Premier League

Watford's promotion push gained some more vigor at the advent of the new year, as the club announced the signing of winger Philip Zinckernagel on a free transfer.

The Premier League is reassuring fans that the season will continue after its latest round of COVID-19 testing produced 40 positive cases among players and staff in the past week. This is the highest amount of Premier League COVID cases reported since the start of the pandemic, breaking the previous week’s record of 18 positive cases.

Despite 58 positive cases since Dec. 21, the EPL said in a statement that the season will go ahead as scheduled.

A superb second-minute lob by Danny Ings gave Southampton a surprise 1-0 home win over Premier League leaders Liverpool, with the Reds' attack looking rudderless as they were held scoreless for the second game in a row.

With the injury-hit champions fielding a makeshift center-back pairing of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, striker Ings, who joined Southampton on loan from Liverpool in 2018 before making the transfer permanent a year later,was able to exploit some confusion at a set piece to secure the win.

Uruguay's players' union and big names like Luis Suarez and Diego Godín voiced their displeasure on Monday over the English Football Association's punishment given to Edinson Cavani. The Cavani ban drama appeared to be over after he had chosen not to contest the punishment, but now his international teammates are demanding that the FA overturns its decision.

There’s no substitute for experience. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who’ll turn 50 this month, spent the buildup to Sunday’s match against Chelsea explaining as much.

“No, of course I am better, definitely,” Guardiola said of his current skill set. “Experience helps you — especially the way I live my profession. Before I thought I would retire soon, now maybe I am thinking I might retire older. I don’t know. 50 already, it is a nice age!”

After Kieran Tierney scored a stunning solo goal on Saturday, I texted a bad joke to a friend saying that was definitely Arsenal’s best goal of the year. Within minutes I had to take it back as the Gunners had combined for one of their trademark beautiful team goals on the way to a 4-0 win over West Brom on Saturday at a snowy Hawthorns.

Tottenham Hotspur condemned the actions of midfielders Erik Lamela and Giovani Lo Celso and defender Sergio Reguilon after the trio breached COVID-19 protocols to attend a Christmas party.

Pictures on social media showed the three Spurs players together at a party along with West Ham United midfielder Manuel Lanzini.

Spurs players Sergio Reguilon, Giovani Lo Celso, Erik Lamela and West Ham's Manuel Lanzini were all pictured breaking lockdown rules over the Xmas period.

Eleventh-place Leeds United takes on Tottenham Hotspur, which could have gone joint-top as little as two weeks ago but has now slipped to seventh, on Saturday.