Key events
Plenty for Lijnders to discuss; he says Jérémy Doku should be fit in two or three weeks, and understands Jack Grealish must be “very disappointed” after a foot injury cut short “an excellent season” on loan at Everton.
Lijnders is “really looking forward” to facing Spurs – “a fluid, high-pressing team, good at set-pieces” – and says City will “support” Ruben Dias “as a club” after the defender’s house was burgled this week.
Regis Le Bris says Granit Xhaka is getting closer to a comeback from injury but is still “two or three weeks” away from starting games. Sunderland face Burnley at the Stadium of Light on Monday.
A different Pep in the Manchester City hot seat today, as assistant Pep Lijnders stepped in for Pep Guardiola. “It is a personal matter, he will arrive back here in Manchester today,” said Lijnders. “The manager is good, as always. Full of ambition and passion.” Guardiola was in Barcelona on Thursday, where he gave a speech supporting Palestinian children at a charity event.
Wolves host Bournemouth tomorrow, and Rob Edwards has confirmed Jørgen Strand Larsen will be in his squad as things stand. “It’s pretty clear, he has trained and will be part of the squad tomorrow,” Edwards said. “That is as much as I can say on it at the moment.” The striker looked set for a move to Palace before the move stalled unexpectedly on Thursday.
Mateta will not be in Palace squad to face Forest
Oliver Glasner has confirmed that Jean-Philippe Mateta will not be part of Crystal Palace’s squad for Sunday’s trip to Nottingham Forest. The striker is subject of a bid from Forest, and has also attracted interest from Aston Villa, Milan and Juventus.
Here’s Marco Silva on signing Oscar Bobb: “I’m very pleased, because I think it’s a very good move for us. Oscar was one of our targets, a clear replacement for Adama [Traoré]. He has great qualities, he’s coming here to have game time and give us options in attacking positions. He’s a very, very talented young player, he’s going to the World Cup and he can help us this season.”
Carrick brushes off a fairly speculative question about Bruno Fernandes and a possible move this summer. “That’s not really on my agenda. I’m just focusing on playing Fulham on Sunday, but there are no issues at all with Bruno.” He sees facing Fulham as home as “a great challenge – taking anything out of granted is bang out of order, really.”
Michael Carrick is concise on Manchester United’s possible transfer plans. “Never say never,” says the interim manager on January moves, while playing down speculation that Joshua Zirkzee might return to Serie A before the window closes.
Forest await Palace’s answer to Mateta offer
Ben Fisher
Sean Dyche has admitted Nottingham Forest adding Premier League experience before Monday’s transfer deadline would be “helpful”, as they await an answer from Crystal Palace regarding their bid for Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Forest are thought to have made a renewed bid for the wantaway Palace striker, who also has serious interest from Serie A sides Milan and Juventus, closer to the London club’s valuation of £40m.
Asked about the value of signing players with experience of the league, Dyche said: “If you can, that’s helpful, because I’ve got a lot of young players in there [in the squad], not necessarily young in age but in their learning about the Premier League.
“If you can bring experienced players into your group to strengthen it in terms of your understanding of the league, then of course that helps. But it’s not easy in January. Not many Premier League teams want to lose their own players, that’s for sure.”
Forest saw a £20m bid for Brighton midfielder Yasin Ayari rejected this week, while they saw an inquiry for the Seagulls’s longstanding captain Lewis Dunk dismissed. They are also pursuing a deal for the Wolves goalkeeper José Sa.
Dyche laughed off talk of a growing rivalry between Forest and Palace, as the teams prepare to reunite on Sunday at the City Ground. “I’ve never heard about it, I don’t know where that’s come from, apart from the obvious … wrangles over Europe,” Dyche said.
“I don’t think it’s a derby game, that’s for sure,” he added, with a smile. “That’s nothing to do with me. I’ve got good people I know at Palace, a good club, well run, and they had brilliant success last season. They’re in a tough period at the moment but that happens, football’s not easy.”
Thanks, Dominic. Busy is the word – right now, six Premier League managers are settling in for their pre-game press conferences. Carrick, Frank, Rosenior. Glasner. Silva. Le Bris. But let’s start with a bit of Forest news …
And with that I shall hand the reins to Niall McVeigh to steer you through the afternoon.
It’s a busy one, Niall!
