LIONEL MESSI looks set to miss a number of PSG games after suffering a foot injury.
The Argentina star, who has had a tough start to life in Paris, will miss the trip to Metz but could also be unavailable for their Champions League clash with Manchester City.
Derby County have entered administration and have been deducted 12 points by the English Football League.
But transfer news still rolls on with Arsenal set to make a bid for Noa Lang.
Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso will no longer take the knee before games, with the Spaniard preferring to point to the No Room for Racism badge on his sleeve.
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)
Stay up to date with all the latest from around the clubs with our live blog…
QAT’S IN THE BAG
James Rodriguez has sealed his move from Everton to Qatari club Al Rayyan.
The Colombia international has left the club without playing any games under Rafa Benitez.
It is reported Rodriguez has joined Al Rayyan for an undisclosed fee.
STAND TOGETHER
Premier League and Championship clubs could be set to reintroduce standing areas for fans in 2022.
From January 1 Clubs in the top two tiers will be allowed to apply to set up licensed areas for supporters to stand in.
And Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man United and Tottenham are among the clubs who have prepared their stadiums for safe standing zones.
Chelsea have brought back rail seating for fans NOU CAMP BLUES
Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman used his weekly press conference to read out a pre-prepared statement before leaving without answering questions.
The Nou Camp chief has come under pressure with the club currently sitting eighth in LaLiga after two draws and two wins.
In his statement, the Dutchman said: “The club is with me in what is a process of reconstruction.
“The financial situation of the club is linked to the sporting performance of the team.
“That means that we have to rebuild the team without big money to spend and we need time.
“The young talents can be big starts in a couple of years and the good thing about rebuilding the team is that the young players will get their chance just as Xavi and (Andreas) Iniesta had theirs in their day. But patience is necessary.”
UP FOR THE CUP
Did you know, Arsenal have only failed to go beyond the third round of the League Cup in one of the last 18 seasons, losing 2-1 at home to Southampton in 2014-15.
Mikel Arteta will want be eager to avoid another unwanted record next to his name tonight.
LAST TIME OUT IN THE CUP
Wolves and Tottenham last faced in the League Cup in the 1971-72 semi-final, with Spurs winning 4-3 on aggregate before beating Norwich in the final that year.
And in more recent history Spurs have won eight of their last 11 away games against Wolves in all competitions (D2 L1).
They have also already won at Molineux this season, 1-0 in August in the Premier League.
YOU SHER?
Ex-Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood thinks Cristiano Ronaldo could be Manchester United boss within 18 MONTHS.
He told Ladbrokes: “That boy [Ronaldo] will be a manager 100 per cent. I would have a bet on him being Manchester United manager in 18 months.
“Whenever Ronaldo finishes playing I think he will become a manager, it will be an automatic choice.
“If they win the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, any of those trophies, then Solskjaer keeps his job.
“But if they don’t win anything I think they’ve got a manager there in the making.”
DERBY LATEST
EFL Chief Executive Trevor Birch has also spoken on the situation at Pride Park.
He said: “I appreciate that this is a challenging and concerning period for everyone associated with the Club, particularly the staff and supporters, and it is our intention to work proactively with the Administrators and all relevant parties with the objective of securing a long-term and viable future for Derby County.
“We will endeavour to provide timely and relevant updates as appropriate and as and when events unfold over the coming weeks.”
EFL STATEMENT
The EFL have also released a statement after it was confirmed that Derby County have entered administration.
It read: “The EFL can today confirm that, in accordance with EFL Regulations, a 12-point deduction has been immediately applied to Derby County Football Club’s 2021/22 season total.
“This follows the lodging of the Notices of Intention to Appoint Administrators on Friday evening, and the subsequent announcement that the process of appointment was completed earlier today.
“The League has already held initial constructive discussions with the Administrators and will remain in regular dialogue with them as they seek to find the appropriate solutions required to assist the Club as it navigates its way out of insolvency.
“In addition, the League will today be contacting representatives of Rams Trust (the Derby County Official Supporters Trust), DCMS, MPs from the Derby area and other relevant stakeholders inviting them to meet the League to discuss the Club’s position now that Administrators have been appointed.”
FEELING BLUE
John Stones AND Aymeric Laporte are set to miss the two weeks through injury, according to The Telegraph.
It means both defenders will miss three games in what is a hectic period of action for Pep Guardiola’s side.
