General Football News
Samuel Edozie set to debut, Predicted Manchester City line up (4-3-3) vs Leicester City
Manchester City take on Leicester City in the Community Shield on Saturday. Pep Guardiola’s side won the Premier League for the third time in four years last term, but the campaign ended on a low note with a Champions League final loss. The club will be aiming to do better this time around. They will kickstart the 2021/22 campaign with a Community Shield clash against FA Cup holders Leicester City. The Foxes are missing key players due to injuries, but City are also without several first-team stars due to their participation at the European Championships and Copa America. Formation: 4-3-3 Predicted Line-up: Ederson has yet to return to training after Brazil’s run to the Copa America final. Zack Steffen looks set to start between the sticks. The backline will have experienced faces. Joao Ca...
Millionaire makes Owners’ & Directors’ Test claim amid bid to buy West Ham
Azerbaijani millionaire and PAI Capital’s founder Nasib Piriyev has insisted passing the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test would not be an issue as his consortium aims to buy West Ham United. PAI Capital has made a bid of £400 million for the Hammers, but the offer has since been knocked back. Piriyev is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with his country, but insists that would not get in the way in his takeover bid for West Ham. “We are well prepared for those questions — our legal counsel and industry consultants have prepared our documents and are sure we pass the fit and proper test with flying colours,” the 40-year-old told The Athletic’s Matt Slater when asked if the dispute would cause issues with the EPL’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test. Sportslens View Passing the fit...
Soumare and Maddison start, Predicted Leicester City line-up (3-4-1-2) vs Manchester City
Leicester City face off against Manchester City for the Community Shield on Saturday. The Foxes created history last season by lifting their maiden FA Cup title with a slender 1-0 win over Chelsea. They could not secure a top-four finish thereafter, but they will try again to qualify for the Champions League this term. Before that, they have the chance to win more silverware with a Community Shield clash against Man City. The Foxes have been hampered by defensive injuries, but they take on a City side that is far from full strength. The English champions could be missing several players that have yet to return to training after international commitments. Formation: 3-4-1-2 Predicted Line-up: Kasper Schmeichel had a superb European Championships with Denmark, and he is now back in the ...
Report: West Ham miss out on attacker involved in 17 EPL goals last term due to wages
West Ham United were keen on signing West Bromwich Albion attacker Matheus Pereira this summer. However, they could not match the wages Al Hilal have offered him, according to Standard Sport’s Jack Rosser. West Ham were keen but couldn’t match the wages on offer in Saudi Arabia. #WHUFC https://t.co/LKP72yydPy — Jack Rosser (@JackRosser_) August 4, 2021 Sky Sports journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the Saudi Arabia club are in advanced talks with the Baggies to sign the 25-year-old having agreed personal terms. Al Hilal are in advanced talks to sign Matheus Pereira from WBA. Final details to be fixed between Al Hilal and WBA on final fee – personal terms now agreed. It’s up to the two clubs. 🇧🇷🔵 #AlHilal Leeds are not interested – Matheus pushing to co...
QPR and Birmingham amongst the dark horses in the Championship
There are usually six teams expected to challenge for promotion at the beginning of the Championship season – the three teams who have just been relegated from the Premier League, and the three who missed out on promotion through the play-offs. Of course, it’s not always the relegated sides and play-off teams who contest for promotion. Every season, there are usually a few sides who climb from mid-table obscurity and get themselves in the frame for the top spots. Dark Horses Queens Park Rangers are one of the sides gaining some attention. They finished in ninth place last campaign, but that doesn’t tell the full story. Their first half of the season was a bit of a nightmare, and they found themselves in a relegation battle. But this all changed with the arrivals of Charlie Austin, Sam Fiel...
Derby in trouble, Blackburn & Bristol City could struggle
Where there are winners, there must be losers. And, in the Championship, there are three big losers – the three who get relegated. The three coming up from League One are often predicted to struggle, given that they have to adjust to a higher standard of football. Of course, this isn’t always the case, but two of the three relegated sides from last season were newly promoted. Hull City won the League One title last term, so in theory should be the best placed to survive. One thing Hull have in abundance is goalscorers – last season, Josh Magennis, Mallik Wilks, and Keane Lewis-Potter scored 50 league goals between them. If they can translate this form into the second tier, they will give themselves a massive boost in their bid for safety. Can Magennis step up to the Championship? But that ...
