Newcastle v Arsenal buildup, Barcelona in action, WSL and more – matchday live | Soccer

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Liverpool v Manchester United WSL team news

Liverpool: Borggrafe, Fisk, Bonner, Evans, Woodham, Nagano, Holland, Kerr, MacLean, Kapocs, Haug.

Subs: Kirby, Parry, Shimizu, Szymczak, Olsson, Enderby, Lundgaard, Clark, Silcock.

Manchester United: Tullis-Joyce, Riviere, Le Tissier, Janssen, Rolfo, Zigiotti Olme, Miyazawa, Toone, Malard, Terland, Park.

Subs: Middleton-Patel, George, Ildhusoy, Naalsund, Williams.

Dominique Janssen, Ella Toone and Gabby George of Manchester United survey the pitch before kickoff. Photograph: Matt McNulty/Getty ImagesShare

Hi everyone, Dominic here.

Right with a number of WSL games kicking off at midday, letâ€s run you through the team news …

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The Scottish Premiership is six games in and the leaders hail from outside Glasgow. Derek McInnes†Hearts are two points clear at the top after Saturdayâ€s 3-0 win over Falkirk, coupled with Celticâ€s home stalemate against Hibernian.

Although Hearts minority investor Tony Bloom has backed the club to challenge Scotlandâ€s duopoly, McInnes is taking a more measured view. “I want us to try and stay up at the top end of the table for as long as we can,†the Hearts manager said. Nobody else, I donâ€t think, genuinely believes we can mount a challenge.â€

Rangers, meanwhile, are winless and 11th in the table with Russell Martin clinging to his job. He takes his side to Livingston today (3pm BST), where only a win will do.

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And with that, my watch is over. Dominic Booth will be here shortly to coax you through our early tranche of WSL matches – Liverpool v Man United is the standout, but thereâ€s loads to get us going – but Iâ€m off to get into the right frame of mind for Villa v Fulham. So until then, peace out.

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Not a from a dead ball, but this might be my favourite-ever cross. Beckham barely touches the ball, and yet…

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Relatedly, I love the way Declan Rice has improved his crossing in recent years. Of course it requires natural ability to do what he does, but also, itâ€s a skill that is very easily practised, and Iâ€m not sure why so many excellent players are so poor at it.

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Iâ€m sure, though, that weâ€ll see some variations on it this afternoon, when Newcastle visit Arsenal. Both sides have plenty of big men and players able to find them with dead-ball delivery; reffing that wonâ€t be easy, at all. Iâ€d not be surprised if we see a penalty given for holding or similar.

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I would, though, also like to see the near-post corner return. When hit flat and flicked on, itâ€s almost impossible to defend, but sadly Iâ€m currently struggling to find a Limpar-Bould combination to illustrate the point.

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Amorimâ€s United have become an extremely direct outfit – and itâ€s not just them. Weâ€re seeing a return to big men up front, long balls, good corners and long throws which, to me at least, makes perfect sense – actually, Iâ€m not sure why these things ever left, because they never stopped working.

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Ah, I neglected to post Barney Ronayâ€s United piece from yesterday. If Iâ€m guessing, Iâ€m guessing it wonâ€t be long.

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The last time Hearts and Celtic contested the title:

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The last time the Scottish league was won by a non-Old Firm side was in 1984-85 when Alex Ferguson was managing Aberdeen; the last time Hearts won it was 1959-60. They currently lead Celtic by two points, and maybe, just maybe, they can bring it home again.

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In Villaâ€s defence, theyâ€ve been without Andre Amadou Onana, Youri Tielemans and Ross Barkley, all of whom should be back soon; if things are still poor in a few weeks, thereâ€ll be pressure, but for now, we can assume they wonâ€t be.

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Our first match today is Aston Villa v Fulham. How do we feel about that one? Have the home side turned the corner, or are we ignoring a dicey home win against the 11th-best side in Italy. Theyâ€ve still got plenty of good players, of course, but with Ollie Watkins out of form, theyâ€re struggling to threaten never mind score.

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What I would say on McT is that how well heâ€s doing in Italy doesnâ€t mean United were wrong to sell him. In Serie A, his physicality is a bigger advantage than in the Prem, and at Napoli heâ€s not competing for a starting slot with Bruno Fernandes, who plays in the same position, The move suited both parties.

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But the undoubted game of the day comes in Italy, where Scott McTominay faces Milan.

Obviously thatâ€s a hilarious joke, but what a move it was for him to join Napoli. Thereâ€s the football, of course – and in Antonio Conte, he has the perfect manager to platform his strengths and hide his weaknesses – but also culturally. By all accounts heâ€s absolutely loving his new life, and there might not be a better place on the planet to be revered. I couldnâ€t be happier for a very nice boy.

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In the meantime, though, Barcelona can make hay. Theyâ€re the best attacking side in the world by a mile – I donâ€t think anyone can argue with that, though this is football weâ€re talking about so you can never be sure – and thatâ€s enough to win almost every week. If they see off Soceidad later today, they go above Madrid at the top of the table.