Bayern Munich have announced that Leon Goretzka will be leaving the club in the summer after eight seasons.
The German midfielder is still only 30 and has been linked with a move away this month. But it now seems he will stay until the summer before a mutual parting of ways.
Taking to Instagram, Goretzka said: “The last few days have been more turbulent than expected. At the same time, they’ve brought clarity: As much as I’m honoured by the interest from top international clubs, I’ve made a clear decision that I want to stay with Bayern until the end of the season, with a team that’s incredibly fun to be around, both on and off the pitch, and a coach who has moulded our squad back into a true unit. I feel a deep commitment to this team and the club.
“At the same time the club and I have decided, after good and constructive discussions, that our successful time together will come to an end this summer. It’s the right time for me to start a new chapter: as a footballer and as a person. But there’s still a lot to do before then.
“Let’s all give it our all to achieve maximum success this season and at the World Cup with the national team! I’m looking forward to it!”
About that Tottenham versus Manchester City game… rivals fans joke about ‘Dr Tottenham’ – and my word West Ham certainly benefitted from that effect a couple of weeks ago, a win away at Spurs jumpstarting the Hammers back into form. But if Spurs could choose anyone to play to snap out of their own struggles, weirdly it may actually be Man City.
They have won three of their last four games against Pep Guardiola’s side and eight of the last 15 dating back to 2020.
Considering Spurs have never finished ahead of City in the league during that run, and it coming during City’s four successive titles, it is quite remarkable.
The only fly in the ointment for Tottenham fans on Sunday would be how a victory would/could give Arsenal a boost in the title race. Yes, we are back there.
Pep Guardiola is missing miss Manchester City’s press conference today for “personal reasons” with assistant boss Pep Lijnders to take his place. Lijnders will be asked about Sunday’s clash away at Tottenham.
Everton expect to lose Grealish for rest of the season
Bad news for Everton. David Moyes says he expects Jack Grealish to require surgery on a fractured foot, ruling him out for the remainder of the season.
That would surely vanquish Grealish’s lingering hopes of making England’s World Cup squad and effectively bring his loan spell with the Toffees to a close. A final decision will be taken in conjunction with the 30-year-old’s parent club, Manchester City.
“We believe he’s probably going to need surgery but that’s still not absolutely confirmed, but it probably rules him out for the rest of the season,” said Moyes. “It’s really disappointing for the player, the club, for all of us here. He’s such an important part and he’s a big character with big experience for us and we’ll miss him, he’s done a lot of really good things for us.”
Read more here.
Arteta compares Dowman to young Lionel Messi
Mikel Arteta has likened Max Dowman to a young Lionel Messi after the teenager committed his future to Arsenal.
Dowman, now 16, in November became the youngest player to play in the Champions League at 15 years and 308 days. He has signed a pre-agreement for his first professional contract when he turns 17 in December.
“Certainly one of the best,” said Arteta of the youngster. “What he’s done with us at the age of 15, me personally, I haven’t seen it before. Only with a guy that used to play in Barcelona but maybe not even that. He has a certain charisma as well and personality that he doesn’t get overwhelmed, whether it’s by the situation or the stadium or the opposition, and that’s a huge quality to have. Now it’s down to him and us to build an amazing career with him.”
No pressure, Max.
Manchester City are marching towards the WSL title – seemingly. Putting an end to Chelsea’s sheer dominance of that league is/would be a mighty feat for anyone, so how is Andrée Jeglertz managing it?
(They are nine points clear with nine games to go).
Thanks John. What do you make of those draws, then? Benfica meeting Real Madrid again is quite delicious isn’t it? José Mourinho will be smelling another shock.
And in the Europa League, Fenerbahce v Nottingham Forest should be really tasty.
And with that, for reaction to that Bobb move, and more, here’s Dom Booth.
Fulham sign Oscar Bobb from Manchester City
The Norwegian winger is reported to have signed for a fee of £27m, and Marco Silva seems to have charmed him into the move.
A club statement reads: “The club is delighted to confirm the signing of Oscar Bobb from Manchester City for an undisclosed fee.
A Premier League champion, Bobb has agreed a five-and-a-half-year deal, keeping him at Fulham until the summer of 2031. He will wear the number 14 shirt.
The 22-year-old said: “It feels great to be here. I had a great day meeting everyone and I’m very excited. “I’ve always known Fulham to be a good club, with good players and a great stadium. I spoke to Sander, my good friend, and I spoke to the manager, and he explained what the system’s like, and how the lads are, and how the club is.
“He seemed lovely, so it was an easy decision basically.”
A note on Newcastle’s schedule. Eddie Howe’s men will travel to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag on 17-18 February. They are due to play Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, 21 February at 12:30 pm. There’s a reason they are calling it the “punishment round”.
So, Forest will get an earlier look at Istanbul than the final, and Celtic have a trip to Germany.
The draw for the round of 16 will be held on 27 February 2026.
Europa League play-off ties
We now run through the unseeded clubs being allocated to silver and orange, the latter being the colour of the Europa League. Blue for the Champions League, of course.
Mick McCann gets in touch: “Amazing, before Wednesday night Benfica hadn’t played Real since 1965 and now another 2 matches straight away! Talk about waiting for a bus.”
Uefa are running through their procedures, silver and blue sides and all that.
Guest of honour is Ilhan Mansiz, Turkey’s World Cup star in 2002. “As a player you dream of those European nights.” Istanbul will host the Europa League final at Besiktas’s ground.
Here’s Pedro Pinto again, and soon enough here’s Giorgio Marchetti, the true master of ceremonies. He offers condolences to those associated with PAOK, who lost seven fans in a road crash in Romania.
The Europa League play-off format is similar to the Champions League, and here’s the teams competing:
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9th: Genk
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10th: Bologna
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11th: Stuttgart
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12th: Ferencvaros
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13th: Nottingham Forest
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14th: Plzen
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15th: Crvena Zvezda
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16th: Celta Vigo
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17th: PAOK
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18th: Lille
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19th: Fenerbache
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20th: Panathinaikos
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21st: Celtic
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22nd: Ludogorets
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23rd: Dinamo Zagreb
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24th: Brann Bergen
And we now go live – in five minutes – to the Europa League draw. More pathways to come…
Charles Antaki gets in touch: “Your correspondent Kári Tulinius will start to panic if Leeds beat Arsenal tomorrow. Oh Kári! The appropriate reaction will be wailing despair, inconsolable misery and the certainty of the entire season collapsing, with only the threat of relegation averted. Well, that will be my reaction anyway; I strongly suspect that he is a more sensible person, and a bit of panic is the more mature response, tempered with, as he says, the reassuring acknowledgement that Arsenal are, in fact, top of the Premier League. Of course, they might actually win.”
Reminder: the draw for the round of 16 will be held on 27 February 2026. The first legs will be played on 10 and 11 March, and the second legs will be played on 17 and 18 March 2026.
Jose Mourinho could line himself up for a prodigal return to the Bernabeu. As coach, if Benfica manage to pull off a two-leg tie win.
The games will be played over the midweeks of 17-18 and 24-25 February.
There’s two types of pathway in that draw, silver and blue.
Silver pathway
Blue pathway
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Qarabag v Newcastle United
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Club Brugge v Atletico Madrid
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Bodo/Glimt v Inter Milan
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Olympiakos v Bayer Leverkusen
So, a reunion of Benfica and Real Madrid, so soon after Anatoly Turbin winner. Newcastle face that long trip to Qarabag but will be happy with that draw.
Champions League playoff draw
Here come the actual pairings:
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Borussia Dortmund v Atalanta
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Olympiakos v Bayer Leverkusen
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Galatasaray v Juventus
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Club Brugge v Atletico Madrid
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Monaco v PSG
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Qarabag v Newcastle
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Benfica v Real Madrid
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Bodo/Glimt v Inter
Here we go in Nyon….and first out are Benfica and Bodo/Glimt, but only for the pathways…
How it works
Seeded teams first, unseeded teams second
Seeded teams are split into four pairs based on league rank and the unseeded teams are also clustered into four pairs based on league rank.
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Real Madrid (9) or Inter (10) v Bodo/Glimt (23) or Benfica (24)
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PSG (11) or Newcastle United (12) v Monaco (21) or Qarabag (22)
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Juventus (13) or Atletico Madrid (14) v Club Brugge (19) or Galatasaray (20)
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Atalanta (15) or Bayer Leverkusen (16) v Borussia Dortmund (17) or Olympiacos (18)
The draw that will determine the last 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will take place on 27 February.
The guest of honour, David Guetta acolyte and Arsenal legend, Robert Pires, looking as dapper as ever. “I like the new format,” he says dutifully. “It feels fresh…it was a perfect ending.”
On Arsenal: “They scored 23 goals and only concede four and this is a great performance from Arteta and the players.”
“Rolling the dice is very important but you need to stay consistent.”
Marchetti, ever the hype man, is wishing the 16 participants the best. He’s looking to “complete the jigsaw puzzle” of the Champions League season.
Good morning from just beyond Greater Manchester. I’m currently watching the Champions League preamble, and here’s Pedro Pinto, and Giorgio Marchetti, the Henry Kelly of the Uefa draw.
As is now Friday football blog lore I am now duty-bound to hand over to my south Manchester bretherin, John Brewin. All yours, JB.
“Unlike a lot of my fellow Arsenal fans, I’m still feeling relatively confident,” emails a bullish Kári Tulinius. “In recent seasons, the Gunners have wobbled, but then they’ve steadied the ship. However, in the past they’ve come out of the wobble lagging behind in the title race. They can lose against Leeds and still be on top. Meanwhile, City and Villa have been even more fallible. Mind you, if Leeds win, I’ll probably start panicking, but at least it’ll be from the top of the league.”
Grimsby Town are currently advertising for a new Mighty Mariner mascot. I expect a flood of applications. Because… why wouldn’t you want to look like this while standing on a cold Cleethorpes pitch?
Howe says Newcastle still adjusting without Isak
Given Newcastle are going to Anfield tomorrow there is an inevitable question for Howe about Alexander Isak. The Swede won’t feature against his former club for Liverpool this weekend, of course, as he’s out long-term with a fractured fibula and ankle ligament damage.
Howe says Newcastle have taken a while to adjust after the £125m British record sale of the striker.
“It’s an ever-challenging thing,” he said. “You lose a player like Alex and – let’s put this right – Liverpool paid the money they did because he’s an outstanding footballer, an unbelievable talent. We were privileged to have him for the years that we had him. We loved working with him. He was an outstanding player.
“When you take that player away from your team, it’s going to change the dynamics, that’s for sure. Then you have to try to find a way of, not replacing him, but finding a player or players who can still make the team really effective.
“We’re still in that moment and we’ve been trying to do that all season. I think the guys who have come in have done a very good job. But we’re still finding ways to get the best out of the new players that we’ve signed with very minimal time to do any work with them. There’s been video analysis, talking to them, which is great, but it’s not the same as getting the work on the training pitch. They’ve done really well and they’re trying to give the team the best that they have. We are trying to adapt.”
Eddie Howe wants a short trip to whoever Newcastle get in the Champions League playoff draw – that’s coming up soon, by the way. “Monaco possibly makes sense,” he says before adding: “but whoever we get it will be a great moment for us. We head with real positivity and I am excited to see who we get.”
Monaco or Qarabag are the only possible opponents for the Magpies.
“Hi Dominic. How delightful to see my beloved Gas mentioned in (almost)
the same breath as the Champions League,” says Bristol Rovers fan Richard Woods on email.
“However, that’s as close as it gets. Our form has been beyond awful since September ended, with just one win in the last 17 including a club record eight home losses in a row leading into tomorrow’s game. It doesn’t inspire confidence for a match against a Newport team that has been doing (relatively) well recently, and my fingernails are already bitten to the bone while I contemplate what tomorrow might hold. We did beat Newport away in September, but playing well and scoring goals feels like ancient history.
“Anyway, slim Steve Evans has done a lot of work in the transfer market already this month and there is expected to be more happening in the next two days, and we weren’t absolutely dreadful against MK Dons on Tuesday. These are causes for hope, right? Right?”
Hope springs eternal, Richard.
Brighton defender Diego Coppola has joined Paris FC on loan for the rest of the season.
Fabian Hürzeler said on the 22-year-old, who arrived from Hellas Verona last summer: “We definitely saw him more for the future. He had an incredible start for the club, he has an unbelievable attitude. Now it’s about improving small details regarding his game in possession. I’m definitely looking forward to working with him here, because he has big potential and can be a big player for us in the future.”
In the meantime please enjoy this lovely piece from Nick Ames on a great time for Polish football.
The Polish league is in its best shape for at least 30 years, according to Nick, with three clubs qualified for the Conference League knockout phase.
Mikel Arteta and Eddie Howe will be speaking soon. Two titans of management speak.
This was interesting from Slot. He was asked why Premier League teams are becoming so dominant in Europe, with Liverpool particularly impressive in the Champions League this season especially compared to many of their domestic showings. See also: Spurs.
“The Premier League has become a bit more of an ‘in the box’ game, while in the Champions League there is more play in between both boxes. That is my take on it.”
Could Liverpool make a late move in the January window? Arne Slot has teased us a tad …
He said: “If we have addressed a player we think can help us and the figure is possible then we will do so – those are conversations that take place not far away from here, but not in this room.”
Arne Slot has held his Liverpool press conference bright and early.
He’s revealed that Jeremie Frimpong is “out for a few weeks but not as bad as we thought” after picking up and injury against Qarabag on Wednesday. Ibrahima Konaté returns after being granted compassionate leave following the death of his father, while Curtis Jones is available after sickness. Joe Gomez is still out.
Liverpool are just three points ahead of their Saturday opponents, Newcastle, and one point off fifth-placed Chelsea. So it’s another crucial game for their hopes of Champions League qualification.
Tom Garry
Marc Skinner has said Manchester United are unlikely to sign any more players in this transfer window, as Tuesday’s WSL deadline day approaches, and that the club are pleased with the early business they did this winter.
United added Hanna Lundkvist, Lea Schüller and Ellen Wangerheim, while Geyse and Rachel Williams left and the full-back Hannah Blundell was among those to go on loan.
“Right now, there’s nobody that’s imminent,” the head coach said before Sunday’s meeting with Liverpool. “I’m really happy with the work that we’ve done as a collective, in this window, but we’re still working towards summer targets as well.
“Unless there’s a miracle, probably not [any more signings in this window], at this moment. We’ll wait and see, but right now we’re in a space where nobody is imminently coming in.
“We’ve prepped and we’ve done our work early [and] you can already see them coming up to speed.”
Forgive me for picking out my own passage in the Rumour Mill. This, on clubs’ summer plans, I found extraordinary. We’ll wait to see if any of it comes to pass.
Plenty of clubs have seemingly given up the ghost on the notoriously tricky January window and are already plotting their summer swoops. In totally-feasible transfer news, Chelsea want Jude Bellingham, Arsenal and Liverpool are chasing Eduardo Camavinga and Real Madrid, in this scenario having been gutted and stripped of their best assets, are targeting … Diogo Dalot.
The Rumour Mill is certainly spinning. And how on earth did Raheem Sterling – who hasn’t kicked a competitive football in eight months – find himself at the centre of the speculation?
Crystal Palace’s proposed move for Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen is reportedly on the rocks after the Eagles signalled their intention to walk away from a £50m deal.
It is claimed Wolves expected a formal offer to arrive on Thursday but that’s not been forthcoming, and Palace are apparently ready to pull out.
Jean-Philippe Mateta might be a little unhappy to hear this news, as Palace would surely veto his exit if they cannot seal a deal for the Norwegian striker.
Just another regular day in the Premier League transfer circus.
Let’s kick off with 10 things to look out for in the Premier League this weekend.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to our Friday football news blog – the place you can join us to count down to the weekend’s action. As well as bringing you the latest from today’s Premier League press conferences and previewing the games, we’ll also be all over the Champions League and Europa League knockout phase play-off draws, which take place in Switzerland from 11am GMT (but most likely a bit later knowing Uefa draws).
Leeds v Arsenal, Liverpool v Newcastle and Tottenham v Manchester City are probably the standout games in the English top flight this weekend, but there’s a lot to play for down the EFL and across Europe, as always. Take Bristol Rovers v Newport County for example: a Severnside derby between two fourth tier clubs scrapping for their lives at the basement of the Football League.
From the glitz and glamour of European knockout draws to the muck and nettles of League Two, consider us your one-stop-shop for all things weekend football buildup. Oh, and there will be a whole heap of transfer news as that January deadline looms large – expect a few deals to get done today. So get your emails in, grab a coffee and stay tuned.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/jan/30/transfer-news-champions-league-and-europa-league-playoffs-draw-football-live
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