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West Ham v Arsenal buildup, Mbappé ruled out of the clásico: matchday live – as it happened | Football
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That’s all from us today. Be sure to join Simon Burnton for the football clockwatch. Here you go!
Celtic have just equalised in the Old Firm derby!
Mikey Moore broke the deadlock in the 10th minute, but Hyun-Jun Yang fired the hosts level at Celtic Park.
Don’t forget, you can follow the action with our minute-by-minute.
Dave Estherby says:
“I think Slot has (just) enough credit in the bank for another season but that really does depend on how Liverpool fare in the summer window. Everything that’s wrong there at the moment stems from the poor decisions made last summer; letting Trent go (and replacing him with another midfielder who can’t defend), trying to eke another year out of ageing legs (van Dijk, Allison, Robertson), allowing Salah to wrap them around his greedy fingers, jury’s still out on Wirtz and then, finally, Isak. Whoever at Newcastle set that one up that must be laughing their heads off, I know the injury was unfortunate but seriously, £125m on the back of one good season? Never.
“Slot was involved in all of these decisions regardless of whether or not you think he inherited Klopp’s team.”
Louise has messaged in with her take on Slot and Liverpool, suggesting the Dutchman deserves more time:
“It’s kind of weird fans are demanding Slot getting fired. They were champions last year. The team is now in a transition period. As if Klopp won a title in his first two seasons. He had to build his team. He came in 8th in his first season. It takes time to build a new team, that does not happen within one season. And its not like your opponents aren’t any good in the PL.
“But. If you don’t want him, we would love to have him back in Holland.”
Suzanne Wrack spoke to Brighton midfielder Fran Kirby ahead of today’s FA Cup semi-final. If you get a moment, be sure to give the interview a read.
Tom Garry
A precious chance to get to Wembley is what’s at stake for Liverpool and Brighton here in St Helens this lunchtime, something neither of their women’s teams have done since the new Wembley was built and something Brighton have never managed in their women’s teams history. It’s now by far and away the biggest game of the season for both teams with little to play for in the league. Brighton arrive in the north west in great form, having beaten Manchester City and drawn with Arsenal in recent games, while Liverpool have picked up their form well since Christmas, so this is a tricky one to call. The sun is shining (although it’s pretty chilly in the shade!) and the Liverpool fans have brought half a dozen huge red, yellow and white flags that are waving pitchside as the team warm up in front of me.
It’s also semi-final day in the Women’s FA Cup. Liverpool take on Brighton in the first of the two games at 12:15pm BST before Chelsea host newly-crowned WSL champions Manchester City later on.
Patrick Crumlish says:
“I think Slot has to go, for the simple fact that he lost the trust of the fanbase in an alarmingly short time. A drop-off from so many players this season suggests they don’t suit Slot’s ideas, and there’s no excuse for being 20 points off the pace. I’d like the decision made early so the new manager has time to get his ideas across to the squad.”
The conversation around Arne Slot’s time at Liverpool continues, and there appears to be more fans that would prefer him to leave – at least, from what I’ve read this morning.
Alas, I believe Mike Gordon of FSG must step in and tell Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards that Arne Slot must be handed his redundancy notice at the end of this season. The simple reason is that if the 202627 season starts badly they will have missed out on trying to get Alonso, Iraola etc.
Ben Barclay has emailed in to say:
“The incredibly tribal environment of Scottish football is experiencing very mixed emotions as this title race draws to a close. Tony Bloom for a knighthood.”
Team news: Celtic v Rangers
Celtic starting line-up: Sinisalo; Johnston, Trusty, Scales, Tierney; McGregor, Engels, Nygren; Yang, Maeda, McCowan
Subs: Doohan, Iheanacho, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tounekti, Sarrachi, Hatate, Murray, Forrest, Ralston
Rangers starting line-up: Butland; Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Rommens; Barron, Chukwuani, Diomande; Moore, Chermiti, Antman
Subs: Kelly, Sterling, Aarons, Meghoma, Aasgard, Gassama, Bajrami, Miovski, Skov Olsen
Kick-off is in just under 30 minutes.
Joshua Keeling has messaged in to say:
“I’m not a Hearts fan, or a Rangers fan, but I’m desperate for Rangers to win today. Like a lot of neutrals I’m really rooting for Hearts. It’s an unbelievable story, let’s hope it gets the ending it deserves.”
Billy Munday is live now for minute-by-minute coverage of Celtic v Rangers. You can join him and follow along by clicking here:
Mbappé out of Real Madrid squad for El Clásico
Kylian Mbappé is out of the Real Madrid squad for tonight’s match against Barcelona. The Frenchman has not been named on the squad list ahead of the clash. Instead, Vinícius Júnior, Gonzalo García, Brahim Díaz and Franco Mastantuono are the chosen forwards.
