Your Guardian sport weekend: rugby league Ashes, Lionesses v Brazil and F1’s title tussle
Dominic Booth helms our essential gateway to the day’s football action.He will be looking forward to Saturday’s four Premier League fixtures – Chelsea v Sunderland, Newcastle v Fulham, Manchester United v Brighton and Brentford v Liverpool.There’s also the prospect of the Lionesses hosting Brazil at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium as well as Wales Women facing Australia in Cardiff.There’ll be team news and breaking stories as well as any wash-up from Friday night’s Leeds v West Ham match.England’s head coach, Shaun Wane, has been waiting five years for a “smash-up” with Australia and is relishing the role of underdogs in the first of three long-awaited Tests.
Wane took the England role in February 2020 but a mooted series later that year was abandoned because of the pandemic and the 61-year-old has been counting down the days to get another crack at the Kangaroos.“The chance to play against the best team in the world in an iconic stadium like this, it’s got the makings of a fantastic day,” he said of the game at Wembley.Wane believes he has a squad at his disposal that can build on series wins over Samoa and Tonga in the last two seasons and pull off a huge upset in the first Ashes for 22 years, when Great Britain faced the Australians.Lee Calvert is your liveblog host, with Aaron Bower reporting from Wembley.Billy Munday’s clockwatch keeps you updated for Saturday’s two 3pm kickoffs.
Jacob Steinberg reports from Stamford Bridge as Sunderland arrive having made an impressive return to the top flight.Only six promoted clubs have ever had more points – 14 – at this stage of a Premier League season.However, Chelsea – who thrashed Ajax 5-1 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday – are impressive at home.Only Manchester City (34) have earned more home points in the Premier League in 2025 than Chelsea (33).Louise Taylor is at St James’ Park, where Eddie Howe’s Newcastle are one place and one point above Fulham before the weekend round and tonked José Mourinho’s Benfica 3-0 in midweek.
Are Ruben Amorim’s United finally on the up? Beating the champions, Liverpool, at Anfield last Sunday showed promise but United have lost six of their last seven league games against Brighton,That said, their home form is solid after winning their last three matches at Old Trafford,The visitors, however, beat Newcastle last time out and have lost just two of their last 13 league games,Scott Murray is at the controls of our live blog, with Jamie Jackson reporting from Old Trafford,Sarina Wiegman’s England face Brazil in Manchester for their first match since defending their European Championship crown in the summer.
The Homecoming Series – next up are Australia at Derby’s Pride Park on Tuesday – sees call-ups for the Spurs forward Jess Naz, who last featured for the Lionesses as a substitute in February’s 1-0 win against Spain at Wembley, and Grace Fisk.The Liverpool captain also comes in as an injury replacement to face the South American champions at the Etihad Stadium.Sarah Rendell has minute-by-minute coverage, with Suzanne Wrack and Sophie Downey reporting.A thumping 5-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt in midweek lifted some of the Liverpool gloom after the home defeat by Manchester United meant Arne Slot’s defending champions slid to four points behind the title pacesetters, Arsenal.Liverpool have lost their last three league games, as many losses as they suffered in their previous 39.
Brentford, meanwhile, are no pushovers under Keith Andrews, showing West Ham no mercy on Monday in a rollicking 3-0 victory at the London Stadium,The Bees have lost just one of their five home games under Andrews, and that was a 1-0 defeat by Manchester City,Rob Smyth hosts our live blog, while Jonathan Wilson reports from the Gtech Community Stadium,Max Verstappen has roared back into title contention by winning three of the last four races,That has cut the Red Bull driver’s deficit to Oscar Piastri, the leader, from 104 points after Zandvoort in August to 40 points with five rounds remaining.
Piastri’s McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, separates the pair in the standings, 14 points behind Piastri and 26 ahead of the defending world champion.With 141 points still up for grabs, a genuine three-way title race has emerged and Verstappen is giving his all to try to clinch the crown.That sets up a potentially crucial qualifying session, with Alex Reid offering lap-by-lap coverage and Giles Richards reporting.There’s coverage of two England clashes with New Zealand.First up, the men, whose T20 series against the Black Caps was something of a washout.
