English Premier League
Bielsa says two players won’t play on Friday + £30m summer transfer bid revealed
Leeds United will travel to Molineux to face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday in the Premier League. Marcelo Bielsa’s side will be looking to return to winning ways following their 4-2 defeat against Arsenal last Sunday. Ahead of the game, Bielsa has delivered the latest team news. The Argentine has confirmed that Mateusz Klich and Diego Llorente are available for the game. However, Kalvin Phillips and Rodrigo are unavailable. Ian Poveda is another player who has been missing through injury in recent matches. Bielsa has revealed that he is “recovering from his injury” but it could take some time to get back into first-team action. The return of Llorente is a huge boost for the club. The 27-year-old, who joined in the summer transfer window from Real Sociedad, has made just two a...
Why Arsenal need to win the Europa League this season
Arsenal and the Champions League. The marriage between the two was a loyal one which continued from 1999 to 2017. And the one guy who made it happen was none other than the legendary Arsene Wenger. But the failure to drive the team into Europe’s most elite stage in the 2016/17 season resulted in him not getting the nod ahead of the 18/19 season. Since then, Arsenal have seen three head coaches (including Freddie Ljungberg’s brief term), but are still in the same position as when Wenger left his post at the end of the 2017/18 campaign. Even though they came the closest in Unai Emery’s first season in charge, the signs were clear that Arsenal were further away from the most prestigious competition than what they had hoped for. Chelsea cruised past them in Baku in the 2018 Europa League final...
‘I’m 100% sure’ – Fabrizio Romano claims Everton won’t sell 20y/o for less than €70m
Paris Saint-Germain took Barcelona to the cleaners at the Camp Nou last night, coming from behind to secure a 4-1 victory in the first-leg of the Champions League last-16. Kylian Mbappe bagged a hat-trick, with Everton loanee Moise Kean scoring the other goal. The 20-year-old joined PSG on a season-long loan last summer and has since registered 14 goals across all competitions. Everton fans were impressed with his performance against Barcelona last night, and manager Carlo Ancelotti and Director of Football Marcel Brands would have been pleased too. Kean’s loan deal at PSG does not include an option to buy, and the player’s market value has surely risen given his recent performances. It remains to be seen whether the French giants will look to secure his services on a permanent basis, but ...
‘Excellent’, ‘Unstoppable’: Some Man City fans react to attacker’s display vs Everton
A section of Manchester City fans on Twitter reacted to the performance of Riyad Mahrez during the club’s 3-1 Premier League win over Everton at Goodison Park. The Algeria international had recently gone through a rough patch and he managed only one goal and one assist from his 10 league appearances prior to facing the Toffees. With the minor injury to Ilkay Gundogan, Mahrez got the chance to return to the starting line-up against Carlo Ancelotti’s side and he changed the complexion of the game in the second half. The scores were level at 1-1 in the 63rd minute when the 29-year-old came up with a trademark curling strike from outside the box to beat Jordan Pickford at the far post. Mahrez had been struggling in the final third of late but made amends with an excellent first-time shot which...
Arsenal could offload nine first-team stars as part of summer overhaul
Arsenal are planning a summer overhaul which could see them part ways with nine first-team stars, a report from The Sun claims. The north London side ended the previous season on a good note as they won the FA Cup and secured their spot in the Europa League. It was anticipated that they would kick on and push for the Champions League places in the Premier League this term but that has clearly not been the case. The Gunners have been inconsistent with their displays for most of the season and they are currently languishing in the 10th spot, eight points adrift of the top four. Whatever happens for the rest of the season, the club are bound to make changes to the squad and it is reported that as many as nine players could head for the exit door. The club have been financially impacted due to...
Leeds receive boost to sign 31-cap int’l star after Euro club make transfer decision
German giants Bayern Munich have no interest in keeping Douglas Costa beyond this season, according to reports from Kicker. Costa joined the Bundesliga champions on loan from Juventus this summer. However, Bayern have no intention to make his loan deal a permanent one. His decision to join Bayern came as a big surprise. Bayern already boast two of the finest young wingers in Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry. On top of that, they also signed Leroy Sane from Manchester City on a big-money deal. Costa, who has made just three starts in Bundesliga, is unwanted at Turin and the Old Lady are looking to offload him in the summer. He is not in Andrea Pirlo’s first-team plans, with the club considering him surplus to requirements. Costa will enter the final year of his contract at the...
