The Sky Sports Football Podcast

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!

David Jones is joined by Jamie Redknapp and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as they analyse Everton's first win in the Premier League this season with a 1-0 win over West Ham.

Kelly Cates is joined by Jamie Redknapp and Wes Morgan as they analyse Tottenham's 6-2 thrashing of Leicester on Saturday Night Football.

Kelly Cates is joined by Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher as they analyse Aston Villa's 1-0 win over Southampton on Friday Night Football.

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!