As the Coventry manager prepares to meet his old club, his former United teammates discuss that goal in 1990

Legend has it that Mark Robins saved the career of an ailing Manchester United manager in 1990. On Sunday at Wembley he could influence the future of another. When Robins was 20, amid a United run of 11 matches without a league win, Alex Ferguson hoped his young striker could provide a much-needed spark in a January FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest – and it worked.

United went on to beat Crystal Palace in an FA Cup final replay and 34 years later Robins will lead Coventry against his former club in the semi-finals. Winning the competition arguably rescued Ferguson’s job in a season when United finished 13th in the First Division. The then chairman, Martin Edwards, always denied Ferguson was on the brink but the results were grim. A loss at the City Ground could have proven fatal but local boy Robins ensured United marched on.

Two big Wembley meetings await in the Cup, while a desperation derby looks to be in store at Goodison Park

There was a distinct end-of-season vibe at the Gtech Community Stadium following Brentford’s recent win over Sheffield United, with Thomas Frank and his players performing what amounted to a lap of honour as they took plaudits from fans relieved that the spectre of relegation had finally been banished from their small corner of west London. Of course only time will tell if the Bees become the first Premier League team to decamp to the metaphorical beach this season and this weekend’s match against Luton at Kenilworth Road will provide a fair indication. Ravaged by injury with up to 11 players likely to be unavailable, Luton were on a hiding to nothing in their game against Manchester City but still emerged from the rout with their heads held high having restricted the champions to a one-goal lead until their capitulation after the hour mark. It is increasingly difficult to compliment Rob Edwards’ side without sounding condescending, but if it transpires that the Brentford side that turns up in Bedfordshire has mentally tapped out, the Premier League’s most dashing manager, his players and their fans are unlikely to have any complaints whatsoever. Barry Glendenning

Luton v Brentford, Premier League, Saturday 3pm (all times BST)

Sheffield United v Burnley, Premier League, Saturday 3pm

Manchester City v Chelsea, FA Cup semi-final, Saturday 5.15pm

Fifa is considering a policy change that would allow leagues to play domestic matches overseas, reopening one of football’s most squalid ideas

The dream – or nightmare – of a 39th Premier League match in America has drawn a little closer. After reaching a settlement with US promoter Relevent Sports, Fifa last week signaled it will consider changes to its policy of blocking league matches from being played outside the league’s home country. The indication that Fifa’s thinking on the issue may be evolving in a more flexible direction will be welcomed by Europe’s top clubs and deplored by football traditionalists.

For clubs, the commercial case is clear. This is an argument anchored not in culture but money. The work of evangelizing soccer is already done; the sport is not like American football, say, or rugby league, or basketball, or even cricket, which are still trawling the globe for converts and regularly hold matches overseas. In the world of professional sport, football is No 1 and probably always will be. Taking chunks of the European domestic season on the road represents a juicy financial opportunity, potentially unlocking valuable revenue to help weather the storm of a newly restrictive regulatory environment and bringing teams closer to the millions of football fans who live outside Europe.

• Winger liked posts on X criticising Manchester United coach
• Argentinian withdrawn at half time in 2-2 draw at Bournemouth

Alejandro Garnacho has been ­spoken to by Erik ten Hag after the ­Manchester United winger liked tweets that criticised his half-time substitution at Bournemouth and suggested he had been “thrown under the bus” by the head coach.

Garnacho quickly removed his likes on the two messages, which the club believe shows contrition, and any further action will be decided internally.

Adam Wharton shines on Merseyside, Mateo Kovacic displays City’s depth and Erik ten Hag gets tetchy

Joachim Andersen was named Sky’s man of the match at Anfield and with good reason. But while the Danish centre-back won header after header and made clearance after clearance, and while the front three of Jean-Philippe Mateta, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise caused repeated problems on the break, there was one figure who stood out in midfield for his calmness: Adam Wharton, perhaps the brightest of the hugely promising generation brought through by Tony Mowbray at Blackburn. The 20-year-old moved to Palace in January for an initial fee of £18m and has played at least some part in every Crystal Palace game since. No other Palace player came close to his pass completion rate of 88% and, while they rode their luck to an extent in the second half, they’d have had to ride a lot more had it not been for his distribution, which helped prevent Liverpool building up a head of steam. Jonathan Wilson

Match report: Liverpool 0-1 Crystal Palace

Match report: Arsenal 0-2 Aston Villa

Match report: Manchester City 5-1 Luton Town

Match report: Bournemouth 2-2 Manchester United

Match report: West Ham 0-2 Fulham

From Newcastle’s forward line to a comical series of own goals, we hand out honors (and dishonors) from the top-flight weekend

Arsenal were stunned by Aston Villa 2-0 at home to hand Manchester City the advantage in the title race. If you’re looking for a microcosm of Ollie Watkins’s season, look no further than his goal on Sunday:

Erik ten Hag’s side escaped from the Vitality Stadium with a point they scarcely deserved after being comprehensively outplayed by their hosts

• Read Ben Fisher’s match report from the Vitality Stadium

Not long now: The players amble out on to the Vitality Stadium pitch, led by referee Tony Harrington and his team of match officials. Kick-off is just a few minutes away.

