Tottenham confirm Tudor appointment
If you don’t know too much about Igor Tudor currently, here is some more info…
Playing days
An imposing centre-back, Tudor broke through at hometown club Hajduk Split before joining Juventus in 1998. He spent nine years in Turin, winning two Serie A titles before returning to Hajduk. Tudor also won 55 Croatia caps, playing at the 1998 and 2006 World Cups and scoring against England at Euro 2004.
Early managerial career
Tudor's first managerial job came at Hajduk, winning the Croatian Cup in 2013. He lasted just nine months at Greek side Paok before being sacked due to "unsuccessful results and criticism of the team". After a year at Karabukspor, Tudor moved to Galatasaray but was sacked after 10 months, having struggled in Europe and fallen out with star player Wesley Sneijder.
Return to Italy
Tudor was named head coach of Udinese in April 2018 and saved the club from relegation. He left in the summer, but returned to Friuli in March 2019. Tudor rejoined Hadjuk in January 2020 but after just eight months he was back in Italy, joining Juventus as Andrea Pirlo's assistant. The pair won the 2021 Coppa Italia but failed to regain the title and were dismissed. "I think it was unfair," Tudor said. "I've decided I will no longer work as an assistant for anybody else."
Season in Verona and Marseille move
Tudor was hired by Verona in September 2021 after they started the season with three league defeats. He improved things quickly, guiding them to a ninth-placed finish – but again leaving at the end of the season. Tudor's next job came at Marseille, where he replaced Jorge Sampaoli. The team finished third in Ligue 1 but flopped in the Champions League, losing twice to Tottenham. He announced his exit in June after "a great year", saying he was "tired" of managing Marseille.
Lazio stint and return to Juventus
Tudor waited nine months for his next job, which came at Lazio after Maurizio Sarri resigned. After winning six of his 11 games in charge and sealing a Europa League spot, Tudor walked away after reported disputes with the club hierarchy over transfer targets. Having previously been linked with a return to Juventus, Tudor replaced Thiago Motta in March 2025, guiding the club to fourth place. He signed a contract extension until 2028, but was sacked in October after an eight-game winless run. Guardian sport
Win percentages by club
Hadjuk Split (first stint) 44.9%
Paok 37.78%
Karabukspor 38.1%
Galatasaray 55.9%
Udinese (combined) 42.3%
Hadjuk Split (second stint) 50.0%
Verona 38.9%
Marseille 56.3%
Lazio 54.6%
Juventus 41.7%
Tottenham appoint Igor Tudor
Tottenham have confirmed the appointment of Igor Tudor as their interim head coach. Tudor will remain at the club until the end of the season.
Upon his arrival, the 47-year-old said: “It is an honour to join this club at an important moment. I understand the responsibility I have been handed and my focus is clear. To bring greater consistency to our performances and compete with conviction in every match. There is strong quality in this playing squad, and my job is to organise it, energise it and improve our results quickly.”
That’s all from me today. Head over to join Barry Glendenning for minute-by-minute coverage of Burton v West Ham in the FA Cup.
Burton are targeting a huge FA Cup shock against West Ham this afternoon. Ben Fisher took a look behind the scenes at the club…
Team news - Burton Albion v West Ham
Burton starting line-up: Collins, Godwin-Malife, Armer, Vancooten, Revan, Lofthouse, Evans, McKiernan, Shade, Beesley, Krubally.
Subs: Dudek, Chauke, Sibbick, Tavares, Moon, Sraha, Larsson, Adom, Cannon.
West Ham starting line-up: Areola, Mavropanos, Mayers, Kilman, Walker-Peters, Magassa, Kante, Lamadrid, Scarles, Traore, Wilson.
Subs: Herrick, Disasi, Summerville, Taty, Diouf, Wan-Bissaka, Potts, Orford, Ajala.
Eddie Howe spoke about this in his press conference yesterday. He said: “At that stage of the game the other night he was getting fatigued. Maybe with a full bench we would have taken him off before then but we didn’t because we had run out of midfielders so he stayed on the pitch - and unfortunately got injured.”
Southampton host Leicester City this afternoon in the FA Cup. The two sides met in the Championship on Tuesday, and the Saints pulled off a stunning comeback to win the match 4-3 from 3-0 down.
Goals from Divine Mukasa, Patson Daka and Abdul Fatawu put Leicester three goals up before half-time, with Ross Stewart getting one back for Southampton at the hour mark. Jack Stephens and Ryan Manning then levelled the score in the final 10 minutes of normal time and Shea Charles netted the winner in the 96th minute.
Will we see another thriller today?
Updated
With each week, Hearts are getting closer to the Scottish Premiership title. Should they lift the trophy at the end of the season, it will be the first time in 41 years that Celtic or Rangers have not won.
