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Our writers provided the latest football news and buildup before a big weekend in the Premier League and beyond Right, that’s it for today’s weekend countdown live blog. Thanks for reading, for your favourite centre-back duo submissions and for engaging with The Guardian in general. All roads lead to West Ham v Wolves tonight and then a busy weekend of action after that. Enjoy the football, stay safe and be kind. Here’s a summary of the main headlines as they currently stand. Celtic boss Martin O’Neill has hailed the return of the club’s Green Brigade supporters group, believing they could be key in the Scottish Premiership title race. The group were banned after exhibiting “violent and threatening behaviour” at a home match against Falkirk in October but will return to Celtic Park this weekend after being reinstated for last weekend’s 2-1 win at Dundee. “In terms of support, in terms of vocal support, it’s great to see them back again, ” O’Neill said. “I think that that would give us a boost. The support we got from Dundee was fantastic. “I thought they kept us going during the course of the game. They didn’t seem to be highly critical of us when we conceded the penalty. It could have dropped away and they kept us going. ” Celtic are three points off leaders Hearts, and two behind second-placed Rangers, with six games left in the season. They host St Mirren tomorrow, with Hearts at home to Motherwell and Rangers away at Falkirk on Sunday. FPL: If you’re a player of Fantasy Premier League and have (understandably) left your team dormant for the past three weeks, now is the time to make those all-important adjustments. The deadline for this gameweek is 6. 30pm BST today! Have you caught up with our latest Football Daily yet? It comes from Michael Butler and it centres on the back and forth between Enzo Fernández and Chelsea. Linked In Liam and his mob face in-form Manchester City this weekend … Mikel Arteta has issued a ‘special request’ for Arsenal fans to turn up early and bring the noise for their vital clash with Bournemouth at the Emirates tomorrow. “Get up early, have an early breakfast, bring your lunch, bring your dinner, it has to be a big day! ” A bit tinpot, or fair enough as a rallying cry to supporters ahead of a big game? In fairness, most grounds can be quiet for the 12. 30pm kick-offs. Shall we engage in some Friday night predictions? Here are mine for the Premier League games: West Ham 2-1 Wolves Arsenal 2-0 Bournemouth Brentford 1-1 Everton Burnley 1-2 Brighton Liverpool 3-2 Fulham C Palace 1-1 Newcastle N Forest 1-0 Aston Villa Sunderland 2-2 Tottenham Chelsea 1-3 Man City Man Utd 2-0 Leeds Feel free to disagree/ridicule/bookmark and send to me on Monday night! And here’s a timely look at the coverage you can expect on this fair website over the next couple of days. It’s a tasty ol’ weekend. Thanks Barry – one last push and we’re right in the thick of Friday night! Handover: Dominic Booth is here to take you through to 6pm. Have a great weekend! Liverpool ticket prices: Liverpool fans are currently disgruntled for all sorts of reasons but the club’s apparently tone deaf decision to announce Anfield ticket price rises for the next three years has further infuriated them. The club’s CEO Billy Hogan has written to all season ticket holders and members ahead of a planned protest at Anfield ahead of tomrrow’s match against Fulham. “Liverpool Football Club fully respcts the right of supporters to protest and we acknowledge those supporters who are opposed to this approach, ” it reads. “But we would also ask one thing in the days and weeks ahead; that any protest and any debate is grounded in the facts – what is changing, why it changing and what it means in real terms. ” Hogan goes on to say that matchday operating costs have risen and point out that the price increases are quite small and that unspecified other clubs have raised ticket prices “at a materially higher rate”. He also reminds fans that Liverpool have frozen general admission ticket prices in eight of the last 10 seasons. Liverpool’s new ticket prices are expected to boost the club coffers to the tune of £1. 5m-£2m per season. The club’s matchday revenue is approximately £4. 