Premier League news, Manchester United v Spurs buildup, and more - matchday live

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As Will said to mechanic ‘Wolfie’ in The Inbetweeners: “You’re 17. You’re 17! There’s looking older and then there’s that. You look about 30.” Those words could easily have applied to a young James Milner and now the Brighton star is ready to update one of the great Premier League quiz questions.

Milner, now 40, can equal the all-time Premier League appearance record if he gets some game time against Crystal Palace on Sunday. That would bring him level with Gareth Barry at the top of the all-time charts with 653 appearances. The midfielder is also just the fifth player to play in the Premier League after reaching 40.

Here’s Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler paying tribute.

He will definitely be in the squad. For me, for us, James Milner is a role model, he’s a great character to work with. I think being a Premier League player in this age and still playing on the level he plays and also training on the level he trains... So when you just followed the last two training sessions, it’s incredible what he’s doing so I’m very pleased to work with him. I think that will be a special thing for him but he is focused on top of that on the ambitions from the club as well. He wants to be always successful like he was his whole life.

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We also have action today in the Scottish Cup (3pm GMT kick-off unless stated otherwise):

Dundee Utd v Spartans

Dunfermline v Kelty Hearts

Elgin v Partick

Celtic v Dundee (5:30pm GMT)

Aberdeen v Motherwell (7:30pm GMT)

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Pep Guardiola has been making different sort of headlines this week. Barney Ronay looks at what the talking heads are saying and whether the Manchester City boss should “stick to football”.

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It’s a Manchester 1-2 in the Women’s Super League although City are absolutely running away with it. United travel to Leicester in the only WSL fixture today. It kicks off at 12pm which is a bit daft given that the men’s team are in action at 12.30pm. What if you’re a big fan of both? Anyway, here’s the table. United will hope to cut the gap to eight points.

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Premier League team news. Okay, the fantasy deadline has already gone due to Leeds playing Nottingham Forest last night but for those who love to ponder starting XIs, see who’s crocked and check current form along with each club’s top scorer, this is the article just for you.

Man Utd v Spurs team news will be with you at 11.15pm today by the way.

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All games across the EFL will kick off a minute later than usual today and there’s a very good reason why.

It’s part of the Every Minute Matters campaign which calls on football fans across the country to learn CPR and help build an army of 500,000 lifesavers during Heart Month.

The gesture serves as a powerful reminder that every minute counts when someone suffers a cardiac arrest - with survival chances dropping by up to 10% for every minute without CPR or defibrillation.

Micah Richards has joined forces with Bristol Rovers defender, Tom Lockyer, who suffered a cardiac arrest in December 2023 when playing for Luton.

Former Manchester City defender and now TV pundit, Richards said: “Every Minute Matters is a brilliant partnership that is just bigger than football. Learning CPR takes just 15 minutes, and it could save a life. It doesn’t get bigger than that.

“Listening to Tom and seeing what he has achieved is inspirational. We’re asking fans to ‘Show Your Heart’ this February and learn one of the most important skills of all, CPR.

“If football can do this and create an army of half a million lifesavers, it would be an incredible achievement.”

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After an appalling tally a fortnight ago, I managed a healthy haul of 80 Premier League Fantasy points last week. That was mainly thanks to the blossoming relationship of Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike. There was an Opta start doing the rounds later that the Liverpool pair have combined for six goals in all competitions this season, more than any other Premier League duo. They’s assisted each other three times. It’s pretty obvious that Wirtz and Ekitike are now the heartbeat of the Liverpool attack, with Mo Salah’s influence receding.

Having said all that, I’ve captained Bruno Fernandes (v Spurs) this weekend. You?

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Whoops, I forgot to mention two other Friday matches. Perhaps because neither witnessed a goal.

In Ligue 1, bottom club Metz did well to hold fifth-placed Lille to a 0-0 draw while there were also blanks in a Championship London derby. Charlton 0-0 QPR left the hosts in 17th while the visitors snuck up a place to 10th. It’s cramped around the playoff spots, as you can see.

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So what else happened on Friday night? A quick spin through some of the games in Europe.

Serie A

Verona 0-0 Pisa. A goalless draw between the two bottom teams. Not very helpful for either.

La Liga

Celta Vigo 1-2 Osasuna. A good away win for Osasuna, who nudged up to eighth, one spot behind Celta. The hosts could have gone fifth with a win but Osasuna stole the points via a late goal from Raúl García de Haro.

Bundesliga

Union Berlin 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt. It all happened late here with both goals and a red card in the final six minutes. Frankfurt are now managed by former Liverpool winger, Albert Riera, but he was denied a winning start by Leopold Querfeld’s 87th-minute penalty.

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The Premier League kicked off last night with a crucial game at a windy and rainy Elland Road. And, for the fifth straight time this season, Leeds won a night game in front of their home fans. Supporters and atmosphere make a difference, right. Here’s Aaron Bower’s match report.

And this is what it did to the table. Leeds are now nine points clear of the drop zone.

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Yesterday was the 68th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster. Manchester United boss, Michael Carrick, was asked what the remembrance meant to him.

Munich is probably the biggest part of the history of this club in terms of the tragedy itself, how the team and the football club bounced back from it and went on to success... and everything from there was carried on. Sir Alex when I came would mention it, it was important to him, it was important to us [the playing squad at the time] and then it becomes a way of life and a way of the club. I think it’s important that we carry that on. I was here for the 50th [anniversary], I was here for the 60th, we’ll see about the 70th, we’re not sure yet. But being aware of it and being around it, especially in those moments, you really feel that emotion to be honest with you. On Saturday, inside the stadium, we’ll feel it as well.

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Today’s Premier League fixtures (3pm GMT kick-off unless stated otherwise):

Man Utd v Tottenham (12:30pm GMT)

Arsenal v Sunderland

Bournemouth v Aston Villa

Burnley v West Ham

Fulham v Everton

Wolves v Chelsea

Newcastle v Brentford (5:30pm GMT)

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Preamble

There’s still something about a Saturday morning that can never be beaten in terms of sporting anticipation. And, if the feeling is mutual, you’ve come to the right place!

While you may want to dabble in the Winter Olympics and Six Nations later on (we have live blogs on both), this page is all about the football. And what a cracker we have to start things off at 12.30pm – rejuvenated Manchester United v rejuvenated Tottenham. Although the latter refers to one good half against Man City, let’s go with it.

It’s one of seven Saturday fixtures in the Premier League, with two on Sunday including the blockbuster that is Liverpool v Manchester City. If you’re finger counting and have only reached nine, that’s because we’ve already had Leeds v West Ham. More on that Friday result shortly.

And how about you? Off to a game? Let us know! Lots to discuss as we cast our eye around the football world so strap in and let’s get things on the road!

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