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Croatian Mateo Kovacic was the surprise selection in Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid starting line-up for El Clasico against Barcelona on Saturday (1200GMT) as the Frenchman left Gareth Bale and Isco on the bench. Kovacic hasn't started a La Liga game this season, but did a sterling job man-marking Barca's danger man Lionel Messi as Real thrashed the Catalans 5-1 on aggregate in the Spanish Super Cup back in August.

Southampton have not held talks with Premier League leaders Manchester City regarding the transfer of Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk, manager Mauricio Pellegrino has confirmed. British media reports have said City have begun negotiations with Southampton to take the powerful defender to the Etihad Stadium in the January transfer window.

Ross Barkley's experience and talent will earn him a spot in the Everton team despite the midfielder being "at loggerheads" with the club and refusing to commit his future to them, manager Sam Allardyce said. Barkley refused a contract extension before the start of the season and was close to joining champions Chelsea on the final day of the transfer window, but a move to Stamford Bridge did not materialise.

In-form forward Wayne Rooney was left out of the Everton squad for their Premier League home game with defending champions Chelsea on Saturday, reportedly due to illness. Rooney, 32, has scored six goals in his last five league games as Everton have climbed to ninth place in the table under new manager Sam Allardyce.

Barcelona opened a commanding 14-point lead over bitter rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga as goals from Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Aleix Vidal handed the visitors a 3-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.

Leicester caretaker manager Michael Appleton has urged the club's Thai owners to hire a British manager to replace Craig Shakespeare. Appleton is in charge of first-team affairs at the King Power Stadium while the Srivaddhanaprabha family search for the team's third manager in just eight months. Shakespeare was sacked on Tuesday with Leicester languishing in the Premier League relegation zone just two seasons after Claudio Ranieri masterminded their fairytale title triumph.

Watford are keen to show their ambition through consistent performances on the pitch rather than get carried away with their splendid start to the Premier League campaign, manager Marco Silva has said. The Hornets have been punching above their weight this season, sitting fourth in the league standings with 15 points from eight matches. They are unbeaten on the road in four games but Silva does not want his side to rest on their laurels ahead of Saturday's trip to champions Chelsea.

Burnley manager Sean Dyche has dismissed speculation linking him with the Leicester City vacancy as "paper stories", saying he is only focused on his side's Premier League trip to leaders Manchester City on Saturday. Dyche, the third-longest serving current Premier League manager, has been among the favourites along with Wales boss Chris Coleman to take over from Craig Shakespeare, who was sacked by Leicester on Tuesday.

Crystal Palace finally scored their first Premier League goal this season as Cesar Azpilicueta’s own goal put them ahead against champions Chelsea on Saturday. 

English Premier League results on Saturday: Burnley 1 (Wood 85) West Ham 1 (Antonio 19) Crystal Palace 2 (Azpilicueta 11-og, Zaha 45) Chelsea 1 (Bakayoko 18) Liverpool 0 Manchester United 0 Manchester City 7 (Jesus 17, 55, Sterling 19, David Silva 27, Fernandinho 60, Sane 62, Bernardo Silva 79) Stoke 2 (Diouf 44, Walker 47-og) Swansea 2 (Abraham 42, 48) Huddersfield 0 Tottenham 1 (Eriksen 47) Bournemouth 0 Playing later Watford v Arsenal (1630 GMT) Playing Sunday Brighton v Everton (1230)

Tottenham Hotspur claimed a long-overdue first Premier League victory at their temporary Wembley Stadium home as Christian Eriksen's goal sealed an unconvincing 1-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday. Tottenham were in danger of becoming the only club in English Football League history to win their first four away league games without tasting victory in any of their opening four at home.

Striker Tammy Abraham scored two close-range goals in a six-minute spell either side of halftime to give Swansea a 2-0 home win over Huddersfield in the first Premier League clash between the two sides on Saturday. The result helped the Swans to move five places up to 13th on eight points from eight games, while Huddersfield stayed 11th with nine points, having stretched their winless run to six games after a bright start.

