The Philadelphia Union have parted ways with head coach Jim Curtin, the club announced on Thursday. 

Curtin was the second-longest serving coach in the MLS, only behind Sporting Kansas City's Peter Vermes, but his 10-year stint at Subaru Park has finally come to an end. 

During the 45-year-old's tenure, the Union won the 2020 Supporters' Shield and made the 2022 MLS Cup final. 

But Philadelphia struggled this season, finishing 12th in the Eastern Conference standings and therefore missing the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Curtin oversaw 394 matches in all competitions, winning 170 (D90 L134), ending with a win percentage of 41.9%. 

"We want to extend our heartfelt appreciation to Jim for his passion and dedication to this club over the last 10 seasons," sporting director Ernst Tanner said in a statement.

"He greatly contributed to the success the club has achieved in recent years and for that, we are extremely grateful.

"We thank Jim for the significant impact he made both on the field and in the community. Following the 2024 season, we recognise the need for change.

"We'll continue to evaluate our sporting strategy and make the necessary changes this offseason to best set the team up for success."

In the Western Conference, the San Jose Earthquakes named Bruce Arena as their new head coach and sporting director after a poor 2024 season. 

They conceded an MLS-record 78 goals and finished bottom of the overall league standings, parting ways with Luchi Gonzalez before being led by interim coach Ian Russell.

Arena takes charge of his fifth club in the MLS and his first since resigning from his position with the New England Revolution in 2023. 

The 73-year-old is the most accomplished coach in MLS history, leading the league in regular-season wins (262) and Audi MLS Cup Playoffs victories (35).

Additionally, Arena led the United States at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and won three CONCACAF Gold Cup titles.

"I am extremely excited for the opportunity to come to San Jose," said Arena.

"I coached my first ever professional game at Spartan Stadium in 1996 – the first game in MLS history – and my first international game with the U.S. in 1998 was in San Jose.

"The Earthquakes and Northern California have a proud soccer tradition.

"There’s a lot of potential with the club, and I am looking forward to working with everyone here to unlock that potential and get back to winning ways."

England will face a re-run of the Women's 2023 World Cup final after being drawn in the same group as Spain in the 2025 Women's Nations League. 

Sarina Wiegman's side will face the world and Nations League champions for the first time since the August 2023 World Cup final, where they lost 1-0 in Australia. 

The Lionesses are joined in Group A3 by Belgium, who stunned England in the previous edition of the tournament with a 3-2 win in Leuven last October, and Portugal.

During the October international break, England were beaten 4-3 by Germany, but responded with a 2-1 triumph over South Africa. 

They face Emma Hayes' United States at Wembley in an international friendly at the end of this month before taking on Switzerland in December before the tournament starts. 

“It’s an exciting draw. We have Spain – a top, world-class team – which I think is exciting because it’s another opportunity to play at that level," Wiegman said. 

“It’s really good that we play Belgium because in the last Nations League we lost when we played them away, and we really underperformed.

"We can prove to ourselves now that we can do much better than that in the two games. I’m happy with that one, they’re tough.

“Portugal are a very talented team. We played them before we went to the World Cup, and we drew with them.

"We had a lot of the ball, but we couldn’t score, and they were very dangerous on the counter-attack. They have a lot of technical players.

“There are different opponents, and I’m really looking forward to it because we’ll be challenged in different areas of the game. And of course we’ll give them challenges too.”

Julian Nagelsmann has handed a maiden Germany call-up to goalkeeper Stefan Ortega in his squad for the upcoming Nations League games.

The 32-year-old has only made four appearances for Manchester City this season, two in the Champions League and two in the EFL Cup, and was a surprise inclusion in the squad.

Ortega, who joined City in 2022, is the second-choice goalkeeper behind Ederson but received plaudits after filling in at the end of last season when the Brazilian suffered an eye injury.

There is also a return for Borussia Dortmund's Felix Nmecha, who is called up for the first time since September 2023. He has scored two goals and registered two assists in 14 appearances in all competitions this season.

Kai Havertz is also in the squad, having pulled out of their games in the October international break due to a knee injury.

Germany have already qualified for the quarter-finals of the Nations League, having collected 10 points from their opening four games.

Nagelsmann is not ready to ease up on the pressure when they face Bosnia-Herzegovina and Hungary, with the first of those matches on November 16.

