Ruben Amorim Faces Pivotal Fixture, English Top Flight Buildup and More

The Parisian club are doing rather well in France's top division. The newcomers on the block in the top tier of football in France beat Lorient 2-0 last night… they might not be prepared just yet to compete with their renowned local rivals, but they’re likely avoid relegation – as three victories from their initial seven games since promotion indicates.

Elsewhere in Europe yesterday there were narrow away victories for Sassuolo at Verona and the German club at their hosts. Osasuna secured a last-minute 2-1 win over their rivals in La Liga.

I very much enjoyed this piece from a noted journalist, who poses an intriguing question: how much is truly known about the young talent. The eighth most expensive footballer of all time has made an inauspicious beginning at the Merseyside club but is it shocking considering his astronomic signing cost?

It’s worth looking at the big fixtures outside the English league today. Manchester City v Arsenal at noon (BST) takes centre stage in the Women's Super League; neither side has been at their best this campaign and that looks a difficult match to call. The Edinburgh derby is consistently significant in Scotland but this local rivalry (5.45pm) takes on increased significance since that Hearts are top of the Scottish top flight. The Glasgow giants are not in action until Sunday.

In Spain, Los Blancos host Villarreal at 8pm with early campaign leaders Barcelona facing their Andalusian rivals tomorrow. Borussia Dortmund v RB Leipzig and Frankfurt against Bayern are important contests in the German league. Italy's main event comes Sunday night with the massive showdown between Juventus and the Rossoneri at one of the continent's numerous Allianz arenas.

Hearts fans, get in touch: you could witness your team go five points clear at the summit with victory today!

An early email has landed in my inbox via a reader:

“Good morning Dominic. Has Pope Leo spoken to Amorim? Do we anticipate a competitive performance or another shoddy display?

“That leads me to ask – who will go first Ange or Ruben?”

It seems likely Postecoglou will get some time to implement his ideas at Nottingham Forest, whereas a loss to Sunderland today could spell serious trouble for Amorim.

Yesterday evening wasn’t just about the Bournemouth forward netting a brace to boost all FPL squads (except my own). The high-profile clash in the Championship finished 1-1 between the Welsh side and the Blues while in-form United halted the London club's 100% beginning to the Women’s Super League season as they drew 1-1 at their ground. The manager's side are now just two points off the WSL summit having begun the season strongly.

Fulham will be wondering what on earth happened to them at the Bournemouth's ground last night. When the winger put them into the front a fifth of the game from the end, Marco Silva’s team were in a commanding spot, only to be beaten by a last-gasp Bournemouth siege, which featured the striker's two goals and a Justin Kluivert stunning strike from 25 yards.

Jean-Philippe Mateta has characterized his first call-up to the French national team as “a dream come true” after the Crystal Palace forward was chosen by the national coach for the World Cup qualifiers against Azerbaijan and the Nordic side.

The player in his late twenties was one of the French experienced members at last year’s Olympics and netted a handful of strikes as the coach's team won a second place. He, who featured the first half of Palace’s win over Dynamo Kyiv on the previous Thursday in Poland, has also played for Les Bleus at multiple junior categories.

He revealed that he had viewed the squad announcement with his fellow Frenchman Maxence Lacroix’s in his accommodation in Lublin after the Palace defender had a hunch that the ex-Ligue 1 player's time had arrived.

“I am very, very happy; it feels like a dream come true,” said Mateta. “I hope I will stay a long time with the national side and assist them to succeed. I saw it on TV. Lacroix remarked: ‘Today they will call.’ He came my accommodation and we watched simultaneously the list. Didier Deschamps was talking and he uttered my name. He consistently advised me to work hard and you'd receive your call. I kept working hard and I received my call.”

Inquired whether participating in international football could help his performance at Palace, he commented: “If I play, I anticipate to contribute to the team there to win. Of course, I will come back self-assured. I always have self-belief. I believe it will bring me more confidence.”

Hello everyone! The top flight schedule continues unabated and Bournemouth’s stylish win over their London rivals yesterday kicked off this matchday off to a riproaring beginning. The forward, well… what a player.

Regardless, we’re building up to the weekend's fixtures, typically, on Matchday Live, the countdown/news/interactive football blog where we encourage you to get in touch with your opinions, comments, predictions and any other you have planned for this footballing Saturday.

In terms of live action, Leeds v Tottenham is the early top flight game, plus four games in the second division, while Arsenal v West Ham and United facing Sunderland are the 3pm contests. Can Nuno Espírito Santo revive the Hammers at the their stadium? And will there be further difficulties for Ruben Amorim against the in-form Black Cats? The late fixture of Chelsea v Liverpool ought to be just as intriguing, with the Reds' coach aiming to avoid a third straight defeat and Enzo Maresca seeking to avoid a third successive top division defeat. So there’s current performance.

With our journalists dropping in bits of colour from across the country and continent, there's plenty to keep following. Let's begin…