to NordVPN.

How to watch Chelsea vs Manchester City in the US

US viewers can watch Chelsea vs Manchester City on Paramount+. Kick-off is at 8:30am ET.

How to watch Chelsea vs Manchester City in Australia

Fans in Australia can stream Chelsea vs Manchester City on Stan Sport.

Travelling outside Australia? NordVPN is your ticket to watch the game.

Chelsea vs Manchester City: Women's Super League preview

Chelsea and Manchester City face off in a huge WSL title clash this weekend, with just two points separating the sides at the top of the table.

Sonia Bompastor’s Chelsea will be keen to make home advantage count, while Andree Jeglertz’s City arrive knowing that a victory would see them go five points clear and consolidate their position at the top.

City won the league last season for the first time in a decade, ending Chelsea’s impressive six-year period of total dominance.

Expect a fiercely contested encounter between two sides hoping to claim the WSL crown.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Chelsea 2-1 Manchester City

It will be a close run affair, but Chelsea will pick-up a crucial three points.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is hotting up, with four teams remaining in contention to win the Championship. Here an array of broadcast options that will allow you to watch the semi-finals from wherever you are in the world.

The 2026 NWSL season began in March and is now into the playoff matches to determine which teams will reach the Championship match on 21 November.

After the quarter-finals last weekend, just four teams remain: Gotham FC, Washington Spirit, Kansas City Current and Utah Royals.

With plenty of live streaming options for the semi-finals, including FREE coverage in the UK, read on for all the information on how to watch the 2026 National Women's Soccer League.

NWSL playoff semi-finals free streams

The NWSL has its very own streaming platform, NWSL+, which is totally free of charge.

All that's required is a simple email registration. Geo-restrictions apply, so the game will be blocked for those in the US or anywhere that has a broadcaster for the matches.

Watching on the move? You can access your usual streams from anywhere in the world with a VPN – more on that below.

Watch the NWSL playoff semi-finals from anywhere

For the ability to bypass any geo-restrictions, and to stay as safe as possible when streaming content online, you should consider getting a VPN.

A Virtual Private Network is a piece of software that protects you online by creating encrypted connections, and unblocks your usual streaming services by re-routing your device's IP address.

Our colleagues over at TechRadar can't recommend NordVPN highly enough...

How to watch the NWSL playoff semi-finals in the US

Fans in the USA can watch the semi-final between Washington Spirit on CBS and its streaming service, Paramount+ ($8.99/month).

The match between Gotham FC and Kansas City Current will be available on ABC and ESPN ($13.99/month).

How to watch NWSL playoff semi-finals in the UK

Fans in the UK can watch both play-off semi-finals on TNT Sports.

TNT Sports 1 will show Spirit vs Royals while TNT Sports 2 is the go-to for Gotham vs Kansas, while HBO Max (£30.99 a month) hosts the live stream.

How to watch NWSL playoff semi-finals in Canada

TSN are the official broadcasters of the NWSL playoff semi-finals in Canada.

Streaming access is available from CA$24.99/month.

The semi-finalists

Gotham FC

The reigning NWSL champions finished top of the regular-season standings to claim the NWSL Shield for the first time. Led by head coach Juan Carlos Amorós, they are aiming to become the first team to win back-to-back Championship titles since the league's introduction of the current playoff format.

Kansas City Current

Kansas City enjoyed a strong regular season, finishing fourth in the standings before edging past Angel City 1-0 after extra time in the quarter-finals. The 2024 champions will be looking to reclaim the title, with back-to-back MVP Temwa Chawinga and Croix Bethune key to their attacking threat.

Washington Spirit

The 2025 Championship runners-up finished third in the regular season and made a statement with a 4-1 quarter-final win over Portland Thorns. With Trinity Rodman leading the attack, they will be looking to go one step further this year after falling short in last season's final.

Utah Royals

Utah are the surprise package of this year's playoffs, finishing seventh in the regular season before causing an upset and knocking out second seeds San Diego Wave. Having reached the semi-finals for the first time, they will be hoping to continue their impressive run and reach their first-ever Championship final.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch Serbia vs Germany for free from anywhere as Jurgen Klopp's side aim to boost their chances of reaching the Nations League quarter-finals. FourFourTwo has all the live stream details and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Serbia lost their opening four matches in Group A2 but they can still finish above Die Mannschaft if they win tonight and results go their way in the final round of fixtures.

Klopp's men sit third in the table, three points behind the Netherlands and Greece, and remain in the hunt for a quarter-final place.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information on how to watch Serbia vs Germany online, on TV, and from anywhere — including for FREE.

Watch Serbia vs Germany from anywhere

Away from home? You don't have to miss Serbia vs Germany.

A VPN can, subject to your broadcaster’s T&Cs, bypass geo-restrictions and unblock your usual streaming services abroad, while also improving your general internet security.

The tech experts at Tom's Guide review a lot of VPNs and right now they reckon NordVPN is the best VPN you can buy. And the good news is that NordVPN are currently offering an amazing deal on the service...

Watch Serbia vs Germany in the UK

Amazon Prime Video has live coverage of Serbia vs Germany in the UK, with coverage available on a pay-per-view basis. Kick-off is at 7:45pm GMT.

Serbia vs Germany will cost just £2.49 on a pay-per-view basis

Travelling outside the UK? You need a VPN to access your Amazon Prime Video stream from anywhere in the world.

Watch Serbia vs Germany in the US

As mentioned earlier, US viewers can stream Serbia vs Germany live on Fubo Sports Network via Tubi at no cost.

Fubo TV, an official broadcast partner of the Nations League, also has live coverage of the game, which kicks-off at 2:45pm ET.

Not in the US? Access your free Serbia vs Germany stream with a VPN.

Watch Serbia vs Germany in Australia

beIN SPORTS has live coverage of Serbia vs Germany in Australia.

The game is live on beIN SPORTS 2 and the beIN SPORTS CONNECT streaming service, with kick-off at 6:45am AEDT on Saturday.

beIN SPORTS plans are available for $16.99 a month or $169.99 a year. Both plans include a 7-day free trial for new customers.

Abroad? Watch Serbia vs Germany on beIN SPORTS with a VPN.

Serbia vs Germany: Nations League preview

Serbia will be relieved to reach their final two games of 2026 after a nightmare 12 months for Veljko Paunovic's side.

The Eagles have lost seven of their eight matches this year, and each of their last six games - including all four in Nations League Group A2. However, they will retain a faint hope of avoiding relegation to the second tier if they can beat Germany in Belgrade.

Sasa Lukic and Nemanja Maksimovic are unavailable through suspension, while former Fulham and Newcastle United striker Aleksandar Mitrovic looks set to lead the line.

Serbia are the only team Germany have beaten in their four matches under Jurgen Klopp, after goals by Tom Bischof and Florian Wirtz secured a 2-0 win in Munich last month.

A draw and a defeat against Greece, plus another draw with the Netherlands, means Die Mannschaft are likely to need at least four points from tonight's game and Monday's home clash with the Dutch if they are to reach the Nations League quarter-finals.

Klopp named a 24-man squad for this international window but can include only 23 players across his starting XI and substitutes' bench, so Borussia Monchengladbach teenager Wael Mohya misses out in Belgrade.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Serbia 0-2 Germany

We are predicting a win and a clean sheet for Die Mannschaft, setting up a fascinating clash with the Dutch on Monday.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch England vs Croatia in the Nations League for FREE from anywhere as Harry Kane prepares to break the Three Lions' appearance record. FourFourTwo has all the live stream details and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

It is less than six weeks since Thomas Tuchel's men subjected Croatia to a humiliating 7-0 thrashing in Rijeka, but a point is all they need to seal their place in the quarter-finals.

Captain Kane is set to make a record-breaking 126th appearance for England on an historic night at Wembley. Jude Bellingham will line-up alongside him while Jarell Quansah and Dan Burn make up an unusual centre-back partnership.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information on how to watch England vs Croatia online, on TV, and from anywhere.

England vs Croatia Team News

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England XI: Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Burn, Hall; Rice, Anderson; M. Rogers, Bellingham, Gordon; H. Kane

🇭🇷 Croatia XI: Livakovic; Stanisic, Vuskovic, Smolcic, Gvardiol; Kovacic; Vlasic, Sucic, Misic, Baturina; Matanovic

Watch England vs Croatia for FREE in the UK and Ireland

Fans in the UK can watch England vs Croatia for free on ITV1 and ITVX. Kick-off is at 7:45pm GMT.

Viewers in Ireland can also stream the game at no cost on Virgin Media Two and Virgin Media Play, complete with English commentary.

Watch England vs Croatia from anywhere

Away from home? You don't have to miss England vs Croatia.

A VPN can, subject to your broadcaster’s T&Cs, bypass geo-restrictions and unblock your usual streaming services abroad, while also improving your general internet security.

The tech experts at Tom's Guide review a lot of VPNs and right now they reckon NordVPN is the best VPN you can buy. And the good news is that NordVPN are currently offering an amazing deal on the service...

How to watch England vs Croatia in the US

Fans in the US can watch England vs Croatia on Fubo TV, which is an official broadcast partner of the UEFA Nations League. The game kicks-off at 2:45pm ET / 11:45am PT.

This match will be a pay-per-view game with a fee of $19.99 required for access.

Visiting the US from England? Watch your free ITV stream with NordVPN.

How to watch England vs Croatia in Australia

Viewers in Australia can watch England vs Croatia live on beIN SPORTS.

The game will be shown on beIN SPORTS 2 and beIN SPORTS CONNECT, with kick-off at 6:45am AEDT on Friday.

beIN SPORTS CONNECT prices start from AU$16.99/month with annual plans getting you 12 months for the price of 10.

Abroad? Unlock your England vs Croatia stream on beIN SPORTS with a VPN.

England vs Croatia: Match Preview

England welcome Croatia to Wembley just 40 days after thrashing Slaven Bilic's side 7-0 in Rijeka, with Thomas Tuchel's men all-but assured of a place in the Nations League quarter-finals as a result.

The lack of jeopardy attached to tonight's game means the Three Lions can concentrate on honouring captain Harry Kane, who will break Peter Shilton's 36-year appearance record when he wins his 126th cap tonight.

The Ballon d'Or winner looks certain to start, but Tuchel may rest some of his other stars ahead of Sunday's Group A3 finale away to Spain. That could open the door to a senior debut for uncapped trio Josh King, James Hill and Jobe Bellingham, albeit from the bench.

Croatia arrive at Wembley looking to restore some pride after they faced heavy criticism for the manner of their defeat by England last time out.

Manager Bilic will have fond memories of this stadium, having masterminded a famous 3-2 win here in 2007 that sealed his country's place at Euro 2008 and condemned the Three Lions to an embarrassing exit at the qualifying stage.

A repeat result looks a tall order, though, with Ivan Perisic suspended and several players unavailable due to injury. Croatia are third in the table and could still be leapfrogged by rock-bottom Czechia, who they face on Sunday.

Squads

England

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Jason Steele, James Trafford.

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jarrad Branthwaite, Dan Burn, Lewis Hall, James Hill, Ezri Konsa, Jarell Quansah, Djed Spence, Ben White.

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson, Jobe Bellingham, Jude Bellingham, James Garner, Josh King, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Declan Rice.

Forwards: Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Eberechi Eze, Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, Rio Ngumoha, Morgan Rogers.

Croatia

Goalkeepers: Dominik Livakovic, Dominik Kotarski, Karlo Letica, Ivor Pandur.

Defenders: Josko Gvardiol, Duje Caleta-Car, Josip Stanisic, Luka Vuskovic, Ivan Smolcic, Simun Hrgovic.

Midfielders: Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Mario Pasalic, Nikola Vlasic, Lovro Majer, Martin Baturina, Petar Sucic, Luka Sucic, Kristijan Jakic, Toni Fruk, Josip Misic.

Forwards: Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric, Ante Budimir, Marco Pasalic, Igor Matanovic, Petar Musa, Franjo Ivanovic, Dion Drena Beljo, Marin Soticek.

FourFourTwo's prediction

England 2-0 Croatia

While it is unlikely to be another seven-goal mauling, we expect the Three Lions to win comfortably and Kane to score on his milestone night.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch Czechia vs Spain for free from anywhere as the world champions travel to Prague in the Nations League, with FourFourTwo bringing you live stream details and TV channels, wherever you are on the planet.

La Roja have already qualified for the quarter-finals after winning their opening four matches in Group A3, but they will not be at full strength for this game with several stars including Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal and Rodri all unavailable.

Czechia are still looking for their first points of Nations League 2026/27 following four successive defeats, including a 3-1 loss to Spain in Oviedo last month.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information on how to watch Czechia vs Spain online, on TV, and from anywhere - including for FREE.

Watch Czechia vs Spain from anywhere

Away from home right now? You don't have to miss Czechia vs Spain.

The solution to your geo-restriction nightmares is a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a piece of software that can set your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate NordVPN as the best VPN you can buy.

Watch Czechia vs Spain in the UK

Viewers in the UK can watch Czechia vs Spain on Amazon Prime Video, with coverage available on a pay-per-view basis. Kick-off is at 7:45pm GMT.

Travelling outside the UK? You need a VPN to access your Amazon Prime Video stream from anywhere in the world.

Watch Czechia vs Spain in the US

Fox Sports is the official broadcast partner of the Nations League in the US, with live coverage of Czechia vs Spain on Fox Soccer Plus. The game will kick-off at 2:45pm ET.

Not in the US? Access your usual Fox Sports stream with a VPN.

Watch Czechia vs Spain in Australia

In Australia, Czechia vs Spain is live on beIN SPORTS.

The match will be broadcast on the beIN SPORTS CONNECT streaming platform, with kick-off at 6:45am AEDT on Friday.

Abroad? Watch Czechia vs Spain on beIN SPORTS with a VPN.

Czechia vs Spain: Nations League preview

When you have lost five games in a row, the last team you want to face are the world champions. Unfortunately for Czechia, that is exactly the situation they find themselves in tonight in Prague.

Santi Denia's side have not enjoyed life in Nations League Group A3, losing all four matches and scoring just two goals. The Czechs look set to be relegated from the top tier unless they can claim a miracle result tonight and back it up against Croatia on Sunday.

They have been hit by the absence of several key players, including injured sextet Robin Hranac, Pavel Sulc, Ondrej Lingr, Ondrej Kricfalusi, Michal Sacek, and Adam Karabec, plus the suspended Michal Sadilek.

Spain will also be without a clutch of stars in Prague, with teenager superstar Lamine Yamal and forward Mikel Oyarzabal sidelined through injury and illness respectively. They are expected to return for Sunday's Group A3 finale against England, but midfielders Rodri and Dani Olmo will miss both games.

The good news for manager Luis de la Fuente is that he has plenty of quality in reserve, with Alvaro Valles, Jacobo Ramon and Marc Roca handed their first senior call-ups.

The world and European champions should have more than enough to beat the Czechs as they look to stretch their 11-match winning run — and their 43-game unbeaten streak — with their place in the quarter-finals already assured.

Czechia vs Spain: Team News

🇨🇿 Czechia XI: Kovar; Coufal, Zima, Krejci, Jurasek; Kral, Cerv; Ambros, Hlozek, Provod; Naderi

🇪🇸 Spain XI: Unai Simón; Pedro Porro, Cubarsí, Huijsen, Cucurella; Zubimendi, Fermín López, Fabián Ruiz; Baena, Ferran Torres, Yeremy Pino

FourFourTwo's prediction

Czechia 0-2 Spain

We expect La Roja to continue their perfect Nations League record with little fuss.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

This season, I think I’ve lost count of the amount of times someone has come up to me and said, “Brighton are in the title race, aren’t they?” Whether they’ve been joking or not, the fact they’ve included the club in the conversation is bonkers. We’ve enjoyed the adulation – it was deserved after an impressive run of results to start the season.

Brighton have begun the campaign as entertainers. Fabian Hurzeler has them free-scoring, upsetting the Premier League champions and playing an attacking brand of football that’s fun to watch.

Most Albion fans have been realistic that mounting a title challenge is one step too far. What does feel possible though, and it still feels crazy that I’m even writing this, is that there’s probably never been a better opportunity to challenge for a Champions League place – madness for a club that only experienced European football for the first time in its history in 2023.

On top of the Seagulls’ great start, some of the usual contenders for the Champions League places didn’t really get going early on. Manchester United and Spurs both struggled, Liverpool and Chelsea were still settling under new managers, and Manchester City have been at risk of being hit with sanctions this term. If ever there was a season where a disruptor could break into those qualification spots, it’s this one. Brighton will be one of the favourites to do it.

I’ll be honest and admit that before a ball was even kicked, I was nervous about this season. As fans, we’re used to losing key players and coping pretty well, but to lose the spine of Jan Paul van Hecke, Carlos Baleba and Danny Welbeck all in the same window was a big blow. Joao Pedro was sold the summer before, and losing both the Brazilian and Welbeck in successive summers without an experienced replacement felt risky.

Scoring goals was a huge concern, but I’ve been proven completely wrong. Again. The club have shown once more that they’re not just one step ahead of everyone else, but two. They had their best ever start to a top-flight season, and over the first seven league games of the campaign, only Barcelona and Bayern Munich had scored more among Europe’s top five leagues.

Brighton consistently find hidden gems. It’s a testament to their recruitment policy and they appear to have done it again with a number of players. The club don’t mind marketing themselves as one that helps a player progress and allows them to leave if a big offer arises, and their culture provides young talent a platform to thrive without too much pressure.

Greek teenage striker Charalampos Kostoulas looks like one of the best young players in the league and is key to Hurzeler’s aggressive press. Also just 19 years old, no-one expected Luka Vuskovic to replace Van Hecke so well. They are two young players who are flourishing in a team that also has plenty of experience in captain Lewis Dunk and Pascal Gross to give it the right balance.

Brighton’s stand-out performer has been 35-year-old Gross, who returned to the club in a genius January move after a season-and-a-half at Borussia Dortmund. His workrate, and goal and assist output had already given him legendary status at the Amex, but he’s been on another level and is clearly enjoying his football more than ever.

There have already been a handful of memorable results, including the comeback win at Old Trafford, a 3-0 victory at home to Arsenal and a 5-0 thrashing of rivals Crystal Palace, which included that halfway line goal from Diego Gomez. It will go down as one of the all-time great Premier League strikes and summed up the confidence Brighton are playing with.

The challenge now is to compete consistently and stay in this crazy conversation as long as possible. As fans, we always expect a bad run just around the corner, but this season could be special. The club are Conference League favourites, and supporters are desperate to see a first major trophy.

Football is there to make us believe and Brighton fans will continue to dream after the start we’ve seen. There may never be a better opportunity to break into the Champions League than now, but lifting that first piece of silverware surely has to be a priority.

Sitting bottom of the Premier League’s Expected Points (xPTS) table is cause for concern at St James' Park this season.

Newcastle United’s high-risk tactical approach under new head coach Matthias Jaissle has left them exposed in transition, but their biggest structural weakness appears when they are forced onto the back foot. The team has largely relied on a single way of playing so far, with little in the way of an effective direct outlet when opponents pin them deep.

The root of the issue is highlighted in data published by Twitter/X user @markrstats who has examined how Premier League forwards perform when contesting long balls. The data visualisation plots volume (how often a forward is first to a long clearance per 90 minutes) against security (how often the forward's team retains possession).

Newcastle have a target man problem - but Matthias Jaissle does have a fix

Across the division, Newcastle’s attacking options register some of the weakest numbers in the league.

Matias Fernandez-Pardo ranks lowest in the below dataset for ball retention. While he contests an average of 2.8 long balls per 90 minutes, Newcastle retain possession following his involvement just 27% of the time. In practical terms, roughly three out of every four long balls targeted toward Fernandez-Pardo result in a turnover of possession.

Yoane Wissa offers even less presence in these situations. The DR Congo forward is first to just 1.2 long balls per 90 minutes - the lowest of any forward evaluated in the graphic.

His retention rate of roughly 41.5% is an improvement on Fernandez-Pardo, but his low involvement means Newcastle rarely look in his direction when clearing the ball from deep.

By comparison, effective direct outlets offer either high-volume contesting or a high level of security. Dominic Calvert-Lewin contests 7.1 long balls per 90 for Leeds United, with a 53% retention rate, while Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey combines 4.9 long balls per 90 with a league-leading 79% retention rate.

Newcastle possess neither attribute in their current starting frontline.

This lack of aerial presence can leave the side trapped in their own half whenever an opposing press successfully cuts off short passing options - which is not a place any team wants to find themselves. Without a forward who can pin a centre-back or win an initial duel, Newcastle cannot move up the pitch as a unit.

Newcastle's squad does, however, contain a profile capable of addressing this shortcoming in Will Osula.

Standing at well over 6ft tall, the Danish international offers the physical profile Newcastle are currently missing centrally.

In his Premier League minutes, Osula has averaged 4.35 successful aerial duels per 90 - the highest among all Newcastle players, ahead of central defenders Dan Burn (4.00) and Sven Botman.

His aerial duel success rate regularly exceeds 70%, offering the target man traits required to bring supporting runners into play.

When he has started this season, Newcastle have looked more of a threat, including in the season opener at home to Liverpool, and the 2-0 away win against Crystal Palace.

Playing exclusively through transition and pressing is not yet generating reliable results for the Magpies. Unless Newcastle change their attacking style and deploy more of a reference point like Osula to make long balls stick, their lack of a direct alternative could drag them into a relegation fight.

Watch Turkey vs Belgium in the Nations League for free from anywhere, as two teams who need a result in Group A1 meet in Izmir. FourFourTwo has all the live stream details and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

The Crescent-Stars begin a new era under manager Sergen Yalcin, after Vincenzo Montella was sacked last month following four successive defeats that has left Turkey on the brink of relegation.

Belgium are aiming to do the double over tonight's opponents, having beaten them 3-0 in Liege last month, and another win would boost their chances of reaching the quarter-finals.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information on how to watch Turkey vs Belgium online, on TV, and from anywhere — including for FREE.

Watch Turkey vs Belgium from anywhere

Away from home? You don't have to miss Turkey vs Belgium.

A VPN can, subject to your broadcaster’s T&Cs, bypass geo-restrictions and unblock your usual streaming services abroad, while also improving your general internet security.

The tech experts at Tom's Guide review a lot of VPNs and right now they reckon NordVPN is the best VPN you can buy. And the good news is that NordVPN are currently offering an amazing deal on the service...

Watch Turkey vs Belgium in the UK

Fans in the UK can watch Turkey vs Belgium live on Amazon Prime Video, with coverage available on a pay-per-view basis. Kick-off is at 5:00pm GMT.

The PPV figure will come in at £2.49 with access limited to just the Turkey vs Belgium fixture.

Travelling outside the UK? You need a VPN to access your Amazon Prime Video stream from anywhere in the world.

Watch Turkey vs Belgium in the US

US viewers can watch Turkey vs Belgium live on Fox Sports 1.

FS1 is available via cord-cutters such as Sling, YouTube TV, Fubo and DirecTV Stream.

Alternatively, in-house streamer Fox One carries FS1, with a 3-day free trial available on the platform., with kick-off at 12:00pm ET.

Visiting the US from Turkey? Access your usual free Nations League stream with NordVPN (30-day money back guarantee).

Watch Turkey vs Belgium in Australia

beIN SPORTS is showing Turkey vs Belgium live in Australia, with coverage on beIN Sports 3 and the beIN SPORTS CONNECT streaming service.

beIN SPORTS comes in at $16.99 a month or $169.99 a year. Both plans include a 7-day free trial for new customers.

Kick-off is at 4:00am AEDT on Friday.

Visiting another country from Oz? Unlock your Turkey vs Belgium stream on beIN Sports with a VPN.

Turkey vs Belgium: Nations League preview

Turkey head into the final two matchdays of Group A1 under new management, after Vincenzo Montella paid the price for a disastrous World Cup and an awful start to the Nations League campaign.

Former Crescent-Stars midfielder Sergen Yalcin takes over and would immediately endear himself to the fans if he can somehow avoid relegation to League B, with Turkey needing to beat Belgium by four goals, then overcome France on Sunday while hoping tonight's opponents lose to Italy.

Centre back Abdulkerim Badarkci is suspended and Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz remains sidelined through injury, so Arda Guler will once again be responsible for carrying most of Turkey's attacking threat as he aims to carry his good form with Real Madrid onto the international stage.

Belgium start the international window just one point behind second-place Italy, who they face on Sunday, so a victory in Izmir would keep their fate in their own hands when they take on the Azzurri in Brussels.

The Red Devils need to finish in the top two of Group A1 to qualify for the quarter-finals and a pair of wins this week would secure their place in the last eight.

Manager Mark van Bommel has been boosted by the return of Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku, who missed the previous Nations League window through injury. He is expected to start against Turkey, despite lively performances by wide men Mika Godts and Dodi Lukebakio in September and October.

Turkey vs Belgium: Team News

🇹🇷 Turkey XI: Çakır; Demiral, Kabak, Kadioglu; Yuksek, Aydin, Kökçü, Akgün; Arda Güler, Enes Ünal; Yilmaz

🇧🇪 Belgium XI: Lammens; Castagne, Ngoy, Mechele, De Cuyper; Tielemans, Raskin; De Ketelaere, De Bruyne, Moreira; Doku

FourFourTwo's prediction

Turkey 1-2 Belgium

The hosts will be out to impress their new manager, but that may not be enough.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Manchester United have identified their first signing of the Mauricio Pochettino era, and have the go-ahead for a move.

The Argentine is set to become the fourth permanent head coach of the INEOS era after Manchester United decided to dismiss Michael Carrick, with the former Red Devils midfielder having won just once in the first 10 games of the season.

Pochettino has already decided on a first transfer target, too – with Arsenal's Hale End academy another source for the club.

Manchester United are in need of new impetus up front

Two of United's early INEOS buys came from the Gunners, with the new ownership looking for value in youngsters they could develop.

Ayden Heaven has proven to be a smart signing, while 18-year-old Chido Obi is still developing out on loan at Willem II.

TEAMtalk are now reporting that Pochettino is eyeing a move for Folarin Balogun in January, with United lacking a focal point in attack while Benjamin Sesko is injured.

The New York City-born centre-forward came through Arsenal's academy and made his first-team debut under manager Mikel Arteta, but after an excellent loan spell at Reims, the North Londoners found the idea of selling the star for pure profit too good to resist.

Balogun has struggled a little more at Monaco, however, and almost moved to Everton over the summer after a star turn under Pochettino for the USMNT at a World Cup on home soil.

The report states that Balogun has given his approval to a move to Old Trafford – should it materialise – with United looking at improving a floundering squad in the winter window.

Monaco, meanwhile, are open to business in January, preferring a sale to a loan – though would consider a temporary arrangement if a good clause was included in the negotiations.

TEAMtalk have also noted that US right-back Alex Freeman is a player that Pochettino regards highly, with both full-back roles problem positions for the Red Devils.

Tim Howard and Jonathan Spector remain the only American players to have represented the 13-time Premier League winners in the 21st Century.

Balogun is worth €50m, according to Transfermarkt. Arsenal take on Newcastle United when Premier League action resumes after the international break.

Granit Xhaka brings European pedigree and composure in the middle of the park, Enzo Le Fee provides creative thrust, whilst Robin Roefs has proven to be a Premier League-standard goalkeeper between the posts - but none of them are Sunderland's most important player.

It is easy to understand why there may be debate among Sunderland supporters over who is club’s most vital asset. But looking plainly at what is keeping Sunderland afloat in the Premier League, the reality is obvious: it's Brian Brobbey.

A telling data visualisation published by X/Twitter user markstats.club highlights just how unprecedented Brobbey’s contribution to the Black Cats' cause is across the English top flight.

Brian Brobbey is the Premier League's best target man

The graphic plots Premier League forwards' ability at contesting long balls during the 2026/27 campaign, measuring how often an attacker is first to the ball per 90 minutes, against the percentage of those duels that result in their team retaining possession.

Under normal circumstances, there is an inevitable trade-off for centre-forwards. Strikers who contest a high number of long balls, such as Leeds United's Dominic Calvert-Lewin (7.1 per 90) and Nottingham Forest's Liam Delap (6.6 per 90), invariably lose their fair share.

In these two case studies, Leeds and Forest retain the ball just 53% and 38% of the time, respectively. Strikers Erling Haaland and Taiwo Awoniyi boast high retention rates between 67% and 70%, but contest far fewer long balls (both under 3.5 per 90).

For the most part it's very much one or the other: high volume OR high retention, not both.

Brobbey is the only player in the Premier League this season who bucks that trend.

The Dutchman is contesting nearly five long balls per 90 minutes (4.9), matching the workload of the division's workhorses, but Sunderland retain the ball on an astonishing 79% of those occasions.

He is the league's single-most radical outlier - nobody else in the Premier League can boast this combination of physical volume and security.

The broader tactical implications for Sunderland’s survival fight must not be overstated, though. For a relatively newly established top-flight side often forced into a low or mid-block, navigating sustained opposition pressure is simply a fact of Premier League life.

Without a forward capable of absorbing contact, killing dead balls and providing relief, clearances turn into recurring waves of defending.

Brobbey, then, functions as Sunderland's release valve. Whether it be pinning a defender, taking a 50-yard diagonal on his chest, or using his lower-body power to spin his marker, as he did so effectively against Chelsea defender Levi Colwill for the Black Cats' penalty last weekend, he transforms defensive clearances into controlled attacking-third possession.

That security allows Sunderland’s defensive line to step up, resets the team's shape, and gives orchestrators like Xhaka and Le Fee a platform to operate 40 yards further up the pitch without fear of immediate turnovers.

Losing Xhaka would harm Sunderland’s tactical discipline, losing Le Fee would diminish their incisiveness in the final third, and losing Roefs would likely lead to a drop-off in shot-stopping. But, losing Brobbey would cut right at the heart of how the team functions for large parts of games.

Without his ability to turn long balls into Sunderland possession, Regis Le Bris' side would either be forced to play through pressing traps they might not survive or watch clearances bounce straight back into their defensive third.

If Sunderland keep Brobbey fit, his hold-up play will keep them competitive against anyone. If he spends an extended period on the treatment table, the trapdoor will open, which given their first 10 games of the season, they can ill afford.

