Divisive vote today

GM football fans. It’s Friday, Nov. 22, and we’re covering a controversial Premier League vote, Amorim’s tough start and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.

PREMIER LEAGUE MW12 STATS

Manchester City vs Tottenham (Sat 23, 17:30 GMT / 14:30 ET). The reigning champions have lost their last four games in all competitions, and have won just three of their last 10 Premier League games against Tottenham. Southampton vs Liverpool (Sun 24, 14:00 GMT / 9:00 ET). Liverpool have won 10, drawn three and lost just one of the last 14 league meetings with Southampton. Arne Slot could match Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti’s record as the fastest to reach 10 wins in the Premier League. Ipswich vs Manchester United (Sun 24, 16:30 GMT / 11:30 ET). Man Utd have nine consecutive away victories against newly promoted sides, but Ipswich will be buoyant after earning their first win in the top-flight in 22 years.

Plus…

• Full list of Premier League MW12 fixtures (More)

• MLS Cup playoffs semi-final bracket (More)

• Brentford announce their newest Hall of Fame inductees (More)

• Tuchel to add Chelsea goalkeeping coach to his England backroom staff (More)

• Reece James, Chelsea captain, has another injury (More)

EPL’S DIVISIVE VOTE

Premier League vote today on APT legal battle, City and Villa aim to postpone

Today, Premier League clubs will vote on amendments to the Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules. Previous write-up here. APT rules, which aim to stop clubs from inflating sponsorships with owner-linked companies, were deemed “unlawful” by a tribunal in October.

Clubs will vote on a small list of changes that address the points found unlawful. The rest of the regulations will remain in place. Manchester City, with the support of Aston Villa, are arguing that the entire APT framework is redundant. An independent panel is reviewing whether the changes are legal. City wrote to the other 19 clubs arguing the vote should be postponed until the panel decides. Everton and Wolves have reportedly (paywall) already sided with the league’s approach.

Ultimately, the vote will likely go ahead, and the league will need 14 of the 20 clubs to vote in favour of their amendments. Historically speaking, the Premier League only offers votes on those it is sure it can win.

POLL

HEAD START

✍️ Pep signs a new two-year contract. As reported on Wednesday, Pep Guardiola has signed a two-year contract with Manchester City which will keep him at the club until 2027. The 53-year-old Spaniard joined City in 2016 and has won 18 trophies, including six Premier League titles. "I felt I could not leave now. Maybe the four defeats was why," Guardiola said. Speculation over the Spaniard’s future, rife for several months, increased when the club’s director of football Txiki Begiristain would be leaving at the end of the season. The news has come at a critical juncture in City's season. Dive deeper into Pep’s time at City here.

🇪🇸 Hermoso left out of Spain’s squad in wake of Netflix show. A documentary shedding light on Luis Rubiales’ forced kiss on captain Jenni Hermoso after their 2023 World Cup win has resulted in the player being left out of the squad. Without explicitly criticising Hermoso, head coach Montserrat Tome has said she wants to build “team spirit”. Hermoso shared a response on her social media with the caption, “Don’t sell your soul to the devil,” in what seemed a veiled critique of the coach’s decision. The 34-year-old is Spain women’s all-time top scorer with 52 goals in 107 caps. Rubiales has since been banned from football-related activities for three years. 

🏟️ Newcastle is considering a new stadium build. The club’s chief operating officer said they’re “seriously” considering building a new stadium “that wouldn’t be far away” from St James’ Park. Newcastle are still open to redeveloping their current stadium but are tempted by the greater capacity and earning potential of a new build. It’s expected that Newcastle will decide by early 2025.

AMORIM’S TOUGH START

Amorim faces daunting start to life as Manchester United's head coach

Manchester United will play their first match under new head coach Ruben Amorim on Sunday as they travel to Ipswich. While United have won 17 of their last 19 matches against newly promoted sides, they face a challenging set of fixtures beyond this weekend.

Only six teams have harder fixtures than United over the next five games. Amorim’s side travel to Arsenal on 4 December and then go to Manchester City in the derby 11 days later. Sandwiched between them is the visit of Nottingham Forest, who are level on points with The Gunners in the league.

In all of Amorim’s 188 games at Sporting, he used either a 3-4-2-1, 3-4-3, or 3-5-2 formation. Some analysts say the Portuguese coach will shelve the 3-back formation until he’s had more time at the club.

Insiders say Amorim has demanded more intensity, speed and ‘dynamic thinking’ during his first training sessions with his players. He also wants to improve the link between physical conditioning and mental sharpness to remove capitulations the team has become accustomed to. Learn more on Amorim’s tactical style here.

AROUND THE FOOTBALL WORLD

Top Five European Leagues

> Italy’s top flight Serie A has become the first to introduce another transfer window. It will take place between June 1 and 10 ahead of the newly expanded Club World Cup which begins on the 15th of that month (More)

> PGMOL, the refereeing body for English football, has said that the investigation into referee David Coote is continuing, but his welfare remains important throughout the process (More)

Rest of the World

> New York City FC’s new stadium will be called Etihad Park, the club’s 25,000-seater stadium will open in 2027 (More) | Former Chelsea and Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has purchased shares of Major League Soccer (MLS) side San Diego (More)

> Costa Rico’s Alajuelense, which has won 30 league titles, is threatening legal action against Fifa if they’re denied a spot in next summer’s Club World Cup (More)

ROUTER’S VOICE

Yesterday, we asked you: Do you think it’s fair if Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) is introduced partway through the season?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🤖 Absolutely... (49%)

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ❌ Nope... (47%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (4%)

Your punditry takes:

• 🤖 D.L: “The current system used for determining offside takes forever, and often comes up with a wrong decision; anything that will improve the system should be instituted immediately.”

• ❌ D.R: “[Any] changes could bring very different outcomes for the same situations that we've already seen.”

• ✍️ T.T: “We don’t need VAR for that, amend the offside law to a metre beyond the last man and that will solve the problem, after all the game is about scoring goals not preventing them.”

EXTRA TIME

Roy Keane with an all-time Roy Keane moment. / via X

Premier League players who made one appearance.

Africa’s most iconic football club kits.

Where are all the goals in the Championship?

When Lewandowski received a call from Ferguson. / via X

Contender for the worst penalty ever, 40 years ago.

Why are some teams so much better when they're at home?

Predicting Amorim's first 11 games as Man United manager.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Name the top six Premier League teams in order of their league points won since 2016-17.

Clue: It was Pep Guardiola’s first season.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

La Liga

• Getafe vs Valldolid (20:00)

Bundesliga

• Bayern Munich vs Augsburg (19:30)

Ligue 1

• Monaco vs Brest (18:00)

• PSG vs Toulouse (20:00)

Championship

• Plymouth vs Watford (20:00)

EFL League Two

• Cheltenham vs Tranmere (19:45)

*All time in UK. ET -5. CST -6. PST -8. MST -7. CET +1.

Answer

• Manchseter City - 739 points

• Liverpool - 685 points

• Arsenal - 586 points

• Chelsea - 568 points

• Tottenham - 568 points

• Manchester United - 564 points