Mbappé has been recovering from a hamstring injury and trained with his teammates on Friday.
How the Scottish Premiership table looks ahead of the Old Firm derby…
Hearts ensured they will go into their penultimate match of the season with at least a one-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership by drawing with Motherwell in a pulsating match at a packed Fir Park yesterday.
And let’s not forget… It’s also Old Firm derby day! Celtic host Rangers his afternoon as both clubs look to chase down Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts.
Chaos at Prague derby after pitch invasion
The derby between Slavia Prague and Sparta Prague was abandoned on Saturday after hundreds of home fans stormed the pitch in the closing minutes, when Slavia were leading 3-2 at their Fortuna Stadium and seconds away from clinching the Czech league title.
Slavia supporters breached security barriers during stoppage time and flooded the field, with some carrying lit flares and running toward the visiting section. Pyrotechnics were thrown into the stands as players from both teams attempted to leave the pitch.
Czech police intervened to restore order and said they have launched criminal proceedings on suspicion of rioting. Authorities confirmed that Sparta goalkeeper Jakub Surovcik was among those targeted by home fans and was struck by a flare.
The referee later called off the match. Czech media reported that Sparta players feared for their safety and left the stadium shortly afterwards on the team bus under police escort.
Elsewhere in La Liga today
Mallorca v Villarreal
Athletic Club v Valencia
Real Oviedo v Getafe
Sid Lowe
“The vice-captain was taken to hospital for stitches having been laid out by his midfield partner. Another midfielder said he wouldn’t play any more; as if he was going to play anyway. The manager wasn’t asking for much, just that they didn’t swan out there as if wearing tuxedos, and that’s still asking too much. The centre-back hit the left-back. The winger fell out with the last coach. The captain fell out with this coach. And the superstar, already accused of not caring, swanning off to Sardinia, drives out of the training ground, past the cameras and away from the whole sorry mess, laughing his head off. Now here’s Barcelona…”
Barcelona host Real Madrid in another El Clásico this evening. A win – or even a draw – for Hansi Flick’s men will see them win the league title.
Meanwhile, Los Blancos have endured an eventful week…
Fede Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni clashed in training on Thursday, resulting in the Uruguayan being taken to hospital with a head injury. The pair were subsequently fined a record €500,000 each for the incident.
Head coach Álvaro Arbeloa has since defended both players.
Let’s take a step away from the Premier League for a moment and take a look at what is happening elsewhere today…
Liverpool fans, what do you think? Should Arne Slot stay or go this summer?
Arne Slot seems like a genuinely nice guy and, last season, in calming down Klopp’s frenetic heavy metal football just enough, he struck a perfect balance and made the team unstoppable. This season, it’s all gone horribly wrong. Should Liverpool stick or twist? I have no idea. But something needs to change.
It’s a tough one to call between Nottingham Forest and Newcastle today. If the hosts win and West Ham drop points this afternoon, they will be safe. Despite their Europa League defeat to Aston Villa on Thursday, they have maintained good form in the Prem.
Another early start heading to Nottingham. Through a combination of me staying up late to watch the boxing (should’ve been stopped 2-3 rounds before it eventually was) and the cat deciding lie-ins are for losers, I am absolutely shattered.
Hopefully a livener or two at the pub will shake me up but I won’t miss Sunday kick-offs next season. Obviously we’ll still have our fair share but the silver lining after being hammered by Villa on Thursday means no European football next season and hopefully a few more kick-offs at a more civilised time and day.
Onto the match itself – it’s a tough one to call. With us being as good as safe, injuries to key players and the exertion of playing out of our skins recently I think the squad are running on empty. Newcastle themselves haven’t been any great shakes for a while but are coming off the back of a decent result, and with Howe’s future seemingly confirmed, I make them slight favourites. Prediction 2-1 to the away side.
As always, feel free to email in with any thoughts, feelings, predictions, observations and all that jazz. What are your plans for the day? Where will you be watching the football? Supporting West Ham or Arsenal? Let me know!
Jacob Steinberg
“West Ham have been competing with Tottenham this season. The only problem there is that no one had Spurs as relegation candidates. That was an unexpected but welcome bonus for miserable Hammers but even that lifeline is starting to slip away…”
Arne Slot has a big task ahead to get the Anfield faithful back on side.
Feel like Liverpool are not even limping, but walking towards the finish line in a marathon towards the ‘goal’ of Champions League qualification. I’m not a ‘boo-er’ but we are lacking in anything resembling a Liverpool style of performance. There is no identity. Regardless of any mitigating factors, Liverpool being front foot at Anfield should be the baseline and we are fallkng below that. This is the problem we have going into next season. It’s not the personnel.
