Month: October 2019

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says that Paul Pogba will “probably not” be fit for Manchester United’s trip to play Newcastle United on Sunday.

An inability to triumph away is hampering United, with Thursday’s goalless Europa League draw at AZ Alkmaar taking their winless streak on the road to a 10th successive match in all competitions.

United made eight changes in Holland with an eye on Sunday’s trip to St James’ Park, where their injury problems look set to continue.

Anthony Martial, Phil Jones, Luke Shaw and Ashley Young joined long-term absentee Eric Bailly in missing the trip to AZ, as did Aaron Wan-Bissaka through illness and Pogba with an ongoing foot issue.

“I don’t know (if players will be back available),” Solskjaer said. “Let’s see on Saturday morning. Probably not.”

Jesse Lingard will need to be assessed after leaving the field with a hamstring complaint.

And when pressed on Pogba in particular, he added: “Probably not. There’s an international break as well. It might be time for us to give him 10 or 14 days extra to be ready for Liverpool.”

 

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Martin Keown thinks “Lille will be laughing all the way to the bank” over the £72million sale of Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal.

The Ivory Coast international has one goal and two assists in nine appearances in all competitions since he arrived in England from Ligue Un.

Much was expected from the 24-year-old at Arsenal after he tore the French top-flight apart last season with 22 goals and 11 assists.

However, despite showing his ability in flashes, Pepe has failed to bring the level of performances expected of such a big-money signing and Keown is doubting the purchase.

Keown told BT Sport: “If you think back to Arsene Wenger, he would never have blocked the path of a young player but they are in danger of doing that with Bukayo Saka.

“Pepe, is he going to get into the team? It’s a massive amount of money they have paid for him and Lille will be laughing all the way to the bank with that one.

“It’s still early days and maybe the player will turn it around but I haven’t really seen what I expected to see from him.”

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TWO STRIKERS TO SOLVE MAN UTD SHAMBLES
After last night’s dirge, it is inevitable that Manchester United are being linked with strikers.

Mario Mandzukic continues to be linked with the Red Devils seemingly on the basis that he is available. Very available. The 33-year-old reportedly turned down moves to to United, PSG and a Qatari club in the summer but his refusal to leave Juventus has left him on the sidelines. Mandzukic has not made a single appearance in Serie A and Maurizio Sarri didn’t bother to include him in his Champions League squad. But, sure, he’ll come in and solve all United’s problems.

Sky Sports are also pushing the Callum Wilson angle. The Bournemouth striker is English which seems weirdly important to United these days. He doesn’t tick the ‘young’ box but needs must.

In any case, Wilson would cost a sodding fortune. The centre-forward has three and a half years remaining on a contract he signed in summer and Bournemouth have no desire to sell. So unless Ed Woodward has the kind of funny turn that made him give Alexis Sanchez a squillion a week, then he might struggle to get Wilson away from the south coast in January.

 

NO SANCHEZ DEAL IN PLACE
Speaking of Sanchez, it turns out there is no agreement for Inter Milan to make the Chilean’s loan move from Manchester United a permanent deal.

Calciomercato claims Inter were concerned over losing the player amid interest from other clubs. So instead of getting into a negotiation with United over a fixed price, they just promised that they’ll sort it next summer. ‘Trust us, Ed…’

 

ERIKSEN’S AGENT GETTING BUSY
Christian Eriksen has had a weird week. Still, things might be looking up…

The Tottenham playmaker is in the final yera of his contract after a summer move failed to materialise. But Real Madrid might come good after all.

The Daily Star reckons Eriksen’s agent is due in Madrid this weekend to open discussions over a possible January switch. Which would suit Daniel Levy, who would be loathe to watch the Dane walk away for nothing in a few months.

 

AND THE REST
Maurizio Sarri wants Willian at Juventus… Martin Odegaard is determined to return to real Madrid despite interest from Liverpool, Man Utd and Wolves… United snubbed the chance to sign Gabriel Martinelli who joined Arsenal instead… Chris Hughton has rejected an offer to manage Stoke… LA Galaxy are chasing Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos.

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Spurs failed to reach the EFL Cup final after surrendering a first-leg lead against Chelsea on Thursday

Mauricio Pochettino suggested that Tottenham’s departure from White Hart Lane has been a contributing factor to their continued wait for a trophy.

Spurs were knocked out of the EFL Cup at the semi-final stage by Chelsea on Thursday after surrendering a 1-0 first-leg lead.

