Tag Futebol

Aston Villa will be aiming to record three consecutive victories in the Premier League on Saturday, but Dean Smith’s side will be faced with a serious test in overcoming Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City at the Etihad.

Back-to-back wins over Norwich and Brighton have lifted Villa to 12th in the league table, but Smith could be wise to switch his starting XI for the visit to the reigning Premier League champions.

For City, they will be looking to build on the impressive dismantling of Atlanta in the Champions League from mid-week, but Guardiola could also rotate his starting XI and utilise the full extent of his squad’s depth for the visit of Villa.

Given City’s home form, having lost just once so far this season, a compromising of Villa’s typical attacking principles may be necessary on Saturday.

The extent to which Smith opts to construct the attacking and defensive dynamics in his starting XI will be central to whether the West Midlands side opt to play for all three points or defend and attempt to continue their unbeaten run in the league. 

Here is our predicted starting XI for Villa’s trip to the Etihad this Saturday.

Smith is unlikely to alter his backline, with Tom Heaton marshalling a defensive unit of Frédéric Guilbert, Bjorn Engels, Tyrone Mings and Matt Targett. The latter put in an extremely impressive display that culminated in scoring the match-winning goal against Brighton last weekend.

It is in midfield where Smith will be faced with a considerable dilemma.

Conor Hourihane has shone since returning to the starting XI, notching a goal and an assist whilst being extremely unlucky to have seen his strike in the victory over Brighton ruled out following consultation with VAR.

The Irishman’s return to Smith’s first-choice XI has coincided with an unbeaten run of three games, yet defensive solidity in midfield will have to take precedence and in that respect, Douglas Luiz is the far more natural option.

A visit to City is likely to mark Villa’s sternest test yet, and therefore Smith is likely to drop Hourihane in order to play two holding midfielders in the form of Marvelous Nakamba alongside Luiz.

Upfront, Wesley Moraes can be expected to retain his starting berth, whilst the attacking trident of Jack Grealish, John McGinn and Anwar El Ghazi look set to try and hurt Guardiola’s side on the counter-attack.

A selection of Liverpool fans have been reacting on social media to reports by the Liverpool Echo claiming New Balance are still looking to block the Reds from signing a kit supply deal with Nike.

The Boston-based sports apparel manufacturer are said to have filed appeal papers in a final bid to prevent Liverpool from signing an agreement for Nike to produce their kits.

Liverpool are currently able to sign a deal with Nike after a three-day trial in the High Court denied New Balance’s efforts to maintain their working relationship.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

New Balance claimed to have triggered a matching clause in their existing contract, that would have automatically renewed the partnership initially agreed in 2015.

However, the High Court dismissed their claims after Liverpool argued that Nike’s ability to use influencers and athletes such as LeBron James, Serena Williams and Drake had not been matched.

Working with Liverpool is said to have been a huge commercial hit for New Balance, who have reaped vast rewards from the £45million-per-year contract currently in effect.

The American company have sought to throw another spanner in Nike’s plans by lodging appeal papers with the Court of Appeal, who will now decide whether there are grounds for a hearing.

Here are some of the reactions shared to New Balance’s decision to appeal…

Arsenal were forced to make do with a point following their visit to Old Trafford on Monday night.

Let’s be honest, it wasn’t the most thrilling of games, but there were still two goals that prevented it from being a totally damp squib.

Scott McTominay bagged the opener from outside the box before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the equaliser in the second half. Of course, that was only after VAR had to come to the aid of the hapless linesman, who somehow thought that the Gabon international was offside.

Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

You would have thought that would have been the main talking point from a Gunners perspective. You’d have been wrong.

Instead, Granit Xhaka was at the end of plentiful criticism from the Emirates Stadium faithful for his part in McTominay’s strike.

To the naked eye, it appeared as though the Switzerland international ducked out of the way of the ball as it rocketed towards goal. Although the replays showed a slight deflection from Sokratis, it still doesn’t make for great viewing. Not the best way to start his tenure as the club’s captain.

The Arsenal supporters, not known for being reserved, took to Twitter to slaughter the 26-year-old. You can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

[ad_pod ]

The contract news is seemingly flooding out of Elland Road at the moment.

