Everton
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 ...
Premier League preview: Can Arsenal and Tottenham finish ahead of the champions?
The 2020/21 Premier League season rumbles on this weekend, with some eye-catching EPL fixtures scheduled over the next few days. With Manchester City looking nailed on to win the title, attention has switched onto the battle to qualify for Europe. Arsenal have the opportunity to boost their chances when they visit Burnley in the early game on Saturday. A victory at Turf Moor would move the Gunners just three points behind Liverpool, who are currently in seventh place. There are three further games later the same day, with the Midlands derby between Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers the pick of the bunch. Villa are also in the running to bag a European qualification spot but may find it difficult to break Wolves down. There are four fixtures on Sunday, headlined by the Manchester derb...
Premier League fans call for VAR changes after controversial Thursday
VAR has once again taken centre stage after a highly controversial round of Premier League fixtures which saw three goals harshly ruled out. The first came at Craven Cottage in the clash between Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur. On loan striker Josh Maja thought he had netted an equaliser for the home side, only for the cameras to spot a handball by Mario Lemina in the build up. The game ended 1-0 to Spurs. Despite the fact that Lemina’s arms were quite clearly by his side, the goal was chalked off. The handball law states that intent doesn’t matter if a handball leads to a goal – which is a frankly ridiculous rule. Lemina has the ball booted at him and his arms are down by his side, I’m genuinely baffled how they’ve disallowed it. Premier League referees really do have a concerning lack of co...
AFCON: NFF confirms date of final qualifying matches for Super Eagles
On Wednesday, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) took to the official Twitter account of the Super Eagles to officially confirm the dates and kickoff times for the final stage of the senior men’s national football team’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers. For Matchday five, the Super Eagles will meet the Squirrels of Benin Republic on Saturday, March 27, in Porto-Novo, the capital of Republic of Benin, for a 1600 hours (GMT) kickoff. The next fixture against the Crocodiles of Lesotho, which will be the last of the series, will take place on Tuesday, March 30, in Lagos at 1600 hours (GMT) as well. At this point of the qualifiers, Nigeria has eight points from their first four Group L games and a draw from either of these matches will earn the Super Eagles the point they need ...
Ancelotti confirms three Everton players will miss out, gushes over 23-year-old star
Everton will travel to Hawthorns to face West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on Thursday night. Carlo Ancelotti confirmed in his press conference today that three players are definitely missing for this game – Yerry Mina, Fabian Delph and Jean-Philippe Gbamin. The Italian boss has also revealed that the club will make checks on four players – James Rodriguez, Tom Davies, Seamus Coleman and Robin Olsen – ahead of the match. Everton training this afternoon. Will be checks on James, Davies, Coleman and Olsen ahead of tomorrow’s West Brom game Mina, Delph and Gbamin still out — Patrick Boyland (@Paddy_Boyland) March 3, 2021 A lot of hype has been going on around Ben Godfrey who has been simply outstanding since his move from Norwich City in the summer. Rio Ferdinand praised the 23...
Paper Talk: Chelsea goalie latest, Everton eyeing forward, United chasing defender
Our Paper Talk feature takes a look at the latest news and rumours from some of the top media outlets in the business. Keep up-to-speed with what is happening around football right here at Sportslens. Chelsea continue to be strongly linked with AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. We recently reported that his agent, Mino Raiola, wants to include a €40 million release clause in Donnarumma’s new contract with Milan. Eurosport has now issued an update, saying that Milan may not be willing to meet the 22-year-old’s salary demands. Donnarumma is reportedly looking for around £9.1 million per year on his next contract and that, along with the release clause, may prove to be a stumbling block. The Blues currently have Edouard Mendy as their number one choice, with Kepa Arrizabalaga serving ...
