Key events
It’s been a huge week for women’s football, and the WSL rages on this weekend, all while the World Cup draws ever closer. Louise Taylor interviews one of the hopefuls, Lucy Staniforth.
The success of her adaptation to a new, deeper role, anchoring midfield for Carla Ward’s upwardly mobile side, has not merely silenced those inner doubts but re-kindled the 30-year-old’s case for an England recall for the World Cup in Australia.
More immediately, there is an intriguing double header against Chelsea to look forward to with Villa at home and hoping to extend their seven-match unbeaten WSL run on Sunday before facing the same opponent in the FA Cup semi-finals on 16 April.
Tottenham don’t play until Monday at Everton but the stories continue to flood in.
Questioning and criticizing me as a player for my performance is part of football and I got it. However, telling lies about me, I don’t accept! I’ve always had a lot of respect for Conte and for all my coaches. pic.twitter.com/uWZmOa8MVx
— Richarlison Andrade (@richarlison97) March 30, 2023
Eddie Howe has been speaking ahead of Newcastle United’s Super Sunday fixture with Manchester United, a reunion of the Carabao Cup final won by Erik ten Hag’s team.
The games at this stage get bigger and bigger because you are running out of opponents to correct yourself if you make a mistake. We’re at home in front of our supporters. The last result was really positive [at Nottingham Forest]. It has been a long two weeks, we were keen to play again quite quickly.
We felt we were good going into [the cup final]. We were as positive as we could be. We had a good rhythm. Maybe the two previous results before this one will help us. I’m really pleased with how we’ve trained.
You have to move on very quickly. I don’t think I ever get over a defeat, every one you have is in there somewhere. But I tend not to dwell on it because it’s history and you have to move on.
He was also asked about his club’s ownership being questioned in the House of Commons. Howe answered in the usual way.
I don’t think anything will affect the players. They are used to being in the headlines. It has always been about the football and for us, making sure we’re the best team we can be.
Last night’s was a classic match, one to remember. Big WSL action this weekend, too, with Arsenal playing Manchester City and Chelsea off to Aston Villa on Sunday.
Jamie Jackson
Newcastle United and Manchester United fans have joined forces before the teams meet on Sunday to call for a ban on the sale of clubs to states who could use their ownership for sportswashing human rights abuse.
NUFC Fans Against Sportswashing and United Against Sportwashing issued a joint statement in the buildup to the game at St James’ Park. Newcastle are majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani is trying to buy Manchester United.
And here we go with 10 things to look out for. Let’s start with, well, me actually.
Over four seasons, there was a total of one Premier League point between them. This season there are 19 points between Manchester City and Liverpool. City still don’t have things their own way: Erling Haaland’s presence remains a double-edged sword. Without Haaland’s goals, Arsenal would be on a title victory lap while with the Norwegian – an injury doubt for Saturday’s match – City have never quite hit the fluency shown when they were duking it out with Liverpool over those years. By contrast Jürgen Klopp’s problems run rather deeper than implanting a guaranteed goal machine. Virgil van Dijk was criticised this week by the Dutch legends Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten for his leadership style. And even though Stefan Bajcetic is only 18, losing him for the season was a blow. Liverpool, though, retain significant danger, as Manchester United found out, and as Guardiola recognised after losing 1-0 at Anfield in October to a Mo Salah strike.
Preamble
The Premier League is back, and this time we are on an interrupted run to the finish. And for a kickoff on Saturday lunchtime, Manchester City v Liverpool is a belter, even if it does carry something of a faded glory these days. The game behind the actual leaders, Arsenal v Leeds, is behind a 3pm TV blackout, and it’s beginning to feel like England will have mysterious champions. Amid a full deck of 3pm matches, each carries weight. Bournemouth v Fulham is a huge match for Gary O’Neil’s battlers, while Brighton v Brentford is a match between two teams on an unlikely rush for Europe.
Huge six-pointer as Roy Hodgson returns for Crystal Palace v Leicester. Lose that and Leicester could be in the bottom three. Six points on the line, too in Nottingham Forest v Wolves. Saturday’s late game is the lowest amped, between mid-table trundlers, Chelsea v Aston Villa.
Sunday sees a further six-pointer in West Ham v Southampton while there’s six points on offer in the battle for a Champions League place in Newcastle United v Manchester United.
And all that topped off by battle of the crisis clubs in Everton v Tottenham. Our League is just the bloody best, isn’t it?
