Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 739 i Match of the Day Magazine

ROLL OUT THE red carpet because Man. United are back in business! Last year was tough but they stuck with manager Ruben Amorim and now they’re cooking. Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo have hit top form, new keeper Senne Lammens is amazing and even more experienced players like Casemiro have been revitalised. This could be a HUGE season for the Red Devils! MY HYPE RATING!⬜/10 JAKE SAYS No other team has won more Prem home games than Man. United this season. They’re loving life at Old Trafford! TEAMS ON FLAMES! SUNDERLAND Relegation battle? Nah, this lot are fighting to finish in the European spots! BAYERN MUNICH Kane and co. have won every league and cup game so far. Light work! HEARTS On track to be the first team in…

PICK 3 KEEPERS KEEPERS PICK 8-10 DEFENDERS DEFENDERS PICK 5-9 MIDFIELDERS MIDFIELDERS PICK 6-9 FORWARDS FORWARDS MY STARTING LINE-UP! NOW YOU’VE picked your squad, you need to think about your starting XI. Which players will you choose? Keep up to date with all the latest footy news at bbc.co.uk/football…

THE 3-0-4 LAMINE YAMAL Barcelona THE CELE When the 18-year-old Spain star scores, he flashes a 3-0-4 shape with his fingers! THE CODE Lamine’s celebration is a shoutout to his hometown of Rocafonda. 3-0-4 are last three numbers of the town’s postcode (08-304). He’s proud of his home! THE NAME NICK WOLTEMADE Newcastle THE CELE The big German striker links his thumbs to create a 'W' shape! THE CODE Is the ‘W’ for win? No. Is he saying ‘Wow’? Nope. A shoutout for Wigan? Nah, it’s a ‘W’ for his surname, Woltemade! THE MASK VIKTOR GYOKERES Arsenal THE CELE The Sweden striker locks his fingers in front of his face in a mask shape! THE CODE Vik hasn’t officially revealed the inspo behind his iconic cele but everything points to…

MARCUS RASHFORD is unstoppable! He made the ultimate upgrade this summer – swapping Man. United to play with Lamine Yamal at Barcelona – and it’s paying off. He’s smashing it in La Liga, and is the UCL's MVP this season with four goals and one assist – no-one in the competition has more goal contributions. VAMOS! MY RATING!⬜/10 JAKE SAYS Rashford is the first Englishman to score for Barca in the UCL since ex-MOTD host Gary Lineker in 1989! BALLER BUCKET LIST! MARCUS IS blowing us away at Barca, but he’s just getting started. Which of these targets do you think Rashy will be able to tick off this season? BEAT BELLI TO LA LIGA TITLE! HE’S GOT IT! ☑ NOT SO SURE! ☒ FIRE BARCA TO UCL GLORY! HE’S GOT IT! ☑NOT SO…

Q For your chance to win, answer this question: What is Newcastle's home stadium called? James' Park Adam's Park Tony's Park HOW TO ENTER BY EMAIL Send to 16106@motdcomps.co.uk and put the code 16106 in the email subject line. Don’t forget to include your answer, name and contact number. CLOSING DATE 5 December 2025. Each winner will be contacted by MOTD magazine to select if they would like the game on either PS5, Xbox Series X, PC or Mac for Football Manager 2026 and PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. You can enter if you live in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or the Channel Islands. Immediate Media is the promoter. See p49 for full T&Cs.…

Ruben Dias plays for Portugal and Man. City – and he’s on your team, too! The defender is an ambassador for the Anti-Bullying Alliance. Ruben spoke to MOTD mag about bullying. “Growing up I saw kids getting bullied – but I never stayed indifferent. So as a professional player, I felt it was time to do my part!” It’s why we rate Ruben! 1 IN 5 KIDS ARE BULLIED! Anti-Bullying Alliance, 2025 RUBEN'S ADVICE! “Do your part. It doesn’t have to be major, you don’t have to fight back against a bully that’s twice your size. But a kind word, a different perspective, a friendly shoulder, and most of all, support, are ways to help…” TACKLE THESE SITUATIONS! 1 DURING THE MATCH! THE CHALLENGE! Your team is losing 1-0. Your striker…

TOTTENHAM WHY A WILDCARD? Shhh... Spurs are sneaking up on their rival title contenders. They have the best away form and are smashing in set-pieces! LAST 6 PREM RESULTS W D D W L W GOALS FOR 17 GOALS AGAINST 7 ASTON VILLA WHY A WILDCARD? The Villans had a shaky start, but have had a total turnaround – after five winless games, they’ve now won four matches in a row! LAST 6 PREM RESULTS D D W W W W GOALS FOR 9 GOALS AGAINST 8 BOURNEMOUTH WHY A WILDCARD? Spicy footy, a highly-rated Spanish gaffer and super smart signings – teen star Eli Junior Kroupi has been tearing it up. LAST 6 PREM RESULTS W D D W D W GOALS FOR 16 GOALS AGAINST 11 THE 2025-26 PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPION WILL BE... SUNDERLAND Could…

1 FLAWLESS FINISHING! BRUNO SCORES bangers from range. The Portugal star finds space around the edge of the penalty area and demands the ball. Then he strikes the ball with the inside of his boot, using more precision than power to finesse it home! 2 TOP-TIER PASSING! FERNANDES KNOWS the art of passing well. When the ball is played to him, he has already scanned the pitch to know where his teammates are. Then he can play a perfectly weighted pass to start an attack! 3 FREE-KICK EXPERT! BRUNO'S FREE-KICKS are full of swazz. He puts loads of curl and whip on his dead-ball crosses to make them so hard to defend. They’ve got plenty of power on them too, which help his teammates…

FACT FILE NAME Erin Jacqueline Cuthbert  AGE 27  I PLAY FOR… Chelsea and Scotland I’M A… right-footed centre-midfielder THE FUNNIEST IS… SAM KERR ERIN SAYS: “If I can't say myself, then Sam. She’s just a bag of laughs and a bundle of joy whenever you're around her!” THE STRONGEST IS… MILLIE BRIGHT ERIN SAYS: “If I ran at her, I think I'd bounce back to Scotland. Millie's built like a brick wall!” THE CELEBRATION QUEEN IS… SJOEKE NUSKEN ERIN SAYS: "She's practising dances in the dressing room. She wants to score so bad so that she can celebrate. I can literally see it in her eyes!" THE TRICKSTER IS… LAUREN JAMES ERIN SAYS: "She can unlock any defence on any given day. When LJ is on it, I think nobody…

GOAT TIER WORLD-CLASS TIER PROFESSIONAL TIER AMATEUR TIER SUNDAY LEAGUE TIER PREM DEFENDERS EDITION Here are 20 Premier League defenders – it’s your job to rank them for us, using the tier system on page 50! WHAT TO DO • Carefully cut out the 20 defenders on this page • Stick each player into the tier you think they belong in on page 50 • There are no wrong answers – it's totally up to you WHAT NOW? Once you’ve placed all the 20 players into tiers – take a photo of it and email it to inbox@motdmag.com WHAT NEXT? Let us know what YOU want to be ranked in future issues. Email us with your suggestion!…