Key events
Women’s Champions League group stage pots
Pot 1
Barcelona (ESP, holders)
Lyon (FRA)
Bayern München (GER)
Chelsea (ENG)
Pot 2
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Slavia Praha (CZE)
Real Madrid (ESP)
Rosengård (SWE)
Pot 3
St. Pölten (AUT)
Benfica (POR)
Häcken (SWE)
Roma (ITA)
Pot 4
Ajax (NED)
Paris FC (FRA)
Eintracht Frankfurt (GER)
Brann (NOR)
We also have a huge Women’s Champions League group stage draw coming up soon.
How does it work?
Here are the draw conditions:
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Clubs from the same country must not be drawn in the same group.
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In the case of associations with two representatives, for TV coverage reasons these clubs will be paired in order to split their matches between the Tuesday and Wednesday or the Wednesday and Thursday of each matchweek. In the case of associations with three representatives, only two clubs will be paired. These pairings will be based on projected TV audiences.
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Each club plays one home and one away match against each club in its group.
And here is the how the draw is set up:
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Sixteen clubs involved are seeded into four draw pots of four teams.
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The first pot comprises the titleholder (top seed) and the domestic champions of the three top-ranked associations in the access list.
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As the titleholder (Barcelona) is the domestic champion of one of the top three associations, the first pot is completed with the champion of the association ranked fourth in the access list (England).
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The other three pots are composed in accordance with the club coefficient rankings established at the beginning of the season.
Right, now that all that boring technical stuff is out of the way, let’s look at the pots.
Some more on Gary O’Neil, who returns to his former club that are still seeking a league win under Andoni Iraola.
John Brewin writes:
O’Neil has made a virtue from being underestimated. He returns on Saturday to Bournemouth, the club that jettisoned him in June after he saved them from being relegation certainties. Within the English football community, this was widely perceived as an act of treachery.
Lots of Premier League buildup here on the Guardian ahead of a big weekend. Get in touch to share your thoughts.
Speaking of the Gunners, Aaron Ramsdale has candidly spoken on losing his starting spot between the sticks to David Raya, saying that he’s “suffering and hurting”.
Thoughts? Can Ramsdale earn his spot back? Should he look for a move away from North London? Why do you think Arteta prefers the former Brentford keeper? Let me know via email!
Derby enemies or simply a sibling rivalry? Ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Chelsea this weekend, Mikel Arteta has hailed Mauricio Pochettino as a “big brother” and believes he is already turning things around at Chelsea.
The two played together for a year at Paris Saint-Germain, both arriving in 2001. Their meeting at Stamford Bridge on Saturday will surprisingly be the first time they have faced off as opposing managers.
The Arsenal boss credits the Argentinian for taking him under his wing at PSG.
He has been one of the most influential people in my career. Firstly as a player, he took me under the arm and looked after me like a little child, a little brother, and he was a big part of the success I had in Paris.
It was because of him because he really looked after me, gave me a lot of confidence and a lot of advice.
He has been a role model for me since that day, not only when I was a player but as a manager as well, when I had to make the decision to leave playing and start my coaching career he had a big say on that and I will always be grateful.
Arteta has also backed his big brother to turn things around at Chelsea. The Blues sit in 11th with only three wins in the league this season.
I’ve been really impressed by Chelsea. I think they deserve much more than what they’ve got in the table. What Mauricio has done in a short time is phenomenal. We’ll be have to be at our best.
Kaoru Mitoma signs a new contract with Brighton until 2027.
The 26-year-old, who arrived in 2021, has been a key player in the club’s success.
He holds the record for most Premier League goals scored in a season by a Japanese player, finishing the 2022-23 campaign with seven goals, one more than the previous record held by Shinji Okazaki and Shinji Kagawa.
Since his debut in August 2022, he’s contributed 13 goals and 12 assists, from 52 appearances in an Albion shirt.
Vincent Kompany has no problem with Darren England returning to officiating in Burnley’s match with Brentford tomorrow.
