Champions League
Liverpool’s centre-back crisis worsens as manager confirms Ozan Kabak injury
Kabak was brought into Anfield during the January transfer window following a series of injuries at centre-back for Liverpool. The 20-year-old has not made an ideal start to life in the Premier League. His debut came against Leicester City, where his mix up with goalkeeper Alisson allowed Jamie Vardy to tap home to put the Foxes 2-1 ahead late on. After a victory in the Champions League over RB Leipzig, the Turkey international was once again under fire after the 2-0 home defeat to Everton in the Merseyside derby. This was followed by a victory at Bramall Lane, before a 1-0 loss against Chelsea. Kabak is now believed to be a doubt for the visit of relegation strugglers Fulham, as reported by Times journalist Paul Joyce on Twitter. The extent of his problem is currently unknown. The loanee ...
Manchester City in bizarre spat with Opta
Manchester City are in another battle with stats boffins Opta over Pep Guardiola’s managerial record. But Opta acknowledged Saturday’s 2-1 win over West Ham as the moment Pep reached his double ton. The Athletic report that City officials made the case in a meeting with Opta. The report adds that games that are decided on penalties are what’s causing the stats imbalance. Opta and City also held differing views over their incredible winning streak. The stats experts said that the win against Swansea made it an English record of 15 wins in a row in all competitions. But City think they already hold the record when they won 20 in a row during a dominant 2017-18 season. However, one of those games was won on penalties against Wolves in the Carabao Cup. Opta stats recorded that as a draw, which...
Dimitar Berbatov warns Manchester United’s Shola Shoretire not to relax
Manchester United Double winner, Dimitar Berbatov, has warned Shola Shoretire not to relax. The 17-year-old came off the bench to make his senior debut against Newcastle at the weekend, playing the final minutes in what he described as a “dream come true”. Berbatov told Betfair: “It is a great moment for a player at 17 to make his debut at Old Trafford. He must have shown something in training and the youth teams which made that happen. “He has made the first step and now the difficult thing is to show Ole and the coaching staff that he can back that up. He has to prove he belongs there. He just needs to keep pushing and show himself in the eyes of the coaching staff. “In Shola’s situation, you must train like your life depends on it. “You need to show everyone that you are here and are wa...
Smith Rowe and Ceballos start, Predicted Arsenal line-up (4-2-3-1) vs Benfica
Arsenal will play hosts to Benfica in the second leg of the Europa League last 32 on Thursday night. The game is scheduled to be played at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Greece due to coronavirus restrictions. The north London side have a disappointing record at the ground with four defeats and just one win from five European games. However, their sole victory came during the previous campaign against Olympiacos and they will be aiming for another positive result. Mikel Arteta’s side have the precious away goal advantage after the 1-1 draw against Benfica in the first leg which was played at the Stadio Olimpico. Formation: 4-2-3-1 Predicted Line-up: Bernd Leno is an automatic choice in goal for the Gunners. The German had a comfortable game in the reverse leg until the penalty scored ...
Liverpool take risky approach at the back, Barcelona set to attack
The Champions League has reached the knockout stage and the round of 16 features some exciting UCL fixtures. We’ll update this story with reports, results and the latest Champions League highlights as the first-leg games are played. Paris Saint-Germain produced a superb performance to demolish Barcelona 4-1 at the Nou Camp – Kylian Mbappe (3) and Moise Kean got the goals. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane were on target as Liverpool triumphed 2-0 against RB Leipzig in Budapest. Erling Braut Haaland (2) and Mahmoud Dahoud bagged the goals as Borussia Dortmund triumphed 3-2 at Sevilla. Porto secured a 2-1 victory at home to Juventus – Mehdi Taremi and Moussa Marega were on the scoresheet for the Portuguese side. Olivier Giroud scored a stunning goal as Chelsea ran out 1-0 winners on the road agai...
Pep Guardiola provides fresh Man City injury update ahead of Monchengladbach clash
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has provided a fresh injury update ahead of the club’s Champions League clash against Borussia Monchengladbach tomorrow. The Cityzens are currently on a stunning 18-match winning streak in all competitions and are favourites to beat the Bundesliga outfit at the Puskas Arena. Ahead of the game, Guardiola confirmed that there are no fresh injury concerns and Ake is the only player out of contention as he is recovering following a hamstring problem. He told Mancity.com “Everyone except Nathan is fit. Right now I am thinking about team selection. I am not clear because I need to see how the players recover and feel. We will decide tomorrow.” Sportslens view: The Cityzens are currently on an exceptional run of 18 consecutive victories and, overall, they are...