Firstly Kalvin Phillips put pen to paper on new terms after being linked to as many as three clubs over the summer before Stuart Dallas and Liam Cooper also signed new deals at Leeds.

But it appears as though more promising news could be on the way. Leeds Live have reported this week that Mateusz Klich will sign a new contract imminently with Luke Ayling to follow suit.

Both individuals were key components of Leeds’ playoff run last term. Klich was involved in 19 goals while Ayling played 40 times.

There was a mixed reaction to the update as one hailed it as great. A further joked with the Polish midfielder about his penalty miss last weekend, hoping there was a clause in it to say he wouldn’t be off target again.

Another individual took a more critical look at the situation, suggesting the club shouldn’t go overboard on the lengths of their contracts given their age.

Ayling has yet to play for the senior team this term due to injury but Klich has featured in all eight Championship matches to date.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

[ad_pod ]

Having broken into the Manchester United first-team in the 2015/2016 campaign under Louis van Gaal, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson has failed to really kick on at Old Trafford.

The left-back finished the season with ten senior appearances across all competitions, and won the club’s U21 Player of the Year award too. His fine form earned him a new long-term contract with the club, but since then, it has all been downhill for the 22-year-old.

The former England U20 international has endured numerous loan spells at different clubs, and United have now confirmed Borthwick-Jackson will spend this season at League One side Tranmere Rovers.

After hearing the update on the defender, United fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the matter.

Many supporters of the Manchester side expressed their surprise at how Borthwick-Jackson’s career had fallen off, and pointed back to his days in the first-team.

Some Red Devils fans however, felt he could still do a decent job at left-back for the side, and questioned why they simply didn’t give him a chance to do so.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

West Ham United recorded a 3-1 win over Watford on Saturday afternoon to pick up their first Premier League victory of the 2019-20 campaign.

Sebastien Haller scored twice for the Hammers at Vicarage Road and was widely praised by the club’s fans on social media following the clash in the capital.

The same cannot be said for Ryan Fredericks, though, with his performance disappointing a number of the club’s supporters.

According to WhoScored, the 26-year-old made just one tackle during his 90 minutes on the field, but the 5 ft 11 defender did boast a 90% pass success rate.

There is no question that it was a positive afternoon for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, who had taken just one point from their first two fixtures against Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

However, to suggest that Fredericks’ performance was not well received by the West Ham supporters would be a slight understatement.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

[ad_pod ]

أعلن الفرنسي زين الدين زيدان، المدير الفني لـ ريال مدريد، تشكيل فريقه لمواجهة أتالانتا بمنافسات دوري أبطال أوروبا.

ويحل النادي الملكي ضيفًا على أتالانتا في بيرجامو، بمنافسات ذهاب دور الـ 16 لدوري أبطال أوروبا.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ماذا قال زيدان لـ نجوم ريال مدريد قبل مباراة أتالانتا في دوري أبطال أوروبا؟ تشكيل ريال مدريد ضد أتالانتا

حراسة المرمى: كورتوا.

خط الدفاع: لوكاس فاسكيز، فاران، ناتشو، ميندي.

خط الوسط: كاسيميرو، كروس، مودريتش.

خط الهجوم: أسينسيو، إيسكو، فينيسيوس جونيور.

وعلى مقاعد البدلاء: لونين، ألتوني، ماريانو، أريباس، بلانكو، تشوست، هوجو دورو، ميجيل.

📋✅ ¡Nuestro XI inicial 🆚 @Atalanta_BC!@Liberbank | #UCL pic.twitter.com/vNVEYBLP9r

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) February 24, 2021

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Alasdair Gold has said Tottenham could well go back in for Paulo Dybala in January, but it all depends on Paris Saint-Germain.

What’s the story?

During a QnA for Football.London, the outlet’s Tottenham correspondent was immediately asked if the club will try again to sign Dybala in the winter transfer window.

“All eyes will be on PSG,” he said, before explaining the situation in more detail.

“Were it not for the image rights mess, Paulo Dybala would be wearing a Tottenham Hotspur shirt right now.

“In an ideal world Spurs would look to return for the Argentine in January or try to do a deal for him in the coming weeks for the player to join in the winter as they work on sorting out the image right problems.”

