Points Deduction Verdict

GM football fans. It’s Friday, Jan. 03 — Four Premier League clubs await a PSR verdict, there’s a new women’s league on the horizon and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

FIXTURES

Premier League MW20: Tottenham vs Newcastle, Saturday 4, 12:30 / 7:30. This pair have amassed 189 goals between them in Premier League games, the third-highest scoring fixture in the competition’s history. Brighton vs Arsenal, Saturday 4, 17:30 / 12:30. Arsenal have won three of their last five Premier League games against Brighton (D1 L1), as many as they had in their first 10 against the Seagulls in the competition. Liverpool vs Manchester United, Sunday 5, 16:30 / 11:30. Liverpool have lost just one of their last 13 Premier League games against Manchester United (W7 D5), going down 2-1 at Old Trafford in August 2022. See the full list of fixtures here.

Results…

• Scottish Premiership: Rangers 3 - 0 Celtic | Aberdeen 1 - 2 Ross County | Dundee 1 - 2 Dundee United (Full results here / League table)

• Italian Super Cup, semi-finals: Inter Milan 2 - 0 Atalanta

TOP TALKING POINTS

Points Deduction Verdict

Four Premier League clubs will find out whether they’ve breached the league’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) this month. Chelsea, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest and Everton submitted their financial accounts for the 2023-24 season on New Year’s Eve. Verdicts are expected by Monday, January 13.

Leicester are the club most at risk of a points deduction. Earlier this season, they narrowly avoided a points deduction after being charged with breaching PSR. The club’s legal team successfully argued that, when they submitted their accounts in June 2023, they were not part of the Premier League as they had been relegated a month earlier. Unlike the other clubs mentioned, Leicester have been less aggressive with selling players to meet PSR.

Leicester are confident they will avoid charges; however, Premier League sources indicate the club may still face scrutiny. The Foxes, currently 19th in the league, could also face charges from the EFL for overspending during the 2020-23 period at the end of this season if they are relegated.

Halfway Premier League Projections

Liverpool have an 89.9% chance of winning the Premier League after being given just a 1% chance of title success back in August. Pre-season favourites Manchester City now sit 14 points behind the leaders, having played one more game. No team in Premier League history has overturned a points deficit of more than 13 to win the league.

Currently, both the Premier League and Serie A are poised to receive an additional Champions League group stage spot for the 2025/26 season. Learn more about UEFA’s club coefficient calculation here.

Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and City are projected to qualify for the Champions League. Opta predicts that Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa will compete for the fifth spot, assuming the English top flight is awarded the extra slot.

Back in August, only three sides had more than a 40% chance of being relegated from the Premier League – Southampton, Leicester City and Ipswich Town. At mid-season, the promoted trio have seen their chances of relegation back to the Championship increase, per Opta.

Women’s League Expansion

Canada is set to launch its first professional women's league, the Northern Super League (NSL), in April 2025. The NSL will feature six teams representing major Canadian cities.

The aim is to develop domestic talent as a report in 2022 found that over 100 Canadian women players were abroad, while only three national players were playing on home soil. Former player Diana Matheson has led the initiative since her retirement in 2021. Meanwhile, former Canadian Football League executive Christina Litz was named as the first president after unanimous support by club owners.

This initiative follows Italy’s Women’s Serie A, which announced it would be fully professional from the 2022-23 season. England's Women's Super League turned professional in 2018, while France and Spain also operate professional leagues.

Dive deeper into the NSL teams here.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Everton to test its new stadium over the next month; full-stage capacity games expected in August (More) | Aston Villa are in talks with Borussia Dortmund to sign Donyell Malen for £14.9m (More) | Adidas could end their £900m kit deal if Manchester United are relegated (More) | Jared Bowen faces six weeks out with a fractured foot (More)

> Spanish clubs have threatened court action if La Liga decides to approve Dani Olmo’s registration (More); Barcelona fans demand the club president’s resignation for the Olmo saga (More) | Barcelona are hiring a new personal chef; reports suggest Robert Lewandowski complained to his coach about the way the eggs were cooked (More)

> Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland was rushed to hospital after suffering internal bleeding in his leg (More) | Seko Fofana, 29, joins Ligue 1 side Rennes after a brief spell in Saudi Arabia (More)

Americas

> Jonas Eidevall, former Arsenal women’s head coach, is set to be unveiled as San Diego Wave's new head coach in the coming days (More)

> The Philidelphia Union have named Bradley Carnell as their new head coach (More)

Rest of the World

> Rodri has said he cannot understand why Cristiano Ronaldo questioned his selection as the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner (More) | Marcus Rashford has rejected three offers from the Saudi Pro League worth up to £35m a year (More)

> Juan Mata has scored his first A-League goal as Western Sydney Wanderers lose 3-2 to Macarthur (More / via X)

> Ramin Rezaian, a player for Tehran's Esteghlal club, has been sentenced to pay 510 million rials ($12,117) for hugging a female fan (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday, we asked you: Do you think Gareth Southgate deserved a knighthood for his achievements as England manager?

🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 👏 Absolutely... (23%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅 Nope... (75.5%)

⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (1%)

Your punditry takes:

• 👏  L.E: “Just take a look at where England were when he took over, then look at where they were when he left! If that doesn't deserve a knighthood what does? It's not just all about silverware.”

• 🙅 U.T.V: “Rewarding failure! Defensive nonsense, wasted a generation. Still haven’t had an explanation for Mason Mount starting that Italy final at RW, or his early hatred for Grealish when he was at the Villa! Get in the bin!”

• ✍️ G.B: “Perhaps an OBE, but not a knighthood. However, they are giving knighthoods away and lots of people have knighthoods undeservedly, in my humble opinion.”

EXTRA TIME

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Premier League fan satisfaction survey for 2024-25.

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The players who have never lost while scoring a Premier League goal.

Billionaire tech investor shares his six favourite football books.

The inside story of Sol Campbell’s controversial transfer. (video)

GAME FACE ON

Question: Which two players joined Manchester United in January 2006, helping the club to win five PL titles?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

La Liga

• Valencia vs Real Madrid (20:00)

Ligue 1

• Nice vs Rennes (20:00)

Primeira Liga

• Nacional vs Porto (18:00)

• Vitoria SC vs Sporting Lisbon (20:15)

Scottish Championship

• Airdrieonians vs Falkirk (19:30)

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

Answer

Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra.