Amorim Confronts Crucial Fixture, Premier League Buildup and More

The Parisian club are performing rather well in France's top division. The new kids on the block in the highest division of French football defeated Lorient 2-0 yesterday evening… they might not yet be ready to compete with their high-profile local rivals, but they’re likely stay up – as three victories from their first seven games after being promoted indicates.

Across European leagues yesterday there were 1-0 away wins for the Italian side at Hellas Verona and Köln at Hoffenheim. The Spanish outfit secured a last-minute 2-1 win over Getafe in La Liga.

I found particularly engaging this piece by Barney Ronay, who raises an interesting query: what do you actually know about the young talent. The eighth highest-priced player in history has got off to an inauspicious start at Liverpool but should we be surprised considering his astronomic signing cost?

It's important to consider the major games outside the Premier League today. The clash between City and Arsenal at midday (BST) is the main event in the Women's Super League; both teams has been at their best since the season started and that looks a difficult match to call. Hearts v Hibernian is consistently significant in Scotland but this local rivalry (5.45pm) assumes even greater significance given that the home side are leading of the Scottish top flight. The Glasgow giants are not in action until tomorrow.

In Spain, Los Blancos welcome Villarreal at 8pm with early season pacesetters Barça taking on Sevilla on Sunday. Borussia Dortmund v RB Leipzig and Frankfurt against Bayern are key encounters in the German league. Italy's headline fixture comes tomorrow evening with the giant clash between the Old Lady and the Rossoneri at one of European football’s many Allianz arenas.

Hearts fans, share your views: you could see your side extend their lead to five points at the top with victory today!

An early email has landed in my mail from Krishnamoorthy:

“Hello Dominic. Has his excellency Pope Leo communicated with Amorim? Do we expect a competitive performance or another shoddy performance?

“That leads me to ask – who will be dismissed first Ange or Ruben?”

It seems likely the Forest boss will be given leeway to implement his ideas at Nottingham Forest, whereas a loss to the Black Cats today could spell major problems for the manager.

Yesterday evening wasn't only about the Bournemouth forward netting a brace to boost everyone’s FPL teams (except mine). The high-profile clash in the Championship ended 1-1 between the Welsh side and Birmingham while in-form United disrupted the London club's perfect start to the Women’s Super League season as they tied 1-1 at Leigh. Marc Skinner’s team are now just two points off the top of the table having begun the campaign strongly.

Fulham will be questioning exactly what occurred with them at the Bournemouth's ground last night. When Ryan Sessegnon fired them into the front a fifth of the game from the end, their manager's side were in pole position, only to be beaten by a late Cherries siege, which featured Semenyo’s double and a the midfielder stunning strike from long range.

The Crystal Palace striker has characterized his first call-up to the French national team as “a dream come true” after the Crystal Palace forward was selected by the national coach for the qualifying matches against their opponents and the Nordic side.

The player in his late twenties was one of France’s experienced members at the previous Olympic Games and scored a handful of strikes as the coach's side won a second place. He, who played the opening period of his club's victory over Dynamo Kyiv on Thursday night in the host country, has also represented Les Bleus at various junior categories.

He revealed that he had watched the squad announcement with his compatriot the defender in his hotel room in Lublin after the teammate had a hunch that the former Lyon and Mainz striker's moment had arrived.

“I feel very, very happy; it’s like a fantasy realized,” stated the striker. “I hope to remain a prolonged period with this team and assist them to succeed. I watched it on television. Lacroix remarked: ‘This day they will call.’ He visited my accommodation and we viewed together the announcement. The coach was talking and he said the player's name. He consistently advised me to work hard and you'd receive the invitation. I continued striving and I received my call.”

Asked whether experiencing international football could benefit his performance at his club, he said: “If I play, I hope I will help the squad with the national side to triumph. Of course, I will come back with confidence. I perpetually possess confidence. I think it will bring me additional assurance.”

Hello all! The Premier League schedule continues unabated and Bournemouth’s stylish win over Fulham yesterday got another weekend with a exciting beginning. The forward, well… an exceptional talent.

Regardless, we’re building up to Saturday’s fixtures, as usual, on the live blog, the countdown/news/interactive sports coverage where we encourage you to share your input with your opinions, remarks, predictions and whatever else you're anticipating for this footballing weekend.

In terms of matches, Leeds versus Spurs is the early top flight offering, plus four games in the Championship, while Arsenal v West Ham and United facing Sunderland are the afternoon games. Can the Hammers' boss revive the London club at the Emirates? And will there be more trouble for the manager against the high-flying Black Cats? The evening game of Chelsea versus Liverpool ought to be just as compelling, with Arne Slot aiming to avoid a third successive loss and the Blues' manager seeking to avoid a third consecutive top division setback. So there’s current performance.

As our journalists dropping in bits of colour from across the country and continent, there's a lot to keep following. Let’s get going…