3m per game. Wales: Still recovering from the heartbreak of Wales’ failure to qualify for the World Cup, comedian and podcasting legend Elis James was dealt another hammer blow upon learning that his hero Aaron Ramsey has retired from professional football. The midfielder’s absence for the semi-final of Euro 2016 was the great ‘what-if’ of Welsh football, he writes, but even so his brilliant career managed to transform a footballing public for ever … Everton: On the the not entirely implausible possibility of his side qualifying for the Champions League, Moyes said the thought “makes me shake a wee bit”, but added: “we’d hate to disappoint everybody, and there’s talk about it, but I do want to talk about it because this club, all the supporters have suffered so much. I think the thought of getting them back into Europe makes me think it would be fantastic for the support here, the club and everything they’ve been through recently. ” Everton: Before a ball was kicked this season, a certain know-nothing idiot not a million miles from here predicted Everton would be relegated, so imagine my surprise upon discovering they will draw level on points with Liverpool in fifth place if they beat similarly high-flying Brentford, a team many others predicted were destined for the drop. The two sides meet tomorrow in a potential Champions League qualification six-pointer at the Gtech Community Stadium. “I don’t know how we’re going to finish but if you would have given me this position at the start of the season I’d have said ‘thanks very much, I’ll shake your hand’ and hopefully we can keep it going, ” said David Moyes today. “If you really want to get the big prizes, you have got to win your games at the right time at the end of the season. We’ve started well with the couple of games recently. We have to try and keep that form and momentum going. ” Everton’s achievement this season is all the more impressive given that Jack Grealish has been absent for most of this year and their alternating strikers, Beto and Thierno Barry, are at best … erratic. Sunderland: Regis Le Bris’s side get the opportunity to riff, be-bop and scat all over Tottenham Hotspur’s pain on Sunday but the Stadium of Light is not the fortress it once was at the beginning of the season. Sunderland have lost their last three home games but come into this match against Spurs high on the hog after securing a Premier League double over Newcastle at St James’ Park last time out. “We want to win again at home because we struggled a bit in the last sequence, ” said Le Bris, when asked if his team might be forgiven for taking things easy after after securing their Premier League safety and beating their bitter rivals home and away. “It’s about our standards. The main goal of the season is probably achieved and it’s easy to forget this wasn’t easy. We showed togetherness and quality. We want to keep the standards. ” Sunderland have an outside chance of qualifying for Europe but Le Bris didn’t seem massively enthused by the possibility as his young team continue to find their feet in the Premier League. “I don’t know, ” he said. “Two seasons ago when I first started here, going to the Premier League was too early. We didn’t set any goals but we said we will work hard, we will work for our identity. For this season, it is the same. If it is possible, we are ready to achieve the goal. We will see and then we will manage the next goal. ” In terms of personnel, Sunderland will be without Jocelin Ta Bi, Romaine Mundle, Bertrand Traore, Simon Moore Dan Ballard and Nilson Angulo for Sunday’s match against Tottenham. And with that expletive, I’ll hand over to Barry Glendenning! Enjoy the rest of your Friday, all. The Northern Premier League has relieved chairman Mark Harris of his duties pending a full disciplinary investigation into an apparent X-rated email sent to a supporter. The decision to move FC United of Manchester’s home match against Stockton Town – a potentially key match in the promotion race – to a neutral venue on April 21 after six previous postponements has caused controversy. One FCUM supporter emailed NPL chairman Harris outlining their frustrations and claimed to receive a curt response, which the FA council member signed off, with “now go fuck yourself”. The Football Association confirmed that it was investigating, with the NPL also “actively investigating” what it considered a “serious matter”. An urgent meeting was convened on Friday morning and a statement from the NPL later that day read: “Following a meeting of the board, the Northern Premier League can confirm that chairman Mark Harris has been relieved of his duties with immediate effect, pending a full disciplinary investigation. ” PA Media This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'. I have been waiting for this one all week: Elis James on Aaron Ramsey, who announced his retirement from football on Tuesday. The WSL side Liverpool have reached a deal to sign the Germany forward Vivien Endemann on a free transfer from 1 July, upon the expiry of her contract at the German side Wolfsburg.

The 24-year-old has 17 senior caps for Germany and was part of the team that won a bronze medal at the Olympics in 2024.

