Europa League
Europa League Round of 32 Draw Announced
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 ...
Tottenham Hotspur vs Royal Antwerp: Europa League Match Preview, Team News and Predicted Line-ups
English Premier League leaders Tottenham Hotspur will look to finish top of their Europa League group when they host Belgian side Royal Antwerp tonight, and a tough clash should be expected as both sides do battle for the top spot. [embedded content] With some of the biggest teams in Europe dropping down to the Europa League last-32 after finishing third in their Champions League groups, Spurs will be keen to avoid being drawn against one of the bigwigs, and it’s why beating Antwerp is a must. The Belgian side ran out 1-0 winners when both teams met in October and will likely pose a huge threat again as they look to hold on to their position as Group J leaders. Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has always named a second-string side for his side’s Europa League campaign, and that isn’t expect...
Predicted Celtic XI vs Lille: Neil Lennon to make five changes to his lineup
Celtic host Lille on Thursday night and they will be hoping to salvage some pride by winning their final group game of the Europa League this season. The Scottish champions are at the bottom of Group H after failing to win a single game and it will be interesting to see if they can pick up their first win of the group stages tonight. Meanwhile, Lille have already qualified for the knockout rounds of the Europa League after picking up 11 points from five matches. However, AC Milan are just one point behind in second place and the French outfit will be under pressure to win tonight so that they can go through as the group winners. Celtic have started this season in poor form and they’re struggling in the Scottish Premiership as well. The Hoops have conceded 17 goals in five Europa Leag...
Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal transfer European form into Premier League
Mikel Arteta has demanded Arsenal transfer their Europa League form into the Premier League, where he says his side need to start winning matches “immediately”. Goals from Eddie Nketiah, Mohamed Elneny, Joe Willock and Folarin Balogun helped the Gunners ease past Irish side Dundalk 4-2 in Dublin on Thursday to finish top of Group B with a 100 per cent record – the first time they have won six successive European matches since 2005. That fine European form is in sharp contrast to their domestic struggles, where the club have lost six out of their last nine matches to slump to 15th in the table. With the Europa League now finished with until February, Arsenal can focus all their attention on domestic competition, with Arteta stressing the urgent need to pick up positive results, starting wit...
FIFPro Announce 2020 World XI Nominees
The shortlist for the 2020 FIFPro World XI has been announced. Every professional footballer around the world was invited to vote for the best player in each position. The ones with the most votes made it into the 55-man shortlist. The goalkeeper with the most votes, as well as the top three defenders, midfielders, and forwards, will be inducted into the FIFPro World XI. The remaining spot will go to the outfield player with the most votes. Bayern Munich are the most represented team in the shortlist, boasting 11 players. Title winners Real Madrid and Liverpool come in joint-second with eight players each. Bayern completed the treble with a win over PSG in August Despite going trophyless last year, Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur both make it into the top five, with six and five candidates...
Predicted Rangers XI vs Lech Poznan: Steven Gerrard to make two changes to his lineup
Rangers take on Lech Poznan in the Europa League later tonight and they will be hoping to finish their Europa League group campaign with a win. Steven Gerrard’s side have been in outstanding form domestically and in Europe this season. They will fancy their chances of getting all three points tonight. Rangers have already qualified for the knockout rounds of the competition after picking up 11 points from five matches but Benfica have the same number of points as well and the Scottish outfit will have to win here in order to go through as the group winners. They will be hoping to secure a favourable draw in the next round of the competition and therefore it is important for them to win their group. The last time these two sides met in October, Rangers managed to pick up a 1-0 win at home. ...
Dundalk vs Arsenal: Europa League Match Preview, Team News and Predicted Line-ups
Arsenal travel to Ireland today to face Dundalk and will look to secure their sixth win of the Europa League group stage campaign. [embedded content] The Gunners have booked a place in the last-32 of the competition as Group B leaders following their impressive run thus far, and manager Mikel Arteta is expected to hand a couple of fringe players the chance to impress tonight. Dundalk are without a point in the Europa League this term having lost all of their opening five group games, and they shouldn’t pose any sort of threat to a second-string Arsenal side given their form and quality. The North Londoners have struggled to impress in the Premier League in 2020-21, losing six out of 11 games and winning just four, so they will be keen to make the most of their chances in the knockout stage...