That first leg was played at Wembley with the club still without a move-in date for their new stadium on the site of their old ground in N17.

And Pochettino said that “doubts” about the club’s future have created an atmosphere that has been counter productive to securing an elusive first trophy since 2008.

“We are always close to the last step [to trophies] but to achieve it is the most difficult thing,” Pochettino told the Guardian  before Sunday’s FA Cup tie at Crystal Palace.

“At the moment the team needed the last push, what happened? We build and build but then White Hart Lane – gone.

“We moved to Wembley and there were all the doubts about how we are going to behave. There was the example of West Ham in their first season [at the London Stadium], and many things in this process that stopped the evolution of the team about to win.

“Remember, we were unbeaten in the Premier League at White Hart Lane in our last season there. Nobody said what it meant to move to Wembley to create another project and not only this, we were going to play only one season at Wembley and now it’s nearly two seasons and no one says nothing.”

Spurs initially struggled to recreate their fortress-like home form at Wembley after moving, and failing to pick off teams from lower down the Premier League.

It took until their fourth league game of the season – against Bournemouth – to register a first win.

Some of those jitters have been eradicated this season, but the team have lost their last two Wembley fixtures in the league, against Wolverhampton Wanderers in December and more recently against Manchester United.

“When Arsenal moved [to Emirates Stadium], people talked about massive problems,” said Pochettino. “They are still paying, but Tottenham, with no history of winning…

“Our glory, I watch the [pre-match] video about the glory, it’s with Nicholson.

“It’s black and white. I watch it nearly every week and to create again that feeling, you need time.”

 

The Premier League champions have won their last eight games, scoring 33 goals and conceding twice, but talk of winning the lot is far too premature

Pep Guardiola has rather understandably written off Manchester City’s chances of winning the quadruple as “fantasy” but after their 5-0 FA Cup demolition of Burnley on Saturday, the Blues’ ongoing presence in all four competitions is going to play a major part in their chances of success this season.

Liverpool are already out of this particular tournament and Jurgen Klopp’s side will have the opportunity to go further ahead in the Premier League while City are busy disputing the Carabao Cup final.

There is also the prospect of March’s Manchester derby being pushed back until April or even later, given a potential fixture pile-up. How City handle all of these games will make or break them, and their campaign.

It could certainly spell fatigue further down the line and City fans might even be hoping Liverpool beat Bayern Munich so that the Reds cannot concentrate fully on the Premier League title from March on.

However, right now, supporters, players and managers would all rather be in these competitions than out of them and, in that respect, City are in an enviable position.

They will face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final next month, not long after a presentable-looking Champions League tie with Bundesliga strugglers Schalke.

With Arsenal and Liverpool out of the FA Cup, City can also keep their fingers crossed for a comfortable fifth-round draw.

If they are distractions from the Premier League, they are certainly welcome ones, and with a squad as deep as this, there should be every confidence that they can stay in the fight for a few more weeks or even months yet.

That is how they have got this far, of course. A mixture of young hopefuls and experienced squad players earned them a place in the Carabao Cup final, yet in the FA Cup Guardiola has consistently gone strong.

On Saturday at the Etihad, City’s substitutes had scored 51 goals between them in all competitions this season.

Over the two FA Cup games to date, Sergio Aguero, Leroy Sane and David Silva have not started but Ederson, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Nicolas Otamendi, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Gabriel Jesus all have, and with Bernardo Silva and the always influential Fernandinho thrown into the mix on Saturday, it shows that Guardiola would rather win this trophy than sit at home and rest up for a Premier League game.

There may be weak spots in some areas of the squad, namely at the base of midfield and at left-back, but when you consider that three of City’s left-sided defenders missed out on Saturday’s squad and they could still call upon Danilo, it is hard to make that case too strongly.

Fernandinho, however, is as close as it comes to irreplaceable in this team and his fitness in the coming months will also prove crucial, so he will have to be managed carefully. As happened at Huddersfield last Sunday, the Brazilian was substituted as soon as City went 3-0 up. 

Anyway, what sense in looking too far ahead? This article could have been written a year ago, with City ready for a Carabao Cup final, ready to play Basel in Europe and drawn against Wigan in the FA Cup.

They lost at Wigan, of course, and as soon as Basel were beaten, they faced up to the reality of facing a proper challenge, eventually losing to Liverpool in the Champions League, after a combination of the Reds’ accuracy and the refs’ inaccuracies.

So, for now, all they can do is focus on the challenge at hand.