She was part of the Wolfsburg side that reached this season’s Champions League quarter-finals and she is Liverpool’s first summer signing. Big news from Germany: Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck has ended speculation about a possible move to Real Madrid by extending his contract with the German club until 2031. The 26-year-old Schlotterbeck, who only had another year on his existing contract with Dortmund, signed a new deal on Friday, the club announced. Dortmund chief executive Carsten Cramer said the extension is “of enormous significance. He is of great value to us, both as a player and as a person. And Nico, in turn, knows exactly what he has in our club. He is highly valued and senses that we are building something here right now. ” New sporting director Ole Book evidently made Schlotterbeck’s uncertain future one of his first priorities. “In Nico, we have one of the best center-backs in the world in our ranks, ” Book said. “His play with and without the ball, his distribution, his tackling, together with his presence and determination on the field, all of this makes him incredibly valuable to us. We’re certain that we can achieve great things together with Nico at Borussia Dortmund. ” Mikel Arteta played down speculation over a contract extension at Arsenal but insisted he remains fully committed to the club, before Saturday’s Premier League home clash against Bournemouth. The London club has reportedly held positive initial talks with Arteta over his current deal, which expires at the end of next season. When asked about a contract extension, Arteta said his focus remains on the current campaign. “There is no news on that. We don’t have time to discuss that now, ” Arteta told reporters. “The full focus is on what we have to do from here until the end of the season. I am fully committed here. I am really happy and I feel good. My family’s good. I still have so much ambition and things to do at this club. For now, we are in a good place. “ Eberechi Eze returned to training on Thursday after recovering from injury, but Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Piero Hincapie, Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber were among those not involved. Arteta said forward Eze would be available for Saturday without offering an update on the other absentees. Reuters Re centre-back partnerships, an email from Ben Torpy. “For me it has to be Paul Mc Grath and Shaun Teale. The greatest defender I’ve ever seen (and an amazing human to boot with an incredible story) and his granite-like partner who rocked a glorious ‘tache before hipsters were a thing. Whilst they were locking up the Villa defence the much missed Dalian Atkinson was destroying others at will. ” An exclusive from Matt Hughes: A number of American cities named in the running to host games at the 2031 Women’s World Cup are considering withdrawing over concerns related to Fifa’s handling of this summer’s World Cup. The Guardian has learned that several cities are exploring whether to focus solely on winning the right to host matches at the men’s 2031 Rugby World Cup. The US will also stage the women’s rugby tournament two years later. Chicago and Pittsburgh declined to enter the running for Women’s World Cup hosting rights, understood to be because of concerns about Fifa’s financial demands, and some cities are considering pulling out. On De Zerbi, a reminder that we had this fine piece from Chris Paouros go live earlier today. Richarlison and Solanke catching strays, there! Ha! Roberto De Zerbi called on Tottenham Hotspur to embrace their attacking instincts as he battles to save the club from their first relegation since 1977, declaring on Friday that the ‘DNA’ of the club is to attack and score goals. Having been appointed as Spurs’ third manager of the season, the former Brighton and Hove Albion boss has seven games to steer the north London side to safety and he acknowledged the urgency of his task. Spurs have not won a Premier League game in 2026 while they have scored only 40 league goals this season to register a negative goal difference (-10). “I don’t have time for principles or build-up, I want to give organisation with the ball and without the ball, ” De Zerbi told reporters before the trip to Sunderland on Sunday. “What I want to do and what I want to achieve is the character. The right spirit, courage to play and attack. The DNA of this club and squad is to find the goal, to score. In this part, I can be able to transfer my principle. ” The Italian manager had vowed to remain in charge next season regardless of results, describing the role as the biggest challenge of his career after signing a long-term contract. Spurs plummeted in the standings, first under Thomas Frank and then under interim boss Igor Tudor, with the club sitting in 17th place – one point above the relegation zone. “I believe to keep (Spurs) in the Premier League, it has to be clear to everyone, because I want to work in the Premier League. I think (I) deserve to work in the Premier League, ” De Zerbi said. “Anyway, if I sign my contract in April, I have to be ready to stay no matter what in the next season. I want to stay focused on Sunderland and the other six games. But my idea is very clear. “ However, he was dealt a blow when forward Mohammed Kudus suffered