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Julian Alvarez, man, what a player – and what a perfect fit for Atletico. On the other hand, I wonder how long itâ€ll take Xabi Alonso to get Real where they want to be. I wouldnâ€t necessarily call him a systems manager, but he is a proper coach, who needs buy-in and time to inculcate his ideas and principles – not easy when youâ€ve a squad full of superstars and a famously impatient boardroom.

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Updated at 04.50 EDT

I mentioned earlier that weâ€ve some European fun this afternoon, but before we properly look forward to that, letâ€s look back at last night.

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On which point, what a start Sunderland have made to the season – I think they call that a segue. They spent a load of wedge, granted, but turning that into points isnâ€t easy, though they were handed a friendly start, and if they could win their next two games – Man United away, Wolves at home – theyâ€ll be a long way towards staying up.

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On which point:

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A brace of own goals, goodness me.

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On which point, who on earth is going down? I fear for Burnley, but you can make a decent case for every other team will stay up – including the current bottom three, Wolves, Villa and West Ham.

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We should, though, note that Brentford played really well. A Sunderland-supporting mate of mine told me that Keith Andrews†side are the best his lot have met this season, and they looked very well organised and prepared yesterday. I thought theyâ€d struggle this season and maybe they still will, but so far, theyâ€re in decent shape.

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On Sunday Supplement, theyâ€re talking about Man Unitedâ€s midfield. It really is mind-boggling they didnâ€t buy anyone for that position in the summer – and that was obvious at the time.

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We will, of course, be bringing you updates on all the WSL action and all the goals as they go in, in this very blog.

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Also today, weâ€ve Barcelona v Sociedad and Milan v Napoli; that second match, third v first, should be an absolute belter.

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Weâ€ve got some right tasty fixtures in the WSL this afternoon. Manchester City take on London City; Spurs travel to Leicester; Brighton meet Everton; and Liverpool face Manchester United. Those are our midday kick-offs, after which weâ€ve West Ham v Chelsea. Not bad.

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How far can Glasnerâ€s Palace go?

I was at Selhurst a couple of seasons ago when they walloped Man United 4-0, and I was seriously impressed with Daniel Muñoz. I know heâ€s not the biggest name theyâ€ve had, but heâ€s a very, very good player.

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I actually think Newcastle were pretty fortunate to get a player as good as Isak so early in their PIF era – likewise Bruno Guimarães. Obviously I understand why their fans were disappointed he wanted to leave, but he was crucial in winning them a trophy and his desire to leave shouldâ€ve come as no surprise.

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Updated at 03.57 EDT

Hereâ€s Jonathan Wilsonâ€s Sunday column:

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Our matches today:

Aston Villa v Fulham

Arsenal v Newcastle

Iâ€m looking forward to these. Villa badly need points and will have taken confidence from their win over Bologna in midweek, but theyâ€ll face a different challenge in Marco Silvaâ€s side.

Arsenal, meanwhile, will have taken heart from Liverpoolâ€s defeat, but Newcastle are perhaps the most physical team in the league with one of its best midfields.

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Amorim was, though, right not to blame the ref for his sideâ€s abjectivity, but Iâ€ve not a clue how Nathan Collins escaped a red card for fouling Bryan Mbeumo. The rationale is that Mbeumo wasnâ€t in control of the ball, but he was looking for a one-touch finish, so had no need to be, and had he not been deliberately impeded by a defender making no effort to make a legitimate challenge, he might have scored.

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Another manager under pressure is Ruben Amorim. Iâ€m not sure Unitedâ€s performance yesterday was entirely his fault – the issue wasnâ€t the system nor its principles, rather a lack of composure and intensity – but ultimately that too is his responsibility.

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Incidentally, I absolutely loved Daniel Welbeckâ€s finish for Brightonâ€s third goal. His peak years were sadly hampered by injury, but his dotage has been brilliant. Heâ€s still got it physically, while his touch, imagination and intelligence are even better than before.

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Across London, meantime, aggravation: Chelsea lost again, their performance in beating PSG to win the Club World Cup a distant memory. On the one hand, a dip after that was inevitable; on the other, it was one game, and thereâ€ve been precious few others of similar standard.

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I was out last evening – get me – so Iâ€m only just catching up with Spurs v Wolves and, in particular, Jose Palhinhaâ€s late equaliser.

I also enjoyed this comment from @Xhong_Zina30 under the above link:

As a Spurs fan Iâ€ve really enjoyed Frankâ€s tactical flexibility, seeing the team drop points in different ways beats dropping points the same way like last season.

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And what a celebration from Oliver Glasner. That man knows something.

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Imagine Crystal Palace had the resources to hang on to their best players – theyâ€re second in the table having lost Michael Oliseh and Eberechi Eze. Keep them, and youâ€re talking about a title challenge.

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Iâ€m glad Goals on Sunday is back on Sky. Real talk: Iâ€ve not a clue why it was binned to begin with. Someone with expertise chatting about their unique experience, while reviewing action, whatâ€s not to like?

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Preamble

Morning all and welcome to your Sunday football blog. As ever, thereâ€s a good lot of action to enjoy and weâ€ll be looking forward to it here, from now. Feel free to send in your plans; weâ€ll be bringing you Villa v Fulham and Arsenal v Newcastle, as well as reflecting on yesterdayâ€s typically ridiculous Premier league action.

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Updated at 03.05 EDT

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