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Manchester City then. They’re having quite the January window, aren’t they?
First Antoine Semenyo and now, seemingly, Marc Guéhi. The latter has not yet completed his move from Crystal Palace, so obviously won’t play in the derby today, but only the final formalities remain before he joins Pep Guardiola’s super-squad.
Key questions linger on about PSR and that case of 115 pesky charges which is yet to be resolved (with some predicting it will be another year until it is). But in the short term, will those deals prove enough to power City to the title, or have they left it too late given they trail Arsenal by six points? A draw or defeat at Old Trafford today could further hamper their chances.
Speaking of the Women’s FA Cup, Suzanne Wrack chats to those connected with Ipswich, who are bottom of WSL2, but have big plans to turn their season around starting in the cup against Sheffield United tomorrow.
Like most other competitions in women’s football, Chelsea have dominated the FA Cup in recent years, winning it in four of the past five years and six times since 2016. They’re in action in the fourth round at Kingsmeadow today (12.30pm), where they’re unlikely to be troubled by Crystal Palace.
The only other tie today is Sunderland v London City Lionesses at 12.15pm, with 12 games taking place tomorrow. Everton and West Ham booked their spots in the last-16 with victories last night.
This season does at least look more unpredictable in the women’s game, with Manchester City six points clear at the top of the WSL, and having just signed USA star Sam Coffey.
Surely Chelsea will not end the season trophyless?
This comment tickled me. Are there any West Ham fans out there with some remaining hope or optimism for today (or the rest of the season)?
My mate left his West Ham season tickets on display in his car. When he came back from the Westfield Centre someone had smashed the window and left two more.
Back to Manchester United and Rio Ferdinand has been speaking some sense in the past 24 hours, biting back at Roy Keane over the latter’s comments about Sir Alex Ferguson and Michael Carrick’s backroom staff choices.
Keane said Ferguson was “hanging around like a bad smell” and called out Carrick for appointing former United teammate Evans.
Ferdinand told BBC 5Live: “I don’t think Sir Alex Ferguson has the influence at the club people think he does. I think he should have an influence, I think his presence is felt. By the way is there anyone on the planet who deserves a seat in the stadium every week more than Sir Alex? So I think to say ‘hanging around like a bad smell’ airs on the side of [being] a bit disrespectful.
“The likes of Fletcher and Carrick do call him – they respect him. Most of their career has been alongside him. So why wouldn’t you call on that experience? I don’t agree with what Roy said, I think that’s more personal.
“Even the stuff with him calling out coaches, Jonny Evans is a young coach – why shouldn’t he get a chance? He knows every single player in that squad. He’s lived with them and breathed with them for a couple of years. I understand why Michael Carrick has gone for someone like Steve Holland, he’s experienced.
“That’s Roy’s stance and he can have that opinion but for me the gun was pointing at the wrong people.”
In a separate interview, Ferdinand named Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Bruno Fernandes as United’s only three successful signings post-Ferguson.
In terms of today, it all starts – and by it, I mean our minute-by-minute coverage – with the Manchester derby kicking off at 12.30pm. Then we’ll have the usual clockwatch, covering the 3pm games in the Premier League and beyond, before our attention turns to Nottingham Forest at Arsenal at 5.30pm. There’s no late game in the top flight tonight.
Of those 3pm games, I’m actually astonished there are as many as five – which means they cannot be shown on TV in the UK. Spurs v West Ham and Chelsea v Brentford feel broadcast-worthy, but hey ho.
(All times GMT)
What happened in the world of football last night? Well, Middlesbrough closed the gap at the top of the Championship to just three points with a dramatic win at West Brom in Eric Ramsay’s first game in charge of the Baggies. Delano Burgzorg’s 90th-minute winner sealed a 3-2 victory for Boro, who now have a five-point buffer to third-placed Ipswich, albeit they’ve played two games more.
North of the border, Bojan Miovski scored a hat-trick as Rangers thumped Annan Athletic 5-0 in the Scottish Cup.
Meanwhile, West Ham triumphed 3-0 over Newcastle in the fourth round of the Women’s FA Cup; Werder Bremen and Eintracht Frankfurt drew 3-3 in an entertaining Bundesliga contest; Girona won 2-0 at Espanyol in La Liga, and Ousmane Dembélé scored twice as PSG beat Lille 3-0 to return to the Ligue 1 summit – although title rivals Lens are just two points behind with a game in hand. Lens play Auxerre today.
With United out of both cup competitions and not playing in Europe this season, Will Unwin poses the question of whether this is the club’s post-Ferguson nadir …
It’s fair enough to suggest so, but nothing will surely top be worse than losing to 17th-placed Spurs in the worst Europa League final of all time (TM), all the while finishing 15th. Sorry Ruben.
Get questions in for Jamie Jackson before Manchester derby
Later on this morning we’ll be holding a Q&A session with our Manchester football correspondent, Jamie Jackson, ahead of the Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
What sort of state are United in? Will City take full advantage and boost their title chances? Email your questions using [email protected] or simply comment below.
Preamble
Good morning and welcome to another of The Guardian’s matchday live blogs. This is your one-stop-shop for all things Saturday football buildup, and today is another biggie in the Premier League, from which we enjoyed a (short) break due to the FA Cup last weekend.
It’s big primarily because it’s derby day in Manchester with Michael Carrick making his (second) debut as United’s interim head coach, but there are other games to whet the appetite; Spurs v West Ham has been dubbed ‘El Sackico’ with Thomas Frank and Nuno Espírito Santo both under immense pressure. There’s also Chelsea v Brentford, which is a west London derby and Liam Rosenior’s first Premier League game as Blues manager.
Down the leagues there’s plenty to play for as well. Coventry v Leicester in the Championship looks an attractive proposition while Bradford v Cardiff and Swindon v Salford should be belting games at the sharp end of League One and League Two respectively.
As always, we welcome your comments and emails. Let us know how you’re spending this dreary January Saturday. Hopefully it’s by watching some football, after you’ve scrolled up and down this blog of course. Stay tuned!
