CHELSEA RECEIVE TRANSFER BAN!
Fifa have sanctioned Chelsea and the Football Association “for breaches relating to the international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18”. Chelsea have been banned from signing players for the next two transfer windows.
The Guardian’s David Hytner broke exclusive news of the investigation by Fifa last month. We will have more on the site soon.
Updated
As for Arsenal, they weren’t especially convincing against Bate Borisov, though a 3-0 win helped them through to the last 16 of the Europa League. Mesut Ozil was back in the starting line-up and it will be interesting to see if the German has done enough to keep his place when the Gunners host Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday.
Chelsea head into Sunday’s Carabao Cup final brimming with confidence after last night’s thumping Europa League win over Malmo. Kidding! Yes, Chelsea beat the Swedes 3-0 to seal a 5-1 aggregate win, but they weren’t particularly impressive during a ropey first half and only pulled away after their opponents had been reduced to 10 men near the end. Stamford Bridge booed Jorginho on to the pitch and it seems unlikely Chelsea will be capable of holding Manchester City on Sunday. City, remember, thumped them 6-0 a couple of weeks ago. Another setback could spell the end for Maurizio Sarri, though the Italian offered a defence of teacher’s pet Jorginho after last night’s game.
Let’s start with today’s transfer rumours. Apparently Marcus Rashford is off to Barcelona. Good for him.
Preamble
Hello. A big weekend awaits us, with Manchester United hoping to derail Liverpool’s title charge, Manchester City looking to hammer the final nail in Sarri-ball’s coffin in the Carabao Cup final, and Bournemouth hosting Wolves in a match that could have huge ramifications in the race to finish seventh in the Premier League. Exciting! We’ll have all the noise from the day’s press conferences here, plus team news, plus links to Exclusive Guardian Content, plus LIVE AND EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE of the Europa League last-16 draw!!!!!!!