The Athletic has a brand new documentary series following Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk. Here is an introduction to the series

In this episode, The Athletic’s Adam Crafton speaks to Taras Stepanenko, the captain of Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk, as he and his young family take refuge in an underground shelter when war breaks out in Ukraine. 

Adam also meets with Shakhtar's Croatian head coach, Igor Jovicevic, who was separated from his family when Russia invaded. 

Meanwhile, as the team prepares for their first match in Europe’s elite competition, the Champions League, we hear from Shakhtar midfielder Ivan Petryak, who lost a family member to the war with Russia. With all the odds against Shakhtar, can the Ukrainian club pull off a shock victory against the German club Red Bull Leipzig?

Credits

Presenter: Adam Crafton

Producers: Adam Crafton, Abi Paterson, Mike Stavrou

Sound mixing: Ollie Bellwood

Featuring footage from: The Daily, AP, ABC News, Sport BILD, DW News, Al Jazeera, and BT Sport

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Dan Bardell is joined by The Athletic's Tim Spiers and Rich Amofa as well as bet365's Steve Freeth ahead of the final weekend of Premier League action prior to the World Cup.

Chelsea's visit to Newcastle is top of the bill before looking ahead to Nathan Jones' Southampton start away at Anfield, before discussing Wolves welcoming Arsenal to Molineux.

Plus there's reaction to the latest in the Cristiano Ronaldo fiasco ahead of Manchester United taking on Fulham.

Produced by Guy Clarke

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The Athletic's Adam Leventhal is joined by Jack Pitt-Brooke and Jay Harris for reaction to Gareth Southgate naming his 26-man squad for the World Cup in Qatar. The big news is Leicester's James Maddison is finally in the squad, plus a surprise inclusion for Chelsea's Conor Gallagher, as well as a place for Newcastle's in-form striker Callum Wilson.

There's a look at how those three will feature during the tournament, plus discussion of Harry Maguire's role in the team, whether Sterling will keep his place, how you get the best out of England's many attacking options, and we pick our starting XI for the game against Iran

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Mark Chapman & The Athletic's George Caulkin sit down with Martin O’Neill to talk about his new book On Days Like These and his life in football. 

As well as discussing the numerous career highs, Martin also shares his regrets during managing in the Premier League.

Martin talks about the charisma of playing in Brian Clough’s legendary Nottingham Forest team & about his time as manager of the Republic of Ireland at Euros in 2016, when they made it to the second round for the first time in their history.

On Days Like These – My Life in Football by Martin O’Neill is published by Pan Macmillan, 10 November

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Rio Ferdinand's 3-part documentary series, 'Tipping Point' aims to find real solutions to the racism, homophobia and mental health crisis which plague our sport... prior to its release, Rio sat down for an honest conversation with The Athletic's Roshane Thomas on the current state of play.

Host Dan Barnes is joined by Roshane and editor Richard Amofa to keep that conversation going. Over the course of this episode you'll hear the interview with Ferdinand, but also from Wilfried Zaha, Romelu Lukaku and Josh Cavallo, as our panel evaluate football's progress.

Rio Ferdinand’s Tipping Point is available on Prime Video from Friday 11 November

Produced by Adonis Pratsides

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Adam Leventhal is joined by football correspondent David Ornstein & senior football news writer Matt Slater to discuss the latest on FSG's decision to explore an exit from Anfield.

Merseyside football writer Simon Hughes shares his thoughts on the decision too, giving insight into the American consortium's reign at Liverpool over the past 12 years and the impact the decision to sell could have on manager Jurgen Klopp.

Plus, the panel explore who could be interested in buying Liverpool as well as analysing the short-term impact on the sporting side of things at Anfield.

Produced by Guy Clarke

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In breaking news, The Athletic's David Ornstein reveals Fenway Sports Group (FSG) has put Liverpool up for sale.

Mark Chapman is joined by The Athletic's Adam Crafton & Jacob Tanswell to discuss the breaking news that Southampton have sacked manager Ralph Hasenhuttl. 

Adam also discusses his new podcast series Away From Home, where he follows Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk's during their champions league campaign whilst their country is at war with Russia.

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Dan Bardell is joined by George Elek, The Athletic's Tim Spiers and bet365's Steve Freeth as Arsenal head to Chelsea in the weekend's standout Premier League game.

The panel also look ahead to Liverpool's visit to Tottenham following Antonio Conte's first anniversary in charge of Spurs.

Plus there's a look ahead to Unai Emery starting his reign at Villa Park against Manchester United, including some trivia, as well as Man City v Fulham & Everton v Leicester.

Produced by Guy Clarke

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The group stages of the Champions League are now over & despite pulling various levers Barcelona have not qualified for the knockout stages

Mark Chapman is joined by Spanish football journalist Alvaro Romeo & The Athletic’s Oliver Kay to discuss what has gone wrong & what are the financial consequences of being eliminated? 

And with stalwarts Atletico & Juventus also being eliminated, does a less predictable Champions League make for a better competition and weaken the argument for a European Super League? 

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Mark Chapman is joined by The Athletic's Tottenham Hotspur writer and Serie A expert James Horncastle to analyse one year of Antonio Conte at Tottenham Hotspur.

Fresh from winning their Champions League group to make it through to the last 16 of the competition, the panel comment of Spurs' style of play under the Italian as well as the mentality he has instilled, helping to get the best from Harry Kane.

Given the uncertainty over Conte's long-term future as well there is debate into the likelihood of him remaining in north London while also considering any potential return to Juventus?

Produced by Guy Clarke

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