Chelsea v Manchester United buildup, Premier League, WSL and more - matchday live
Key events 6m ago Suspicious bets for predicting Ballon d'Or under investigation 13m ago Aston Villa to take legal action against Carragher for 'unacceptable insults' 24m ago Preamble Suspicious bets for predicting Ballon d'Or under investigation A series of suspicious bets that correctly predicted the exact top-five finishing order of this year's Ballon d'Or and generated almost $200,000 (£149,000) in winnings is being investigated by the event's organisers, France Football, who have also contacted the police. It has been alleged that 12 Polymarket accounts - an American cryptocurrency-based prediction market - placed the bets, with more than $264,000 wagered on the outcome before Monday's ceremony.
Their extraordinary accuracy has raised serious questions about a potential leak of confidential results before football's most prestigious individual award. Harry Kane was crowned the winner at the ceremony at the London Palladium, finishing ahead of Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Lionel Messi.
Remarkably, this was the exact order predicted by the group of accounts identified in French media outlet Upside's investigation. Aston Villa to take legal action against Carragher for 'unacceptable insults' Aston Villa have announced plans to take legal action against Jamie Carragher following his "unacceptable insults" about the club and its supporters.
Carragher told Villa fans to "shut the f*** up" after facing criticism for suggesting Unai Emery should consider taking the Manchester United job. Villa responded on Friday evening with a statement on X signed by their chair, Nassef Sawiris.
"Aston Villa will initiate legal action against Jamie Carragher for his unacceptable insults about the club and its fans," the statement said. "Aston Villa will not allow anyone to stop our ascension in English and European football.
Jamie Carragher told Aston Villa fans to 'shut the f*** up'. Preamble Hello and welcome to Matchday Live on a bumper day in the Premier League.
I'll be bringing you the latest news and buildup to eight top-flight games, with Chelsea v Manchester United on the menu at lunchtime. Michael Carrick lives to fight another day in the United dugout and so does Bruno Fernandes as captain after clear-the-air talks took place this week.
We shall have to wait and see if Fernandes returns to the XI. Chelsea and Xabi Alonso could really do with a result after their poor display against Tottenham.
Elsewhere, there are five 3pm kick-offs including Manchester City v Brighton (again) and the basement battle between Coventry (19th) and Sunderland (20th). Plus there is a first game in charge of Championship Burnley for Fabio Celestini for the visit of Portsmouth to Turf Moor."