Category Uncategorized

Manchester City are set to welcome back injury-ravaged duo Aymeric Laporte and Leroy Sane when the Premier League returns next week.

As per Manchester Evening News, the French defender, who missed several months with a knee injury earlier in the season, limped out of the Champions League win over Real Madrid in late February with a hamstring problem but is available to face Arsenal next Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the German winger could be set for his first senior game in more than 10 months after overcoming an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture incurred last August – coincidentally, he made a tentative comeback in an under-23 fixture against the Gunners in the same week that Laporte got injured at the Bernabeu.

A sparsity of centre-backs in Pep Guardiola’s senior squad has seen Fernandinho moved into that role from his usual midfield position throughout the season, while neither Nicolas Otamendi nor John Stones has been overly convincing.

Laporte’s return would enable the manager to pick the player with the most interceptions per game (1.9) among the squad, as well as having an accomplished distributor of possession at the heart of Manchester City’s defence, with the 26-year-old boasting a 92.1% passing success rate. [via WhoScored]

Meanwhile, Sane’s return will allow Guardiola to call upon a player who hit 30 goals in the previous two seasons prior to his ACL injury, along with providing 37 assists. It could also inject fresh competition for fellow left winger Raheem Sterling, who began the 2019/20 campaign in scintillating fashion but has not scored this side of New Year’s Day (as per TransferMarkt).

With both Sane and Laporte in the team for the majority of last season, Manchester City were the Premier League’s highest scorers with 95 goals and had its second best defence in leaking just 23 goals (as per TransferMarkt).

This time around, with that duo missing almost all of the season, the champions have scored 68 times and conceded 31 in 28 league games so far. Preservation of those averages would see them end the season with 92 goals scored and 42 conceded.

The return of Sane should sharpen their attack, while Laporte being back certainly ought to bolster their defence ahead of the visit of Arsenal next week.

Man City fans, how big a boost will it be to have Sane and Laporte back in the squad for the Arsenal game? Comment below with your views!

Despite signing Bruno Fernandes from Sporting CP back in the January transfer window, it appears Manchester United are still intent on targeting another attacking midfielder this summer.

The likes of Jack Grealish and James Maddison have been previously mentioned, whilst Bayer Leverkusen sensational Kai Havertz has also been one of the more recent names to have been linked with a switch to Old Trafford.

And on Saturday afternoon, the Germany international produced another exceptional performance to follow up the two goals he scored on the Bundesliga’s return to action last weekend.

Havertz netted twice again, this time in a 3-1 win away at Borussia Monchengladbach, and after seeing him steal the show once more, United fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on their rumoured transfer target’s performance.

If Havertz is treating these last few games of the season as an audition for a potential move away, then he is passing it with flying colours to say the least.

Best of the Decade: Top scorers & creators – Can you name them?

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

The German has got four goals in two games now for Leverkusen, and just like these United fans, Ed Woodward and co will also surely be similarly impressed with his displays.

According to a report from The Times via Utd Report, Manchester United midfielder Fred was subjected to racist abuse during their 2-1 win derby day win over Manchester City – with rival boss Pep Guardiola reportedly consoling Fred in the tunnel after the full-time whistle. 

Goals from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial sealed all three points at Eastlands despite a late comeback from City due to Nicolas Otamendi’s late header, with antics from a few supporters making headlines for all the wrong reasons – including United midfielder Fred being the subject of racist abuse from a handful of fans.

The Brazilian was reportedly shook up after the encounter, with Guardiola coming over in the tunnel after full-time and offering words of support due to the fact he was ‘concerned’ for the player’s emotional well-being.

As a result, Red Devils fans have come out in full support of the gesture and heralded the Spaniard’s professionalism on Twitter – here’s what they had to say.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

A level head, but not quite in the right place.

Leicester City have made an incredible start to the season, and as a result, people are starting to wonder just how far they can go. Some are even suggesting that they are still very much in the title race.

However do Leicester ‘deserve’ to be in the position that they’re in, or have they been lucky? Former Foxes defender Matt Elliott believes it’s very much the former.

What’s he said?

Speaking to Sky Sports, Elliott said that although he wasn’t going to proclaim them as certainties for Champions League football, they deserved to be in the position that they’re in:

“They’ve got themselves in a tremendous position, and the thing is it’s not by a fluke, it’s there on merit.”

Not strictly true

Whilst credit has to go to Rodgers and his side for being as high as they are, to say that the whole thing has been down to them would be somewhat of a stretch. Much in the same way that Sheffield United have managed to make a great start to the season, part of that is solely down to some members of the traditional ‘top six’ going through a number of problems this season.

