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Van de Beek and Martial start, Predicted Manchester United line-up (4-2-3-1) vs West Ham
Manchester United are scheduled to host West Ham United in tonight’s FA Cup fifth round tie. The Red Devils have made it to the last eight of the cup competition in the past seven seasons and they will be aiming to extend the run by beating the Hammers. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may consider making some changes to the starting XI, considering the club have five games in different competitions over the next 18 days. Formation: 4-2-3-1 Predicted Line-up: Dean Henderson has the Red Devils’ cup goalkeeper and he is likely to replace David de Gea, who had a poor showing against Everton in the Premier League last weekend. Henderson can boost his starting prospects in the league with a solid performance against the Hammers. Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof are likely to continue in the central defenc...
Report shares what PGMOL told Mike Dean after sending Soucek off
According to The Sun, referee Mike Dean has been told by his bosses at Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) that he was wrong to send West Ham United midfielder Tomas Soucek off in Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Fulham. The Czech Republic international was dismissed in the closing stages of the game for an elbow on Aleksandar Mitrovic, but it was clearly unintentional. However, VAR and Dean believed otherwise and everyone, including the Fulham striker, was left surprised by the decision. The red card would have seen the West Ham midfielder miss Tuesday’s FA Cup fifth round clash against Manchester United and the league games against Sheffield United and Tottenham Hotspur, but the three-match ban is expected to be lifted as the Hammers are set to win their appeal. Soucek has been ...
‘One of the best’: Mourinho raves about ‘very important’ Tottenham player
Tottenham Hotspur returned to winning ways by beating West Bromwich Albion 2-0 at home in the Premier League on Sunday. Spurs lost their previous three games in the league and needed a strong response against the struggling Baggies. Harry Kane, who returned from injury, scored in the second half and Son Heung-Min added another to seal all three points for the north London club. After the game, Jose Mourinho, the Spurs boss, was full of praise for the England striker, claiming he is one of the best in the world. “He is one of the best strikers in the world, period – there is nothing else to say,” said Mourinho, as quoted by Football London. “The team depends a lot on him, we can’t hide that. It’s the goals he can score, the assists he can make, the link play he has, that personality that th...
‘I don’t like…’ – Soucek sends message to Mike Dean after ref receives death threats
West Ham United midfielder Tomas Soucek has taken to Twitter to react to news of referee Mike Dean getting death threats following Saturday’s game against Fulham. The Czech Republic international was sent off for an accidental elbow on Aleksandar Mitrovic in the closing minutes of the goalless draw despite Dean consulting the pitchside monitor. The error has since been rectified, with the red card overturned after an independent panel decided that Dean was not technically right to make his decision. The ref has asked not to officiate a Premier League game this weekend after receiving online abuse and death threats as a result of his decision to send off the West Ham star. Soucek is not happy that some fans have taken things far, and the Hammers midfielder has sent this message to Dean on s...
Three Things: Liverpool get cold feet, Arsenal going nowhere, big call needed on De Gea
It has been a while since we ran our ‘Three Things’ column on a Monday morning, but we couldn’t resist given events in the Premier League over the weekend. Manchester City’s stunning 4-1 victory at Liverpool was the standout result and left Reds fans everywhere bemoaning the rapid demise of the reigning champions. Without further ado, we offer our take on three of the key talking points from the latest round of Premier League fixtures. ‘Bad champions’ get cold feet Man City’s demolition job on Liverpool at Anfield sparked plenty of debate, with Roy Keane’s epic rant on Sky Sports perhaps the best of the bunch. 🗣 “They are making a lot of excuses, to me they’ve been bad champions.” Roy Keane has not been impressed with Liverpool’s mentality this season pic.twitter.com/jjxyCdnhwM — F...
Report: Soucek reacts on Twitter after FA’s decision regarding his red card
West Ham United have been handed a major boost ahead of their FA Cup clash against Manchester United. As per the Athletic, Tomas Soucek has had his red card overturned after a successful appeal by the Premier League club. The towering midfielder was sent off against Fulham for violent conduct by Mike Dean. The Hammers star leaned into Aleksandar Mitrovic with his elbow and the referee decided to brandish a red card after reviewing the incident with the help of VAR. Soucek was all set to miss the games against Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield United and his return will certainly delight David Moyes and the West Ham fans. The 25-year-old has been outstanding for the Hammers since his move to the London club. He has scored eight goals in 23 Premier League appearances this se...
