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Key events
Messi’s India tour starts in chaos as angry fans throw seats on pitch
Lionel Messi’s tour of India kicked off on a chaotic note on Saturday as fans ripped up seats and threw them on to the pitch after the Argentina and Inter Miami forward’s brief visit to the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, the ANI news agency reported.
Messi is in India as part of a tour during which he is scheduled to attend concerts, youth football clinics, a padel tournament and launch charitable initiatives at events in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi.
According to reports in Indian media, the 2022 World Cup winner walked around the pitch at the stadium waving to the fans, but was closely surrounded by a large group of people and left 20 minutes after his arrival.
Video from ANI showed fans throwing ripped up stadium seats and other objects on to the field and the athletics track at the site, with several people that had climbed over a fence surrounding the playing field hurling objects.
“Only leaders and actors were surrounding Messi … Why did they call us then?” A fan at the stadium told ANI. “We have got a ticket for 12,000 rupees [£100], but we were not even able to see his face.”
More of our Premier League coverage before the weekend of action can be found below, including 10 things to look out for across the grounds and a roundup of the best lines from the pre-match press conferences.
Arsenal v Wolves: The final Premier League match of the day sees first meets worst as the league leaders host bottom of the table at the Emirates Stadium. Mikel Arteta has insisted Gabriel Jesus will not be sold and can be his first-choice No 9 after Jesus made his injury comeback as a second-half substitute in the 3-0 win against Club Brugge on Wednesday following 11 months away.
The Brazil international, 28, brings an extra dimension to Arteta’s frontline but he has just 18 months to run on his contract.
After splashing out £64m on Viktor Gyökeres and with Kai Havertz, albeit sidelined with a knee injury, another striking option, Arsenal could have been tempted to cash in on Jesus before his deal expires but Arteta denied those discussions were taking place at the club.
No, I don’t consider that [selling him], especially with the situation that we have right now.
Gabriel has a lot to offer to the team and he’s proven that straight away in the first minute that he was available to play. He’s put so much to be in this position again and now the focus is to be with us.
Arteta was without eight players for their midweek Champions League clash. The Spaniard would not comment on whether any of Declan Rice, who missed out on the trip to Belgium through illness, and some of the other shorter-term absentees such as William Saliba, Leandro Trossard and Jurriën Timber would be available to face Wolves.
Burnley v Fulham: Marco Silva has challenged Fulham to end their long wait for a win at Burnley; the last time Fulham triumphed at the Clarets was back in 1951 and they have only won once during the last nine meetings between the clubs.
I’ve been trying and learning all the moments and all the challenges, but every single week that we play, the numbers are not amazing for us, but we have been breaking so many of those numbers as well, it’s been incredible.
I love this type of challenge. I love it, because if the club didn’t achieve it in the past, there is a reason and right now, we can change the story. Simple as that.
The numbers are there and they are there for a reason, but they are there to be broken as well. PA Media
Burnley v Fulham: Scott Parker has called on Burnley’s fans to maintain their “crucial” role in the club’s fight against Premier League relegation.
His side sit second from bottom in the table after winning just three of their first 15 matches and will aim to halt a six-game losing run today at Turf Moor against one of Parker’s former clubs Fulham.
They’re massive for us, to be honest. The fans are crucial and they have been crucial for us. I understand there’s a hard-working fanbase that pays hard-earned money to come to support this team and are fundamentally desperate for a result. And we’re equally as desperate.
We need their full backing. We need their full support. We need them right behind this young group, through thick and thin. We need to make Turf Moor a really difficult place to come and I’m hoping that will be the case at the weekend.
Kyle Walker is one of three Burnley players who will miss out through suspension – Hannibal Mejbri and Lucas Pires are also banned – and Parker said the England defender’s absence will be sorely felt.
It will always leave a big gap no matter what team Kyle Walker is playing in. There’s always going to be a gap there because of his quality, his experience – his understanding of certain situations.
So of course, he’s going to be a miss for us at the weekend. It gives another person an opportunity as well, but a player of Kyle’s ability and what he brings will be a big miss for us. PA Media
Chelsea v Everton: David Moyes has admitted James Tarkowski needs to tread more carefully with video assistant referees after barging into Dan Ndoye during Everton’s 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
Forest have made a formal complaint to PGMO after Tarkowski escaped punishment for knocking down Ndoye in the 11th minute last Saturday. Sean Dyche said he was “amazed” his former captain at Everton and Burnley was not shown a card of any description.
The referee, Chris Kavanagh, did not see the incident on-field while the VAR, James Bell, could not intervene in what might have been considered a yellow card offence.
Four wins out of five have moved Everton to within a point of Chelsea and a rare victory today – they have not won at Stamford Bridge since 1994 – would lift them into fourth place overnight.
Chelsea v Everton: Enzo Maresca has said Cole Palmer remains troubled by a groin problem and is still unable to play three games a week, raising fresh doubt over whether the Chelsea attacker will force his way into England’s World Cup squad.
It’s something that is a little bit day by day. You can see if he’s getting better, some days it can be worse. For instance after Leeds, he was completely bad the day after. And he played half an hour. After Bournemouth, he was OK. He played one hour. There’s not any sense [to it]. It’s day by day that decides how he feels.
Palmer’s struggles has allowed Jude Bellingham, Eberechi Eze, Phil Foden and Morgan Rogers to move in front of him in the fight to earn a spot in attacking midfield for England.
Have any thoughts on Salah? Do his comments post-Leeds harm his legacy? Has his time on Merseyside come to an end? Do you have an opinion on the situation that somehow, miraculously has not been said yet? Sound off in the comments below the line or send us an email.
Liverpool v Brighton: The reaction from Salah’s comments in the UK and in his home country could not be on two further ends of the spectrum.
The true measure of Salah’s cultural weight became clear in the breadth of national conversation, as talk around his interview spilled beyond the confines of football punditry. One of Egypt’s most known news presenters, Amr Adib, whose loud, brash political and economic opinions often go viral for all the wrong reasons, staunchly came to Salah’s defence. Political commentators dissected Salah’s words through the lens of negotiation tactics. Even YouTube film critics and foodie TikTokers felt compelled to offer their analysis. “It feels as if every public voice has an opinion to air,” says the president of one of Liverpool’s oldest fanclubs in Egypt, Ahmed Fahmy. “The dramatics of it all proves that a crisis involving Salah is a crisis for the nation.”
What Egypt thinks of the Salah saga and their choice words aimed at Jamie Carragher below (in what I must warn you feels like a shameless self plug).
Liverpool v Brighton: It is unclear whether Salah will start, come off the bench or even make an appearance at all. And how will supporters react if he does make it on to the pitch?
Here are five Liverpool fans’ thoughts on the saga that may help gauge how the Anfield faithful react.
The biggest story of the week was Mohamed Salah’s comments after Liverpool’s 3-3 draw at Leeds and the subsequent fallout. Yesterday it was confirmed he would be back in the squad to face Brighton after he had been omitted from Tuesday’s Champions League win at Inter.
The Egyptian will depart for the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday.
Preamble
Hello, football. A jam packed day awaits. Readers, any football plans for the day? What ground are you heading off to? How optimistic are you that your team will get the win this weekend? Let me know in the comments below the line or via our dedicated matchday live email.
Join me as we get stuck in with the buildup to today’s matches and as we go through any breaking news and big stories.
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