“We are able to try to win tomorrow, that’s all I can assure you,” Guardiola said on Friday when asked about the prospect of winning the quadruple. “The other is fantasy.”

The Catalan was impressively restrained in his response to a topic that has quickly resurfaced now City are winning again. After all, less than a month ago he was asked whether he should change his entire footballing philosophy on the back of two defeats, at home to Crystal Palace and away to Leicester.

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Those dark days seem a long way off now. After losing at Leicester, City have won eight out of eight in all competitions, scoring 33 goals and conceding just twice, and not since the statement victory over Liverpool on January 3.

If that keep up anything like that form, it could be a very special season indeed.

But there is a long way to go yet. City are still in all four competitions. For now, though, everything else really is fantasy.

With concerns over Neymar, the Ligue 1 leaders are aiming to maintain their perfect home record at Parc des Princes in Ligue 1

Paris Saint-Germain will attempt to make it 18 wins from their opening 20 Ligue 1 matches when they play host to Rennes at Parc des Princes on Sunday.

Thomas Tuchel’s side are cruising towards the league title, with a 10-point advantage over second-placed Lille, but with Manchester United looming in the Champions League will be hopeful of turning in a polished performance in front of their home support.

Rennes, meanwhile, have been one of France’s form teams over the course of the last two months, reinvigorated by the efforts of Julien Stephan, who has impressed since taking over at the beginning of December.

Game	Paris Saint-Germain vs Rennes
Date	Sunday, January 27
Time	9pm GMT / 4pm ET
Stream (US)	fubo TV (7-day free trial)

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In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).

New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.

US TV channel	Online stream
N/A	fubo TV (7-day free trial)

In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on BT Sport 1 and livestreamed on BT Sport Live.

UK TV channel	Online stream
BT Sport 1	BT Sport Live

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Position	PSG players
Goalkeepers	Areola, Cibois, Buffon
Defenders	Silva, Kimpembe, Kehrer, Meunier, Alves, Bernat, Kurzawa, Marquinhos, N’Soki
Midfielders	Nkunku, Draxler
Forwards	Mbappe, Cavani, Di Maria, Choupo-Moting, Diaby, Jese

Neymar will be missing after sustaining a foot injury in the 2-0 Coupe de France win over Strasbourg. Estimates vary wildly as to how long he could be out for, with anything from eight days to six months estimated.

Marco Verratti is still sidelined while Presnel Kimpembe and Layvin Kurzawa are also doubts, though the former is expected to make it.

Rotation will take place in the side, with Kylian Mbappe set to start after he was left out to rest in midweek.

Adrien Rabiot is back training with the first team again but will continue to be frozen out of action due to his contract uncertainty. Dani Alves, therefore, could continue in the centre of the park.

Possible PSG starting XI: Buffon; Meunier, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Bernat; Diaby, Dani Alves, Draxler, Di Maria; Mbappe, Cavani

Position	Rennes players
Goalkeepers	Koubek, Gertmonas
Defenders	Gelin, Da Silva, Mexer, Nyamsi, Doumbia, Diallo, Traore, Zeffane
Midfielders	Bourigeaud, Grenier, Lea Siliki, Poha, Janvier, Ben Arfa, Hunou, Gboho
Forwards	Sarr, Del Castillo, Niang, Siebatcheu

Star man Ismaila Sarr missed the midweek Coupe de France win over Saint-Pryve Saint-Hilaine due to tooth trouble but should be back in the fold for this encounter.

Similarly, Hatem Ben Arfa can expect to feature against his former club and will feel he has a point to prove in this match.

Abdoulaye Diallo, Rennes’ first-choice keeper, is set to miss out along with left-backs Ramy Bensebaini and Ludovic Baal. Midfielder James Lea-Siliki filled in there last week but a debut could be handed to Souleyman Doumbia.

Jakob Johansson is missing.

Romain Danze and Rafik Guitane remain long-term absentees.

Possible Rennes starting XI: Koubek; Traore, Mexer, Da Silva, Doumbia ; Sarr, Grenier, Andre, Bourigeaud ; Ben Arfa, Niang

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Paris Saint-Germain are massive 1/5 favourites to win this game, with Rennes priced at 12/1 by bet365. A draw is offered at 6/1.

Click here to see all of bet 365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.

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Paris Saint-Germain are looking far ahead of Sunday’s Ligue 1 fixture with Rennes. A victory would give them a 13-point advantage at the summit of the division, which will be enough to secure them another league title, but it is Manchester United in the Champions League they are really focusing on.

