Oliver Glasner said he is planning for Crystal Palace's opening game of the Premier League season against Brentford with Marc Guehi in his side amid links of a move away.
Guehi, who starred for England at Euro 2024, has been the subject of interest from Newcastle, with a reported fourth bid for the defender rejected by the Eagles on Friday.
Since his move to Selhurst Park in 2021, the 24-year-old has made 98 league appearances, but in the 16 games he has missed, Palace average more goals against them (1.6) compared to 1.3 with him in the side.
Chairman Steve Parish said Newcastle would have to pay "superstar money" for Guehi earlier this week, with Glasner confirming he remains in contention to feature on Sunday.
"Marc trained today and we talked together," Glasner said. "I've had no other information. I'll have to look at my bank account and see if anything came in!
"We plan with Marc. He's our player and our captain, I can't tell you anything else.
"As long as no one tells me they will leave or the club tells me someone will leave, then we will work with them every day and prepare the team."
Brentford, meanwhile, are looking to improve on their 16th place finish in the Premier League last season as Thomas Frank prepares for his sixth campaign in charge.
The Bees finished 13 points above the relegation zone last year, but have strengthened in the forward areas with the arrival of Fabio Carvalho from Liverpool.
Frank, however, suffered a blow in his first pre-season fixture as club-record signing Igor Thiago suffered a meniscus injury that will keep him out until the end of 2024.
Despite losing the Brazilian striker, Frank is happy with the players he has for their opening fixture, saying: "I am very happy with what we've got, overall.
"What I've found out is, it is difficult, say you want a left winger, then to get the right one, at the right level, at the right time is sometimes difficult.
"So of course if we only have one winger and we need four, then of course, we need to buy.
"You’ve got to get the best possible player that can make the squad stronger. We are trying to do everything we can to improve."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brentford – Ivan Toney
Despite rumours of a potential exit, Ivan Toney remains a Brentford player for their first encounter of the 2024-25 season, and he will be keen to hit the ground running.
After scoring in four of his first five games following his return from suspension, Toney has now gone 12 Premier League games without a goal.
Only once has he had a longer drought in English league football, going 15 games between December 2015 and August 2016 during spells with Barnsley, Newcastle and Shrewsbury Town.
Crystal Palace – Ismaila Sarr
Having lost Michael Olise to Bayern Munich, Palace have aimed to fill the gap left by the Frenchman with the arrival of Ismaila Sarr from Marseille.
During Sarr's previous spell in English league football between 2019 and 2023, he led all Watford players in goals (33), assists (17), chances created (124), total shots (251) and touches in the opposition box (539).
Only Joao Pedro (242) completed more dribbles than the Senegal international (208) for the Hornets, and Glasner will be hopeful of an instant impact against the Bees.
MATCH PREDICTION: BRENTFORD WIN
For the third time in four Premier League seasons, Brentford are beginning the campaign with a London derby. They beat Arsenal 2-0 in 2021-22, before a 2-2 draw with Spurs last season.
But after a 14-game unbeaten run in top flight derbies in the capital between October 2022 and November 2023, Brentford have now lost five of their last seven against fellow London opponents (D2).
And Palace have proved to be one of those difficult opponents, with Brentford failing to triumph in all six of their Premier League meetings with the Eagles (D5 L1).
It’s both the joint-most the Bees have faced a side in the competition without ever winning (also six v Newcastle) and the joint-most the Eagles have faced a side without ever losing (also six v QPR).
Glasner will be hoping to continue Palace's form from the end of last season having won six of their final seven games (D1), winning the last three in a row by an aggregate score of 12-1.
The Eagles won 1-0 on the opening day of the 2023-24 season against Sheffield United, but haven’t won their first league match in consecutive campaigns since 2006-07/2007-08.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Brentford – 41.2%
Draw – 26.7%
Crystal Palace – 32.1%
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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