"After making sure of a spot in the quarter-finals, we now want to seal top spot in the group," said Nagelsmann.

"Reaching the Nations League final four next year is an important milestone on our way to the 2026 World Cup."

Germany squad in full:

Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart), Stefan Ortega (Manchester City), Robin Gosens (Fiorentina), Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maximilian Mittelstadt (Stuttgart), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen), Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund), Chris Fuhrich (Stuttgart), Pascal Gross (Borussia Dortmund), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund), Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen), Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Tim Kleindienst (Borussia Monchengladbach), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart).

England interim boss Lee Carsley has named the final Three Lions squad of his tenure before Thomas Tuchel takes the reins at the start of next year. 

Carsley handed first senior call-ups to Southampton's Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Newcastle's Lewis Hall for their Nations League fixtures against Greece and the Republic of Ireland.

Harwood-Bellis has played in all the Saints' Premier League fixtures so far this season, and is someone Carsley knows well.

The defender made 21 appearances under Carsley with England's Under-21's side, more than any other player during his time in charge.

Hall has also been in fine form. His 11 successful crosses and 15 chances created are totals only bettered by Anthony Gordon (15 and 20) in the Premier League for Newcastle.

The only other uncapped player in the squad is Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, while there is no place for Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers.

Cole Palmer has also been handed a place in the 26-man squad despite missing Chelsea training this week after picking up a knock against Manchester United at the weekend.

Kobbie Mainoo misses out through injury along with Manchester City's John Stones. Nick Pope was also dropped from the squad, with Aaron Ramsdale coming in. 

England face Group B2 leaders Greece in Athens on November 14 before rounding off their Nations League campaign at Wembley against Ireland three days later.

England squad in full: 

Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Southampton); Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Rico Lewis (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Lewis Hall (Newcastle), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Southampton); Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Angel Gomes (Lille), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Curtis Jones (Liverpool); Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham).

Kylian Mbappe has been left out of France's squad for their upcoming Nations League matches, with Didier Deschamps saying it is a "one-off decision".

Mbappe played the full 90 minutes in Real Madrid's 3-1 defeat to Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday, and Deschamps did not say if the forward was injured.

The France captain also missed Les Bleus' last two matches, being rested despite his return to fitness in time for the October international break, with Mbappe coming under scrutiny for his absence.

The 25-year-old has struggled for form as of late, and although he has scored eight goals in 15 appearances since joining Madrid, he has hit the back of the net just once in his last six outings.

"I've had discussions with him, it is a decision that I took for this block of matches only," Deschamps told a press conference on Thursday. "Kylian wanted to come."

Meanwhile, Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier has received his first call-up, replacing Alphonse Areola in the squad. There are also recalls for Adrien Rabiot and N'Golo Kante as the injured Aurelien Tchouameni misses out. 

France face Israel in the first of their two games on November 14 before finishing their Nations League Group A2 campaign against Italy three days later. 

France squad in full:

Lucas Chevalier (Lille), Mike Maignan (Milan), Brice Samba (Lens), Jonathan Clauss (Nice), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Wesley Fofana (Chelsea), Theo Hernandez (Milan), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich), Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio), N'Golo Kante (Al-Ittihad), Manu Kone (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (Marseille), Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG), Bradley Barcola (PSG), Randal Kolo Muani (PSG), Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter).

Arne Slot believes hard work and intensity have been key to Liverpool's form ahead of their Premier League meeting with Aston Villa on Saturday.

Slot has won 14 of his 16 matches in all competitions since taking charge at Anfield and, despite his magnificent start, he pointed out that it has not been easy.

"You only look at results. Brighton was a difficult one on Saturday where we were 1-0 behind and had to fight really hard and that is what you saw," he told the Independent.

"We have to work really hard with incredibly high intensity to win our games and that has a lot to do with teams who think Anfield is the best place to play, so every team we play against is at the top of their game. If you want to win you always have to be consistent in your intensity."

Having taken over from Jurgen Klopp, it was understandable that expectations had lowered when Slot took over, but after a stellar start to the season, Slot said he was unconcerned by the pressure.

"I think if you work at any club around the world there is always pressure. For some managers it is not to go down, for some they have to win a lot,” he added.

"In our position, there is always pressure and that is the pressure we give ourselves."

