Essential Football

The TV legend that is Jeff Stelling joins Ron Walker for a special Essential Football on his last day at Sky Sports to look back on his 29 years in the Soccer Saturday chair.Jeff talks us through his three decades in the hotseat, what he’ll miss most about being the face of Saturday afternoon TV and the best and worst moments that stick in his mind down the years.From George Best to Chris Kamara and everyone between, Jeff reveals how he made guests feel so at ease in the Soccer Saturday studio, how he seemed to have a statistic about every player from every league and why fronting ‘Sports Saturday’ back in 1994 didn’t seem like the most appealing job in the world back then – how times change.

Roberto Firmino waved goodbye to Anfield last weekend and on Sunday he will make his final appearance for Liverpool at Southampton before leaving the club this summer. After his emotional send-off from the home fans after scoring a late equaliser against Aston Villa, we look at how he became a cult hero for the club’s supporters, his importance to Jurgen Klopp’s style of play and the impact he had on the Premier League. Peter Smith is joined by Sky Sports senior football journalist Richard Morgan to analyse Firmino’s time in England and we hear from Jamie Carragher about this unique player.

With the Premier League reaching its conclusion this weekend, Sky Sports football journalists Peter Smith, Nick Wright and Sam Blitz discuss, debate and celebrate the stars of the 2022/23 season. You can join in and have your say by visiting the Sky Sports website or App on Friday and posting your picks of the season in our interactive blog.

Coming towards the end of a bumpier first year in charge at Chelsea than either Todd Boehly or Behdad Eghbali could have ever envisaged, Sky Sports digital football journalist Joe Shread looks back on the most turbluent season in living memory at Stamford Bridge.In a special edition of Essential Football, Joe joins Ron Walker to discuss the key topics from a campaign which began with such promise after a tough end to the Roman Abramovich era.Up for discussion is how the new owners' relationship with Thomas Tuchel soured - and resulted in his sacking days after a chaotic summer transfer window had ended, before the pursuit of Graham Potter and the rapid toxic atmosphere which soon engulfed his reign amid another mad spending spree.Then it's onto the return of Frank Lampard and Chelsea plumetting to new depths under their interim manager - but renewed hope finally appearing due to the impending arrival of Mauricio Pochettino.Read Joe's full feature on Chelsea's 12 months of chaos on the Sky Sports website.

On the latest Essential Football Weekend Wrap, Peter Smith takes you through a round of games which saw Manchester City lift the Premier League trophy after Arsenal lost at Nottingham Forest.We hear from key figures at Man City on their triumph and Gary Neville explains why this is his favourite version of a Pep Guardiola team at Man City.We also dive into the relegation battle, with Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper explaining what it feels like for his side to now be safe, Sean Dyche assessing Everton’s situation after their last-gasp draw at Wolves and Sky Sports’ Ben Grounds reports from the London Stadium where Leeds remain in big trouble after losing to West Ham.It was partytime on the south coast, though, as Brighton celebrated a first-ever European qualification. Lewis Jones explains how they did it. Liverpool are likely to join them in the Europa League and Jurgen Klopp pays tribute to Roberto Firmino and James Milner after their draw with Aston Villa. That result boosted Man Utd’s Champions League chances and Joe Shread reflects on their win at Bournemouth.Tottenham slipped out of the European qualifying spots this weekend and Dev Trehan looks back on their disappointing defeat at home to a Brentford side who could incredible sneak into the Europa Conference League themselves. Plus Sam Blitz reports from Craven Cottage where Fulham and Crystal Palace drew and their supporters paid tribute to Roy Hodgson. And that's your Premier League Weekend Wrap!

On a special edition of Essential Football, Melissa Reddy, Paul Gilmour and Lyall Thomas join Ron Walker to look ahead to Mauricio Pochettino's impending appointment as Chelsea's third manager of the Todd Boehly era.Melissa and Paul explain the depth of the philosophy which made the Argentine such a successful figure at Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton, why he can re-energise a tired Chelsea and what he's learned from his time abroad at PSG.With a huge squad for Pochettino to deal with this summer, Lyall charts the task he has on his hands in the upcoming transfer window, who could be on their way out at Stamford Bridge and where he will want to see investment ahead of the new season.