The Athletic: Liverpool to land huge windfall following £30m EPL transfer
Liverpool are entitled to 20 percent of the profit Southampton have made from selling Danny Ings to Aston Villa, according to The Athletic. The Reds inserted a sell-on clause when they sold the England international striker to the Saints in 2018 and will now earn around £6 million after he was sold for £30m. Sportslens View It is a huge and unexpected windfall for Liverpool as no one saw the deal coming, and it would go a long way in helping boost their coffers. Ings joined the Reds from Burnley in the summer of 2015, leaving three seasons later for Southampton. Injuries and lack of playing opportunities limited him to just 25 appearances and four goals across all competitions for Liverpool, but his fitness has improved since he left. Ings featured in 100 games across all competitions for ...
Fulham and West Brom stars tipped to shine in the Championship
While the ultimate goal of the Championship season is promotion to the Premier League, the Golden Boot race is always an interesting sub-plot. Expect this season to be no different, with a number of proven goalscorers looking to make their mark once again. The current leading candidate appears to be Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic, and it’s not particularly difficult to see why. He is the only player in the second tier who already has a Championship Golden Boot to his name, having hit 26 back in the 2019/20 season. Mitrovic has a fantastic record in the Championship Last season wasn’t an easy one for the Serbian, scoring just three league goals in 27 outings. However, his record in the Championship with Fulham is nothing short of excellent, bagging 36 in 57 for the Whites. The most likely to ...
£100,000-a-week star ‘expected’ to sign new four-year contract with Arsenal – report
Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka is set to sign a new four-year contract after a move to Roma failed to materialise, reputed journalist Fabrizio Romano reports. The Switzerland international was heavily touted to join the Giallorossi earlier this summer, and it was claimed that personal terms were already agreed. However, the Serie A outfit failed to meet the Gunners’ transfer demands, and Mikel Arteta recently confirmed that Xhaka will be staying at the club. The club have now decided to renew his £100,000-a-week contract expiring in less than two years. He is ‘expected’ to sign a new deal until June 2025. Sportslens view: Xhaka had divided opinion among the Gunners fans with his ill-discipline and poor conduct on the playing field on several occasions. His shirt-throwing antics after...
Report: Villa now looking to tie up deal for £40m UCL-winning striker
Aston Villa are hoping to tie up a deal for Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham, according to The Telegraph. The 23-year-old is the Midlands club’s preferred option as a centre-forward, but the Blues will only allow him to leave for £40 million this summer. Villa manager Dean Smith wants to strengthen his attack for the new campaign, with Jack Grealish expected to leave for Manchester City in a Premier League record move. Sportslens View Abraham is not in the plans of manager Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge, and a return to Villa Park could appeal to him. The England international helped the Villans win promotion to the top-flight promotion in 2018/19 while on loan from Chelsea. He bagged 25 goals in 37 Championship games and remains admired by the fans and his former teammates. Abraham was omi...
‘Not looking good’: Mikel Arteta confirms double injury blow for Arsenal after Chelsea game
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has provided a worrying injury update on Thomas Partey and Gabriel Magalhaes following the pre-season friendly against Chelsea. The Gunners suffered a 2-1 defeat in their first game of The Mind Series. They were far from their best but were denied a goal by a poor refereeing decision. That doesn’t matter much in pre-season. The main concern was the ankle injury sustained by Partey that saw him substituted in the 40th minute. Speaking after the game, Arteta revealed that Partey was in pain, and hinted that the midfielder could potentially be sidelined for an extended period of time. He said: “I just had a talk with the doctor. He’s going to have a scan tomorrow and, at the moment, it’s not looking good because he was in pain and he could not continue which, for ...
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Aston Villa must sign £50k-per-week player after club confirmed £42m transfer [Opinion]
Manchester United confirmed the signing of Raphael Varane from Real Madrid on Tuesday in a deal that could be worth up to £42 million. With that deal sorted, Aston Villa should now strike while the iron is hot to lure Axel Tuanzebe away from Old Trafford. The 23-year-old amassed only 400 minutes of Premier League football last season as he fell down the pecking order, but Varane’s arrival all but ends his chances of getting playing time in Manchester. Tuanzebe rose through the youth ranks to United’s first-team in 2016/17 and has gone on to make 37 appearances in all competitions. The £50k-per-week defender has yet to rack up double figures for starting games in one season, so it’s hard to see him having a long-term future at United. And not only is Tuanzebe already behind Harry Magui...