Watch Italy vs France for free from anywhere, as Les Bleus travel to San Siro for a heavyweight clash in Nations League Group A1. FourFourTwo has all the live stream details and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

The Azzurri have made a solid start to the campaign and would leapfrog their opponents at the top of the table with a victory.

However, a France win would seal their spot in the quarter-finals as group winners, leaving Italy and Belgium to fight it out for second place.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information on how to watch Italy vs France online, on TV, and from anywhere — including for FREE.

Italy vs France: Team News

🇮🇹 Italy XI: Donnarumma; Kayode, Scalvini, Bastoni, Calafiori; Frattesi, Tonali, Barella; Sebastiano Esposito, Pio Esposito, Cambiaghi

🇫🇷 France XI: Maignan; Gusto, Jacquet, Upamecano, Truffert; Da Cunha, Rabiot, Cherki; Olise, Doué; Barcola

Watch Italy vs France from anywhere

Away from home? You don't have to miss Italy vs France.

A VPN can, subject to your broadcaster’s T&Cs, bypass geo-restrictions and unblock your usual streaming services abroad, while also improving your general internet security.

The tech experts at Tom's Guide review a lot of VPNs and right now they reckon NordVPN is the best VPN you can buy. And the good news is that NordVPN are currently offering an amazing deal on the service...

Watch Italy vs France in the UK

Italy vs France is live on Amazon Prime Video in the UK, with coverage available on a pay-per-view basis. Kick-off is at 7:45pm GMT.

Travelling outside the UK? You need a VPN to access your Amazon Prime Video stream from anywhere in the world.

Watch Italy vs France in the US

Viewers in the US can watch Italy vs France live on Fox Sports 1, the official broadcast partner of the Nations League in the States.

FS1 is the place to go to watch the game, which kicks-off at 2:45pm ET.

Not in the US? Access your usual Fox Sports stream with a VPN.

Watch Italy vs France in Australia

beIN SPORTS has live coverage of Italy vs France in Australia.

The game is live on beIN SPORTS 3 and the beIN SPORTS CONNECT streaming service, with kick-off at 6:45am AEDT on Friday.

Abroad? Watch Italy vs France on beIN SPORTS with a VPN.

Italy vs France: Nations League preview

Any meeting between Italy and France evokes memories of some of football's most famous matches, including the finals of Euro 2000 and World Cup 2006.

While Milan's iconic San Siro will provide a fitting backdrop for this clash of two European heavyweights, the sad truth is that the Azzurri are a shadow of some of the great sides of years gone by and will be underdogs against Les Bleus.

That being said, manager Roberto Mancini will fancy his team's chances of pulling off a shock win over France that would send them top of Group A1 ahead of Sunday's finale with Belgium. The Italy boss has called up 20-year-old AC Milan winger Alphadjo Cisse, who has already scored eight goals in a breakthrough season.

France arrive at San Siro knowing a victory would seal their place in the quarter-finals as group winners before they host Turkey on Sunday.

Zinedine Zidane's side were frustrated by Italy in last month's return fixture, which ended 1-1 — the same scoreline as the World Cup 2006 final, when the now-Les Bleus boss was infamously sent off for headbutting Azzurri defender Marco Materazzi.

Centre back Dayot Upamecano was sent off against Italy last month but is available again after serving his ban, while Ibrahima Konate and Aurelien Tchouameni also return to the squad. However, Paris Saint-Germain star Ousmane Dembele misses out through injury.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Italy 0-1 France

This should be another fascinating contest, but we are backing Les Bleus' superior quality to make the difference.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Morning. Another FourFourTwo Quickfire Quiz? You got it. 10 tricky football trivia questions and a 90-second time limit. Go!

Handpicked football quizzes we know you'll love

FourFourTwo has tons more football quizzes, and they're all courtesy of Kwizly. We've picked out some of our recent big-hitters, so if you want to carry on quizzin' then here's what you need to keep going.

England captain Harry Kane did it this year. 17 players did it before him, one every four years since 1958. What are we talking about? Players who have won the Ballon d'Or in a World Cup year, that's what. Can you name them all?

Next, we have a new cropped football club badges quiz to wrap your eyeballs around. It's a challenging one. We've snipped each one down to a tiny square and your task is to identify them from the details that remain. If you really know your stuff, you'll get them all.

Here's one that's all about the gaffers. Every honours list in the managerial world is unique, a fingerprint, in a way that's not necessarily true of players. Can you identify these managers from their honours lists?

Just for fun, we picked a handful of our favourite iconic top-flight moments of the last 35 years. Using only a photograph of each one, we want you to tell us which season each of them happened in. That's the challenge of our Premier League Years picture quiz.

We have puzzles too. Our Weekend Crossword is a regular football teaser for your Sunday, and remember to sign up to the newsletter for more quizzes in your inbox. Don't forget to join The Club for free additional membership benefits!

Few players have transformed a club as Diego Maradona did for Napoli. After winning two trophies in their first six decades, Napoli won five in six seasons with Maradona. Maradona's face still adorns the city walls today, and his legacy is etched into the hearts of Napoli supporters like Enzo Demme.

Enzo was seven when he left Italy for Germany, carving out a playing career that took him as high as the 3. Bundesliga. Despite living in Germany, he never stopped supporting Napoli or idolizing Maradona. Even as he was serving a 15-month suspension for cocaine, Demme paid homage to Maradona by naming his son Diego.

Diego followed in Enzo's footballing footsteps with Arminia Bielefeld and Paderborn before spurring RB Leipzig from the third tier to the Champions League. However, silverware eluded the Leipzig captain, whose closest brush with glory ended in defeat to Bayern Munich in the 2018/19 DFB-Pokal Final.

Diego Demme: From Maradona's Namesake to Napoli's Scudetto

With Leipzig sitting atop the Bundesliga and challenging for their maiden championship, Demme made the surprising decision to join a Napoli side in crisis in January 2020. He established himself as a midfield linchpin, winning the 2019/20 Coppa Italia and ending their six-year trophy drought.

After claiming their fourth trophy of the post-Maradona era, Demme helped Napoli go from seventh to fifth to third to first in Serie A, winning the 2022/23 Scudetto with five games remaining. Unlike in 2020, when COVID-19 restrictions kept supporters apart, Napoli fans could finally take to the streets and celebrate their team's triumph together.

"We won at Udinese and flew back to Napoli, and the whole airport was closed because there were too many people at the airport," stated Demme in an exclusive FourFourTwo interview. "We went to the military airport, and there were still so many people."

Napoli fans had spent 33 years wondering whether the sun would shine on them again after Maradona. 30 months after Maradona's untimely passing, they had finally found their answer.

"I can't explain the sensation of winning the Scudetto, because it was unbelievable. We were driving from the airport, and behind the bus, there were 200 scooters in the tunnel. They were next to each other, and there was no space, and everybody was celebrating. I was like, ‘Wow, if something happens, then there will be a domino effect, and everyone will fall."

For Enzo, it was the culmination of a lifelong love affair with Napoli. Having watched from afar as Maradona inspired their first Scudetti in 1987 and 1990, he could finally celebrate the title in Naples alongside the son he'd named after his footballing hero.

"My father was crying because it was so emotional for him, because of the whole Maradona story and the Scudetto," added Demme. "Today, when I see the pictures, I think of how wonderful it was. It was a crazy night. We were celebrating with the whole city, and it was great."

For a man who had spent nearly his entire life away from Italy, it was a poignant homecoming. The seven-year-old boy who had carried his adoration for Napoli across the Alps had lived long enough to see his son restore his team to the promised land.

Demme left the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in 2024, spending two years at Hertha Berlin before retiring last month. He's still keeping his Napoli roots alive as the co-owner of two Neapolitan pizzerias in Berlin, and he plans to open another in Tbilisi with ex-teammate Khvicha Kvaratshkelia.

Three decades after being named after Napoli's greatest hero, Diego Demme has come full circle. Football brought him back to his father's homeland, and even after hanging up his boots, he's ensuring that a slice of Naples will always remain with him.

Manchester United look set to change manager following a run of just one win in 10 league matches under Michael Carrick.

Mauricio Pochettino is in the picture to replace Carrick, meanwhile former Old Trafford and Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin has delivered an emphatic endorsement of the Argentine coach.

Pochettino is widely considered the leading candidate to take charge, and Schneiderlin - who played the finest football of his career under the Argentine at St Mary’s Stadium - insists the 54-year-old has the personal qualities required to unify a fractured club.

Schneiderlin: 'Pochettino was screaming in Spanish for us to press, press, press!'

Reflecting on Pochettino’s arrival in English football in 2013, Schneiderlin revealed that an initial language barrier did nothing to dilute the manager’s authority.

"He didn't need to speak a lot of the language," Schneiderlin recalls, via Comeon.com. "He would put an arm around you, and with the translator or someone who spoke English, he’d explain what he liked about you and exactly what he wanted you to do.

"I'll always remember his team talk before that first game against Everton. He was just screaming in Spanish, a deeply motivational speech, entirely in Spanish, but all we could hear and understand was: 'Press like lions! Press like lions! Press like lions!' And we did press like lions!

"Now that he speaks fluent English, it's going to be even easier for him. But his charisma, his presence, and the way he carried himself - we were just under his spell straight away."

That buy-in was cemented on the Saints' training ground, where Pochettino instituted a relentless physical culture.

"We were working very, very hard in training sessions and in the gym, not to be bodybuilders or look nice on the beach, but building a lot of lower-body strength," Schneiderlin explains.

"He used me much more as a true box-to-box midfielder - he wanted me to run, to press, and to win the ball back. It was very enjoyable."

However, Schneiderlin has warned against expecting Pochettino to instantly rely on academy graduates to dig Man United out of trouble, stressing that Old Trafford 'demands results immediately' and requires a stable footing first.

Having since managed Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, Pochettino will set foot inside Old Trafford a more battle-hardened version of the coach who took charge at Southampton 13 years ago.

"He arrives now with so much experience behind him and so much baggage, both good and bad, he has learned from," Schneiderlin added. "He will use everything he learned from being in Paris Saint-Germain dealing with big players and big personalities."

Mauricio Pochettino’s managerial career in English football first materialised because Southampton officials travelled to Spain to scout Philippe Coutinho, the Argentine revealed in an exclusive interview with FourFourTwo earlier this year.

With Pochettino now heavily linked with and expected to take over the Manchester United post, more light is being shed on the 52-year-old's initial move to the Premier League.

In January 2013, Southampton dismissed Nigel Adkins despite the club sitting in relative safety following back-to-back promotions. Chairman Nicola Cortese appointed Pochettino, who had left Espanyol two months earlier. The connection, however, was made while Cortese and sporting director Paul Mitchell were running checks on Coutinho, who was on loan at the Catalan side from Inter Milan, and would later complete an £8.5 million transfer to Liverpool.

Pochettino: 'Southampton came to scout Coutinho and ended up hiring me six months later'

"In England, nobody knew who I was," Pochettino said. "[Former Southampton chairman] Nicola Cortese is another key figure in my career. They were tracking Philippe Coutinho, who was on loan with us at Espanyol, and came to a match.

"Both Nicola and the sporting director, Paul Mitchell, became interested in the way I coached and expressed myself on the touchline. Six months later, they called me to take the job. Nicola took a real gamble – he had the courage to make that appointment because the club was in a comfortable position in the Premier League, having achieved back-to-back promotions. It was a risky move for him, but he also knew what we were capable of doing."

Pochettino's arrival at St Mary’s was initially met with scepticism in the English press due to the timing of Adkins’ sacking, particularly given he initially conducted post-match interviews in Spanish with the help of a translator. However, the Argentine explained that a language barrier helped shield him from the immediate fallout.

"Not at all," Pochettino said when asked if the reaction generated any undue pressure. "We were young and full of confidence. I had the advantage of not speaking English at the beginning, so I wasn’t reading or listening to anything – I paid no attention to the media.

"I was a bit isolated from everything, living in my own bubble. My assistant Jesus Perez acted as a filter and only told me what was truly important."

Pochettino quickly implemented an aggressive, high-pressing system on the south coast, leaning heavily on young domestic talent including current Man United defender Luke Shaw and future Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana.

"We had players who were physically like jets, perfectly suited to how we wanted to play – a style built on aggression and intensity," Pochettino said.

"Technically they were good, but the best thing was their potential to improve even further. We were a perfect match.

"In England, the ones who began to introduce a different kind of football were Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool and us at Southampton, with our build-up and high attacking press."

With Man United's hierarchy holding talks over Michael Carrick's position following a return of one win from ten league games, Pochettino is very much in the frame to be the next man up. For a manager now positioned to take over at Old Trafford, his initial entry into English football remains tied to a scouting trip for an ex-Liverpool star.

Mauricio Pochettino is hopefully unlikely to ever again to face anything in his managerial career that is as horrible as the death of one of his players.

The Argentinian gaffer was less than a year into his first head coach role at Espanyol in August 2009 when 26-year-old defender Dani Jarque suffered a fatal heart attack during a pre-season trip to Florence.

Espanyol captain Jarque was on the phone to his pregnant girlfriend in his hotel room at the time.

Pochettino confirmed to FourFourTwo that period was the toughest experience of his life, saying: "Without doubt. It affected all of us deeply.

"I was one of the last people to see him alive, at the team hotel in Coverciano.

"We were having lunch – it was a Saturday and I’d given the players the afternoon off to go and explore such a beautiful city as Florence.

"Jarque told us he had a slight headache and that he wasn’t going out. The doctor gave him a paracetamol and left.

"That was it.

"It was something that changed our perspective on priorities, although time does become an ally.

"It helps you heal, even if never completely. I had to learn to live with that pain, because the dressing room needed the best version of me."

Much as it obviously paled into insignificance, Pochettino went on to guide the grieving club to a mid-table finish that season, having led them away from the drop zone following his arrival midway through the previous campaign.

Espanyol paid tribute to Jarque as they won their first game at their new stadium just a few weeks after his death, and their training ground is now named after him.

His former Spain youth team teammates Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas went on to wear shirts dedicated to Jarques memory during their victory in the 2010 World Cup final and following the national side's Euro 2012 triumph.

The 2026 NWSL Championship is just two games away, with four teams remaining in the race for the title.

Reigning champions Gotham FC are still in contention after edging past Seattle Reign, while Washington Spirit, Kansas City Current and Utah Royals have also booked their places in the semi-finals.

With the final four now confirmed, two intriguing matchups await on November 14 and 15, as the teams battle for a place in the Championship match in Washington.

How did we get here?

The 2026 NWSL playoffs began last weekend with the top eight teams battling it out for a place in the semi-finals, following a regular season in which Gotham FC emerged as the team to beat.

The defending champions finished top of the standings to claim the NWSL Shield for a first time and secure the No. 1 seed, while Washington Spirit, San Diego Wave, Kansas City Current, Angel City, Portland Thorns, Utah Royals and Seattle Reign also booked their places.

The first three quarter-finals were all decided by a single goal. Utah Royals pulled off the biggest upset, beating second seeds San Diego Wave 1-0 to secure their first-ever post-season victory.

Kansas City Current also edged through, with Michelle Cooper converting an extra-time penalty to seal a 1-0 win over Angel City.

Gotham also needed just one goal to overcome Seattle Reign, with an early own goal from Jordyn Bugg proving decisive.

Washington Spirit, meanwhile, delivered the standout performance of the round, sweeping aside Portland Thorns 4-1. Trinity Rodman scored twice, while Clara Luvanga contributed a goal and two assists.

The semi-final line-up is now confirmed, with Washington hosting Utah on November 14 before Gotham take on Kansas City the following day. The winners will meet in the Championship final at Audi Field on November 21.

Players to watch

Gotham FC – Jaedyn Shaw

Shaw has been one of Gotham's most influential attacking players this season, leading the team with 11 goals and five assists. The 21-year-old can create moments of brilliancem, through her movement, dribbling or eye for goal. Having returned from injury to start the quarter-final against Seattle, her availability and fitness could be particularly important as Gotham look to defend their title.

Kansas City Current – Croix Bethune

While Temwa Chawinga will often steal the headlines, Bethune has also enjoyed an outstanding season at Kansas City, setting a new NWSL single-season record with 11 assists. The midfielder's creativity and ability to unlock opposition defences will be crucial against a Gotham side that conceded just 23 goals during the regular season. With two-time MVP Chawinga providing a constant attacking threat beside her, KC Current's attacking line is one to be feared.

Washington Spirit – Trinity Rodman

Rodman has been central to Washington's success this season, recording a career-best 12 goals and eight assists in the regular season. The forward carried that form into the quarter-finals, scoring twice and providing an assist in the 4-1 victory over Portland. Named an NWSL MVP finalist, she will be one of the biggest threats for Utah to contain.

Utah Royals – Cloé Lacasse

Lacasse has been one of Utah's most productive players this season, contributing eight goals and 10 assists in the regular campaign. Her ability to create chances as well as find the net will be vital if the Royals are to continue their impressive play-off run. The 33-year-old played a key role in their quarter-final victory over second seeds San Diego Wave, providing the assist for Kiana Palacios' winning goal and Utah will be hoping she can help them produce another upset against Washington Spirit.

NWSL Championship semi-final predictions

Prediction: Washington Spirit 3-1 Utah Royals

Utah have already shown they should not be underestimated, eliminating second seeds San Diego Wave away from home. Their defensive organisation and ability to take their chances make them a dangerous opponent.

However, Washington will be full of confidence after their emphatic quarter-final victory over Portland. With Trinity Rodman in outstanding form and the backing of a home crowd at Audi Field, they should have enough attacking quality to reach another Championship final...which is also to be played at Audi Field.

Prediction: Gotham FC 1-2 Kansas City Current

While defending champions Gotham finished the regular season with the league's best defensive record, conceding just 23 goals in 30 matches, Kansas City have the attacking firepower to trouble any side in the league.

Bethune's creativity and Chawinga's threat in front of goal will test Gotham's defence, while Kansas City's ability to score from different areas makes them particularly difficult to contain. Gotham's experience of winning on the biggest stage cannot be overlooked, but Kansas City have the quality to end the reigning champions' hopes of back-to-back titles.

24 years ago, Brazil rolled into Yokohama to win the World Cup for the fifth time. World Cup 2002, memorable for a whole host of reasons, is drifting off with the sands of time, and the players who created its biggest moments look just a little bit different now. If you've got a good memory for faces, this FourFourTwo quiz is for you.

This World Cup 2002 quiz is a strictly visual affair. We've picked out some of the stars of the show and we simply want to know whether you can apply a name to each of their photographs. That's it. There's no funny business here; it's just a straightforward recognition.

There are 20 players to name in all and there's no time limit, so you can have a good look at these boys and name the men they became.

Handpicked football quizzes we know you'll love

FourFourTwo has a hefty collection of football quizzes and they're all courtesy of Kwizly. We'll start you off with a couple of line-up quizzes to find out how many players you can name from these classic matches involving Liverpool in 2009 and future Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.

Here's another. We've just had the announcement of the latest winner of the Ballon d'Or and we marked the occasion with a quiz about football's biggest individual accolade. There have been 18 World Cups since the creation of the Ballon d'Or. Can you name the Ballon d'Or winner in each of those World Cup years?

Lastly for now, turn that frown and the rest of your head upside-down because we're off to Australia and New Zealand, where the new season is well underway. But are you watching? If so, you'll be able to name every team competing in the A-League Men in 2026-27.

FourFourTwo's Weekend Crossword 77 features clues on tricks, trequartistas and Trents. Remember to subscribe to our newsletter for your daily afternoon briefing of football trivia and analysis, and don't forget to join The Club: our free membership portal where you can secret hints and get on the leaderboard.

Arsenal have been told the chances of signing Antonio Nusa in January are “almost impossible”.

The Gunners left themselves somewhat short in attack over the summer, bringing in Christos Tzolis to strengthen the frontline but losing Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, who have all played a huge role under manager Mikel Arteta.

With Arsenal competing on three fronts and looking to retain a title, plenty are of the belief that the club simply need an A-list attacker to take them up a gear – with January earmarked as an opportunity for a purchase.

Antonio Nusa move to Arsenal looks unlikelier by the day

Arsenal currently have two senior players for each available position across their frontline, with Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke primarily fighting it out for a spot on the right flank, Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres splitting minutes up front and Tzolis competing with Eberechi Eze for a place on the left wing.

But while Tzolis is particularly inexperienced at the top level, Eze isn't a natural on the left, preferring a central spot, with Arteta seemingly reluctant to use him there permanently and Madueke even playing on that side on occasion this season, too.

Nusa has emerged as a serious target target, with Sport Witness noting that the Gunners sent a “delegation” to Leipzig last week to watch the Norwegian in action.

But Sky Germany are reporting that a deal is “almost impossible”, with RB Leipzig only about to consider an “astonomical offer”.

Arsenal have had previous in negotiating with the East German outfit, settling on signing Gyokeres when they couldn't negotiate a lower price for Slovenian forward, Benjamin Sesko – who eventually joined Manchester United instead.

It perhaps strengthens Leipzig's hand that they sold Yan Diomande to Real Madrid over the summer for a nine-figure fee, and with January not exactly the best time to grab a bargain, Arsenal are well aware that they're going to have to pay a premium to bring in game-changing talent to their squad.

The Premier League champions also have Eli Junior Kroupi on their shortlist, with Bournemouth likely to demand a record sale for their wonderkid after selling Antoine Semenyo last January, and the contract uncertainty over their other big-name talent, Alex Scott, meaning that a £100 million move may be slipping away from them with the Guernsey schemer.

Nusa has been in sparkling form this season, notching six goals and eight assists in just 15 appearances following the loss of Diomande to Madrid.

The 21-year-old also took on a starring role for his country during the summer, as Norway reached the quarter-finals of their first World Cup since 1998.

Nusa is worth €45m, according to Transfermarkt. Arsenal take on Newcastle United when Premier League action resumes after the international break.

Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has been sacked.

The 45-year-old was appointed as permanent manager over the summer after a successful stint as interim boss last term, following the dismissal of Ruben Amorim, but with just three wins all season, Carrick has been given his marching orders.

The final straw looked like it came in Italy, as Manchester United were humbled 4-1 by Champions League newcomers Como in the league phase of the competition – but the former midfielder has hung on until the international break.

Michael Carrick sacked by Manchester United

Carrick first joined United as a coach under Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, becoming a member of the Norwegian's coaching staff first in an interim role, and later after Solskjaer was appointed on a permanent basis in March 2019.

Following his manager's dismissal, Carrick was named caretaker manager, winning two games before Ralf Rangnick was given the role until the end of the 2022/23 season – but Carrick returned in January of this year to take over until the end of last season.

After winning his first two games in charge against Manchester City and Arsenal, the former midfielder led United to third in the table and was nominated for the Premier League Manager of the Season award.

In May of this year, Carrick signed a new contract to continue as United's head coach through to 2028 – but despite a summer rebuild, the Red Devils have started this season particularly poorly.

After defeat in Madrid in the Champions League last week, defender Lisandro Martinez directed his ire towards director Jason Wilcox for failing to strengthen fully, while last night, Bruno Fernandes described United's gameplan as “a decision from the staff”.

This is Manchester United's worst start to a season in 40 years, with just a single win in the Premier League so far this term, at home to Ipswich Town.

United were dumped out of the Carabao Cup at the first hurdle by an impressive Brighton & Hove Albion, and sit 17th in the Champions League's league phase after two defeats in a row.

United have had injury issues to contend with, too, after recently being dealt the news that Benjamin Sesko won't return until February.

Carrick leaves Old Trafford with a 46.9 per cent win ratio.

Manchester United face Liverpool after the international break, as Premier League action continues.

The more things change at Manchester United, the more they seem to stay the same.

In the 13 years since Sir Alex Ferguson finally hung up his hairdryer, Old Trafford has burned through serial winners, eminent coaches of varying ages and those steeped in club DNA, with Michael Carrick joining the latter category in the wake of his sacking.

The former midfielder becomes United’s third mid-season change in as many years, joining Ruben Amorim and Erik ten Hag in their increasing hall of managerial infamy.

Manchester United need to end manager churn cycle

He was the latest convenient scapegoat for the failings of those above him, who are yet to face repercussions no matter how many managerial reigns continue to be tarnished by them. The unstinting backing he received from the United faithful, even as results continued to tumble, bought director of football Jason Wilcox and chief executive officer Omar Berrada more time to conjure up something resembling a coherent succession plan.

The top brass, including absentee co-owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazers, were put on notice as early as a late-October humbling by Bournemouth. The green and gold movement which dominated early protests against the American overlords is back in vogue, as are industrial-language chants demanding they sell up and vacate at speed. Players, too, are no longer being afforded a free pass after throwing yet another manager under the bus. A steadily-formed queue of dissidents in the wake of a Champions League humbling by Como, headed up by captain Bruno Fernandes, lifted the veil of immunity which previously hung over the dressing room.

If not for a sprinkling of hollow platitudes, the confirmatory statement which sealed Carrick's fate could have easily been copied and pasted from the one which rendered Amorim as persona non grata in January. There will be no shortage of material for Amazon's upcoming behind-the-scenes documentary on the club, yet the modus operandi remains painfully familiar. The Red Devils have cast aside another Champions League-winning fan favourite who answered the call in their latest hour of need. But while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spent three years 'at the wheel', Carrick was barely allowed to ride pillion in his 10 months.

Both remained publicly in thrall to Ferguson's heyday despite the fact their former mentor indirectly set the wheels in motion for their respective dugout departures. For all his reverence, the Scot's previous autonomy paved the route for the imbued chaos that is the modern-day United. He was an analog man who resisted moving into football’s new digital age at every turn. A necessary recalibrating of the power dynamic for those that followed has proved detrimental to a club once famed for being ahead of the curve on the pitch but increasingly behind the times in its internal mechanisms.

Ferguson is also the reason why Carrick was afforded a painful stay of execution under the illusion of it being a chance to turn around the club's dismal on-field fortunes. The glittering era which his old manager presided over at the Theatre of Dreams was indebted to a sliding doors moment that was destined to elude the most recent dugout incumbent. United's comebacks against Roma and Aston Villa in the space of four days were hardly a present-day answer to Mark Robins at the City Ground.

The initial shortlist to replace Carrick was as predictable as it was uninspiring. Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte headed up a who’s who of managers in between jobs. True to form, a club perennially at odds with itself remained split on which candidate represents the best fit. Wilcox reportedly favoured the ex-Newcastle boss, ironic considering his predecessor Dan Ashworth was dismissed for making that same recommendation prior to Amorim's appointment. Christopher Vivell, the club’s head of recruitment, believed the architect of Germany’s humiliating World Cup exit to Paraguay last summer is a more ideal fit to rouse the club from its worst start in 40 years.

Conte, meanwhile, has a penchant for challenging hierarchies which makes him a combustible option as the scorched-earth policy which delivered both uncomfortable home truths and an end to his Tottenham reign attests. Mauricio Pochettino, one of the Italian's predecessors in north London and currently head of the United States national team, is now the preferred option despite unsuccessfully interviewing for the job on three prior occasions. The Argentine represents an ideological choice but not necessarily a quick fix with United currently in the relegation zone. That none of the contenders were definitively whittled down prior to Carrick's exit is a damning indictment of an act first and think later approach which continues to paralyse the club.

Carrick's protracted stay should have stirred the decision-makers towards a more cogent succession plan. Instead, they elected to fiddle while the former empire continued to burn. The eventual appointment of choice is still unlikely to move the needle sufficiently enough to stop the club ending up in the exact same position within 12 to 18 months' time; doubtless with another revered former player waiting in the wings to sip from what is now increasingly poison chalice.

The 20-time English champions are battling another winter of discontent and the answer in its powerbrokers’ minds is seemingly to continue running towards nostalgia or vibes with middle ground of rationale increasingly shunned.

It’s a situation which was foretold by Amorim at the outset of his own doomed reign, warning that the same problems would manifest unless a different outlook was embraced. AC Milan’s manager may hold the lowest Premier League win ratio in his former employers' history and share commonality with the man who replaced him in failing to beat Bournemouth but could be forgiven for claiming vindication.

Carrick’s departure offers United a potential escape from this vicious cycle. A best-in-class replacement may currently be out of reach but a club which once prided itself on doing things the right way can finally divert its path away from never-ending malaise.

Arsenal are on the cusp of losing a major star this January.

The Gunners enjoyed a solid if not spectacular summer transfer window, bringing in Bruno Guimaraes, Ezri Konsa and Christos Tzolis to add quality and depth to a title-winning side.

But with competition fierce for places, it appears that one Arsenal player is set to leave to seek game time elsewhere.

Arsenal are flying at the top of the table - but not everyone is content

Mikel Arteta's side are top of the Premier League table, five points clear, unbeaten in the Champions League, and have only lost twice in all competitions this season.

But not everyone is happy with their role in N5, and now, RNE Deportes originally broke the news of a departure, with further updated relayed in a report by Sport Witness.

Martin Zubimendi is on the cusp of leaving for Atletico Madrid, as per Relevo, with his relationship with Arteta said to be “cold”, following “friction towards the end of last season”.

Another Spanish outlet, AS, adds that Arsenal need to sell, and would like to recoup the £50 million they spent on the Basque midfielder.

Zubimendi only moved to the Emirates Stadium in 2025, with the Gunners beating a host of rivals for his signature after a star turn in the Euro 2024 final.

The 27-year-old became an instant hit alongside Declan Rice in Arteta's engine room, providing the progression and anticipation that the side had missed in that area of the pitch, becoming almost ever-present in the first half of Arsenal's title-winning season.

But as the season neared the run-in, Zubimendi found himself dropped in favour of Hale Ender, Myles Lewis-Skelly, and didn't start the Champions League final – with Arsenal upgrading in the summer to sign Bruno Guimaraes.

Zubimendi has not started a single league game in midfield for Arsenal this term, finding himself fourth in the pecking order in midfield.

FourFourTwo understands that Arsenal would rather not sell the World Cup winner this January and would prefer to wait until the summer to assess the situation further.

Zubimendi is worth €65m, according to Transfermarkt. Arsenal travel away to Newcastle United when Premier League action resumes after the international break.

Where do you want to live? Cultured Amsterdam? The beautiful old city of Udine, near Venice? Or Sunderland?

We sincerely don't mean that as a slam on the north-east town, either.

After all, that's the decision young Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen faced when deciding his next career move back in 1998 - and he picked the move to Wearside.

Sorensen told FourFourTwo: "I have my parents to thank for that.

"I was talking to a few clubs, like Ajax and Udinese, who had a long history of Danish players.

"Then this left-field offer came in from Sunderland. I hadn’t heard a lot about them and I sort of dismissed it.

"My mum and dad told me to go over and have a look. I was blown away.

"I knew that this was the right thing for me. I would get an opportunity to play, I loved the feel of the northeast and their passion for football.

"It was probably one of the best decisions I ever made. "

Sorensen does admit that he had to adapt a little bit to Peter Reid's unique management style, however.

He said: "I had to get used to all the swearing!

"He was a great manager. One of the old school. He was probably the last manager I had who would allow the players to go out and have a few drinks.

"He cherished that camaraderie. He really encouraged the players to spend a lot of time together and that was probably part of our success.

"He said things as they were. He could be quite tough, but he was fair."

Following the retirement of long-time talisman Edin Dzeko, Bosnia-Herzegovina is undergoing a generational shift. Largely, and somewhat uniquely, it is being powered by the emotional pull of a vast global diaspora.

With the domestic league severely underfunded and ill-equipped to serve as a reliable talent conveyor belt for the national team, looking beyond its borders has become a necessity. A series of gifted foreign-born prospects, eligible for their countries of birth yet choosing instead to represent their heritage, is reshaping the team's identity.

At the heart of this recruitment drive is former captain turned sporting director Emir Spahic, who framed the philosophy in late 2024 with a simple declaration: “We’re just bringing our children home.” Having already fielded the third-youngest squad at the 2026 World Cup, this borderless strategy is no longer a temporary stopgap but the blueprint for the nation's footballing future.

Bosnia-Herzegovina sporting director: "We're bringing our children home"

Kerim Alajbegovic

A product of Bayer Leverkusen’s academy, Kerim Alajbegovic had a tremendously successful season at Red Bull Salzburg in 2025/2026, registering 14 goals and four assists in 44 competitive appearances in his first season of senior football.

Largely operating on the left flank, Alajbegovic is exceptional in 1-v-1 situations, and is comfortable with both feet. He has begun to hone his game in dead ball situations, developing a signature in-swinging technique on corners from the left, too.

What is striking for a player who only turned 19 in September is that Alajbegovic exudes the confidence of someone who has spent many years playing at the top level, and does not seem phased by the challenges that lie ahead.

His spectacular solo goal against Qatar in Bosnia-Herzegovina’s final group game made him the eighth youngest goalscorer at a World Cup, and the youngest-ever to score from outside the box.

Though Bayer Leverkusen had activated a buy-back clause from Red Bull Salzburg before the tournament, he garnered interest from several top European clubs, before signing for Juventus.

Alajbegovic told Tuttosport that speaking to Miralem Pjanic, a national team legend who spent four trophy-laden seasons in Turin, was an influential factor in his decision.

Alajbegovic’s accomplishments this year were recognised with a place at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, where he was voted 7th in the Men’s Young Talent of the Year award.

Esmir Bajraktarevic

Born in Wisconsin in 2005, Esmir Bajraktarevic grew up in a Bosnian household but moved up through the ranks of the game in the USA, establishing himself at New England Revolution in MLS.

After representing the USA at youth level, and gaining one cap at senior level, Bajraktarevic switched to Bosnia-Herzegovina. As a child, he idolised Edin Dzeko, and earlier this year a video of a five-year-old Bajraktarevic wearing a Dzeko top kicking a ball in his back garden went viral. On his international debut against the Netherlands in September 2024, Bajraktarevic set up his boyhood hero with a signature lofted through-ball, and his cinematic rise in the national team was capped off by scoring the deciding penalty kick against Italy to secure Bosnia-Herzegovina’s World Cup qualification.

Bajraktarevic is a left-footed winger operating on the right, who possesses excellent close control and the ability to carve open defences with pinpoint crosses. On his day, he is an electrifying player to watch, whose body feints and mesmerising dinks bring fans out of their seats. Since his move to PSV Eindhoven in January 2025, game-time has sometimes been hard to come by, but this season he has seven goal contributions to his name despite only having 384 Eredivisie minutes under his belt.

Ermin Mahmic

Mahmic’s inclusion in Bosnia-Herzegovina’s World Cup squad came as a surprise, given that his impressive performances at Slovan Liberec had gone under the radar in the national media, and he was yet to be capped at senior level.

But the 21-year-old rose to the occasion, scoring a thunderous volley two minutes into his competitive debut versus Switzerland in Los Angeles, before scoring the goal against Qatar that confirmed Bosnia-Herzegovina’s place in the knockout stages of the World Cup. Most frequently deployed in a traditional No. 10 role, Mahmic’s best attributes include his ability to shoot from range and his passing vision, but he also has a knack for popping up in the box to score goals. At six feet tall, Mahmic’s frame enables him to protect the ball effectively when trying to pick out his teammates, too.

On the back of his eye-catching World Cup performances, Mahmic was signed by Corum, an ambitious, newly-promoted club in the Turkish Super Lig, for the second-highest transfer fee in the club’s history. He then scored on his debut against Besiktas and contributed regularly in the final third despite limited time on the pitch.

The new FourFourTwo quiz is a celebration of the players who've reached the top of two mountains, the club and country champions who can look back on their careers knowing that there really wasn't anywhere else they could have gone. We're talking World Cup and Champions League winners.

Here are the parameters. The players eligible have won both the World Cup and the Champions League, meaning any World Cup and the Champions League since 1992. We'll give you the teams for both, so you can concentrate on remembering the individuals.

There are 66 players to name in all, and we're applying a time limit of 12 minutes. Let us know below how you get on.

Handpicked football quizzes we know you'll love

FourFourTwo has many more football quizzes and they're all courtesy of Kwizly. Let's stay with the Champions League, add in the Europa League and Conference League, and ask you to name every team competing in Europe this season.

We're sticking in the double honours realm for the next one. There have been 18 World Cups since the creation of the Ballon d'Or. Can you name the Ballon d'Or winner in each of those World Cup years including 2026?

We've been building a huge bank of Premier League quizzes and this one is designed specifically for fans with a keen sense of historical moments. We've selected some of our favourite Premier League pictures and all you need to do is pick the seasons in which they were taken.

FourFourTwo's Weekend Crossword 77 features clues on tricks, trequartistas and Trents. Remember to subscribe to our newsletter for your daily afternoon briefing of football trivia and analysis, and don't forget to join The Club: our free membership portal where you can secret hints and get on the leaderboard.

It's FourFourTwo Quickfire Quiz time. We've put 90 seconds on the clock and loaded up 10 trivia questions to take a swing at.

Handpicked football quizzes we know you'll love

FourFourTwo has many more football quizzes and they're all courtesy of Kwizly. Here are some of our favourites, starting with a trio of quizzes about promoted trio Ipswich Town, Hull City and Coventry City in the Premier League.

If you know your stuff when it comes to the history of the Premier League, you'll be able to handle these without much trouble. Can you name every team to have conceded eight or more goals in a Premier League match and every player ever to have been sent off three times in a single Premier League season?

Here's a more visual quiz for Premier League nuts. We've picked out some photographs of major historical moments in the top division. All we want you to do in our Premier League Years picture quiz is tell us which seasons those photos were taken in.

Next, we're celebrating Harry Kane's coronation as the best footballer in the world with a quiz about every fourth golden ball. Can you identify the winner of the Ballon d'Or in every World Cup year since 1958? There are 18 players to name.

Lastly for now, how about a line-up quiz? Back in 2017, Paris Saint-Germain took a big lead into the second leg of a Champions League tie against Barcelona and went on to lose 6-1 on the night. Can you remember PSG's starting line-up from that famous turnaround?

We have puzzles too. Our Weekend Crossword is a regular football teaser for your Sunday, and remember to sign up to the newsletter for more quizzes in your inbox. Don't forget to join The Club for free additional membership benefits!

In a revealing sit-down with FourFourTwo last year, USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino has finally lifted the lid on a legendary encounter with Sir Alex Ferguson, a meeting that has fuelled a decade of what-ifs at Old Trafford.

The Argentine, who took the reigns of the US national side on a contract running through until 2030, recounted how the most successful manager in British history once sought him out.

“Through the secretary of the League Managers Association, Sir Alex asked for my phone number so that we could have lunch," Pochettino told FourFourTwo.

Pochettino: 'I met with genius Sir Alex'

"It was a meeting in London between colleagues, between a genius and an apprentice.”

The lunch, which took place some years ago during Pochettino’s tenure at Tottenham Hotspur, has long been cited as the moment Manchester United first identified him as their long-term successor.

Despite those historic links which persisted through his stints at Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, the stars never quite aligned for Pochettino to take the hot seat in Manchester.

The USMNT boss shared a charming anecdote from the afternoon that proved it's not just his footballing tactics that are up to scratch, it's trivia, too.

“When we asked for the bill, I wanted to take it, and so did he. We started arguing over who’d pay!

"He said, ‘Stop Mauricio, I’m going to ask you a question. If you answer correctly, you pay. If not, I’ll pay.’

"He said, ‘Name an Argentine player who scored in the 1930 World Cup final.’ I replied, ‘Stabile.’ He couldn’t believe it. The name came to me out of nowhere! In the end, I paid the bill.”

Despite his current focus, having led the USMNT at their home World Cup earlier this year, Pochettino has freely admitted he would like a return to the Premier League some day.

"Right now it’s about enjoying the World Cup," he said. "After that, I’ve always said I came so close to winning the Premier League and Champions League, and want to try again. I’d like to be part of a project with the ambition of winning both."

Pochettino’s comments are especially relevant as Man United face what looks to be another period of transition.

Michael Carrick is expected to be relieved of his duties at Old Trafford during November's international break. For now, the self-proclaimed 'apprentice' remains on the international stage, but the pull of a Premier League return is unmistakable.

Pochettino's USMNT take on Haiti in a Concacaf Nations League double header this month.

Mauricio Pochettino's full interview with FourFourTwo is available in print issue 391.

England players aired “strong views” in the wake of the World Cup 2026 collapse at the hands of Argentina.

That's according to a report that states says that arguably the Three Lions' two best players, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, have been particularly strong in expressing their opinions over the defeat.

With plenty blaming manager Thomas Tuchel for negative tactics, “All players were afforded an opportunity to air their personal views during the meeting”, with “some of the squad” holding “grievances” after the game.

England stars 'held misgivings at Thomas Tuchel's instructions'

England were in a strong position to make their first World Cup final in 60 years when they came up against an Argentina side in Atlanta that had been dragged to the final four by Lionel Messi.

Despite the struggles of the reigning champions, however, the Albiceleste managed to get the job done late in the semi, overturning Anthony Gordon's opening strike to set up a showpiece against Spain in New Jersey – which they in turn lost.

According to the BBC's Sami Mokbel, a September meeting allowed for the squad to express how they felt about the collapse, which was blamed on Tuchel sitting back to protect the slender advantage against the brilliance of Messi.

As noted, “a number of senior England players held misgivings at Tuchel's instructions for the closing stages of the Argentina loss, believing the approach was too negative and defensive,” with “captain Harry Kane… strong and forthright with his views.”

Bellingham was mentioned by name, too, as being “particularly candid” in expressing that he felt his side were superior man-for-man to the opposition.

Mokbel continues to mention that Bellingham's contribution in the meeting has “underlined his growing influence” with his national team, as many believe he could assume the captain's armband from Harry Kane, once the Ballon d'Or winner retires from international duty.

Real Madrid midfielder Bellingham re-established himself as one of his country's most important players in North America over the summer, despite heading into the tournament with question marks over how much of a role he would play under Tuchel.

The 23-year-old was in and out of the German's plans during qualification, with Morgan Rogers preferred at times in the No.10 role.

Bellingham has played 60 times for his country and scored 14 times. England host Croatia this Thursday night.

Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox are scheduled to sit down with Sir Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco this week.

Head coach Michael Carrick’s future is expected to dominate the agenda at the pre-planned meeting in the principality where Ratcliffe is based. There is every chance a far more unpalatable subject will also be confronted given Man United's start to the 2026/27 season: drafting a contingency plan for relegation.

Ten games into the Premier League campaign, Man United find themselves in the bottom three with just a solitary victory. Minority owners INEOS arrived at Old Trafford boasting elite operating standards and a clear structure but on the pitch, the team has been dragged into a survival scrap for the second year running.

Acknowledging the drop remains something of a taboo for a club of Man United's size and commercial footprint, but a recent warning from north London shows why ignoring it would constitute negligence.

Speaking on The Sports Agents podcast, Tottenham Hotspur chief executive Vinai Venkatesham revealed how the club were planning for the future after Spurs flirted with disaster last season.

“It's really tough, because you form a relationship with people. Obviously, Igor [Tudor] wasn't the coach for long, but Thomas [Frank], we worked together really, really, really closely, went through some really difficult times," Venkatesham explained.

“I want to respect the privacy of that conversation with Thomas. But what I can say is that he was the complete gentleman that you would think he would be.”

Spurs ultimately secured survival on the final day, but Venkatesham admitted the club had quietly mapped out a blueprint for the Championship.

“It was really challenging. A really, really, really challenging period for the club,” he said. “You have to [prepare for relegation]. I mean, you can't not. To not make that plan would have been irresponsible… Sometimes going through something as traumatic as what we went through last season bonds people a little bit and also puts even more fire in everybody's belly to make sure that something like that can never happen again.”

That brush with the drop motivated Spurs to spend £300 million on summer transfer targets, including £100m on Newcastle United's Sandro Tonali and £85m on West Ham United midfielder Matheus Fernandes.

“Everybody was aligned we wanted to strengthen this position, and then everybody was aligned that Matheus [Fernandes] was absolutely the number one target,” Venkatesham said. “If I'm honest, we achieved more than we thought we might do, and that was really because so many of our number one targets we were able to land. Because if we weren't going to get our number one targets, we weren't going to settle.”

Even with morale lifted by recent wins, Venkatesham reflected honestly on their sluggish start: “I wasn't worried [by the start to the 2026/27 season], but I was definitely frustrated… Did we think we were going to make this many changes and everything would gel straight away? Of course we didn't. But did we think we'd be hovering around the position of the league that we were in the international break? Of course we didn't either.”

For Ratcliffe, Berrada, and Wilcox, Venkatesham’s transparency should rid them of any lingering delusions of grandeur. Precedent proves that stature, revenue, and history offer little insulation once a club slips into the bottom three.

Whether Man United decide to back Carrick through the November break or sack him, the decision-making trio at the Monaco summit cannot afford to treat the drop as an unthinkable scenario.

That might mean re-thinking squad wage-reduction clauses or auditing broadcast revenue drop-offs, because after all, responsible governance demands preparing for the worst.

If Man United pretend they are simply too big to go down, that is the quickest way to end up there.

Manchester United look ready to appoint Mauricio Pochettino, with the former Tottenham Hotspur coach happy to accept.

Pochettino is currently enjoying life as manager of the United States men's national team manager, overseeing the 2026 World Cup hosts' journey to the quarter-finals on home soil over the summer.

With Manchester United lingering in the bottom three of the Premier League and Michael Carrick expected to be sacked now, the Argentine has emerged as the frontrunner for the job at Old Trafford.

Manchester United to sack Michael Carrick - with Mauricio Pochettino to 'jump at the chance' to replace him

According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, United are to sack Michael Carrick, despite the recent upturn in form.

United have picked up four points from the last two games, against Roma in the Champions League and Aston Villa in the Premier League – but in both fixtures, Carrick watched his side go two goals down before fighting back to salvage a result.

With Pochettino emerging as the favourite for the role now, TEAMtalk have revealed that he would “jump at the chance” to return to club football with the fallen giant.

The report adds that “there has been no direct contact between United and Pochettino, or his representatives, at this stage.”

The Athletic have revealed that it would cost $10 million to relieve Pochettino from his contract with the USMNT – though free agent Eddie Howe also has a fee, with Newcastle United holding a compensation clause in his exit.

Pochettino has long been linked with a move to Old Trafford – as far back as his Tottenham days – with his name touted for the job regularly over the years.

The 54-year-old last managed in the English top flight with Chelsea in 2023/24, taking the Blues to a respectable sixth in the table, after the club had finished 12th and burned through three managers in BlueCo's first season in charge.

Carrick signed a contract in May to continue as United's head coach through to 2028, but has overseen an appalling start to the season, with the club 18th in the league and 17th in the league phase of the Champions League.

The Red Devils have one a single league game all season, the fewest in the English top tier.

Manchester United travel away to Liverpool when Premier League action resumes after the international break.

Forget the notion of glorified friendlies, this month quarter-final berths, relegation peril, and major tournament seeding is all on the line in the UEFA Nations League.

The final round of group fixtures is anything but an international break distraction.

Here, we break down what it all means for the home nations.

Securing League A quarter-final berths and silverware paths

The top two finishers in each League A group advance to a two-legged quarter-final stage, rather than just the group winners qualifying directly for a final-four tournament, as has previously been the case.

This week’s fixtures decide which nations book their place in the knockout bracket to compete for the trophy, while also dictating important top-seed status for the subsequent knockout draw.

Automatic promotion, relegation, and play-off matchups

The margins between tiers carry significant weight. Finishing top of the group in Leagues B, C, and D earns automatic promotion to the tier above, while finishing bottom of Leagues A, B, and C results in automatic relegation.

Crucially, the introduction of two-legged promotion/relegation play-offs - which will pit third-placed teams in League A against runners-up from League B, and third-placed teams in League B against runners-up from League C - means almost every matchday result directly determines either immediate survival, a climb up the ladder, or a drop into lower-tier fixtures.

Major tournament seeding and play-off safety nets

Nations League standings double as an insurance policy for future European Championship and FIFA World Cup cycles.

Overall tournament rankings determine the seeding pots for upcoming European qualifying draws, directly affecting the difficulty of qualification paths. The highest-ranked Nations League group winners who fail to secure qualification through standard qualifying groups are handed secondary lifelines via tournament play-off berths.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 ENGLAND (League A)

Why the Nations League matters to England

England currently sit second in their group with nine points, trailing Spain (12 points) but comfortably ahead of Croatia (3 points) and Czechia (0 points).

Because the top two teams in League A advance, Thomas Tuchel's side have already effectively secured their quarter-final berth. The focus now shifts to whether they can overtake Spain for the group's top seed.

Upcoming Fixtures:

Thursday, Nov 12: vs Croatia (H – Wembley Stadium, London) - 19:45 GMT

Sunday, Nov 15: vs Spain (A – Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid) - 19:45 GMT

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 WALES (League A)

Wales are third in their top-tier group, trailing Portugal and Denmark, but sitting just above Norway. To avoid a relegation play-off against a League B runner-up or automatic relegation if they drop to fourth, they need results this week to either secure their safety or mount a late push into the top two for a quarter-final spot.

Upcoming Fixtures:

Saturday, Nov 14: vs Norway (A – Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo) - 17:00 GMT

Tuesday, Nov 17: vs Portugal (H – Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff) - 19:45 GMT

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 SCOTLAND (League B)

Scotland find themselves in third place behind Switzerland and Slovenia, with North Macedonia rooted to the bottom. Finishing third in League B leads to a relegation play-off against a League C side, so the Tartan Army will be keen to pick up points and push for second place (promotion play-off) or even top spot (automatic promotion).

Upcoming Fixtures:

Friday, Nov 13: vs North Macedonia (H – Hampden Park, Glasgow) - 19:45 GMT

Monday, Nov 16: vs Switzerland (A – Kybunpark, St. Gallen) - 19:45 GMT

🇬🇧 NORTHERN IRELAND (League B)

Michael O'Neill's side are in an excellent position, currently top of their group ahead of Hungary, Ukraine, and Georgia. If they maintain their first-place standing over the next two games, they will earn automatic promotion to League A.

Upcoming Fixtures:

Saturday, Nov 14: vs Ukraine (H – Windsor Park, Belfast) - 19:45 GMT

Tuesday, Nov 17: vs Hungary (A – Puskas Arena, Budapest) - 19:45 GMT

🇮🇪 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND (League B)

The Republic of Ireland sit in third on five points, trailing group leaders Austria and second-placed Kosovo. They will need strong performances in this window to climb into the top two for a shot at promotion, or risk facing a relegation play-off to retain their League B status.

Upcoming Fixtures:

Saturday, Nov 14: vs Austria (A – Raiffeisen Arena, Linz) - 19:45 GMT

Tuesday, Nov 17: vs Kosovo (H – Aviva Stadium, Dublin) - 19:45 GMT

Everton have launched a shock bid for former Manchester City man, Kevin De Bruyne.

The Belgian is a legend of the Premier League, having won six titles and racked up an in while racking up almost 200 goal involvements in 288 appearances in the English top flight – but since leaving the Etihad, things haven't been as rosy for him in Italian football.

Now, Everton are prepared to offer the 35-year-old a return to the northwest of England in one of the biggest-name moves of the Toffees' recent history.

Everton launching bid for Kevin De Bruyne

De Bruyne spent 10 years at Manchester City before swapping one blue shirt for another and signing for Napoli last summer.

The playmaker has struggled to make a difference in Serie A, however, with Calciomercato reporting that he “appears to be in a decline mentally and could sensationally return to the Premier League in January.”

The report notes that Everton are making a sensational swoop to bring De Bruyne back to England and have already made contact with the player's entourage.

The Merseysiders are up to sixth in the Premier League at the moment and enjoying a good season, despite leaving themselves short over the summer in terms of transfer business.

Fans were disappointed when the club sold striker Beto without a replacement – leaving Thierno Barry as the only recognised No.9 at the Hill Dickinson Stadium – while a failure to replace long-serving right-back Seamus Coleman after his retirement has meant that midfielder Merlin Rohl has taken the role on this term.

There has been recent uncertainty regarding the loan spell of Jack Grealish, too, with the England international dropped by manager David Moyes after breaching the club's disciplinary rules when he reportedly skipped training.

Grealish – who is on loan from Man City, incidentally – has very little chance of joining the Toffees permanently now, with some suggesting that his loan spell could be curtailed in January.

De Bruyne's contract runs until 2027, with the Partenopei holding an option for another year.

Whether club president Aurelio De Laurentiis decides to release the player midseason remains another matter.

The 35-year-old is worth €8 million, as per Transfermarkt. Everton travel away to Brentford when Premier League action resumes after the international break.

It's FourFourTwo Quickfire Quiz time. We've put 90 seconds on the clock and loaded up 10 trivia questions to take a swing at.

Handpicked football quizzes we know you'll love

FourFourTwo has lots more football quizzes and they're all courtesy of Kwizly. Let's begin in the Premier League and ask you to name every team to have conceded eight goals or more in a Premier League match. That's a three-minute job and it's very manageable.

Still in England's top division and in the realm of famous historical matches and moments, we've selected some of our favourites and we want you to recognise each one from a photograph. Our Premier League Years picture quiz challenges you to tell us which season the shots were taken in.

Here's a fun one. We've chosen some legendary football managers from around the world and grabbed their managerial honours lists. That's all the information we're giving you in order to correctly identify each one.

Next, we're celebrating the 2026 Ballon d'Or winner by asking you to name every player who's matched his achievement by winning the Ballon d'Or in a World Cup year.

Finally, can you name every player ever to have been sent off three times in a single Premier League season? There might be fewer than you think but most of them will get gettable.

We have puzzles too. Our Weekend Crossword is a regular football teaser for your Sunday, and remember to sign up to the newsletter for more quizzes in your inbox. Don't forget to join The Club for free additional membership benefits!

As we approach the end of 2026, we're looking back to the World Cup with the usual mix of fondness and regret that tends to follow major summer tournaments. The new FourFourTwo quiz is all about the stadiums where the 104 matches of World Cup 2026 were played.

You might remember that these stadiums were rebadged under the auspices of FIFA for the duration of the tournament in June and July, but we know you know the cities so we're after their official names, sponsors and all.

There are 16 stadiums to list in total and we're giving you 30 seconds on average for each one. That's a total time limit of 8 minutes to catch 'em all.

Handpicked football quizzes we know you'll love

FourFourTwo has many more football quizzes and they're all courtesy of Kwizly. You can start with these questions about the streets football won't forget and these ones about the famous and historic football grounds of England.

Next, we want you to name every title sponsor in the history of the Football League Cup and every team competing in Europe this season. There are plenty of them and the Conference League, frankly, is borderline impossible.

If this season's 108 European clubs aren't enough, how about trying for 1,000+ in the all-time version. We'll keep it to the top competition: Can you name every team ever to participate in the league phase, group stage or first round of the Champions League?

FourFourTwo's Weekend Crossword 77 features clues on tricks, trequartistas and Trents. Remember to subscribe to our newsletter for your daily afternoon briefing of football trivia and analysis, and don't forget to join The Club: our free membership portal where you can secret hints and get on the leaderboard.

Fabian Hurzeler has Brighton & Hove Albion second in the Premier League with a starting XI that cost only £150 million against Brentford.

He’s inevitably being linked with wealthier clubs, even the theatre of chaos that is Manchester United, but Hurzeler is far too smart to jump ship yet. He’s only 33, building something special at Brighton, enhancing his reputation with every game, and knowing that other managers – like Graham Potter - have moved on and not always found the grass greener. Sussex by the Sea makes the perfect home for Hurzeler for now.

So he focuses on winning the Europa Conference League and qualifying for the Champions League. This will make Hurzeler in even more demand – and also aware that many of his ambitions can be met at Brighton. It’s certainly understandable why he will be on the lists of other clubs.

I’ve only had 10 minutes in his company once, a coffee and a chat on the balcony of the training ground restaurant (the food’s too good to call it a canteen) but it made a distinct impression. Hurzeler’s most striking quality, apart from looking even younger than 33, is his humility and willingness to listen while exuding total belief in his own convictions. He has a curiosity in people which adds to his man-management strengths.

Hurzeler’s slightness of frame belies a substantial aura. You quickly appreciate you are in the presence of somebody with powerful emotional intelligence as well as tactical nous easily expressed. Again, it is easy to see why players respond to him. The German had no playing background of note, basically Bayern Munich II and some Germany age-group games, but the players love his enthusiasm, clear thinking and decisiveness. His game plans are built around positivity, and players relish that. And there’s no way Manchester United players, some of them masters of the half-hearted press, could cope with his pressing demands.

It’s remarkable what his team are doing this season, doing great things without even Kaoru Mitoma, who hopes to return from a long-term hamstring issue after the international break. They’ve already played some of the toughest-looking fixtures: Chelsea and Liverpool away (their only losses of the season), Manchester City away (1-0 win) and Arsenal at home (3-0 win). The fixture computer must have sensed something when churning out Arsenal vs Brighton on the last weekend of the season. Brighton for the title might be a thought too far, given respective squad depths, but a Champions League place is certainly up for grabs.

Hurzeler is the right man in the right place at the right time. Everything at Brighton is set up for the head coach to succeed. The leadership of the club under Tony Bloom and Paul Barber is the best in the Premier League. If he went to any other club, Hurzeler would face a rebuild, residual issues, squad problems, tensions between assorted parts of the club, even a mutiny at United.

Bloom and Barber are steadfast in support. When Hurzeler came under pressure from a few fans during a run of only one win in 13 Premier League games last season, including a painful home loss to Crystal Palace, the board stood fully behind him.

Kudos goes to Bloom and his Jamestown Analytics talent-finders for their consistently high level of recruitment hits. “Nobody Does Data Better”, their website says. Bart Verbruggen has 12 clean sheets in 15 games this season. No wonder they let Carl Rushworth go to Coventry City. Verbruggen, who’s only 24, cost £16m from Anderlecht in 2023.

Pascal Gross is running games at 35. He cost only £1.5m when returning to Brighton in January. Luka Vuskovic is only 19 and fast maturing into one of the best, all-round centre-backs in the league. The Croatian cost what appeared a chunky £46m from Spurs this summer, but now looks great value.

On it goes, the successful Bloomers. Look at midfield. The Paraguayan Diego Gomez is scoring worldies, only 23, and only £11m from Inter Miami in January 2025. Yasin Ayari, the Swede who embodies Brighton’s press, cost only £3.5m from AIK in January 2023. The 21-year-old Spaniard Chema Andres cost only £15.5m from Stuttgart this September. He’s settled in quickly.

Ease of assimilation is helped by Brighton’s family feel, the thought that goes into the player’s arrival, looking after his family too, and the welcoming nature of homegrown players like Lewis Dunk and Jack Hinshelwood. The friendly Barber plays a vital role, too, in ensuring new signings settle.

Hove is a good area to live, the training facilities are impressive, and the ground is full of atmosphere. Newcomers also know that Brighton is a perfect launchpad for their ambitions, so they seize the opportunity. Everything is set up for players – and head coach – to succeed, and Hurzeler knows that.

There's an argument to be made that Steve McClaren is the most successful manager Middlesbrough have ever had.

McClaren led Middlesbrough to their first major trophy in the shape of the 2004 League Cup, before then leading them to the UEFA Cup final two years later - albeit they were ultimately thumped 4-0 by Sevilla.

But his departure to take the England job in 2006 was mourned by few fans - and his former goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer, did not come away from his time working under McClaren with a positive impression either.

Schwarzer told FourFourTwo: "For the first two years, he did a lot of really good things.

"His ideas, his coaching and the change in professionalism were exactly what Middlesbrough needed.

"After that, it became more difficult. As he grew in confidence, his expectations changed.

"At times as a player, I felt I was blamed as the reason things weren’t going well, with very little self-reflection from the manager.

"The bigger his profile became and the more he was talked about as the next England boss, the harder it became.

"We won our first major trophy and got to a European final, but there were some very challenging times working under him.

"It was a combination of things. There was a lot of finger-pointing from the manager (McClaren) during games, but when I confronted him about it, he would deny it.

"That led to a complete breakdown of our relationship because I have a problem with people not telling the truth. If you’re not honest with me, then there’s no respect.

"I just felt that I couldn’t work with someone who was so disingenuous, dishonest and not man enough to have that conversation with me.

"There was a World Cup that year, so I needed to play football, and I felt my best opportunity to do that was away from the club.

"I don’t think the manager thought I would hand in a transfer request, so I called his bluff and showed him how serious I was.