I have to say, that little West Ham comment at the end of his press conference yesterday did make me laugh…
Pep, like Klopp, is a colourful character, and I suspect his little antics will be missed once he leaves. For all the brilliance of the football, without those interludes, the modern game can too often feel like metronomic rondos, hopeful hoofing, and the heavy beat of data.
And at Craven Cottage, Bournemouth clinched a 1-0 win against Fulham after both teams went down to 10 men.
At the Amex Stadium, Brighton kept their European hopes alive with a 3-0 win over Wolves.
Elsewhere yesterday, Sunderland held Manchester United to a 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light.
Arne Slot’s decision to bring off Rio Ngumoha for Alexander Isak against Chelsea was not well-received by fans, but the head coach insisted that he only did it because the 17-year-old winger had been suffering from cramp.
He explained: “Rio had cramps before then when he went to the floor. Then I had contact with him and he said that was enough, that’s why I took him off. It makes complete sense [the boos] if you take off a player who is playing well and had assisted. It wasn’t my intention to take him off but he is not at the level yet where he can play at 50/60% and make a difference. He wasn’t fit enough to sprint.
“I knew the moment his number went up that would be the reaction but that is not the reason. After the game, I think it [the boos] also makes sense because this club should not be happy with a 1-1 against Chelsea. We always aim for a win and if we don’t win we are disappointed, especially in a season when we have not won as much as people expect. It is frustration building up and that came out probably after half-time. The players and myself feel the same way.”
Arne Slot said he understood the boos that greeted Liverpool’s draw with Chelsea and his decision to substitute Rio Ngumoha but remains “100% convinced” he can win back the Anfield crowd next season.
Ryan Gravenberch, who opened the scoring with his first league goal of 2026, claimed the criticism – some of which was aired during the first half – was unfair. “OK, we didn’t win, but I don’t really think we deserved this,” said Gravenberch of the fans’ reaction. “We need them. Hopefully they wouldn’t do it again in the next two games.”
Slot accepted the criticism after another disappointing result but was adamant he could regain the trust of Liverpool supporters with a new-look team next season. The head coach, asked whether he believed he can get the match-going fans back onside, replied: “Yes I do. Not this season, this season the fans will have their opinion and it will not change. But if we can have the summer that we are planning then I am 100% convinced we will be a different team next season. Different in terms of results and different in how things look. For me, it is really clear what we are lacking this season and we are trying [to fix it].”
Enzo Fernández snatched a point for Chelsea against Liverpool yesterday with a 35th-minute equaliser following an early strike from Ryan Gravenberch. The result left the Blues ninth and Liverpool fourth in the table.
Here is how the Premier League table looks ahead of today’s fixtures…
Mikel Arteta has urged his Arsenal players to build on their Champions League semi-final win against Atlético Madrid and channel energy in right way ahead of the final three Premier League games of the season – starting against West Ham.
The manager said: “I think we’re in a really good moment. You could sense the energy the night after the game. I see every single day, here, I know how much we want it, and those are elements that are very, very positive. I think we have to channel that energy in the right way – it’s very, very powerful. They [the players] feel confident. They are convinced, and they are really looking forward to playing on Sunday. That’s probably the best part of it.”
Pep Guardiola ended his press conference with four words yesterday: “Come on you Irons.”
Arsenal cannot be caught in the title race if they win their last three matches, starting at the London Stadium this afternoon. Conscious of this, City manager Guardiola crossed his arms to mimic the hammers on the West Ham badge before saying the phrase.
Manchester City cruised past Brentford yesterday to pile the pressure on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table. City now sit two points below the league leaders.
Today’s Premier League fixtures
Preamble
Hello, good morning and welcome to another Matchday live! It’s a big day in the Premier League, with one match in particular set to have major repercussions at both ends of the table.
Relegation-threatened West Ham take on title-chasing Arsenal this afternoon, with both teams in need of a win. Anything less than three points for the Hammers could all but seal their fate, with Tottenham one point clear ahead of their meeting with Leeds United tomorrow. As for Arsenal, a victory would maintain their advantage over Manchester City with two games remaining.
Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest host Newcastle, Crystal Palace take on Everton and Burnley face Aston Villa.
It is also a big day in the Scottish Premiership as Celtic take on old rivals Rangers, with both teams looking to catch league leaders Hearts.
And in La Liga, Barcelona could seal the league title in the perfect way – with a win against rivals Real Madrid.
We’ll be looking ahead at all that and more, so join us!
