Football news LIVE: Toney in match betting PROBE, Spurs want Gordon, Chelsea face Arsenal in HUGE clash – updates

Vlahovic targeted

Man Utd are keeping close tabs on Dusan Vlahovic's situation at Juventus, according to reports.

The Italian side's slump in form could see them lose key players, if they don't qualify for the Champions League next season.

They currently sit in eighth place in Serie A, while they crashed out of the Champions League in the group stages.

That could mean Vlahovic is available this summer.

Lamps better than his players

Everton star Amadou Onana believes Frank Lampard is still better than many of his team-mates.

He told The Telegraph: “He’s still very good, but he doesn’t really want to show it because he’s not a show off guy. But we all know he’s better than many of us.

“I have watched his clips and goals and I think if I had his shooting ability I would be a very good player.

“He didn’t tell me to watch them, no he didn’t, he is a very humble guy and that is what I like about him.

He could have been like: ‘Hey I am Frank Lampard, look at what I did.’ But he is really not like that.

"He is just trying to be a humble guy speaking to us normally and respectfully. I really like him."

Goals Galore

It's been quite the first half in the Premier League with there being no shortage of goals and drama.

It's 1-1 between Manchester City and Fulham but Pep Guardiola's side have been reduced to 10 men after Joao Cancelo was sent off.

It's 2-2 between Wolves and Brighton but Wolves - who confirmed Julen Lopetegui as their new manager this morning - have also had a man sent off with Nelson Semedo given his marching orders.

Bournemouth came from a goal down to lead Leeds 2-1 at Elland Road in a game that's been full of chances.

And Brentford got a late equaliser from the spot to level up the score at the City Ground after Forest took an early lead.

Paul In

Arsenal legend Paul Merson has slammed Tottenham's "negative" style and believes Chelsea will finish above Antonio Conte's side.

Spurs have worked themselves into third place in the Premier League table after 13 matches, winning eight, drawing two and losing three.

They are five points adrift of league leaders Arsenal, but enjoy a small buffer over Newcastle, Chelsea and Man Utd.

Yet despite their league position, Conte's men have been widely criticised for their style of play - often relinquishing possession and trying to hit teams on the counter-attack.

Speaking on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday show, Merson said: "I just don't think you get away with keeping on going to the well like they do.

"I just don't see how they'll finish third. Chelsea will finish above Tottenham."

Tricky Ron

Manchester United star Fred has admitted that Erik ten Hag has a "hard" job dealing with Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Dutchman recently dropped the Portuguese forward for his side's trip to Chelsea after he left the previous game against Tottenham before the final whistle.

Ten Hag and Ronaldo later resolved the issue and the 37-year-old was restored to the team.

The United boss received criticism from some quarters for his treatment of Ronaldo - but Fred reckons it's a tricky job.

He told TNT Sports Brasil: "Dude, it’s hard.

"Everyone deals in some way. It’s obvious that everyone wants to be on the pitch, they want to play to help the team.

"So when you end up not playing, you get frustrated."

Missing Strikers

The Premier League is missing some big frontmen this afternoon for various different reasons.

Erling Haaland is on the bench for Manchester City after recovering from injury. But Fulham also have problems up front with Aleksandar Mitrovic missing entirely due to an ankle injury.

Meanwhile suspensions for Ivan Toney means he's missing from Brentford's trip to Nottingham Forest, while a red card in his last game means Diego Costa is also absent for Wolves who host Brighton.

Patrick Bamford is missing for Leeds with injury as well as they look to beat Bournemouth.

The 3pm games are about to get underway.

Dor Wide Open

Liverpool have emerged as favourites to sign Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund, according to reports.

The England star has drawn interest from all over Europe with his sensational displays in Germany.

Bellingham, 19, is a priority signing for Real Madrid - although Liverpool have taken steps to put themselves in pole position.

According to ESPN, Jurgen Klopp's side are building a "close relationship" with the midfielder's representatives.

They add that Liverpool are working hard on a "framework" for the deal.

Bellingham is under contract in Germany for another two-and-a-half years - although Dortmund are likely to let him go either in January or more likely next summer.

Battered and Bruised Burnley Bullied Brutally at Bramall Lane

Burnley 16 game unbeaten run in the Championship unravelled in dramatic fashion as they lost 5-2 at Sheffield United.

The Blades had to fight back from a goal down twice but then ran away with it in the second-half as defender Jack Robinson recovered amazingly from his horror first-half.

Vincent Kompany will be asking questions of his defence after they repeatedly failed to deal with United's aerial bombardment.

In the early FA Cup First Round games, Forest Green avoided an upset with a 2-0 win at seventh-tier South Shields. While Harrogate are into the second round after winning out in an all-League 2 clash with Mark Hughes' Bradford City.