Aberdeen, then managed by Sir Alex Ferguson, were the last team to do it in the 1984-85 season.
Hearts have not won a league title since the 1959-1960 campaign.
Ewan Murray has discussed the reasons for the team’s success this season and why Derek McInnes’s side should be considered favourites…
Scottish Premiership fixtures
Falkirk v Dundee United
Dundee v Livingston
Hibernian v St. Mirren
Elsewhere in Europe today, Real Madrid host Real Sociedad this evening at the Bernabéu in LaLiga.
Marseille are in action for the first time since Roberto De Zerbi’s departure as they face Strasbourg at home, with Lille taking on Brest and Paris FC hosting Lens.
Bayern Munich travel to face Werder Bremen at 2:30pm GMT, with Eintracht Frankfurt taking on Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hoffenheim hosting Freiburg, Hamburg facing Union Berlin and Bayer Leverkusen meeting St. Pauli at the same time.
And in Serie A, the main event sees Inter Milan take on Juventus tonight, with Como facing Fiorentina and Lazio hosting Atalanta this afternoon.
“This week we saw the clearest evidence yet of Tuchel’s transformation into staunch international football enthusiast, as the 52-year-old beamed for the cameras and spoke excitedly about extending his contract until Euro 2028. What changed? Was it just how bonds were tightened as England sealed World Cup qualification with a series of strong, unified performances between September and November? Perhaps, but it is also worth considering what else is out there. Tuchel is not English. Unlike Gareth Southgate he is not on some deep, emotional quest to heal society. He is doing a job and, taking a pragmatic view, has realised that another two years with England is a better career choice than returning to the volatility of club management…”
And shortly after England announced Tuchel’s extension, they found out who they will be facing in the Nations League later this year. The Three Lions were drawn in Group A3 along with Spain, Croatia and the Czech Republic.
Group A3:
Spain
Croatia
England
Czech Republic
Updated
This week also saw Thomas Tuchel extend his contract with England, keeping him as head coach until 2028.
He said: “I am very happy and proud to extend my time with England. It is no secret to anyone that I have loved every minute so far of working with my players and coaches, and I cannot wait to lead them to the World Cup. It is an incredible opportunity and we are going to do our very best to make the country proud.
“I have had so much support from Mark [Bullingham, CEO], all my colleagues at the FA and from fans wherever I go that I did not hesitate when asked to continue in this dream job. EURO 2028 will be a very special tournament and as a coach there is nothing more you want than to compete with the very best on the biggest possible stage.”
Bruno Guimarães out for eight weeks
Newcastle captain Bruno Guimarães has reportedly been ruled out for up to eight weeks due to a hamstring injury.
The Brazilian suffered the injury against Tottenham on Tuesday. He had a scan on Wednesday which revealed a hamstring tear. He could now miss at least 10 matches.
Dave Estherby has messaged in with his thoughts on the departures of Thomas Frank and Sean Dyche…
“I think the answer to both questions is yes, but not for the right reasons.
“It’s clear that both Frank and Dyche were sacked by the players and the fans as much as their respective boards. Being a top manager these days means being an expert in ego-massaging as much as anything else; good old finished rollickings don’t wash anymore, sadly.”
Nottingham Forest also made the decision to sack their head coach this week, with Sean Dyche dismissed in the early hours of Thursday morning – shortly after the club’s 0-0 draw with Wolves.
Vítor Pereira is now set to be announced as Forest’s new head coach – and their fourth of the season.
Speaking of Spurs, they have agreed to appoint Igor Tudor on an interim basis until the end of the season. The move opens the door for ex-manager Mauricio Pochettino – who is currently head coach of the US men’s national team – to make a return to the club.
As just mentioned, Thomas Frank was sacked by Tottenham on Wednesday following a 2-1 loss to Newcastle which left the club 16th in the Premier League table.
Here’s what Barney Ronay has to say about the topic…
Feel free to email in at matchday.live@guardian.co.uk with any thoughts, feelings or predictions ahead of today’s fixtures. Did Spurs make the right decision by sacking Thomas Frank? Did Nottingham Forest make the right decision by sacking Sean Dyche? More on those shortly…
It looks like Igor Tudor is Tottenham-bound, but Forest fans, who do you want to see take over at the City Ground?
Let me know!
From Arsenal’s midfield conundrum to Newcastle’s misfiring attack, here are 10 things to look out for in the FA Cup this weekend.
Paris St Germain’s Ligue 1 title hopes suffered a blow with a 3-1 defeat by managerless Rennes at Roazhon Park. Luis Enrique’s side moved back into top spot ahead of Lens last weekend with a 5-0 hammering of Marseille, their seventh success in a row in the league, but they were swiftly brought back down to earth in Brittany.