In case you’ve forgotten (or have erased the mess from your memory), England was stood down along with Daniel Cook after their communication error as VAR officials led to Luis Diaz’s goal for Liverpool against Tottenham being incorrectly disallowed last month. Both return to action this weekend.
Mistakes are human. I like the fact there’s transparency and that people come forward, own their mistakes, that we get access to the footage.
There might be a trend here where we get the young referees who need to learn Premier League game time or we get the guys who are just coming back and easing their way in but I’m sure with time and better results that can change. For him personally, we all make mistakes.
Kompany was also spoke rather diplomatically about needing better support at Turf Moor as the club look to improve their form. Burnley sit in the relegation zone after picking up four points following their return to the top flight.
Are we in need of a drummer? It’s for the custodians of this club to come to a decision but the atmosphere at Turf Moor, it’s always been a tough place to come to, it’s always been a place that lived with the game.
Two big derby games headline the top flight’s return while Manchester City seek an end to their losing streak.
Tomorrow’s lunchtime kick-off sees Liverpool host Everton while Arsenal head to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea. Plus our writers preview a possible six-pointer in Brighton v Brentford and whether Gary O’Neil will come back to haunt the club that sacked him as Wolves head to Bournemouth.
Crystal Palace need their defence to stay strong while Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze are out as they prepare to face Newcastle tomorrow.
Palace have not exactly lit up the league, scoring just seven goals in eight games – only Bournemouth (five) and newly promoted Luton and Sheffield United (both six) have scored fewer. Meanwhile, their rivals Brighton have scored three times as many (21). Palace have only scored more than one goal in one game – their surprisingly entertaining 3-2 win over Wolves last month.
Expect them to hunker down and try to ride out the storm on Saturday. Their two league games against Newcastle last season finished 0-0. Given his injury concerns, Roy Hodgson would be delighted to leave St James’ Park with a point.
Incoming seven-goal thriller. Read more on what Palace need to do to get over their injury situation from WhoScored.com’s Ben McAleer as part of the Guardian Sport Network.
Betting in football: players struggle but owners play by different rules: this explainer from Rob Davies was a reaction to the ban Ivan Toney received but a lot of sentiment applies to this situation as well.
Footballers continue to be punished for breaching rules that appear to be much clearer, raising questions about why there is one rule for them and another one, as yet unpublished, for the people who pay their wages.
How will all this affect Sandro Tonali’s future at Newcastle? Well, under Italian Football Association and Fifa regulations, admissions of betting on your own team leave players facing suspensions of up to three years.
Tonali is reportedly fully cooperating with civil and football authorities, with his agent saying he has a “gambling addiction”, then he may receive a shorter ban, potentially one year.
These situations do take time, so we may not know what suspension Tonali will face for about a month. Investigators must first complete their examination of the player’s mobile phone and tablet.
Tonali available for Newcastle
Eddie Howe has confirmed that midfielder Sandro Tonali is available for selection ahead of Newcastle’s match against Crystal Palace.
Tonali along with Nicolò Zaniolo left the Italy camp after being told they were involved in an investigation by prosecutors. Newcastle were stunned by the reports in Italy that their player had admitted to placing bets on Milan matches during his time there as a player.
As of now however, Tonali remains an option for Newcastle, according to Howe.
He’s very much with us. I think he trained twice this week. He’s very much available for selection.
Like I do with all the players, I’m analysing their training performances, how they look, how they feel. Sandro’s trained well.
He’s had a very difficult couple of weeks. He’s been dealing with a lot.
I see him for a few hours a day but, from what I can see, he’s handling himself very well and he’s dealing with his emotions incredibly strongly.
But underneath that I’m sure there’s a lot going on, so I’ll have to make a call. I have to bring it back to football and his training performances, then try to make the best decision for the team.
Preamble
Good morning and welcome to our live blog where we preview all the football coming up this weekend after the international break.
We’ve got a packed schedule with several Premier League press conferences on the way, plus an exciting Women’s Champions League draw.
Have any thoughts, questions, complaints, etc about any happenings in the football world? Send me an email!