GM football fans. It’s Friday, Oct. 3 - FIFA is considering moving kick-off times for next summer’s World Cup, the Hollywood Derby takes place this weekend, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
Premier League MD7: Arsenal vs. West Ham, Saturday 4, 15:00 BST / 10:00 ET. West Ham have won their last two away games against Arsenal, despite the Gunners having only lost four of their last 42 Premier League home matches. Chelsea vs. Liverpool, Saturday 4, 17:30 BST / 12:30 ET. Liverpool are looking to avoid consecutive league defeats for the first time since April 2023, but are winless in four trips to Chelsea. The Blues have suffered back-to-back league defeats, just the second time that’s happened under Enzo Maresca. Brentford vs. Manchester City, Sunday 5, 16:30 BST / 11:30 ET. Man City have only lost on one of their four top-flight visits to Brentford, on the final day of the 2022-23 season when the title was already wrapped up. Meanwhile, Brentford have won four of their last six league home games. See every Premier League Matchday 7 fixture here.
Results…
Europa League: Celtic 0-2 Braga | Feyenoord 0-2 Aston Villa | Nott’m Foret 2-3 Midtjylland | Sturm 2-1 Rangers (All Results)
Conference League: Dynamo Kyiv 0-2 Crystal Palace (All Results)
TOP TALKING POINTS
Late World Cup Kick-Offs
FIFA is considering moving some kick-off times for next summer’s World Cup to the early hours of the morning UK time to avoid the extreme heat in North America, which was a major talking point at the recent Club World Cup. Broadcasters in the UK are bracing for a hit to their ratings as up to 65 matches including England games could kick off after midnight.
Specifically, kick-off times are usually expected to be 17:00, 20:00, 23:00, and 02:00 (all UK time, -5 ET), in what was a similar pattern seen at the Club World Cup. The earlier kick-off times suited European broadcasters but caused issues for players, with the 17:00 kick-off being at mid-day on the U.S. east coast, while the 20:00 kick-off time would be at mid-day on the west coast.
While five of the 16 stadiums being used in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico either have roofs as standard or a sliding roof that can offer shade, it is impractical for all the early kick-offs to be scheduled in them. The full match schedule will be released in December after the draw.
Champions League Projections
Arsenal are 18% favourites to win the Champions League following the conclusion of Matchday 2 of the league phase, according to Opta’s prediction model. Alongside Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, PSG, Inter, and Qarabag, Arsenal have achieved maximum points and sit fifth on goal difference–see the table here.
At the start of the season, Liverpool were 20% favourites, and despite their 1-0 loss away at Galatasaray, Arne Slot’s side are now second favourites with a 14% chance. Manchester City, who also dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Monaco, remain fourth favourites (9.7%), as was predicted at the start of the season. PSG are third favourites with a 13.9% chance.
League leaders Bayern Munich have climbed from eighth favourites (4.3%) to fifth (9.5%) after back-to-back wins. Barcelona are sixth (8.2%), Real Madrid seventh (4.9%), and Inter eighth (3.7%).
Hollywood Derby Weekend
Wrexham host Birmingham City in the Championship on Friday (Oct 3) as Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney welcome Tom Brady and Tom Wagner to the Racecourse Ground. See all EFL Championship fixtures here.
Wrexham collected only one point against Birmingham in League One last season. The Welsh club have the third-best home win percentage in the Football League over the past two years—behind Leeds and Liverpool—but this form hasn’t yet carried into the Championship. Birmingham, meanwhile, have lost three consecutive league away games, though victory could lift them into the top four.
Separately, Birmingham City co-owner Wagner has urged the EFL to pursue a single global broadcast deal for the Championship, arguing that there is an “enormous opportunity” with platforms like Netflix or Amazon Prime. He also said lower-league clubs "should not take too much" from top Premier League sides, amid ongoing negotiations to redistribute a share of their wealth within the EFL.
Dive deeper into every key storyline in the EFL this weekend here.
POLL
Bayer Leverkusen's president said the Premier League is becoming the No.1 product in Europe, above the Champions League. Do you agree?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> The Premier League will soon decide on whether to get rid of its profit and sustainability rules and introduce a new squad-cost ratio system (More) | Liverpool are waiting to learn the extent of Alisson’s hamstring injury sustained in their Champions League fixture against Galatasaray (More)
> FIFA is set to increase the number of English clubs participating in the next Club World Cup to three, rather than a maximum of two (More)
> In the WSL, first-place Chelsea will travel to second-place Manchester United on Friday (Oct 3) at 19:30 BST; both teams are undefeated in the league so far (Match Preview); see all upcoming WSL fixtures (More)
Americas
> Nashville SC have won the U.S. Open Cup with a 2-1 victory over Austin FC, securing a spot in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup (More) | See all upcoming MLS fixtures ahead of the weekend (More) and the teams that can clinch a play-off spot (More)
> The NWSL's Washington Spirit have offered free and discounted tickets to furloughed federal employees for Sunday's match with the San Diego Wave (More) | See every NWSL play-off and shield clinching scenarios ahead of this weekend’s fixture (More)
> Vancouver Whitecaps FC made it four Canadian Championship titles in a row with a 4-2 victory over Canadian Premier League side Vancouver FC (More)
> USL Cup final between Sacramento Republic and Hartford Athletic to kick off on Saturday (4 Oct) at 22:00 ET (More); match analysis (Watch) | See all USL Championship regular season fixtures (More)
Rest of the World
> Zinedine Zidane’s son Luca was called up by Algeria for the first time, with the team close to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: If a match is stopped mid-game, should it be replayed in full or resumed from the minute it left off?
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🔄 Replayed in full (32%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 ⏰ Resume (63%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (5%)
Your punditry takes:
🔄 P.B: “How many times have we seen a team come back to win a match in the dying embers? That’s even with 10 players on the field. It’s totally unfair to assume a team is going to lose from any position. Instead, I’d replay the match in full, potentially with an aggregate scoreline from the first match.”
⏰ J.D: “Replaying the match doesn’t make sense. For example, calling a game off due to weather concerns happens in other sports (i.e., baseball) and the game is simply resumed. Especially if a team is leading, like the Blackburn game, and there are only 10 minutes remaining. From a player health perspective, adding an additional full game doesn’t make sense.”
✍️ R.D: “I would say if the game is greater than 75% (67th minute) played, then the result stands as is. Otherwise, replay the game.”
EXTRA TIME
The price of World Cup tickets revealed.
Lille keeper saves three retaken penalties.
What Premier League pass maps tell us about each team.
The best under-the-radar FPL picks. (FPL)
Kenny Dalglish appears on The Overlap. (podcast)
Are small shin pads against the law of the game?
GAME FACE ON
Question: Virgil van Dijk, Luis Suarez, Branislav Ivanovic, Patrice Evra, Edin Dzeko, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang–what do these players have in common?
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
Premier League
Bournemouth vs. Fulham (20:00)
Championship
Wrexham vs. Birmingham (20:00)
Women’s Super League
Manchester United vs. Chelsea (19:30)
La Liga
Osasuna vs. Getafe (20:00)
Bundesliga
Hoffenheim vs. Koln (19:30)
*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.
Answer
They were all signed in the January transfer window in the Premier League.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
I couldn't settle in Italy. It was like living in a foreign country.
