The weekend’s sporting action began overnight with England’s Ashes hopes in tatters despite extending the third Test to a fifth day.
Meanwhile in Miami, Anthony Joshua knocked Jake Paul out in the sixth round of their divisive spectacle to leave the YouTuber with a broken jaw.
And back in England, there is a packed Premier League schedule with Chelsea’s trip to Newcastle United the first of eight matches on Saturday, where leaders Arsenal also head to Everton after hunters Manchester City – two points behind the Gunners going into the weekend – host West Ham United.
Follow The i Paper’s live blog for updates
Can Chelsea players back up their boss’ big words?
Reporting from St James’ Park:
Well we still don’t know what this season is going to be for either of these teams. Chelsea have been up and down and Newcastle’s inconsistency came to a head at Sunderland last weekend with a dreadful derby defeat.
The mood is suitably strange (does anyone like 12.30 kick-offs?) but Newcastle desperately need a win to generate some Premier League momentum. The return of Nick Woltemade to the starting XI is probably as much through necessity as form (Yoane Wissa looked handy in midweek but isn’t fit to play 90 minutes) while Anthony Gordon really needs a decent game.
For Chelsea that looks attacking. Enzo Maresca has been outspoken recently – can his players back up his big words?
Newcastle and Chelsea changes
In all Newcastle have made four changes to the XI that narrowly beat Fulham to keep their Carabao Cup defence alive in midweek.
Lewis Hall, Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and Nick Woltemade all return to the XI, while Joe Willock, Harvey Barnes and Yoane Wissa drop to the bench with Tino Livramento out due to another defensive injury.
Wissa, all smiles below, therefore must wait to make a Premier League impact for Newcastle.
Chelsea make 10 changes from the midweek Carabao Cup win over Cardiff City. Only Moises Caicedo retains his place, while Enzo Fernandez is perhaps the most notable pick on the bench with Reece James joining Caicedo in defensive midfield and Cole Palmer the No 10.
My Sporting Life with Joe Marler
I have a whole Yule log to myself every year. I just eat it myself. No one else is allowed to touch the Yule log. As much as I love the joy and happiness of the kids, unfortunately Christmas is all about the food with me.
—
Those aren’t my words, but the words of my favourite Faithful Joe Marler, who speaks to Tom Ward for The i Paper‘s My Sporting Life series.
Somehow Marler has already forgiven Nick for that Traitors betrayal, making him a better human than I could ever be. Read the full interview with the former England prop here.
Paul drives to hospital after broken jaw
Jake Paul was not present for post-fight interview duties in Miami having driven himself to hospital.
Anthony Joshua broke the YouTuber’s jaw last night, and in typical Paul fashion he saw the humorous side, calling out Canelo Alvarez on X.
On Paul’s injury, Nikisa Bidarian, the CEO of Paul’s promoters Most Valuable Promotions, said: “He’s fine. He drove himself to the hospital. A broken jaw’s very common in sports, particularly in boxing or MMA.
“I think the recovery time from the doctors and surgeons we’ve already talked to is four to six weeks.”
Newcastle-Chelsea team news
Yoane Wissa’s wait for a first Premier League start for Newcastle goes on but he’s on the bench to face Chelsea.
The visitors are still without Estevao and Liam Delap but Pedro Neto and Joao Pedro are in the XI after their minutes were managed carefully in the midweek Carabao Cup win over Cardiff City.
UNITED
— Newcastle United (@NUFC) December 20, 2025pic.twitter.com/dYdIlEqwhD
Your Chelsea team news is in.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 20, 2025#CFC | #NEWCHE pic.twitter.com/8lkwMZDUP3
Joshua calls out Fury for 2026 fight
British boxing fans won’t be holding their breath given there has been noise around a potential Joshua-Fury fight for years.
But could 2026 be the year? You’d be right to roll your eyes, but Joshua did ramp up the possibility by calling out his fellow Briton.
“I can’t wait to roll into 2026,” Joshua said. “If Tyson Fury is as serious as he thinks he is, and he wants to put down his Twitter fingers and put on some gloves, and come and fight one of the realest fighters out there that will take on any challenge.
“Step in the ring with me next if you’re a real bad boy. Don’t do all that talking, ‘AJ this, AJ that’, let’s see you in the ring and talk with your fists.”
Bazball is dead, killed off by another England collapse
If it wasn’t dead before, it surely is now. Bazball, and England’s Ashes hopes, were extinguished overnight save for four second-innings wickets.
It is now a case of when not if the Australians take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.
Zak Crawley offered some resistance, and while he and Harry Brook were at the crease a world-record run-chase looked possible, if unlikely. Then Brook tried an ambitious reverse sweep, got bowled, and England had thrown it away again.
Read Chris Stocks’s full analysis of yet more Ashes misery for England here.
Joshua gets his ugly win over Paul
Now let this never happen again, writes Steve Bunce from Miami for The i Paper:
It was strange to watch as Paul shuffled from corner to corner, occasionally trying a hopeful right and often claiming Joshua, who remained calm at Paul’s spoiling tactics. Paul was bundled over in an ugly rolling mess 10 or more times; it was not a good spectacle to watch, but nobody cared.
The fight existed under a canopy of assumptions; it was a hoax, a fix, a disgrace, a carnival, the end of boxing.
In the end, it was none of those things. It was just an old-fashioned mismatch. It was only ever going to be a mismatch; nothing sinister, just one man letting his delusions take over.
Read Steve Bunce’s full analysis here
Welcome along
A busy weekend of sporting action with plenty having happened already. Stick with The i Paper’s blog throughout the day with our reporters at Premier League and PREM Rugby games this afternoon.
We’ve also got reaction from Miami and Adelaide following Anthony Joshua’s fight with Jake Paul and the fourth day of the third Ashes Test, which has actually gone to a fifth day! And… that’s about as positive as it gets for England.
Anyway, about that “fight”.
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