Essential Football

In this week’s Essential Football Premier League preview Ron Walker, Pete Smith and Joe Shread take an in-depth look at the first Manchester and North London derbies of the season.PART ONE | Both sides come into Sunday's Manchester derby in fine form - have we seen the best of Man City so far, and how has Erik Ten Hag turned Man Utd's fortunes around so quickly? There's some big claims over Erling Haaland's brilliance already - and that of unlikely hero Lisandro Martinez too.PART TWO | Who has the upper hand going into Saturday's North London derby? Arsenal's Thomas Partey stats lay bare how important his fitness will be to Mikel Arteta, while Heung-Min Son's sudden resurgence is also on the agenda. Despite only leading them for one game, there's some talking points from the type of Chelsea side we can expect to see - and the tough challenge facing them at Selhurst Park on Saturday.PART THREE | Some of the question marks hanging over Brendan Rodgers' Leicester future, and Steve Cooper's at Nottingham Forest, are answered ahead of the pair going head-to-head on Monday Night Football. Plus those around Steven Gerrard, whose Aston Villa side face a potential crunch clash at Leeds on Super Sunday.

In this in-depth interview with Sky Sports to coincide with the release of his new book The People’s Game: A View from A Front Seat in Football, Gary Neville talks us through those Super League plans and why he believes it is time for English football to change...

After England’s rollercoaster 3-3 draw with Germany in their final game before the 2022 World Cup, Peter Smith is joined by Charlotte Marsh at Wembley to discuss where the game now leaves Gareth Southgate’s side ahead of Qatar, who impressed for a place on the plane and who could potentially miss out... Plus we hear from the England manager himself as he assesses the Nations League fixture and how coming through a tough period could be a positive for his side going into the tournament.

Ahead of England’s final games ahead of November’s World Cup opener, Essential Football looks forward to the Three Lions taking on Italy and Germany as they look to avoid relegation from the top tier of the Nations League.Ron Walker and Peter Smith are joined by Sky Sports News’ Rob Dorsett to discuss how much the pressure has risen on Gareth Southgate in 14 short months since the Euro 2022 final, where his biggest squad headaches are and how he approaches the two Nations League matches, with a number of his first-choice players not featuring for their clubs.Sky Sports digital football writers Adam Bate and Sam Blitz then join the party with their England XIs as we debate who should be in Southgate’s line-up to face Iran in two months time.

Essential Football is back with a round-up of all the weekend's Premier League matches, featuring pundit reaction, interviews and reporter analysis from up and down the top-flight.PART ONE | Can Brendan Rodgers keep his job after a second big defeat in a row? Heung-Min Son provided the perfect reaction to being dropped with a 13-minute hat-trick in a 6-2 Spurs win over Leicester on Saturday Night Football, with Jack Wilkinson there to give us his view on the North London goal-fest. Rivals Arsenal weren't to be outdone and romped to a 3-0 win at Brentford on Super Sunday - leading to some high praise from opposition boss Thomas Frank, and Sky Sports features writer Nick Wright.PART TWO | At the seventh time of asking, Everton finally earned their first win of the season by beating David Moyes' beleaguered West Ham 1-0. Hear from Moyes on their struggles, as well as guest Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's views on the Toffees' upturn in form. Elsewhere, Adam Bate was our man at Molineux as Erling Haaland scored (again) in Man City's 3-0 win at Wolves. Plus, Steve Cooper explained why his Nottm Forest side would need time after a fourth defeat in a row to Fulham on Friday Night.PART 3 | The Eddie Howe derby between Newcastle and Bournemouth ended level at St James' Park - but Cherries caretaker boss Gary O'Neil wasn't totally satisfied about taking a point from the Magpies fortress. Plus, Adam Bate explains why Aston Villa vs Southampton was an especially tough watch.And that's your Premier League weekend wrap!

