Michael Butler rises early to barge open the door to Saturday’s football activity.
asserted
Butler → rise → activity
He will be offering breaking news and updates from around the grounds in the buildup to five Premier League games, starting with the lunchtime meeting of the 17th and 19th clubs in the table, big names down on their uppers: Tottenham and Aston Villa, respectively.
asserted
He → offer → uppers
He won’t be forgetting the Championship, which braces for the renewal of two bitter feuds when the leaders, West Ham, travel to the Den on Saturday to face their London rivals Millwall for the first time in 14 years.
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leaders → forget → years
After a summer spend in excess of £300m, things were supposed to be different this season after successive 17th-placed finishes.
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things → suppose → finishes
Instead, after four games, that is exactly where Tottenham find themselves again after no wins – and not a single goal – in their opening four games.
asserted
Tottenham → find → games
Roberto De Zerbi remained confident after Tuesday’s League Cup loss at Liverpool that his side would “click” soon and the early kick-off at home to an Aston Villa side with only one point so far would be an opportune moment for that to happen – for both teams.
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that → remain → teams
Daniel Gallan helms the liveblog with Paul MacInnes our match reporter.
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Gallan → helm → MacInnes
James Wallace has over-by-over coverage of the third T20 after Harry Brook’s side overpowered Sri Lanka for the second time in three days, a six-wicket win in Cardiff being achieved with 7.5 overs to spare on Thursday.
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win → have → Thursday
It gave England an insurmountable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, which has come on the back of beating India 4-0 earlier in the summer.
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which → give → summer
In fact, England have won 22 of their past 25 matches in the short format of the game.
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England → win → game
Brook bludgeoned 114 not out from 49 balls in the opening win at Southampton, and this time Tom Banton got England over the line with an unbeaten 52 off 24 deliveries.
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Banton → bludgeon → deliveries
Banton’s pivotal innings came after Jos Buttler became the first player to reach 15,000 runs in T20 cricket.
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Buttler → come → cricket
Tanya Aldred will report from Old Trafford.
asserted
Aldred → report → Trafford
They head to the south coast amid an ominous start to their Premier League defence after taking four victories from four but face the trickiest of trips, away to Brighton, whose tally of 13 goals from four games is the highest in the division.
asserted
tally → head → division
Monday’s 4-1 thrashing at Leeds was certainly a wake-up call for Matthias Jaissle.
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thrashing → wake → Jaissle
Defeat ended Newcastle’s unbeaten start this season and an injury-hit squad now face high-flying Hull at St James’ Park.
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squad → end → Park
Sergej Jakirovic’s side are fourth in the table with two wins and two draws, holding Chelsea 2-2 in their last outing.
asserted
side → hold → outing
Women’s Super League
5.30pmArsenal v Manchester United live
Renée Slegers’ Gunners stride out at the Emirates Stadium unbeaten, although they were frustrated in a scoreless draw with promoted Crystal Palace last weekend.
asserted
they → stride → Palace
Eva Olid’s Manchester United tenure has begun with defeats in both their opening games, and they have conceded seven goals, more than any other WSL team so far.
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they → begin → team
Olid is expecting a response from their 5-0 trashing by Chelsea last weekend.
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Olid → expect → Chelsea
“My main message is about being themselves,” she said.
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she → say → ?
“I am not sure they are showing in the first two matches who they are and what they can do.
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they → show → what
For me it is so important that they show that to perform.
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they → show → that
We had a day to reflect and analyse the game, to see what we can do better and we know what we have to do.”
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we → have → what
Will Magee has minute-by-minute coverage, and Tom Garry reports.
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Garry → have → coverage
8amMatchday live
Sunday brings four Premier League matches plus an Old Firm derby and a spicy clash at Molineux as Wolves host old foes West Brom.
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Wolves → bring → foes
Emillia Hawkins is on hand bright and early with all the breaking news at the helm of our essential football live blog.
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Hawkins → break → blog
12pmCeltic v Rangers live
Celtic have a 100% league record but are in something of a tailspin, having been thumped 3-0 in the League Cup by their Glasgow rivals at Ibrox on Sunday and then beaten 3-1 by Ferencvaros at Parkhead in the Europa League on Thursday.
asserted
Celtic → have → Thursday
So it is less than an optimal moment to be going up against Rangers, who will be striving to make it six wins in succession across all competitions when they visit Celtic Park.
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they → go → Park
Martin O’Neill certainly understands his side are a world away from last season’s uplift, calling their latest loss “a huge frustration” and “psychologically damning”.
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side → understand → loss
He admitted: “It’s not the start we wanted.
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we → admit → ?
Sunday’s a big game.”
asserted
Sunday → ’ → ?
John Brewin helms the blog with Jonathan Liew reporting.
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Liew → helm → blog
Liverpool remain unbeaten under their new head coach, Andoni Iraola, in all competitions but managing three draws from four Premier League games has stifled any early-season momentum.
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managing → remain → momentum
Iraola will be back in familiar surroundings as his side travel to Bournemouth, the south coast club the Spaniard consistently had punching above their weight.
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Spaniard → travel → weight
Bournemouth are yet to win in the league under Iraola’s replacement, Marco Rose, but three draws and a rather unlucky loss at Manchester City are scant return for some eye-catching football under the German.
asserted
draws → win → German
Daniel Harris has the live blog, with Ben Fisher reporting.
asserted
Fisher → have → blog
One month into the Premier League season, excuses about bedding-in processes and newly assembled squads needing time to gel are wearing thin and for Manchester United there is an acute sense of urgency as the international break looms.
asserted
break → bed → urgency
After so much pre-season optimism, the spotlight has turned on the manager, Michael Carrick.
asserted
spotlight → turn → manager
Only one win in four league games – at home to promoted Ipswich – has been compounded by Wednesday’s League Cup exit at home to Brighton, having led 2-0.
asserted
win → promote → Brighton
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