Haaland on the bench

Erling Haaland is on the bench for Manchester City as they prepare to take on Fulham.

The striker has missed the last couple of games with illness and injury and has been deemed only fit enough to take his place among the substitutes.

Phil Foden also takes his place among the subs, leaving Manchester City with a forward line of Bernardo Silva, Julian Alvarez and Jack Grealish.

Beck and Forth

David Beckham has revealed he was forced to switch between wearing the kit of Manchester United and a Premier League rival.

Beckham, 47, explained that due to the differing football allegiances in his family he needed to change what kit he wore in the morning and afternoon.

Speaking on Man Utd's official website in a short film about the No7 shirt - which also starred other United greats - Beckham said: "It's always a special feeling seeing the United shirt.

"I always used to get a Man Utd shirt from my mum and dad... and then I used to get a Tottenham shirt from my grandad. 

"But the United shirt was the one that I wore in the morning and then I had to wear the Tottenham kit in the afternoon."

Read the full story here

Got the Blues

Confirmation of Ben Chilwell's injury means Chelsea now have quite a lengthy injury list ahead of their game against Arsenal

Kepa Arrizabalaga will be out at least until the World Cup after his strong run of form for Chelsea. He had to come off against Brighton last week due his injury.

Also out is Wesley Fofana who had to come off in a home game against AC Milan last month, before Reece James was injured himself in the return game against the Italian side.

N'Golo Kante remains out and will miss the World Cup after surgery on his hamstring, while Mateo Kovacic missed Chelsea's Champions League dead rubber in midweek due to a tight calf muscle.

The Croatian could be back tomorrow.

FA Cup First Round

After some gruelling qualifying rounds a number of non-league sides will take to the field in the First Round Proper of the FA Cup this weekend. 

Ties to watch out for include Coalville Town, from the seventh tier of English football, travelling to League 1 Charlton. Coalville already pulled off a major FA Cup upset by beating National League leaders Notts County in the last round, so Ben Garner’s side should be on guard. 

There’s also big games for other minnows like South Shields, who are currently 1-0 down to Forest Green Rovers in the early game, and Neeham Market who travel to Burton at 3pm.

There are 33 games in total in the FA Cup today with teams from the top of League 1 down to the seventh tier taking part.

On Monday night live on TV Bracknall Town will host Ipswich Town. 

Chilwell on World Cup disappointment

Chelsea's Ben Chilwell has spoken of his disappointment of missing out on his "dream" of playing in the World Cup.

The Blues announced an hour ago the star had sustained a "significant" injury in the game against Dinamo Zagreb earlier this week.

Chilwell has since tweeted: "Following my ACL injury [last season] I worked so hard to make sure I was ready for the World Cup.

"It has always been a dream of mine. Unfortunately, this won’t be possible following my scan results.

"I’ll do all I can to get back playing for Chelsea ASAP. Thanks for the messages of support."

Lopetegui's big challenge

Julen Lopetegui has a big task on his hands as he bids to turn Wolves' season around after being announced as their new boss

The Spaniard will officially take charge at the beginning of the World Cup break and will have 23 Premier League games to try and steer the club away from the bottom three. 

His first task will be to get goals out of his forwards, with the club the lowest scorers in the league and Diego Costa yet to produce the goods since arriving. 

But Lopetegui is a man with much experience, having previously managed at huge European clubs such as Porto, Real Madrid and Sevilla. 

Steve Davis will continue as caretaker manager for today's game against Brighton. 

Carrick’s Inkling for Iqbal

Michael Carrick is eyeing a loan deal for Manchester United’s Zidane Iqbal, according to reports. 

The new Middlesborough manager has won one and lost one so far at the Riverside and will likely want January reinforcements to help the club up the Championship table. 

Football League World report that Carrick wants to add the highly-rated youngster Iqbal to his squad.

United already have some of their best and brightest youth stars on loan at Championship clubs with Hannibal Mejbri and Amad Diallo away at Birmingham and Sunderland respectively.

Can anyone stop Burnley? 

With no lunchtime Premier League clash, all eyes will fall instead on the Championship in an hour's time as Burnley travel to Sheffield United. 

Vincent Kompany's side are now 16 unbeaten and can open up an eight point gap at the top of the table with victory at Bramall Lane. 

They are the first side to really establish some control over the league after weeks of Sheffield United, Norwich, QPR, Reading and Blackburn taking top spot before falling away. 

Their last win came in sensational fashion as they scored twice in stoppage time to beat Rotherham. 

Meanwhile the Blades have back-to-back wins after a bizarre loss of form and will go 2nd with victory. 

