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Cole Palmer set to return against Arsenal

Jacob Steinberg

Enzo Maresca will address the media later today and all being well he should have some good news for Chelsea fans on Cole Palmer. Assuming he’s not bumped into any more doors in the night the Chelsea attacker should be fit to return from a broken toe against Arsenal on Sunday. Palmer has been out since September with a groin injury and his return was delayed by a freak accident at home last week, but he’s been in training and it sounds as if he is making good progress. Of course, there could always be a surprise from Maresca…

Arne Slot: 'Every small mistake is leading to a goal'

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has been speaking ahead of their must-win/musn’t-lose match at West Ham on Sunday.

It would also be nice if we would reward ourselves in the moments we play well because people are very focused, and correctly, about the parts we don’t play well.
There are definitely large parts of the games that we do play well and do create a lot of chances - we tend to forget to reward ourselves in those moments. Every small mistake, or small error, immediately leads to us conceding a goal.

I don’t see it (confidence) being low when we start the game. I didn’t even see it being low after we conceded (the first goal in Wednesday’s 4-1 defeat to PSV Eindhoven). Even when we conceded the 2-1 and again had a disappointment we were able to generate enough chances but after they scored the 3-1 I could see it hurt the players and that wasn’t the period where our fighting spirit was the best in the game, to say it mildly.

After the 3-1 it is very difficult to get a message across when I’m on the sideline but before (the game) and during half-time I think the message comes across to them. If I see how we create our chances it is a lot of the things we train on and what is in the meeting but unfortunately it doesn’t lead to goals and that is difficult for them, for me, for everyone. But the message that comes across is very clear from me from the way we generate our chances.”

“Hi Rob,” writes Krishnamoorthy V. “Talking about confused metaphors or twisted aphorisms, there is some sound advice to Arne Slot. Don’t just do something, simply stand there.”

Are you saying all you have to do is nothing?

The Lionesses are in action this weekend; they play China at Wembley tomorrow evening. And as I type, Australia are playing New Zealand in a friendly in Gosford – the first major sport of any kind to take place in Australia in ages. You can follow the action with Jo Khan.

Chelsea v Arsenal (Sunday, 4.30pm)

Here’s a good one from the archive, Scott Murray on six classic Chelsea/Arsenal matches.

Chelsea won their first and only pre-Mourinho championship in 1954-55 under the auspices of Ted Drake, but a series of mid-table finishes, and a slow start in 1961-62, saw the former Arsenal legend sacked and replaced by Tommy Docherty. The Doc’s first game in charge was a 4-0 tonking at Blackpool, and at the end of the season Chelsea were relegated. But they bounced straight back with a side built around Peter Bonetti, Ron Harris, Terry Venables, and their young captain Bobby Tambling.

Their first season back in the top flight was, for such a young team, a triumph. The standout result was a 4-2 win at Highbury, Tambling scoring all four goals on a mudbath, capitalising on three mistakes by Ian Ure, the other a delicious lob. Before the game, Arsenal – built around the attacking talents of George Eastham, Joe Baker and George Armstrong, had held faint hopes of sustaining a title challenge, but they’d been found out. The result seemed to set both teams down very different roads. Chelsea finished in fifth, three places ahead of out-of-puff Arsenal. Docherty’s side were instantly anointed as one of the teams of the decade. Tambling scored in their victorious League Cup final against Leicester in 1965, and the 1967 FA Cup final defeat to Spurs. And the club would round off the decade with their first FA Cup win in 1969-70. Arsenal meanwhile ...

Europa League: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic

Feyenoord manager Robin van Persie said his decision to give son Shaqueel a senior debut in their Europa League game against Celtic was made in his role as his coach, not his father, after the Dutch side lost 3-1 at home on Thursday.

The 19-year-old signed his first professional contract with the Dutch club in 2022 and was an unused substitute in Sunday’s Eredivisie defeat by NEC Nijmegen after being called up to the first-team squad for the first time.

The forward’s senior debut came four days later against Celtic when he came on to replace defender Jordan Lotomba in the 81st minute, with Feyenoord trailing by two goals.

“I made that call as a coach, not as a dad because we needed a goal,” former Arsenal and Manchester United forward Van Persie said. “Shaqueel is a player who can score a goal from all angles. That was the reason I brought him on.”

The substitution did not have the desired effect as Feyenoord conceded a third just a minute later, Benjamin Nygren’s goal sealing the win for the Glasgow side.

“From a father’s point of view, when your son makes his debut that is always a special moment,” the coach said. “But I wasn’t that busy with enjoying that moment, I was doing my work like Shaqueel was.”

Preamble

Hello, good morning and welcome to our Friday football blog. Think of it as the guy behind the guy, the other guy being the actual football that takes place over the weekend. And the football that was played last night, to which we’ll have reaction and comment. So maybe it’s the guy between the guys.

Enough of the confused metaphors. Here’s a full list of this weekend’s Premier League fixtures