And the next three games don’t come much bigger.
First up is a trip to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea on Saturday.
After that Guardiola and Co make the short trip across the English channel for a mouthwatering clash against PSG.
And then it’s yet another away game, and the destination for that one? Anfield.
SAFE STANDING
Safe standing is set to be trialled in the Premier League and the Championship.
The Sports Grounds Safety Authority will run pilot trials at clubs from January 1, 2022.
It means fans will be legally permitted to stand for entire matches for the first time in over a quarter of a century.
Getty Images DERBY ADMINISTRATION
The Rams enter administration with the club currently 12th in the Championship.
But Wayne Rooney’s side suffered the blow of a 12-point deduction on Friday, which could be doubled if the EFL hit them with another penalty after their long-running dispute over the club’s financial irregularities.
The two-time Division One and one-time FA Cup winners now face a fight not just to stay in the Championship, but also for survival.
DARK DAY FOR DERBY
Some breaking news to report – Derby County have entered administration, it has been confirmed.
Andrew Hosking, Quantuma managing director and joint administrator, said: “I can confirm that Andrew Andronikou, Carl Jackson and I were appointed joint administrators of Derby County Football Club today.
“Covid-19 has had a significant impact on the finances of the club and its long-term ability to continue in its current form.
“We recognise that with the commencement of the 2021/22 season last month, this news will be of concern to stakeholders and fans, in addition to the city of Derby and the wider football community.
“We are in the early stages of assessing the options available to the club and would invite any interested parties to come forward.
“Our immediate objectives are to ensure the club completes all its fixtures in the Championship this season and finding interested parties to safeguard the club and its employees.”
MORE FROM KOEMAN
Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has revealed he does not have any plans to quit Camp Nou.
Via Fabrizio Romano, Koeman said: “The only way I will quit Barca is when my messages don’t arrive at the players anymore.
“That’s when I will say: ‘Okay, I am done here’. But this is not the case. Every day that I am on the pitch with my players is a nice day.”
RED ALERT
Arsenal fans will be biting their nails ahead of the North London Derby after it was confirmed Craig Pawson would take charge.
The ref is viewed dubiously by the Gunners faithful after controversially sending off two of their men in last season’s defeat by Wolves.
Pawson was in charge for Arsenal’s trip to Molineux back in February in which he showed red cards to David Luiz and Bernd Leno.
It was the treatment of Luiz that most irked Arsenal fans after the defender was sent off for a seemingly accidental trip on Wolves’ Willian Jose.
The red was later revealed to have been justified but at the time appeared harsh on Luiz.
Then-skipper Hector Bellerin also vented his frustration on social media afterwards, tweeting a cryptic image of Pawson fist-bumping with Wolves captain Conor Coady.
Keeper Leno was also shown red in the frantic fixture for a bizarre handball yards outside his box.
Getty Images GOT TO KOE
Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman read a defiant statement at a pre-match press conference on Wednesday and then left the ROOM.
The under-fire boss refused to take questions from the media and insists the fans need to have some ‘patience’ as the club is ‘rebuilding’.
Speaking before Barcelona’s LaLiga match against Cadiz on Thursday, Koeman said: “The club is with me as a coach in a rebuilding situation.
“The financial situation of the club is linked to sports performances and vice versa.
“That means that we, as a squad, have to rebuild the football team without being able to make large financial investments. That takes time.
“Today’s young talents can become the new world stars in a couple of years.
“The good thing about rebuilding the team is that young players will have opportunities like Xavi and Iniesta had in their day. But patience is required.”
RON TOP
Manchester United icon Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest-paid footballer on the planet, according to Forbes.
The Portuguese, 36, is expected to earn more than Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi, 34, during the 2021-22 campaign.
The American business magazine claims Ronaldo will earn £92MILLION this season – £51.3m coming from his eye-watering Man Utd salary.
The forward completed a return to Old Trafford on deadline day and the rest of his staggering earnings will come from lucrative endorsements.
These include huge deals with Nike, Tag Heuer and his own CR7 brand, which spans clothing, accessories and hotels.
‘THERE IS NOTHING’
Former Premier Leagye manager and current Belgium boss has been quick to dismiss rumours linking him with the Barcelona hot-seat.
Ronald Koeman is reported to be on borrow time at Camp Nou, but Martinez is not giving anything away.
He told Eurosport: “As you can imagine, there is nothing, really nothing, to comment on from my side.
