Europa League
Rangers handed quadruple boost ahead of Lyon Europa League clash as injury news emerges
Steven Gerrard’s Rangers have been handed a very big boost ahead of their Europa League tie against Lyon at Ibrox on Thursday night. The Ligue 1 outfit are set to be without four players for the European clash with the Gers. And now Rangers will fancy their chances of beating Lyon, especially on home turf at Ibrox. Tino Kadewere, Leo Dubois, Lenny Pintor and Jeff Reine-Adelaide are all set to miss Lyon’s Europa League clash with the Glasgow giants. Steven Gerrard’s Rangers kick off their Europa League campaign on Thursday night – Copyright: xAndrewxMilliganx 59490889 Steven Gerrard will be desperate for his side to get off to a winning start in Europe. And the stars seem to be aligning for the Gers. Rangers boost as Lyon face mini injury crisis With four important players set to miss out f...
Predicted Rangers XI: Steven Gerrard to make five changes, 19-yr-old set to start
Rangers take on Alashkert FC in the second leg of the Europa League qualifiers later today and will be hoping to get the job done away from home. Steven Gerrard’s men secured a 1-0 win in the first leg and are firm favourites to progress to the group stage. However, the Scottish outfit are currently without several key players because of a COVID-19 outbreak. Goalkeepers Allan McGregor and Jon McLaughlin, captain James Tavernier, left-back Calvin Bassey, attacking midfielder Scott Wright and winger Ryan Kent have been unable to travel. John Lundstram and Kemar Roofe are suspended, but Glen Kamara will be available after serving his suspension. The Scottish champions crashed out of the Champions League earlier this summer and cannot afford to miss out on Europa League football. Alashkert FC ...
Predicted Celtic XI: Ange Postecoglou to make one change, 28-yr-old to start
Celtic take on AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League qualifier later today. The Hoops secured a 2-0 win in the first leg at home, and they will fancy their chances of picking up a similar result here. Celtic are in impressive form right now. The Dutch outfit will have to be at their best to grind out a positive result. Ange Postecoglou’s men have improved their form after a mixed start to the season and the fans will be expecting a comfortable victory. Celtic have their key players fit and are the favourites heading into the contest. Alkmaar will head into the game on the back of a five-match winless run in the Europa League. By contrast, Celtic have scored 24 goals in their last six matches across all competitions. Postecoglou is likely to make just one change to the side that won against ...
‘Extremely poor’ – Some Rangers fans slam 27-yr-old’s performance against Alashkert
Rangers picked up a narrow 1-0 win over Alashkert FC in the Europa League qualifier last night. The Scottish champions will now look to get the job done in the second leg away from home. Alfredo Morelos scored the only goal of the game in the 67th minute. Steven Gerrard will be disappointed with the performance despite the win and Rangers will have to improve a lot if they want to go through to the group stages of the Europa League with a win in the second leg. The Scottish giants looked quite vulnerable at home and they are certainly capable of playing better. The performance of John Lundstram, in particular, could have cost his side dearly in the first leg of the qualifier. The former Sheffield United midfielder joined Rangers earlier this summer and he has had a torrid time at the ...
Predicted Rangers XI: Gerrard to make seven changes, 25-yr-old set to start
Rangers take on Alashkert FC in the Europa League qualifiers later today and the Ibrox giants will be hoping to pick up a vital home win. Steven Gerrard’s men head into this game on the back of three defeats in their last four matches across all competitions. They will have to improve their performance to grind out a positive result here. Alashkert are also in poor form, having won just one of their last four games, but will fancy their chances of upsetting the odds. Rangers are the favourites but must guard against complacency. Ryan Jack is injured, while Kemar Roofe and Glen Kamara will miss the game due to suspension. Gerrard will likely make seven changes to the side that won 5-0 against Dunfermline over the weekend. John Lundstram is amongst the players who will miss out, but Alf...
‘This guy is the real deal’ – Some Celtic fans drool over summer signing’s display vs Jablonec
Celtic picked up a morale boosting 4-2 win over Jablonec in the first leg of the Europa League qualifier last night. Ange Postecoglou has now picked up his first win as the manager of the Scottish club and Celtic will be looking for more of the same against the Czech outfit in the second leg. The visitors showed some defensive vulnerabilities during the game against Jablonec but they were outstanding going forward and the hosts struggled to contain them. The fans will be delighted with the reaction from the players especially after the defeat against Hearts in the opening game of the season. The win last night should give Celtic a much needed confidence boost and they will be hoping to build on this and put together a winning run now. The performance of the highly rated winger Liel Abada w...