Just 22 balls were bowled at Eden Park on Thursday, the second abandonment of the three-match T20 series which England won 1-0 after thrashing the Black Caps by 65 runs in Christchurch on Monday.The first of three ODIs is on Sunday at Mount Maunganui, with Rob Smyth and Taha Hashim on duty for our over-by-over coverage.Then cricket fans’ attention shifts to the Women’s World Cup where England finish their group stage matches in Visakhapatnam.England can only finish in second or third place, meaning they will avoid facing hosts India in the last four.Tanya Aldred and James Wallace are our early risers on the live blog.
Emillia Hawkins sifts through the fallout from Saturday’s programme before our unmissable live football countdown blog looks forward to a Sunday fixture list that features five Premier League games as well as a top-of-the-table clash in Scotland that for once is not solely an Old Firm concern,Derek McInnes’s Hearts are setting the pace north of the border and meet a misfiring Celtic,The unbeaten Jambos are being touted as title contenders after soaring five points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership following a summer of shrewd recruitment aided by Jamestown Analytics and almost £10m of investment from the Brighton owner, Tony Bloom,Tom Bassam has live coverage of Sunday’s four 2pm kick-offs: Arsenal v Crystal Palace, Aston Villa v Manchester City, Bournemouth v Nottingham Forest and Wolves v Burnley,Pick of the bunch is the London derby where the Gunners are running hot from a 4-0 Champions League defeat of Atlético Madrid on Tuesday.
The title frontrunners cannot be displaced from the summit before kick-off but Palace are no pushovers, having drawn eight of their last 14 Premier League matches, including a 3-3 against Bournemouth last week, though Oliver Glasner’s side were embarrassed by a 1-0 home loss to the Cypriot minnows Larnaca in the Conference League on Thursday,Manchester City are three points behind Arsenal and, after a routine 2-0 Champions League win at Villarreal, travel to Villa Park,Unai Emery’s side are on an upswing having won their last three league matches, having started the season with a five-game winless streak,However, Go Ahead Eagles shocked them in midweek in the Europa League,Billy Munday helms our blog for the clásico rivals’ first meeting of the season.
The La Liga clubs are separated by two points at the top as Barça chase a slice of history at the Bernabéu,Last season, Hansi Flick’s side recorded four straight wins over Real, beating Madrid 4-0 and 4-3 in the league, 3-2 in extra time in the Copa del Rey final and 5-2 in the Supercopa,Barça could now match their longest winning run against Madrid in all competitions, having won five straight clásicos only under Pep Guardiola from 2008 to 2010,Sid Lowe reports,Spurs visit Everton after a goalless Champions League draw at Monaco and last week’s defeat by Aston Villa.
Still, Thomas Frank’s side have been formidable on the road this season, garnering the most away points in the Premier League.Against that is Everton’s impressive home form.David Moyes’s team have lost just one of their last 13 Premier League home matches and remain unbeaten in all four this season since their move to Hill Dickinson Stadium.Something has to give and Tim de Lisle hosts our live clockwatch with Andy Hunter reporting from Everton’s new home.Graham Searles’ rolling blog on Sundays is gaining a following among NFL aficionados and week eight sees a clutch of compelling fixtures as the season hits the midway point including: San Francisco 49ers v Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns v New England Patriots, Chicago Bears v Baltimore Ravens, New York Giants v Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos v Dallas Cowboys.
Join Billy Munday for lap-by-lap coverage, where the pressure is on Oscar Piastri now that Max Verstappen has charged into the world championship frame.Red Bull are expected to be strong again at a track where Verstappen has won five times and another successful weekend for the four-time world champion would deeply trouble the McLaren camp.Giles Richards reports.
