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The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in cheesy metaphors puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?
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the ball on the Guardian app","caption":"It’s Jordan Henderson!","credit":"Photograph: The Guardian"}}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1762506044000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"09.00 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1762508810000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"09.46 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1762508810000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"09.46 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"09.46","title":"On the ball – guess the footballer","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Fri 7 Nov 2025 09.46 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Fri 7 Nov 2025 09.00 GMT"},{"id":"690dbda08f087d41c6d81594","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
The football news cycle cannot function without some ultra-processed beef. This week it’s been between Wayne Rooney and Virgil van Dijk, who had a face-to-face discussion on Amazon Prime about Rooney’s suggestion Van Dijk had “downed tools” during Liverpool’s recent slump.
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Here’s what Rooney had to say on the latest edition of his BBC podcast.
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\n
Maybe I was a bit unfair with that comment (about downing tools). Maybe I was a bit unfair because I don’t know him that well as a person.
\n
From a performance point of view I think I was speaking what I felt and what I was seeing and I felt I was right.
\n
Van Dijk will judge himself by them (high standards). When he reflects on his performances this season he’d be the first to say they haven’t been at the standard he’s set.
\n
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Sunday’s game at the Etihad will be Pep Guardiola’s 1000th as manager. He’s come a long way since 2 September 2007, when his Barcelona B team drew 0-0 away to CE Premia.
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Can anyone name the XI Guardiola picked that day? If so, we encourage you to seek urgent medical assistance.
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Guardiola is the 39th manager in the modern era of English football to be inducted into the LMA Hall of Fame 1,000 Club.
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“Being a member of the League Managers Association is very important to me so I am really, really honored to join the LMA Hall of Fame 1,000 Club,” he said. “I am humbled to be inducted into such an esteemed club that includes Sir Alex Ferguson and many managerial peers that I have enjoyed competing against over the years.”
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Last night’s Europa League match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv was, as Barney Ronay put it, “perhaps the most un-football football match ever staged in England, a groaning platter of geopolitics with a tiny little sprig of sport dusted across the top”. Oh, Villa won 2-0.
","elementId":"76ab22bb-d98d-445d-902c-87560fee2427"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement","prefix":"Related: ","text":"Protests outside match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv lead to 11 arrests","elementId":"24d634e5-5024-4b0e-87c6-3cd1dc4d9972","role":"thumbnail","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/nov/06/six-arrested-during-protests-outside-match-between-aston-villa-and-maccabi-tel-aviv"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1762507153000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"09.19 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1762507251000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"09.20 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1762507251000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"09.20 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"09.20","title":"Eleven arrests at Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Fri 7 Nov 2025 09.46 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Fri 7 Nov 2025 09.00 GMT"},{"id":"690db3ef8f08d1d817777208","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Wolves’s approach for Rob Edwards has been rejected by Middlesbrough, with the Championship club determined to keep hold of their head coach. Wolves want Edwards to succeed Vítor Pereira but after Gary O’Neil pulled out of advanced talks on Monday, Boro dismissed Wolves’s attempt to lure Edwards on Thursday afternoon.
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Edwards joined Boro in the summer on a three-year contract until 2028 and the club are adamant they want to keep him after leading them to third in the division. Wolves were hoping to tempt Edwards to swap a promotion charge for a relegation battle, with the Molineux club bottom of the Premier League after claiming just two points from their opening 10 matches.
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Wolves and particularly their executive chair, Jeff Shi, are longstanding admirers of Edwards, who previously played and coached at the club. Edwards also had a short spell in caretaker charge in 2016, shortly after Fosun, Wolves’ owners, bought the club. Wolves were willing to pay Boro compensation to extract Edwards from his contract.
","elementId":"cca497ba-ed1a-4f27-9fbf-b07ec739315e"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement","prefix":"Related: ","text":"Middlesbrough reject Wolves approach for head coach Rob Edwards","elementId":"921ed349-0a72-4548-bead-1940d510d917","role":"thumbnail","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/nov/06/wolves-middlesbrough-rob-edwards-managerial-vacancy-football"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1762506021000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"09.00 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1762506660000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"09.11 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1762506661000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"09.11 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"09.11","title":"Middlesbrough reject Wolves approach for Edwards","contributors":[{"name":"Ben Fisher","imageUrl":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/11/21/Ben_Fisher.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c519af2c6b42b82c34606a7a512d6e0b","largeImageUrl":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/11/21/Ben_Fisher.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=3ac51ec274d88f3fb0b3945295f9854a"}],"primaryDateLine":"Fri 7 Nov 2025 09.46 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Fri 7 Nov 2025 09.00 GMT"},{"id":"690b39558f08fa7fae30626a","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Morning one and all. Stop messing around on YouTube, watching old Top of the Pops episodes from 1991 again: we’ve got a busy (sic) day of football news ahead. At 10am, Thomas Tuchel will name his England squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania, with Jude Bellingham set to be recalled.