Euro 2020: Angelo Ogbonna frustrated by Italy snub
West Ham United defender, Angelo Ogbonna, has admitted frustration missing Italy’s Euros squad. Ogbonna feels his form with the Irons was enough to earn him a place in coach Roberto Mancini’s selection. The former Juventus defender told Sky Italia: “For me it was a positive year, our goal was salvation and we managed to grab the Europa League. “I was saddened by the lack of a call-up, I can’t hide it, but I’m very happy with the path of our national team, the approach to the matches is totally different than in other years. In my case, I think there was little meritocracy but the coach will have had his reasons for making such choices. “But it is my analysis, it is not a criticism of the coach. But after such a year…” Asked if he was penalised for not playing in Italy, Ogbonna added: “I do...
Manchester United ready to listen to offers for Dean Henderson
Manchester United are willing to listen to offers for goalkeeper Dean Henderson amid concerns over his attitude, Football Insider claims. The England international started last season as the back-up goalkeeper behind David de Gea, but he became a regular during the back end of the campaign. Despite this, he was ignored for the Europa League final against Villarreal. The club lost via a penalty shoot-out, with De Gea failing to save any of the 11 spot-kicks. Ahead of next season, the club are planning a radical overhaul of the goalkeeping department, and they have already released Sergio Romero and Joel Pereira. The club are also open to offers for Henderson and De Gea but acknowledge that they may struggle to offload the latter due to his hefty £350,000-a-week wages. Henderson is said to b...
West Ham offer lucrative contract to Alex Kral
West Ham United have been heavily linked with a move for the Spartak Moscow midfielder Alex Kral. Meanwhile, Football Insider are claiming that the Premier League side have offered the 23-year-old defensive midfielder a double-your-money contract. The Czech Republic international is highly rated and he could prove to be a quality long term investment for the London club. The Hammers signed his compatriots Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal recently and both players have proven to be massive hits at the club. The Premier League side will be hoping that Kral can follow in their footsteps and succeed at West Ham. The chance to move to a Premier League club is already an attractive proposition and the fact that he will be earning double of what he is currently picking up at Spartak Moscow will o...
Euro 2020: Gareth Southgate invites Bukayo Saka, 24 others
Gareth Southgate hit back at the critics after selecting Trent Alexander-Arnold for England’s Euro 2020 squad as the Three Lions boss admitted Harry Maguire is a doubt for the opener against Croatia. Alexander-Arnold had to endure a nervous wait before learning he had made the cut after spending much of the season out of favour with Southgate. The 22-year-old was left out of Southgate’s England squad for their World Cup qualifiers in March. But Alexander-Arnold’s strong end to the season with Liverpool convinced Southgate to restore the right-back to his squad. Alexander-Arnold responded to his selection by tweeting: “Always believe in yourself. Silence the doubters.” Irritated by the inaccurate pre-announcement reports that he would drop Alexander-Arnold, Southgate insisted he never lost ...
Manchester United 2020/21 Season Review: Has Solskjaer done enough?
Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, Manchester United have struggled to relive the glory days of the past. This season, they arguably got the closest they’ve been in the last eight years. There was a brief time when they topped the league, as well as a couple of deep runs in knockout competitions. However, it all ended without any silverware. Best player – Bruno Fernandes Fernandes has been Man Utd’s standout player A special mention has to go to Luke Shaw, who has silenced many of his doubters over the last few months. If there was a ‘Most Improved Player’ award, he’d be the recipient. However, Bruno Fernandes set a new Premier League record, scoring more goals than any top-flight midfielder in all competitions with 28. Yes, a lot of them were penalties (13 to be exact), but it’...
Analysis: How Villarreal’s adaptability helped them beat Manchester United
In the second-last match of continental football in Europe for the 2020/21 season, Villarreal and Manchester United prepared to square off for the UEFA Europa League trophy. Ole Gunnar Solskjær was leading the Red Devils into his first-ever final as a manager, meaning that this was also his first chance to lift a trophy for the club, and it would also be United’s first major honour since 2017 when they won the same competition. Villarreal, meanwhile, were battling for their first-ever coveted piece of silverware barring the Tercera División and UEFA Intertoto Cup, as Unai Emery was eyeing his fourth Europa League success in five finals. The Yellow Submarine had an additional incentive as this was a bonus shot for them to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League, as their sevent...
