
Who are the Match of the Day presenters and pundits for the 2025/26 season?
This will be the first series of the show without Gary Lineker, who made his final appearance as Match of the Day host back in May.
Who is replacing Gary Lineker on Match of the Day?
The BBC announced in January that the new Match of the Day hosts would be Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan.
2
BBC Sports mainstay Logan is a household name from her work presenting Sports Personality of the Year, as well as regularly standing in for Gary Lineker on Match of the Day.
Cates is best known for her coverage of the Premier League for Sky Sports, while Chapman will be familiar to viewers for his long-running position as a rugby league presenter at the BBC.
The three stars will share the presenting duties across the weekends, with Match of the Day 2 now rebranded to just Match of the Day.
Chapman is hosting the opening MOTD of the season on Saturday night, with Logan on the Sunday night.
Who are the Match of the Day pundits?
Wayne Rooney has joined the MOTD set up for punditry duties.
The ex-England captain, 39, netted a huge two-year deal and will be officially unveiled this month.
Rooney is also signed up as a panellist for the BBC's 2026 World Cup coverage from the US, Mexico and Canada.
The Premier League's record goalscorer Alan Shearer joins Rooney on his official debut show.
While Joe Hart and Danny Murphy will be the pundits alongside Logan on Sunday's show.
Why did Gary Lineker leave Match of the Day?
Gary Lineker announced he was stepping down from the BBC in November 2024, after over 25 years with the broadcaster.
It was initially reported that Lineker would present the BBC's FA Cup and 2026 World Cup coverage as a 'farewell', but he was then sacked from the BBC entirely following an antisemitism row earlier this year.
After facing criticism for posting a cartoon that represented supporters of Israel as rats, Lineker stated that "stepping back now feels like the responsible course of action."
Will Lineker do any presenting on other shows?
Gary Lineker is now set to front game show The Box on ITV. Originating in Norway, the format involves celebrities being trapped in boxes and having to complete daring challenges.
Gary will also be continuing his work with his podcast company Goalhanger Productions, where he fronts The Rest Is Football with fellow Match of the Day hosts Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Nottingham Forest complete move for new £26m striker as frenzied summer spending reaches £140M - after Nuno Espirito Santo complained about imbalanced squad
Nottingham Forest have completed the signing of the striker Arnaud Kalimuendo from Rennes for a fee of around £26million. The Tricky Trees have taken their summer spending up a gear with the start of the new Premier League season, with Kalimuendo the latest to put pen to paper and bringing up a total of more than £140m thus far. The 23-year-old moves to Nottingham from Rennes, where he scored 18 goals last season and a further four assists in his 34 appearances last term. Sharing that he was 'honoured' to have received attention from Forest due to their 'great history', Kalimuendo became the seventh star to have joined up with Nuno Espirito Santo during the summer transfer window. On the eve of the first weekend of top-flight action, Nuno cut a frustrated figure in an interview with Sky Sports, insisting that despite his recruitment of goalkeeper Ange Gunn, and Igor Jesus, Dan Ndoye, and Jair Cunha, there were still holes in his side ahead of the campaig n to come. 'We are very far - very, very far - from where we should be. We are very far in terms of preparation, in terms of planning, in terms of the squad,' Nuno said on Friday morning. 'So we are all very worried that in two or three days time we are playing for the Premier League, the most demanding competition in the world. And we are very far. Very, very far.' But Forest showed no sign of summer-break fatigue in their opener, as they overturned a lacklustre Brentford 3-1 - with Ndoye scoring one of their goals. Away from the pitch, Forest were also making crucial moves in the window, securing former Chelsea starlet Omari Hutchinson from Ipswich for a club-record sale of £37.5m, and a swoop for Manchester City's James McAtee for a further £30m. Forest are not thought to be content yet, however, with Evangelos Marinakis' club eyeing a move for another Manchester star in Rico Lewis. Lewis made 44 appearances in all competitions under Pep Guardiola last term – and is six shy of a century of games for the club - but has fallen behind Matheus Nunes in the pecking order at right back. City had been looking to tie the youngster down to a new deal, and marked those negotiations as a priority going into the summer, but have not managed to finalise terms. Forest might also bring in another star on loan in Juventus' Douglas Luiz, should the midfielder look for a return to the Premier League after leaving former club Aston Villa in 2024. Upon signing Kalimuendo, Forest's chief football officer Ross Wilson paid tribute to the late business that the club are conducting with no little efficiency. 'It's been a busy few days for us - the culmination of a lot hard work from our start over a number of weeks,' Wilson said. '(Kalimuendo is) arriving with real excitement and big energy and we look forward to seeing that on the pitch.'


Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Molly-Mae Hague reveals she begged a photographer to delete 'horrific' pic showing her with 'no neck and chin'
Molly-Mae Hague revealed she once 'begged' a photographer to delete a 'horrific' photo of herself, as she lamented the snap showed her 'with no neck and no chin'. The Love Island alum, 26, made the revelation during her latest YouTube vlog, saying she messaged paparazzi asking them to delete an unflattering picture of herself. Joking she had 'no neck and chin', she proceeded to show viewers the snap from her phone, following a 'mini break' from the social platform. 'If there was any way to get humbled, it was to see the picture of me yesterday,' the former PLT Creative Director said. 'What I would like to know is where this (pointing to neck and chin) is in this picture. I look like a thumb-thumb from Spy Kids.' The wealthy influencer also revealed that she began using an ice roller on her face, neck and jaw after seeing that shot of herself online. 'My face is connected to my body, and there's no neck. No neck. The neck left the chat for this picture,' she laughed as she continued to poke fun at herself. 'The pap that took this photo actually took it down because I DM'd him. 'I was in that much shock, I said to him like "Do you pick these photos?" Because I don't ever really speak to these guys, but I just thought, "Do you choose these? Are you actually trying to sabotage me?"' Molly added: 'Some people think they edit them, but I actually don't think they do edit them. 'Like I'm going to humble myself here and say I probably do look something like that - but you guys can see like... I do have a chin.' It comes after Molly-Mae shared her worries over how her two-year-old daughter Bambi has bitten two other children at nursery in a new YouTube video. The influencer, who speaks candidly about her parenting online, opened up about the experience with her fans in her latest post, as she declared: 'It's the complete opposite of what I want my child to be'. She also said she was conflicted over taking her little girl for ice cream after the incident because she was concerned she would view it as a 'reward for bad behaviour'. Molly-Mae told how her sister Zoe Rae, 28, thought it was a bad idea to give Bambi a treat but revealed she was unsure how to tackle the situation and had even asked AI assistant ChatGPT for advice. The mother of one, who recently reunited with partner Tommy Fury, admitted she wasn't sure about the nursery's 'gentle parenting' approach because she didn't know if Bambi would know biting was wrong. Opening up on the ordeal, she said: 'I got a call from nursery today to tell me that she has bitten another child at nursery. This isn't the first time it's happened.' 'Basically at her nursery at the minute, there's a bit of a biting pandemic going on and all of the children are biting one another. 'I got a call the other day to tell me that she'd been bitten and she came home with a full-on bite mark on her arm. 'I wasn't even cross or upset about it because I knew it would be a matter of days before they'd call me to say she'd done the same thing back to another child. 'I feel like especially in her nursery, they're all seeing each other doing it and copying the behaviour basically.' She added: 'So I got a call from her key worker to say that she'd bitten again today and I just feel like is taking her for ice cream later on rewarding she's done something at nursery that's really not good? 'But equally, I don't even know if I should bring attention to it. When it happened the other week, I decided to go with the method of not bringing attention to it at all. 'So not talking about it, because I think they do it because maybe they want a reaction, or she wants a rise, or she wants us to talk about it. 'So I didn't talk about it at all, but that method has clearly not worked because she's gone into nursery and done it again today so even with no reaction, it's still happening. 'She's getting the reaction she wants…if we're all talking about it.'


Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Everton were relentlessly outplayed by a clever, fluent, flowing Leeds side, writes OLIVER HOLT after debutant Lukas Nmecha nets late winner from the penalty spot
The clock had just ticked past 70 minutes when Jack Grealish escaped the instructions of David Moyes and jogged on to the pitch, serenaded by insults from the Leeds fans and wrapped in the hope of Evertonians. It was a last shot at inspiration for the visitors because, until that point, they had had none. They had been relentlessly outplayed by a clever, fluent, flowing Leeds side on a return to the Premier League that bodes well for their chances of survival this season. Everton, by contrast, had been shorn of guile. They did not summon a single shot in the first half. They gave the ball away with abandon. Leeds, roared on by the mighty voice of Elland Road, overwhelmed them with their energy and their poise. For all those 70 minutes that he sat on the bench, Grealish, newly arrived on loan from Manchester City after being frozen out by Pep Guardiola and not even making his 27-man squad that went to this summer's Club World Cup, represented the hope that he could change all that. The rest of us waited to see if Grealish was just a shadow now of the player he once was and while we waited, it was one of Leeds' new signings, Lukas Nmecha, who stole the show from the former England wide man. Nmecha, who joined on a free transfer from Wolfsburg in the summer and had only been on the pitch for six minutes, stepped up to the spot in the 84th minute after a piledriver from Anton Stach had been blocked by the arm of James Tarkowski. The decision to award a penalty was only confirmed after a lengthy VAR check but it was the correct one. Nmecha dispatched the penalty confidently, low past the left hand of Jordan Pickford, and Leeds had the three points that they thoroughly deserved from an impressive night back in the top flight. Everton were left hoping that Grealish's influence will grow. There was little else for the visitors to cling on to as they prepare for their first match at Hill Dickinson Stadium, their spectacular new arena on the banks of the Mersey, against Brighton on Sunday. Leeds and their manager, Daniel Farke, know the odds — and history — are stacked against them in their bid to stay in the division this season. In each of the last two seasons, the three teams promoted from the Championship have all gone straight back down. Last season, it was the turn of Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton to yo-yo. Farke is as well-acquainted as anyone with the size of the task ahead. Of the 49 Premier League games he had taken charge of before last night, he had won only six. Leeds have spent £75million in the close season on eight players and three of them — Lucas Perri, Gabriel Gudmundsson and Anton Stach — made their debuts from the start. Dominic Calvert- Lewin, the most high-profile new arrival, was deemed not ready and did not make the bench. The home side forged the first chance inside five minutes, though they owed their opportunity to James Tarkowski's failure to clear a cross from Wilfried Gnonto. The ball ran on to Joel Piroe but Jordan Pickford rushed out to block his shot. Much has been made of the fact that five of Leeds' new signings are over six feet tall but Gnonto, who is diminutive by comparison, was one of his side's most dangerous players in the first half. He epitomised the ambition and skill his team showed. In this land of giants, the fleet-footed striker was king. 'We are Leeds, we are Leeds, we are Leeds,' boomed out around the ground. The home team attacked relentlessly. Everton barely saw the ball. Leeds won five corners in the first 14 minutes and Everton's defending took on an increasingly desperate hue. Pickford came to try to claim one of the corners, then thought better of it and retreated. Ao Tanaka headed the ball across goal and, after an almighty scramble, Everton hacked it clear and breathed again. Leeds pressed on. They swept the ball from one side of the pitch to the other with fluency and confidence. Their dominance in the first half-hour was so complete it felt as if they were back in the Championship. Everton were crying out for someone to put their foot on the ball and keep it. On cue, the TV cameras cut to Grealish talking earnestly to a team-mate on the Everton bench, making what looked like a series of tactical suggestions. Grealish began to warm up and engaged in some friendly exchanges with Leeds fans in the crowd. Leeds did not let up. Jake O'Brien made a fine goal-line clearance from a curling cross by Stach that Daniel James was waiting to prod in. Leeds mustered 12 shots in the first half, compared to none from Everton, the first time for two years that a side managed by Moyes had failed to conjure a shot in the opening 45 minutes for more than four years. Idrissa Gana Gueye finally brought that run to an end eight minutes after half time with an effort that rose too high to trouble Perri in the Leeds goal. Everton's first yellow card came soon after, courtesy of a clumsy, late tackle by Tim Iroegbunam, that caught Leeds skipper Ethan Ampadu and left him in a crumpled heap. It began to feel as if Leeds may not be able to convert all their superiority into a goal. It began to feel as if this might be a night made for Grealish, the great entertainer. But after Grealish had come off the bench, Nmecha came off the bench, too, and won the game.