That is why it’s so imperative that Leicester carry on this momentum and, to borrow a phrase from one of Rodgers’ old players Steven Gerrard, ‘do not let this slip’, because they may never get a better chance this side of their 2016 title win.

Whilst they are to an extent playing with house money based on some pre-season predictions putting them outside the Champions League places and contending instead for Europa League football, those expectations have changed based off their start to the season.

If they were to stumble from their position now, it would possibly go down as a bit of a failure, particularly if the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United don’t get themselves out of their respective ruts.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Moussa Sissoko has maintained that Tottenham Hotspur can get back to their best despite a poor start to the season, per the club’s official website.

What’s he said?

The France international has started every single game in the Premier League this season, but Spurs have won just three of those encounters.

Indeed, Mauricio Pochettino’s men are currently 11th in the top-flight, eight points behind both Leicester City and Chelsea in third and fourth respectively.

But Sissoko is confident that he and his team-mates have the ability to turn their form around and begin to climb the table.

He said: “Like always, I give my best for the team and that’s what I will always do, like every player, until the end of the season.

“We are together and we want success together. Of course, the results in the last few weeks haven’t been great for us, but that’s football, that’s life.

“Sometimes it can be like this and we have to work our way through it, stick together and I’m sure good things will follow soon.”

Nonsense quotes

What’s the point of coming out with cookie-cutter quotes that supporters will surely find infuriating?

At the end of the day, all that matters – clichéd as it may be – is the score at the final whistle.

It is all very well coming out with these template words but Sissoko, of all people, needs to start backing everything up on the pitch.

He has been one of the club’s most improved players and, obviously, Pochettino trusts him.

But he has yet to add an end product to his play. On Sunday, against Liverpool, as Spurs lost 2-1, he had a prime opportunity to play in Son Heung-Min in the final 10 minutes but he ended up playing the ball through to Reds goalkeeper Alisson Becker instead.

Indeed, per WhoScored, while he has laid on one assist this season, he averages just 0.5 key passes per game, is dispossessed on average 0.9 times and has 1.7 unsuccessful touches.

Sissoko would do better to work on adding an end product to his game instead of pontificating about his side’s chances.

Liverpool will look to get their first away win in the group stage of the Champions League since 2017, when they travel to Belgian side Genk on Wednesday.

The Reds were held to a 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, as their 100% record in the Premier League this season was brought to an end.

After losing to Napoli 2-0 in their opening game of the new Champions League campaign, the reigning European Champions will aim to get their first victory on their travels in the first round of the competition since beating Maribor 7-0 two seasons ago.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

So what XI should Jurgen Klopp select at the Luminus Arena?

Here is what we think the German should do to deliver the three points.

Alisson Becker should make his second consecutive start since returning from a calf injury sustained against Norwich City in August.

We think Klopp should make two changes in defence, with Dejan Lovren coming in for the rested Cameroonian centre half Joel Matip. Joe Gomez should also come in for the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold after he was ruled out of the tie on Tuesday. Andrew Robertson and Virgil van Dijk should retain their places.

Ahead of them, Naby Keita should come in for Georginio Wijnaldum and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain should also line up alongside him in the middle. Fabinho must retain his place to protect the back four in the same impeccable fashion that he has this season so far, with Jordan Henderson the other man dropping out.

Liverpool should stick with a 4-3-3 formation as they are more creative playing in this system. Despite Mohamed Salah being fit to play this game, he should start on the bench and make way for Adam Lallana to play on the right-hand side. His equaliser against the Reds’ hated neighbours on Sunday means he deserves to be in the XI in Belgium.

Lastly, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino will keep their starting places as the attacking pair can hurt the Genk defence.

Football fans around the UK will have been very concerned when Daniel James went down with a head injury for Wales on Sunday.The Manchester United winger has been exceptional for the Red Devils this season, and it made for uncomfortable viewing as he went down while playing for his country.Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The 21-year-old was seemingly knocked unconscious after being poleaxed by two Croatia defenders, but after a quick examination, he was sent back onto the pitch.

Of course, concern was shown on social media after he was re-introduced to the match, and one man who knows all about head injuries seemed particularly worried.

Ryan Mason seemed very critical of the Wales medical team’s treatment of James, tweeting a shrug emoji to imply bemusement at how quickly he re-entered the fray. The former Spurs and Hull City ace was forced to retire due to a serious head injury.

Ever wondered how modern day skills would cope with the world’s oldest football? Find out in the video below…

With other sports such as American football and rugby taking serious precautions against concussion issues, this sort of incident highlights that football may need to take a look at its rulings around head injuries and player wellbeing.

Liverpool will expect to grab three points when they welcome Red Bull Salzburg to Anfield on Wednesday night, so could we see a more attacking set-up from Jurgen Klopp?

With all due respect to Genk, Salzburg will get their first real test when they visit Merseyside on Wednesday.

The Austrian outfit score plenty of goals – 40 in nine league games this season to be exact – but they also rarely keep clean sheets, preserving the shutout just three times in those games, against what could fairly be called weak opposition.

For that reason, we believe Klopp may stray away from his usual workhorse midfield, looking to capitalise on a team who are not used to defending against the type of quality the European champions possess. The XI below has three changes from Saturday’s win.

The back four pretty much picks itself, but after Paul Joyce confirmed Joel Matip will miss out, we expect Joe Gomez to be the man to fill that gap.

In midfield, Fabinho has become practically un-droppable this season, starting all but one league fixture, as well as the match in Naples.

Things may change after that though, and tonight seems like the perfect time to throw Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain into the mix. The pair have both suffered with various injuries over the last 18 months, but if they aren’t able to fill in for skipper Jordan Henderson and the ever-reliable Georginio Wijnaldum against a side from the Austrian Bundesliga, then they never will be.

While they may not afford the Reds the type of defensive protection the likes of Henderson, Wijnaldum and James Milner would, they may just have a field day against a group of defenders used to playing sides like Hartberg and Swarovski Tirol, not the kings of Europe.

Given how Origi completely transformed the game at Bramall Lane from the left wing, Klopp could reward the Belgian here with a start. However, that cameo may also tempt the boss to see him simply as a super-sub, and stick with his usual front three.

Mohamed Salah will surely keep his place again with Xherdan Shaqiri still not fit enough to give the Egyptian a rest, while benching Sadio Mane against his former club would be criminal, as who doesn’t love a goal against their old team?

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

And just like that, Real Madrid are seemingly out of their early crisis and heading towards the top.

In fact, at this particular point in time, Los Blancos are finally first in the La Liga table, leaving the likes of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid behind them in the dust.

Of course, these are still early days and the table is bound to go through various changes before the end of the campaign. But it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Zinedine Zidane is finally getting his whole squad on the same page.

The latest clash with Osasuna, which ended in a 2-0 victory for the Galacticos, proved as much.

But it proved one other thing as well – the future looks bright and a touvh Brazilian.

Both Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo found their names on the scoresheet on Wednesday night at the Santiago Bernabeu as the Whites cruised to a rather comfortable and impressive victory over Osasuna.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Seeing how both players are still very young, Vinicius being 19 and Rodrygo 18 years of age respectively, this was definitely a great sign for all Madridistas.

Two of their young talents stepped up in the absence of the more experienced veterans who were being rested, with the likes of Gareth Bale out of the squad and Karim Benzema on the bench, and completely stole the show in front of the home crowd.

Needless to say, that’s exactly what every manager wants to see.

Of course, it has to be noted, however, that this was indeed Rodrygo’s debut in the 2019/20 La Liga campaign and he only got to play for 20 minutes, coming off the bench in the 70th minute.

Vinicius, on the other hand, has been struggling to regain his best form ever since his injury last season. Since then, he’s been in and out of the team and delivering on a very inconsistent basis.

Both players will, therefore, need some time to get back into the groove and find their footing but there’s still no escaping the feeling that their potential, should it be reached here at the Spanish capital, is enormous.

Zidane has two extraordinary talents in his squad and even though they may not be among the best at this very moment, the early signs are pointing towards that happening in the not so distant future.

And that is a beautiful thing for Real Madrid and the revolution the media has been calling for throughout the whole summer.

The first Madrid derby of the ongoing 2019/20 La Liga season is now behind us.

Unfortunately, however, it ended with no goals on the night as Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid shared the spoils of war in a goalless draw.

Be that as it may, Zinedine Zidane will definitely be happy that he managed to avoid defeat at a rather difficult venue and against a tricky opponent.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The fans also voiced their opinions and it seems that they were really impressed by one individual’s great performance at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium.

Toni Kroos is very much a key part of Zidane’s squad and if their reactions and comments on social media and Twitter are anything to go by, lots of the fans were delighted with his display against Atletico Madrid.

Many of them called the 29-year-old the man of the match and swarmed his account with compliments such as “maestro”.

You can see some of those replies down in the collection of tweets below: