Key events
Nottingham Forest v Arsenal (4.30pm)
Arsenal demolished Lille 3-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday, but Mikel Arteta’s side have little wriggle room to surrender points if they are to keep pace in the title race. The Gunners sit second on 15 points and visit Forest knowing any slip could allow Manchester City to open a significant early gap. Forest stand 15th with five points and have a frightful home record. Their last league win at the City Ground came in April, a 4-1 defeat of relegated Burnley. Daniel Harris helms the blog, while David Hytner and Jonathan Wilson watch on at the City Ground.
John Brewin
WSL: Arsenal 1-1 Birmingham
An equaliser from Olivia Smith averted defeat for Arsenal, but a home draw with Birmingham did little to calm fears for Renée Slegers’s future as Gunners coach. Boos accompanied the final whistle at the Emirates Stadium, as the result left Arsenal on six points from six matches and without a win in five Women’s Super League matches, the club’s longest winless run in WSL history. They are eighth in the table, nine points behind the leaders, Manchester City, who have played one game fewer.
Birmingham opened the scoring at the start of the second half when Océane Hurtré coolly tapped in after her run from the halfway line went unchecked. Alessia Russo had hit the woodwork in the first half with a diving header, among a slew of Arsenal chances as Sophie Baggaley was kept the busier of the goalkeepers.
Jonathan Wilson
The sun shone. The temperature was in the high 20s. There was a mood of great conviviality. If you were struggling with the official allocation, it turned out you could just email the president of Torreense and he’d sort you out. Were these “Nuno-tickets” real? It turned out they were. Not only that, but you could sit anywhere you wanted in a stadium too big for the game and, if you happened to have gravitated to the comfortable hospitality seating at the back of the lower tier, the beer was inexplicably free.
Locals in Leiria seemed bewildered but could hardly have been more accommodating. A beer pump had been installed outside a patisserie on the Praça Francisco Rodrigues Lobo, whose owner soon found fans happy to help stack empty barrels if that facilitated the free flow of Sagres. “There was a meeting at the town hall to explain these are not hooligans,” said the owner of a radical leftist flammkuchen restaurant between the square and the cathedral. “They told us the club comes from the labour movement and I found that very interesting.” And how had she found the fans? “Noisy, but with a quirky sense of humour.”
This was everything Sunderland fans could have wished for from their first European away game in 53 years and more. They had seen other fans experience these things, and now they could tick off the checklist: complicated travel to a pretty foreign town they would otherwise never visit, a fussy Albanian referee and a great sense of togetherness and community. There was even an injury-time winner from, miracle of miracles, Noah Sadiki.
Ask any of the 5,000 or so Wearsiders who made the trip to Portugal if the Europa League was worth it and the answer would be unanimous. Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Brighton fans would surely say something similar: European football, especially for clubs who are unfamiliar with it, is a joy and an adventure. It generates experiences that will be remembered for ever, and if the cost is that the risk of relegation goes up, that’s a price worth paying. Others at those clubs may see things differently.
Premier League match reports
Chelsea v Tottenham (12pm)
Spurs’ bright start to the campaign ended before the international break thanks to a 6-1 drubbing by London City Lionesses. By contrast, their London rivals are on a roll under Sonia Bompastor, unbeaten in 13 WSL games and with four wins on the spin. Six consecutive clean sheets in all competitions – their longest such run since December 2021 – underline the Blues’ glowing form. Taha Hashim is on the blog, with Suzanne Wrack reporting from Stamford Bridge.
Martinez thanks well-wishers after surgery
Chelsea goalkeeper Emi Martinez has undergone surgery after suffering a nasty head injury against Everton.
Martinez did not specify the nature of the surgery but posted a message on social media this morning.
“Thanks to everyone for the messages,” said Martinez, wearing a hospital gown. “The operation went well. The most important thing is that we won, and kept a clean sheet. In a few weeks we’ll be back.”
Leeds v Man Utd (2pm)
Plenty of eyes will be on Elland Road, where under pressure Manchester United face their old friends Leeds United. Here’s what Michael Carrick had to say about Lisandro Martinez and all that.
He’s released his statement, he’s realised he’s made a mistake and that’s enough for all of us to move on with.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to our regular Sunday service. Over the next few hours we’ll have news, reaction from yesterday’s games and previews of a busy day. There are four Premier League games, these ones to be precise.
-
Bournemouth v Sunderland (2pm)
-
Brighton v Crystal Palace (2pm)
-
Leeds v Man Utd (2pm)
-
Nottm Forest v Arsenal (4.30pm)
There’s also a repeat of last season’s title decider in Scotland, where Celtic host Hearts (3pm), and six matches in the WSL:
-
Chelsea v Tottenham (12pm)
-
Crystal Palace v West Ham (12pm)
-
Aston Villa v Liverpool (2pm)
-
Charlton v Man Utd (2pm)
-
London City Lionesses v Everton (2pm)
-
Manchester City v Brighton (2.30pm)
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/oct/18/manchester-united-feeling-the-heat-as-they-travel-to-leeds-matchday-live
About the Author
