Many events have shaped the British people – the birth of punk, Brexit, Tony Hibbert’s first goal of his career (in his own testimonial) – where for better or worse, the genie cannot be put back into the bottle. We do not yet know how historians will view the Great International Break of 2026, but one thing is for sure: the world has changed. Here is how this memorable three-week break from the Premier League has affected each of this weekend’s fixtures.
Liverpool v Manchester City: A remarkably quiet time for both sides, with no significant developments. Should be a good, fair game between two historic rivals where we can just enjoy the purity and joy of football and Ayyoub Bouaddi’s flowing locks without the machinations and influence of politics, sportswashing, legal verdicts and counter-claims. Chelsea v Bournemouth: The good news for Bournemouth over the break was that Alex Scott’s silky performances for England have added another £40m to his value.
The bad news for Bournemouth … Scott is now sidelined for about two months and faces a race to get back to his best form before January, when Chelsea will inevitably table a £100m bid. Emi Martínez’s woes in goal could well continue unless he can get those Lionel Messi-induced tears out of his eyes. Manchester United v Tottenham: Ranting and raving, toiling for weeks against lesser teams and struggling to get to grips with the ideas of his new continental manager, Andy Robertson has had better international breaks but should at least have some respite when he returns to … ah.
Yes lads, it’s Tottenham, but is it too early to call this a relegation six-pointer? Are three more weeks on the sidelines enough time to get £65m Carlos Baleba upright? Will under-pressure Michael Carrick see his former club do him a favour?
We should have some answers to these burning questions at Old Trafford. Sunderland v Brighton: Like a three-week Geopolitics World Cup hydration pitstop, the break came at the worst possible time for red-hot Brighton. After three weeks on the proverbial deck-chair watching his nation flounder under Jürgen Klopp, will Pascal Groß still resemble Prime Kevin De Bruyne now that 95% of fantasy players have put the wily German into their teams?
Arsenal v Leeds: Declan Rice may feel more rested than Winston Bogarde on a Surrey spa break after opting out of England duty but Arsenal are counting the cost of the international break with Christos Tzolis, Kai Havertz, Ezri Konsa and England Under-19s’ Max Dowman all returning to the club with knack. Somebody check on Mikel Arteta! Ipswich v Fulham: Football Daily does have personal views on this fixture.
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