‘I don’t think’: Michael Ball claims £22m Everton player was forced to stay on the pitch
Former Everton player Michael Ball has claimed that Carlo Ancelotti was forced to keep Allan on the pitch for the entire match against Southampton. The Toffees won back to back Premier League games and moved two points behind fourth-placed West Ham with a game in hand after winning 1-0 against the Saints on Monday night at Goodison Park. Allan made a return to the starting line-up after a long absence of nearly three months. Ball has suggested that Ancelotti didn’t want to use him for the entire game, but Allan had to stay on the pitch “because of the flow of the game.” “In the second half because of recent performances at home I think there was a little bit of self-doubt. I don’t think Carlo will have wanted Allan to play 90 minutes, but because of the flow of the game he had to stay on t...
Massive opportunity: What can Everton expect from their next five games?
After two back-to-back wins, confidence is overflowing in the Everton camp. The victory against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby was followed by a 1-0 win against Southampton yesterday, and Everton are now just two points behind fourth-placed West Ham United with a game in hand. Take a look at the media narratives and you’ll get the vibe around Goodison Park. Garth Crooks, writing for BBC Sport: “If Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin can recapture the spark they had earlier in the season, Liverpool might find themselves finishing behind their arch-rivals. Now wouldn’t that be interesting?” Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports told on MNF that Everton must aim for the top-four, and while they don’t have squad depth like Liverpool or Chelsea, the Carlo Ancelotti-factor can propel them to their tar...
‘Massive’, ‘We keep Pushing’: Everton players react to win vs Southampton
Everton secured back to back wins in the Premier League after beating Southampton 1-0 on Monday night at Goodison Park. Richarlison scored the only goal of the match to earn all three points for Carlo Ancelotti’s side. Everton are now two points behind fourth-placed West Ham United, having played a game fewer. The Brazilian rounded Fraser Forster to score inside ten minutes, with Gylfi Sigurdsson providing him with a measured pass. Everton players took to social media to express their reactions after the game: 💙 pic.twitter.com/LO9vSnqpVQ — Richarlison Andrade (@richarlison97) March 2, 2021 Important Win at Goodison We keep Pushing and Believe 💙💪 pic.twitter.com/22PeeSMuMW — Abdoulaye Doucouré (@abdoudoucoure16) March 1, 2021 Plus 3 @richarlison97 Ὂ...
‘Why not?’: Jamie Carragher makes strong claim about Everton after win vs Southampton
Former Liverpool defender turned popular football pundit, Jamie Carragher, has suggested that Everton should be aiming for European places this season. The Toffees secured back-to-back wins in the Premier League on Monday night after they defeated Southampton 1-0 at Goodison Park. Everton are only two points behind fourth-placed West Ham United with a game in hand. With 12 games remaining, they have an excellent chance of qualifying for the Champions League. However, Carragher has suggested that “they may just fall short” in the race as teams like Liverpool and Chelsea have better squad depth than them. He also made a bold claim that if Everton don’t qualify for Europe that will be a disappointment, adding anything should possible with an experienced manager like Carlo Ancelotti at the hel...
‘I don’t know’: Everton star reveals what Ancelotti told him the day before the Leicester game
Richarlison has shared his admiration for Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti during an interview with the club’s official website. It was a long interview (and a fascinating one) where he spoke about a lot of topics including his relationship with Ancelotti, his early years, the form of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Everton’s top-four ambitions and more. Richarlison talks about how he jokes with Ancelotti regarding how many Champions League titles the Italian has won. “The manager’s arrival was really important for the Club,” said Richarlison. “He’s a winner, he instils into the players a strong mentality to win games and that’s what’s happening. “It is five. Five Champions Leagues: two as a player and three as a manager. “I even joke with him about it and he says it was five not three. Ancelot...
Big blow for West Ham, Man City star returns, Chelsea man misses out
The 26th round of fixtures in the Premier League features some key match-ups at both ends of the EPL table. We’ll update this story with reports, results, highlights and the latest Premier League standings throughout the weekend. The action is already underway, with Manchester City going head-to-head with West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium. Ruben Dias and John Stones got the City goals, with Michail Antonio replying for the visitors. West Bromwich Albion versus Brighton & Hove Albion is the 3.00 pm kick-off, with Leeds United vs Aston Villa following. Newcastle United round off proceedings today with a tough home fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers. There are five games on Sunday, with the clash between Chelsea and Manchester United the pick of the bunch. The Blues will be witho...
