Crystal Palace
Liverpool boss refuses to confirm Gini Wijnaldum’s departure
Jurgen Klopp refused to confirm whether Gini Wijnaldum is set to play his final game for Liverpool this weekend, but insisted the midfielder’s commitment to the Reds cannot be questioned. Wijnaldum’s contract at Anfield expires next month, and there is no sign of the 30-year-old agreeing a renewal. Bayern Munich and Barcelona have been strongly linked with the Dutch international, who is likely to captain the Reds on Sunday in their crunch clash with Crystal Palace at home. Klopp refused to be drawn on Wijnaldum’s future at a press conference at Kirkby on Friday, telling reporters: “There’s nothing to say in this moment. We have a game to play. We will see after the final whistle on Sunday.” Later, though, he was asked whether the idea of such an influential player – Wijnaldum has made 50 ...
Premier League Predictions: Chelsea to finish third, Liverpool fourth on goal difference?
After a long season of empty stadiums and more VAR nonsense, we have almost reached the conclusion of the Premier League. Gameweek 38 comes this Sunday, and as the league table shows, there isn’t a whole lot to play for. Manchester City have won the title, United will finish second, the bottom three has been decided. However, there is still a tense race for the European spots still wide open. Seven teams competing for the remaining five European places. Two will qualify for the Champions League, two will be in the Europa League, and one more will enter the new Europa Conference League, while the final two will miss out entirely. Here are the crucial games to look out for on the Premier League’s final day. Aston Villa vs Chelsea Chelsea go into the final day in the driving seat Chelsea head...
Crystal Palace, West Ham interested in striker with six Champions League goals this season
Crystal Palace and West Ham United are interested in landing the signature of Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud when his contract expires next month. The France international has been contracted with the Blues for the past three-and-a-half seasons, but he appears likely to head for the exit door this summer. The 34-year-old has gone out-of-favour over the past few months, with manager Thomas Tuchel preferring Timo Werner and Kai Havertz to lead the line. He has still impressed with 11 goals coming from just 1,200 minutes of first-team action. Six of those have come in the club’s Champions League campaign. Vincenzo Morabito, who is an intermediary of the player, has now revealed that the Blues would prefer to extend the contract of the striker. He added that there is interest from Palace and W...
Crystal Palace star suffers long-term injury which will rule him out for parts of next season
Crystal Palace playmaker Eberechi Eze has sustained an Achilles injury which is expected to keep him out for large parts of next season. Eze came to Crystal Palace last summer after a stellar season at Queens Park Rangers, arriving in a deal worth up to £20 million. Eze celebrates his first Premier League goal His debut season at Selhurst Park has been promising. The Eagles have been one of the lowest scoring sides in the division, but the 22-year-old has still managed to produce four goals and six assists in the Premier League, including two wonderful solo efforts against Sheffield United and a fine free kick against Leeds United. It was hoped that he would be able to push on from this next season and develop into a huge superstar. However, his progress will have to be put on hold having ...
Henderson axed, Leeds make three changes, Arsenal sweating on midfielder
The 37th round of fixtures in the Premier League features some important matches at the top end of the EPL table. We’ll update this story with reports, results, highlights and the latest Premier League standings over the next two days. The action is already underway, with Manchester United taking on Fulham at Old Trafford. Goalkeeper Dean Henderson has been dropped to the bench, with David de Gea taking his place in the starting XI. TEAM NEWS 📋 Manchester United 🆚 Fulham Ole Gunnar Solskjaer brings David De Gea back into the starting lineup. Scott Parker brings Mario Lemina into midfield with Joe Bryan back in defence. Build-up: 📲⚽ https://t.co/5Du5Yilmm1#bbcfootball #MUNFUL pic.twitter.com/Pv6GLFssoy — BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) May 18, 2021 Leeds United...
Arsenal duo sidelined, Chelsea set to shuffle pack, Hammers star pushing for recall
The 2020/21 Premier League season is in its final week, and there are some crucial fixtures taking place over the next two days. The battle to qualify for the Champions League will take centre stage, with three teams holding a realistic chance of joining the two Manchester clubs in next season’s competition. Two of those are in action on Tuesday, with Chelsea and Leicester City going head-to-head at Stamford Bridge. The Foxes are two points ahead of Chelsea heading into the game, with Liverpool a further point adrift with two matches remaining. Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is expected to shuffle his pack following his team’s defeat against Leicester in Saturday’s FA Cup final. Edouard Mendy is set to return in goal, while Ben Chilwell is likely to start after impressing off the bench at W...
