English Premier League

English Premier League

Brighton's winless streak in the Premier League stretched to four matches following a 0-0 draw with Sunderland. Saturday's contest at the Amex Stadium was distinctly lacking in attacking quality, as the spoils were shared in the first Premier League meeting between these teams. Sunderland, without a glut of key players due to the Africa Cup of Nations, turned in a resolute display, and may have won it if not for some fine goalkeeping from Bart Verbruggen.

However, Brentford broke through in the 63rd minute when Lewis-Potter neatly steered home after the Wolves defence were slow to react to Vitaly Janelt's lofted ball into the box. Lewis-Potter then nodded in Mikkel Damsgaard's cross seven minutes from time to seal all three points, though the Bees survived a late scare when Strand Larsen's spot-kick was thwarted by Kelleher, who tripped Matt Doherty in the box.

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe said his side were denied a "stonewall" penalty in their 2-2 draw with Chelsea - so, does he have a point? Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah barged Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon to the ground inside the penalty area in the 53rd minute at St James' Park. Howe and the home fans demanded a penalty but, following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review, the on-field decision not to award a penalty was upheld.

Armando Broja scored an injury-time equaliser as Burnley ended their seven-match losing run with a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth. Having seen a Jaidon Anthony goal ruled out for offside late in the first half, Burnley looked set to suffer an eighth successive defeat when Antoine Semenyo, heavily linked with a move away from Bournemouth with the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United thought to be interested, put the Cherries ahead.

Various reports over the past few weeks have suggested Bournemouth identifying Tottenham Hotspur winger Brennan Johnson as the best candidate to replace Antoine Semenyo, who is currently in talks with Liverpool and both Manchester clubs with his £65million clause set to be triggered in January. However, according to the Guardian, Crystal Palace have also registered an interest in Johnson.

At present, that search has been reduced to two elite profiles, namely, Josko Gvardiol and Alessandro Bastoni. Before arriving at this shortlist, Barcelona explored a much wider range of options. Several defenders were closely monitored, including Pau Torres, Ibrahima Konate, and Marc Guehi. Each of these names was assessed not only for quality, but also for market conditions and contractual situations.

Could Chelsea lose Josh Acheampong? Acheampong is surely good enough to be playing more often than he has been, with the 19-year-old managing just five Premier League appearances so far this term. There's always bound to be competition at a big club like Chelsea, but central defence is not even a position where Enzo Maresca is blessed with that much quality or depth. Trevoh Chalobah and Tosin Adarabioyo have had a lot of opportunities to start for CFC,

Manchester United central midfielder Kobbie Mainoo is now reportedly increasingly open to leaving the club permanently after falling out of favour with Ruben Amorim. The England international is yet to start a single Premier League game this season, leading to plenty of recent speculation about a possible departure on loan. Mainoo has been linked with Chelsea, Napoli and other big clubs, and it may even be that he now leaves in a permanent transfer.

Liverpool are interested in signing the Guinea-Bissau striker Franculino Dju. The 21-year-old has done quite well for Midtjylland, and he has attracted the attention of Bayern Munich as well. The player will cost around 25-30 million, and it will be interesting to see if Liverpool comes forward with an official offer to sign him. According to Christian Falk, Liverpool are very interested in securing his signature.

Defenders Jarrad Branthwaite and Seamus Coleman and midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are out until January with hamstring injuries for Everton. Midfielder Idrissa Gueye and playmaker Iliman Ndiaye will be at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal until at least early January. Jack Grealish had been a doubt after suffering an issue against Chelsea, but Moyes said the winger will be fit, while on-loan Freiburg midfielder Merlin Rohl could return from a hernia injury.

According to a report from Africa foot, Chelsea have already made contact with his representatives and advanced negotiations are underway to get the deal done. It remains to be seen whether Chelsea can wrap up the move in the coming weeks. They have shown that they are keen on signing the best young players around the world, and they are looking to add to the formidable pool of young talent already at the club.

Boxing Bryan Armen Graham straps in for live coverage of events in Miami as the former two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua meets the YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul across eight three-minute rounds. Given Paul's 13-fight career consists mainly of former UFC stars or faded boxing greats, this contest and Joshua's involvement has sparked a backlash, particularly since Paul, who has regularly fought at cruiserweight since he swapped life as an influencer to enter the world of boxing,