4 h. ago Arteta will not rest players against Palace despite looming PSG tie

‘When players are fit and available, they have to play’Liverpool to be league winners if Arsenal lose to PalaceMikel Arteta will not shy away from selecting key Arsenal personnel to face Crystal Palace on Wednesday in their final game before next week’s Champions League semi-final first leg even though his team are playing for little beyond pride.The meagre prize on offer is delaying Liverpool’s title celebrations but the manager denied he could wrap members of his squad in cotton wool. “We cannot think in those terms,” Arteta said. “I think when the players are fit and they are available and they want to play, they have to play. They are at their best when they are playing and they have consistency in their performances.” Continue reading...

Sport

4 h. ago Serie A matches and Italy’s Women’s Six Nations game move due to pope’s funeral

Serie A leaders Inter will now host Roma on SundayItaly v Wales in Women’s Six Nations to be rescheduledSerie A has postponed Saturday’s three fixtures due to Pope Francis’ funeral being held that day in Rome. Meanwhile, Italy’s Women’s Six Nations match against Wales is also set to be rescheduled as the country prepares to pay its respects.Earlier media reports in Italy had suggested that Serie A might make an exception for Inter’s clash with visitors Roma to allow Simone Inzaghi’s side additional rest time before their midweek Champions League semi-final at Barcelona. However, the league has confirmed that the game at San Siro will now kick off at 2pm (all times BST) on Sunday. Continue reading...

Culture

9 h. ago 13 free agents Celtic, Rangers and Premiership rivals could sign in summer 2025

Here are 13 EPL and EFL players that Celtic, Rangers and other Scottish Premiership clubs could target for transfer when they become free agents this summer.

Politics

10 h. ago Leeds are back among the elite but the real task for Farke is to keep them there | Louise Taylor

The Championship’s best team will need to be smart in the transfer market to give themselves a chance next seasonWhen Leeds United sold £140m of playing talent last summer, Daniel Farke deviated from accepted managerial convention and declined to throw his toys out of the pram. Farke is a little too unconventional, a little too resistant to groupthink, to always do the expected and his club’s owner, the San Francisco-based 49er Enterprises, is set to reap the benefits.The German’s unusual amalgam of high emotional intelligence and advanced numeracy have helped provide the framework for the freshly secured promotion to the Premier League Leeds so narrowly missed out on last May. Continue reading...

Politics

11 h. ago Arsenal and Chelsea face uphill battles in Champions League – Women’s Football Weekly

Faye Carruthers is joined by Sophie Downey, Tom Garry and Emma Sanders to discuss the Champions League semi-finals, the Women’s Championship and the latest WSL actionOn this week’s Guardian Women’s Football Weekly, Faye Carruthers is joined by Sophie Downey, Tom Garry and Emma Sanders to review disappointing first-leg semi-final results for both Arsenal and Chelsea in the Champions League. They are trailing in their ties with Lyon and Barcelona respectively. But can they turn it around? The panel preview this weekend’s must-win second legs.And after teasing you for weeks, the panel take a deep dive into the Women’s Championship as we approach the final two games of what’s been a thrilling season. They also round up the very latest from the WSL. Continue reading...

Sport

12 h. ago Lyon and PSG have lessons to learn after careless performances in Europe

Both clubs threw away convincing leads in England last week. They need to get their seasons back on track quicklyBy Get French Football NewsHubris cost Lyon last week and it almost cost PSG too. “We thought we were too good,” admitted Ousmane Dembélé after PSG conceded three goals at Villa Park and were nearly knocked out of the Champions League. “We eased off a bit. We thought it was over but big matches are like that,” said Malick Fofana after Lyon’s spectacular three-goal collapse against Manchester United did cost them a place in the Europa League semi-finals. “It is a match I won’t forget,” added Fofana, who knows that Lyon – like PSG – will have to re-engage if their season is to end well.With a derby at Saint-Étienne on Sunday, Lyon had no time for a postmortem. But for Paulo Fonseca, one thing was clear. “We led 4-2 with one less player on the pitch but we celebrated the 4-2 too much when the match was not finished,” said the Lyon manager after his team’s 5-4 defeat at Old T...

Politics

14 h. ago Norwich sack head coach Thorup and place Wilshere in interim charge

Canaries missed out on playoff spot in ChampionshipA 3-1 defeat at Millwall marks Thorup’s final matchNorwich City have sacked their head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup, with Jack Wilshere taking interim charge until the end of the season.The Canaries lie 14th in the Championship standings after a dismal run put paid to their hopes of a playoff place. Wilshere will be assisted by Tony Roberts and Nick Stanley for the club’s remaining two league games.More details soon Continue reading...

Politics

14 h. ago Leeds and Burnley return to the Premier League: Football Weekly

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, George Elek and Sanny Rudravajhala as Leeds and Burnley confirm their return to the Premier League over a busy Easter weekend in the EFLRate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.On the podcast today; the panel briefly summarise Nottingham Forest’s huge win over Spurs that propelled them back into the Champions League qualification spots before moving on to the Championship and Leeds and Burnley being promoted back into the Premier League. Continue reading...

Politics

14 h. ago Manchester United plan £62.5m Cunha move but must raise funds from sales

Wolves forward is Amorim’s prime target at No 10Sale of Rashford would allow United to finance dealManchester United are pushing to sign the Wolves forward Matheus Cunha but may have to raise the money to trigger his £62.5m release clause by selling Marcus Rashford or other players.Ruben Amorim has identified the 25-year-old as his prime target for the No 10 berth, one of the head coach’s two priority positions, along with a centre-forward. Continue reading...

Economics

14 h. ago David Squires on Niclas Füllkrug’s angry assessment of the West Ham Way

Our cartoonist on the big German striker’s blunt opinion of his Hammers teammates and life in generalBuy a copy of a cartoon in our Print ShopDavid’s new book, Chaos in the Box: buy it now Continue reading...

Politics

15 h. ago Why the Northern Super League can change football in Canada for good

Without a pathway to follow in their own country, players have had to look overseas to make a career. But no moreAs “O Canada” reverberated around Vancouver’s BC Place last Wednesday, the emotion was clear on the faces of those on the pitch and in the crowd. There were hugs, there were tears, and there was an unbeatable cacophony of noise when Quinn slotted home the winning penalty, the first goal of the Northern Super League era. All 14,000 inside the stadium were aware of how momentous this occasion was, the moment professional domestic women’s football had finally arrived in Canada.For many of the Canadian players involved in Vancouver Rise and Calgary Wild, it was the first time they will have heard only their anthem at the start of the match. “It was something I said to our team before the game,” the Rise midfielder Quinn reflected after the game. “That was pretty neat.” Continue reading...

Sport

18 h. ago Pundits’ showy partisanship reflects football’s embrace of fan

The coverage of Manchester United’s win over Lyon last week was just the latest sign that fandom is consuming everythingImpartiality fan here – for my sins! – but you have to say Robbie Savage and Rio Ferdinand during the closing minutes of Manchester United v Lyon on Thursday night were absolute class. It all starts in the 118th minute, with United 6-5 down on aggregate, and the TNT Sports camera lingering on the face of a crying boy in the crowd. “Let’s hope we can put a smile on that young man’s face by the time we finish,” the commentator Darren Fletcher says.And it’s worth unpacking those 17 words, because contained within them are at least three layers of assumption. Foremost among which is the assumption that it would be a good thing, all round, if United won. The child is crying. Is there any cause more catholic or universal, any image more reliably guaranteed to tug at the tear ducts, than a crying child? The coefficient can wait for now. Continue reading...

Sport

26 h. ago Nuno and Nottingham Forest grateful recipients of Dr Tottenham’s elixir | Ed Aarons

A win over the Portuguese’s obliging former club breathed life into Nottingham Forest’s chase for the top fiveAs the old adage goes, never go back. Unless your opponents are Tottenham Hotspur and your name is Nuno Espírito Santo that is.On a night when Nottingham Forest desperately needed to get their Champions League challenge back on the rails, Ange Postecoglou’s side could hardly have been more obliging opponents until they finally mounted a late flurry after Richarlison had pulled a goal back with three minutes to play. Continue reading...

Politics

27 h. ago ‘A total embarrassment’: Jamie Vardy says season has been ‘nothing but miserable’

Leicester striker furious with club’s relegation‘Collectively, as players and as a club, we failed’Jamie Vardy has apologised to Leicester’s fans for the club’s relegation and labelled his own season as a “total embarrassment”.Leicester were relegated on Sunday with five games of the Premier League campaign to play after defeat at home to Liverpool. That loss saw Leicester slump to a record ninth successive top-flight home defeat without scoring a goal. Continue reading...

Politics

27 h. ago ‘A total embarrassment’: Jamie Vardy apologises for Leicester’s awful season

Leicester striker furious with club’s relegation‘Collectively, as players and as a club, we failed’Jamie Vardy has apologised to Leicester’s fans for the club’s relegation and labelled his own season as a “total embarrassment”.Leicester were relegated on Sunday with five games of the Premier League campaign to play after defeat at home to Liverpool. That loss saw Leicester slump to a record ninth successive top-flight home defeat without scoring a goal. Continue reading...

Politics

28 h. ago Wood caps Forest’s blistering start at Tottenham to refuel European dream

There is no need to attempt to rewrite history by arguing that Tottenham Hotspur failed to see what they had in Nuno Espírito Santo. All that matters now is that this meticulous, softly spoken manager is the perfect fit for Nottingham Forest. They have provided Nuno with the perfect platform for his counterpunching tactics and, in what would surely be the story of the Premier League season, are ­closing in on Champions League football after cruising to victory over Ange Postecoglou’s limp and ­uninterested Spurs side.This was cool, clinical and resilient from Forest as they bounced back from two successive defeats by rising into third place with five games left. Nerves, it seems, are not for them. They struck early through Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood, who punished diffident defending, and then leant on their defensive prowess to claim the points. Spurs, stuck in 16th after falling to their 18th defeat in 33 games, were beaten inside 16 minutes, a header from Richarlison coming to...

Politics

28 h. ago ‘Back where we belong’: Leeds and Burnley savour promotion heroics

Scott Parker says achievement ‘means everything’Daniel Farke lauds his side for delivering ‘in great style’The Burnley head coach, Scott Parker, described his third Premier League promotion as his best yet after taking Burnley up, while Daniel Farke said Leeds are “back where we belong” after securing a top-flight return.Parker has taken Fulham and Bournemouth to the Premier League in previous jobs and will have a third chance to challenge the elite next season after two goals from Josh Brownhill edged Burnley past third-placed Sheffield United to ensure their opponents can no longer catch them or Leeds. Continue reading...

Events

30 h. ago Leeds and Burnley promoted to Premier League after Clarets beat Sheffield United – as it happened

Burnley’s 2-1 win means they and Leeds return to the Premier League while the Blades head for the playoffsPeep! We’re off – and in no time at all, Sheffield United create a decent chance “Smug Leeds fan here, I was nervous at 3pm, it all went away after 26 mins,” cheers Jeremy Boyce. “Big one tonight then, a must-win for Wilder’s Blades. This is going to rattle their teeth and nerves. Do they go all out for the win ? Or keep some back for the possible playoffs?” Continue reading...

Politics

30 h. ago Brownhill’s double sinks Sheffield United and earns promotion for Burnley

When Burnley last escaped the Championship for the promised land of the Premier League, they blew a hole in the wall under Vincent Kompany. Scott Parker decided it was more sensible to chisel their way out, inch by inch, completing their route to freedom with a tense victory over Sheffield United.Amid the change of owners, managers and styles, the captain Josh Brownhill has been a mainstay throughout and it was fitting his two goals completed the painstaking job. Parker’s promotion push has been the polar opposite to Kompany’s approach. The Belgian’s all-conquering side played fast, aggressive, attacking football, whereas the current style is based on discipline and defensive organisation. Burnley have conceded 15 goals in 44 games, a record anyone would be proud of and the foundation of their success. Continue reading...

Events

31 h. ago Leeds and Burnley promoted to Premier League after Clarets beat Sheffield United 2

Clarets can seal promotion in 5.30pm BST kick-offGet in touch: email Niall with your thoughtsPeep! We’re off – and in no time at all, Sheffield United create a decent chance “Smug Leeds fan here, I was nervous at 3pm, it all went away after 26 mins,” cheers Jeremy Boyce. “Big one tonight then, a must-win for Wilder’s Blades. This is going to rattle their teeth and nerves. Do they go all out for the win ? Or keep some back for the possible playoffs?” Continue reading...

Politics