The worst title defences in Premier League history
Liverpool’s title defence hasn’t exactly gone to plan. Following a severe injury crisis in defence which saw Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, the Reds find themselves ten points off the summit. Sunday’s 4-1 home defeat to leaders Manchester City compounded their misery further, leaving them with 40 points – 27 fewer than they had at this stage last season. This is statistically the biggest drop off from a title winner in the history of the English top flight. 27 – After 23 games this season, Liverpool (40) now have 27 fewer points than they did at the same stage last season (67), the biggest drop by any reigning champion at this stage of a campaign in English top-flight history. Molehill. #LIVMCI pic.twitter.com/lrwiL8Ndko — OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 7, 2021 However, maybe it’s...
Report: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirms three Man United stars will miss West Ham clash
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has provided an injury update ahead of the club’s FA Cup fifth round tie against West Ham United tomorrow. The Red Devils have recently lost momentum in the league with just one win from four games, but they will be eager to make progress to the last eight of the cup competition. Ahead of the game, Solskjaer has provided an update to MUTV where he has revealed that as many as three players will miss the Hammers clash. Pogba suffered a thigh problem during the first half of the 3-3 Premier League draw against Everton last weekend and he is set for a spell on the sidelines. “It’s an injury that will take a few weeks to heal,” he was quoted as saying by the club’s official website earlier today. “He’s just started his recovery, working with the m...
Report: Man City join Tottenham in the race for striker with 50 EPL goals
According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Manchester City are keeping tabs on Southampton striker Danny Ings ahead of a potential summer swoop. With the future of Sergio Aguero at the Etihad Stadium unresolved, the club are preparing for life without the 32-year-old, and the England international is firmly on their radar. Sportslens View Ings has been in impressive form for Southampton in recent seasons, and while they have offered him a financial package that would see him become their highest-paid player, he wants to play Champions League football and could be on his way out in the summer. Tottenham Hotspur are also keen on the 28-year-old, and with 17 months left on his current contract, the Saints could be forced to cash in on him when the next transfer window opens. With Harry Kane ...
Tactical analysis: How Manchester City broke their Anfield curse with a fantastic victory over Liverpool
It was that time of year again – it was time for the big one. Two of English football’s most rampant and successful teams in the last few years, who had formed an elite century-nearing or even – in the case of Manchester City in 2017/18 – century-completing duopoly. This match was always a title-decider in the last few years, and it had the potential to be just that once again. With the chasing pack stuttering and stumbling (Manchester United drawing late on to Everton and Leicester’s blank against Wolverhampton Wanderers), City were almost running away with the league, as they went into this match two points clear with two games in hand. 13 (non-penalty shootout) wins in a row in all competitions represented their best-ever winning streak, while over 450 minutes without conceding a league...
Alan Shearer claims ‘sublime’ Spurs player wasn’t ‘100 percent’ vs West Brom
Former great Newcastle United striker turned popular football pundit Alan Shearer has showered praise on Harry Kane after Tottenham Hotspur won 2-0 against West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on Sunday. The 27-year-old striker returned to action ahead of schedule after missing the previous two games with an ankle injury. Shearer was full of praise for the England striker and has hailed him as ‘sublime’. The former Newcastle striker told the BBC that he wasn’t entirely sure about whether Kane was fully fit for the game, adding he was very impressive against the Baggies. “What a performance he put in,” he told Match of the Day 2. “I don’t think he was 100 percent. There was a little bit of doubt in his mind there. So clever the movement for his goal. Big Sam will moan that he’s g...
Joey Barton comments on ‘superb’ £90k-per-week Liverpool player after latest display
Former Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton has reacted on Twitter to Alisson’s performance after Liverpool lost 4-1 at Anfield on Sunday. After going 68 games undefeated at home, Liverpool have now lost three games at Anfield in a row, and their latest defeat against City will hurt them badly. Alisson was at fault for two of City’s four goals as Pep Guardiola’s side stretched their lead to 10 points over the Reds, and they also have a game in hand. The Brazilian, who is on £90k-per-week wages at Anfield, had a dreadful afternoon. His two poor clearances dropped at the feet of City players, both resulting in goals. Barton took to Twitter to suggest that Alisson will recover from this mistake as there aren’t enough keepers who are better than him. Allison has been superb fo...