Potter prepared to be an "idiot"

Graham Potter said he doesn't mind looking foolish with his tactical ideas if it helps Chelsea to victory.

The ex-Brighton boss faced criticism after a bold decision to play Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic as wing-backs at the Amex last week.

Chelsea lost the game - their first loss under Potter - but it was not the first time he has made some surprising tactical decisions since taking over at the Blues. Ahead of tomorrow's game with Arsenal, he said he will continue to take risks.

He said: "I wouldn’t say I'm experimenting; I do have an idea of how I want us to play football. I think it depends on where the players are at and what we have and when injured ones come back.

"I think you have to remember when you are trying to do something new, there will be a chance it goes wrong. You always have to be prepared for that. That sounds a bit strange because you should come across as this all-knowing person with all the answers but the reality of making progress and the reality of doing something different and new is you have to prepare to be an idiot."

Special Bru

Erik ten Hag believes it will need to be a team effort to replace the talent of Bruno Fernandes.

The midfielder picked up a fifth booking of the season against West Ham, triggering a one a game suspension.

The boss now needs to find a replacement for the 28-year-old's energy and creativity before Manchester United head to Villa tomorrow

He told the club's website: “Yeah, until now, Bruno is so important for us. In every match, he plays really good. I think also yesterday, he was playing from the right, he made an impact there as well.

"You see, for instance, with the goal and also some other actions. As a no.10, he’s playing really good games and we have to replace him, that’s the squad.

"Therefore, you need a squad, it's not about 11 players, you need a squad to win in a season and now we have to replace him and we will do.”

The End is Nigh

Chelsea are among the three clubs jostling for pole position in the race to sign Palmeiras wonderkid Endrick.

The 16-year-old is one of the most highly-rated talents of the next generation and has major European clubs chasing after him.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano tweeted this morning: "Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea are the three clubs that are pushing hard to sign Endrick. They are ahead of all the other clubs.

"There's no official bids to Palmeiras yet - but it will happen soon. Release clause: €60m. Endrick would join in 2024."

Rodger That

Brendan Rodgers said he is keen on Arsenal target Youri Tielemans extending his contract at Leicester.

The talented Belgian is currently out of contract next summer amid speculation he move.

The Gunners were strongly linked to the player in the summer and are still believed to be interested.

But Rodgers hopes Leicester might convince the star to stay.

He told the Leicester Mercury: "Youri provides the team with a great know-how in the game. He’s a wonderful player to work with. I’ll just continue to work and develop his game while he’s here, however long that is.

"I’d love him to sign another deal and continue his journey here. We’ll see in the coming months."

Pep's hits out at Zlatan's "ego" jibe

Pep Guardiola provided a hilarious response after Zlatan Ibrahimovic suggested the manager's ego could hold Erling Haaland back.

The Spanish manager had a falling out with the striker during their Barcelona days and Ibrahimovic did not have a warm response when asked about Guardiola and Haaland.

The 41-year-old said Guardiola held him and "others" back during their careers due to "ego" - and could do the same to the Norwegian superstar.

But Guardiola responded sarcastically: "He's right. He's completely right. In this club, in this team my ego is beyond the performance of the players. 

"I don't like when Erling [Haaland] scores three goals and all the highlights are for him. I'm so jealous. Honestly, so jealous. 

"I said afterwards: 'please Erling, no more goals.'"

Questions over Qatar

Manchester United legend Gary Neville faced some awkward questions over Qatar as he hosted Have I Got News For You last night.

The outspoken former defender has signed up as a pundit for the Qatari-owned beIN Sports for the World Cup.

But he has faced backlash over his decision with Qatar criticised for its stance on homosexuality and human rights.

HIGNFY captain Ian Hislop said to Neville: "The others have been very gentle with you Gary but the elephant in the room is still there. You're commentating there."

In a slightly tense exchange, Neville argued that he could highlight issues that people have with Qatar from his platform.

But Hislop responded: "There's another option. You stay at home and highlight the abuses. You don't have to take the Qatari's money."

His point was met with applause from the audience while Neville looked on awkwardly.

Chance for Revenge

Unai Emery will be in the dugout for the first time as Aston Villa boss tomorrow and Manchester United will be keen to give him a rough ride. 

It was his Villarreal side who beat Man United in the 2021 Europa League final on penalties. 

The first 11 spot kicks were converted before David De Gea had his attempt saved. 

United also failed to get one over Emery during his season and a half as Arsenal boss. 

His first trip to Old Trafford finished in a 2-2 draw in the 2018-19 season before Emery’s Arsenal side took a comfortable 2-0 win over United. 

The pair then drew 1-1 the next season a month or so before Emery was dismissed as Gunners manager.