Top Flight Buildup and Fresh Football News

This comment feels a bit too relatable for my liking. The festive period is invariably about football first, decorations later.

This can be a difficult time for football supporters. Can we manage to keep the necessary eye on our team while showing appropriate enthusiasm for presents, holiday meals, and family events...? We'll give it a damned good try! Sorry, what was that you were saying...?

Manchester United Eye Neves and Gallagher

Manchester United are on the hunt for a midfielder. This likely isn't positive for the young talent… with two former Premier League stars are targeted by Ruben Amorim’s side.

Newcastle v Chelsea Pre-Match Preview

Newcastle v Chelsea in the early Saturday slot provides a fantastic start to start the day’s action. The Magpies occupy 12th place while Chelsea sit fourth. A mere six-point gap lies between them, given Newcastle's strong home form set to provide a stern test for the Blues.

The home side could be hindered, however, due to a lengthy list of unavailable defenders. Tino Livramento has joined a host of sidelined players on the treatment table, with Lewis Hall also a doubt.

Despite this, and despite Maresca claiming he was “falling more in love with [his players” earlier this week, it's unwise to predict an easy Chelsea win on Tyneside. Will the coach decide on a regular forward line? Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho came off the bench during the midweek cup tie and found the net appearing as candidates for a starting spot.

Predicting games in such fixtures in the current campaign has proven exceptionally tough.

Debate Over Elite Footballers

Observations show considerable debate among fans regarding rankings of the world's best… these things are always subjective, of course. One thing you cannot argue with is Ousmane Dembélé’s place at the top.

10 Things to Look Out For

Major plotlines this weekend include: The scrutiny on Burnley's manager, to Wolves’ long search for a win, appeals for the striker's inclusion in the national team setup, everything is covered.

Weekend Football Recap

In case you missed it late drama unfolded during the Welsh derby. The shot-stopper handed victory to Swansea with a last-minute error when he dropped Ben Cabango’s header straight to the substitute. Idah had the simplest of task to score for the decisive goal.

A gift from the Arsenal academy graduate, by the way, and Welsh bragging rights go to the Swans.

Steve Evans steered his team to a draw ending a poor run, but stated the result was disappointing as they faced ten men for most of the game. Elsewhere in League Two, Cambridge United jumped into the playoff spots with a 2-0 win over Accrington while Cheltenham won at struggling Barrow.

Northampton cruised to a comfortable victory in League One.

Over in Germany, the derby went Dortmund's way, Max Beier scoring in the 97th minute to see off Mönchengladbach after Julian Brandt struck early on.

Introduction

Good morning all and welcome to another matchday live blog. It’s Saturday morning so that can only mean one thing – buildup! It's truly a bumper day of action featuring eight top-flight matches, kicking off with the early kick-off, followed by four afternoon games, Tottenham v Liverpool at 5.30pm, and then two 8pm games: the Merseyside and London clashes (all times GMT).

Additionally, there's a complete card of games in the Scottish Premiership, Championship, League One and League Two, and further down the divisions along with European action. See – bumper.

As always with matchday lives, we welcome your interaction, so share your predictions for the day ahead, reflections on the year now that it’s coming to an end, or your plans for a day of festive footy-ball. Should be fun!