Key events
Fulham 0-0 Southampton The home team dominant, with Josh King, 17, and not the Norwegian former Bournemouth and Manchester United player, has been among the more impressive performers.
Manchester United 0-0 Bournemouth Amad Diallo has had a shot, and Antoine Semenyo has been the most threatening player on the field.
Leicester 0-0 Wolves Some calls for a handball by Jose Sa as he and Jamie Vardy chased a loose ball. But nothing given.
Fulham 0-0 Southampton
Not quite as blowy at the Cottage but not much football being played.
Everton 0-0 Chelsea
The wind and rain of a December day on Merseyside seems to be affecting matters, and there’s a load of plastic bags blowing across the Goodison pitch. Paper, too. And the replacement balls are blowing in, too.
Up in Scotland, Dundee United have held Celtic to a 0-0 draw. The lead at the top of the SPFL is nine points.
Leicester 0-0 Wolves
Matheus Cunha is starting for Wolves, as we wait news of his potential charge for that incident with an Ipswich steward. Vitor Pereira has kicked off with a 3-4-3 formation.
We are go in the Sunday 2pm kick-offs
Four matches, plenty to play for.
Krishna gets in touch: “An unfamiliar Christmas time for us Chelsea fans where we are #2 on the table. Made more surreal by an imploding City who have fallen out of the Champions League qualifying spots. Add a resurgent Man U and the ever constant Spurs (in defining Spursy) – well, what more can one ask for?”
Richard Hirst gets in touch: “Worrying day to be a Fulham supporter: unbeaten against Spurs, Brighton, Liverpool and Arsenal means that the Fulhamish thing to do is to lose at home to Southampton. And Smith Rowe not in the squad at all – never mind Rashford, that’s where the news is.”
Naz gets in touch: “I know this isn’t The Knowledge but is this the first time United have had so many players with surnames beginning with M starting? There’s a 007 joke in there somewhere I know but hopefully Ruben Amorim keeps a Golden Eye on things today.”
Chelsea can go top if they win at Goodison.
Some Gary Neville quotes on Sky on that Rashford absence:
It is getting to the point where you leave him out three games on the bounce something really is obviously going wrong or has gone wrong and it is not looking great for both Marcus’ future at the club or Manchester United keeping him either.
I suspect it is getting to that point in the journey where it has got an inevitable ending. It is a distraction for the manager. It does become obvious that he probably has to leave and that the club want him to leave – it will probably work for both parties.
There are good examples as well of players who have struggled at United…Jadon Sancho has gone to Chelsea and is doing better, Scott McTominay wasn’t struggling but he left to go to Napoli and he is doing well, so Marcus might think it is the right thing for him as well.
Marcus Rashford is actually at Old Trafford, and he’s just been posing for photos with the mascots in the tunnel.
Anyway, some collected team news. Matthijs de Ligt is missing with illness for Manchester United for whom Joshua Zirzkee replaces Rasmus Hojlund as the central striker. Chelsea have dropped Noni Madueke for Pedro Neto. Aaron Ramsdale, who made that disastrous choice to be a pundit on Saints’ game v Spurs last week, is fit to start.
Dear, departed Russell Martin had the look of an indie-rocker, in one of those bands like Biffy Clyro or Foals. But the new man, Ivica Juric, well he’s into the real stuff.
“I started at 14 years old with Metallica and Megadeth, then I moved on to more aggressive things. Death metal is my passion, bands like Napalm Death, Obituary and Carcass.”
From playing the ball out the back to the equivalent of this? Yes, please. The vocals sound a bit like Sean Dyche, actually.
Will Unwin, who is our reporter at Leicester today, tells me that “Pereira makes his mark by starting eight native Portuguese speakers” in the Wolves team.
Leicester v Wolves teams
Leicester: Ward, Justin, Coady, Vestergaard, Kristiansen, Soumare, Skipp, El Khannous, Ayew, Mavididi, Vardy. Subs: Iversen, Faes, Okoli, Winks, De Cordova-Reid, Choudhury, Daka, Thomas, Buonanotte.
Wolves: Jose Sa, Nelson Semedo, Bueno, Toti Gomes, Doherty, Joao Gomes, Andre Trindade, Rodrigo Gomes, Goncalo Guedes, Cunha, Larsen. Subs: Johnstone, Hwang, Dawson, Doyle, Forbs, Bellegarde, Meupiyou, Cundle, Pedro Lima.
Everton v Chelsea teams
Everton: Pickford, Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Mangala, Gueye, Doucoure, Harrison, Calvert-Lewin, Ndiaye. Subs: Virginia, Patterson, Keane, Beto, O’Brien, Chermiti, Coleman, Lindstrom, Armstrong.
Chelsea: Sanchez, Gusto, Disasi, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Caicedo, Fernandez, Pedro Neto, Palmer, Sancho, Jackson. Subs: Jorgensen, Madueke, Joao Felix, Nkunku, Casadei, George, Acheampong, Guiu, Veiga.
Fulham v Southampton teams
Fulham: Leno, Robinson, Bassey, Diop, Castagne, King, Berge, Wilson, Cairney, Iwobi, Muniz. Subs: Benda, Andersen, Cuenca, Sessegnon, Lukic, Godo, Jimenez, Traore, Vinicius.
Southampton: Ramsdale, Walker-Peters, Wood, Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis, Sugawara, Fernandes, Downes, Aribo, Dibling, Armstrong. Subs: McCarthy, Ugochukwu, Manning, Lallana, Sulemana, Bree, Fraser, Onuachu, Archer.
Man Utd v Bournemouth teams
Manchester United: Onana, Dalot, Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Malacia, Mainoo, Ugarte, Amad, Fernandes, Zirkzee. Subs: Bayindir, Yoro, Evans, Casemiro, Eriksen, Antony, Garnacho, Hojlund, Collyer.
Bournemouth: Kepa, Smith, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez, Christie, Adams, Semenyo, Kluivert, Ouattara, Evanilson. Subs: Travers, Aarons, Cook, Billing, Brooks, Hill, Kinsey, Winterburn, Unal.
Rashford not named in Manchester United squad
That’s the word ahead of the teams being named at 2pm. The romance is at an end.
Some EFL news, per PA Media: Fleetwood sack Adam
Fleetwood have sacked boss Charlie Adam with the club 18th in the Sky Bet League Two table. The 39-year-old former Scotland midfielder, appointed last December, departs the Cod Army after Saturday’s 2-0 loss at Barrow.
Owner Jamie Pilley said in a statement on the club’s official website on Sunday: “I’d like to personally thank Charlie for his commitment and professionalism over the last 12 months. He’s been a pleasure to work with, but recent results meant we felt a change was necessary. I wish him well for the future.”
That managerial news this weekend.
Preamble
Sunday, it’s the new Saturday. Get more used to this, especially with next year’s TV deal. Anyway, on with this season, where Chelsea are the team chasing down Liverpool, up against Everton, under new ownership. Talking of which, there’s new management in at Southampton, who go to Fulham and Wolves, who host Leicester. Plus the Manchester United living soap to watch through the fingers as they take on Bournemouth.
So, it all kicks off at 2pm but team news and news to follow soon. Join me.