Arsenal’s stunners and that Gerrard goal: the best FA Cup final goals of the 2000s
The FA Cup final is one of the highlights of the English football calendar. It’s the world’s oldest football competition and has produced several incredible moments – from the endless amount of giant killings to those big days out at Wembley Stadium. Some argue that it has lost its magic over the years, but Saturday’s clash between Leicester City and Chelsea proved otherwise. With fans back in attendance for the first time in ages, the Foxes emerged victorious after one moment of magic (and a little bit of controversy). But it wasn’t the first time we’ve seen a screamer in the FA Cup final. Here are some more just from the turn of the millennium. Youri Tielemans – Leicester City 1-0 Chelsea [embedded content] With all the hysteria of the last 30 minutes, it’s easy to forget just how dull t...
Fabrizio Romano: Palace have joined Leeds & David Moyes in race for £50m hitman
Crystal Palace have joined the race for Slavia Prague forward Abdallah Sima ahead of the summer transfer window, according to Sky Sports journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano. Crystal Palace are still in contact with Frank Lampard and his agente as potential new manager – talks progressing. Abdallah Sima from Slavia Praga is among the options as new signings, also in case Lampard will be appointed. 🔴🔵 #CPFC — Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 17, 2021 Leeds United and West Ham United are also keen on the 19-year-old who has been in explosive form in 2020-21. Sima, 19, has scored 19 goals in 36 games across all competitions for the Czech Republic outfit, and Everton, Arsenal, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus are keeping tabs on him too. Slavia...
Crystal Palace plan loan bid for Serie A centre-back, who Chelsea wanted to sign
Crystal Palace will propose to sign Juventus centre-back Radu Dragusin on a season-long loan this summer, The Sun reports. The 19-year-old’s previous contract was due to expire in June, and the Eagles were eager to land him on a free transfer. However, their plans were dashed last month as the Romanian was convinced to sign a fresh four-year deal with the Bianconeri. It is now reported that the south London outfit will look to pursue his signature on loan for the 2021/22 campaign. The Bianconeri are open to the defender’s temporary exit such that he can be guaranteed regular first-team football. Sportslens view: The Eagles currently have 16 players in their first-team squad whose contracts expire at the end of next month. The list includes centre-backs Gary Cahill, Mamadou Sakho and Scott ...
Predicted Aston Villa XI vs Palace: Smith to make two changes, 25-yr-old to start
Aston Villa travel to Crystal Palace in the Premier League later today and they will be hoping to get back to winning ways. Villa are in mediocre form right now and they have failed to win five of their last six Premier League games. Dean Smith will demand a strong performance from his players and it will be interesting to see if they can grind out all three points against a vulnerable Crystal Palace side. The Eagles are coming into this game from the back of four losses in their last five League games and they will have to improve a lot in order to get a good result here. The last time these two sides met, Villa managed to pick up a 3-0 win at home and they will be hoping to complete a league double over the London side today. Villa have picked up a clean sheet in five of the last seven g...
Leeds recall key duo, Spurs defender out, Toffees sweating on playmaker’s fitness
The 36th round of fixtures in the Premier League features some vital matches at the top end of the EPL table. We’ll update this story with reports, results, highlights and the latest Premier League standings throughout the weekend. The action got underway on Friday evening, with Manchester City winning 4-3 at Newcastle United – Ferran Torres (3) and Joao Cancelo got their goals. Leeds United demolished Burnley 4-0 at Turf Moor in the early kick-off on Saturday – Rodrigo (2), Mateusz Klich and Jack Harrison were on the scoresheet. Southampton vs Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion vs West Ham United completes the Saturday line-up. There are four games on Sunday, three of which could have a major bearing on who qualifies for Europe this season. Liverpool have a golden opportunity to move j...
Frank Lampard becomes favourite for Crystal Palace job
Former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has emerged as the favourite to take over at Crystal Palace if Roy Hodgson leaves this summer. Hodgson arrived at Crystal Palace in September 2017, taking charge after the nightmare start made by Frank de Boer. This was a chance for the former Liverpool manager to rebuild his reputation, having led the England national team through a disastrous Euro 2016 campaign. Hodgson is on course for another mid-table finish with Crystal Palace After a horrible opening seven games, Hodgson turned things around at Selhurst Park, guiding the club to a respectable 11th place finish. Since then, the Eagles have finished in 12th and 14th. This season, they look on course to settle in the same area of the table, currently residing in 13th place with three games remaining. O...