Gareth Bale scores 200th career goal
Tottenham and Wales forward Gareth Bale scored his 200th career goal as he equalised for Spurs against LASK in the Europa League. Gareth Bale scored his 200th career goal on Thursday after he netted for Tottenham in their Europa League clash with LASK. Wales international Bale had been stuck on 199 goals for club and country since he scored for Spurs in their 2-1 Premier League win over Brighton at the start of November. He went close to reaching the milestone during Tottenham’s 4-0 win over Ludogorets in the Europa League on November 26, but hit his 200th goal in Spurs’ next European outing. Bale’s landmark strike – his first away goal for Spurs in Europe since he scored a hat-trick at the San Siro against Inter in 2010 – came from the penalty spot, Bale restoring parity after Peter Micho...
Mikel Arteta expects difficult January transfer window
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says the club do not have much room to manoeuvre in the January transfer window and may have to offload players before they can add to the first-team squad. Arsenal are reportedly looking for a creative midfielder, with RB Salzburg’s Dominik Szoboszlai and Olympique Lyonnais’ Houssem Aouar among the options being considered, while Arteta would also like to improve his defensive options. “We are planning, talking with (technical director) Edu and with the club about the things we can do in January,” Arteta told reporters. “But at the moment it’s pretty difficult, unpredictable as well. In terms of places, we are very restricted in the moment. “We will need to do something knowing the limitations of that market in January and the limitations we have as well to si...
Arsenal vs Rapid Wien: Europa League Match Preview, Team News and Predicted Line-ups
Arsenal host Rapid Wien tomorrow in the return leg of their Europa League group clash and the Gunners will look to maintain their impressive winning run in the competition and also put in a performance that the returning fans will love. [embedded content] 2000 fans have been allowed back into the Emirates Stadium for the first time in nine months as the UK government takes the first step towards having supporters return to the stadia, and all the tickets for the match sold out within 20 minutes on Saturday. Arsenal are the first English Premier League club allowed to have fans back into the stadium, and they will be keen to impress after their woeful domestic form. Mikel Arteta’s side have won their opening four games in Group B, are currently top of the table and have already sealed quali...
LASK vs Tottenham Hotspur: Europa League Match Preview, Team News and Predicted Line-ups
Tottenham Hotspur return to Europa League action tomorrow with a trip to Austria to face LASK, and they will look to secure a victory in order to book a spot in the last-32. [embedded content] The hosts also need to win to keep their chances of advancing to the knock-out stages alive, and they will be pulling out all the stops to frustrate Jose Mourinho’s men and bag all three points. Spurs are currently second in Group J due to Antwerp’s superior head-to-head points with both teams level on nine points following three victories in four games apiece, and they can’t afford to drop any more points if they want to finish their Europa League group campaign as league leaders. The Premier League leaders are on an impressive run having lost just twice in 18 games across all competitions in 2020-2...
Spurs team news update: Mourinho confirms five players could miss out vs LASK
Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has confirmed in the press conference today that the likes of Harry Kane and Sergio Reguilon will miss the Europa League clash against LASK tomorrow. Spurs are second in Group J, tied on the same points with Royal Antwerp, and a victory tomorrow away in Austria would guarantee them a place in the knock-out stages. Ahead of the match, Mourinho has confirmed that Spurs will be without at least five key players for this game. The likes of Erik Lamela, Reguilon, Kane and Vinicius are missing for this game, while centre-back Toby Alderweireld is unavailable. Mourinho said, as quoted by Football London: “All injured. Lamela is an injury that comes already three weeks, a month – something like that, and I don’t believe he has a chance for the w...
