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Predicted Aston Villa XI v Arsenal: Dean Smith to make three changes, 23-yr-old to start
Aston Villa host Arsenal in the Premier League later today and the home side will be looking to return to winning ways. Dean Smith’s men slipped to a defeat against West Ham United in their last outing. Villa have been quite inconsistent in recent weeks, losing four of their last six league games. The fans will expect a more consistent showing from the players. Arsenal have lost their last two league games against Villa and the home side will fancy their chances of picking up all three points today. The Gunners have had a mediocre season by their standards and they are 10th in the Premier League table with just nine wins from 22 games. The London club are certainly beatable right now and it remains to be seen if the Villa players can step up and get the job done. Kortney Hause is the ...
‘Fantastic’: Ancelotti raves about 23-year-old Everton player who is ‘tactically intelligent’
Carlo Ancelotti showered heaps of praise on Everton defender Ben Godfrey in his press conference on Friday. The Toffees face Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday at Old Trafford. Ancelotti’s side returned to winning ways in midweek against Leeds United after two disappointing results, and they will be looking to keep their winning run going. Godfrey, who joined Everton during the summer transfer window from Norwich City for a fee of £25 million, has been really impressive for the Toffees in recent matches. The 23-year-old has made 13 appearances in the league, including 12 starts, and has one assist to his name. He was superb against Leeds and Ancelotti has praised him highly. The Italian boss admitted that he didn’t know much about the player when Everton signed him. H...
Predicted Newcastle XI v Southampton: Bruce to make two changes, 21-yr-old to start
Newcastle United host Southampton in the Premier League later today and the Magpies will be hoping to bounce back with a win after their defeat to Crystal Palace last time out. Meanwhile, Southampton are coming into this game on the back of a 9-0 thrashing against Manchester United and the fans will be expecting a reaction from the players. Both teams are in poor form right now and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top. Managers Steve Bruce and Ralph Hasenhuttl will be under pressure to pick up the three points. Newcastle have lost six of their last seven Premier League games and Southampton have lost their last three. The Magpies have an impressive head-to-head record against Southampton and are unbeaten in five of their last six meetings.. The home team will be without Feder...
Report: Villas-Boas left Marseille after club decided against signing Hammers star
According to The Sun, French manager Andre Villas-Boas left Marseille after the Ligue 1 outfit decided against signing West Ham United midfielder Manuel Lanzini on loan during the January transfer window. Sportslens View The French top-flight side brought in Celtic star Olivier Ntcham instead, and the former Chelsea boss offered to resign the next day after the transfer deadline as a result. The club parted ways with him just a few hours later, but that might not have happened had they granted his wishes and snapped up Lanzini. With Morgan Sanson on his way out, Villas-Boas tried to swap the Hammers man for the club’s former star who has since joined Aston Villa. The Frenchman went back in with a late loan offer after a swap deal with West Ham fell through, but Marseille were not keen on L...
Predicted West Ham XI v Fulham: Moyes to make one change, 24-yr-old to start
West Ham United take on Fulham in the Premier League later today and they will be hoping to extend their fine run of form with a win over their London rivals. The Hammers have won five of their last six league outings and will be full of confidence heading into this game. Meanwhile, Fulham are winless in their last 11 Premier League games and are underdogs despite being at home. West Ham have done well against Fulham in recent seasons, winning their last five meetings against the Londoners. They will be hoping to maintain their dominance and keep themselves in touch with the top four. Fulham have failed to score in three of the last four games against the Hammers and they will be under pressure to produce an impressive performance and grind out a result. Arthur Masuaku is the only injury b...
Alan Shearer reacts to Newcastle win vs Southampton, lavishes praise on midfield trio
Newcastle United battled to a thrilling 3-2 win over Southampton in the Premier League earlier today. Paraguayan midfielder Miguel Almiron scored a brace to help his side to all three points at St James’ Park. The Magpies needed a win after their defeat last time out and Steve Bruce will be satisfied with the performance and character shown by his players. Despite going down to ten men after Jeff Hendrick’s 50th-minute red card, the home side managed to grind out the result. Southampton did everything they could to score the equaliser but Newcastle held on for the all-important three points. On-loan Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock gave the home side their lead in the 16th minute and Almiron doubled his side’s advantage ten minutes later. Southampton came back into the game through Takumi Mi...
