Unai Emery gave his honest verdict on Harvey Elliott after he left the Liverpool loanee out of Aston Villa's matchday squad for the third game in a row against Manchester City on Sunday. The Villans clinched all three points against Pep Guardiola's side courtesy of a first-half goal from Matty Cash as they moved up to eighth in the Premier League table, tied on points with reigning champions Liverpool.
Pep Guardiola has moved to address Erling Haaland injury fears after Manchester City fired a blank at Aston Villa on Sunday. City saw a five-game unbeaten streak end at Villa Park as Matty Cash's first-half strike proved to be the difference between the two sides in the Midlands. Defeat saw City lose further ground in the title race, with leaders Arsenal picking up a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho has been branded as an "embarrassment" after being subbed on and off in the same game. Fans also called out Sancho's "awful behaviour" after he appeared to give the cold shoulder to Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery on the touchline, having only been given 45 minutes of action in their 1-0 victory over Manchester City on Sunday.
Jadon Sancho remains a potential future Ballon d’Or winner despite his struggles at Manchester United and a series of unspectacular loan spells, claims former Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic. The England international winger has rather lost his way, with a big-money move to Old Trafford not working out as planned, but there is still potential in his game to be unlocked.
With the title race having already swung back and forth while the top-four and relegation battles are as open as they have been for a few years, the Premier League is becoming increasingly difficult to predict. Sure, the odd match still follows the formbook, but a number of teams are proving tough to pin down and figure out what to expect from them on a game-to-game basis.
John Terry has revealed his confusion at the fact he does not receive more job offers, while seemingly giving up on his ambition to manage Chelsea. The former England captain has not held a first-team coaching position since working as an assistant at Leicester City in 2023, as offers do not appear to have materialised.
The UK Government has expressed its disappointment following the unexpected move by Maccabi Tel Aviv to refuse any ticket allocation for their upcoming Europa League fixture against Aston Villa. A government spokesperson described the announcement as "deeply saddening", emphasising the principle that football supporters must be able to enjoy matches free from intimidation or violence.
Aston Villa defender Lucas Digne showed the true meaning of 'no pain, no gain' after Sunday’s clash against Tottenham. The Frenchman suffered a gruesome ankle gash following a crunching tackle from Kevin Danso, later unleashing an X-rated tirade at the fourth official. The 32-year-old later shared a graphic image of his injury on Instagram.
The highly-anticipated derby clash between arch-rivals Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv had to be suspended after violent riots broke out among supporters that led to “endangerment of human lives”. Several members of local police forces suffered injuries after becoming caught up in chaotic scenes prior to the game in question getting underway, with a number of arrests being made.
Tottenham captain Cristian Romero was replaced by Kevin Danso in Spurs’ starting line-up after suffering an injury during the warm-up ahead of the Premier League clash with Aston Villa, which the Villans won 2-1. Romero missed a huge chunk of last season due to injury and it’s another major headache for Spurs boss Thomas Frank, who is already without a number of senior players on the long-term injured list.
Tottenham supporters have continued to vent their frustration as work on a massive hotel springs up next to their ground, which they claim will block the view of their home for those visiting the stadium. The building will also block the skyline view of London’s famous landmarks for fans inside the ground looking south into the capital.
West Midlands police have advised Birmingham's Safety Advisory Group to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending their game against Aston Villa. The Israeli side travel to Villa Park next month for matchday four of the 2025/26 Europa League campaign but in order to avoid fan violence, local authorities believe the right move is to block away supporters from making the trip to Birmingham.
Jadon Sancho and rapper and singer girlfriend Saweetie have been accused of owing money to her ex-manager. Maybach Mayy took to Instagram to call out Saweetie in a series of posts and has called for reimbursement. Sancho and Saweetie, whose real name is Diamonte Harper, appear to have been dating for some time now after she was spotted in attendance at a Chelsea game last season.
Security concerns have prompted a request from the West Midlands police that Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters not attend Aston Villa's Europa League game next month. It means that there will be no away fans in attendance at Villa Park when the pair meet in the competition at the start of November. Villa have made an impressive start to their European campaign, winning both matches so far.
The Premier League is reportedly set to vote on proposals that could see a “salary cap” of sorts introduced at the top end of English football. An “anchoring” plan has been drawn up, which would limit spending for elite clubs, with shareholders expected to address that issue in November. Several teams, including Manchester rivals United and City, are said to oppose the concept.
The end of the October international window is upon us, club football fans. Get ready for four more weeks of Premier League fun before we're lulled back into the November break. Fortunately, there's non-stop action before then to look forward to, beginning with some mouth-watering fixtures this coming weekend, including Manchester United's trip to Liverpool.
Of all the England players who were left out of Thomas Tuchel's squad for their October fixtures, Jude Bellingham's omission seemed the most confusing. The midfielder has been one of the Three Lions' main protagonists ever since breaking into the starting XI post-Euro 2020 heartbreak and has long been heralded as a key player for whichever team he's representing.
England have been dealt a fresh blow to their attacking plans, with Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins forced to withdraw from Thomas Tuchel’s squad after suffering a freak injury. The Three Lions were without all-time leading goal-scorer Harry Kane for a friendly date with Wales, as he nurses a knock of his own, with a selection headache being posed ahead of a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Latvia.
Thomas Tuchel offered an update on Ollie Watkins' injury after the England striker was forced off in their win against Wales following a nasty collision with the woodwork. England's 3-0 dismantling of Wales on Thursday night might have looked like smooth sailing on the scoreboard, but Watkins' collision left the Three Lions bench fearing the worst.
Morgan Rogers was delighted to make the most of his opportunity to impress for England against Wales, with the Aston Villa playmaker aware that "people will take your role" if the demands of head coach Thomas Tuchel are not met. Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham is among those to have missed out on a place in the latest Three Lions squad, with competition for places now fierce across all areas of the field.
Rayan has emerged as one of the most promising talents in Brazilian football and his performances haven't gone unnoticed by some of the Premier League's heavy hitters. Tottenham have now emerged as the favourites to sign the teenage forward, who has also attracted interest from Chelsea, Liverpool and Aston Villa. However, it's Spurs who are the frontrunners for the 19-year-old.
Aston Villa's first European away day of the season has been marred by fan violence in Rotterdam. Villa take on Feyenoord in matchday two of the Europa League phase as they sought to follow up recent victories over Bologna and Fulham. However, the build up to the game saw fans of both sides clashing ahead of the match at De Kuip.
Aston Villa
