Real Madrid will look to take one step closer to the knockout rounds of the competition with a win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League this week. The two sides will meet on the 3rd of November at 17:45 pm BST. Real Madrid are level on points with FC Sheriff in their group and the Spanish giants will be looking to pull clear of them with a win this week. Los Blancos are in impressive form heading into this contest and they will be firm favourites to win here. Shakhtar Donetsk crashed to a heavy defeat against Real Madrid earlier this season and they will be massive underdogs heading into this contest. Real Madrid vs Shakhtar Donetsk team news The home side are without Isco, Dani Ceballos, Marco Asensio and Gareth Bale due to injuries. The visitors are without Ped...
Real Madrid will look to get back to winning ways when they take on Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League this week. The two sides meet on the 19th of October at 20:00 pm BST. Real Madrid have lost their last two matches across all competitions and they will be desperate to bounce back with a win here. Meanwhile, the visitors are yet to secure a win in the group stages and they will look to pull off an upset. Shakhtar Donetsk vs Real Madrid team news Eden Hazard, Isco, Gareth Bale, Dani Carvajal, Dani Ceballos and Marco Asensio are all sidelined for Los Blancos for this game. Junior Moraes is the only injury worry for Shakhtar. Shakhtar Donetsk possible starting lineup: Pyatov; Dodo, Marlon, Matvienko, Ismaily; Pedrinho, Maycon, Stepanenko, Patrick, Solomon; Tete Real Madrid ...
The Europa League takes centre stage this evening with the round of 16 first leg ties featuring some mouthwatering fixtures. We’ll update this story with reports, results and the latest Europa League highlights as the games are played. The action is already underway and most eyes were on the clash at Old Trafford between Manchester United and AC Milan. Amad Diallo gave United the lead, but a late Simon Kjaer header handed Milan a vital away goal ahead of the second leg. Filip Helander was on target as Rangers grabbed a 1-1 draw at Slavia Prague. Davy Klaassen, Dusan Tadic and Brian Brobbey were on the scoresheet as Ajax ran out 3-0 winners at home to Young Boys. Villarreal are well placed to reach the last eight after winning 2-0 at Dynamo Kiev – Pau Torres and Raul Albiol got the goals. T...
The Europa League returns with the round of 16 first leg ties scheduled to be played on Thursday. Manchester United are involved in the standout tie of the round as they go head-to-head with AC Milan. Both teams have injuries ahead of the game, although the Red Devils are expected to field a strong starting XI. Arsenal could have a fitness boost for their game at Olympiacos, with playmaker Emile Smith Rowe in line to return to the squad. Smith Rowe missed the visit to Burnley over the weekend but was involved in training yesterday, and he may feature in Greece. Tottenham Hotspur have a few selection concerns ahead of their first-leg meeting with Dinamo Zagreb. Matt Doherty, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Dele Alli have all collected two yellow cards in the competition, and another caution would...
The Europa League takes centre stage this evening with the round of 32 second leg ties featuring some enthralling fixtures. We’ll update this story with reports, results and the latest Europa League highlights as the games are played. One tie has already been completed, with Tottenham Hotspur beating Wolfsberger 4-0 on Wednesday to book their place in the last-16. Arsenal are in early action against Benfica on Thursday and will fancy their chances of going through after drawing 1-1 in the first leg. Kieran Tierney is in the starting XI for the Gunners, but the inclusion of David Luiz and Hector Bellerin in defence is a risky move by manager Mikel Arteta. 📋 Tonight’s team news is in! 🏴 @KieranTierney1 starts🇧...
The Europa League is back with a bang on Thursday as the round of 32 gets underway. Eight clubs have dropped into the competition from the Champions League, joining the 24 who safely navigated through the group phase. Manchester United and Ajax are the biggest names to enter the Europa League at this stage, and both will fancy their chances of making progress. However, with Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Leicester City, AC Milan and Napoli amongst a strong line-up, winning the Europa League will not be easy. All four Premier League clubs are on the road for their first leg matches, with Arsenal facing the toughest test against Benfica. The Gunners have been boosted by Kieran Tierney’s return to training, but the defender is unlikely to be included in the starting XI. Spurs will be without Joe...
The first knockout round fixtures for the Europa League have been revealed. The top two sides from each of the 12 groups progressed to the knockout round, and are joined by the eight third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage. Premier League leaders Tottenham Hotspur were drawn against Austrian side Wolfsberger, while North London rivals Arsenal will face Benfica. The most exciting tie of the draw came when Spanish club Real Sociedad were drawn against English giants Manchester United. Serie A table toppers AC Milan will travel to Serbia to face Red Star Belgrade, while Rangers clash with Royal Antwerp. Leicester City were the final British side out of the draw, facing Slavia Prague. The first legs will be played on the 18th of February, and the second legs will be on the 25 ...
Real Madrid’s recent misery continued as they suffered a shock 2-3 home defeat at the hands of Shakhtar Donetsk in their opening Champions League group game. The Spanish champions were undone by a Shakhtar team that was missing 13 first-team players due to Covid-19. So What Went Wrong? Zidane shouldered full responsibility for an ultimately “bad night” where Madrid were found wanting. Shakhtar were impressive for the most part and on the 29th minute they broke the deadlock. The full back, Viktor Korniienko, bumbled his way into the box before laying it off to Tete who finished into the corner with aplomb. Real Madrid soon found themselves behind again four minutes later. Tete cut in from the right and fizzed a shot heading towards the corner. With Courtois only able to parry it back out, V...
Thibaut Courtois has insisted Real Madrid are “always the favourites” for the Champions League while expressing his confidence that the Blancos can conquer Europe again in 2020-21. Madrid have won the competition a record 13 times, six more than any other club, but an underwhelming start to the La Liga season has hardly served to inspire confidence they can claim a 14th title come May. Madrid are third in the early La Liga standings, one point behind early leaders Real Sociedad having slumped to a 1-0 home loss to newly-promoted Cadiz last time out. Zinedine Zidane’s side failed to reach the quarter-finals last season, losing in a two-legged last-16 tie to Manchester City with a five-month interval between the games due to the suspension of football amid the Covid-19 crisis. Drawn in Group...
Getty Images Fernandinho will be Manchester City’s captain for the 2020-21 season, manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed. David Silva took the armband after the departure of long-serving skipper Vincent Kompany last season before the Spain playmaker opted to call time on his decade-long stay at the Etihad Stadium. It means the responsibility will now be passed to Fernandinho, another stalwart of City’s modern era, after the 35-year-old was voted captain by his team-mates and other members of staff. “He will be good [as a leader], as he always has been since I met him,” Guardiola said of the Brazil international who joined City from Shakhtar Donetsk for £30million in 2013 and is out of contract next June. “It doesn’t matter [whether or not Fernandinho has] the armband, he is always a guy who ...