The “expansion of European club competitions” has led to there being just one game on 26 December in the English top flight, says the Premier League. St Stephen’s Day fixtures have been a long-standing tradition in English football but this year the only Premier League game will be Manchester United’s home match with Newcastle United (20:00 GMT).
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Juventus have appointed former Italy head coach Luciano Spalletti as their manager until the end of the season. The 66-year-old replaces Igor Tudor, who was sacked after the Serie A side’s defeat by Lazio on Sunday. Tudor had joined the club in March as Thiago Motta’s replacement but left after seven months at the end of an eight-match winless run.
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Barcelona have suffered another significant injury blow after confirming on Wednesday that Pedri will be out for the foreseeable future with a hamstring injury. Pedri, who was sent off in Barcelona’s 2-1 defeat to rivals Real Madrid in Sunday’s Clasico after being shown a second yellow card, could miss up to several weeks of action.
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Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna is among the candidates to replace Brendan Rodgers at Celtic while Martin O’Neill has ruled out taking over the position on a permanent basis. Ex-Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has also been linked with a return to the club. The 60-year-old is out of work after being sacked by Nottingham Forest after just 39 days.
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Brendan Rodgers has resigned as Celtic manager, with Martin O’Neill agreeing a temporary return to the club as his replacement. Rodgers, 52, returned for a second spell at Celtic Park in 2023, winning successive titles however, the former Liverpool and Leicester City boss departs with the champions trailing Hearts by eight points after nine games of this season.
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