"I eventually changed my mind because Steve Gibson became involved and was incredibly reluctant to sell me."

For the past 40 years, the tragedy of the 1985 European Cup final has often been reduced in mainstream British discourse to a single, monolithic headline: football hooliganism.

In Heysel ’85, director Teodora Mihai bypasses the familiar cliches of terrace culture to produce something which seeks to change the conversation surrounding the disaster. Coming from a documentary background, Mihai approaches the disaster not as a reflection of senseless violence, but as a study into institutional breakdown and the callous, self-preserving instincts of political power.

The film anchors its narrative through two parallel viewpoints. The principal perspective belongs to Marie Dumont (Violet Braeckman), the fictional press attaché and daughter to the Mayor of Brussels.

Heysel '85 offers a hard-hitting cinematic perspective on the stadium disaster

Braeckman, a polyglot who learned Italian specifically for the production, delivers a performance of quiet, escalating dread as she watches the veneer of civic competence crumble from within.

Operating on the other side of the crisis is Luca Rossi (Matteo Simoni), an Italian broadcast journalist reporting live from the ground while desperately trying to locate his father, uncle, and brother, all attending the match as Juventus supporters.

Early on, Mihai builds tension through procedural unease. Disorienting, fluid tracking shots wind through subterranean corridors, establishing a sense of foreboding long before the tragic events unfold. Shot in an empty hospital in Antwerp, the oppressive concrete hallways reflect the popular view that the Heysel Stadium, built in 1930, was run-down and unfit for a fixture of such magnitude by the mid-1980s, something which is referenced in the film.

The film avoids the trap of laying blame at the feet of ticket touts, generic mobs, or rowdy Liverpool supporters. It is deeply sympathetic to the ordinary fans caught up in the events of May 29, 1985, casting a forensic eye upward at the organisers.

UEFA executives, the local municipal government, and a fractured security apparatus are all painted in an unflattering light. The territorial friction between the municipal police and the Belgian Gendarmerie is laid bare; their reluctance and inability to share intelligence or coordinate chain-of-command turns an already combustible situation into an avoidable tragedy.

Nowhere is this administrative failure more grotesque than in the depiction of the Mayor of Brussels (played by Josse De Pauw). Portrayed as a sozzled, cowardly executive, his characterisation is rooted in historical reality. According to Braeckman, De Pauw knew the real-life mayor Hervé Brouhon, a figure regarding whom it was openly joked in local political circles that any serious decisions had to be made before 11am.

The film captures the hollow facade of authority dissipating in direct proportion to his alcohol intake. In one particularly telling sequence early on, Marie is dispatched to fetch the key to the stadium’s liquor cabinet so the mayor and his dignitaries can enjoy a proper drink. It is a bitterly ironic snapshot of municipal priorities just hours before 39 people would lose their lives.

When catastrophe strikes, the narrative strips away any remaining shred of civil propriety. Mihai’s documentary sensibilities ensure the integration of genuine, unaltered archive footage feels seamless rather than exploitative, anchoring the fictional protagonists in historical reality. While the Italian delegation emerges with a degree of grace and anguish, UEFA and local authorities retreat into corporate damage control, consumed entirely by liability, protocol, and the insistence that the match must still be played.

By refusing to take the easy narrative route of sensationalising terrace thuggery, Heysel ’85 delivers an important, unsettling reassessment of the catastrophe. It is an indictment of systemic cowardice that proves human lives were not lost merely to crowd surges, but to the arrogance of an establishment that abdicated responsibility long before kick-off - and, tellingly, never resigned in its wake.

Following its UK premiere at the 70th BFI London Film Festival, Heysel ’85 will be released in UK cinemas on 20 November 2026, distributed by Icon Film Distribution.

For 16 years, football was Diego Demme's way of life. It took him from the lower leagues of German football to the heights of the Bundesliga and Serie A, where he helped RB Leipzig establish themselves among Europe's elite, and Napoli end a 33-year wait for the Scudetto.

But after suffering two serious head injuries in the space of four months, Demme faced a difficult choice: continue playing the sport he loved or risk jeopardising his health and his family's future. On September 23, the former Germany international announced his retirement from professional football.

"I retired because of the two head injuries I had in the last two years. That was a difficult time for me, and that’s why I decided to finish my career," Demme admitted to FourFourTwo. "I wanted to stop while I was healthy, and after the problems I had with my head injuries, I decided to not take any risk again on the field."

Diego Demme opens up on his decision to retire from professional football

After developing at Arminia Bielefeld and Paderborn, Demme helped Leipzig achieve two promotions, reach the 2019 DFB-Pokal Final and become Champions League regulars, before swapping the Bundesliga leaders for a Napoli side in crisis.

Demme helped Napoli win their first trophy in six years with the 2019/20 Coppa Italia before winning the 2022/23 Scudetto. After four and a half years in Italy, he returned to Germany in 2024, initially taking on the captaincy at Hertha Berlin. However, his homecoming soon turned into a nightmare.

On September 15, 2024, Demme took a knee to the chin during Hertha's 2–0 defeat to Fortuna Düsseldorf. Although he initially continued playing, he subsequently experienced headaches, dizziness, and problems with his right eye.

Four months later, Demme was struck in the temple by a ball from close range during training, causing him to lose consciousness. The consequences lingered, with recurring headaches, dizziness, and psychological difficulties contributing to 27 missed matches across his final two seasons.

"It was a difficult situation. I felt very bad due to the concussions, and that was the first time I felt, ‘What the f**k is going on?' I couldn’t drive the car. I needed to be there for my kids, and I couldn’t. I have a wife and family, and the most important thing was to be there for them, so I felt it was better to stop football."

Despite attracting interest from Italian clubs including Empoli, Cesena, Catania and Sorrento, Demme decided against extending his playing career. Retirement, however, has hardly meant slowing down.

The 34-year-old is now running two Neapolitan pizzerias in Berlin, overseeing the construction of his house in Kleinmachnow and pursuing qualifications in padel coaching and sports massage. Above all, he is enjoying more time with his daughters, six-year-old Gia and three-year-old Ellie.

Nor has he abandoned competitive sport. Alongside training in boxing, grappling and mixed martial arts, Demme is returning to football with Plyrs United in the Icon League, the indoor small-sided competition founded by Toni Kroos and Elias Nerlich.

"I didn't want to join another club where I'd move due to the fact that my eldest daughter started school this summer, so I decided to stop. But now, I feel good again, and I feel like the old Diego before my injuries. I will play the Icon League because the physical risk isn't as much as a regular Bundesliga match."

From the Coppa Italia to the Scudetto, Demme has spent his career chasing football's greatest prizes. Now, he's found a reward that no trophy can match: the chance to grow old in good health and watch his daughters grow up.

Hansi Flick is a demanding, successful coach who doesn't often lose his cool, but his fury on Sunday evening was difficult to miss.

As Barcelona saw out a hard-fought 2-1 win against a characteristically stubborn Atletico Madrid side, Flick decided to freshen up his attack late on. Anthony Gordon’s number went up on the fourth official's board towards the end of the second half and the Englishman was spared the final few minutes.

Rather than sprinting off, the 25-year-old ambled towards the sideline at a leisurely pace. Flick, visibly enraged, began gesticulating frantically, shouting at the former Newcastle United winger to get off the pitch.

Anthony Gordon feels Hansi Flick's wrath

Flick’s anger was justified, though, both in terms of the individual match situation and the rulebook. In LaLiga, the Spanish federation (RFEF) strictly enforces IFAB’s Law 3, requiring substituted players to leave the pitch at the nearest exit point as quickly as possible.

Spanish officials have clamped down hard on dead time this season, meaning dawdling runs the needless risk of a booking for unsporting conduct.

But with Flick keen to see out the result, Gordon’s stroll ran the risk of Barcelona playing a man down at a crucial point in the game. Another of IFAB's rules states that if a player takes longer than 10 seconds to leave the field, the incoming substitute must wait.

Gordon did not take kindly to his manager's frustration, cutting a frustrated figure once he had eventually left the pitch.

The exchange captured the mood surrounding his start to life in Spain. Initial excitement has worn off, and been replaced by growing scepticism among supporters.

Catalan dailies Sport and Mundo Deportivo have both published critical assessments in recent weeks, openly questioning whether the former Everton man has the technical subtlety required for Spanish football. The recurring criticism in the local media is that Gordon is overly reliant on straight-line pace, struggling for solutions when confronted by opponents who sit deep and deny him space behind.

Supporters on social media have been similarly blunt. Compared to Lamine Yamal and Raphinha who regularly create danger in tight pockets, Gordon has on occasion looked isolated out wide, leading many Culers to question why the club spent heavily on an attacker whose skillset seems at odds with Barcelona's possession-heavy approach.

This will come with a sense of deja vu for Newcastle fans, who will recall the manner in which Gordon departed St James’ Park last season.

After his head was turned by interest from abroad in the spring, his sharpness and overall impact visibly dipped during the run-in. With his desire to leave made clear to the hierarchy, Eddie Howe ultimately took him out of the firing line, leaving him on the bench for the final weeks of the season. Newcastle and their supporters largely accepted the inevitability of the player's exit, and recouping £70 million for Gordon means there is an argument that the Tyneside club got the better end of the deal.

At Newcastle, Gordon had a tactical structure built around his relentless vertical running and pressing triggers, but at Spotify Camp Nou, the blueprint isn't being tailored to suit him. While Sunday’s flare-up with Flick was probably little more than a storm in a tea cup, it is a warning. Even though he has three goals and four assists in 15 outings for Barcelona so far, there is already a feeling - or perhaps even expectation - that he should be doing more.

Watch Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona for free as La Liga's top two meet in a mouth-watering clash in the Spanish capital, with FourFourTwo bringing you all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Atleti are on a seven-match winning run in La Liga and know another victory would see them leapfrog the champions at the summit.

Barcelona have been almost flawless in the league this season, with the defeat by Real Madrid in El Clasico a fortnight ago the only blemish on an otherwise perfect record.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona online and from anywhere, including for FREE, in La Liga 2026/27.

Can I watch Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona for free?

Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona will be shown for free in Brazil on CazeTV's YouTube Channel. You don't need an account or a subscription, just click the link above and start streaming.

Outside of Brazil? Use NordVPN to unblock your free stream from anywhere in the world.

Watch Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona from anywhere

A good VPN is your ticket to the game, even when you’re abroad.

The solution to your geo-restriction nightmares is a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a piece of software that can set your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate NordVPN as the best service around...

How to watch Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona in the UK

Fans in the UK can watch Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona on Premier Sports.

The game is live on Premier Sports 1, with kick-off at 8:00pm GMT.

How to watch Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona in the US

Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona is live on ESPN in the US. Those looking for Spanish-language coverage should head to ESPN Deportes.

Kick-off is at 3:00pm ET.

How to watch Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona in Australia

Viewers in Australia can stream Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona on beIN SPORTS. The game kicks-off at 7:00am AEDT on Monday, with coverage on beIN SPORTS 2.

Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona: Preview

It should be quite an atmosphere at the Metropolitano as Atletico Madrid take on champions Barcelona, who are two points ahead of them at the top of La Liga.

Atleti have been in scintillating form in the league, winning seven successive games to start the weekend sandwiched between Barca and their city rivals Real Madrid. They have already beaten one of the El Clasico heavyweights here this season, seeing off Real 2-1 in September, and will believe they can repeat the trick tonight.

Diego Simeone will want a reaction from his team after they lost 2-0 to Bayern Munich at the Metropolitano in the Champions League in midweek, a result that ended their unbeaten home record this term.

The return of midfielder Johnny Cardoso means centre back Cristian Romero is Atleti's only absentee, as they hunt a first home league victory over Barca since October 2021.

SEE ALSO How to watch La Liga live streams from anywhere

Barcelona have been in imperious form this season and beat Aston Villa 3-0 in the Champions League in midweek, but Hansi Flick's side still have a point to prove.

Their only two defeats of the campaign came against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and Real Madrid in La Liga, so despite racking up 13 wins and 60 goals in all competitions, they are yet to claim a statement victory.

That would change if they take all three points at the Metropolitano and Barca know what it takes to achieve that, having already beaten Atleti twice in Madrid in 2026.

However, they have already suffered a setback after influential midfielder Rodri injured his hamstring against Villa, ruling him out of the visit to his former club. Of the other injured players, Andreas Christensen, Eric Garcia and Jules Kounde appear to be closest to returning, with Dani Olmo, Roony Bardghji and Xavi Espart longer-term absentees.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Atletico Madrid 1-2 Barcelona

We expect Barca to edge a closely-fought contest thanks to their extra attacking quality.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch Crystal Palace vs Liverpool for FREE from anywhere as the Eagles look to repeat last season's feat against the Reds with a home win.

FourFourTwo has all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage looks increasingly likely to become the first Premier League manager to be sacked in 2026/27. Their tally of seven points is generous given the performances we've seen, and things could get even worse on Sunday against Liverpool.

The Reds haven't had an ideal week, suffering two defeats to Arsenal and Fenerbahçe, but will face a team that couldn't be more out of form. Andoni Iraola will be keen to see his side secure a comfortable win.

Both sides will be looking to climb the Premier League table in this one, as FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Crystal Palace vs Liverpool online today.

Can I watch Crystal Palace vs Liverpool for free?

Crystal Palace vs Liverpool is being broadcast for free in Brazil on CazeTV's YouTube channel.

You don't need an account, just find the live stream and watch away.

Away from Brazil? Get a VPN to access the stream and boom — free access to the encounter at Selhurst Park.

Watch Crystal Palace vs Liverpool from anywhere

Away from home right now? You don't have to miss Crystal Palace vs Liverpool.

The solution to your geo-restriction nightmares is a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a piece of software that can make your devices appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate Proton VPN as one of the best for unlocking streams...

How to watch Crystal Palace vs Liverpool in the UK

Sky Sports is showing Crystal Palace vs Liverpool in the UK, with live coverage on Sky Sports Main Event.

Kick-off is at 2:00pm GMT.

How to watch Crystal Palace vs Liverpool in the US

Viewers in the US can watch Crystal Palace vs Liverpool on Peacock, with kick-off at 9:00am ET.

Not in the US right now? Use Proton VPN to unblock your stream of Crystal Palace vs Liverpool on Peacock.

How to watch Crystal Palace vs Liverpool in Australia

Australia-based fans can stream Crystal Palace vs Liverpool on Stan Sport.

Kick-off is at 1:00am AEDT on Monday morning.

Tickets

Crystal Palace vs Liverpool: Preview

Crystal Palace's dull start to the season continued with yet another defeat last weekend, this time going down 2-0 at Tottenham on Halloween weekend.

Jean-Phillippe Mateta was also sent off in North London and will miss Liverpool's visit.

Adam Wharton was then dismissed against Hoffenheim in midweek, but the England international will be available to face the Reds in this one with that card only applying to European fixtures.

Eddie Nketiah is likely to lead the attack, while Ismaila Sarr will miss out again with his groin injury.

SEE ALSO How to watch Premier League 2026/27: TV Guide, Streams & Fixtures

Liverpool were poor value in their 3-2 loss in Turkey in Tuesday's early kick-off and will have been disappointed to have come away empty-handed.

Late strikes from Archie Brown and Vedat Muriqi meant it was Dirk Kuyt's men who claimed a vital Champions League victory.

That loss for Liverpool followed the 1-0 defeat against Arsenal, and Iraola must now galvanise his side to go again at Selhurst Park.

Ryan Gravenberch remains 50/50, with Jeremie Frimpong also still expected to be out until after the November international break.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool

Liverpool's star man Alexander Isak found the net in midweek and we feel he will do so again in a win for the Reds.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch Brighton vs Brentford from anywhere as the Seagulls look to continue their excellent start to the Premier League season against another in-form side. FourFourTwo has all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Third-place Brighton reasserted their credentials as a contender for Champions League qualification with a 1-0 win at Manchester City last weekend.

Brentford have also made an impressive start to the campaign and cemented their position in the top half with a 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest eight days ago.

FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Brighton vs Brentford in the Premier League, online from anywhere.

Watch Brighton vs Brentford from anywhere

What if you're away from home when Brighton vs Brentford is on, and find access to your usual streaming service geo-blocked? The solution is a VPN, a piece of software that sets your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate Proton VPN as one of the best for unlocking streams. Plus they have a MEGA Black Friday deal right now:

How to watch Brighton vs Brentford in the UK

Brighton vs Brentford is live on Sky Sports in the UK.

You can watch the Premier League game on Sky Sports+, with kick-off at 2:00pm GMT.

Outside the UK? Unlock your Brighton vs Brentford stream on Sky Sports via Proton VPN.

How to watch Brighton vs Brentford in the US

Peacock is the US broadcaster for Brighton vs Brentford, which kicks-off at 9:00am ET.

Not in the US right now? Use Proton VPN to unblock your stream of Brighton vs Brentford on Peacock.

How to watch Brighton vs Brentford in Australia

Australia-based fans can stream Brighton vs Brentford on Stan Sport. Kick-off is at 1:00am AEDT on Monday.

Not in Australia? Proton VPN will unblock your Stan Sport stream of Brighton vs Brentford.

Tickets

Brighton vs Brentford: Preview

Brighton have arguably been the story of the Premier League season — and they added a glorious chapter to that passage with last Saturday's 1-0 win at Manchester City.

It means the Seagulls have now beaten the two title favourites without conceding a goal, having crushed champions Arsenal 3-0 in September, while they started the weekend as the league's highest scorers (24 goals) and boasting its' second-meanest defence (just seven conceded).

Fabian Hurzeler's men take on Brentford less than 72 hours after a 1-0 away win over Spanish side Getafe in the Conference League, so the German manager could rotate his side.

He may also have Ferdi Kadioglu back from injury, with Femi Azeez and Pascal Struijk also closing in on their return to action.

SEE ALSO How to watch Premier League 2026/27: TV Guide, Streams & Fixtures

No team has tasted defeat fewer times in the Premier League than Brentford this season, with the Bees beaten just once in the top flight this term.

The Bees start the weekend five points behind Brighton and they would be even closer had they turned some of their five draws into wins, with last Saturday's 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest just their third triumph of the campaign.

That may change now last season's top goalscorer Igor Thiago appears to have rediscovered his form, with the Brazilian finding the net in each of the past two games.

Brentford have no fresh injury concerns, but Antoni Milambo and Josh Dasilva are not expected to be available until after the international break.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Brighton 2-1 Brentford

This should be a fantastic game to watch, with the Seagulls just shading it.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch Sunderland vs Chelsea for free as the Blues head north to face the Premier League's current basement boys. FourFourTwo has all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Sunderland and Chelsea meet in one of four 2pm Premier League kick-offs today in the Premier League.

A bumper Sunday selection, Xabi Alonso's side will be hoping to continue the current misery the Black Cats are facing, having posted just one win in nine thus far.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Sunderland vs Chelsea online and from anywhere, including for free.

Watch Sunderland vs Chelsea for FREE

Live coverage in the States is on USA Network, and this is available for free thanks to YouTube TV, which currently comes with a 21-day free trial for new customers.

Outside the US? Use Proton VPN to access your free Sunderland vs Chelsea stream from anywhere in the world.

Watch Sunderland vs Chelsea from anywhere

Away from home right now? You don't have to miss Crystal Palace vs Liverpool.

The solution to your geo-restriction nightmares is a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a piece of software that can make your devices appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate Proton VPN as one of the best for unlocking streams...

How to watch Sunderland vs Chelsea in the UK

Viewers in the UK can watch Sunderland vs Chelsea live on Sky Sports. The game will be broadcast on Sky Sports Premier League.

Sky packages including the Sports channels start at £35/month while existing subscribers can add the channels from £22/month.

How to watch Sunderland vs Chelsea in the US

As mentioned above, Sunderland vs Chelsea is live on USA Network in the US.

This is a linear channel, so you will need a cord-cutting package. YouTube TV (21-day free trial), DirecTV Stream (5-day free trial), Hulu+Live TV (3-day free trial) and Sling Blue all carry the channel.

How to watch Sunderland vs Chelsea in Australia

Fans in Australia can watch Sunderland vs Chelsea live on Stan Sport.

Stan Sport comes in at just AU$29.99 and arrives with access to every Premier League and Champions League game.

Tickets

Sunderland vs Chelsea: Preview

Sunderland will be looking to end their worrying run of form when they welcome Chelsea to the Stadium of Light on Sunday afternoon, with Régis Le Bris' side facing a difficult challenge.

The Black Cats have endured a difficult few weeks domestically and currently sit bottom of the table with just five points from their opening nine matches. Their latest outing saw them suffer a disappointing 3-1 defeat away at Coventry City.

Thursday's 2-0 home defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League will have done little to improve the mood around Wearside either.

There is, however, reason for optimism. Sunderland completed a league double over Chelsea last season, winning 2-1 both at Stamford Bridge and the Stadium of Light. They will need to rediscover that level of performance if they are to take anything from Sunday's encounter.

SEE ALSO How to watch Premier League 2026/27: TV Guide, Streams & Fixtures

Chelsea, meanwhile, arrive in considerably better shape and will be looking to build on their impressive 2-0 victory over Manchester United last weekend. Xabi Alonso's side have collected 16 points from their opening nine league fixtures and currently sit fourth in the table.

The Blues have demonstrated plenty of attacking quality this season, scoring 19 goals in the league so far, thanks in no small part to the performances of Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers.

Alonso will nevertheless be encouraged by his side's response against United, with a clean sheet and two goals providing a timely boost ahead of their trip to the North East.

Reece James, João Pedro, Maxence Lacroix and Jamie Gittens are expected to be unavailable. Emiliano Martínez has returned to training following a fractured jaw, while Estevao could be inline for some more minutes following a scintilating display last weekend.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Sunderland 0-3 Chelsea

An easy success for the Blues on Wearside.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

During his 22-year playing career, Javier Zanetti turned out more than 1,000 times for club and country.

The Argentina and Inter Milan great shared a dressing room with some of the greatest players of his generation and played under some of the game’s most influential coaches.

Few, however, left quite the same impression as Marcelo Bielsa, who handed Zanetti 52 international caps during his six-year spell in charge of Argentina.

Zanetti on Bielsa's impact

Bielsa’s reputation for demanding the highest level of commitment from his players is well-documented, but for Zanetti, the former Leeds United manager’s eccentric methods went way beyond mere tactics and training sessions.

"He is a manager who knows how to get the absolute best out of his players,” Zanetti tells FourFourTwo. That was true for me, and it has been true for so many others.”

For Zanetti, what sets Bielsa apart from other elite coaches is his ability to connect on a much deeper, more meaningful level.

“He has a way of reaching something deep inside you, of reigniting that pure love of the game you had as a kid,” he continues.

“It was a wonderful six years working with him with the national team."

During that time, Zanetti’s international career began to flourish, with the defender able to benefit from playing under Bielsa for a sustained period.

A year after Bielsa left the Argentina job, a new era was ushered in when Lionel Messi made his debut in a 2005 friendly against Hungary.

Over the next seven years, Zanetti and Messi would share a pitch for Argentina 37 times, giving the Inter Milan star the opportunity to get a front-row seat for the accession of one of the game’s all-time greats.

“I was lucky enough to play alongside him for six or seven years with Argentina, right at his peak, and when he was just breaking into the national team,” Zanetti adds.

“He could, and still can, produce something that nobody sees coming. Quite simply, the greatest player who ever lived.”

After being dubbed the ‘new Pele’ at the tender age of 14, Freddy Adu’s career would end up taking him to some unexpected places.

After becoming the youngest-ever player to appear in United States professional sports when he made his D.C. United debut in 2004, Adu had stints playing in Portugal, France, Greece, Turkey and Brazil over the next decade.

After a stint with Salvador-based Brazilian side Bahia ended, Adu’s next opportunity came at Blackpool, with the then-Championship side taking the American on trial in February 2014.

Adu on his Blackpool move

And while moving from the Brazilian summer to a Blackpool winter would be a culture shock to most, Adu looks back at his time with the Seasiders fondly.

“I had a good time there, it was great!” he tells FourFourTwo. “I was a free agent after Brazil, and Blackpool was cool!”

“I liked it there, I remember I really did enjoy my time there, being around those guys, but the football was really different, compared to what I was used to.”

Adu’s nomadic career to this point had seen him adapt to plenty of new surroundings, but he admits that the rough-and-tumble style of a second-tier English side was something new to him.

“It was more direct and very physically demanding, so my style of play didn’t exactly mesh with the team,” he admits.

Blackpool would decide against offering Adu a contract, but would allow him to continue training with the club as Adu looked for his next opportunity.

After stints training in Norway and the Netherlands, he would sign with Serbian side FK Jagodina in July 2014, in a move that again didn’t work out for him.

“I went to Serbia and just played the one game, I was only there for about six months,” Adu continues. “At that point in my career, I just needed to try to get somewhere, get some playing time and get my love for soccer back again. It didn’t end up happening over there, I wasn’t happy there.

“They sell you this story but you get there and things are completely different, so I was just trying to bide my time and get out of there.

"Hindsight isn’t 20/20, but there are a lot of decisions I would have made differently, as far as teams go, if I had that opportunity.”

Watch Ipswich Town vs Bournemouth from anywhere as the Cherries look to continue their good run of form at Portman Road.

FourFourTwo has all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Ipswich Town and Bournemouth meet in East Anglia today in the Premier League in one of four 2pm kick-offs.

The Tractor Boys have lost just once at home this season, but face a Bournemouth side who have won their last seven in all competitions.

FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Ipswich Town vs Bournemouth.

Watch Ipswich Town vs Bournemouth from anywhere

Away from home right now? You don't have to miss Ipswich Town vs Bournemouth.

The solution to your geo-restriction nightmares is a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a piece of software that can make your devices appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate Proton VPN as one of the best for unlocking streams...

How to watch Ipswich Town vs Bournemouth in the UK

Sky Sports is showing Ipswich Town vs Bournemouth in the UK, with live coverage on Sky Sports Cricket.

Plans start at £35/month for new customers, with existing subscribers able to add Sky Sports to their package for £22/month.

Kick-off is at 2:00pm GMT.

How to watch Ipswich Town vs Bournemouth in the US

Viewers in the US can watch Ipswich Town vs Bournemouth on Peacock, with kick-off at 9:00am ET.

Peacock Premium plans start at $12.99 a month and will get you a multitude of Premier League games across the season.

Not in the US right now? Use Proton VPN to unblock your stream of Ipswich Town vs Bournemouth on Peacock.

How to watch Ipswich Town vs Bournemouth in Australia

Australia-based fans can stream Ipswich Town vs Bournemouth on Stan Sport.

Stan Sport comes in at just $29.99/month and includes every Premier League and Champions League game.

Kick-off is at 1:00am AEDT on Monday morning.

Tickets

Ipswich Town vs Bournemouth: Preview

Ipswich Town come into this one 14th in the Premier League table and off the back of a spirited 2-2 draw with Hull City last weekend.

That's now two draws on the spin for the Tractor Boys, who are hoping above all to do enough to remain in England's top flight once again this season.

Four players currently lead the scoring charts: Leif Davis, Julio Enciso, Emersonn and Zian Flemming, who all boast two goals apiece.

Gary O'Neil will need to see much more from his side if they are to beat Bournemouth, but they do boast a fresher spell since their last game, given the Cherries' European travel in midweek.

SEE ALSO How to watch Premier League 2026/27: TV Guide, Streams & Fixtures

Bournemouth are four from four in the Europa League and are continuing their upward trajectory after a slow start to the new season.

Marco Rose's men are on a run of seven consecutive wins after sweeping aside Czech outfit Sparta Prague 3-1 in midweek.

Currently eighth in the Premier League, they could climb as high as fifth with a win, should results elsewhere go their way this weekend.

Alex Scott, Juanlu Sanchez, Julian Araujo and Alex Toth all remain sidelined for the Cherries.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Ipswich Town 1-3 Bournemouth

Bournemouth's attacking trio of Evanilson, Rayan and Justin Kluivert have all been fantastic of late, and we think a goal from each in a resounding win at Portman Road.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch Man Utd vs Aston Villa for FREE and from anywhere as this week's Super Sunday clash takes us to Old Trafford

Want to watch the game live from anywhere? FourFourTwo provides you with all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Manchester United host Aston Villa in a mouthwatering clash at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils came from two goals down in midweek to end their nine-match streak without a win, as Michael Carrick buys himself some more time in the dugout.

Unai Emery's Villa have been hot and cold of late, beating Manchester City, before drawing with Fulham and losing in Barcelona.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Man Utd vs Aston Villa in the Premier League, online and from anywhere.

Watch Man Utd vs Aston Villa for FREE

Live coverage in the States is on USA Network and this is available for free thanks to YouTube TV, which currently comes with a 21-day free trial for new customers.

Fubo and DirecTV Stream also carry the service and offer 5-day free trials.

Outside the US? Use Proton VPN to access your free stream from anywhere in the world.

Watch Man Utd vs Aston Villa from anywhere

A good VPN is your ticket to the game, even when you’re abroad.

The solution to your geo-restriction nightmares is a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a piece of software that can set your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate Proton VPN as one of the best for unlocking streams...

How to watch Man Utd vs Aston Villa in the UK

Viewers in the UK can watch Man Utd vs Aston Villa live on Sky Sports.

Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League will have live coverage of the Premier League clash, which kicks-off at 4:30pm GMT.

How to watch Man Utd vs Aston Villa in the US

Man Utd vs Aston Villa is live on USA Network in the US.

Can't access your USA Network stream? Use Proton VPN to watch Man Utd vs Aston Villa on the service from anywhere in the world.

How to watch Man Utd vs Aston Villa in Australia

Fans in Australia can stream Man Utd vs Aston Villa on Stan Sport.

Tickets

Man Utd vs Aston Villa: Preview

Manchester United earned a morale-boosting victory after coming from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The Red Devils had the impetus of youngster Shea Lacey and the goals of Matheus Cunha to thank, although the latter was sent off in the win.

Harry Maguire paired Ayden Heaven at the back again as injuries continue to plague United's backline.

Benjamin Sesko is out until the new year, so we expected Cunha or Bryan Mbeumo to lead the line.

SEE ALSO How to watch Premier League 2026/27: TV Guide, Streams & Fixtures

Villa didn't recreate the same success as United as they went down 3-0 to European powerhouse Barcelona.