RB Leipzig boss emerges as Tottenham’s ‘top target’ to replace Jose Mourinho
RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann has emerged as the likely candidate to replace Jose Mourinho, should Tottenham’s current slump continue. Spurs began the season in excellent form and even topped the table as recently as early December, yet just a few months later, Mourinho’s men find themselves 23 points behind leaders Manchester City and with a real job to do to secure a top-four spot. Their defeat to London rivals West Ham United on Sunday means they are now nine points behind the Hammers in fourth, albeit with a game in hand on David Moyes’ side. Despite a late rally in that game, inspired by half-time substitute Gareth Bale, Tottenham’s defensive woes once again came to the fore, the centre-back pairing of Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez looking particularly shaky in recent weeks. With...
RB Leipzig boss emerges as Tottenham’s ‘top target’ to replace Jose Mourinho
RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann has emerged as the likely candidate to replace Jose Mourinho, should Tottenham’s current slump continue. Spurs began the season in excellent form and even topped the table as recently as early December, yet just a few months later, Mourinho’s men find themselves 23 points behind leaders Manchester City and with a real job to do to secure a top-four spot. Their defeat to London rivals West Ham United on Sunday means they are now nine points behind the Hammers in fourth, albeit with a game in hand on David Moyes’ side. Despite a late rally in that game, inspired by half-time substitute Gareth Bale, Tottenham’s defensive woes once again came to the fore, the centre-back pairing of Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez looking particularly shaky in recent weeks. With...
Chelsea boss takes blame for Hakim Ziyech struggles at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has shouldered the blame for Hakim Ziyech’s stalled progress at Stamford Bridge, challenging the midfielder to fight for his place in the team. Morocco international Ziyech, who signed in July, has only featured twice so far under Tuchel, leading to suggestions the former Ajax star could seek a summer exit. But Tuchel is adamant he will need to call on Ziyech as the hectic season unfolds. “It is my fault actually, not his,” Tuchel said on Friday. “It is my hard decisions at the moment as well for Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi and for Christian Pulisic sometimes in the half positions where we seem the strongest. “It is the same for Hakim at the moment and for some other players — there were hard decisions to make. It is never easy but it is a good thing, we have...
RB Leipzig boss: Liverpool players knew they were lucky
RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann dismissed Liverpool’s performance for last night’s victory over the Germans. Liverpool took full advantage of errors in Leipzig’s defence to go ahead through a quick-fire double from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane in the second half. The away win at Budapest’s Puskas Arena puts the Reds in control of the Champions League last-16 tie, but Leipzig boss Nagelsmann was not convinced his side were second-best. “When you win, you’re always right,” he said. “We earned a lot of respect in the 90 minutes. “And what I noticed when I left the field, the Liverpool players did not use the words “deserved victory”. “We were definitely not worse and certainly not by two goals.” Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for D...
Barcelona boss admits that comeback against PSG seems unlikely
After yet another humbling defeat in the Champions League for Barcelona, coach Ronald Koeman does not seem too optimistic about his side’s progression into the next round of the competition. The Dutchman was disappointed in the team’s performance, which seemed to lack a cutting edge all across the pitch. There are plenty of questions about Koeman’s team selection however, and he certainly shares the blame for this defeat. Even so, the Blaugrana were extremely lethargic and did not show anywhere near their best football. In the post-match press conference, the manager summed up their miserable outing and evaluated their chances of progression to the next round. On the result and performance: “The result reflects the game. In the second half, they have been superior. They have been very effe...
Odion Ighalo: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave me the chance to live my dream
Nigeria’s Odion Jude Ighalo will forever be grateful to Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for supporting him to live his dream with the Old Trafford squad. Speaking for the first time after he moved from Saudi Arabian side, Al-Shabab, Ighalo expressed his love and admiration to the coach who believed in him and gave him the chance to live his childhood dream of playing for the Red Devils in any capacity. “Every player wants to play, but I always respect my coach. I’m a hard worker in training and match situations, It’s painful though, but the decision is not yours,” Ighalo informed 88.9 sports radion. “No player wants to be on the bench, particularly when you know you are fit or even better than those selected ahead of you. “But, I respect Ole. He gave me the chance to live m...
