The Premier League schedule is packed on Saturday, September 21 and one of the clashes on the schedule is that between Aston Villa and Wolverhampton, and it is set to be played at Villa Park in Birmingham, England.
The match is scheduled to kick off at 10 a.m. ET and will be streamed on Peacock. Peacock offers on-demand replays of Premier League games broadcast on NBC, CNBC, and USA Network, in addition to exclusive live matches.
Aston Villa are 3-0-1 and are tied with Liverpool for fourth place in the standings with 9 points. In their last two appearances on the pitch, Aston Villa have scored 3 goals, first in a 3-2 Premier League win over Everton and then in a 3-0 UEFA Champions League win over Young Boys.
Wolverhampton are 0-1-3 and have only one point this season, which is still better than Everton and Southampton. The team’s last Premier League match was against Newcastle United (2-1).
- WATCH GAMES FROM ALL SPORTS ON FUBOTV FOR FREE
OMS: Aston Villa contre Wolverhampton
When: Saturday, September 21 at 10am EST
Or: Villa Park in Birmingham, England
Flux: bait
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Pep Guardiola faces fresh questions over his Manchester City future
By JAMES ROBSON AP Football Writer
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — As Pep Guardiola’s contract ends in his final year at Manchester City, questions are once again being asked about his future.
The latest came after Wednesday’s Champions League match against Inter Milan, when an Italian journalist asked if Guardiola could see himself working in Italy one day.
“I love English football, it’s fantastic, really enjoyable. They leave you alone to do your job. You don’t get that anywhere else,” the City manager said.
Guardiola has already stayed at City longer than any of his other managerial jobs – and longer than many expected when he was appointed in 2016.
That will be nine years at the end of the season, compared to four at Barcelona and three at Bayern Munich.
“It’s a great club. I feel really good here,” he said.
Guardiola probably knows he will never find another club like City in Europe’s elite. Backed by the spectacular wealth of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, he has been allowed to build a team in his own image, paying exorbitant sums to build a side that has enjoyed unprecedented dominance in the Premier League.
He has a close relationship with his immediate superiors at the club – CEO Ferran Soriano and sporting director Txiki Begiristain, with whom he previously worked at Barcelona – and is idolised by the fans.
It’s a difficult contract to give up and every time the opportunity has presented itself, Guardiola has been convinced to extend his deal.
He has again reached a point where he must decide whether he has the energy or the will to continue any longer.
The outcome of the hearing on more than 100 counts of alleged financial violations, which was scheduled to begin this week, could also be a factor.
Jurgen Klopp’s decision to leave Liverpool last season was proof of the impact football can have on managers. For long periods, he matched Guardiola in the battle for supremacy – and even ended City’s reign when they won the title in 2020.
The intensity of their rivalry forced each man to push himself and in January, Klopp made the surprise announcement that he needed a break.
“It’s not what I want (to do), it’s just what I think is 100 percent right,” the German said at the time.
Guardiola did the same when he took a 12-month sabbatical from his first job at Barcelona. He has now been in charge continuously since taking charge of Bayern in 2013 – winning league titles in all but two of those 11 seasons.
That is where he has thrived and his dominance should not be mistaken for a walk in the park – particularly during his time in England, when Klopp’s Liverpool and more recently Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have pushed City to the limits of their powers to stay at the top.
Arteta has added a new dimension to the English top-flight by transforming Arsenal’s fortunes since leaving his role as Guardiola’s assistant to take over at the Emirates Stadium in 2019.
He takes his team to City on Sunday as the man most likely to claim Guardiola’s crown.
City v Arsenal, Guardiola v Arteta: these are now the biggest rivalries in English football.
Two seasons ago, Arsenal spent 248 days at the top of the table, but were eventually beaten by City. No other team had ever spent so long at the top without being crowned champions.
Last season, Arsenal came even closer to victory by qualifying for the final day of the season, but ultimately finished two points behind City.
Arteta has signed a new three-year contract, showing Arsenal’s confidence in him to continue challenging Guardiola.
Over the past two years, however, Arteta – like Klopp before him – has discovered the extraordinary levels required to turn City around.
After topping the table for so long in 2022-23, Arsenal recorded their highest number of wins in a Premier League campaign – 28 – last season and still finished empty-handed.
With 89 points, the club achieved the second-highest score in the Premier League era, one less than the 90 points obtained by their ‘Invincibles’ team who won the title in 2004.
Arsenal also ended a run of defeats against City that stretched back to 2016, having taken four points from two games against their title rivals and failed to win.
There is little sign of Guardiola’s weakness in the face of a new challenger. He has won a hat-trick of trophies, including a first Champions League for City in 2023 and a record fourth consecutive English Premier League title last season.
City are already two points clear of Arsenal ahead of Sunday’s game and are the only team with a 100% record at the start of the season.
If this is Guardiola’s last season, he is already in the lead.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
