Essential Football

In a Champions League final preview special of the Essential Football Podcast, host Ron Walker is joined by a trio of guests to look ahead to the European club showpiece of the season as Liverpool take on 13-time winners Real Madrid in Paris.Sky Sports digital football journalists Richard Morgan and Nick Wright talk us through where the game will be won and lost for Liverpool, whether their Premier League title battle will put them at a disadvantage and how Trent Alexander-Arnold and Vinicius Junior will be a key battle at the Stade de France.Spanish football expert Ben Hayward also joins us to give us the mood from Madrid, where Carlo Ancelotti has been able to rest a number of his key players ahead of the final, and could make his own history if he becomes the first manager to lift the European Cup four times. Ben also explains why Real Madrid have become so synonymous with Champions League success – and what has driven their sensational never-say-die attitude this season.Finally, Sky Sports features writer Adam Bate dials in from the French capital to update us on the latest on the atmosphere in Paris as well as explaining how the temperature could play its part, and give his prediction for Saturday’s spectacle.

On the Essential Football podcast we look back on an incredible climax to the Premier League season. We hear reports from every game up and down the country before Peter Smith is joined by Sky Sports football journalists Sam Blitz and Joe Shread to dissect the big talking points. In Part One, after hearing the final-whistle verdict from around the grounds, we discuss Manchester City’s dramatic title win and Liverpool’s near miss and how those two teams have pushed each other to such high levels. And in Part Two, Tottenham’s turnaround under Antonio Conte is in the spotlight, while we ask what Arsenal need to do to maintain their upward curve. We also reflect on a bad day for Burnley, following their relegation to the Championship, as Leeds salvage their top-flight status. Plus, we share our moments of the season.

In the latest episode of the Essential Football podcast, Ron Walker is joined by Sky Sports football commentators Martin Tyler, Rob Hawthorne and Bill Leslie ahead of the final weekend of the Premier League season.In Part One, the trio reveal all about commentary, talking the ins and outs of the day job, how they got started and the challenges they face on the gantry!And in Part Two, Tyler, Hawthorne and Leslie look back at the 2021/22 Premier League season as they discuss their best moments, best goals and favourite lines of the campaign.

Ahead of Rangers’ Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt, Sky Sports reporter Luke Shanley exclusively speaks to former Rangers striker Kris Boyd in Seville before hearing from captain James Tavernier, midfielder John Lundstram and ex-manager and Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness.

Following Liverpool’s epic penalty shootout win over Chelsea in the FA Cup final, football journalists Peter Smith, Lewis Jones and Nick Wright, who were covering the game for Sky Sports, discuss the major talking points from what was another tantalising and tremendously dramatic final.

Ahead of Thursday’s season-defining North London derby, Sky Sports digital football journalist Jack Wilkinson heads to the Tottenham training ground to speak with boss Antonio Conte, before senior football journalist Oliver Yew sits down with former Gunners striker Alan Smith for the view from the red half of north London.

On the latest Essential Football Podcast, host Ron Walker is joined by Sam Blitz and Zinny Boswell to talk the Premier League title race as Man City took advantage of Liverpool’s slip-up to widen the gap at the top of the table, plus the race for Europe, survival and a dramatic final WSL weekend.PART 1 | Is there still hope for Liverpool, with Manchester City moving three points clear in the title race? Why have Chelsea collapsed, are Arsenal home and dry in the race for Europe or can Spurs get a result in the North London derby to cause a late upset?PART 2 | Advantage Everton in the Premier League survival race. What’s changed for Frank Lampard? Who should be more worried out of Burnley or Leeds? And we put Sam and Zinny’s knowledge of Man Utd’s woes to the test in a special game of ‘higher or lower’.PART 3 | After a dramatic final weekend in the WSL, how did Chelsea retain the title and where did it not quite happen for Arsenal? What are the takeaways from the rest of the league table and what can we expect to happen this summer?All that, and much, much more!

In the latest episode of the Essential Football Podcast, Ron Walker is joined by Sky Sports features writer Nick Wright, Sky Sports News reporter Ben Ransom and Sky Sports EFL expert Dan Long to discuss all the talking points ahead of another busy weekend of Premier League football.PART ONE | The panel reflect on differing Champions League fortunes for Liverpool and Manchester City in midweek. Liverpool overcame a bit of a scare to power past Villarreal, while Real Madrid produced an epic comeback to knock out Pep Guardiola’s side. Will those results have any impact on the Premier League title race as Jurgen Klopp’s side prepare to face Tottenham and City hist Newcastle?PART TWO | Burnley’s turnaround, Cristiano Ronaldo’s incredible goal scoring form, Everton’s poor away record, Arsenal’s chase for the Champions League and Leeds’ relegation concerns are also up for discussion as continue to look ahead at the weekend’s action in the top-flight.PART THREE | Finally, the guys by Dan Long to look at what Fulham and Bournemouth can bring to the Premier League after winning promotion back to the top-flight. With the final day of the regular Championship season this weekend, who will join Nottingham Forest and Huddersfield in the play-offs and who will eventually seal promotion at Wembley?All that, and much, much more!

In the latest episode of the Essential Football Podcast, Sky Sports features writer Nick Wright sits down with Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta for an exclusive interview at the club's training centre at London Colney.Ahead the Gunners’ crucial Premier League clash with West Ham - which is live on Sky Sports on Sunday - the Arsenal boss discusses how his side have adapted after injuries to Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey, the club’s summer transfer plans, why they cannot copy Liverpool’s route to the top and how his Arsenal project is developing. Are they ahead of schedule?Arteta also talks the recent return of club legends Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry to the Emirates Stadium and the race for the top four.In Part 2, Nick is then joined by Sky Sports senior football journalist Oliver Yew to discuss the interview and all things Arsenal ahead of a crucial few weeks for the club as they bid to return to the Champions League.

After another Premier League weekend packed with twists and turns, we assess what the latest results mean for the title race, the chase for a top-four finish and the battle for survival at the bottom of the table. Peter Smith is joined by Sky Sports’ senior football journalist Oliver Yew and football journalist Lewis Jones to look back on: Man City’s breeze past Watford and Liverpool’s battle to victory in the Merseyside derby; a significant weekend for Arsenal, who beat Man Utd and saw Spurs slip-up at Brentford; and Burnley’s crucial win over Wolves which lifts them out of the relegation zone and above Everton. We pick out a key moment to come for Man City and Liverpool, the potentially deciding factor in Arsenal’s pursuit of a return to the Champions League, and what Everton can learn from Burnley to boost their chances in the relegation scrap.