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We’ll also have all the build-up – okay, as much as we can humanly manage – ahead of this weekend’s domestic fixtures. Including this little lot in the Premier League.
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Saturday
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- \n
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Tottenham v Man Utd (12.30pm)
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Everton v Fulham (3pm)
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West Ham v Burnley (3pm)
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Sunderland v Arsenal (5.30pm)
- \n
Chelsea v Wolves (8pm)
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
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Sunday
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- \n
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Crystal Palace v Brighton (2pm)
- \n
Aston Villa v Bournemouth (2pm)
- \n
Brentford v Newcastle (2pm)
- \n
Nottm Forest v Leeds United (2pm)
- \n
Manchester City v Liverpool (4.30pm)
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
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| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 10 | 15 | 25 |
| 2 | Man City | 10 | 12 | 19 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 10 | 4 | 18 |
| 4 | Sunderland | 10 | 4 | 18 |
| 5 | AFC Bournemouth | 10 | 3 | 18 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 10 | 9 | 17 |
| 7 | Chelsea | 10 | 7 | 17 |
| 8 | Man Utd | 10 | 1 | 17 |
| 9 | Crystal Palace | 10 | 5 | 16 |
| 10 | Brighton | 10 | 2 | 15 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 10 | -1 | 15 |
| 12 | Brentford | 10 | -2 | 13 |
| 13 | Newcastle | 10 | -1 | 12 |
| 14 | Everton | 10 | -3 | 12 |
| 15 | Fulham | 10 | -2 | 11 |
| 16 | Leeds | 10 | -8 | 11 |
| 17 | Burnley | 10 | -7 | 10 |
| 18 | West Ham | 10 | -11 | 7 |
| 19 | Nottm Forest | 10 | -12 | 6 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton | 10 | -15 | 2 |
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Thomas Tuchel has decided to give Jude Bellingham an England recall on Friday for the World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania, the Guardian understands. The head coach sparked a major sideshow in October when he did not select Bellingham for the friendly with Wales and the qualifier against Latvia.
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Bellingham was not in prime physical condition having returned to the Real Madrid squad after shoulder surgery only a couple of weeks before Tuchel’s announcement. It was nonetheless a bombshell call given Bellingham’s ability and status, with Tuchel doubling down on it when he said he might have excluded him even if he had been 100% fit.
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Key events
On the ball – guess the footballer
The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in cheesy metaphors puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?
‘A moral crisis in Turkish football’
Turkish prosecutors said on Friday they had ordered the detention of 21 people, including 17 referees and the chairman of an unnamed Super Lig club as part of an investigation into alleged betting on football matches.
So far 18 of the 21 suspects have been detained, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.
The move comes a week after the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended 149 referees and assistant referees after an investigation found the officials working in the country’s professional leagues were betting on football matches.
The Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said the detention of the 17 referees was on the grounds of abuse of duty and manipulating match results. A Super Lig club president, a former club owner and a former association president were also ordered detained over alleged match-fixing, it said.
One more person faced arrest for spreading misleading information on social media as part of the operation across 12 cities in Turkey, the statement said.
In its own separate probe, the TFF’s disciplinary board has imposed bans ranging from eight to 12 months on 149 officials for involvement in betting activity.
TFF President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu has described the situation as a “moral crisis in Turkish football”. Its probe revealed that 371 of 571 active referees in Turkey’s professional leagues had betting accounts, and 152 of them were actively gambling.
One referee had bet 18,227 times, and 42 referees had bet on more than 1,000 football matches each. Others were found to have bet only once.