With that in mind, the midweek injury that Neymar sustained against Strasbourg has the potential to be a catastrophe, with the Brazilian’s absence from their last-16 defeat against Real Madrid last year notable.

The forward won few fans against Racing, who felt that he was unnecessarily showboating with the score 1-0 on Wednesday.

“We’re not here to joke around,” Strasbourg midfielder Anthony Goncalves said after the match. “So he shouldn’t come blubbering about it afterwards.”

Further tests will be required to assess just how serious the injury is, but there is a fear that it could end his campaign, just as a similar problem around this time last year did.

Meanwhile, PSG will attempt to maintain their perfect home record in Ligue 1, with 10 wins from 10 matches thus far, 37 goals scored and only three conceded. 

If Rennes needed any warning of how potentially devastating the capital side are, they need only have looked at last weekend’s spectacular 9-0 destruction of Guingamp.

Julien Stephan’s side, however, are different beasts to their Breton neighbours. They have lost only one of their 11 matches which the rookie coach has overseen, though ominously that was a fixture against Guingamp.

With Hatem Ben Arfa, a player frozen out for 18 months in the capital, in tow, they will be quietly optimistic at causing an upset, having won 2-0 in Paris last May.

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The Fiorentina defender was heavily linked with the Red Devils during the summer transfer window, with the Serie A club confirming a bid was lodged

Manchester United saw an approach from Jose Mourinho for Fiorentina defender Nikolas Milenkovic knocked back, the Serie A club’s chief executive has revealed.

The Red Devils made no secret of their desire to bring in centre-half reinforcements during the summer transfer window of 2018.

Several targets were mooted, with Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld and Leicester’s Harry Maguire considered to figure prominently on the Old Trafford wish list.

Serbia international Milenkovic was another to be heavily linked with a big-money switch to England.

No deal was done, as United failed to make any additions in an area which had been prioritised, but interest remained.

Mourinho took in a trip to watch Serbia in action during the October international break, with Milenkovic believed to be among those he was keen to cast another eye over.

Fiorentina, though, have no intention of parting with the 21-year-old, or any of their other prized assets.

Chief executive Pantaleo Corvino told Gazzetta dello Sport of those to have attracted formal offers: “We rejected great offers from Lyon for [Jordan] Veretout, from Marseille for [Giovani] Simeone and from Manchester United for Nikola Milenkovic.

“[Aurelio] De Laurentiis pressed for [Federico] Chiesa. This is the right way to grow.”

It was suggested that United had rekindled their interest heading towards the January window.

Mourinho was, however, relieved of his managerial duties in December.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is now at the helm and bringing the best out of those already at his disposal.

He has hinted that there will be little movement before the latest deadline passes, with the Norwegian happy to work with his current crop.

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“I’m happy with squad I’ve got,” Solskjaer said when quizzed on possible winter additions.

“I don’t expect anyone to come in but obviously if the club have targeted and identified a few and I think they might fit here, I’ll give my thumbs up. But it’s not just my decision.

“Nobody had to tell me I had loads of talented players [to inherit at United]. I can see that from outside.”

The talent available to Solskjaer has helped United to eight successive wins, with the latest of those seeing the Red Devils overcome Arsenal 3-1 to progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Tammy Abraham feels that Chelsea’s rookies have come a long way in a short time after getting their Champions League campaign up and running.

Abraham scored his first goal among Europe’s elite as the Blues secured a crucial 2-1 win in Lille.

It was a far cry from last season when Abraham was on loan in the Championship with Aston Villa, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori were at Derby and Reece James was with struggling Wigan.

All four academy graduates started in France on Wednesday night as Chelsea bounced back from their opening Group H defeat by Valencia.

“Me, Fikayo, Mason and Reece were talking before the game about last season, we were all in the Championship,” said Abraham.

“Reece was fighting against relegation, and now we’re in the Champions League, which has always been a dream. And to get that first goal is incredible.

“It was an unbelievable feeling – and it’s just the start. We’ve always believed one day we could be in the first team and we’ve made it happen.

“It’s credit to the manager and the staff for giving us the chance. It’s just the beginning and I think we’ll get better and better.”

Abraham celebrated his 22nd birthday with a 22nd-minute goal – a smart turn and finish in the area from Tomori’s cross.

Chelsea were pegged back by Victor Osimhen’s equaliser, but Willian volleyed in a late winner on his 300th Chelsea appearance.

“It was a fantastic birthday and what a way to celebrate, with a goal and three points,” added Abraham.