Lamine Yamal and a brace from former Leeds man Raphinha means Unai Emery must once again galvanise his players in the north-west.

The Villans went down 3-1 in an end-of-season contest last year at the Theatre of Dreams, and they haven't won at the home of United since 2021.

Amadou Onana, Matteo Ruggeri, Matty Cash and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are all set to miss out.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Man Utd 1-2 Aston Villa

FourFourTwo thinks Villa will win this one, with Nicolas Jackson getting in on the act.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

After spending more than a decade in the English game, former Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs decided he was up for a new challenge in 2021.

This saw the 10-time England international head across the Atlantic, where he signed for Inter Miami, in a move that saw him experience and embrace an entirely different footballing culture.

For Gibbs, the opportunity to work with David Beckham and Phil Neville would prove to be a key factor in his decision to up sticks, as was the chance to play a part in a league that was clearly growing.

Gibbs on his MLS move

After spending his whole career in English football, Gibbs was keen to try something new, as he recalls the circumstances that lead to his decision to move across the Atlantic.

“I felt like I wanted to try something new and different,” Gibbs tells FourFourTwo. “Once I spoke to David Beckham and Phil Neville, the game in the US and how much it’s growing appealed to me. There’s a lot of opportunities here. I’d always wanted to play in a different country.”

Gibbs would enjoy two seasons playing in Miami before hanging up his boots in 2022, but remains settled in Florida to this day.

“I’m glad that I picked here because it feels like home now,” he continues. “I go back to the UK when I can, but I’m very settled here. “I’m very grateful that I got to play football in another country and experience a different league.”

And while Gibbs clearly has no regrets over this move, he concedes there were initial challenges when he made the move.

“I knew it was going to be a physical game,” he admits. “People mentioned the travel, but I didn’t think that was going to be quite so difficult.

“The heat in Miami is tough as well, when you’re playing through the summer. When I moved here in July, I struggled to adapt to that.”

Gibbs also remains excited about the future of the MLS, believing that last summer’s World Cup will help the sport to continue to grow in the United States.

“It’s a growing league and there’s a lot more to come from MLS over the coming years. The World Cup this year could be a springboard for the future.

“The game has come a long way since the last World Cup here in 1994, when MLS hadn’t even been founded, so it’s still a very young sport. That’s why I’m excited to be here. I want to see how we can keep transforming the game.”

Watch Cray Wanderers vs Stockport County for free in an FA Cup 2026/27 First Round tie featuring two teams separated by four divisions. FourFourTwo has all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Wanderers are aiming to continue their FA Cup fairy-tale after reaching the First Round Proper for the first time in their 166-year history.

The Isthmian League Premier Division outfit could hardly have asked for a better draw, as League One high-fliers Stockport County - who start the weekend 112 places above the Wands in the pyramid - visit Flamingo Park.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Cray Wanderers vs Stockport County in the FA Cup 2026/27 First Round online, on TV, and from anywhere, including for free.

Can I watch Cray Wanderers vs Stockport County for free?

Yes! UK viewers can watch Cray Wanderers vs Stockport County live and for free on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer in the UK.

You must be a UK resident and have a valid TV licence to access BBC iPlayer. If you do, just sign up online and you're good to go!

Outside the UK? You need a VPN to access your free Cray Wanderers vs Stockport County stream from anywhere in the world.

Watch Cray Wanderers vs Stockport County from anywhere

Away from home right now? You don't have to miss Cray Wanderers vs Stockport County. The solution to your geo-restriction nightmares is a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a piece of software that can set your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate NordVPN as the best VPN you can buy.

How to watch Cray Wanderers vs Stockport County in the UK

As mentioned above, Cray Wanderers vs Stockport County will be shown live and for free on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer in the UK.

TNT Sports and streaming partner HBO Max will also broadcast the game, with coverage on TNT Sports 3. Kick-off is at 2:15pm GMT.

Travelling outside the UK? You need a VPN to access your TNT Sports stream from anywhere in the world.

How to watch Cray Wanderers vs Stockport County in the US

Cray Wanderers vs Stockport County is live on ESPN Select in the US, with kick-off at 9:15am ET.

Not in the US? Access your usual ESPN Select stream with a VPN.

Can I watch Cray Wanderers vs Stockport County in Australia?

Stan Sport holds the rights for the FA Cup Down Under, but won't show Cray Wanderers vs Stockport.

UK resident in Australia? Watch Cray Wanderers vs Stockport County on BBC iPlayer with a VPN.

Cray Wanderers vs Stockport County: Preview

Cray Wanderers' First Round tie against Stockport County is what the FA Cup is all about, as the seventh-tier side host a team who start the weekend 112 places above them in the English pyramid.

The South East London club have already played seven games in this season's competition, having needed replays to progress through three of their four qualifying round ties. They beat Bedford Town on penalties in the previous round to reach the First Round Proper for the first time in their 166-year history.

It has already been an unforgettable campaign for the Wands, who sit 18th in the Isthmian League Premier Division - although their cup run means they have as many as seven games in hand on some of the teams above them.

Their 2,500-capacity Flamingo Park home will be in high spirits for the visit of Stockport, as they eye what would surely be the greatest result in their history.

SEE ALSO How to watch FA Cup 2026/27

County play the role of villains in this cup fairy-tale and if they are at their best they should progress with little fuss. The Hatters are second in League One, having finished third in each of the past two seasons, and look set to challenge for promotion again.

Stockport manager Jimmy McNulty is unlikely to underestimate Cray, having spent the last three seasons managing Rochdale in the National League before moving on in the summer.

Similarly, Hatters fans will know not to be complacent after a six-year spell in National League North - just one league above their opponents - between 2013 and 2019.

Stockport boast several top League One players, including Oliver Norwood, Lewis Bate and Kyle Wootton, although it remains to be seen if McNulty rests his stars with promotion the priority this season.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Cray Wanderers 0-3 Stockport County

This promises to be a great occasion for Wanderers, but County should have more than enough quality to progress.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Can you tell us the answer to this quiz question?

Tell us a player who could appear on this list and why: Jens Lehmann, Rogerio Ceni, Antonios Nikopolidis and David Seaman.

We'll reveal the answer this time next week when we reach the next edition of The Pre-Match Poser – for now, here's the answer to last week's poser…

Q. What do Erling Haaland, Robert Pires, Jamie Vardy – and actually, Roque Santa Cruz – all have in common?

A. They all scored Premier League hat-tricks in the same game as someone else.

Haaland netted three in the same Manchester derby as Phil Foden; Pires scored his treble alongside Jermaine Pennant for the first game of Arsenal’s invincible run; Vardy and team-mate Ayoze Perez both scored hat-tricks in the infamous 9-0 rout of Southampton; and Santa Cruz scored three for Blackburn Rovers against Wigan Athletic – though opponent Marcus Bent also scored three goals that day.

More football quizzes we know you'll love

While you're mulling over this week's pre-match poser, we have many more quizzes to keep those quizzy muscles working, courtesy of Kwizly.

Let's start with our new Premier League Years Picture Quiz. We've selected some of our favourite iconic Premier League moments and we want you to identify which season they occurred in. We've picked out some famous photographs to help grease the wheels.

We had a major international tournament in the summer and a very newsworthy Ballon d'Or winner crowned in the autumn. Those two things have only happened together 18 times. Can you name every player to have won the Ballon d'Or in a World Cup year?

That's the good. Now for the bad and the ugly. We've had three and a half decades of Premier League action now so there are lots of answers to find in this one. Can you name every player to have been sent off three times in England's top division since 1992-93?

We do love a crossword too. Et toi? Bon! Try your luck with FourFourTwo’s Weekend Crossword 77, where you'll find clues on tricks, trequartistas, Trents and much more.

Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for your daily briefing of hand-picked trivia and tactical analysis and then join The Club, our free membership hub that serves as your digital dugout, where you can unlock secret hints for our hardest quizzes, climb global leaderboards, and debate the latest topics directly in the comments section.

The tug of war between supporters and football's power brokers has never felt more strained than it does at this very moment. Club owners, commercial interests, TV companies and even the man that runs FIFA seem to be pulling the sport away from the people who make it truly matter. It's time to tug back, then, as we unveil FourFourTwo's plan to reclaim the beautiful game for the fans...

Tickets

1. Lower ticket prices

FFT editor James Andrew explains why something must be done about the cost of entry to football:

Back in 2001, you could go to the supermarket and buy a loaf of bread for 51p, plus a pint of milk for 37p, then stop off and have a pint in the pub for £1.90. You could also take a family of four to watch my team Fulham play a Premier League game at Craven Cottage for £80. That's £80 in total, not each.

Fast forward 25 years and that bread has risen by 175 per cent to £1.40, a pint of milk is now 65p, up 76 per cent, and a pint is £5.50 – an increase of 189 per cent. Inflation has hit everyone, but still nothing comes close to the way the cost of going to football has risen. This season, sitting in the Johnny Haynes Stand for a Fulham match would cost £332 for those same four tickets, an increase of 315 per cent.

Across the Premier League, prices have risen exponentially, squeezing a lot of fans out of the game – even though those rises are a choice for clubs, not a necessity. Typically, matchday income generates seven to 15 per cent of total club revenue, depending on stadium size and pricing. Higher ticket prices yield only £2m or £3m in extra income for the top clubs. In an era dominated by exorbitant transfer fees and colossal wage bills, that's loose change.

Some fans also feel clubs favour one-time ‘tourist' visitors over local, loyal supporters. From the club's perspective, there's a higher chance they'll spend money in the club shop, and buy food and drink in the ground. A regular fan might stay in the pub until just before kick-off. But that outlook is short-termism.

The Covid pandemic and football being played behind closed doors resulted in us being told “football without fans is nothing”, but have clubs learned that lesson? If you price out fans who've been going for years, you lose the atmosphere that the ‘tourists' have travelled to experience – it's lose-lose.

Added to that, any of the bottom 10 clubs could be relegated during a bad season, then they could find themselves in a situation where long-term fans have been priced out and pissed off, but the ‘tourists' don't want to go to a Championship game on a Tuesday night.

So what's the solution? One success story in the Premier League in recent years has been the £30 cap on ticket prices for away fans. If that was replicated in the home stands – even at, say, £40 for adults – it could keep ticket prices affordable.

Another idea is to take the lead from Whitney Houston, who sang: “I believe the children are our future.” If you want to ensure young fans are experiencing football from the stands rather than on TV, you need to protect family areas inside the grounds and keep tickets both affordable and accessible.

Every fan will have their own personal breaking point. If the cost of football continues to rise like it has done over the past quarter of a century, it's scary to think what the stands may look like in 2051.

Kick-off times

2. Less messing about with kick-off times

Opinions on whether to scrap the Saturday 3pm TV blackout remain divided – when we polled supporters, around a quarter wanted it to stay, fearing the impact that lifting it could have on attendances and finances below the Premier League. While it remains in place, inevitably some kick-off times will move, but choices could be more considerate, particularly for away fans travelling long distances.

Do we really need games at 8pm on a Saturday? Was it fair on Cardiff supporters for their game at Middlesbrough to be moved to 12.30pm? And how many TV viewers was Crawley vs Cheltenham really pulling in on the red button, as one of seven EFL games played at lunchtime recently, to make it worth inconveniencing fans who actually wanted to go? Arguably, the 3pm blackout rule could be tweaked so it only applies to the top two divisions.

Mascots

3. Stop clubs charging kids to be mascots

Last term, Peter Crouch accompanied his heroes onto the pitch as one of the pre-game mascots at non-league Farnham Town. OK, he was 44, and the whole thing was a fantasy football forfeit, but did Farnham charge him? No, they did not.

Being a mascot is a day a kid never forgets, but some clubs have decided there's money to be made from it. At Crystal Palace, silver and gold packages range from £255 to £520, making it difficult for less privileged families. At all clubs, it should be free.

Social media

4. Halt social media abuse

The online world is increasingly becoming the wild west – made-up quotes, made-up transfer rumours from faceless accounts, it's hard to tell what's real and what isn't. Even more serious is the vitriol aimed at footballers online – time and again, players are complaining of the most awful comments being directed at them, with racism worryingly prevalent.

Social media companies must do more to deal with it, and create an environment where it's harder for these things to happen in the first place.

The FA Cup

5. Move FA Cup semi-finals from Wembley

An FFT poll previously showed that fans were overwhelmingly in favour of switching the FA Cup semi-finals to different venues – it's one of several factors that has devalued the final itself and affected the competition's historic reputation.

While we're at it, the final should be after the end of the Premier League season, and replays should be reintroduced – at least for the first and second rounds, given it was top-flight teams who wanted the change. Force everyone in hospitality at Wembley to get back to their seats for the start of the second half, too…

Agents

6. Reduce agent fees

Between February 2025 and February 2026, FA data suggested clubs in the top five divisions of English football shelled out a huge £548m in fees to agents.

Transfer fees are equally obscene, but at least that money is helping other clubs and circulates around the pyramid – that's not the case when money goes to agents.

Commentators

7. No prepared commentary

How did Sam Matterface respond to Marcus Rashford's goal against Croatia at the World Cup? By quoting lyrics from Ella Langley song Choosin' Texas, that he absolutely in no way had written down beforehand and intended to use no matter who scored and how the goal went in. The game was in Dallas, get it?

He's not the only one who does it – commentators have to prepare for games, of course, but give us facts, not cringy pre-rehearsed lines.

VAR

8. Abolish VAR

Chris Nee outlines why enough is enough and video technology must go:

This October, Brighton's Pascal Struijk was sent off for the denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity against Sunderland. Four days later, the defender's red card and suspension were overturned.

Struijk's collision with Wilson Isidor wasn't even given as a foul by the referee until he was called over for a VAR review, and a red card followed. The details of the incident don't matter as much as the implications. Not for the first time, a referee made a decision that was later determined adequate, yet overturned it in a VAR intervention. That VAR is undoing correct decisions proves it is getting involved when it was never meant to.

A decade into football's doomed video review experiment, it's easy to forget that almost every decision made by referees is subjective and any pursuit of fact in a game of interpretation is utterly futile. The major miscarriages of justice VAR was supposed to prevent are rare.

But the best reason to scrap VAR outright isn't to do with accuracy or margins, nor lines or toenails offside, but the ruinous effect that it's having on the sport. Even if the process could be deployed perfectly and quickly – it can't – the imperative to review every goal for an unnoticed infringement is detrimental to the way supporters experience football.

VAR has stripped the moments that matter of their elation, torn asunder the fabric of the offside law and turned handball into a farce. That such law tweaks have been allowed to leak into competitions that don't even use VAR is a practical result of a philosophical blunder; football was designed to be simple and universal.

Video reviews created a different code and it's time the authorities recognised that it's an inferior one. Football is a distorted game under the VAR regime – a game in which a goal might not be a goal, a yellow card might be a red card, offside might be ignored for 30 yards of play before being ruled by millimetres.

This damage was inflicted for the wrong reasons and VAR has been clamped onto the game with total disregard for what makes it special. There's no upside, and no solution.

Forget improvements. This isn't going to be fixed because it can't be fixed. Its flaws are inherent and they're fundamentally anathema to football. There's only one decision that needs to be overturned, and it's the biggest VAR decision of all.

Owners

9. Crack down on rogue owners

Football's fit and proper person test is a thorny business. When owners go rogue, authorities are criticised for allowing them to buy the club in the first place, although sometimes when you look back to the time of purchase, there was no legal reason to disqualify them, and the same fans were urging the authorities to approve the takeover quickly – either to get rid of the previous owner, or get hold of cash for transfers.

Things often go wrong after the purchase instead – the club doesn't succeed on the field, the owner is criticised, falls out with fans, petulantly takes his or her ball home, then a financial crisis ensues. What's needed is a better solution when that happens – often, such crises drag on for far too long, causing untold damage to the club and the people who work there. Greater mechanisms are required so authorities can quickly remove an owner when they don't pay wages or meet responsibilities to their club.

EFL Trophy

10. Remove U21 teams from the EFL Trophy

It's a decade since the competition was revamped to include underage teams, largely from Premier League clubs – that inclusion remains as unpopular as ever among EFL fans, who feel disrespected that their own senior team must play an under-21 side.

This September, just 278 people watched Bromley face Brentford's U21s – last month, Richarlison scored for Spurs' U21s at Cheltenham, which we're not sure was entirely the idea of the whole thing. At least an U21 team has never reached the final – one end of Wembley being almost entirely empty would be a bad look.

Half and half scarves

11. Ban half and half scarves

Presumably someone, somewhere, is buying them, otherwise people wouldn't keep making them, but the entire industry is a mystery. Why would you want to hold up a scarf during a game bearing the name of the opposition? You might as well sing their club anthem and cheer for their goals while you're at it – come on, people, we're better than this.

Football isn't a gentle day out at the tennis, and even then no-one ever sold Federer and Nadal half and half scarves – largely because it was summer and 30 degrees, but that's beside the point. When we polled fans, 91.6 per cent said there was no situation in which half and half scarves were ever acceptable.

Replica shirts

12. Reduce the cost of replica shirts

If you wanted to buy an England shirt for the World Cup this summer, it would have set you back £90 for a replica, or £135 if you wanted one “with the same fit and performance as your favourite national team player”. For the 2010 tournament, a replica cost £45; even that felt a lot at the time. Prices have become silly – instead of charging so much just for a shirt, maybe add an extra fee for anyone who buys a full adult replica kit and wears it out and about, to really deter the full-kit wankers.

Franchise clubs

13. Refuse more franchise clubs

More than two decades on, has Wimbledon's move to Milton Keynes ever been forgiven by fans around the country? No, and it never will be – not least because MK Dons still play in a stadium that's half-full at best, with among the EFL's worst atmospheres. In Scotland, there was controversy when Clydebank were bought out and moved to Airdrie in 2002, after the original Airdrieonians went out of business.

There has been talk recently that Vancouver Whitecaps, who made last year's MLS Cup final, could move to Las Vegas – no community should ever lose their club in such fashion.

Financial rules

14. Sort out the mess of financial rules

Chris Flanagan analyses the Manchester City scandal – and how to stop it being repeated:

When new regulations are released in sport, esteemed Formula 1 pundit Martin Brundle often says that people read them once to understand them, then a second time to figure out how they can get around them.

Once football's Financial Fair Play and Profit & Sustainability rules were introduced in the early 2010s, it was inevitable that some clubs would try to find workarounds by bending or breaking the rules. The same has happened in other sports.

Manchester City's guilty verdict in September plunged English football into arguably the biggest crisis of its long history – never before had the legitimacy of several league titles been thrown into question. Clearly, their case merits stern sanctions – as punishment for the unfair advantage gained, and as a deterrent. A plea sometimes made in these situations is ‘Won't you think of the fans? They don't deserve to be punished.' It's true to an extent, but did supporters of other clubs not suffer because of City's rule-breaking?

Once their situation has been resolved, English football needs to think seriously about the best way forward. City's has been the most extreme case, but they're far from the only club to have broken financial rules over the past 15 years. Of the Premier League champions during that period, Chelsea also did so – even Leicester, who exceeded the permitted loss en route to promotion from the Championship two seasons before their shock 2016 triumph.

The list of other clubs to have broken the rules is long: Nottingham Forest, Everton, Bournemouth when they were promoted to the top flight for the first time, and plenty more across the English leagues. Did some gain a lasting advantage over others who obeyed the rules – an advantage that outweighed the punishments they were handed?

Only three teams have won the Premier League title in that period without breaking domestic financial rules at some stage – Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United – hence why the solution is complex.

Arguably, the punishment for any club that breaches financial rules should be so draconian that no-one ever does it again. Otherwise, in any given season, how do we know who's cheating and who isn't? Are we all living a lie?

On the other hand, do the Premier League's rules mean only the three biggest clubs can actually win the title without eyebrows being raised? Would Blackburn have been able to win it today? Should smaller teams be prevented from ‘buying' success, or does that take away a dream for 95 per cent of clubs? That's before we consider other side effects we've seen because of the rules, like clubs effectively being encouraged to sell popular homegrown stars, as they count as ‘pure profit'.

Whatever your view on financial regulations – and it may depend on the size of the club you support – the City situation has been awful for football. Sorry, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Brendan Rodgers, the team you managed didn't win the title – or maybe it did, who really knows any more? Either way, it's really not a whole lot of use to them now. Those seasons are long gone.

If financial rules are to stay, we can't have more cases where we're investigating things that happened a decade ago, where it takes years to reach a verdict. Clubs who are cheating must be caught in real time, in the season it happens, so we can be totally sure the right teams are celebrating in May, or the regulations will forever doom the domestic game to an array of asterisks.

As it is, we've ended up with the biggest mess English football has ever seen. If clubs start suing over it, where does it end? In a situation like this, ultimately, nobody wins.

TV

15. Fewer TV subscriptions

If you like watching a variety of football, you'll need a subscription to Sky (Premier League, EFL, Scottish Premiership, WSL), TNT (Premier League, European games, FA Cup), Amazon Prime (Champions League, some internationals), Premier Sports (Scottish Premiership, La Liga), Disney+ (Women's Champions League, La Liga), DAZN (National League), Apple (MLS) and others too.

Who can afford all that? Laws stop one TV company from holding a monopoly, but it's cheaper for fans if fewer channels hold the rights. More free-to-air football would help – the return of occasional EFL games to ITV has been good, but last season was the first time TNT didn't offer the Champions League final for free on their YouTube channel. Gabriel Magalhaes was probably grateful…

Parachute payments

16. Solve parachute payment issues

The intention was to prevent clubs from immediately being in financial trouble when they're relegated from the Premier League, but it's created another problem. As top-flight TV money has risen and risen, so have parachute payments, which has handed relegated clubs an even bigger advantage over the rest of the Championship.

As a result, clubs without parachute payments feel they have no choice but to spend beyond their means to compete – some end up in financial trouble. Talks have been held for some time between the Premier League and EFL as they've sought a better solution.

Yellow cards

17. No yellow cards for celebrations

If you ever stick the ball in the onion bag during a professional game, having worked all your life to get to that point, don't get too excited or, heaven forbid, show any indication you're enjoying yourself. Instead, pull this checklist out of your socks. Don't: take your shirt off. Don't: hug the fans. Don't: run the length of the field and celebrate in front of the away fans at the Etihad, particularly if your name's Emmanuel Adebayor, even though it was funny to everyone apart from Arsenal supporters.

In all three cases, the decision is yellow card. Or how about we all just live in the moment, eh? Ian Wright agrees with us.

Players

18. Prevent clubs stockpiling players

The big clubs now have such a huge financial advantage that they can sign player after player and keep them on their books when they're nowhere near the first team – either because they can't get rid of them, or just on the off chance they might need them.

At Chelsea, they ran out of space in the dressing room at the training ground – players had to get changed in the corridor and some later went into a ‘bomb squad', forced to train separately because the number of players on their books was simply too big for everyone to train together. The Blues typically have more than 20 players on loan too – while players are no doubt paid well by such clubs, it's not always beneficial for their career.

Shinpads

19. Ban gloves and tiny shinpads

OK, we'll give goalkeepers a free pass on the gloves, even if it would add an extra level of chaos to the game, as they try to catch a slippery wet ball during the winter. Everyone else, absolutely not. If you're feeling cold, how about running around a bit? As for players who go for the gloves-and-short-sleeves combo, instant red.

Snoods were thankfully banned in 2011 – now, low socks and tiny shinpads are the epidemic. Players might as well just write, “I'm a maverick, me” on the back of their shirt – you're impressing nobody, mate, and don't blame anyone else if you get injured. Now do us a favour and put some tackles in…

FIFA

20. Reform FIFA

Henry Winter argues that while Gianni Infantino looks set to remain as president, the governing body must make changes:

The governing body of the world game, FIFA, is not only at a crossroads, it has lost its way. Damaging events before, during and after the World Cup confirmed that. FIFA could be a force for good if it found the right way again.

That requires extensive work to restore lost trust, beginning with openness and greater accountability. That requires independent lawyers in place throughout the organisation, ensuring correct governance. That requires representatives from fan and player organisations embedded in the building, providing oversight on decision-making. To improve FIFA, this early-warning system requires installation, starting with ensuring that commercial operations are kept separate from the president's office.

In any debate about FIFA, it's important to distinguish between the organisation and the presidency. Unfortunately, they have become blurred and, for many onlookers, FIFA is Gianni Infantino. That says everything about the flawed culture at FIFA, that allows one man too much power, and the flawed nature of Infantino, who so obviously has a weakness for people with power, as shown by his smitten courtier's behaviour with Donald Trump.

Football is the world's game – billions are transfixed by it and the men's World Cup is the pinnacle of sport and TV viewing (even bigger than the Olympics) – so it is perhaps inevitable that FIFA officials can feel masters of the universe. People say yes to them a lot.

That's why independent oversight is necessary. The summer was embarrassing. Good games, bad governance. Fan discontent towards Infantino was very apparent at the World Cup. Spanish supporters at the final in New Jersey had a particularly offensive chant about Infantino, which a Spanish reporter willingly, and happily, translated for me. It was partly tribal, and a belief that Infantino favoured Lionel Messi. For many of Infantino's critics at the World Cup, his list of transgressions did start with Messi, and parachuting Inter Miami into the 2025 Club World Cup. And plenty more. This is why FIFA needs reform.

The errors of judgement continued with the creation of the FIFA Peace Prize awarded to Trump; the failure to fight dynamic pricing on tickets, which meant that some loyal fans couldn't afford to travel; and the decision to suspend Cristiano Ronaldo's two-match group stage ban following his red card against the Republic of Ireland in qualifying.

More? Sadly, yes: the clearly commercially driven hydration breaks; the cancelling of Folarin Balogun's ban so the USA striker could face Belgium in the last 16, following a call from Trump; and then, the particularly putrid fly in the ointment, the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup to investors. Infantino. Just no.

Good people work at FIFA and they were let down badly by their president. What was an enjoyable, well-organised World Cup was overshadowed by sustained controversy. Infantino failing to put himself up for scrutiny at traditional tournament press conferences intensified the feeling of a lack of accountability and transparency.

It strengthened the perception that FIFA and Infantino were serving themselves and not the game, or the lifeblood of the game: the fans. As the major European leagues noted in a stinging open letter to Infantino on September 25, “FIFA's governance problem goes far beyond the role of one individual – the wider question is whether FIFA's president should simultaneously wield such regulatory, commercial and political power without effective checks and balances, including the agreement of affected stakeholders.”

The outrage at Infantino's swiftly abandoned FFE plan has led to legal complaints from UEFA, which has remained steadfastly determined to stop him gaining a fourth and final term of office at the presidential election on March 18 in Morocco. Initially, amid all the FFE furore, it looked as though Infantino's days as president were numbered.

It was back on August 10 that three of the six confederations – representing Europe, Asia and North America – published an open letter in which they heaped more pressure on Infantino. They accused him of “a profound failure of judgement” in pursuing the FFE project. They gave him “the opportunity to resign and leave his position with dignity”, according to one source.

That came after a blizzard of brutal headlines for Infantino professionally and personally. The window for the angry associations to engage in his defenestration was that month. The heat was at its most ferocious. The fury over Infantino's FFE was at its strongest. It was a key moment in which reformers could have forced him out and brought the craved improvements needed at FIFA.

The threat of a UEFA boycott of FIFA events felt very real, such was European wrath. Infantino was on the brink. But UEFA blinked first. It didn't withdraw teams from the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup. It didn't instruct Poland not to host the championship.

That felt crucial. Infantino was emboldened and continued to shore up support. The promise of a 64-team World Cup was tempting. So was the prospect for many of the 211 national associations of lashings of largesse – £2.6bn now earmarked by Infantino from the FIFA coffers to spend on infrastructure projects and more.

It's important to note when writing from a European perspective that many members of FIFA don't boast the wealth of major UEFA nations. Infantino seems good to them. I've done interviews with African TV and been called out for not being more aware of their appreciation for him. There are even European national associations who talk privately about how windfalls from Infantino's plans are vital for their sustainability. The personal nature of some criticism levelled at Infantino also offended some people. It was crude.

Infantino is a survivor, as well as a cunning politician. Now, he looks set for a fourth term. On October 23, he gained the hugely significant backing of the Asian confederation at its Tokyo congress. One of UEFA's main allies against Infantino had turned. Those 46 votes could be key.

Infantino already has the 54 votes from Africa, 10 from CONMEBOL and probably 10 of the 11 Oceania votes (New Zealand is anti-Infantino). If any of the smaller members of CONCACAF now consider Infantino worth backing, he will pick up some of its 35 votes. Rabat would then host a coronation rather than an election. Infantino will know before the vote – president again. UEFA will seethe, the prospect of real reform will be distant, and FIFA's world will keep on turning.

If Infantino sees off UEFA, there remains one final hope for controlling him: the players. Without them, FIFA has no show. Without them, FIFA's expansionism under Infantino slows or shrinks. The players' unions, most notably the Professional Footballers' Association and the global players' union FIFPRO, watch closely and with growing concern about FIFA's increasing of the workload on players, particularly with the Club World Cup and enlarging World Cup.

Both players' organisations have done extensive research into the cramming of the calendar with additional fixtures and heightened risk of injury. Where the suits couldn't stop Infantino, perhaps the boots might. I addressed a FIFPRO meeting in London in 2024 and suggested that the only way to decelerate the speeding treadmill of fixtures was for players to strike. Some agreed, so the threat is there.

Infantino wouldn't take on the players, especially those at the PFA so ably led by chief executive Maheta Molango. So one area of FIFA will be in check: adding to the calendar. But there are other areas that urgently need improving. Maybe if Infantino has realised how close he was to losing power, he might listen to the wiser voices within FIFA. Because football deserves a governing body that's fit for purpose, and that puts players and fans first.

Womens football

21. Greater investment to improve the women's game

Ayisha Gulati outlines four key points to help female football continue the superb progress made over recent years:

While women's football has experienced huge commercial growth, investment remains uneven and doesn't always translate into sustainable progress. Though the leading clubs in the Women's Super League benefit from better resources, high-profile sponsors and growing audiences, smaller clubs and leagues continue to operate with tighter budgets. That affects everything from player salaries and facilities to staffing, marketing and the ability to attract supporters.