From Reuters
Rooney: ‘Maybe I was bit unfair to Van Dijk’
The football news cycle cannot function without some ultra-processed beef. This week it’s been between Wayne Rooney and Virgil van Dijk, who had a face-to-face discussion on Amazon Prime about Rooney’s suggestion Van Dijk had “downed tools” during Liverpool’s recent slump.
Here’s what Rooney had to say on the latest edition of his BBC podcast.
Maybe I was a bit unfair with that comment (about downing tools). Maybe I was a bit unfair because I don’t know him that well as a person.
From a performance point of view I think I was speaking what I felt and what I was seeing and I felt I was right.
Van Dijk will judge himself by them (high standards). When he reflects on his performances this season he’d be the first to say they haven’t been at the standard he’s set.
Sunday’s game at the Etihad will be Pep Guardiola’s 1000th as manager. He’s come a long way since 2 September 2007, when his Barcelona B team drew 0-0 away to CE Premia.
Can anyone name the XI Guardiola picked that day? If so, we encourage you to seek urgent medical assistance.
Guardiola is the 39th manager in the modern era of English football to be inducted into the LMA Hall of Fame 1,000 Club.
“Being a member of the League Managers Association is very important to me so I am really, really honored to join the LMA Hall of Fame 1,000 Club,” he said. “I am humbled to be inducted into such an esteemed club that includes Sir Alex Ferguson and many managerial peers that I have enjoyed competing against over the years.”
Manchester City v Liverpool (Sun, 4.30pm)
Arne Slot says Alexander Isak will return to training with Liverpool today, so you’d imagine he’ll be on the bench for Sunday’s game at the Etihad
Eleven arrests at Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv
Last night’s Europa League match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv was, as Barney Ronay put it, “perhaps the most un-football football match ever staged in England, a groaning platter of geopolitics with a tiny little sprig of sport dusted across the top”. Oh, Villa won 2-0.
Few things in football stir the soul like the emergence of young players. We profile six of the best from this Premier League season.
Middlesbrough reject Wolves approach for Edwards
Ben Fisher
Wolves’s approach for Rob Edwards has been rejected by Middlesbrough, with the Championship club determined to keep hold of their head coach. Wolves want Edwards to succeed Vítor Pereira but after Gary O’Neil pulled out of advanced talks on Monday, Boro dismissed Wolves’s attempt to lure Edwards on Thursday afternoon.
Edwards joined Boro in the summer on a three-year contract until 2028 and the club are adamant they want to keep him after leading them to third in the division. Wolves were hoping to tempt Edwards to swap a promotion charge for a relegation battle, with the Molineux club bottom of the Premier League after claiming just two points from their opening 10 matches.
Wolves and particularly their executive chair, Jeff Shi, are longstanding admirers of Edwards, who previously played and coached at the club. Edwards also had a short spell in caretaker charge in 2016, shortly after Fosun, Wolves’ owners, bought the club. Wolves were willing to pay Boro compensation to extract Edwards from his contract.
Manchester City v Liverpool (4.30pm)
Arne Slot, who looks a lot more relaxed after a superb week for Liverpool, is chatting to the media ahead of the trip to Manchester City on Sunday. We’ll post the most interesting quotes shortly.
Tuchel decides to recall Bellingham in key England squad
David Hytner
Thomas Tuchel has decided to give Jude Bellingham an England recall on Friday for the World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania, the Guardian understands. The head coach sparked a major sideshow in October when he did not select Bellingham for the friendly with Wales and the qualifier against Latvia.
Bellingham was not in prime physical condition having returned to the Real Madrid squad after shoulder surgery only a couple of weeks before Tuchel’s announcement. It was nonetheless a bombshell call given Bellingham’s ability and status, with Tuchel doubling down on it when he said he might have excluded him even if he had been 100% fit.
Preamble
Morning one and all. Stop messing around on YouTube, watching old Top of the Pops episodes from 1991 again: we’ve got a busy (sic) day of football news ahead. At 10am, Thomas Tuchel will name his England squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania, with Jude Bellingham set to be recalled.
We’ll also have all the build-up – okay, as much as we can humanly manage – ahead of this weekend’s domestic fixtures. Including this little lot in the Premier League.
Saturday
Sunday
-
Crystal Palace v Brighton (2pm)
-
Aston Villa v Bournemouth (2pm)
-
Brentford v Newcastle (2pm)
-
Nottm Forest v Leeds United (2pm)
-
Manchester City v Liverpool (4.30pm)