Mousa Al-Tamari gave Rennes a half-time lead and, although Ousmane Dembele pulled one back straight after Esteban Lepaul had made it two midway through the second half, it was the home side who found another goal through Breel Embolo. It was a dream first outing as interim head coach for Sebastien Tambouret, who was given the reins after Habib Beye was sacked on Monday following a run of four defeats in a row.
Monaco boosted their hopes of European football with a 3-1 victory over struggling Nantes. All Monaco’s goals came in five first-half minutes, with Simon Adingra scoring twice and Denis Zakaria once. Fabien Centonze pulled one back for Nantes just before the break but they could not make a second-half breakthrough despite Aleksandr Golovin’s red card.
Serhou Guirassy scored twice as Borussia Dortmund moved within three points of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich, beating Mainz 4-0. Maximilian Beier also scored for Dortmund, while the fourth was an own goal from Dominik Kohr.
AC Milan needed a late goal from Luka Modric to defeat lowly Pisa 2-1.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek opened the scoring late in the first half but Felipe Loyola equalised with 19 minutes left, while Milan also had Adrien Rabiot sent off. PA
Updated
Phil Parkinson wanted to savour the moment after guiding Wrexham into the FA Cup fifth round for the first time in 29 years. Josh Windass scored the winner as the ambitious Welsh side edged a tight contest with Championship promotion rivals Ipswich 1-0 at Stok Cae Ras.
It was another notable victory for the Red Dragons as their rise under the ownership of Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac continues.
Manager Parkinson said: “We spoke before the game about our chance to create a bit of history. We’ve done it and I’m so pleased because it was always going to be a tough game against a very good side.
“Every season in football is special and you’ve got to savour it. This season, with the challenge of being in the Championship and now an FA Cup run, we want to enjoy it, and tonight we certainly did.”
This week marked the fifth anniversary of Wrexham’s takeover, which took place when the club were in the National League.
They have been promoted in the past three seasons and, currently sixth in the Championship, they now have a shot at reaching the Premier League.
Parkinson said: “I think it’s great for our owners, to get them into the fifth round. We can really look forward to the draw on Monday night when we’ll be in a hotel in Bristol.
“We’ll savour that but, obviously, it’s the back-burner now for the FA Cup and we’ll concentrate on the league.” PA
In the WSL last night, Manchester City got back to winning ways with a dominant 6-0 victory against Leicester City, who currently sit at the bottom of the table.
Vivianne Miedema scored twice, with Khadija Shaw, Yui Hasegawa, Kerolin and Aoba Fujino also adding to their goal tallies.
Leicester now find themselves struggling in a relegation battle, with rivals Liverpool finding some form.
League Two fixtures (3pm GMT unless stated otherwise)
Barnet v Cheltenham Town
Oldham Athletic v Fleetwood Town
Chesterfield v Harrogate Town
Crewe Alexandra v Gillingham
Bromley v Notts County
Tranmere Rovers v Crawley Town
Barrow v Colchester United
Shrewsbury Town v Swindon Town
MK Dons v Newport County
Cambridge United v Bristol Rovers
League One fixtures (3pm GMT unless stated otherwise)
Reading v Wycombe Wanderers
Stevenage v Huddersfield Town
Lincoln City v Bolton Wanderers
Bradford City v Peterborough United
Barnsley v Wimbledon
Cardiff City v Luton Town
Exeter City v Northampton Town
Blackpool v Plymouth Argyle
Championship fixtures (all 3pm GMT)
QPR v Blackburn Rovers
Sheffield Wednesday v Millwall
Derby County v Swansea City
Preston North End v Watford
Portsmouth v Sheffield United
Pedro Neto scored a hat-trick as Chelsea cruised to a 4-0 win over Hull in the FA Cup last night. Elsewhere, Wrexham progressed to the fifth round with a narrow 1-0 victory against Ipswich Town.
Today’s FA Cup fixtures (3pm GMT unless stated otherwise)
Burton v West Ham (12:15pm)
Norwich City v West Brom
Southampton v Leicester City
Burnley v Mansfield Town
Manchester City v Salford City
Aston Villa v Newcastle (5:45pm)
Liverpool v Brighton (8pm)
Preamble
Hello, good morning and welcome to another Matchday live! It’s all happening this weekend, with Championship, League One, League Two and FA Cup fixtures to look forward to.
Manchester City, Burnley, West Ham, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Liverpool and Brighton are among the clubs involved in fourth-round action today, with the likes of Millwall, Derby and Preston all featuring in the Championship.
We’ll also be reacting to last night’s FA Cup meetings and discussing the biggest talking points of the week - from the Nations League draw to managerial switch-ups.
I’ll be with you all morning - join me!