Gabriel Jesus scored twice as Manchester City produced an outstanding display to thrash Stoke 7-2 and move two points clear at the top of the Premier League on Saturday. City scored seven goals for the first time under Pep Guardiola, and for only the second time in the Premier League, as Raheem Sterling, David Silva, Fernandinho, Leroy Sane and Bernardo Silva were also on target at Eastlands. All of this was achieved without star striker Sergio Aguero, left as an unused substitute after recovering from a broken rib suffered in a taxi crash just over two weeks ago.

Wilfried Zaha returned to inspire bottom club Crystal Palace to their first win and first goals of the Premier League campaign with a shock 2-1 defeat of champions Chelsea on Saturday. Hodgson's side finally broke their seven-game goal drought when Yohan Cabaye's 11th-minute shot deflected in off Cesar Azpilicueta, prompting a huge outpouring of relief around Selhurst Park. Tiemoue Bakayoko levelled with an 18th-minute header but Zaha -- back in the side for the first time since injuring his knee in the opening-day defeat to Huddersfield -- secured the victory with the second on the stroke of half-time.

Cristiano Ronaldo struck his first La Liga goal of the season five minutes from time to save Real Madrid from losing more ground in the title race with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Getafe on Saturday. Real looked on course for a comfortable three points when Karim Benzema fired the visitors into a deserved half-time lead. However, Jorge Molina's equaliser early in the second half and an incredible miss by Ronaldo left the European champions needing a late saviour. And Ronaldo rode to the rescue and made amends for his earlier profligacy with an accurate volleyed finish into the far corner.

Sami Khedira has taken a swipe at the makers of Fifa 18 on Thursday for getting his hair wrong in the latest edition of the popular video game. While many players such as Chelsea's Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi and Manchester City's France defender Benjamin Mendy are unhappy with their Fifa ranking, Khedira is unhappy with his look. The veteran German international, who is set to make his comeback for Juventus after a two month injury layoff, is unhappy with his long hair. The 30-year-old took to Twitter: "Hey @EASportsFIFA, I'm really glad you like my long hair... but I'm wearing it short for almost two years now..."

Gordon Strachan has stepped down as Scotland manager following the team's failure to qualify for next year's World Cup, the Scottish Football Association announced on Thursday. The SFA said Strachan and his assistant Mark McGhee would leave "with immediate effect" to give his successor maximum time to prepare for the Euro 2020 qualifying campaign. Scotland missed out on a place in the playoffs for the World Cup after drawing 2-2 away to Slovenia in their final group game last Sunday. "I share the profound disappointment at missing out on the playoffs, especially having worked so hard to fight our way back into contention," Strachan said in an SFA press release.

Leicester City's Jamie Vardy has fully recovered from his niggling hip injury and is fit to face West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on Monday, manager Craig Shakespeare has said. The striker was injured in last month's 1-1 draw at Huddersfield but played in Leicester's next two matches with the help of pain-killing injections. Vardy did not feature for England in their recent World Cup qualifiers, but Shakespeare said that he looked sharp in training this week. "Vardy has fully recovered from his hip problem," Shakespeare told a news conference on Thursday. "He had injections and was given time away. There's no ill effects."

Swansea City's Renato Sanches is a doubt for their Premier League meeting with Huddersfield Town on Saturday after suffering a thigh strain, manager Paul Clement has said. Portugal international Sanches, who signed for the club on loan from Bayern Munich in the close season, picked up the injury in training during the international break. Clement said the 20-year-old midfielder was awaiting the results of a second scan but did not expect the injury to rule Sanches out for long. "We have just got one issue from international duty. Renato Sanches is a big doubt for the weekend," Clement told a news conference on Thursday.

West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic has denied that Javier Hernandez is disenchanted with life at the club and will make a late decision on the Mexico striker's availability for Saturday's Premier League trip to Burnley. The former Manchester United forward has scored three goals since returning to England from Germany's Bayer Leverkusen, but the club have won just two of seven league games and sit 15th in the table. "Somebody made up the rumours that he is not happy at West Ham," Bilic told a news conference on Thursday, in the wake of a report on Spanish website Don Balon that the 29-year-old was seeking a move in January.