Villa, meanwhile, go into this game having lost back-to-back games against Tottenham in the Premier League and Club Brugge in the Champions League.

A bizarre penalty conceded by Tyrone Mings provided the winner for the Belgian side on Wednesday, but Unai Emery was still pleased with the intensity his side showed.

"The first half we played like we were planning... It was a mistake," Emery said after that game.

"It is difficult and here it is not strange. You watched the match and [Villa] playing, they finished exhausted. It was not intensity, it was that the match changed completely after our mistake."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Liverpool – Mohamed Salah

No player has been involved in more Premier League goals than Mohamed Salah (12) so far this season, with seven goals and five assists. He has also had the most touches in the opposition box this term (96), while of players to have had 20+ shots, no-one has hit a higher percentage of them on target (67% - 20/30).

The Egyptian has scored in four of his last five appearances at Anfield in all competitions, while he was also credited with two assists in the 4-0 victory over Leverkusen last time out.

Aston Villa – Ollie Watkins

Only Erling Haaland (16) has had more big chances than Ollie Watkins (14) in the Premier League this season.

While Watkins has only scored five league goals, with four of those coming from the big chances, he is still Villa's top goalscorer.

MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN

Liverpool have won five of their last six home games against Villa (D1), while the visitors have lost 16 of their last 18 Premier League away games against sides starting top of the table (D2).

A large part of Liverpool's early-season success has come from their defence, with only Manchester City (32) facing fewer shots on target than them (34) in the league. Liverpool, meanwhile, have conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League (six).

Slot is also only the fifth manager to win eight of his first 10 Premier League matches in charge, with the club also unbeaten in their last seven (W5 D2) against Villa.

Slot's side have won four and lost one of their five home games in the league this season, accruing the joint third-most points (12).

However, Liverpool have conceded the first goal in their last two Premier League games but avoided defeat in both (2-2 v Arsenal, 2-1 v Brighton). Indeed, their win against Brighton was the 100th time they have come from behind to win a Premier League match, the third team to reach this milestone in the competition.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Liverpool – 61.8%

Draw – 19.7%

Aston Villa – 18.4%

Ten matches into the Premier League season, Arsenal's hopes of ending their long wait for a league title are already in danger.

Last week's 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United made it just seven points from five games, and they now trail leaders Liverpool by seven points.

Injuries and suspensions have taken their toll on Arteta's men, and things do not get much easier for them on Sunday, against a Chelsea team currently above them on goal difference.

Enzo Maresca's Blues fought back to draw 1-1 with Manchester United last time out, and only Manchester City and Liverpool have beaten them since the Italian took over.

We delve into the Opta data to preview Sunday's headline fixture at Stamford Bridge.

What's expected?

Given the two sides are only separated on goal difference ahead of Sunday's match, the Opta supercomputer finds it difficult to split. 

Across 10,000 pre-match simulations conducted by the supercomputer, Arsenal were victorious in 41.2%, giving them a slight edge over their hosts, who are a 33.2% shot.

The likelihood of a draw is rated at 25.6%, but you sense Arsenal need to take all three points after seeing their hopes of winning the title drop to 4.4% in Opta's season predictions. Chelsea's own hopes are rated at 0.3%, with City (61.9%) still clear favourites ahead of Liverpool (33.4%).

Chelsea have won just one of their last nine Premier League games against Arsenal (two draws, six defeats), a 2-0 away win in August 2021. The Gunners have managed three victories in their last four league trips to Stamford Bridge (one draw) – as many victories as they recorded in their previous 20 visits (seven draws, 10 defeats).

Arsenal have also won their last six Premier League London derby matches by an aggregate score of 22-3, winning six of those matches by five or more goals.

One such occasion was a 5-0 rout of Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium last April, their biggest-ever margin of victory against the Blues in all competitions.

Blues eye statement victory

When the Premier League fixture list was drawn up, even the most optimistic Chelsea fan may have struggled to visualise the Blues sitting ahead of Arsenal in the table after 10 games.

But Maresca's side have shown promising signs in the early stages of his tenure. Chelsea's last two Premier League defeats this season have come against last season's top three teams – 0-5 versus Arsenal in April, 0-2 versus City in August and 1-2 against Liverpool in October.

They are unbeaten in their last 21 matches against all other teams, winning 14 and drawing seven while scoring 57 goals in total across those games.

The future looks bright for Chelsea, who fielded a starting lineup with an average age of 23 years and 96 days at Old Trafford last week – their youngest-ever XI for a Premier League match against Manchester United.

However, they are still waiting on a first statement win under Maresca, and getting one over on the Gunners would earn him plenty of goodwill among the fans.

Their chances could be decided by the fitness of Cole Palmer, who is an injury doubt after suffering a knock against United.

He opened the scoring when the Blues last welcomed Arsenal to west London for a 2-2 draw last October, scoring his first Premier League goal at Stamford Bridge.

Since then, he has more home goals in the competition than any other player (21), also leading the way for goal involvements (12 – seven goals, five assists, alongside Mohamed Salah) and open-play chances created in 2024-25.

Can fit-again Odegaard get Gunners firing?

Last season, Arsenal won 42 of their 89 Premier League points on their travels, taking nine points from five matches at the homes of their Big Six rivals. 

This campaign, however, their failure to hit top form on the road has threatened to end their latest title tilt before it truly got going. 

Arsenal have collected seven points from five away matches this term, the same amount as Brighton and fewer than Liverpool (13), Nottingham Forest (11), Chelsea, City and Aston Villa (all 10).

While Arteta has long preached the importance of control, Arsenal have simply not been good enough going forward in those matches. They have attempted just 37 shots on the road in the Premier League this season (7.4 per game), with only Brentford (seven) averaging fewer per away match across the entire division.

The fact Arsenal played significant amounts of time at Manchester City and Bournemouth with a numerical disadvantage likely plays a part, but the fact five teams have attempted at least twice as many shots on the road does not make for good reading (Manchester City 90, Tottenham 83, Crystal Palace 79, Bournemouth 78 and Manchester United 74).

Martin Odegaard's return to training after two months out with an ankle injury is a major boost, with the Norwegian having led all players in the Premier League for expected assists (11.17 xA) and chances created from open play (88) last season.

Arsenal have actually outperformed their underlying attacking metrics this campaign, netting 17 league goals from 15.75 expected goals (xG), so their finishing does not appear to be an issue. The fact they rank eighth in the league for xG does, however, suggest chance creation is a problem.

Arteta will hope Odegaard's return can make the difference, or a title challenge may prove a bridge too far. The last time they lost three successive away Premier League games was in December 2021, and they went on to miss out on a top-four finish that season.

The Norwegian was a late substitute as they were beaten 1-0 by Inter in the Champions League on Wednesday. They have now lost three of their last six games in all competitions, as many as their previous 32 beforehand.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Chelsea – Nicolas Jackson 

Since the start of last season, Chelsea striker Jackson has been involved in more London derby goals than any other player in the Premier League (10 goals, two assists).

All of his 12 involvements have come in his last nine such appearances, and he already has six Premier League goals this term.

Arsenal – Bukayo Saka 

Saka has provided more assists than any other player in the Premier League this season (seven). 

He has also either scored (once) or assisted (twice) a goal in each of his last three away games against Chelsea in the Premier League, with Sergio Aguero (2013 to 2017) and Javier Hernandez (2012 to 2018) the only visiting players to do so in four consecutive appearances.

Diego Simeone believes Atletico Madrid's precision is to thank for their last-gasp 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

Warren Zaire-Emery had given PSG an early lead, though Atletico drew level through Nahuel Molina before substitute Angel Correa snatched the victory in the 93rd minute.

However, Atletico were far from dominant, managing just four shots, three of which were on target, to PSG's 22.

Last time out in the Champions League, they suffered a 3-1 defeat to Lille despite taking an early lead in that game. But Simeone feels his side have now put things right after ending a three-match losing streak on the road in the competition.

"You remember the last match against Lille, it was the same situation," Simeone said. "We had seven or eight goalscoring opportunities without being able to convert.

"In the end, football is about success. While collective play is beautiful, one can attack from all angles, but it's precision that positions you and brings success.

"Against Lille, we lacked that success, and in this match, Paris was better, but we managed to seize our opportunities.

"We defended with great collective work against a team that attacks very well. [Jan] Oblak had a great night, and we had a forcefulness that we did not have against Lille. We took a game that compensates for Lille's."

Three of Correa's UEFA Champions League goals for Atletico Madrid have come away from home, while it is their fifth 90th-minute winner in the competition since 2021-22, more than any other side.  

He was brought on in the 67th minute to replace Julian Alvarez, and Simeone was pleased with the impact of his substitute.

"We believe in the footballers we have," he added. That was the compensation to have a goal option in Correa, who has the name of Angel for something.

"When you enter the field, things always happen. We argue. I tell him because he wants to play the 90 minutes, like all players. But he knows how important 12 of the team is."

Luis Enrique blamed Paris Saint-Germain's 2-1 home defeat to Atletico Madrid on bad luck, admitting their hopes of Champions League qualification were in danger.

PSG applied their usual possession pattern but were again pretty much toothless in attack, owing Warren Zaire Emery's opener to a defensive blunder.

Nahuel Molina equalised quickly and Atletico's resilience paid off three minutes into injury time thanks to second-half substitute Angel Correa's goal at the end of a counter-attack - a scenario that Luis Enrique labelled a 'bad joke'.

PSG had a handful of clear chances through Achraf Hakimi, Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele but, with no out-and-out striker, were unable to convert.

"There are no words. I think that in our three home games, we were highly superior to our opponents but we did not have any luck," Luis Enrique said.

"As long as there are matches, we will fight," he added, with PSG next set to travel to Bayern Munich on November 26.

PSG are 25th in the 36-team league, just in the elimination zone, midway through the group phase.

They have lost five of their last eight games in the Champions League (W2 D1), as many as in their previous 19 games in the competition, while this is the first time they have failed to win successive home group games in the competition (D1 L1).

On Wednesday, they had 22 attempts on goal to Atletico's four, as they accumulated 2.12 expected goals, with their opponents showing their clinical edge after creating just 0.67. 

"I've been in the game for over 30 years and I can't explain it. It's just bad luck. We were infinitely superior to our opponents," Luis Enrique added.

"We would have deserved to win our three home games. Comfortably."

Asked if PSG's chances to go through the league phase were in danger, he said: "Undoubtedly.

"We created 50 chances in three games and we failed to convert so many of them... we need 20 clear chances to score and our opponents sneeze and they score... it sounds like a bad joke.

"Creating chances is the team's responsibility and I'm responsible for the team, so I'm responsible for the results. If I fail, I will fail with my ideas. We're on the right path."

Simone Inzaghi praised Inter's defending after they shut out Arsenal in the Champions League, just as they did Manchester City earlier in the competition.

A controversially awarded penalty, given for a handball against Mikel Merino and converted by Hakan Calhanoglu on the stroke of half-time, proved enough for a 1-0 victory. 

It leaves them fifth in the table after four games, one of four teams on 10 points, as they extended their unbeaten home run in the Champions League to 11 games (W9 D2), keeping nine clean sheets in this run.

What is more, Inter are one of two sides, along with Atalanta, that are yet to concede a goal in this season's Champions League. Indeed, four successive clean sheets is their longest-ever such run in the competition.

"We had a great performance, zero goals conceded to Arsenal and Man City. It's a source of great pride, but now we need to continue like this," Inzaghi said.

Arsenal had 20 goal attempts to Inter's seven but rarely looked like scoring as Inzaghi's side performed a defensive masterclass with Yann Bisseck outstanding.

"Bisseck was very good, but he doesn't have to prove anything to me," Inzaghi said. "I know how good he is, and he has played two great games against teams like City and Arsenal this season.

"His only problem is that we have other great defenders so he cannot play all the time, but I know how good he is."

Inter were under siege in the second half, facing 13 shots from the Gunners while having just one of their own. Arsenal also had 30 touches in Inter's box after the break, but the hosts' resilience kept them at bay.

"The best thing about this match is the three points, then the team spirit and the desire to fight that we put out on the pitch," Inter skipper Lautaro Martinez said.

"These matches are very important for the league table. We didn't concede any goals, and this is positive because in the [domestic] league we conceded too many.

"We must continue to raise the level. We want everything. The history of this club says so. I want to win everything."

Hansi Flick was delighted with Barcelona's focus and determination as they earned a commanding 5-2 win at Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.

Robert Lewandowski scored twice to set them on their way, with Inigo Martinez, Raphinha and Fermi Lopez also getting on the scoresheet as Barcelona remained in control throughout.

