Amorim faces crunch clash, Premier League buildup and more - matchday live

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It’s worth looking at the big fixtures away from the Premier League today. Manchester City v Arsenal at midday (BST) takes centre stage in the WSL; neither side has been at their best since the season started and that looks a tough game to call. Hearts v Hibernian is always big in Scotland but today’s Edinburgh derby (5.45pm) takes on even greater significance given that Hearts are top of the Scottish Premiership. Celtic don’t play until tomorrow.

In Spain, Real Madrid host Villarreal at 8pm with early season pacesetters Barcelona facing Sevilla tomorrow. Borussia Dortmund v RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt v Bayern Munich are important contests in the Bundesliga. Serie A’s main event comes tomorrow evening with the giant clash between Juventus and AC Milan at one of European football’s many Allianz Stadiums.

Hearts fans, get in touch: you could see your side go five points clear at the top with victory today!

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An early email has landed in my inbox via Krishnamoorthy:

“Good morning Dominic. Has his excellency Pope Leo spoken to Amorim? Do we expect a decent fight or another shoddy performance?

“That makes me wonder – who will go first Ange or Ruben?”

I would have thought Postecoglou will get some time to bed in his ideas at Forest, whereas defeat to Sunderland today could spell serious trouble for Amorim.

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Last night wasn’t just about Antoine Semenyo scoring twice to boost everyone’s FPL teams (except my own). The ‘Hollywood derby’ in the Championship finished 1-1 between Wrexham and Birmingham while in-form Manchester United disrupted Chelsea’s 100% start to the Women’s Super League season as they drew 1-1 at Leigh. Marc Skinner’s side are now just two points off the WSL summit having begun the campaign strongly.

Fulham will be wondering what on earth happened to them at the Vitality Stadium last night, mind you. When Ryan Sessegnon fired them into the lead 20 minutes from time, Marco Silva’s side were in pole position, only to be undone by a late Cherries siege, which included Semenyo’s double and a Justin Kluivert scorcher from 25 yards.

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Mateta on 'dream' France callup at 28

Ed Aarons

Jean-Philippe Mateta has described his first call-up to the senior France squad as “a dream come true” after the Crystal Palace striker was selected by Didier Deschamps for the World Cup qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Iceland.

The 28-year-old was one of France’s overage players at last year’s Olympics and scored five goals as Thierry Henry’s side won a silver medal. Mateta, who played the first half of Palace’s win over Dynamo Kyiv on Thursday night in Poland, has also represented Les Bleus at various youth levels.

He revealed that he had watched the squad announcement with his compatriot Maxence Lacroix’s in his hotel room in Lublin after the Palace defender had a feeling that the former Lyon and Mainz striker’s time had come.

“I feel very, very happy; it’s like a dream come true,” said Mateta. “I hope I will stay a long time with this team and help them to win. I saw it on TV. Maxence said: ‘Today they will call you.’ He came to my room and we watched together the list. Didier Deschamps was talking and he said my name. He always told me to work hard and you will get your call. I kept working hard and I got my call.”

Asked whether experiencing international football could help his form at Palace, he said: “If I play, I hope I will help the team there to win. Of course, I will come back with confidence. I always have confidence. I think it will bring me more confidence.”

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Preamble

Good morning all! The Premier League grind never stops and Bournemouth’s stylish win over Fulham last night got another weekend off to a riproaring start. Antoine Semenyo, eh … what a player.

Anyway, we’re building up to Saturday’s action, as usual, on Matchday Live, the countdown/news/interactive football blog where we encourage you to get in touch with your thoughts, comments, predictions and whatever else you have planned for this footballing Saturday.

In terms of live action, Leeds v Tottenham is the early top flight offering, plus four games in the Championship, while Arsenal v West Ham and Manchester United v Sunderland are the 3pm games. Can Nuno Espírito Santo kickstart the Hammers at the Emirates? And will there be more trouble for Ruben Amorim against the high-flying Black Cats? The evening game of Chelsea v Liverpool should be just as intriguing, with Arne Slot hoping to avoid a third successive defeat and Enzo Maresca looking to avoid a third successive Premier League defeat. So there’s form.

With our writers dropping in bits of colour from across the country and continent, there’s plenty to stay tuned for. Let’s get going …

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