Gary Lineker and Jamie Carragher react to West Ham star’s red card
West Ham United were held to a goalless draw against Fulham in the Premier League earlier today. The Hammers will be disappointed to have come away with just a point from a game they should have won. David Moyes’ side have been in impressive form of late and the fans would have expected all three points today. While the draw is likely to disappoint the Hammers’ boss, the referee’s decision to send off Tomas Soucek in the dying moments of the game will have infuriated him. The Czech midfielder was dismissed for an elbow on Aleksandar Mitrovic. The decision seemed unfair and it will be interesting to see if it gets overturned after an appeal. Referee Mike Dean has been involved in a few questionable decisions this season and Soucek’s dismissal was another controversial call. Soucek has been ...
‘Impressed’, ‘Quality’: Some Arsenal fans react to 22-year-old’s display vs Aston Villa
Some Arsenal fans were impressed with the display of Martin Odegaard during the club’s 1-0 Premier League defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday. The Norwegian joined the Gunners on loan from Real Madrid last month and he has since made two appearances for the club off the bench. One of those came after the hour mark against the Villans where the 22-year-old had a 96 percent pass success rate and delivered some quality passes in the final third. He had one glorious chance to score the equaliser late in the game, but drove his effort over the bar as he was quickly closed down. However, he left a good impression on some of the club’s supporters and a few of them believe the attacker needs to start against Leeds United later this month. Twitter Reactions: If odegaard doesn’t start vs Leeds I have ...
China joins calls for IWF to publish list of election candidates
Nations from around the world have written to the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) to express their dismay at the governing body’s failure to publish the list of candidates for forthcoming elections. There have been complaints of poor governance, a lack of transparency, and giving an unfair advantage to certain candidates on the current IWF Executive Board who have the information that is denied to others. For the last elections in 2017 the list was published five days after the nominations deadline. This year, eight days have passed already and there is no sign of the IWF naming the candidates for President, first vice-president, vice-president, and a place on the Executive Board. The IWF is entitled, under current regulations, to wait until 30 days before the elections – Febr...
Predicted Celtic XI v Motherwell: Lennon to field an unchanged line-up for today’s game
Celtic picked up a much-needed win over Kilmarnock in their last game and they will be hoping to build on that performance and put together a winning run. The reigning champions take on Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership today and will be eager to extend their fine run of form against their opponents with a win. The Hoops have beaten Motherwell in their last 10 home matches and they have managed to keep a clean sheet in 17 of their 21 home matches against today’s opposition. There is no doubt that Celtic are overwhelming favourites to win. However, they have been quite inconsistent this season and Motherwell will fancy their chances of pulling off an upset. The away side are coming into this game on the back of two consecutive wins and they will look to give the home side a run for the...
‘He had a muscular injury’: Mikel Arteta confirms fresh injury blow for Arsenal star
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that midfielder Thomas Partey picked up a muscular injury which led to his second-half substitution against Aston Villa. The Ghana international joined the Gunners from Atletico Madrid last summer and he has since missed a number of games due to multiple thigh injuries. He was forced off the pitch against the Villans with an apparent muscle issue and Arteta confirmed after the game that the midfielder could not carry on. The Spaniard added that he has no idea over the severity of the setback and a medical assessment will be required. “He had a muscular injury so we had to take him off – he could not carry on playing and I don’t know [how bad it is],” he told Arsenal.com. “We will see the extent of the injury. He wasn’t feeling well enough to ...
‘Superb’, ‘Looked good’: Some Arsenal fans praise 28-year-old’s display vs Aston Villa
A selection of Arsenal fans on Twitter have appreciated the performance of goalkeeper Mat Ryan during the club’s 1-0 Premier League defeat to Aston Villa on the road. The Australia international made his Gunners debut in the absence of the suspended Bernd Leno and he conceded a goal within 74 seconds from the start. Ryan had not touched the ball before the Villans went ahead and he could not do much for the goal after Ollie Watkins’ shot deflected from his path after Rob Holding’s intervention. The 28-year-old put up a solid performance thereafter with as many as seven saves and that included three impressive ones which kept the Gunners in the game. After a good beginning to the year, the Gunners have lost momentum in recent weeks and they have picked up just one point from the last three ...