a setback in his recovery from a quad injury, with the Ghanaian international also in danger of missing out on the World Cup. “I started with not big luck. Kudus was, in my head, a crucial player. But we have to look forward anyway. We have a lot of very good attackers and we have to help them show their qualities, ” De Zerbi added. “Kolo Muani is not playing a great season but he is a good player. Mathys Tel, I wanted him in Marseille. Xavi Simons is a big talent. Richarlison and Solanke, you know better than me. We have to put them in the best condition. ” Reuters Here are a few more Rosenior quotes from his Chelsea press conference, courtesy of Reuters. double quotation mark I had a really good conversation - three or four - with Enzo. He’s apologised to me and to the club, and we’ll deal with that after a massive game on Sunday. It’s a serious meeting about something very serious. Enzo, every single step of the way, I’ve not been questioning his character or who he is as a person. I believe people make mistakes. Qualifying for the Champions League is all we can focus on right now. There are teams fighting relegation, teams mid-table, teams pushing at the top end - it doesn’t matter. Every game is so difficult in this league. It’ll be a big challenge on Sunday, but one we’re looking forward to. ” Rosenior said centre back Levi Colwill was back in training after suffering a serious knee injury in August, and that right-back Reece James has been running following a hamstring problem. “Trevoh Chalobah is working hard, he’s back on the pitch. Colwill is in full training but he still needs to overcome some hurdles regarding selection, ” he added. Not sure if we can extend these centre-back pairings to centre-back trios but my favourite central defensive partnership of the modern era was probably BBC – Bonucci, Barzaghi and Chiellini. Hardly a left-field shout, it should be said, but they were such a formidable force under Allegri. Barzagli is often forgotten about – not as talented as Bonucci with the ball, not as fierce as Chiellini in the tackle – but he really was the glue that held that entire 3-5-2 Juventus backline together, with Alex Sandro and Juan Cuadrado bombing on from wing back. Woof. Should also flag that Barzagli was assistant manager to Silvio Baldini at the Italy Under-21s. Baldini has just been placed in interim charge of the senior Italy team for the next two friendlies, so it will be interesting to see if Barzagli follows him there. Hello from Cobham. Liam Rosenior has just spoken to the media and has confirmed there are still hurdles to overcome with Enzo Fernández, who remains suspended for Chelsea’s game against Manchester City despite apologising to the club for his recent controversial comments about his future. All very cryptic from Rosenior, who said: “He won’t play on Sunday, but hopefully after that he’ll be a massive part of the group moving forward. There’s still a few hurdles that need to be overcome that I won’t go into, but at the same time I want every player really, really focused now on a huge run. ” Secondly, Luciano Spalletti will stay on as Juventus coach after signing a new two-year deal, where he will reportedly earn an annual salary of €5. 8m. “It’s important that I tell you first before it becomes official that we have decided to extend my contract for two more years, ” Spaletti said in a video released by the club which showed him speaking to his players. Spalletti was brought in by Juve in October to replace the sacked Igor Tudor and charged with ensuring qualification for the Champions League. Spalletti, whose previous job was a tumultuous and unsuccessful stint as Italy coach, has Juve one point away from fourth place which is currently occupied by Como. The club have been convinced by the 67-year-old who most famously won the Serie A title with Napoli in 2023. Esteemed! Feeling buoyed by both that and the gallon of tomato soup I have just absorbed (with salt and vinegar crisps – and people say British cuisine is dead), let’s crack on with the afternoon’s footy news (and of course, your favourite centre-back pairings). First order of business, we have two bits of managerial news from Italy. The first is a significant change for the men’s national team. Italy Under-21 coach Silvio Baldini will lead the senior national team for upcoming friendly matches next month. The announcement came Friday, 10 days after Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup again. Italy’s penalty shootout loss to Bosnia-Herzegovina led to the resignations of Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina and coach Gennaro Gattuso. Baldini, 67, will coach the team against Luxembourg on 3 June and Greece four days later. A new permanent coach will most likely be chosen after Gravina’s replacement is appointed, with elections set for 22 June. Antonio Conte is favoured to return. AP And just like that here is the esteemed Mr Michael Butler ready to take the reins. There’s plenty more Premier League presser goodness for him to sink his teeth into this afternoon. Before I hand the blog over, I must plug this excellent piece by Harry De Cosemo – with great photos by Gary Calton – on National League leaders York. There’s a potentially massive promotion/title decider with Rochdale coming up at the end of the season … Some more emails re best/favourite Premier League centre-back duos: Matthew Davis: “Hi Dom. Put it like this; if Vertonghen and Alderweireld were still at Spurs, even now we wouldn’t be in danger of relegation. ” Bruce Crawford: “There can be a big difference between what is the ‘best’ pairing and what constitutes one’s ‘favourite’. As a United fan aged 66 I have several favourites down the years, especially Buchan and Holton prior to the latter’s leg break during the first half of the season in Division 2. Mc Grath & Moran were much loved in the 80s. “In the PL era though, I would have two pairings ahead of Ferdinand & Vidic: Stam & Johnsen in the Treble season, but best of all time Bruce & Pallister in the first half of the 90s. Fantastic as a pairing that complemented each other perfectly, with the handy addition of Steve Bruce being a terrific penalty taker. Also have a grudging respect for Adams & Keown at Arsenal. ” Danny from Leicester: “Morgan/Huth, 15/16, the rock upon which a miracle was built. Serenely ignoring the present, happily living in the past. ” Vitor Pereira has called on the Premier League to “protect” its clubs by adapting the schedule to help them prosper in Europe, insisting doing so would result in them winning more silverware. In France, the Ligue de Football Professionel rescheduled Paris Saint-Germain’s recent Ligue 1 matches to provide them more rest to prepare for Champions League knockout fixtures. Nottingham Forest host Aston Villa on Sunday less than 48 hours after arriving back in the East Midlands from their first-leg draw at Porto, while Villa also played in Bologna on Thursday, winning 3-1. Pereira referenced how the Portuguese Liga have shifted games to help Porto cope with the schedule. Last month the league approved Sporting’s request to postpone a league game against Tondela in between last 16 matches. “What they do here, they schedule the game for Sunday but [move it] to Monday and this is completely different, ” said the Forest head coach. “It is one more day, they can recover – 24 hours more to recover makes a big difference. “In my opinion, to protect the teams who are playing in the Europa League and the Conference League especially, and even the Champions League, just one day after is very important to get results. Sometimes it’s important to protect the clubs, to give them the chance to win more titles. ” Forest and Villa could meet in the Europa League semi-finals if both teams prevail in the second legs against Porto and Bologna respectively. Pereira accepted the schedule is beyond his powers: “If we protect these teams, the teams in the Europa League, Conference League and the Champions League, for sure England can get more titles. For sure, I don’t have any doubts. If you look at PSG, they [LFP] delayed the previous four matches to be in conditions to compete in the league and Champions League. This is what we need to reflect on. ” The Guardian’s Luke Mc Laughlin has been in touch re: favourite Premier League centre-back pairings: “Chettle and Cooper at Forest, mid 90s, for me Clive, ” he says. Leeds midfielder Ao Tanaka played a key role in last week’s epic FA Cup semi-final win at West Ham, scoring the opening goal, and could be in line for a rare start in place of the injured Anton Stach in Monday night’s Premier League game at Manchester United. Daniel Farke praised Tanaka’s “really good performances” of late and said: “I’m very happy with his development because Ao is not the youngest anymore and for him it’s his first season in a top flight. ” Tanaka is a fan favourite at Leeds fans, but has been self-critical of his own performances since helping the club win promotion last season. He hasn’t started in the league since 14 December. “He has said publicly he’s not yet good enough for this level, but we’ve always believed in Ao, ” Farke added. “He produced a really good performance [at West Ham] and proved against a Premier League side that he can play at the top level. “For Ao there is no limit because he’s a top player. He’s done this in recent weeks and for that there will be more chances for him in the coming weeks to shine. If he produces performances like he did at West Ham then we are all happy. ” The lads and lasses on The Overlap have been asking who is the best centre-back partnership in Premier League history … Lots of love for Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, which would be my answer, closely followed by John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho. Jamie Carragher said Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson, perhaps forgetting that A) both retired before the Premier League began and B) their contrasting punditry careers. Drop me an email with your favourite PL CB duo. What a day of sport we have. The return of the Premier League tonight, county cricket back in full swing and the Masters day two. Lovely. I’ve received an email from Krishnamoorthy: “Having successfully completed the exits from Carabao and FA [Cups], and that the Champions league pursuit will probably be over by next week, what wizardry will Arsenal deploy this weekend to surrender the league? ” Despite those cup exits, I feel like Arsenal aren’t quite as weakened as their detractors may think/be hoping. Bournemouth at home this weekend ought to yield three points.