The FIFPRO Global Employment Report released this year highlights the gap that exists between the sport's commercial ambitions and the reality for many players. Average club salaries have quadrupled since 2017, yet 59 per cent of surveyed players who were considering an early retirement cited finances.

Investment must also extend beyond signing players and securing sponsorships. Clubs need consistent marketing, compelling matchday experiences, engagement with their communities and creative fan activations to build loyal audiences. Without long-term investment right across the pyramid, growth risks benefiting only the biggest clubs, rather than strengthening the women's game as a whole.

Crowds

22. Grow crowds further

Increasing attendances are essential to commercial sustainability, but attracting fans remains a challenge. Kick-off times, fixture changes, transport links and affordability all influence whether supporters can attend regularly. Last term, the WSL experimented with a large number of Sunday lunchtime kick-offs, but many fans – especially families and away support – found a noon start difficult. TV selections can also move games at short notice.

The challenge is compounded by the cost of living, with the rising prices of ticket, travel, food and drink adding to matchday expense. Some clubs are moving games to their main stadium, but the atmosphere can feel flat when it isn't full, and isn't something people are drawn to when they watch on TV. For teams not playing at a club's main stadium, grounds are often less accessible by public transport.

Injuries

23. Better healthcare

Women's football needs healthcare and sports science that reflect the needs of female athletes. For too long, research and training methods have relied heavily on male athletes, leaving gaps in the understanding of female physiology, menstrual health, pregnancy and postpartum recovery, pelvic health and individual health factors. FIFA estimates that only six per cent of sports science research focuses exclusively on women.

ACL injuries are a major concern – female footballers experience them at more than twice the rate of male players, with the reasons why still not fully understood. Such injuries bring potential long-term consequences, with clubs lower down the pyramid sometimes unable to offer sufficient support. Better injury-prevention programmes, tailored strength and conditioning, specialist medical support and further female-specific research are essential.

Scheduling

24. Don't overdo the schedule

As women's football grows, the calendar is getting crowded, raising player welfare concerns. Domestic leagues, European club competitions and international tournaments must all fit into an increasingly limited number of available weeks. Research conducted by FIFPRO has highlighted the emergence of a two-speed game: some players face excessive match and travel demands, while others lack sufficient competitive football.

Its 2025 workload report found that the 15 most-used women's players had each played at least 50 matches in a season for the first time since its data collection began in 2020. The inaugural Women's Club World Cup, which is scheduled for January 2028 in the USA, will disrupt the WSL season – Arsenal have already qualified. It also sits between the 2027 Women's World Cup and 2028 Olympics – without coordination between governing bodies, leagues and clubs, players risk insufficient recovery time and more injuries.

Owners

25. No more leveraged buyouts

When the Glazers purchased Manchester United in 2005, they borrowed huge sums from hedge funds, loading the club with debts of £604m, and haven't exactly got the fans back on their side ever since.

Concerns were also raised when fellow American Alan Pace became Burnley's new owner in another leveraged buyout in 2020 – concerns fans voiced again when the Clarets slid out of the Premier League and into the Championship relegation zone at the start of this term. More must be done to stop a repeat from happening anywhere else – no takeover should be funded by loans the club must repay itself.

Corners

26. Ban short corners

If there's an easy way to wind up football fans, it's at a corner. First, the taker places the ball three millimetres outside the quadrant, prompting several seconds of furious pointing from opposition fans. Then, the referee spots two players pushing and shoving in the box, and decides what we all want is for him to pull them aside for an earnest chat while we sit around waiting.

Then after all that, the corner taker shapes to whip it in, only to play it short, and the set-piece passes by without the ball ever entering the penalty area at all. Resultant anger level among fans: absolute incandescent rage.

Away allocations

27. Proper away allocations for Old Firm games

Once again this season, there are no away fans at league games between Celtic and Rangers, following trouble at their Scottish Cup tie at Ibrox last term. It's the greatest rivalry in British football, but sectarianism continues to cast a shadow, prompting a level of toxicity that often gets out of control. FFT have been to Old Firm games when huge away followings have been present, and it's created an atmosphere unmatched pretty much anywhere else in the world.

Without them, it's not the same – a solution must be found to let them back in without it spiralling into violence. It may even help increase the value of Scottish football's TV deal, aiding everyone financially – the Old Firm duo included.

World Cups

28. A men's World Cup in the UK

The United Kingdom will host both Euro 2028 (alongside the Republic of Ireland) and the 2035 Women's World Cup, but it's 60 years since the last men's World Cup in England, with no sign of another any time soon.

True, new countries deserve a chance, but the selection of Qatar and Saudi Arabia was controversial to say the least – also soon, the USA, Germany, Spain and Argentina will have had it twice since 1966, while Mexico has had it three times. Come on FIFA, it's the UK's turn!

Influencers

29. Outlaw Piers Morgan talking about Ronaldo

Every time Cristiano Ronaldo gets involved in his latest controversy – because his manager has dared to leave him on the bench, or because his plan to bring walking football to the Nations League isn't proving as popular as intended – up pops Piers to defend him. We get it, Morgan isn't stupid, and staying onside with Ronaldo has had its benefits – explosive exclusive interviews have come his way, including the one that effectively ended the forward's second spell at Manchester United.

Come on though, Piers, Ronaldo is 41 now, but has been behaving as if he's 12 – when you're debating the subject with Jason Cundy and making the mask-wearing Ange Postecoglou imitator look like the sensible one (heartbreaking: the biggest wind-up merchant you know just made a great point), is it possible you're taking all of this a bit too far?

50+1

30. Learn from the Bundesliga

Ed McCambridge explains how British fans could be given a bigger say – as is the case in Germany:

From Gulf states using our beloved game for blatant sportswashing to sky-rocketing season ticket prices, it's hard not to wonder, like Ebenezer Scrooge at the end of A Christmas Carol, whether British football might have lost its way.

Wouldn't it be nice to live in a place where unscrupulous owners could be kept in check by a greater power? Where normal, hard-working fans could easily afford season tickets? Where there's still time to buy the prize turkey hanging in the butcher's window? Sorry, ignore that last one.

What if I were to tell you that this place already exists? In Germany, those dreams are largely a reality thanks to its sacrosanct 50+1 rule, stipulating that a club's paying members – the fans themselves – possess half of every club's voting rights, plus one deciding vote. That gives members – Bayern Munich have more than 450,000 – the ultimate say in major decisions, rather than investors. Financial backers are free to pump their hard-earned cash into clubs – crucially though, they cannot simply do as they please.

The 50+1 rule is the reason none of Germany's clubs were involved in the failed European Super League power grab in 2021. It's why the cheapest season ticket costs, on average, only €200 in Germany's top flight. It's also the reason German fan culture enjoys such an esteemed global reputation.

Stadiums are packed to the rafters every week with local diehards who genuinely feel connected to their club. Thanks to ticket price caps, they're just as often tradesmen, bus drivers and nurses as daytrippers or rich folk. If fans aren't happy about something at their club or the wider spectrum of German football, you'd better believe that they'll make their voices heard. They'll bring banners, fire flares, disrupt games and chant until their voices give out. They know their fuss can make a difference. Imagine if English fans could wield such power; if we truly believed that we could influence those at the top.

There are downsides to the way Germany operates. Many will point to Bayern's utter dominance as a result of other clubs being unable to organically bridge the financial gap – it turns out oligarchs and Gulf l states are less interested in throwing their money at something if absolute power doesn't come with it. The Premier League is more competitive and home to better players. It's also worth noting that a few German clubs, notably RB Leipzig, have found creative ways to circumvent the rules.

I'd be loath to suggest that English football considers adopting its own 50+1 rule. The legal wranglings alone would make it impossible. But adopting some of German football's common sense is worthwhile.

One example, thanks to the new independent regulator, has been to provide fans with a legally binding ‘golden share' over heritage decisions such as badge alterations, kit colour changes or joining unauthorised competitions (European Super League, we're looking at you again).

Mandating fan representation on club boards would also ensure supporter interests are integrated into executive decision-making. On top of that, Premier League clubs must expand safe standing sections, prioritising atmosphere over profits and outdated laws.

Those solutions take the best of both worlds – keeping the Premier League as powerful, glamorous and entertaining as it's been for the past 25 years, while lighting a fire under fanbases and giving English football some of its soul back.

The Premier League needn't go overboard and start dancing down the street like Michael Caine in his bedgown, but we could try to be a bit more caring. A bit more German.

Chelsea bounced back from their disappointing home defeat to rivals Tottenham Hotspur with a solid 2-0 home triumph over Manchester United last weekend. Xabi Alonso has now overseen five wins and three defeats in his opening nine league matches. It’s been a topsy-turvy start to life in his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge.

It perhaps is no coincidence, then, that three of their five wins have come with Romeo Lavia in the starting XI. The Belgian started his fifth league match of the season in the victory last weekend. It marked the first time the 22-year-old has played the full 90 minutes in the Premier League game since his 2023 arrival from Southampton.

“It was a top-class performance. His performance was very complete from a midfielder’s point of view,” the Chelsea head coach said. From an individual as talented as Alonso was in his playing days, it was high praise indeed.

Romeo Lavia must stay in Xabi Alonso's Chelsea XI

The issue for Lavia, though, has so often been the inability to remain fit for prolonged periods of time. Saturday marked just his 20th top-flight start since making the move to the capital. He’s already bettered last season’s haul of four league starts. Yet when fit, the former Saints man showcased just why he has had the faith of managers, both past and present.

Operating at the base of the 4-2-3-1 setup, Alonso needs a player who is able to both retain possession and advance play effectively. As he proved against Man United, Lavia does so to a very good standard. An 88.9% pass success rate was the fifth highest of all Chelsea starters in that game, while only Wesley Fofana (76) made more passes (72).

Only Morgan Rogers, Estevao and Cole Palmer (3 each) created more chances than Lavia's two, who was credited with the assist for the former’s opener. Admittedly, Rogers did all the hard work as he slalomed through the Man United midfield and finished with aplomb. Nevertheless, it was a commendable haul from Lavia, who prior to the win had created just two chances in the previous six league outings combined.

Admittedly, Lisandro Martinez’s dismissal midway through the second half helped the Blues' cause. That they were able to maximise their numerical advantage is testament to Chelsea’s in-game management under Alonso.

It proved Lavia is more than just a tempo-setter in the middle of the park. After all, he finished top for tackles (5) and second for interceptions (4) of all Chelsea players last weekend. The youngster maintained a 100% tackle success rate in the home triumph.

Some might assume that Lavia and Moises Caicedo will compete for the same position in the team, but that would be a common misconception. Both carried out their own individual roles in the win over Michael Carrick’s men, as Caicedo fared slightly better in possession, which in turn enabled Chelsea to dominate proceedings.

Either way, it was a partnership that worked well together, and one that supporters surely hope provides the midfield foundation for the west London side going forward. That will only come to fruition, however, should Lavia completely overcome his injury issues. A lack of European action will aid the player, with lower demands on his body to play once every three days.

In the end, it was a stroke of luck that brought Lavia back into the fold. Read misfortune, if you’re Chelsea or summer transfer target Lamine Camara. The Blues agreed a fee with Monaco for the Senegal international, only for the French side to pull the plug on the deal at the last minute as striker Folarin Balogun closed in a switch to Everton. The American’s move fell through, and it meant Monaco were stuck with the pair, which, due to financial issues, was far from ideal.

Chelsea’s loss has since proven to be Lavia’s gain. Keeping him fit in the long-run is now the priority. Yet, with Alonso seemingly managing his workload accordingly, and praising him following the standout display against Man United, Chelsea’s failure to get the Camara deal over the line could, ultimately, prove their gain, too.

Lavia had become something of a forgotten man in Cobham, as he spent ample time in the physio room. Saturday proved a timely reminder of his quality and showed why, when available, he should be Caicedo’s midfield partner in Alonso’s favoured setup.

Watch Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City for FREE as Enzo Maresca's side look to bounce back after suffering consecutive defeats in the Premier League. FourFourTwo has all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Forest manager Oliver Glasner admitted "change" was needed after last Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Brentford, which left the club 19th in the Premier League and winless in five matches.

City head coach Maresca would also have been looking at what he could do differently following their home loss to Brighton & Hove Albion seven days ago, a result that saw them surrender top spot to Arsenal.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City online and from anywhere, including for free, in this Saturday-evening Premier League clash.

Can I watch Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City for free?

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City isn't technically available to watch for free, but there is a way that viewers in the US can stream the game at no cost.

NBC has live coverage in the States and is available on YouTube TV, which currently comes with a 21-day free trial for new customers.

Outside the US? Use a VPN to access your free Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City stream from anywhere in the world.

Watch Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City from anywhere

What if you're away from home when Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City is on, and find access to your usual streaming service geo-blocked? The solution is a VPN, a piece of software that sets your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate Proton VPN as one of the best for unlocking streams. Plus they have a MEGA Black Friday deal right now:

How to watch Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City in the UK

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City is live on Sky Sports in the UK.

Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League will have live coverage of the Premier League clash, which kicks-off at 5:30pm GMT.

Outside the UK? Unlock your Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City stream on Sky Sports via Proton VPN.

How to watch Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City in the US

As mentioned above, NBC is showing Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City in the US.

The game is also live on Peacock, NBC's streaming platform, with kick-off at 12:30pm ET.

Remember: Use Proton VPN to unlock your Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City stream on NBC if you're away from home.

How to watch Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City in Australia

Fans in Australia can stream Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City on Stan Sport. Kick-off is at 4:30am AEDT on Sunday.

Not in Australia? Proton VPN will unblock your Stan Sport stream of Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City.

Tickets

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City: Preview

Oliver Glasner admitted this week that he has "failed" as Nottingham Forest manager so far, with his side second-bottom of the Premier League and on a five-match winless run.

The Austrian head coach has fronted up since last Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Brentford and he will hope it sparks a reaction from his players in this Saturday-evening clash with Manchester City.

If Forest get a result, they will go into the international break with renewed belief that they can get out of trouble, but another loss would only increase the pressure on Glasner.

Striker Igor Jesus could return from injury, but this game comes too soon for Nicolo Savona as he works his way back to fitness. Meanwhile, Nicolas Dominguez will be sidelined for the foreseeable future.

SEE ALSO How to watch Premier League 2026/27: TV Guide, Streams & Fixtures

City were made to work hard for their 3-2 victory over RB Leipzig in the Champions League in midweek, with Enzo Maresca's side twice pegged back before Erling Haaland scored the winner 12 minutes from time.

They will need to be similarly resilient against Forest as they look to bounce back from consecutive league defeats against Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion, which followed seven successive wins to start the season.

Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is under the microscope after making several errors that led to goals, but the Italian is expected to retain the No.1 shirt. Elliot Anderson is also set to return to the City Ground for the first time since his £116m move from Forest in July.

Elsewhere, Maresca has revealed that left-back Nico O'Reilly is "not 100 per cent" so could be a fitness doubt.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Nottingham Forest 0-1 Manchester City

Neither team is in great form, so we are predicting a closely-fought contest that falls in City's favour.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

During her playing career, Jill Scott was never one to back out of a challenge.

The Euro 2022 winner won a slew of major honours with Everton and Manchester City, but can now be found getting stuck in with the likes of Roy Keane, Gary Neville, Ian Wright and Jamie Carragher in front of the camera for The Overlap.

The Lionesses legend quickly became a staple of the successful YouTube channel, giving as good as she gets with the gaggle of former Premier League stars.

Scott on giving it back on The Overlap

Scott admits that the atmosphere around the table can get so relaxed that she can sometimes forget she’s appearing in front of an audience. Rather than feeling like another television commitment, getting together with her co-presenters is more like a catch-up with old friends.

“I actually forget that people are watching and listening – I’m just excited because I haven’t seen the guys for a couple of weeks,” she tells FourFourTwo.

“I’m like, ‘Let’s have your opinions on football’, but it’s just like chatting with your mates. I love it.”

Scott believes that this chemistry between the team, and the panel’s different backgrounds, have been key to the show’s success.

“All of our relationships are different,” she continues. “I’d describe it as like siblings in a way. I like that they’ve got big personalities, because that’s when they get into arguments.

“But what I love, and I think it’s their generation, is that you can say something that someone doesn’t agree with, but then walk away and still be the best of mates. That’s how football should be.

“When I played, you could be playing against your best mate in an FA Cup final and one of you would win, then the next day you’d go back to being best friends.”

And while Scott is quick to embrace the friendly arguments and differences of opinion in the studio, she can’t help but think back to her playing days, and believes that the women’s game’s reputation for being less confrontational than its male counterparts is wide of the mark.

“People think that in women’s football we didn’t have banter, but I actually think it’s more ruthless than in men’s football,” she insists. “I could tell you plenty of stories from my playing days, but they wouldn’t make it into the magazine! If you don’t know someone and they’re saying things to try to bring you down, then it crosses into bullying.

“But we’re friends, and I give it back to them just as much. I actually feel like I get more leeway sometimes, being female. I love that they feel relaxed and anything that’s said, I always know it’s in jest.”

Watch Altrincham vs Notts County for free as the National League side welcome League One opponents in the FA Cup 2026/27 First Round. FourFourTwo has all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

The Robins are flying high in the National League and reached the First Round in style, thumping FC United of Manchester 6-2 in the Fourth Qualifying Round.

Notts County are 17th in League One, two levels above their hosts in the pyramid, and have recently claimed eye-catching wins over Sheffield Wednesday and Mansfield Town.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Altrincham vs Notts County in the FA Cup 2026/27 First Round online, on TV, and from anywhere, including for free.

Can I watch Altrincham vs Notts County for free?

Yes! Altrincham vs Notts County will be shown live on free-to-air BBC Two and BBC iPlayer in the UK.

You must be a UK resident and have a valid TV licence to access BBC iPlayer. If you do, just sign up online and you're good to go!

Outside the UK? You need a VPN to access your free Altrincham vs Notts County stream from anywhere in the world.

Watch Altrincham vs Notts County from anywhere

Away from home right now? You don't have to miss Altrincham vs Notts County. The solution to your geo-restriction nightmares is a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a piece of software that can set your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate NordVPN as the best VPN you can buy.

How to watch Altrincham vs Notts County in the UK

As mentioned above, Altrincham vs Notts County will be broadcast live and for free on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer in the UK.

TNT Sports and streaming partner HBO Max will also show the game, with coverage on TNT Sports 1. Kick-off is at 5:30pm GMT.

Travelling outside the UK? You need a VPN to access your TNT Sports stream from anywhere in the world.

How to watch Altrincham vs Notts County in the US

Viewers in the US can watch Altrincham vs Notts County on ESPN Select, with kick-off at 12:30pm ET.

Not in the US? Access your usual ESPN Select stream with a VPN.

How to watch Altrincham vs Notts County in Australia

Altrincham vs Notts County is being shown live in Australia on Stan Sport.

UK resident in Australia? Watch Altrincham vs Notts County on BBC iPlayer with a VPN.

Altrincham vs Notts County: Preview

FA Cup fever has taken hold at Altrincham as the Robins prepare to welcome League One side Notts County to the J. Davidson Stadium in the First Round.

The National League team will be confident they can spring a shock against a club who sit 38 places above them in the pyramid, with their strong home form underpinning a promising start to the season that has Neil Gibson's men seventh in the table.

The Robins are looking for their first win over an EFL side since 2015, when they dumped out Barnsley, while they have not reached the Second Round since 2019.

Altrincham boast several former County players, including Tom Crawford, Kristian Dennis, Kane Hemmings, Jack Hinchy and Jimmy Knowles. Meanwhile, Gibson has added former Hull City forward Pharrell Brown to his squad ahead of the cup clash.

SEE ALSO How to watch FA Cup 2026/27

The Magpies are part of a small collection of former winners to enter at this stage of the competition, having lifted the FA Cup way back in 1894.

As the oldest professional club in the world, County have a proud history but the days of battling at the business end of this competition are long gone, having not progressed beyond the Fifth Round since 1991.

Martin Paterson's current crop are looking to consolidate in League One after winning promotion via the play-offs last term, and they have stabilised after a bad patch, most recently beating local rivals Mansfield Town last Saturday.

It will be interesting to see how much Paterson rotates his squad, with goalkeeper James Belshaw and defenders Jacob Bedeau and Lucas Ness ever-presents in the third tier this season. Ollie Cooper has proved a useful source of goals from midfield, with four in 10 appearances this term.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Altrincham 1-2 Notts County

The Magpies are in good form, so we are predicting them to edge a tight game.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

For two decades, Danny Murphy enjoyed a hugely successful playing career, winning a host of major honours with Liverpool and earning nine England caps.

Since hanging up his boots in 2013, the former Crewe Alexandra academy graduate has become a familiar face in the media, making regular appearances for the BBC on television and radio.

And while Murphy has found his groove as a pundit, there are some broadcasting avenues that he has no desire to go down.

Why you won’t see Danny Murphy in sequins

Ratings-behemoth Strictly Come Dancing is one of the BBC’s most popular shows and has seen plenty of sports stars swap the playing field for the ballroom in recent years.

Former Lionesses star Karen Carney became the first ex-footballer to claim the glitterball last year, while Shaun Wright-Phillips bowed out five weeks into the current series.

But any fans wanting to see Murphy swap the commentary box for the sequins and become the latest ex-player to strut his stuff on the dancefloor will be left disappointed.

“I’ve turned Strictly down twice,” Murphy tells FourFourTwo. “I enjoy a good dance, but I’m not into sequins and I’ve got a busy life – it had nothing to do with money.”

For some sporting personalities, appearing on Strictly has been a way to show off a different side of themselves, but Murphy is content to leave this particular challenge to others.

Instead, the ex-Fulham and Tottenham man simply knows where his interests lie and does not feel the need to step out of his comfort zone and into the Strictly limelight.

“For me, the less limelight, the better,” he continues. “I love talking about football, it’s the one area in life that I feel I know something about.”

This preference for sticking to his strengths is why Murphy rejects the idea of taking on an entirely new challenge in front of millions of viewers.

“Crossing over to do something that isn’t my strong point? It’s not for me,” he concludes.

Gary Neville has never been accused of lacking ambition.

After a playing career spent chasing trophies with Manchester United and compiling international caps with England, the 51-year-old has since built a successful business portfolio and established himself as one of English football’s most distinctive broadcasters.

This drive also saw him set up his YouTube channel The Overlap five years ago, and with the product evolving to now include a daily podcast, Neville is proving that he has taken his competitive instincts from the pitch to the boardroom.

Neville on his ambitions for The Overlap

When he launched The Overlap in 2021, Neville had a clear idea of where he wanted it to go.

“When we started five years ago, I did say that I felt I wanted it to be the biggest non-live independent football channel,” Neville tells FourFourTwo.

“But that’s just a statement. You have to have ambition, you have to believe in it, you have to take risks and you have to be entrepreneurial. You have to bring people on the journey with you, and you have to bring partners and stakeholders. We’ve done that, but I don’t ever take that for granted.”

In doing this, Neville has brought the same approach that served him so well during his playing days.

“Playing football, it’s a fight every single day to win, to be the best that you can be and I think it’s still like that when you’re doing this,” he continues.

“We’ve known for two years that we wanted to bring out a daily podcast, but what really hit us was that we recorded Stick To Football on a Wednesday, it goes out on a Thursday, then on the Monday at 10am, Ruben Amorim got sacked and we weren’t on for 10 days. I thought ‘That doesn’t feel right, we should be on’.

“When we’re on, we’re good at talking about things like that, but we’d never do ‘an emergency show’ that’s not scheduled. The daily show allows us to be more reactive, the line-ups are incredible and we’ve been very excited about it. From day one, whether it’s been the guests or the hosts, we’ve wanted to operate at a high standard and have a high bar for ourselves.”

Just like that, our time with the ever busy Neville is up, and he’s ready to head off and attack the next part of his day. We can’t help but ask one final question though, before he goes.

One of the recent things Neville squeezed into his busy diary was a Q&A with the band James, at the premiere of their new documentary. What’s his favourite James song, FFT asks?

“Getting Away With It,” Neville says. “Because that’s what I’ve been doing for all these years.” The answer is accompanied by a self-deprecating smile. Then like that, he’s off.

Vinicius Junior's appearance has drastically altered. The cosmetic surgery, 'chin harmonisation', has seen his face shape change dramatically, so much so that people have begun to believe he has been replaced by a lookalike.

This narrative is only encouraged when you consider the winger’s poor start to the season – one goal in nine appearances. A low return for someone who considers themselves to be one of the best in the world. The picture only looks darker when it’s compared with Kylian Mbappe’s eight goals in the same amount of time.

In August, it was unclear where he would be playing. Arsenal, aiming to resolve their left-wing issues after the departures of Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli, were determined to sign the Brazilian, throwing the kitchen sink at sealing his signature.

Boooooo!

Madrid responded by offering him a lucrative new six-year deal, which he, of course, accepted. Yet, despite this show of loyalty, he continues to receive whistles and jeers from his own fans.

Flirting with a move away from the Bernabéu, combined with substandard performance since committing his future, no doubt frustrated some fans, but it doesn’t seem enough to justify the level of distaste there is towards Vinicius from his own fans.

Underneath all the noise, Vinicius still has all the hallmarks of a quintessentially Brazilian footballer: flair, talent, an electric winger, born to entertain, carefree flamboyance, representing one half of El Clásico. What more could you want? With that, though, comes a byproduct of what can be perceived as a God-given gift – ego.

An ego can be beneficial. Cristiano Ronaldo’s career was built on an unrelenting desire to be the best, and for a long time, it was admirable. As goalscoring records tumbled, the perception of his work ethic was that he displayed extreme confidence, motivation, and a drive that no one else had.

However, as we have seen in recent weeks, the line between this and delusion is thin, and one that Ronaldo blurred with his shenanigans during the international break. In his determination to prove that he can still ‘kick it with the kids’, he’s ended up delusional that perhaps Father Time has caught up with him. That’s no slight on Ronaldo; even his current fitness levels are a marvel for a 41-year-old.

With Vinicius, it feels different; his ego comes with an inherent knack for finding varying ways of being disliked.

Ronaldo got away with his ego because of the standard he played at for well over a decade. For a while, Vinicius did the same; three consecutive successful campaigns culminated in him finishing runner-up in the Ballon d’Or rankings in 2024 behind only Rodri. However, he tainted the achievement by refusing to attend the awards upon discovering he hadn't won.

It’s been a downward slope ever since. He dropped to 16th in this year's Ballon d’Or rankings, and so far this season has been far below what we expect from him on the pitch, to the point new Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho benched him in favour of 19-year-old Yan Diomande for their match against Villarreal a month ago.

The Ivorian scored the only goal in a 1-0 win. Meanwhile, Vinicius was brought on in the 51st minute, only to be sent off 20 minutes later for pulling the hair of Villarreal midfielder Nathan Saliba.

Play was initially allowed to continue as referee Isidro Díaz de Mera did not see the incident occur, allowing Jude Bellingham to burst down the Madrid left flank and pull back to Vinicius, who slotted home. Consequently, VAR objected to the Brazilian’s actions and not only ruled out his goal, but also issue him his marching orders.

What followed was farcical. In almost sheer disbelief, Vinicius marched towards Díaz de Mera in an aggressive manner and had to be restrained by Antonio Rudiger and four other teammates.

What is his problem with the decision? It’s not particularly clear. The rule is open-and-shut. As per La Liga's official rules, 'hair pulling' is specifically mentioned as 'violent behaviour' and warrants a straight red card. And yet, Vinicius sees himself as above the rules, acting like a petulant child who has never been told ‘no’ in their life.

The resultant suspension saw him miss El Clásico. And yet, without the Brazilian, Los Blancos reigned victorious thanks to a brace from Mbappe.

Inserting a manager like Mourinho does him no favours either. Yes, he benched him for the match, but that does little to temper the ego; it only fuels it. A common Mourinho trope is to pick on a player and see how they cope with the pressure.

We’ve seen this be successful in the past – he wouldn’t keep getting employed if it didn’t. At Chelsea, he was famously overheard saying Samuel Eto’o was too old to be his main goalscorer, only for the striker to feed him those words by bending over and holding his back to simulate an old man after scoring against Tottenham the following match.

Years later, at Spurs, he took a similar issue with Tanguy Ndombele, this time citing his fitness as the root cause of his poor performance. And while the Frenchman never set the world alight in a Spurs shirt, the following season, 2020-21, was no doubt his best for the club, earning his spot back in the starting XI and making 46 appearances in all competitions.

Then there's the flip side. Juan Mata never regained his place after being discarded for a lack of defensive work. Dele Alli’s career fell off a cliff following Mourinho’s tenure in North London, while Luke Shaw was dobbed on constantly at Manchester United.

So, learning from past experience, we see that it’s a blueprint that can go either way. But with Vinicius’s temperament, will he be the next success story or the next victim? The evidence presented so far suggests the latter.

Stepping inside Harrogate Town's training ground, the music feels like some sort of sign from up above. A premonition of what's about to happen.

The lyrics of A-ha's classic 1980s track Take On Me hit FourFourTwo with more significance than ever before. Blaring out as we approach the office door of manager Simon Weaver, surely this can't be a coincidence. “Take on me, take me on,” the pop icons croon.

Admittedly, it seems unlikely that the longest-serving boss in English football's top five tiers has invited us to the outskirts of Leeds to see whether we're suitable to join his coaching team full-time. But invitations to shadow a manager with such access are so rare – he's allowing us to spend time with him, and even sit in the dugout for this weekend's National League game with Eastleigh – there's a glimmer of hope that he's harbouring a secret agenda.

After all, on some level, most football fans believe they could be a success as a manager or coach. While making it big as a player might be the childhood dream, that's quickly extinguished upon the realisation we're not particularly talented at kicking a ball. In contrast, the average fan's belief they can set up a winning team is everlasting. So maybe Weaver has spotted something in us?

Natural born manager

Weaver himself must have had that same feeling when, back in 2009, he applied for the vacant manager's job at Harrogate. As a 31-year-old ex-pro who'd suffered three leg breaks during his career, he knew his time as a player was coming to an end, despite recently captaining Ilkeston Town to promotion to Conference North, the same division in which Harrogate were plying their trade. There were opportunities to carry on playing, but it was just too tempting to take his first step in a direction he'd always seemed destined for.

