⚽ All the latest heading into a busy weekend of football ⚽ Premier League: 10 things to look out for | Mail David
A round-up of last night’s action in Europe. That’s now seven wins on the trot for Bournemouth in all competitions but they’re not happy up in Sunderland.
Paul MacInnes was at Selhurst Park to see 10-man Palace snatch a draw.
”After being outplayed by a side currently in the bottom half of the Bundesliga, and a goal down from the seventh minute, Palace looked to have lost all hope in this fixture when Adam Wharton was dismissed with 13 minutes to go…”
Some talking points ahead of the England squad announcement which we’re expecting at 10am GMT. England go into the final two games on nine points after three wins and a loss.
Cole Palmer. The Chelsea man pulled out of the September/October squad through injury, which drew a frustrated response from Thomas Tuchel, who said the 24-year-old misses too many camps. Does he get another chance?
Saka out, so who comes in on the right? Bukayo Saka misses this international break after picking up a quadriceps problem in the 2-2 Champions League draw with Bayern Munich. Arsenal colleague Noni Madueke looks the obvious replacement.
The goalkeeper debate. Jordan Pickford faces genuine competition for the No 1 spot for the first time in his England career, with James Trafford having started two of the four autumn games. Dean Henderson is also likely to return after recovering from injury.
Will Lankshear. Could the young striker, who left Tottenham for Middlesbrough in the summer, get a surprise call-up. Taken under the wing of Harry Kane and all that. Lankshear’s tally of 15 goals in 16 matches for Boro this season is certainly Kane-like.
If England’s Champions League sides delivered a mixed bag earlier in the week, Thursday’s Europa League action was no different.
Bournemouth’s winning streak continued, 10-man Crystal Palace scraped a last-gasp draw while there were boos at Sunderland after a home loss to Dinamo Zagreb. Elsewhere, there was a rousing comeback win for Celtic and Brighton still don’t know what it’s like to concede a goal in the Conference League after a 1-0 win at Getafe. But that’s last night’s news. Football doesn’t hang around and today the focus is on the announcement of England’s squad for the final two Nations League group games against Croatia and Spain. Expect the white smoke around 10am. That latest pesky international break starts next week but before then it’s another round of hot Premier League action. We’ll have build-up and managers talking throughout the day.
