Essential Football

On the latest Essential Football, Sky Sports pundit Alan Smith joins Ron Walker to look ahead to the weekend’s Premier League action.With Arsenal knocked off the top of the table, how will Mikel Arteta’s side react with a Saturday lunchtime kick-off at Aston Villa? Will the game have an extra spark for Villa boss Unai Emery after his bruising spell at the Emirates Stadium?In the Saturday Night Football match at St James’ Park, will Liverpool return to Sky Sports with another victory after the Merseyside Derby win? Can they realistically still make the top four?Newcastle have drawn four out of their last five – how much of a concern is that, and what impact does the Carabao Cup final next weekend have on Eddie Howe’s players?Tottenham are live on Super Sunday against West Ham. Can they shake off their inconsistency against their London rivals? And how green are the shoots of recovery David Moyes has overseen at the London Stadium?

Essential Football is back with a Weekend Wrap of the Premier League's fixtures this weekend.It was a difficult few days for VAR, as the PGMOL admitted two mistakes in Arsenal's draw against Brentford and Brighton's stalemate at Crystal Palace. David Richardson looks at the Gunners' 1-1 draw against the Bees, which has opened up the title race following Manchester City's Super Sunday victory over Aston Villa. Meanwhile, Manchester United may be in the title fold following their win at Leeds.Elsewhere, Joe Shread analyses Brighton's 1-1 draw at Palace, while Lewis Jones and Nick Wright run the line through another stalemate of the same scoreline between West Ham and Chelsea.Paul Gilmour watched Nathan Jones' last game as Southampton manager - a 2-1 home loss to Wolves, while Sam Blitz goes through Fulham's win over Nottingham Forest at Craven Cottage.We also have analysis from Leicester's 4-1 victory over a sorry Tottenham side, with Newcastle drawing 1-1 at Bournemouth.And that's your Premier League Weekend Wrap!

On another special edition of Essential Football, we get to the bottom of the return of the European Super League after their backers released a 10-point plan for the future of the continental game on Thursday.Ron Walker is joined by Sky Sports News' Kaveh Solhekol and Rob Dorsett to explain what's different this time, who exactly are the 'A22' group behind the plans and how realistic they are - as well as whether any English clubs could be tempted to get involved again.Jamie Carragher also gives us his views on why the idea won't get off the ground, and A22 CEO Bernd Reichart tells Sky Sports why he believes the league wouldn't need involvement from all of Europe's biggest clubs to get off the ground.

On the latest edition of Essential Football, Jamie Carragher joins Ron Walker to preview this weekend's Merseyside Derby between out-of-form Liverpool and Sean Dyche's Everton.Carragher assesses why Liverpool have hit what he calls their worst spell under Jurgen Klopp, how he's trying to fix it and whether he might repeat his Dortmund exit and call it quits at the end of the season.He also looks at what Sean Dyche has already changed at Goodison Park, whether this is the ideal time for him to take his Toffee side to Anfield and how quickly he can turn things around at the club.

On Monday morning, the Premier League announced a shock raft of charges into six-time champions Manchester City, concerning more than 100 breaches of its regulations spanning almost a decade.An investigation of this size is unprecedented in the league's 30-year history - and could have serious ramifications for the club if the charges are all proven.But what are City charged with, and why? It's taken more than three years to get to this point - so how long will the investigation last? And what do City, and their Premier League rivals, make of it all?Ron Walker introduces Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol, reporter Mark McAdam and football finance expert Kieran Maguire to explain the details of one of the biggest bombshell revelations in Premier League history.

Essential Football is back with a round-up of all the weekend's Premier League matches, featuring reporter analysis from up and down the top flight.Ron Walker and Zinny Boswell reflect on Harry Kane breaking Tottenham’s all-time scoring record as Spurs beat Manchester City, who missed the chance to close the gap on Arsenal, with Oliver Yew looking at their surprise defeat at Everton in Sean Dyche’s first game as Toffees manager.Ron Walker was also at Old Trafford as 10-man Manchester United saw off Crystal Palace, while Adam Bate witnessed Wolves thump a sorry Liverpool at Molineux.Peter Smith and Nick Wright watched Enzo Fernandez – the Premier League’s most expensive ever signing – make his debut as Chelsea were held by neighbours Fulham, while Sam Blitz saw Southampton slump at Brentford and Lewis Jones followed Brighton’s late win over Bournemouth.We also have analysis and reaction as West Ham claimed a draw at Newcastle, Nottingham Forest handed Leeds another defeat and Leicester won a thriller at Aston Villa.And that's your Premier League Weekend Wrap!

On the latest Essential Football episode we take a closer look at the rise of Eddie Howe. The Newcastle boss will celebrate 600 games as a manager when he takes charge of the Magpies at home to West Ham on Saturday – live on Sky Sports – as they continue their pursuit of Champions League football. Howe has also led Newcastle to their first cup final for 24 years – some rise for a manager that began his career in charge of a Bournemouth side that were bottom of the Football League and in danger of going out of business 15 years ago. Sky Sports reporters Mark McAdam – who worked with Howe at Bournemouth - and Keith Downie join Peter Smith to discuss the standout moments in the manager’s career, what he’s like away from the dugout, and what the future holds.

Essential Football is back with a round-up of all the weekend's Premier League matches, featuring reporter analysis from up and down the top-flight.Richard Morgan looks back at a thrilling contest between Arsenal and Manchester United, which saw the Gunners maintain their five-point lead to Man City at the top of the Premier League with a 3-2 victory. Can Arsenal be stopped in their quest to bring the title back to north London?Erling Haaland and Man City will be doing their utmost to stop Mikel Arteta’s side. They beat Wolves 3-0 as Haaland scored yet another hat-trick and Adam Bate gives his reaction to the Norwegian’s scoring exploits.There’s analysis from the 0-0 draws between Liverpool and Chelsea and Crystal Palace, while Lewis Jones reacts to what could prove to be a crucial win for West Ham and David Moyes against Everton. Defeat leaves the Toffees deep in the relegation mire and Frank Lampard under huge pressure.We also hear about wins for Aston Villa and draws between Leicester and Brighton, Leeds and Brentford, and Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest.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-flightPeter Smith looks back at Manchester United’s derby win over Man City. Are United now in the title race? Arsenal extended their lead at the top of a table with a derby win of their own. Mikel Arteta’s side beat Tottenham 2-0 to open up an eight-point gap. Nick Wright gives his verdict on a pulsating North London derby at the Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium.There’s reaction from Newcastle’s late win against Fulham and Chelsea’s much-needed victory against Crystal Palace, while there is analysis of the continued problems on Merseyside as Liverpool lost to Brighton and Everton were defeated by Southampton.We also hear about wins for Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Brentford.And that's your Premier League Weekend Wrap!

Essential Football is back - and so is the Premier League after the World Cup break.Looking ahead to the resumption of the top flight, Ron Walker is joined by mental performance consultant Mark Bowden to analyse why such a short turnaround may affect players over the next few games - without them even realising it.