“At school, I was always picking the football team or planning tactics on my notepad instead of doing work, or picking the England team in my head,” Weaver recalls to FFT. “It was actually my brother who said to me in my 20s that because of the way I talked about the game and thought about it, I was probably going to be a better manager than a player. I got my coaching qualifications because of that.”

That grounding held the former Lincoln City centre-back in good stead. Living in nearby Wetherby, his application for the Harrogate job included a breakdown of his contacts in the local area and his ideas for the club. It was that attention to detail that got him the nod. He's been the club's manager ever since.

Within minutes in Weaver's company, it's clear he hasn't lost his attention to detail in the 17 years since. As he shows us around the training ground, which they share with Rothwell Juniors, he points out the things the club have done to get the most out of the facilities.

From the coffee machine he bought and the seat covers his wife put on the chairs in the communal area, to the makeshift gym created in the corridor and training pitch standards they've instilled since moving in, Weaver's job is more than simply the playing side.

That's been the same for his entire tenure, which started when Harrogate had only two players – two years later, Weaver's father Irving bought the club, and together they took the team to the Football League, where they remained for six years before relegation last term.

This October, Weaver bought out his dad's stake, together with businessman Jonathan Blezard, meaning that the club's manager is also now co-owner.

Attempting to bounce back to the EFL at the first attempt, it was a promising start to the current campaign for the Sulphurites, whose nickname refers to the sulphur springs that feed the town's spa. Back-to-back defeats in the two games before our visit have threatened to derail that early promise, though.

After showing us around, Weaver must dash to complete the final prep before the home match with Eastleigh. The players are coming in to go through the plan for the contest, and it's the manager's job to let captain Warren Burrell know he won't be starting.

“I always have those chats before we do the pre-match session,” Weaver says. “You don't want someone finding out they're not in the team when it comes up on screen in front of everyone, so I like to let them know before and explain the reasons why. From the first day, I've always wanted to be straight, look at people and manage them as I'd want to be managed.”

That hasn't always been the way. Not so many years ago, it was common for players to have no warning until the team was revealed, even ahead of some of the biggest games of their career. “Going back to my day, you'd walk outside and it would be, ‘Right, this is the team, everyone else, over there,'” explains Weaver's long-time assistant Paul Thirlwell, formerly a player with Sunderland, Sheffield United and Derby in the 1990s and 2000s.

“The day before a game, you know if you're getting called to the manager's office, nine times out of 10 it's not good news. In the 10 years I've worked here though, I don't think we've ever left out a player who's not been given the whys. It's exhausting, but in a good way – with all the things that he [Weaver] has to do already, he also needs to tell people why they aren't in the team. It's another 45 minutes of your morning.”

Learning from Big Ron

While Burrell is told he's been dropped before the team meeting, replacement Grant Horton won't know beforehand that he's got the nod. Weaver believes it gives the player put in the team a boost to see their name up there.

It's especially significant this time – the Eastleigh game will be Horton's first league start of the season and only his third since joining the club in January. That swap won't be what Weaver and his staff home in on as their pre-match briefing gets underway, though. As the players pull up seats and gather around the screen in the bar-turned-briefing room, the initial focus is all on Eastleigh.

They're shown how their opposition are expected to line up, with Eastleigh's strengths and weaknesses highlighted, before a series of clips from previous games is shown to illustrate how they'll play. Weaver's instructions are succinct and to the point. There's no time for overloading the players with details.

He runs through the Spitfires' attacking moves and shows examples of how to beat their press, before handing over to goalkeeper coach Phil Priestley to demonstrate plans for defensive set-pieces. To round off the session, coach Josh Falkingham takes to the screen, running through some attacking set-piece routines – including examples from Brighton's recent Premier League win over Arsenal.

Using Falkingham, a newly qualified A Licence coach who spent eight years as Harrogate captain before retiring in 2025, to talk about more innovative ideas is a deliberate ploy. It's not only about mixing up the number of voices passing on messages to the squad, but also a clear distinction between sessions that are building up familiarity with consistent team tactics, and others with new approaches.

After Thirlwell carries out small group instructions for the back four, midfield and front three, the players head outside to walk through what they've just been shown. FFT are handed a Harrogate coat to look the part on the training pitch. If we looked like an outsider before, we're feeling like one of the gang now.

Out on the grass, Weaver is quiet and studious, letting Falkingham and Thirlwell lead training. It's part of the plan to take a backwards step, and although it hasn't always been the way throughout his 17 years in charge, he prefers to say as little as possible once his briefing is done.

Weaver's experience has taught him that messages from a manager carry more weight than from the rest of the coaching team and can cause players to overthink what's been said, or put more emphasis on those comments than other instructions. It's a move that also protects the allure of the boss, ensuring that when he speaks, his words have maximum impact.

It's one of several techniques Weaver has added to his managerial armoury since starting out. It's been a gradual evolution, and while he recognises the importance of maintaining certain values, he believes adaptability is his most important trait.

“When I look back, it was probably a bit cringeworthy when I started, because I tried to do everything and be like, ‘Oh, I'm this new kid on the block, I've got to be like this or that,'” he says. “I'd played under a series of managers and had various ideas, but because I became a manager suddenly, it took me a while to get my flow.

“In some respects, I'm glad I did it that way, but in other respects, it would probably have been easier if I'd coached in a team for a couple of years, made mistakes and thought, ‘Oh, that's me.'”

The 48-year-old drew inspiration from several sources, including his former Lincoln boss Keith Alexander, plus the Sheffield Wednesday sides of Howard Wilkinson and Ron Atkinson he watched from the Hillsborough terraces as a kid. It wasn't necessarily the playing styles he took, as much as the camaraderie and atmosphere they created.

That influence is clear after spending a day at the training ground. Weaver has mentioned on several occasions about the “edge” that closeness will give the side in the toughest moments, but it's more than a slogan. The core of the squad and the backroom staff is built around long-servers who have lived Harrogate's story.

“Sometimes I've been to grounds and seen values plastered up everywhere, but it's people who carry them out or not – that defines a culture,” Weaver reasons. “I always wanted really good people around me to carry that out. I realised in my first year that you can't just do it all yourself, everybody's got to be on board with that.”

"Meat and veg, Gaffer?"

The proof of the pudding for this group will be matchday. A third successive defeat would puncture their early season hope and spread doubt about Weaver's new-look team. But as FFT arrive at the ground early on Saturday, at the same time as the players, there is a relaxed feeling among the squad.

Harrogate's Wetherby Road home has enjoyed its own transformation in the time Weaver has been in charge, from a quintessential non-league outpost that hosted a few hundred every week to a ground that comfortably houses several thousand. New stands, adorned with pictures of past glories, now surround the pitch, alongside upgraded facilities.

The home dressing room is also smartly decked out, with motivational messages hung all around. It's there that Weaver addresses his players an hour-and-a-half ahead of kick-off, taking a couple of minutes to repeat the main messages of the day before. Once more, he avoids giving too much information, keeping it simple and to the point.

The important work has been done in the week, so once he's had his say, Weaver hands over to his coaches for the warm-ups. He keeps out of the way, busying himself by chatting to opposition boss Matt Gray and the referee assessor, and then does something FFT has never seen a manager do this close to kick-off – heading into the hospitality section to take part in a Q&A.

Standing in front of a trolley full of meat, veg and Yorkshire puddings, Weaver takes the mic to discuss his team selection and analyse the match – the one he'll be in the dugout for in less than 30 minutes' time.

After some schmoozing with club patrons, he finally heads back to the dressing room at 2.50pm for one last gee-up of the players. Strangely enough, he forgets to mention one important detail before sending the players out. There'll be a new face in the dugout for today's game… FFT.

Weaver has invited us to sit on the bench alongside the subs, physios and the rest of the coaching team for the entirety of the match. We'll be dressed in our club jacket again, albeit in the far corner at the back of the dugout – ergo, the least high-profile spot available.

If we had any visions of making tactical small talk and sharing some genius that changes the game, they're quickly scuppered. Weaver and Thirlwell prefer standing out at the edge of the technical area throughout, meaning we'd have to speak incredibly loudly to get our opinions heard. That's probably a good thing, because the speed of play at pitchside and a host of other things going on along the touchline make it hard to form much meaningful insight.

What we do spot, though, is Harrogate taking the lead early on, with a low cross by Lewis Cass flummoxing Eastleigh keeper Josh Jeffries, who can only paw it into the path of Brad Dolaghan to poke home from close range. It's 1-0, but we're still getting our bearings.

The pace doesn't slow for the rest of the half. Weaver and Thirlwell regularly bark out instructions, Falkingham jumps from his perch to pass on his thoughts, and the fourth official is consulted to explain a couple of tight calls.

When Eastleigh level from a corner, the coaches congregate to carry out an impromptu post-mortem to understand what went wrong. Gathered around the analysis screen, they pore over how the ball was allowed to make its way across the box, calling over sub goalkeeper Mark Oxley to ask his opinion.

If conceding in that manner was frustrating, Weaver's team selection offers some respite, Horton repaying the faith put in him by winning a header that somehow finds its way through to Dolaghan, who nudges home a scruffy second. While Thirlwell laughs about how the goal occurred, Town are happy to take it – they lead 2-1 at half-time.

FFT: Lucky charm

While it undoubtedly lightens the mood in the dressing room, the goal they conceded remains the big talking point. The conversation is allowed to rage on for several minutes among the players before Weaver emerges to talk to the group. It's smart management. The players have already had their say, offering up their perspectives, before the gaffer has the final word. There's no need for finger pointing now, just solutions as he explains how a similar scenario can be prevented. “Let's not come in talking about set-pieces again, because we know our jobs,” Weaver ends in his broad Yorkshire lilt. It's no threat, but carries clout.

Eastleigh change their shape for the second half, but struggle to wrestle control from Harrogate. Yet while the lead only stands at one, nobody can sit comfortably on the home bench.

A Sam Dreyer header appears to settle those nerves on the hour, but when a late offside flag rules it out, it only dials up the rising tension. Weaver's calm demeanour starts to fray. “It's either sideways or backwards,” he laments out loud. Given that the header teeing up Dreyer was from close to the byline, it's easy to see why he's upset.

The clock ticks on with little reward for Harrogate's possession, as the visitors keep them at bay. When a free-kick in Spitfires territory is played short, the coaching team complain in unison at the missed chance to get a ball into the box. Weaver's insistence that his players can solve problems themselves comes to the fore, though, as they work it back into the middle, where Bailey Hobson drills a low drive in from 30 yards out.

The strike brings the entire bench, including FFT, to their feet. It's impossible not to be caught up in the team spirit. Amid the celebrations, Thirlwell declares it “the best idea in the world to go short now”, poking fun at his protestations only seconds earlier. One of the subs even pipes up, asking Falkingham where the set-piece routine came from because “you didn't do that one”.

It's now about holding on to the advantage, with Weaver and Thirlwell mimicking conductors of an orchestra, frantically shouting and waving to direct players to avoid the high press.

If that was a sign of any remaining anxiety, substitute George Thomson eases it with one minute left, unleashing his own long-range effort to make it 4-1. Three points secured, without FFT needing to offer any unsolicited advice.

As tempted as we are to kiss the Harrogate badge on our jacket before saluting the crowd in the post-match celebrations, we decide to keep a more low-key profile. We do shake hands with players from both sides though – the Eastleigh squad presumably think we're a bona fide member of the staff.

While we make our way back into the dressing room, the real stars of the show bask in the victory outside. It takes several minutes before everyone is back for Weaver's final team talk, and the conversation soon turns to our role in the win. “You can come every week,” says one of the physios, within Weaver's earshot. “You're our lucky charm.”

It doesn't take the manager long to consider that prospect. “We'll have to get you a contract sorted,” he laughs. “Then you can come here more often.”

We know it's not a serious offer, but it awakens something inside us again. It's the same twinge of hope we felt when we first arrived at the training ground, only without the 1980s tunes. Maybe it's a dream that will never die, but this could be the closest we get to living it.

Watch Arsenal vs Hull City from anywhere as the Gunners look to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League, with FourFourTwo bringing you all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Arsenal's 1-0 victory at Liverpool last Sunday saw them leapfrog Manchester City at the top of the table, with the champions starting the day three points ahead of their title rivals.

The Tigers are winless in seven league matches but they have drawn five of those, keeping them firmly in mid-table.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Arsenal vs Hull City in the 2026/27 Premier League online and from anywhere in the world.

Is Arsenal vs Hull City on TV in the UK?

Arsenal vs Hull City is not being televised in the UK. The game kicks off on Saturday at 3pm, a time when football matches cannot legally be broadcast in the UK. This is known as the '3pm blackout'.

If you're visiting the UK from a country with live coverage of Arsenal vs Hull City, you can use Proton VPN to access your usual broadcast.

Watch Arsenal vs Hull City from anywhere

What if you're away from home when Arsenal vs Hull City is on, and find access to your usual streaming service geo-blocked? The solution is a VPN, a piece of software that makes your devices appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate Proton VPN as one of the best for unlocking streams...

How to watch Arsenal vs Hull City in the US

Arsenal vs Hull City is live on Peacock in the US, with kick-off at 10:00am ET.

Outside of the US? Use Proton VPN to watch the Premier League clash on Peacock.

How to watch Arsenal vs Hull City in Australia

Viewers in Australia can watch Arsenal vs Hull City live on Stan Sport. Kick-off is at 2:00am AEDT on Sunday morning.

Visiting the UK from Australia? Proton VPN can unblock your Stan Sport stream of the game.

Tickets

Arsenal vs Hull City: Preview

Arsenal's statement win at Liverpool last Sunday has put them in pole position in the Premier League once more — and they will see the visit of Hull City as a great chance to cement their place at the summit.

Kai Havertz's first-half goal was enough to claim all three points at Anfield as the champions capitalised on Manchester City's home defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion 24 hours earlier.

Mikel Arteta made six changes for Wednesday's 2-1 Champions League victory at Slavia Prague and you would expect a similar number for their clash with the Tigers.

This could see centre back William Saliba make his first appearance of the season after recovering from a back issue, but wingers Bukayo Saka and Max Dowman are unavailable through injury and suspension respectively.

SEE ALSO Football fixture calendar for the 2026/27 season

Hull City fans have fond memories of the Emirates Stadium thanks to their side's memorable 2-1 victory in North London in September 2008, during their first-ever season in the top flight.

However, they have had little to cheer in matches against the Gunners since then, with their side drawing two and losing 12 of their 14 meetings.

The Tigers have proved hard to beat this season, with just two Premier League defeats to their name, but they will need to be much better than they were on their previous trip to the capital, a 1-0 loss to Fulham last month.

Hull are missing the suspended Matt Crooks and injured midfielder Hidemasa Morita, while Arsenal academy graduate Brooke Norton-Cuffy could face his former club.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Arsenal 2-0 Hull City

The Gunners will be expected to dominate possession and should have the quality to unlock the Tigers' defence.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur for free from anywhere, as Roberto De Zerbi's side travel to Elland Road looking to claim their fourth successive win in the Premier League. FourFourTwo has all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Leeds are beginning to slide down the table after a five-match winless run, so three points would be very welcome indeed for Daniel Farke's men ahead of the international break.

They face a Spurs side on the opposite trajectory, with the visitors experiencing something of a revival after winning three games in a row. They also have fond recent memories of Elland Road, having won their last three fixtures there 2-1, 4-1 and 4-0.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur online and from anywhere, including for free, in this Premier League Saturday-lunchtime kick-off.

Watch Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur for FREE

If you''re in the US you can watch Leeds vs Tottenham for free thanks to YouTube TV's 21-day free trial, which carries USA Network.

Fubo and DirecTV Stream also carry the service and offer 5-day free trials.

Abroad and looking to access your free-trial? Use Proton VPN to unblock them so you can stream Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur for free from anywhere in the world.

Watch Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur from anywhere

What if you're away from home when Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur is on, and find access to your usual streaming service geo-blocked? The solution is a VPN, a piece of software that sets your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate Proton VPN as one of the best for unlocking streams. Plus they have a MEGA Black Friday deal right now:

How to watch Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur in the UK

Fans in the UK can watch live coverage of Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur on TNT Sports.

The Premier League clash is being shown on TNT Sports 1 and its streaming platform HBO Max, with kick-off at 12:30pm GMT.

HBO Max plans that include TNT start at £25.99/month with TNT also available to add to your Sky, Virgin Media or EE packages.

Outside the UK? Unlock your Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur stream on TNT Sports via Proton VPN.

How to watch Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur in the US

As mentioned above, USA Network will show Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur live in the US. Kick-off is at 7:30am ET.

USA Network is a linear channel, so you will need a cord-cutting package. YouTube TV (5-day free trial), DirecTV Stream (5-day free trial), Hulu+Live TV (3-day free trial) and Sling Blue all carry USA Network.

Remember: Use Proton VPN to unlock your Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur stream on USA Network if you're away from home.

How to watch Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur in Australia

Viewers in Australia can stream Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur on Stan Sport, with kick-off at 11:30pm AEDT.

Stan Sport comes in at just AU$29.99 (£15.70). That also gets you live coverage of every single Premier League, Champions League and Europa League game.

Not in Australia? Proton VPN will unblock your Stan Sport stream of Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur.

Tickets

Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur: Preview

It is not yet panic stations at Elland Road, but if Leeds United fail to beat Tottenham Hotspur then their wait for a Premier League win will stretch beyond two months — and that would be concerning.

Daniel Farke's side have lost just two of their nine league games, but a five-match winless run has made the locals restless, even if the manager himself still appears relaxed about the situation.

Their bid for a first victory over Spurs since 2021 has been hampered by injuries to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Noah Okafor and Anton Stach, with all three players doubtful for the visit of the North London club.

However, James Justin and Gabriel Gudmundsson are available, while key defender Joe Rodon could make his first appearance since August after recovering from a hamstring issue.

SEE ALSO How to watch Premier League 2026/27: TV Guide for Matchweek 10

While Leeds have begun to fade after a strong start, Spurs have rocketed up the table to ease fears of another season battling at the wrong end of the table.

After beating Coventry City, Chelsea and Crystal Palace, Tottenham are now looking to win four successive Premier League games for the first time since October 2023 as their revival under Roberto De Zerbi gathers pace.

Spurs could be boosted by the returns from injury of Savio, Tosin Adarabioyo and Lucas Bergvall, while Rodrigo Bentancur is available after serving his three-match suspension for his red card at Manchester United last month.

Attacking players Mykhailo Mudryk, Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert remain sidelined.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Leeds United 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Farke's side have been draw specialists this season and we can see that continuing against Spurs.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

It's time for the first FourFourTwo Weekend Crossword of November. You know how these things work; it's a crossword. Put your feet up and take your time. We believe in you.

There are 25 clues in this week's FourFourTwo Weekend Crossword. Some of them are more straightforward than others so you'll need to use those to crack the full grid.

Remember to let us know how you get on in the comments.

Love football crosswords? Here are some handpicked football quizzes we know you'll enjoy

If that's not enough football trivia to keep you occupied this weekend, we've got quizzes in a whole range of time limits and difficulties to spend some time with. We have some recommendations and all of them are powered by Kwizly.

First up, we have a visual test of your memory and knowledge of the modern(ish) era of English football's top division. Our Premier League Years Picture Quiz will present you with a series of famous photographs and ask you to identify the season in which each one of them was taken.

All three promoted teams in the top flight are giving a good account of themselves after several years of what appeared to be a widening gap between the top two divisions. Can you ace our quizzes about Ipswich Town, Hull City and Coventry City in the Premier League?

Next, 2026 is a World Cup year. There have been 18 of them since the Ballon d'Or was created, so we've brought them together for a quiz, naturally. Can you name the Ballon d'Or winner in every World Cup year since 1958?

Speaking of the World Cup, we got a new addition to this list quiz earlier this year. We're counting knock-out games and group stage losses for this one: Can you name every nation ever to have beaten England in a World Cup match?

For all the matchday knowledge you need, subscribe to our newsletters for regular briefings and hand-picked trivia. And, to complete your transfer to terrace legend status, lock in your spot in The Club, our free membership hub where you can unlock secret hints for our toughest quizzes, climb global leaderboards, and debate the latest topics directly in the comments.

Watch Fulham vs Newcastle United for free as under-pressure Magpies manager Matthias Jaissle takes his side to Craven Cottage in the Premier League. FourFourTwo has all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

The Cottagers have picked up form after a slow start under Alvaro Arbeloa, taking seven points from their past three Premier League games.

They are two points and two places below the Magpies but their opponents are not on a good run, with Jaissle's men losing four of their past five matches in all competitions.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Fulham vs Newcastle United online and from anywhere, including for free, on matchweek 10 of the 2026/27 Premier League season.

Watch Fulham vs Newcastle United for FREE

Fans in the US can stream Fulham vs Newcastle United for free thanks to YouTube TV's 21-day free trial, which carries USA Network — the US broadcaster of this game.

Outside the US? Use Proton VPN to unblock your free Fulham vs Newcastle United stream from anywhere in the world.

Is Fulham vs Newcastle United on TV in the UK?

Fulham vs Newcastle United is not being televised in the UK. The game kicks off on Saturday at 3pm, a time when football matches cannot legally be broadcast in the UK. This is known as the '3pm blackout'.

Outside the UK, the game is available in virtually every country across the globe. If you're visiting the UK, you can use Proton VPN to access your usual coverage.

Watch Fulham vs Newcastle United from anywhere

Away from home right now? You don't have to miss Fulham vs Newcastle United.

The solution to your geo-restriction nightmares is a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a piece of software that can set your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate Proton VPN as one of the best for unlocking streams...

How to watch Fulham vs Newcastle United in the US

As mentioned above, Fulham vs Newcastle United is live on USA Network in the US. Kick-off is at 10:00am ET.

Outside of the US? Use Proton VPN to access your Fulham vs Newcastle United stream.

How to watch Fulham vs Newcastle United in Australia

Fans in Australia can watch Fulham vs Newcastle United live on Stan Sport. The game kicks-off at 2:00am AEDT on Sunday.

Travelling outside Australia? Watch Fulham vs Newcastle United on Stan Sport with Proton VPN.

Tickets

Fulham vs Newcastle United: Preview

This time last month, it looked possible that Fulham manager Alvaro Arbeloa might not still be in charge come the November international break. However, some big results in the past three weeks have put the Spaniard on steadier ground.

Back-to-back wins over Hull City and Coventry City were followed by an impressive draw at Aston Villa last Saturday, in which the Cottagers came from behind to take a point against one of the Premier League's form sides.

The visit of out-of-form Newcastle United is a great opportunity to continue their good run and Arbeloa has nearly a full squad to pick from, with Tom Cairney the only injury absentee.

Ryan Sessegnon returns after serving a three-match suspension for his red card against Hull, while forward Josh King will hope to celebrate his first call-up to England's senior squad with a match-winning performance.

SEE ALSO How to watch Premier League 2026/27: TV Guide, Streams & Fixtures

It has already been a week to forget for Newcastle, with Monday's 1-0 limp home defeat by Everton followed by the bizarre news that defender Amar Dedic had been stopped by police after being spotted carrying a bow and arrows at a beauty spot in the North East.

There was no ill intention from the full-back, but it was hardly the sort of story that boss Matthias Jaissle would have wanted ahead of a big game at the weekend.

Despite a run of four defeats in the past six Premier League matches, Newcastle could head into the international break into the top half of the table if they beat Fulham. However, a defeat would see them leapfrogged by their opponents and increase the pressure on Jaissle.

Newcastle are missing Joelinton through injury, while Matias Fernandez-Pardo is doubtful and Jacob Ramsey is suspended.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Fulham 1-0 Newcastle United

The Cottagers have improved of late and could edge a tight game.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Modern footballers keep their cards close to their chest when it comes to their personal lives, and most certainly don't tend to disclose how much they earn.

Former Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin, however, isn't your average footballer, though.

While footballers' wages are a constant topic of debate, leaked figures are routinely downplayed, and players almost never volunteer information on the exact sums to the general public.

Allan Saint-Maximin reveals eye-watering Saudi salary

In a candid social media post, the French forward revealed that he has pocketed an astonishing €45 million (£37.5m) net over three years in Saudi Arabia.

The admission arrived as Saint-Maximin sought to explain why he rejected an alleged €26m (£21.7m) takeover bid to buy out his custom-designed board game project.

Addressing his followers, the 29-year-old explained that he turned down the buyout offer because he prefers investment in the enterprise instead of surrendering control. He says he is determined to use the venture to create jobs and host prize-giving tournaments for underprivileged communities.

"Rest assured, I've already earned 45 million net in three years in Saudi Arabia, so it's not a 26 million offer that will shake me," Saint-Maximin wrote. "A billion, maybe we will discuss it, but we are still far from it! 26 million is a good deal. But changing people's lives is priceless."

Saint-Maximin remains one of the more beloved cult figures on Tyneside in recent memory. Signed from Nice in 2019, the winger was often the solitary bright spark during the bleak final years of Mike Ashley's ownership and Steve Bruce’s pragmatic managerial tenure.

With trademark designer headbands, electric dribbling, and social media rapport with supporters, Saint-Maximin often carried the attack and offered fans a semblance of escapism before the club's transformative 2021 takeover.

Saint-Maximin was sold to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli for around £23m in 2023, a deal that prompted scrutiny from rival Premier League clubs given that both Newcastle and Al-Ahli share majority ownership under Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

After spending his debut campaign in Jeddah alongside Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino, the Frenchman went on loan to Turkish giants Fenerbahce, linking up with Jose Mourinho.

Saint-Maximin then joined Mexican side Club America in 2025 but did not settle and returned to Europe, turning out for Racing Club de Lens for a time. Before long, though, he was on the move once more, joining MLS outfit Charlotte FC for whom he currently plays.

His board game enterprise, Helios, which he claims he spent years designing and testing, has already seen him hand out five-figure sums in prize money to amateur players.

Watch Everton vs Coventry City for free from anywhere as matchweek 10 of the 2026/27 Premier League season kicks-off with a significant game for both managers. FourFourTwo has all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

David Moyes takes charge of his 592nd game as Toffees boss, equalling Harry Catterick's club record. He will be desperate to mark the occasion with his side's second victory in five days, after they won at Newcastle United on Monday night.

It is also a big occasion for Sky Blues head coach Frank Lampard, who faces Everton for the first time since he was sacked by the Toffees in January 2023.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Everton vs Coventry City online and from anywhere, including for free, in the 2026/27 Premier League season.

Watch Everton vs Coventry City for FREE

Fans in the US can stream Everton vs Coventry City for free thanks to YouTube TV's 21-day free trial, which carries USA Network — the US broadcaster of this game.

Fubo and DirecTV Stream also carry the service and offer 5-day free trials.

Outside the US? Use Proton VPN to unblock your free Everton vs Coventry City stream from anywhere in the world.

Watch Everton vs Coventry City from anywhere

A good VPN is your ticket to the game, even when you’re abroad.

The solution to your geo-restriction nightmares is a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a piece of software that can set your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate Proton VPN as one of the best for unlocking streams...

How to watch Everton vs Coventry City in the UK

Everton vs Coventry City is live on Sky Sports in the UK.

Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League will have live coverage of the Premier League clash, which kicks-off at 8:00pm GMT.

Outside of the UK? You need Proton VPN to access your usual Sky Sports stream from abroad.

How to watch Everton vs Coventry City in the US

As mentioned above, USA Network has live coverage of Everton vs Coventry City in the US, with kick-off at 3:00pm ET.

Not in the US right now? Use Proton VPN to watch Everton vs Coventry City on USA Network.

How to watch Everton vs Coventry City in Australia

Fans in Australia can stream Everton vs Coventry City on Stan Sport. Kick-off is at 7:00am AEDT on Saturday.

Abroad? Proton VPN can help you access your usual Stan Sport stream while you're outside Australia.

Tickets

Everton vs Coventry City: Preview

The Friday-night visit of Coventry City represents a milestone in the 148-year history of Everton, as boss David Moyes equals the record for the most games managing the club.

The Scot takes charge of his 592nd match, drawing him level with Harry Catterick's tally from 1961 to 1973, but he will surely only be in the mood to celebrate if the Toffees see off the Sky Blues at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Everton's 1-0 victory at Newcastle United on Monday night ended their three-match winless run in the Premier League and another three points here would take them fifth, above rivals Liverpool, ahead of the rest of the weekend's games.

Jack Grealish remains unavailable, while centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite is an injury doubt after he was forced off with cramp at St James' Park.

SEE ALSO How to watch Premier League 2026/27: TV Guide for Matchweek 10

Coventry make their first-ever trip to Hill Dickinson Stadium buoyed by a crucial 3-1 win over Sunderland last Saturday, which took them out of the Premier League relegation zone.

Manager Frank Lampard will now be aiming to claim the Sky Blues' first back-to-back victories in the top flight since April 2001, against the club he managed for 12 months until being sacked in January 2023.

Coventry's win over Sunderland was their third in five matches, with midfielder Jack Rudoni scoring three goals in the last four games.

He will be aiming to continue his good form on Merseyside, but Bobby Thomas, Frank Onyeka. Josh Eccles and Luke Woolfenden look set to miss out due to injury.

FourFourTwo's prediction

Everton 2-1 Coventry City

The Toffees have rediscovered some form and will back themselves to claim three points here.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Liverpool slumped to a 3-2 defeat at Fenerbahce on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League, marking the first time in seven months that the Reds have suffered back-to-back losses. While youngsters Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha impressed, club legends Virgil van Dijk and Alisson were uncharacteristically off the boil.

Some supporters have suggested Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola should switch to a back three to reduce the amount of ground that Van Dijk, now 35, has to cover. Others, meanwhile, have gone as far as to call for him to be dropped altogether. But what does the data tell us, and is this the beginning of the end for Van Dijk at Anfield?

The Dutchman endured a less-than-ideal start under Iraola, failing to step out and halt a Newcastle counter-attack as William Osula slipped Anthony Elanga through for the opening goal inside five minutes of their 2-2 draw on the opening weekend.

Slowly but surely, Van Dijk is adjusting to Iraola’s tactics

Unlike the centre-backs Iraola previously coached at Bournemouth, Van Dijk is approaching the twilight of his career. He no longer possesses the acceleration to match Europe's quickest forwards stride for stride, making the transition to a high-pressing system that regularly leaves defenders 40-50 yards from goal particularly challenging.