Andoni Iraola: “We have the advantage of playing at home, but it is going to be difficult because they are a very good team with very good players,” says the Bournemouth manager in an interview with Sky Sports. “You have to keep the concentration over 100 minutes with them because if we make a mistake, normally they score.”

For Manchester United, is there a more damning indictment of their floundering state than the fact they have faced more shots than anyone else in the division this season? André Onana’s goal was peppered again here and they have now conceded a league-high 574 shots this season. The other teams at the top of that list? Sheffield United, Luton and Burnley, a trio mired in relegation trouble. It is so easy for sides to ruffle United and it is increasingly difficult to believe Erik ten Hag has the answers. Arguably the biggest club on the planet are a soft touch.

Bruno Fernandes scored from both of United’s shots on target to prevent a humbling defeat at Bournemouth, his second goal courtesy of a contentious penalty, awarded after a deflected Kobbie Mainoo shot pinballed off Adam Smith’s arm. Dominic Solanke and Justin Kluivert struck either side of Fernandes’s first goal and Andoni Iraola’s swarming side thought they earned a stoppage-time spot-kick, only for VAR to rescue the teenager Willy Kambwala, unfortunately for him the star of the tragicomedy of Solanke’s opener, from further ignominy.

• ‘A lot went against us this season’
• Dutchman accepts responsibility ‘like a minister’ for struggles

Erik ten Hag claims Manchester United have suffered huge bad luck but accepts that, like a government minister, he is held responsible for how his team perform.

After last season’s Carabao Cup triumph and third-place finish, Ten Hag has had to contend with myriad problems. These include uncertainty regarding Mason Greenwood’s future, Jadon Sancho’s refusal to play, Antony’s off-field issue, serial injuries and the club’s state of flux owing to Sir Jim Ratcliffe becoming a part-owner at Christmas, then conducting a structural overhaul.

• West Ham playmaker was close to City move last summer
• Timeframe for resolution to FA investigation remains unclear

Manchester City are likely to capitalise on Lucas Paquetá’s desire to leave West Ham this summer, as long as the Football Association’s investigation into alleged betting breaches by the midfielder has been dropped before the transfer window shuts.

Paquetá, whose contract is understood to contain an £85m release clause that becomes active in June, is keen to find a fresh challenge after two seasons at the London Stadium. The Brazil international was on the brink of joining City last summer, only for the FA’s inquest into suspicious betting activity to derail the transfer, and Pep Guardiola has not dropped his interest in the playmaker.

Welcome returns at Liverpool, Arsenal and Villa juggle ambitions and Guimarães’s discipline under scrutiny

Should Bruno Guimarães be booked against Tottenham at St James’ Park the Newcastle and Brazil midfielder faces a dilemma. Given that Guimarães is on nine yellow cards, a 10th would trigger an automatic two-game suspension, depriving Eddie Howe of a key player for forthcoming games at Crystal Palace and at home to Sheffield United. Alternatively, Guimarães could make sure he collected a second yellow card, ideally late in stoppage time, and be sent off. In such a red card scenario, the sanction would merely be a one-game ban. Considering that Guimarães has managed to avoid a booking in 10 games since mid-January the best solution would be to extend that run to 11 matches and then relax in the knowledge that the accumulated bookings slate will be wiped clean after the Premier League’s 32nd game – Tottenham’s visit to Newcastle. Yet if the Brazilian transgresses do not be surprised if he follows Anthony Gordon’s example.Gordon has remained on eight bookings, despite acquiring his ninth and 10th yellow cards in his team’s recent 4-3 home win over West Ham. The collection of the second, deep in stoppage time, dictated that yellow became red and, despite Gordon being sent off, the England winger stayed on eight bookings. The current rules certainly seem ripe for manipulation. Louise Taylor

• Club believe Dan Ashworth’s arrival could be months away
• United want Southampton’s Wilcox as technical director

Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox have been lined up to lead Manchester United’s transfer market strategy this summer because Sir Jim Ratcliffe believes Dan Ashworth’s arrival as the sporting director is still a while away.

Ashworth has agreed to join from Newcastle to lead the football department but compensation is yet to be determined and it may be some months before he can replace John Murtough, who will leave United by the end of the week.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Wilson, and Dan Bardell to discuss all of the weekend’s Premier League action, along with paying tribute to the late Joe Kinnear

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On the podcast today: the panel discuss all the weekend’s Premier League action, including the 2-2 draw at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Liverpool. Were the visitors wasteful, or was it all part of Erik ten Hag’s plan to play on their opponents’ complacency?

