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GM football fans. It’s Tuesday, Nov. 25 - Matchday 5 of the Champions League league phase kicks off today, Haiti fans won’t be able to attend the World Cup despite qualifying, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
UEFA Champions League (Nov 25): Chelsea vs. Barcelona, 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET. Barcelona have won just one of their last nine Champions League matches against Chelsea, and only won away to the Blues in their previous eight attempts in Europe, losing five times. Both sides have collected seven points from their opening four games of the competition. Manchester City vs. Bayer Leverkusen, 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET. City have collected 10 points from their opening four games to sit fourth in the 36-team table, 17 places better off than their 21st-ranked visitors. It will be Pep Guardiola’s 100th match in charge of City in this competition, becoming the third coach to achieve this with an English team after Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. Marseille vs. Newcastle United, 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET. Marseille are winless in their last 12 games against English sides in Europe, while Newcastle will be looking to win four consecutive matches for the first time in the competition. See every Champions League fixture here.
Results…
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TOP TALKING POINTS
Champions League Matchday 5
Matchday 5 the Uefa Champions League league phase kicks off on Tuesday (Nov 25) and runs through Wednesday. See the league phase standings here.
On Tuesday, 12th-place Chelsea will host 11th-place Barcelona in what is the only fixture on Matchday 5 between two clubs that were in Pot 1 when the draw was made. Among the other Premier League sides, Manchester City host Bayer Leverkusen, and Newcastle travel to Marseille. Galatasaray, who sit one place outside the automatic qualification zone, face Union Saint-Gilloise. Meanwhile, Dortmund host Villarreal, Napoli face Qarabag, and Juventus travel to Bodo/Glimt.
Wednesday sees the standout fixture of the Matchday as Arsenal host Bayern Munich, a meeting between the top two in the league phase – Bayern have scored the joint-most this campaign with 14 goals, while Arsenal are the only side yet to concede. Inter Milan, the only other team with a perfect record after four rounds, visit an Atletico Madrid side that has won five in a row in all competitions. Elsewhere, Real Madrid visit Olympiakos, hoping to end a three-game winless streak across all competitions. Holders Paris Saint-Germain host Tottenham, while PSV travel to Anfield to face Liverpool.
See the possible line-ups and team news for Matchday 5 here.
World Cup Blanket Ban
The Trump administration will not grant any special exceptions for Haitian football fans hoping to travel to the U.S. to follow their team at next year’s Fifa World Cup, according to the State Department. Haiti, which qualified to compete in the tournament for the first time since 1974, is covered by a travel ban that President Donald Trump signed in June.
Iran, which has also qualified for the World Cup, is under the same travel ban. While World Cup hosts have typically streamlined visa requirements for visiting fans following their home teams, the Trump administration has insisted on maintaining a blanket ban. However, there are exemptions for players and their families, as well as coaches and support personnel, to participate in major sporting events.
Haiti have not played a game at home in four years due to gang violence. Meanwhile, the nation's French coach, Sebastien Migne, has not set foot in Haiti since being appointed 18 months ago, and home matches are played 500 miles away in Curacao.
Netflix Want EPL Rights
Streaming platform Netflix is considering bidding for some Premier League TV rights after missing out on Uefa’s club-competition packages. The move could introduce new competition for Sky and TNT Sports in the UK, and for NBC in the United States. The UK deal runs until 2029, but the U.S. agreement with NBC expires in 2028, with bids for the next cycle expected next year.
Sources suggest that Netflix’s bid for the European packages was competitive but was narrowly outbid by Paramount+, whose offer was reportedly far higher than the £1bn currently paid by TNT. “The important thing for football — both European-wide and domestic leagues — is that Netflix has shown for the first time that it is interested in buying rights,” one senior source told The Times.
Paramount+ and Netflix’s interest has injected confidence into club football, where the value of domestic rights has plateaued over the past decade. Uefa’s latest deal sees a 10% rise in rights value from European club competitions, taking its annual media revenue to €5bn (£4.4bn).
POLL
Should Liverpool drop Mohamed Salah from their first XI?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Championship leader Coventry City visit second-place Middlesbrough on Tuesday (Nov 25); match analysis (More); see the Championship table (More)
> The Women’s Super League is concerned about its broadcast slots this season after only 71,000 people watched Arsenal and Chelsea earlier this month, down from 732,000 last season (More)
> Vinicius Junior has told Real Madrid that he does not want to renew his contract while his relationship with head coach Xabi Alonso remains so strained (More)
> Rangers have sacked chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell with immediate effect (More)
> Viking FK are just one game away from winning their first Norwegian top-flight title since 1991 (Table)
Americas
> Lionel Messi had a goal and three assists as Inter Miami beat FC Cincinnati 4-0 to advance to its first Eastern Conference final (More) | New York City FC beat the No. 1 seed Philadelphia Union 1-0 to win the Eastern Conference semi-finals (More)
> Seattle Reign’s Jess Fishlock has signed a one-year contract extension through the 2026 NWSL season (More)
> The U.S. Women’s National Team will begin 2026 with its annual January training camp, and will face Paraguay on January 24 (More)
Rest of the World
> Machida Zelvia beat Vissel Kobe 3-1 at the National Stadium in Tokyo to win the Emperor's Cup for the first time (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Should artificial turf be banned in professional football?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (82%)
🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (16%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (2%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 R.M: “Yes, the surface is not designed for (world) football. In addition, with the technology in use today to ensure the proper care and growth of natural surfaces under controlled conditions, and domed arenas, there is really no excuse, other than cost!”
👍 J.H: “It is a travesty to the sport. I still bear injuries suffered during my teenage years to my ankles, knees and lower back thanks to playing on artificial turf.”
🙅♂️ D.F: “As far as I know, most Premier League and Championship teams have hybrid pitches, part artificial, part grass. Artificial pitches aren't the same as those in the 70s, and if a blanket ban were placed on artificial turf, it would surely include hybrid and mean a return to the mud bath pitches of yesteryear.”
✍️ J.C: “Depends. There are countries where the weather is so severe that ‘All Weather’ pitches allow teams to complete their leagues without a fixture pile-up.”
EXTRA TIME
Gueye sent-off for ‘slapping’ his own teammate.
The players close to 100 Premier League goals.
… and the key narratives after Matchday 12.
The most acrobatic move you’ll see from a referee.
Why VAR offside images are not always what they seem.
Ranking every Ronaldo bicycle kick.
Nike resurrects Ronaldinho’s classic boots.
What was football like during WW2? (video)
GAME FACE ON
Question: Prior to Manchester City’s win in 2023, which was the only city to have produced two winners of the Champions League/European Cup?
Scroll below for the answer.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
I always have a question mark on players from Bundesliga. I'm not saying they won't perform in another league. Because of the way the league is, they're really stretched. If you can run well, you'll have chances, goals, assists.
Answer
AC Milan (7 times) and Inter (3 times).