It was a victory that lifted Barca to sixth place in the 36-team Champions League table on nine points, having scored a competition-leading 15 goals in four games.

In fact, Barcelona have netted 55 goals in 16 games across all competitions in 2024-25, the most of any team from the big-five European leagues. Meanwhile, their 14 wins are the joint-most of any side, along with Liverpool.

After a third consecutive triumph in the Champions League, Flick said he liked how his side got things done with the seriousness required.

"The most important thing is the three points. It's not easy to win away from home in this competition, the Champions League is complicated," Flick, who led Bayern Munich to the 2020 Champions League title, told Movistar Plus.

"I'm very happy, I really value what we're doing. We've been very good on the ball, and we've put a lot of pressure on.

"Red Star played very well, they knew how to play with the ball, and it's difficult to defend against them. I really appreciate my players being focused for 90 minutes because it's not easy."

Lewandowski's double means he is level with team-mate Raphinha, Bayern Munich's Harry Kane and Sporting CP's Viktor Gyokeres as the competition's top scorer with five goals.

The Pole has scored 19 goals in 16 appearances for Barcelona this season; the most of any player for a team in Europe’s big-five leagues across all competitions. 11 of those 19 goals have come in away matches, which is also the most of any player this term.

And Lewandowski is thrilled with Flick's aggressive approach.

"Since the beginning of the season we have had a goal: we have to play a very attacking football but without losing sight of how well our defensive line has been playing," Lewandowski said.

"Everything that works so far is almost perfect. We have to look at what we can do better, sure, but I feel very good, the team is very happy.

"I think in this new Champions League format, winning away games is very important. In the first half, we played a bit slow, but in the second half, we had a lot of chances.

"Sometimes, when a team plays very defensively like Red Star today, we need a bit of patience. I'm always looking for a free space to be able to touch a ball and score. That's why I'm very happy. As a team, we played very well."

Fulham are preparing to visit Crystal Palace with renewed confidence after a dramatic late win in another London derby against Brentford.

Marco Silva's men were trailing heading into stoppage time at Craven Cottage on Monday, only for a sensational Harry Wilson double to snatch a 2-1 victory.

That was a first win in four in the Premier League for Fulham, although their performances might have merited more points.

Alex Iwobi certainly believes so, explaining: "It's a big lift because we feel like our performances recently deserved a lot more, in terms of getting points and results.

"And the way we did it, against Brentford, we knew it wasn't going to be an easy game, a derby as well... To win it in the manner we did has definitely given us a confidence boost going into another London derby against Palace."

Palace have themselves been given a big lift in the past couple of weeks, following their belated first league win of the season against Tottenham with an EFL Cup defeat of Aston Villa and a controversial draw at Wolves.

The Eagles are still only a place above the relegation zone, and Iwobi is hoping Fulham can check their progress.

"We know it's not going to be easy," he said. "Another derby, it's never easy at their stadium.

"We know it's always tough to go and play there, but we're going to analyse, see their weaknesses. It's not easy, but we'll analyse and see what we can do.

"They've only had one win this season – hopefully it remains that way against us and we'll get the result we want."

Will Hughes had a message for the Palace fans ahead of their return to Selhurst Park: "Thanks for sticking with us, as usual.

"It's not been the best of starts for us in the league, but hopefully they can see, especially over the last few games, that we're turning a corner, not only results wise but the intensity we're playing with.

"We were so difficult to play against at the end of last season with our intensity, and I think we've got that bit of mojo back. Hopefully, we can keep pushing on."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Crystal Palace – Jean-Philippe Mateta

Goals have been hard to come by for Palace this season – especially at Selhurst Park.

Oliver Glasner's side have netted a league-low three times at home, but all of those have been scored by Mateta, continuing his strong form from the end of last season. He has 14 goals in his past 12 home league games for Palace.

They will again rely heavily on the French striker, with Eberechi Eze injured and fellow forward Eddie Nketiah struggling for form. New signing Nketiah has attempted 17 shots without scoring, the most in the Premier League this season.

Fulham – Harry Wilson

There is increased competition in the wide areas for Fulham this season, with Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson signed and battling with Iwobi, Adama Traore and Wilson for minutes.

But if Wilson cannot get his opportunity after sensationally stealing a win against Brentford last time out, he might wonder if he will ever return to the XI, still waiting for his first league start of the season.