On the latest Essential Football Weekend Wrap, Peter Smith takes you through a dramatic and potentially decisive round of Premier League games which saw Man City move to within touching distance of the Premier League crown after Arsenal were beaten at home by Brighton. We hear from Mikel Arteta, Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira on a dramatic Super Sunday. We also assess the race for European football, with Joe Shread’s assessment of Man Utd’s win over Wolves and Declan Olley’s verdict on Aston Villa’s victory against Tottenham. Plus the relegation battle is proving to be a fascinating one – Zinny Boswell reflects on Nottingham Forest’s point at Chelsea which helps their hopes of escaping danger, while Nick Wright analyses Crystal Palace’s win over a Bournemouth side who had their top-flight status confirmed by Everton’s defeat to Man City. The fight is over for Southampton, though – they have been relegated to the Championship and Ben Grounds was there at St Mary’s to see their 11-season stay in the Premier League come to an end. And that's your Premier League Weekend Wrap!

Essential Football is back with a round-up of all the weekend's Premier League matches, featuring reporter analysis and manager reaction from up and down the top-flight.Ron Walker looks back at Arsenal’s crucial win at Newcastle, which keeps the Premier League title race alive after Man City beat Leeds on Saturday.Meanwhile, the race for the top-four is also wide open after Liverpool moved to within a point of Brentford with a sixth straight win on Saturday evening. Could Man Utd respond? The answer was no and Nick Wright and Zinny Boswell analyse United’s 1-0 defeat at West Ham.Peter Smith reports from Tottenham’s win over Crystal Palace, which keeps their European hopes alive after another record-breaking goal from Harry Kane. Meanwhile, Aston Villa’s chances of securing European qualification were dented with a 1-0 defeat at Wolves. Adam Bate gives his verdict on the home win at Molineux.Finally, Chelsea got back to winning ways. Frank Lampard and his side avoided an unwanted club record with a 3-1 win at Bournemouth, which was watched for us by Dan Sansom and Sky Sports News reporter Mark McAdam.And that’s your Premier League weekend wrap!

Essential Football is back with a round-up of all the weekend's Premier League matches, featuring reporter analysis and manager reaction from up and down the top-flight.Ben Grounds looks back at Manchester City’s win over Fulham, which sees them go top of the Premier League table above Arsenal.There were big results in race for Europe. There’s reaction from Harry Kane, Jurgen Klopp and Sky Sports’ Gary Neville to Liverpool’s dramatic 4-3 win over Tottenham at Anfield.Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag discusses Man Utd’s 1-0 win over in-form Aston Villa before Eddie Howe and Ruben Selles analyse Newcastle’s comeback win over rock-bottom Southampton, while David Richardson discusses Brighton’s big win over Wolves.There were also big wins down at the bottom of the table as Bournemouth and Crystal Palace moved closer to safety with wins over Leeds and West Ham respectively. We hear from Dan Long on the Cherries' big win, while Jack Wilkinson gives his verdict from Selhurst Park.Finally, we hear from Sam Blitz as Nottingham Forest’s troubles deepened as Brentford struck late twice to snatch victory at the Gtech Community stadium.And that's your Premier League Weekend Wrap!

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp joins Peter Smith on the Essential Football Podcast to reflect on Manchester City’s potentially title-race defining win over Arsenal on Wednesday night, analysing what set City apart, discussing what hope Arsenal may have of another twist – and why he reckons Kevin De Bruyne ranks as the Premier League’s best-ever midfielder. Former Liverpool and Tottenham captain Redknapp also has his say on those two clubs ahead of their meeting at Anfield, with the Reds finding some late-season form and Tottenham picking themselves up under interim boss Ryan Mason. The next steps for both those clubs and how they can be a force next season is on the agenda.