"I think it's a different era," Van Dijk stated after last month's fixture against Chelsea. "You have to find the right balance because I feel that we can still play through the press but also go direct. You have to try to create this chaos, second balls, battles, and that's what we are still learning. You have to be able to adapt: the manager can put the plan out, but we, as players, have the responsibility to execute and win the game."

There are signs, though, that Van Dijk is gradually getting to grips with Iraola's demands. According to Gradient Sports, a football analysis company, his average overall grade rose from 74.6 across the opening four weeks to 79.9 over the next five. His duel grade has improved from 75.0 to 80.7, whilst his clearance grade has climbed from 73.0 to 83.7.

Gradient's grading system attributes a 0-100 score based on how well a player execution their actions on the pitch.

Rather than relying on his recovery pace to defend vast spaces, the Dutchman is increasingly making his presence felt through aerial challenges, physical duels and last-ditch clearances. He's gone from 68.7 in clearances to 86.1 this term, asserting himself in a system that places considerable emphasis on winning second balls and extinguishing the threat when opponents bypass the press. And despite the arrivals of Ronald Araujo and Jeremy Jacquet this past summer, Van Dijk remains an undisputed starter.

Liverpool have won five of their last seven matches, suggesting that Iraola's approach is starting to bear fruit. Van Dijk, meanwhile, has become increasingly adept at dealing with the threat through timely interventions and clearances. Nevertheless, his improvement in these areas shouldn't obscure the fact that other aspects of his game are declining.

Between the opening four weeks of the Premier League season and the next five, his 1v1 defending grade dropped by 2.4 points, and his tackling grade fell by 2.9. More significantly, his overall duel grade has fallen from an exceptional 95.2 in 2025/26 to 84.4 this season. He's still a Rolls-Royce of a defender, but there's more mileage on the clock and less horsepower under the bonnet.

The new function Van Dijk carries out is also reflected in his possession stats. Having served as one of the team's primary playmakers from deep under Arne Slot, the Liverpool defender's passing grade has fallen from 76.6 last season to 70.3 this term. More often than before, he is quickly releasing the ball to stimulate the attack.

Van Dijk may no longer be the world-class centre-back who dominated world football for the better part of a decade, but he's demonstrating that he can still play a pivotal role in Liverpool's future. Whether that future is short-term or medium-term (his contract expires on June 30), only time will tell.

Iraola has not restored Van Dijk to his peak, nor has he eliminated the vulnerabilities that come with age. Instead, the Spaniard is finding ways to maximise his remaining strengths within a new system. As Liverpool look to bounce back at Selhurst Park on Sunday, they'll need their captain to prove that his recent improvement is more than just a temporary resurgence.

Brighton & Hove Albion approached a French manager, who rejected them based on the state of his English.

That's according to the man himself, with Brighton making the move for one highly regarded head coach, along with Everton and Nottingham Forest, as relayed by Sport Witness.

With the Seagulls now in a race for the top four under boss Fabian Hurzeler, it could well have been a sliding doors moment in Sussex…

Brighton & Hove Albion approached Franck Haise - as did Everton and Nottingham Forest

Speaking to So Foot, Stade Rennais manager Franck Haise has been discussing the job offers that he's had previously.

Brighton hired Hurzeler as boss in 2024 – as Haise was about to take charge of INEOS-led Nice – with the German a huge success on the south coast so far.

“Every time, I was the one who declined to take discussions any further because I didn’t feel ready,” Haise said.

“There was interest from Brighton, Everton reached out as well, and Nottingham [Forest] made inquiries.”

Haise did not confirm when he was approached by either Everton or Forest.

“Rightly or wrongly, I still feel that my level of English isn’t good enough,” he continued.

“For communication, for how I’d speak to the players, the staff. I’ve almost reached a thousand-day streak on Duolingo. I mean, it’s only Duolingo, but I am making the effort. Perhaps I’ve created that barrier for myself.”

The Frenchman noted, too, that it's not exactly a burning ambition of his to coach in England but something that he would consider in the future.

“An ‘ambition’, I’m not sure, but it’s an opportunity I wouldn’t say no to,” he said. “Much like working with a national team, it’s just another facet of the profession.”

Brighton face Brentford this weekend as Premier League action continues.

Aston Villa are bracing themselves for Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain interest in one of their newest recruits.

Villa are in a strong position for the future, with Guillem Balague writing for the BBC this week that manager Unai Emery is close to agreeing a contract extension in the Midlands that will see him given even more responsibility over the long-term development of the club.

But the Europa League winners could well have to fend off interest in some of their newest stars, with more European giants circling for their new signings, after it was revealed earlier this week that Barcelona have interest in Johan Manzambi.

Aston Villa will have to fend off Real Madrid and PSG for their new signing

Emery oversaw a huge rebuild at Villa Park over the summer, with the likes of Emiliano Martinez, Ezri Konsa, Lucas Digne, Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins all leaving the club.

With the spine of a successful side ripped from squad, the Basque has started strongly this term, bedding in replacements like Manzambi and Nicolas Jackson to keep Villa competing on four fronts.

One particularly impressive new signing, Zion Suzuki, has caught the eye for his elite distribution – and now, TEAMtalk are reporting that both Real and PSG are interested in the Japanese international.

The 24-year-old enjoyed a good World Cup and has been an outstanding replacement for Martinez in goal, despite big clubs having passed on signing him in the past.

Manchester United were linked with him at one point, while FourFourTwo understands that PSG have previously considered a move for Suzuki, only to pass up the opportunity.

Los Blancos are said to be working on a short-term extension for veteran glovesman Thibaut Courtois, but with the club looking to the future between the sticks, Suzuki has emerged as a serious target who could hold down the position for the next decade.

TEAMtalk have also noted Liverpool are monitoring the situation, given the uncertainty surrounding Alisson Becker's future.

Villa will, of course, be in no rush to sell a player that they have only just signed, with Emery keen to build around the new core that the club has assembled – and with the club back in the Champions League and upgrading their stadium, there is certainly hope that there isn't as much need to sell this group of players as there was with the last.

Arsenal and Manchester City are also named in the report as two clubs checking on the long-term viability of signing Suzuki.

The Japanese is worth €30 million, according to Transfermarkt. Villa travel to Manchester United this weekend as Premier League action continues.

• Order the new issue here with postage included – just select ‘'How to Fix Football Issue 398’
• Subscribe to FourFourTwo today and save! You’ll get the first issue FREE plus the next 13 as part of your subscription

Quiz question: what was unique about Tony Cottee’s goal for West Ham against Charlton, in the FA Cup third round in January 1986? Answer: during that domestic season, it was the first live televised goal in either league or cup.

There hadn’t been loads of goalless draws before that – actually, there had been a complete TV blackout. No live football, not even Match of the Day highlights, after a dispute between the Football League and the broadcasters, BBC and ITV.

Even when tensions thawed, only 13 English club games were shown live during the second half of that campaign.

Fast forward 40 years, and you’d struggle to find a time where there weren’t at least 13 domestic league games televised in a single weekend. This season, a minimum of 267 Premier League matches will be shown live on Sky and TNT, plus 1,000 games from the EFL, League Cup and EFL Trophy, with the FA Cup and European games on top of that.

That’s just one example of how football has changed over the years – new state-of-the-art arenas have also been built around the country.

But as football has got bigger, what price has it all come at? Political interference, financial cheating and the quest to get every refereeing decision right to within a millimetre, leading to moments of spontaneous joy being sucked away from those in the stands.

In this issue, we ask if football is broken – and if so, how do we fix it?

Enjoy the mag.

James

How to fix football

The Manchester City scandal has been just the latest issue to anger supporters - is the game we all love broken, and can FourFourTwo fix it, with our 30-point plan to save football?

Calciopoli revisited

The 2006 match-fixing controversy exposed corruption at the pinnacle of Serie A – at its centre was one man and his mobile phone, FourFourTwo revisits the scandal that rocked Italian football.

Van der Star

Edwin van der Sar conquered Europe twice during his playing days – weeks after leaving his role at Ajax in 2023 though, he suffered a brain haemorrhage. He tells FFT about that experience, and a glorious career in the game

Bobby's England

Terry Butcher and writer Neil Prentice have combined to pay homage to Robson in new book Almost Immortal – Three Lions stars hail their legendary boss, via tales about electric shocks, Cameroonian spies and a mummified Gazza

On the front line

FourFourTwo were invited to spend time with Harrogate boss Simon Weaver, and get a rare viewpoint of their match against Eastleigh from the bench – naturally, we weren’t about to turn the offer down…

Marching on together

Jayden Bogle has been a key part of a Leeds United side that climbed out of the Championship and have kept on rising – he tells FFT why it’s been a collective effort, with some impromptu karaoke thrown in…

The Boy’s a Bit Special

Get the lowdown on Brigton's newest starlet and the next Xavi in the latest Boy's a bit special

The Danish revolution

Midtjylland only formed in 1999, but have used innovative thinking to become perennial title contenders in recent years – FFT headed to see them host title rivals FC Copenhagen

Around the Grounds

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Vito Mannone on life as player-coach at League Two Crawley, learning from Jens Lehmann and facing RVP in training

Elsewhere, we get the lowdown on Stenhousemuir's rise in Scottish football, while in our ‘Beyond the Turnstiles’ feature we take a trip to Great Yarmouth and tell you why it should be on your bucket list of grounds to visit.

In the Players Lounge this month…

John Arne Riise on that bust up with Craig Bellamy, Vivianne Miedema on winning the double with Manchester City and Trevor Sinclair on his famous overhead kick.

The Mixer

Our latest merch round-up features a new Barcelona shirt and Arsenal's latest range with adidas.

We spy a Walthamstow away shirt from 2023 in Kit's a bit Special and let you know what to watch, listen to and follow this month.

Graeme Souness Q&A

Former Liverpool and Rangers midfielder and ex-Blackburn and Newcastle boss Graeme Souness answers your questions

Upfront

Think you’re a football expert? Prove it by getting 100 per cent in our Ultimate Quiz. Columnist Jules Breach on why she is daring to dream as a Brighton fan.

Martin Keown selects the games that changed his life and talkSPORT presenter Max Rushden discuss all things Cambridge United as well as working on Soccer AM

Stan Collymore hails politicians and a legendary football manager in People I Admire.

Perfect XI

Oscar picks his ultimate XI from former teammates made up of Chelsea and Brazil legends.

Title drama isn’t guaranteed every season. See Manchester City 2017/18 and Liverpool 2019/20 for a procession of one.

Nevertheless, there are usually a few honeymoon months for broadcasters and fans to dream of a proper footrace before the strongest on the savannah hunt down the antelopes. Super Sunday has to have meaning, right?

Jose Mourinho claimed that Chelsea were “champions of the autumn” when his side defeated Liverpool to sit top of the tree just before the November international break in 2014. The Blues had only dropped four points in 11 matches. The Portuguese said: “I think we have a very good chance to win the title, but I think we, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Southampton are all still in the race.” Southampton. Hmmm.

'Arsenal 2.0 are bulletproof'

Jose was bluffing, bigging up rivals who weren’t in the same ballpark. His side cantered over the line.

Man City and Arsenal were the closest challengers in that campaign, losing seven matches to Chelsea’s three. Manchester United were in a post-Ferguson funk, and Brendan Rodgers was experiencing the last rites as Anfield manager.

The 2025/26 class has a similar issue in the quality of challengers. Enzo Maresca’s New Model Army blasted out of the blocks with seven straight wins but have been hobbled by Pep’s familiar foes in Brighton and Aston Villa. It may be that the looming prospect of losing points through other means is beginning to sink deeper into their psyche.

Those 114 charges aren’t so much the elephant in the room as the rat in the kitchen. Arsenal are dining for one right now. They are master chefs while the rest are still trying to find the ingredients to lay an oven glove at the top table.

Liverpool’s loss to the champions last Sunday appeared to deflate the Anfield air and any sense that the Reds might be pretenders to the throne. Truth be told, no one had Andoni Iraola’s expensively imbalanced squad as a serious contender after the problematic 2025/26 season. They didn't have a shot on target and fell nine points behind the leaders. Just one look at Jamie Carragher's face told the story.

Chelsea, meanwhile, took the lead at the Emirates, but haven’t really clicked into anything resembling a stride - at least not against title-contender opposition.

The games that Arsenal were drawing in 2024/25 - and to a lesser extent last season - are now being won. There is a seismic gap between the sheer efficiency of the Gunners and the rest of the pack. That efficiency now has extra security and titanium screws in all areas barring the forward line. The midfield monster that is Bruno Guimaraes roars whenever a tackle is made. Ezri Konsa has slotted in as if he knew William Saliba’s every move. Missing Bukayo Saka? It’s not a big deal anymore.

Arsenal know who they are and are expanding their limited attacking horizons without losing that deadlock bolt at the back. The lack of a striker isn’t a problem when Gabriel and Konsa can win a game at both ends. The North London team have been victorious in 14 out of their last 15 Premier League matches .

While Xabi Alonso and Iraola are trying to restore order, Mikel Arteta’s squad are in absolute lockstep.

During that hard-fought victory over Sunderland in September, a game that Arsenal would surely have drawn in previous incarnations, Carragher mooted that Arteta was trying to become the new Sir Alex of the Premier League. The Spaniard hasn't quite got the caustic asides, dry wit or trophy haul of the legendary Scot, but the war machine is heavily stocked. Nothing escapes Arteta’s mind map if it means marginal gains. He is controlling the Wild West. “I have a massive storage of images.” Quite.

The Premier League will celebrate its 35th champion next year and, to be brutally honest, it is searching for its reinvention as an entertainment package. The coalface clashes between highly decorated clubs have felt lukewarm for a while now, like gentle sparring from former greats on a senior tour.

Squeaky bum time in May seems fanciful. Arteta has learned that the W column is all that counts. When Hull City turn up at the Emirates without a win in seven, the Gunners will look to hit the 27-point mark, one behind Jose’s highly drilled warriors 12 years ago. "I know that the negative moment will arrive, the defeat will arrive, and we are prepared for that,” said Mourinho.

It could be a long winter for the chasing pack when that late November to March cycle restarts after the Nations League. Arsenal 2.0 are bulletproof.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has spoken about Ezri Konsa's availability this weekend.

The defender was taken off in Arsenal's 2-1 win away at Slavia Prague in the Champions League this week, as the Gunners made hard work of the second half, after cruising into a two-goal lead.

With William Saliba now available once more, Arteta has confirmed Konsa's status ahead of action this Saturday.

Arsenal have Ezri Konsa available for the weekend

When asked about Konsa's injury, Arteta replied that the England international is, in fact, “fine”.

“He was feeling much better today,” the Basque boss said, adding, “We took him out as a precaution but yesterday and today he is feeling good.”

Arsenal were pressed into signing the defender in the summer, after Saliba suffered a back injury at the World Cup, in the semi-finals with his native France.

Cristhian Mosquera filled in – starting for the first three matches of the season, including a Community Shield win in Cardiff over FA Cup winners, Manchester City – before Konsa made his debut against former employers Aston Villa off the bench in the second match of the Premier League campaign.

The 29-year-old has started virtually every match since, with Mosquera picking up an injury at Villa Park that evening.

Konsa, too, gave Arsenal an injury scare during the last international break, with England boss Thomas Tuchel having to manage his fitness across the Three Lions' Nations League fixtures.

The work-load on both centre-backs will surely be lessened now, however, given that Saliba is back and available for Arteta.

The Frenchman was an unused substitute during the Champions League win in Prague, with his minutes likely to be managed accordingly in the coming weeks.

Konsa is worth €50 million, according to Transfermarkt. Arsenal host Hull City this weekend when Premier League action resumes.

The new three-week international break risked being a desert in football journalism – a 21-day void with little club action to talk about, and only the Nations League to occupy ourselves.

What it was though, was the perfect time for nostalgia and nonsense. That's why we chose that period to launch 442GOALS, an online draft game with a very simple concept. What if FourFourTwo… asked you to pick a 4-4-2… of players who have scored a total of 442 Premier League goals?

It felt like a sensible total: that's about 40 each, and naturally a few Harry Kanes and Mo Salahs will pick up the slack for your David Seamans and Gary Nevilles.

After all, the best games combine the serious with the silly – and this was an evening project that started with the ambition of building a dream team in which Edinson Cavani pales in comparison to Mark Noble; where sometimes, Paulo Wanchope really does trump Thierry Henry, when the Costa Rican's 50 top-flight goals take you up to the magic total of 442, but Henry puts you way out on 567. In the 442GOALS universe, all men are mostly equal – except for Alan Shearer, who will make or break your XI.

I scoured FourFourTwo's list of the greatest Premier League players ever and put all 100 into a database. You roll the dice and get three random players – enough to employ your ball knowledge, not too many to feel easy. Game done, basically – then I added another 100 players, and another 100.

I can promise you now, if you've played the game and found it even slightly addictive, imagine what it was like with the competition's history at your fingertips, and the urge to add new game modes, wildcards, Liam Rosenior and Arsenal's classic bruised banana kit.

It started well: the kind of viewing figures we get when FourFourTwo post a new Friday Football Quiz. Then I made a cup of tea, came back and it had doubled. Brilliant! I'll tweet about it and see if the people who follow me like it.

Then things got out of hand: 250,000 views in 24 hours, and then a million 24 hours after that. I've only ever gone viral a couple of times before – once was for suggesting that Kevin Volland's name was actually Kevin Vetherlands – so I really wasn't used to, or expecting, any of it.

My inbox flooded with strangers' scores. The simple words “Cheers, you've ruined my day”, popping up on WhatsApp every hour. I felt like an ethical Mark Zuckerberg, with all of footballing time and space my Ivy League.

The response has been overwhelming. It's just a game – but the best thing about it is the life it's taken on since. People are getting in touch to tell me their lowest scores (someone managed just 17 goals, picking as many flops as possible), while one Everton fan online is trying to build a team solely of Toffees.

There are people who have hit more than 1,000 goals, people who have found the one outfield player secretly eligible to play in goal, and people trying to build a team that could realistically win a title.

So while I can share my advice with you on how to tame 442GOALS – build from the back, and save the Scout's IQ wildcard for your final roll – it's not really my game any more. It belongs to the bored, to those on their lunch breaks or commutes. All that's left to do is thank you for playing.

We're working on the next project, for the next time there's no football on…

England play twice this month as they round up their UEFA Nations League campaign with fixtures against Croatia and Spain.

The Three Lions will first entertain Croatia at Wembley Stadium on Thursday, 12 November, before taking on Spain at the home of Atletico Madrid, the Metropolitano.

There is no place for Bukayo Saka or Phil Foden in Tuchel's latest selection.

England squad for Nations League matches in November

While September and October's international break saw the return of Trent Alexander-Arnold to the fold, the most prominent talking point this time around is the continued absence of Cole Palmer.

Instead of the Chelsea talisman, Tuchel has selected a pair of uncapped youngsters in Fulham's Josh King and Borussia Dortmund's Jobe Bellingham, brother of Jude.

Here is Tuchel’s England squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Jason Steele (Brighton & Hove Albion), James Trafford (Leeds United)

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid), Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Marc Guehi (Manchester City), Lewis Hall (Newcastle United), Ezri Konsa (Arsenal), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Inter Milan), Ben White (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Manchester City), Jobe Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), James Garner (Everton), Josh King (Fulham), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Declan Rice (Arsenal)

Forwards: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds United), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Anthony Gordon (Barcelona), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Rio Ngumoha (Liverpool), Morgan Rogers (Chelsea)

Trouble had a way of finding John Arne Riise during his playing days.

He infamously had a run-in with John Carew while on international duty with Norway in 2003, with the Liverpool left-back reportedly getting sparked out by the big striker following an argument Riise started by spitting at Carew's feet.

Then, in February 2007, a ridiculous argument over karaoke led Craig Bellamy to set about Riise with a golf club as the Norwegian lay in his hotel bed after a 'team bonding trip' to Portugal.

Riise reflected to FourFourTwo: "The thing with Carew only happened quickly, and we spoke the same night.

"It shouldn't have happened, but we talked about it the same day and have been friends ever since.

"The thing with Bellamy was more threatening because it was with a golf club.

It sounds stupid, and people think I'm kidding, but he went for my shins. It could have ended my career.

"He was drunk and all over the place mentally, so that was scarier. If I didn't jump out of bed and protect my shins, I would have been done.

"But at the same time, if I met those two one against one, I'd be more scared of Carew than of Bellamy, for sure."

Amusingly, Bellamy and Riise both scored for Liverpool as they beat Barcelona to progress on their way to the 2007 final - and even more bizarrely, that incident with Bellamy went on to play a part in Wrexham's history, of all clubs. No pun intended.

As reported at the time, Bellamy requested that part of his fine should be donated to ailing Wrexham, who were then second-bottom of League Two.

A Wrexham statement later said: "The directors of Wrexham FC would personally like to say a very big thank you on behalf of all our supporters to Wales' own Craig Bellamy for the very generous donation he has made to Wrexham Football Club.

"This has allowed us to bring in three loan players to aid our fight for Football League survival."

Those loan signings Richard Walker (from Port Vale), Michael Proctor (from Hartlepool) and Tony Williams (from Carlisle), ultimately helped Wrexham rise well clear of the drop... though they were ultimately relegated the following season.

As night falls this evening, the Leicester City team coach will edge through the rush-hour traffic on Marsh Lane and turn left through the unassuming entrance to Court Place Farm.

It will make its way along the narrow lane to the MGroup Stadium, where manager Russell Martin and his players will disembark with the sole intention of avoiding FA Cup humiliation against sixth-tier Oxford City.

When they board the coach again a few hours later, it will be with either relief or embarrassment, depending on whether they suffer a giant-killing that would make national and potentially international headlines. For Martin, it would be a defeat he may never be able to shake off.

Why Russell Martin can't afford to suffer an FA Cup giant-killing

That Leicester team coach has travelled to English football’s most famous stadiums, from Anfield to Wembley.

But its journey from the East Midlands to Oxfordshire for this FA Cup first round tie is a sign of how far the Foxes have fallen, just five years after lifting the trophy and only 10 years after winning the Premier League.

Martin’s managerial career - or perhaps more accurately, his reputation - has experienced a similarly sharp decline.

He was aged just 33 when he became MK Dons head coach in November 2019, when he was still on the club’s playing staff. In 2020/21, his only full season, the League One team boasted the third-highest possession percentage per game in Europe - behind only Manchester City and Barcelona - and scored a goal against Gillingham following a 56-pass move, a British record.

MK ended the campaign 13th, but Swansea City had seen enough to make Martin their manager. After solid but unspectacular finishes of 15th and 10th in the Championship, he moved to newly-relegated Southampton in summer 2023.

After a slow start, he led Saints to promotion back to the Premier League, via a club-record 25-game unbeaten run and a play-off final victory over Leeds United. It emerged this week that Martin was even earmarked as a future Manchester United manager by the club’s director of football, Jason Wilcox.

His stock had never been higher, but within six months it had crashed. Martin became a top-flight manager by favouring a possession-based style, but his refusal to change his approach became a stick to beat him with as Southampton floundered. He was sacked in December 2024 with Saints rock-bottom, having claimed just five points from 16 games.

Somehow, it got worse. Martin was named Rangers boss in summer 2025 but lasted just 123 days - the shortest stint by a permanent manager in the club’s history - after the fans turned on him amid poor results and some PR disasters.

It was why there was widespread derision when Leicester appointed the 40-year-old in June, as they prepared for life in League One following successive relegations. The jeers grew louder after some embarrassing early-season defeats, most notably a 4-0 thrashing by Oxford United at the King Power Stadium.

Fast forward to the present day and another clash with a team from Oxford, and Martin has won just 15 out of 53 games since leading Southampton to promotion. That being said, he is currently on his best run of form in that time, with Leicester taking 10 points from their past five matches.

The problem is that Martin has become such a lightning rod for criticism that whenever the Foxes drop points, the knives come out. Here are some of the comments under the club’s posts on X after the Foxes twice let slip a lead to draw 2-2 at home to Stevenage last Saturday:

“Get used to this with that clown as manager.”

“Whilst he remains in charge we remain in League One. His team selections, tactics, subs all questionable. As soon as we come up against anyone half decent we are found out. Get rid.”

“I want a flexible manager not a one-trick pony.”

“Your possession obsession is causing the team to go back rather than forward too much.”

While X is not always an accurate barometer of public opinion, these comments marked all the squares on the Russell Martin bingo card. To his critics, he is a "clown" and a "one-trick pony" ("fraud" is another popular insult), whose "possession obsession" means his teams are "found out" far too easily.

The latter criticism is certainly valid, as there is no doubt that his tactical inflexibility accelerated his downfall at Southampton and contributed to some of Leicester’s poor results this season.

Equally, the Venn diagram of people who do not like Martin and also hate ‘tippy tappy football’ probably has quite a crowded intersection. For some people, his failures vindicate their belief that a possession-based approach is overrated.

And if Leicester lose to Oxford City live on TV, it will vindicate their belief that Martin is a "clown".

Tonight’s game has all the ingredients of an FA Cup upset: an underperforming giant going to an in-form non-League club (City are second in National League North), who boast several former EFL players including ex-Sheffield Wednesday and Watford winger Fernando Forestieri and former Bristol City and Oxford United striker Matty Taylor.

City’s ground will be full to its 3,500 capacity, with the fans crammed in close to the action. The only thing missing is a playing surface resembling a mudbath, as City have a 3G pitch.

That should allow Leicester to dominate possession, but if they still come up short, well, Martin’s critics will feel they have been proved right.

Alternatively, if the Foxes win with little fuss, maybe the narrative around Martin will start to change. One victory over a non-League side will not move the needle, but you would expect a clown to slip on a banana skin, not calmly pick it up and toss it in the bin.

If Leicester then continue their good form and mount a promotion charge, he might even be praised for reversing his and the Foxes’ decline.

But that is a discussion for another day. Today, Martin must avoid a humiliating defeat from which his reputation may never recover.

Would you like another FourFourTwo Friday Football Quiz? Then you're in luck!

It's another Friday. Can you believe it? It must be time for another Friday Football Quiz. Can you answer all of these football trivia questions?

It couldn't be simpler. There are 20 questions in all and the Friday Football Quiz doesn't have a time limit. Let's 'ave it.

Handpicked football quizzes we know you'll love

FourFourTwo has more football quizzes than a sensible person could manage in a lifetime and they're all courtesy of Kwizly. Once you've taught this week's Friday Football Quiz a lesson, crack on with these.

We've got loads to enjoy for fans of Premier League quizzes and we've picked out a couple of our favourites for this Friday. The new Premier League Years Picture Quiz is perfect for trivia masters who work in the visual realm. If you get into the high scores on that one, try this on for size: Can you name every player ever to have been sent off three times in a single Premier League season?

As a mark of respect to the best footballer in the world, we have a new golden ball quiz. It has a new winner this year, but can you name all the other players who have collected the Ballon d'Or in a World Cup year?

Do you know your European club competitions? Let's find out. First, can you name every team playing in the league phase of the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League this season? How about every team ever to have played in the Champions League since 1992-93 excluding play-offs and qualifiers?

We've love crosswords too. The latest is FourFourTwo’s Weekend Crossword 77, which has clues on tricks, trequartistas and Trents. Subscribe to our newsletter for your daily afternoon briefing of hand-picked trivia. To complete your transfer to terrace legend status, lock in your spot in The Club – our free membership hub where you can unlock secret hints for our hardest quizzes, climb global leaderboards, and debate the latest topics directly in the comments section.

Let's kick off a new FourFourTwo Quickfire Quiz. It's a simple format: 90 seconds is the time limit and 10 trivia questions are the name of the game.

Handpicked football quizzes we know you'll love

FourFourTwo has loads more football quizzes courtesy of Kwizly. First up, can you smash this quiz about Coventry City in the Premier League? There's a bit of a gap in the middle due to 25 years outside the top division but nineties knowledge is a must.

Jack Rudoni is leading the way for the Sky Blues at the moment but they're only included one of these three quizzes. Can you remember the top goalscorer of all 20 Premier League teams in 1996-97, in 2006-07, and in 2016-17?

To test your knowledge of football at various levels, we want you to name every title sponsor of the EFL Trophy in its history and also to name every player ever to have been sent off three times in a single Premier League season.

Can you answer all the questions in our Big Quiz of English Football Grounds? It's not for fans with no experience of riding the rails and spending their Saturday afternoons in all manner of stadiums and cities from Carlisle to Colchester.

Lastly for now, can you name every nation ever to have beaten England in a World Cup match? We're including matches that both knocked them out or gave them a bloody nose in the group stage, so there are a bunch to name and happy memories galore to revisit.

We have puzzles too. Our Weekend Crossword is a regular football teaser for your Sunday, and remember to sign up to the newsletter for more quizzes in your inbox. Don't forget to join The Club for free additional membership benefits!

Watch Sunderland vs Dinamo Zagreb for free as the Black Cats look to continue their unbeaten start to the Europa League 2026/27 league phase against the Croatian champions. FourFourTwo has all the details on live streams and TV channels, wherever you are in the world.

Sunderland have made an excellent start to their first European campaign in 53 years, taking seven points from their opening three league phase fixtures.

Dinamo have claimed four points from their first three games but arrive at the Stadium of Light without a manager, after boss Mario Kovacevic was sacked earlier this week.

Read on as FourFourTwo brings you all the information you need to watch Sunderland vs Dinamo Zagreb online and from anywhere, in the Europa League 2026/27.

Can I watch Sunderland vs Dinamo Zagreb for free?

Yes, Sunderland vs Dinamo Zagreb will be broadcast for free in Brazil on CazeTV's YouTube Channel.

You don't need an account or a subscription, just click the link above and stream.

Not in Brazil? Use Proton VPN to unblock your free CazeTV stream from anywhere in the world.

Watch Sunderland vs Dinamo Zagreb from anywhere

A good VPN is your ticket to the game, even when you’re abroad.

The solution to your geo-restriction nightmares is a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a piece of software that can set your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

FourFourTwo’s tech-obsessed office-mates over at Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs, and they rate Proton VPN as one of the best for unlocking streams...

How to watch Sunderland vs Dinamo Zagreb in the UK

Fans in the UK can watch Sunderland vs Dinamo Zagreb on TNT Sports and its streaming partner HBO Max.