“It was massive, we knew we had to win and credit to the boys, those are the performances we need on away trips. It wasn’t easy but we defended well as a team and got the win.”

 

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Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes Trent Alexander-Arnold could be the Red’s very own Kevin De Bruyne.

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The 20-year-old is one of the hottest talents in world football and is a key player in Jurgen Klopp’s system at Liverpool.

Alexander-Arnold has already scored once and assisted three times this season after recording 16 assists in the previous campaign from right-back.

He put the ball on a plate for Andy Robertson to rifle home Liverpool’s second in their Champions League victory over Salzburg on Wednesday night.

Carragher believes Alexander-Arnold is one of “the best young players in the world” and thinks he could be utilised in a midfield role to make the most of his vision and passing range.

“I saw him the Liverpool Academy and my son started there and was four, five years younger than him and Liverpool knew then they had a really good player,” Carragher told Norwegian TV before the match at Anfield.

“Still there are very few players who you think will be superstars, but if you think about what he has achieved at this young age – a Champions League winner and another Champions League final.

“He’s probably one of the best young players in the world if you think about what he has done.

“If you talk about (Kylian) Mbappe and he’s won the World Cup, but as a defender and playing at this level and how important he is to the team, he is possibly the most creative player in the team from right full-back.

“He has a lot of responsibility at a young age and he’s not going to be a superstar, he is a superstar.

“His strengths are that he can handle the ball and he is the most creative player in the team, just look at his assists.

“People talk about the future and could he come into midfield and be a Kevin De Bruyne type player and he has more quality now than Liverpool’s midfield players and you think about the crosses that De Bruyne puts in from the right midfield position and maybe that’s a position where Trent could play.

“But at the moment you wouldn’t think about moving position because he is playing so well.

“Defensively at times he can be suspect and the opposition mayve think they can get at Liverpool there because he pushes forward so much.

“His positional player and focus needs to be 100% focused, but he’s probably thinking ‘I’ve got Van Dijk next to me so I’ll be ok’.”

 

James Maddison has picked out Chelsea and Tottenham midfielders as the Premier League’s best passers as he adapts to his new role in Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City system.

The Englishman picked out Chelsea’s Jorginho and Tottenham’s Harry Winks as his two most difficult midfield opponents in the Premier League.

Maddison is playing a slightly deeper role than his customary no.10 position this season, where there is the added pressure of defending as well as creating and scoring.

Maddison believes he is developing that side of his game and picked out the players who made his life difficult last season.

“If I’m playing as a no.8, my job is to create and score goals, but also be able to help in the build-up,” Maddison told Sky Sports.

“Sometimes the other no.8 goes up, and you drop down, but I’m comfortable doing that.

“As a no.8, there is more demand on the out-of-possession stuff, like stopping passes getting through.

“The Premier League is the best league in the world, there’s no doubt about it. If you’re not sliding across quick enough to shut those passing lines, the type of players in those positions will just play it through.

“From who we’ve played this season, Jorginho is very good at it. He’s a very good footballer. I know last year he got a bit of stick here and there, but he is very good.

“Harry Winks is another good example, a very good passer of the ball. The job against Spurs was to get into a narrow three, force it wide, and stop the danger players getting it through the lines. Even then, when we were doing that quite well against Spurs, Harry Winks could get it through, with a quick two-touch pass.

“That’s the quality of opposition we play against. There isn’t a moment where you can switch off and not do your defensive duties, because you get punished, and every camera is on you.”

Maddison missed City’s last game, the 5-0 win over Newcastle, with an ankle injury, but is hoping to be available for this weekend’s meeting with Liverpool.

Maddison struck a brilliant late winner on his last outing against Spurs and is looking forward to testing himself against the league leaders at Anfield.

He added: “Am I a big-moment player? Yeah, definitely. To be a top player you’ve got to produce big moments in big games, when the most people are watching.

“It doesn’t matter if you can score a hat-trick on a Tuesday night in a cup game in front of 4,000 people, it’s that final with the world watching, everyone’s eyes are on you. That’s where you become a big player.

“It’s that drive within. Listen, I’ve scored one winning goal, it’s not like I’ve had a summer of Ben Stokes’ proportions, but it’s just about wanting to win. I’ve always had that. I’ve got that. I’ve always been a winner.

“I love the quote: ‘If you show me a good loser, I’ll show you a loser.’ There’s no such thing as a good loser really, is there? I’m a bad loser, because I love winning.”

 

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