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Award winners

Bournemouth's Dominic Solanke and Aston Villa's Unai Emery have been named as the Premier League's Player and Manager of the Month.

Solanke, 26, bagged six goals in December and is the first Cherries player to win the award.

He is now on 12 goals for the season — two behind Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.

Thanks to the help of their formidable forward, Bournemouth won four of their five games in the final month of 2023 and are within touching distance of the top half.

In the Midlands, Emery has helped guide Villa to second — three points behind leaders Liverpool.

The Spaniard beat Andoni Iraola, Jurgen Klopp and David Moyes to the honour after losing only one of seven matches in December.

Haller heartbreak

Africa Cup of Nations hosts Ivory Coast will be without striker Sebastien Haller for their tournament opener.

The Borussia Dortmund forward is recovering from an ankle injury but head coach Jean-Louis Gasset hopes to have him back for the remaining group stage matches.

He said: "Sebastien Haller will not be available for Guinea-Bissau's match and with a five-day break, I believe he will return with the squad.

"He has been training hard with other players facing similar problems and we are hopeful he will be useful for the next game."

The host nation are among the favourites to win the trophy on home soil but will face stiff competition from the likes of Senegal and Morocco.

Les Elephants will open the competition on Saturday, January 13 at 8pm GMT.

Williamson close to return

England captain Leah Williamson is closing in on a return, according to Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall.

The 26-year-old is recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury and will provide a huge boost for the Gunners in the second half of the season.

Eidevall said: "She's been basically returning to full training now so that's very pleasing.

"She needs a little bit more of that and after that we can introduce her to game minutes as well. 

"Leah is going very well, shouldn't be too far off from returning to play."

Arsenal face second-tier Watford in the FA Cup on Sunday before returning to WSL action against Everton on January 20 as they look to close the three-point gap to leaders Chelsea.

Bad Kompany

Vincent Kompany admits he does not regret the decision to withdraw a contract offer to Andros Townsend last summer and insists he is happy to see the winger thriving at Luton.

The Burnley boss will come up against the former England international tonight and decided at the final hour to trust in the development of his young players instead of relying on the 32-year-old.

He said: "There’s absolutely [no regrets]. You have to have regrets if you're doing things for the wrong reason. 

"It's unfortunate that Luca [Koleosho] is injured now but really we just made the choice to support other players. 

"In the short term you always have to carry the consequence of that but I have no doubt that Luca will be a good player, I've no doubt that [Wilson] Odobert will be a good player.

"These guys have also given us a lot already this season, so if this is the situation we are in, it's just important to communicate openly with a player.

"Sometimes there are tough decisions, really tough. But at least it's been it's been communicated clearly."

Up for the challenge

Manchester City captain Steph Houghton says her side must be "near perfect" if they want to win the Women's Super League title this season.

England's top flight returns next weekend after the winter break and the 35-year-old is up for the challenge of catching leaders Chelsea — who sit three points ahead of them.

She said: "It's close at the top. We knew we had a squad that could compete with the best teams in the league.

"There have been some results that we were a little disappointed in with ourselves — [losing 1-0 at home to] Brighton for example — but in terms of performances after that, they have been really good. 

"That's the beauty of the league — you need to be near perfect. There aren't many slip-ups because of the number of teams in the league.

"The scary thing is I don't think we're playing at our highest level yet. Everyone is full of confidence and we can't wait to get back playing again really."