Agent comments confirm that Tottenham boss is spot on about underperfomer
Sports agent Jonathan Barnett has rarely been shy about sharing his opinion about his long-time client Gareth Bale. He was at it again during the Financial Times’ Business of Football event, but on this occasion may well have put his foot in it. Bale has failed miserably to make an impact at Spurs since returning to the club on loan from Real Madrid last September. His efforts have infuriated Jose Mourinho, with the Spurs manager making no secret of how unhappy he is with Bale. The latest state-of-play undoubtedly mirrors the Welsman’s fall from grace at Madrid under Zinedine Zidane. Both bosses have come under fire for their handling of Bale, but Barnett’s latest comments have confirmed where the issue lies. When asked why Bale was not playing regularly at Spurs, Barnett said it was becau...
Report claims Newcastle and Palace are keen on signing 19-yr-old from Euro giants
Juventus youngster Radu Dragusin has been linked with Newcastle United and Crystal Palace. According to Gazzetta, both Premier League clubs are interested in signing the 19-year-old defender at the end of this season. As per the report, the talented young defender wants to make it at the Italian club and is waiting for the club to propose a proper development path for him before he signs a new contract with them. Apparently, the player’s camp is not motivated by economic reasons. The youngster’s contract with the Italian club will expire in June and it remains to be seen whether Juventus can convince him to sign an extension in the coming months. Dragusin is highly rated around Europe and there are no shortage of admirers. The likes of Newcastle and Palace could certainly use a talented yo...
Bailly and Greenwood start, Predicted Man United Line-up (4-2-3-1) vs Real Sociedad
Manchester United make the trip to the Juventus Stadium in Turin for the first-leg of the Europa League round of 32 tie against Real Sociedad. The Red Devils have a poor record against Spanish opposition over the past few years and they are winless in the last nine encounters (three draws and six defeats). They have the chance to end the dismal record on Thursday night but will need to step up with their performance after managing just two wins in the previous six games. Formation: 4-2-3-1 Predicted Line-up: United’s back-up goalkeeper Dean Henderson has been a regular in the cup competitions for United but he was handed just a solitary appearance in the Champions League group stage. We anticipate David de Gea will keep his place in goal. In the backline, there could be a solitary change f...
Gerrard dealt blow as report shares Klopp’s choice to replace him at Liverpool
According to Sunday World, Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders is manager Jurgen Klopp’s choice to replace him at Anfield when the time is right. While former skipper and Rangers manager Steven Gerrard is the ‘romantic choice’ to take over from the German, it appears that the Reds boss has other ideas. Sportslens View Gerrard will surely want to manage Liverpool one day, but he might have to wait a little while longer if Klopp gets his wish. The 43-year-old has three years left on his current deal at Ibrox, and Klopp’s contract also expires at the same time. The Liverpool boss was linked with exit rumours a couple of days ago after his side fell to a third straight Premier League defeat, but he has since poured cold water on them. He could remain at Anfield until 2024 or beyond, and t...
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirms key Man United star is out injured until March
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has provided an injury update on midfielder Paul Pogba ahead of the Europa League round of 32 first leg tie against Real Sociedad. Pogba has been sidelined with a thigh injury since the 3-3 Premier League draw against Everton on February 7 and it appears that he won’t return to action until the end of February. Speaking in a press conference earlier today, Solskjaer said that the Pogba is recovering well from the problem, but he won’t be returning to the playing field for the next few weeks. “Paul he is recovering well, starting treatment – still a few weeks, so he won’t be playing in February that’s for sure,” he was quoted as saying by Manchester Evening News. Alongside Pogba, Edinson Cavani and Donny van de Beek are unavailable for the game...
Predicted Everton starting XI: Ancelotti to make five changes, 26-year-old returns
Everton will face Manchester City in the Premier League on Wednesday night at Goodison Park. The Toffees are heading into this game on the back of a disappointing 2-0 defeat against Fulham. They are up against the Premier League leaders who have won 16 games in a row in all competitions. Team News Ahead of the match, Ancelotti revealed yesterday that striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin won’t take any part in the game. The England striker is still not yet fully fit, but he is expected to return soon. However, the likes of James Rodriguez, Jordan Pickford and Allan could return to the side. Ancelotti also hinted that Josh King, the January signing from Bournemouth, needs more time to get adopt tactically at Everton. He is unlikely to start against Pep Guardiola’s side but could make the benc...
