Your Guardian sport weekend: Premier League, Ashes and NFL
There’s no better entry point to the weekend’s footballing action than our rolling blog as David Tindall sets up Saturday’s big matches.Breaking news, team updates and the vibe from around the grounds keeps you bang up to date with all the latest developments, including and fallout from Friday night’s Manchester United v Newcastle clash.There’s a bumper seven Premier League fixtures and six Scottish Premiership games to stay across and readers are welcome to join the conversation.Send your thoughts and observations to matchday.live@theguardian.
comWith exciting cards in store at Kempton and Chepstow Tony Paley has all the latest action at the helm of our rolling blog.At the latter, Haiti Couleurs strives to get his season back on track.Winner of the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham festival and the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse in the spring, the eight-year-old made a successful return to action over hurdles at Newbury to tee himself up for last month’s Betfair Chase at Haydock.Haiti Couleurs was pulled up on Merseyside, but is expected to show his true colours on home turf this weekend.Greg Wood reports.
Saturday’s lunchtime fixture sees City – pushing hard on the shoulders of pacesetters Arsenal after five consecutive victories – travel to the City Ground with the prospect of three points elevating them, albeit temporarily, to the summit.Forest wilted in a 1-0 defeat by Fulham on Monday, though four wins in their past seven league games is still one more than Sean Dyche’s side managed in their previous 18.The death of Forest legend John Robertson at the age of 72 on Christmas Day following a long illness adds poignancy to the game.Barry Glendenning helms our liveblog with Ben Fisher reporting.Arsenal are a match for any team at home, and after a run of five wins on the spin at the Emirates will more than fancy their chances against Brighton.
The visitors are without a victory in their four past matches against the Gunners, although they did battle back from a goal down to draw 1-1 in both meetings last season.Arsenal could be boosted by the return of Kai Havertz.The 26-year-old has not been seen since Arsenal’s first match of the season following surgery on his right knee.However, Havertz returned to training last week and Mikel Arteta admitted he was close to making the squad for their Carabao Cup penalty-shootout triumph over Crystal Palace on Tuesday night.Scott Murray hosts our liveblog, with Ben Bloom our matchday reporter.
The late afternoon match pits the elite’s form side with one of the league’s most unpredictable teams.Villa arrive at Stamford Bridge on a roll of seven league wins – their best run in the top flight since a nine-game streak between October and December 1910.The hosts Chelsea, curiously, are unbeaten in the three league games they have played this season against teams starting the day above them in the table, beating Liverpool 2-1, Tottenham 1-0, and drawing 1-1 against Arsenal.Jacob Steinberg reports.All set for more Melbourne mayhem? Whatever the third day brings, you are in good hands with Rob Smyth and James Wallace hosting our unbeatable over-by-over coverage.
Tom Bassam and John Brewin pick up the thread of our unbeatable football blog.They will be looking forward to Sunday’s Premier League meetings of Sunderland v Leeds and the London derby clash of Crystal Palace v Tottenham as well as four matches in the Africa Cup of Nations and a clutch of Serie A games.Leeds have taken eight points from their past four games to put some daylight between themselves and the bottom three and travel to high-flying Sunderland.The Black Cats, for all their impressive displays, have only scored one goal so far in four outings in December, Chemsdine Talbi’s effort against Liverpool.Sunderland have three strikers in their ranks in Brian Brobbey, Eliezer Mayenda and Wilson Isidor – the latter of whom is their top scorer with four league goals – and Brobbey was the latest of that trio to find the net, scoring against Bournemouth in November.
Katy Murrells helms our liveblog with Louise Taylor reporting from the Stadium of Light.With both clubs having to bear damaging defeats last weekend, there’s an extra frisson to this London derby, particularly as Palace sprung a double over Spurs last season.Palace are set to be without Chris Richards after the defender required stitches in a cut foot during the Carabao Cup exit to Arsenal.Oliver Glasner said that goalkeeper Dean Henderson will return despite stand-in Walter Benítez’s impressive display against the Gunners.Tottenham will be missing their captain Cristian Romero and Xavi Simons due to suspension.
They join Destiny Udogie, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke on the sidelines as the headaches mount up for Thomas Frank.John Brewin helms our live blog, with Ed Aarons and Jonathan Wilson at Selhurst Park.Sunday evening brings nine NFL clashes, with Graham Searles hosting our unmissable liveblog as the Carolina Panthers continue their playoff push against the Seattle Seahawks and there’s a clash of contenders as the Philadelphia Eagles meet the Buffalo Bills in the penultimate week of the regular season.Billy Munday is on hand as the holders face Cameroon in this Group F clash in Marrakech.The men in orange were grateful to Amad Diallo as the Manchester United player scored the Elephants’ only goal in their opener against Mozambique.
Wilfried Zaha, playing his first international in more than two years after his surprise recall, wasted several chances and Franck Kessie had two point-blank efforts saved by the Mozambique goalkeeper Ernan.Cameroon won by the same scoreline against Gabon after Karl Etta Eyong’s early strike.The Indomitable Lions, five-time Cup of Nations winners, have been to more World Cups than any other African country but have struggled of late.They fired their coach Marc Brys three weeks ago and left goalkeeper André Onana out of the squad for the tournament, having missed out on World Cup qualification last month.If there is any action by day fourth of the fourth Ashes Test, Taha Hashim and Jonathan Wallace will provide over-by-over coverage of events at the MCG, where wickets and records have been tumbling.
Welsh first minister vows to keep Labour ‘most successful democratic party on the planet’
The first minister of Wales has said she is determined for Welsh Labour not to lose its crown as the world’s most successful democratic party, despite warnings it could be relegated to third place in May’s elections.Polls suggest Reform UK and Plaid Cymru could win more seats than Eluned Morgan’s party in the Seneddelections next year, ending 100 years of dominance for Labour in Wales.Morgan said: “Of course I feel the pressure but I’m also determined to turn this round. We’re the most successful democratic political party on the planet. It’s a long winning streak
Keir Starmer encourages Britons to ‘reach out’ to others this Christmas
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Deputy leader Lucy Powell says Labour must ‘stick to manifesto’ over EU customs union, in implicit rebuke to Streeting – as it happened
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Reform council’s plan to shut eight care homes ‘a betrayal of local people’
A Reform UK-led council plan to shut eight of its residential care homes has been condemned as “a betrayal of local people”.Days before Christmas, Derbyshire county council announced that the homes would have to close after a proposed sale fell through.The closures have prompted a backlash and have echoes of the furore in Lancashire where the Reform-led council is planning to close five care homes and five day centres and move residents into the private sector.Mick Coppin, a regional organiser of the GMB union, said the Derbyshire plans put vital services and more than 200 jobs at risk.“These closures are nothing short of a betrayal of local people and staff,” Coppin said
Reform plan to cap aid at £1bn would damage UK’s international influence, critics warn
Plans by Reform UK to slash the aid budget by 90% would not cover existing contributions to global bodies such as the UN and World Bank, shredding Britain’s international influence and risking its standing within those organisations, charities and other parties have warned.Under cuts announced by Nigel Farage in November, overseas aid would be capped at £1bn a year, or about 0.03% of GDP. Keir Starmer’s government is already set to reduce aid from 0.5% of GDP to 0
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