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11m agoSuspicious bets for predicting Ballon d'Or under investigation
18m agoAston Villa to take legal action against Carragher for 'unacceptable insults'
Manchester United: What’s gone on this week? Well, you would have got long odds on Michael Carrick being in the dugout at Stamford Bridge when he trudged down the tunnel at Old Trafford last weekend.
Monday: The powers that be at Carrington – the immensely popular Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada – hold talks over Carrick’s future. Carrick attends an under-21s match at the training ground.
Tuesday: Wilcox decides to give Carrick a chance to turn things around. Bruno Fernandes holds clear-the-air talks with Carrick after sitting out the defeat to Bournemouth. Eddie Howe emerges as United’s prime candidate if Carrick is sacked.
Thursday: Carrick says he will not strip Fernandes of the captaincy and says he is not surprised to have kept his job as head coach. “Between us, we’ve got to make a difference and push things in a good direction,” Carrick says.
Should Fernandes return to the United lineup at Chelsea today? If he does, he’ll lead them out as captain.
A series of suspicious bets that correctly predicted the exact top-five finishing order of this year’s Ballon d’Or and generated almost $200,000 (£149,000) in winnings is being investigated by the event’s organisers, France Football, who have also contacted the police.
It has been alleged that 12 Polymarket accounts – an American cryptocurrency-based prediction market – placed the bets, with more than $264,000 wagered on the outcome before Monday’s ceremony. Their extraordinary accuracy has raised serious questions about a potential leak of confidential results before football’s most prestigious individual award.
Harry Kane was crowned the winner at the ceremony at the London Palladium, finishing ahead of Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Lionel Messi. Remarkably, this was the exact order predicted by the group of accounts identified in French media outlet Upside’s investigation.
Aston Villa have announced plans to take legal action against Jamie Carragher following his “unacceptable insults” about the club and its supporters.
Carragher told Villa fans to “shut the f*** up” after facing criticism for suggesting Unai Emery should consider taking the Manchester United job. Villa responded on Friday evening with a statement on X signed by their chair, Nassef Sawiris.
“Aston Villa will initiate legal action against Jamie Carragher for his unacceptable insults about the club and its fans,” the statement said. “Aston Villa will not allow anyone to stop our ascension in English and European football. Nassef Sawiris, chairman.”
There are a couple of news lines to bring you before we take a look at today’s fixtures.