His cutting edge was exactly what Fulham had previously been missing, attempting against Brentford 26 shots – their most in the Premier League for over 10 years – but requiring that late show to come away with the points.

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

Following their comeback against Brentford, Fulham are unbeaten in six Premier League London derbies – their longest run since 2006-07 – and also their past five matches against Palace.

Yet four of those clashes with the Eagles have ended all square, including each of the last three.

Palace will hope for more as they look to move clear of the bottom three, but they have not won consecutive league derbies since April 2017 and were victors in their last capital clash against Spurs.

Perhaps 0-0 is therefore the most likely scoreline. Fulham have kept three consecutive clean sheets at Selhurst Park, and their five away matches in the league this season have seen only 11 goals scored.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Crystal Palace – 37.5%
Draw – 26.3%
Fulham – 36.2%

Brest continued their exceptional start in the Champions League with a 2-1 victory over Sparta Prague on Wednesday.

Edimilson Fernandes fired Brest, the surprise package of the new-look league phase, ahead in the 37th minute from a half-cleared corner, his shot zipping across the rain-soaked surface and in.

Ten minutes before full-time, Brest had daylight thanks to an own goal from Sparta's Kaan Kairinen, who got the final touch following a scramble on the goal line.

Victor Olatunji reduced the deficit deep into stoppage time, but Sparta were unable to find a leveller and sit just outside the play-off spots with four points from as many matches. 

Brest, meanwhile, are now in a fine position as they target the knockout stages, sitting fourth with 10 points, level with Sporting CP, Monaco and Inter.

Data Debrief: Brest join exclusive club

Brest are the fourth French side to go unbeaten through their first four matches in the Champions League, taking to Europe's premier club competition like a duck to water.

Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain and Bordeaux previously achieved that feat, while only Liverpool (12) have won more points than Brest in the competition this term.

Mikel Arteta felt Arsenal were "very harshly done by" in a 1-0 Champions League defeat to Inter that was decided by Hakan Calhanoglu's penalty.

Inter scored the only goal of the game after Mikel Merino was punished for handling inside his own area on the stroke of half-time.

But boss Arteta felt that decision was harsh, and particularly so when Merino had earlier not been awarded a spot-kick of his own.

The Spain midfielder appeared to beat Yann Sommer to a high ball in the Inter box and took a punch to the head in the process.

That incident was cleared following a VAR check, while the decision to penalise Merino at the other end of the pitch was quickly approved.

"I am very proud of my players, the level of domination we had," Arteta told TNT Sports. "We were very harshly done by in the sense that is obvious. Both penalties.

"If you are going to give a penalty, the other one has to be because he punches him in the head.

"There is no deflection, nothing you can do in the box, so can he get away from it? If he is going to give that, the other has to be 100% a penalty."

Arteta, who reintroduced Martin Odegaard as a late substitute following injury, also sought to focus on the positives, however.

Although Inter made a number of changes to their first XI, Arteta was enthused by the manner in which Arsenal dominated their opponents, having disappointed in another 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United on Saturday.

"We should have scored a couple at least, but the way the team played, that was us at least," he added. "Every decision in the box makes a difference.

"The way we played tonight, the team can go to Chelsea and win."

Leeds United suffered a first away defeat since April at Millwall as they lost ground at the top of the Championship, although leaders Sunderland could only draw again.

Daniel Farke's Whites required a response to move back into the automatic promotion places after a win for Sheffield United on Tuesday, but instead they were beaten 1-0 by surprise package Millwall.

A fourth straight 1-0 win for the Lions was secured with a first-half Japhet Tanganga goal and moved them up to fifth, now just four points behind Leeds in third.

Leeds are themselves four points behind front-runners Sunderland, but that gap could have been wider had the Black Cats beaten Preston North End.

Just as at Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, though, Sunderland were held to a goalless draw away from home.

Jobe Bellingham was sent off against QPR and so missed out through suspension, and further bold changes from coach Regis Le Bris could have opened the door for Preston to snatch an unlikely win.

Instead, Preston remain among a clutch of teams just above the relegation zone, also including Luton Town and Cardiff City.

Luton beat Cardiff 1-0 with a Jacob Brown goal, while Coventry City lost 2-1 at home to Derby County. Stoke City were 2-0 winners at Blackburn Rovers.