He then went on to say that a potential deal could hinge on one factor, that being PSG’s interest in the player.

The 25 year-old is at risk of being left out of Juventus’ Champions League squad, says Gold, and PSG could well swoop for him if they lose Neymar, knowing full well they have the cash reserves to solve those pesky image rights issues.

Difference-maker

Make no mistake about it; a January move for Dybala would be sensational for the Lilywhites.

Whatever you think of his sub-par season last term, or the fact that Maurizio Sarri is bizarrely considering leaving such a talented player out of his Champions League squad, this is still a proven winner with experience under the brightest of lights.

He has racked up 78 goals and 30 assists in 182 games for Juve, has played in a Champions League final and has nine major trophies under his belt already, including four league titles.

Considering it was after Christmas that Tottenham fell away from Manchester City and Liverpool last season, signing a proven winner who knows how to stick the ball in the net under pressure could just be the difference-maker to tip them over the edge to becoming legitimate contenders.

If PSG do not complete a deal for the Argentine this summer, a January move should be top of the priority list for Daniel Levy and Mauricio Pochettino.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

Even though they are not yet officially back from their holidays, some of the Liverpool players have seemingly had their reunions already.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain recently posted an

/BzbEoAfAHXz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link” data-lasso->Instagram snap with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ben Woodburn from Los Angeles as the trio enjoyed some lunch.

But it was not the photo that caught the eye of the public but the caption that followed it. Oxlade-Chamberlain described the dinner with football terms as Alexander-Arnold “assisted him” and Woodburn poached the “tap-in” for the goal.

Of course, this caption had them all in tears from laughing as Georginio Wijnaldum and Woodburn both replied with emojis in the comment section below.

As for the return back to the daily grind, the Reds are reportedly to return on July 6, which is only days away, as the pre-season exhibitions loom just around the corner.

Oxlade-Chamberlain had a pretty unlucky season with Liverpool, despite picking up a Champions League winner’s medal.

The 25-year-old played a total of just two games in the Premier League due to a serious ligament injury that kept him sidelined for the majority of the 2018/19 campaign.

The transfer window is yet to creep into July yet there has been one player that Manchester United have been linked with time and time again as the month progresses, Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

The Crystal Palace star has emerged as one of the best young defensive talents in Europe after a breakout year in the Premier League with the Eagles, and with United on the hunt for a new right-back with club captain Antonio Valencia gone, Wan-Bissaka has become a common name rumoured with a move to Old Trafford this summer, but a new name has entered the fray as of late.

According to the Sun, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has turned his attention towards PSV defender Denzel Dumfries, who too enjoyed a breakout campaign as the Dutch international was named in the Eredivisie Team of the Season and became a starter in Ronald Koeman’s Holland side.

A move for Dumfries or Wan-Bissaka seems likely this summer for United, but here are two reasons why the Red Devils should be looking at the 23-year-old Dutchman instead of the England U-21 international…

He’s the full-back United have been craving

With the role of the full-back evolving into one of the most important roles in the starting XI, it’s crazy to think United are one of the last big clubs in European football to not utilise the position to its modern potential, with Dumfries, though, the Red Devils can finally step into the new age.

At four goals and six assists in the league last season, Dumfries was involved in more goals than Wan-Bissaka last term, who only managed three assists, and at 0.8 key passes on average per game the Dutch defender is more likely to do more creatively compared to his English counterpart, who only averaged 0.4 key passes.

Although Wan-Bissaka’s defensive numbers completely blow Dumfries’ out the water, along with virtually every fullback in Europe, the Dutch defenders attacking output would be a welcome addition for United, who have lacked a true attacking fullback for years.

A transfer fee won’t break the bank

As well as playing in the mould of the modern day fullback, Dumfries would come at a cost that is completely realistic for United.

At a reported £25 million per the report from the Sun, the Dutch international would be a cheap option for United in an era of football where fees of £40 million and £50 million are becoming commonplace, and the price of Wan-Bissaka is no different with reports via the Sun of a £70 million bid needed to prize Palace away from their star man.

Dumfries would be a sign of good scouting from the club, and with a price tag £45 million less than what Palace want for Wan-Bissaka, it could be a coup of a signing from United.