With the WSL returning this weekend, Charlotte Marsh is joined by Caroline Barker and Anton Toloui to preview the upcoming season.PART 1 | Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City’s differing summer business analysed as the Blues prepare to defend another WSL title. Charlotte, Caroline and Anton discuss how Chelsea have strengthened again as Arsenal take a more measured approached. Meanwhile, it’s been all change at Man City.PART 2 | With Tottenham and Man Utd starting the season on Saturday, live on Sky Sports, the podcast discusses how their summers will help improve the squads. Liverpool also return to the WSL and Everton start life under Brian Sorensen. Plus, who could potentially struggle this season?This podcast was recorded and first published before the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Essential Football is back with a round-up of all the weekend's Premier League matches, featuring pundit reaction, interviews and reporter analysis from up and down the top-flight.PART ONE | Liverpool drop more points after they were held to a frantic 0-0 draw against Everton at Goodison Park. Ben Grounds reflects on the game, which Conor Cody denied a fairytale winner against his former club after a lengthy VAR check. That wasn’t the only VAR check of the day! VAR took centre stage on Saturday, and not in a good way! We reflect on a series of decisions that infuriated managers, players, pundits and fans alike. We hear from Sam Blitz and Zinny Boswell on the VAR controversy at Stamford Bridge, plus West Ham boss David Moyes and Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel give their verdicts. Finally, Nick Wright reviews Spurs’ win against Fulham.PART TWO | Super Sunday saw Brighton hammer Leicester to increase the pressure on Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers. Rodgers insists he will fight on despite a fifth straight defeat, while Lewis Jones gives his match verdict from the Amex Stadium. Then we move to Old Trafford where Manchester United’s resurgence continued at the expense of league leaders Arsenal. Christian Eriksen reveals what’s behind the change at united before former Arsenal star Paul Merson offers up some positives for the Gunners, despite their perfect start to the season ending. Last but not least, the Super Sunday panel discuss who will finish the season higher, Manchester United or Arsenal…And that's your Premier League weekend wrap!

With another Transfer Deadline Day upon us we look back on 20 years of the transfer window in the Premier League and how it has changed English football - and continues to evolve from year to year at the end of the top-flight's most expensive ever summer.PART 1 | Sky Sports News transfer gurus Dharmesh Sheth and Kaveh Solhekol join Peter Smith to discuss whether the transfer window has ever been as big as it is now, what sparks so much interest in transfers, how the window has changed the way clubs operate and whether there may ever be a return to season-round signings.PART 2 | Reporter Paul Gilmour tells Ron Walker about the inner workings of a Transfer Deadline Day on Sky Sports News, how to cut out the noise on the big breaking stories as the transfer window draws to a close, the life of a Training Ground reporter in the final hours of the window - his favourite memories of Deadline Days gone by.

Essential Football is back with a round-up of all the weekend's Premier League matches, featuring pundit reaction, interviews and reporter analysis from up and down the top flight.PART ONE | Liverpool crisis? What crisis. Jurgen Klopp's side made history with a record-equalling 9-0 win over Bournemouth at Anfield, leaving Cherries boss Scott Parker pleading for new signings. There was a tougher afternoon for Man City who came back from 2-0 down to beat Crystal Palace, but boss Patrick Vieira still left the Etihad proud of his side. Plus, Nick Wright and Dan Sansom reflect on victories for Arsenal and Manchester United on Saturday. PART TWO | Chelsea's season improved with a 2-1 win over Leicester, with Joe Shread impressed with the early signs of a Sterling-James combination, while Brighton's continued bright start had Lewis Jones wide-eyed about Pascal Gross. Harry Kane spoke to Sky Sports after netting his 200th Premier League goal in Spurs' 2-0 win at Nottm Forest, and Bruno Lage and Eddie Howe both felt they should have won as Wolves and Newcastle drew 1-1 at Molineux.PART THREE | What's going wrong for Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa? He told Sky Sports the responsibility for their poor form lay on his shoulders after a 1-0 reverse at home to West Ham, while Thomas Frank didn't hold back on his assessment of Brentford's 1-1 draw with Everton.And that's your Premier League weekend wrap!

In the latest episode of Essential Football, we preview the Super Sunday clash between Nottingham Forest and Tottenham.PART ONE | Ron Walker is joined by Sky Sports pundit Michael Dawson, who is no stranger to Nottingham Forest or Tottenham, having played for both clubs during his career. The defender discusses Forest’s huge summer overhaul and their solid start to life back in the Premier League before giving his thoughts on what Tottenham should be aiming for under Antonio Conte this season.PART TWO | Jack Wilkinson sits down with Spurs boss Conte, who talks about his side’s development, closing the gap to the sides at the top of the Premier League, facing newly-promoted Nottingham Forest, and his Champions League record following the group stage draw on Thursday.