GUEYE RED CARD: SHOCK SLAP TO KEANE FACE ROCKS EVERTON TEAMMATES
Everton's Idrissa Gueye received a straight red card for striking teammate Michael Keane against Man United. The violent conduct offence triggers an automatic 3-game suspension, a major blow to the Toffees' midfield ahead of AFCON.
Everton, sitting at 13th place after 12 games in the 2025/26 season, headed to Old Trafford to face Manchester United, who were in 8th.
The season had its ups and downs for Everton. A recent win against Fulham pulled them out of the relegation zone and into the middle of the standings.
Everton's defence has been shaky against the better Premier League teams, letting in multiple goals against Liverpool, Manchester City, and Tottenham. It was clear that their setup against a United team in good form would be vital.
Sadly, things took a turn when they were reduced to 10 men early in the game. This left them facing an uphill battle for most of the match.
The incident centred around midfielder Idrissa Gueye. The Senegal player lost his cool, putting his team at a major disadvantage.
Why was Idrissa Gueye sent off in the Man United game?
In the 13th minute of Monday's match against Manchester United, referee Tony Harrington showed Idrissa Gueye a straight red card.
After Bruno Fernandes of Man United missed a shot, Gueye confronted his teammate Michael Keane. This led to some pushing and shoving.
At first, it wasn't clear why Gueye was sent off. Spats between teammates are unusual, and they rarely lead to disciplinary action. It was uncertain if the card was for a physical issue or something Gueye said.
The Premier League Match Centre reported that Gueye was dismissed for a clear strike to the face of Keane.
Will Idrissa Gueye be suspended?
Even though the situation involved a teammate, the red card was given for violent behaviour.
That means Gueye will automatically be suspended for three games.
Normally, a red card for this kind of aggression would mean an even longer suspension, but that probably won't be the case here.
The scuffle was minor. It was a bit of a surprise that Gueye was sent off at all. Adding more games to the ban would feel unfair.
Still, it could be a while before Gueye is back on the field for Everton. Between his suspension and leaving for international duty with Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations, he'll be gone for quite a while.
The three-game ban means he'll miss at least the games against Newcastle (November 29), Bournemouth (December 2), and Nottingham Forest (December 6).
If the ban stays at three games, he could be back for Everton's away game against Chelsea on December 13. AFCON starts on December 21, and Senegal's first game is on December 23, so he will probably be gone by then. He'll be unavailable for club games until Senegal is knocked out of the tournament. The final is set for January 18.
ANFIELD ALERT: NUNO'S WEST HAM FACE HIGH-STAKES LIVERPOOL CLASH TO ESCAPE THE RELEGATION ZONE
Liverpool vs West Ham. Get the report on Nuno Espirito Santo’s counter-attacks and the fight to escape relegation.
West Ham are heading to Anfield on Saturday, and you can bet they’ve got one thing in mind: finally beating Liverpool there, something they haven’t pulled off since 2015.
Sure, the Hammers only managed a 0-0 draw with Bournemouth last weekend, dropping a couple of points at home. But the silver lining? They’ve managed to close the gap on Nottingham Forest in 17th to just two points. Not bad, all things considered.
Next up is Arne Slot’s Liverpool, a team that's been all over the place this season. Just look at that wild 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest, who were sitting 19th at the time, back in November. Liverpool rarely loses twice at home to teams starting the day in the relegation zone; the last time was way back in the 1992-93 season.
But with Nuno Espirito Santo in charge, West Ham look dangerous, especially because they tend to come out flying in the first half. If Liverpool start slow, like they often do, West Ham could punish them.
Here’s what West Ham needs to do: keep up that strong start. They’ve picked up 11 points from their last six games, mainly thanks to their first-half performances. In fact, 59% of their Premier League goals this season have come before halftime, the highest proportion in the league.
Liverpool, on the other hand, barely gets going until after the break. Only 31% of their goals come in the first half, which is the lowest share in the division. Remember when West Ham struck first against Chelsea, Tottenham, and Sunderland? They ended up winning two of those three matches. If they can do the same at Anfield, Nuno’s counter-attacking setup might just cause Liverpool some real headaches.
But here’s where things get tricky. Liverpool never know when they’re beaten, and some of their wildest games have come down to the wire this season. More goals have been scored in the 90th minute (and stoppage time) of Liverpool’s matches than any other team’s. Nine of those late goals have changed the result from last-gasp winners to heartbreaking losses. Just last Sunday, Alexis Mac Allister scored in the 97th minute to snatch all three points against Nottingham Forest.
So, if West Ham do grab the lead, great. Nuno’s plan is working. But fans shouldn’t get too comfortable. If they sit back and try to protect that lead, things could get tense. Liverpool loves a dramatic finish, and they never stop coming.
THE DEFENSIVE PUZZLE: HOW OLIVER GLASNER IS REBUILDING PALACE’S BACKLINE AFTER MARC GUéHI’S EXIT
Glasner Injury News: Maxence Lacroix remains doubtful for Crystal Palace European play-off decider.
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner still hasn’t decided if Maxence Lacroix will play in Thursday’s huge second leg against HŠK Zrinjski Mostar in the UEFA Conference League play-off. Lacroix picked up an adductor injury during last week’s 1-1 draw in Bosnia and Herzegovina and had to come off in the 64th minute for Jaydee Canvot. He missed Sunday’s narrow 1-0 win over Wolves because of it.
Since Marc Guéhi joined Manchester City last month, Glasner’s had to keep shuffling his back three. Injuries and the need to manage players’ minutes haven’t made life easy.
Chris Richards started with Chadi Riad and Jaydee Canvot in defence against Wolves. Richards took a nasty knock to the head but managed to train on Wednesday, so he looks good to go. Riad, meanwhile, is just getting back into regular games after a year out with an ACL injury. He’s also fasting for Ramadan right now, which caught up with him in the form of cramps against Zrinjski last week. Jefferson Lerma, another option at centre-back, is still sidelined.
“There’s still a small question mark over Maxence,” Glasner said on Wednesday. “He trained today. There were a few moments where he felt something, but it seemed alright. We’ve got just over 30 hours until kickoff, so with treatment, we’ll see. Everyone else is fine; no one’s coming back, but thankfully no one else is out.”
Glasner also gave updates on his strikers. Eddie Nketiah, who hurt his hamstring in training last month, has had a setback and needs a few more weeks. With no games at the end of March, Glasner expects Nketiah to return in April.
As for Jean-Philippe Mateta, he was at training on Wednesday but didn’t take part because of a long-term knee problem. “It’s a tough time for him,” Glasner said. “He’s been out for four weeks now, working through rehab to get his knee stable again. He’ll be back to help us win games; that’s just who JP is. He’s putting in the work.”
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