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for leftover polenta biscuits | A kitchen in Rome
This, then, was the situation: it was Friday night after a long week, and having met a friend on the way home for a glass of wine, which arrived with crisps, taralli, dry roasted peanuts and enough salt that we needed another glass, it seemed a good idea to go home and cook polenta – the long-stir sort as opposed to the instant variety, although I always have that in the cupboard, too. Another good idea, which came to me as I pulled a new packet from the back of the dresser and ignored the flutter of tiny wings, was to make more than enough polenta and pour the extra into a Pyrex dish while it was still hot, so it could set into a block to be cut into slices and grilled the next day.I’ve written about polenta before; how the word is ancient and generic – referring to any mushy dish made from cereal flour and water – and how, after its arrival in Europe in the 1600s, it became synonymous with ground maize. There exists a world of different grades and milling, but, broadly speaking, when you buy ground maize (cornmeal) for polenta, you will have two options: finely ground (which might also be white) for a soft, thin polenta, and coarsely ground, which will have glassy-looking grains and makes an excellent body scrub and a harder, tastier polenta. The latter also takes much longer to cook, anything from 40 minutes to several hours, depending on who (or which packet) you consult, although in my experience an hour is almost always enough, and anything beyond that is more a way of deepening the flavour
Don’t chuck your parmesan rind – it is an excellent stock cube – recipe | Waste not
Parmesan rinds are the ultimate zero-waste hack – like a cheesy stock cube, they enrich stews, sauces and all sorts, and add pure deliciousness in the form of umami depth and creamy texture. Stored in the fridge or freezer, they keep almost indefinitely. This week’s recipe uses them in a thrifty, creamy corn orzo that transforms a few simple ingredients into comforting autumn fare.This dish was a happy accident, and left me and my family drooling for more. I was planning a classic tomato orzo to use up that half-bag in the cupboard left over from making a pasta salad, but wanted something more seasonal
No waste, all taste: Max La Manna’s comfort food pantry-raid recipes
Cooking with little to no waste isn’t about rules; it’s about rethinking old habits. Take inventory of the food you already have (I like taking a photo of my fridge and pantry before I go shopping), stick to your list and buy only what you need. Make sure you store it properly, too, so it lasts longer, and don’t forget to cook with a bit of curiosity: that bendy carrot, yesterday’s rice, the broccoli stem you’d normally bin – they all have potential. Start small, and trust me: you’ll notice the wins in no time, saving money, time and food from the bin. For me, low-waste cooking isn’t restrictive, it’s liberation
If you like piña coladas: how to make slushies at home without a machine
It promises icy, refreshing drinks, and for a cool $179, this slushie maker is yours – if you can find one.Australian TikTok users have become fixated on a Kmart slushie machine, apparently a budget version of the equally viral Ninja slushie machine (RRP A$499), with users posting videos and reviews of their frosty, fruity extrusions. One Australian video has racked up 2.7m views, and the appliance has sold out online. But with Kmart supply chains under scrutiny and the knowledge that culinary trends and the very specific appliances needed to make them are passing fads, not everyone wants to – or has to – buy a machine to make slushies this summer
Pickle power: how to make your first ferments | Kitchen aide
I love ferments and want to start making my own to save money. Where should I start? Ben, by email“Maybe with some carrots, onions, cucumber or beetroot – anything Ben has an excess of,” says Connor Wilson, head chef at The Kirkstyle Inn in Slaggyford, Northumberland. “Fermentation is a great way of preserving produce, but it won’t give new life to things that are past their best.”That said, tired-looking carrots would be perfect for Olia Hercules’ go-to for newbie fermenters: “If they look dehydrated but without any rotting, they’re amazing to ferment,” says the author of Strong Roots. “The sugars concentrate and you get this bright carrot flavour
Georgina Hayden’s recipe for parmesan and sage jacket potato gnocchi | Quick and easy
If I’m going to the effort of making jacket potatoes (and by effort I mean putting them in the oven for an hour), I will almost always pop in a few extra spuds to make gnocchi for a later meal. The difference between shop-bought and homemade gnocchi is vast, especially the vac-packed, long-life kind, which are dense and can be heavy. Freshly made gnocchi, with fluffy baked potatoes, however, are light as air, pillowy and silky. If that sounds intimidating, let me reassure you that this recipe is really forgiving, and much easier than making fresh sheet pasta. I love them served simply, as here, with a slightly nutty sage butter and lots of parmesan
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