Kai Havertz inspires Arsenal again, Jarrad Branthwaite stands tall and Manchester City prioritise fresh legs

If emotion is carrying Liverpool towards a glorious farewell to Jürgen Klopp, then Old Trafford required cooler heads. Harvey Elliott’s point-rescuing contribution as substitute stood out because, for all his energy, he played with intelligence, seeking to progress the ball and tempting Aaron Wan-Bissaka into conceding a penalty. The likes of Dominik Szoboszlai and even usual pass-master Alexis Mac Allister had allowed a red mist to consume them. Luis Díaz, Mohamed Salah and Darwin Núñez – a modern “Crazy Horse” yet more madcap than Emlyn Hughes – were also guilty of impetuousness. On the sidelines, Klopp himself looked in danger of exploding, particularly after Kobbie Mainoo was granted space to score. With so little time in between matches, minds as tired as the legs, little wonder nerves are fraying. Liverpool must hope Manchester City and Arsenal develop the same anxieties that allowed what should have been an easy win at Old Trafford to slip away from them. John Brewin

Match report: Manchester United 2-2 Liverpool

Match report: Tottenham 3-1 Nottingham Forest

Match report: Aston Villa 3-3 Brentford

From Kevin De Bruyne’s match-winning performance to VAR controversies, we hand out honors (and dishonors) from the top-flight weekend

Bruno Fernandes’s 40-yard screamer summed up Manchester United’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool. United were terrible for large chunks of the game, with two world-class moments enough to secure a point. Liverpool were sloppy in phases, missing a mountain of opportunities in front of goal and failing to take advantage of a rudderless United team.

• Manager says draw in game they dominated was ‘our fault’
• Klopp expects ‘more twists’ in Premier League title race

Jürgen Klopp lamented Liverpool’s draw at Manchester United in a game they “should have won” and declared he was ready to support his club’s fiercest rivals against ­Arsenal after surrendering the initiative in the ­Premier League title race.

The 2-2 draw at Old Trafford, where Arsenal go on the penultimate ­weekend of the season, left Liverpool second, behind Mikel Arteta’s team on goal difference. Klopp said in a swipe at United’s performance and his players’ mistakes that Arsenal would win at Old Trafford if the hosts played as poorly again.

Ten Hag’s side have conceded 308 shots in 14 games but goal stats show weird openness is hard for opponents to deal with

Everybody’s done it. The door looks heavy or stiff, so you give it an almighty shove, only to find the expected resistance isn’t there so you tumble through, falling flat on your face. Erik ten Hag’s genius has been to take an everyday pratfall and turn it into a philosophy.

On Sunday Liverpool, astonishingly, fell victim to the trick for the second time in three weeks. The first time put them out of the Cup; this second, although a draw rather than a defeat, cost them leadership of the league.

Liverpool are the first to falter in the three-way title joust with Arsenal and Manchester City, and Manchester United will be delighted at causing this.

When Jürgen Klopp looks at the Premier League table he will now see his team second, level on points with Arsenal but behind on goal difference, and one point ahead of City, all three sides having seven games left. United, for the spirit shown in the second half, deserved a draw but Klopp and his side may come to rue allowing Erik ten Hag’s erratic team to take two precious points from them.

A controversial Carlton-Fremantle clash lit up an Adelaide festival of football that showcased some sublime talent and a few potty mouths

“The trait that marks out most champion teams,” The Guardian’s Jonathan Liew wrote of the Alex Ferguson era at Manchester United, “is the ability to take, and take brazenly, the thing that you do not deserve.” Carlton is nowhere near a champion team. But they pinched one on the weekend and they knew it. They ran like Jerry Seinfeld with a marble rye, leaving howls of derision and allegations of a Vic-centric conspiracy in their wake.

“The VFL has done it again, and sided with their own,” wept one scribe in The West Australian. After several hours, lots of whataboutism and hundreds of different camera angles, it was fairly clear the ball had brushed James Aish’s forearm. But touched balls off the boot are almost impossible to adjudicate properly in real time. The ARC is next to useless in such circumstances. It was an error but it was no conspiracy. Fremantle’s coach was keen to move on. The fanbase and the Perth press, which can be indistinguishable at times, were slower to acquiesce.

• Updates from the 3.30pm BST kick-off at Old Trafford
• Get in touch: Send John an email with your thoughts

Bruno Fernandes speaks to Sky: “We play against a big team that has a lot of qualities. It’s going to be a tough, intense game. These games against Liverpool always are.”

And so does Virgil van Dijk: “We have to do better than we did in the cup. You have to shut it out completely anyway, whether we play first, second or third. Everyone knows how big this game is but we have to stay calm and play our football like we have all season.”

Last time out: Alexis Mac Allister the star man, and the night that Cole Palmer haunted the club he once supported.