“Of course, there are always rumours; they are always there. That’s normal in football.
“When you lose three games, the rumours say you’re going to lose your job.
“When things are going well when you have good results, there are also rumours. But there is nothing to comment on me at this moment.”
NUNO TO TAKE THE KNEE
Nuno Espirito Santo has vowed to continue taking the knee, SunSport’s Paul Jiggins reports.
Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso wants to stop the pre-match ritual against discrimination because he feels it has lost impact.
But Tottenham boss Nuno insists he will still do it.
He said: “Yes. I will continue to do so.
“I believe that we must be persistent with the idea and we will achieve. Even the reaction of the fans when we take the knee is very positive.
“It will take time. It is a cultural problem. But it will take time in our society to realise that we are all the same.”
SMITH SPEAKS
Aston Villa boss Dean Smith has confirmed he will make a number of changes to his starting line-up tonight as his side travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea in the Carabao Cup.
He said: “We’ll have to make some changes.
“We’ve got some players who need game time, some very good players.
“We’ve got a deep squad now and it’s a chance to give some of those players some more minutes after a hindered pre-season.
“But they’re ready to get minutes and make sure that, first of all, we try and progress in this competition, which is want we want to do, make it a really competitive game, but also get them ready as well for the season ahead that we’ve got a lot more games in.”
DID YOU KNOW
Chelsea have progressed from each of their last 10 third round ties in the League Cup since a 4-3 defeat to Newcastle back in 2010-11.
The Blues fell in the fourth round last season, losing on penalties to bitter rivals Tottenham.
And it was also a fourth round exit the season before that, going down 2-1 at home to Manchester United.
MARK HIS WORDS
Mark Noble has broken his silence following his last-gasp penalty miss against Manchester United on Sunday.
The West Ham skipper was introduced by David Moyes in the dying embers of the game to take the penalty after Luke Shaw was penalised for handball, but saw his effort saved by David De Gea.
And as quoted by the Evening Standard, Noble said: “It would have been lovely in my last season to have scored so, obviously, missing hurt.
“The thing I take out of it was that if the manager had asked me and I’d had said ‘No’, that I didn’t want to take it… I can live with missing, that’s not a problem with me, but would I have been able to live with saying no and sitting there and watching somebody else take it, not knowing ‘What if’?
“That would have haunted me for the rest of my life, so I take a bit of strength out of that.”
LAST NIGHT’S RESULTS
And here’s a reminder of the results from last night’s games in the third round of the Carabao Cup:
- Brentford 7-0 Oldham
- Burnley 4-1 Rochdale
- Fulham 0-0 Leeds (5-6 on penalties)
- Manchester City 6-1 Wycombe
- Norwich 0-3 Liverpool
- Preston 4-1 Cheltenham
- QPR 2-2 Everton (8-7 on penalties)
- Sheffield United 2-2 Southampton (2-4 on penalties)
- Watford 1-3 Stoke
- Wigan 0-2 Sunderland
CARABAO CUP TIES
Here’s a reminder of the remaining thirs round Carabao Cup ties set to take place this evening.
And don’t forget the draw for the fourth round also takes place tonight.
These are the games still to take place:
- Brighton vs Swansea
- Arsenal vs AFC Wimbledon
- Chelsea vs Aston Villa
- Manchester United vs West Ham
- Millwall vs Leicester
- Wolves vs Tottenham
RON CHANCE ONLY
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United transfer is make or break for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
That is according to former Red Devil Gary Neville who has heaped pressure on the Norwegian.
He’s scored four in three games – his latest coming in their 2-1 win at West Ham on Sunday.
But despite the good start, Neville, 46, says the 36-year-old needs to keep it up in order to protect Solskjaer.
The Sky Sports pundit told BBC 5 Live: “There is no doubt Ronaldo is a make or break signing for Ole.”
DONE DEAL
James Rodriguez is set to leave Everton.
As per transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Rodriguez has agreed a deal to sign Qatari side Al Rayyan.
The attacking midfielder is yet to feature for the Toffees this season, and after long being linked with a move away, a deal has finally been done.
And Romano tweeted: “James Rodriguez joins Al Rayyan from Everton, agreement reached and confirmed! Official teaser video already released from Qatari club – salary payment agreed with #EFC board. #JamesRodriguez
“Medical already completed. James now set to leave European football.”
Getty Images
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
