Fortress St James´ and brilliant Bruno – Why Newcastle could be kingmakers against Liverpool or City
Few would be surprised if Manchester City and Liverpool, the Premier League s two dominant teams, each won their five remaining matches this season.
Liverpool have 12 victories in 13 games, with their sole aberration a 2-2 draw against City.
Yet that run will not be enough to take the title should City themselves continue to win, maintaining a tiny one-point gap that represents a chasm in this rivalry.
Perhaps the distraction of huge Champions League tasks could instead encourage one side or the other to take their eyes off the prize – or maybe a Premier League rival can provide an upset.
Liverpool must still tackle two of the other three opponents to have taken points off City this term (Tottenham and Southampton) but first face a team transformed sinc…
Mesut Ozil s agent has revealed the exiled midfielder will not leave Arsenal in January and insists his client has every intention of seeing out the remainder of his contract.
Ozil was omitted from Mikel Arteta s Premier League and Europa League squads in October and cannot be selected again for first-team action until at least January when changes to the player lists can be made.
The former Real Madrid midfielder, a club-record signing when he joined for a reported £42million in 2013, has not made an appearance since March 7.
Ozil s influence has waned since providing 19 assists and creating 28 big chances in 35 Premier League outings during the 2015-16 season, setting up nine, eight, two and two goals in the following four campaigns respectively.
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Best Odds: 19/20
Bookmaker:
Desperate to make a crucial return to winning ways on Saturday afternoon, Manchester United will welcome Wolves to Old Trafford.
Manchester United
Starting with the hosts, while Manchester United might still find themselves sat in pole position to book a Champions League return this season, they are enduring what has been a recent blip. Last seen putting in another downbeat display as they suffered a 1-0 loss away at West Ham, Erik ten Hag’s side have suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats and there is some growing pressure on the former Ajax boss. Mustering just a single victory from any of their last four top-flight appearances and opening May with another 1-0 defeat at the hands of Brighton, United will know that they are …
Tyrell Malacia has signed for Manchester United from Feyenoord in a deal that is reportedly worth up to £15million.
The Netherlands international becomes the long-awaited first signing of the Erik ten Hag era at Old Trafford, following a slew of exits under the Dutchman.
Malacia will now join up with his countryman at United and is expected to offer competition to England defender Luke Shaw and Brazil s Alex Telles in the left-back role going forward, having signed a four-year contract with an option for a further season.
The 22-year-old was reported to be moving for a £13m (€15.1m) fee, with just shy of £2m in add-ons. Reports in the Netherlands claim Feyenoord will receive a percentage of any future sale, too.
It s an incredible feeling to ha…
Mikel Arteta condemned Arsenal s repeated mistakes after another damaging defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday.
The Gunners seven match unbeaten run in the Premier League came to an end at Wolves in midweek when both David Luiz and Bernd Leno were sent off.
And another loss swiftly followed against Villa after Cedric Soares gifted the only goal of the game to the home side, Ollie Watkins netting a scruffy effort from Bertrand Traore s centre.
Cedric s mistake was the sole error leading to a shot in the entire match, but it was a costly one.
Arsenal had 66.3 per cent of the possession and 14 shots to Villa s 12 yet only troubled the target three times, failing to create a single big chance from which Opta would expect the visitors to score.
Arteta tol…
England and Scotland will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first international football match with a repeat fixture at Glasgow s Hampden Park in 2023.
The two teams played out the inaugural game, officially considered the maiden encounter in the sport s international history by FIFA, on November 30, 1872.
As part of the celebrations marking 150 years since that 0-0 draw at Hamilton Crescent in Glasgow, they will face off in the same city next year on September 12.
Any meeting with Scotland is always special, England manager Gareth Southgate said.
Ourselves and Scotland are the oldest of rivals, and passions are sure to be high at Hampden.
But this milestone is much bigger than our two nations, as it is also an opportunity to celebrate 15…
Juventus star Leonardo Bonucci has expressed his admiration for outgoing Bianconeri and Italy team-mate Giorgio Chiellini.
Chiellini confirmed after the 4-2 Coppa Italia final loss to Inter in midweek that this season will be his last for Juve, who the 37-year-old has played for since 2004 and won 20 trophies during his time in Turin.
The veteran defender has already announced he will retire from international duty with Italy as well after a meeting with Argentina at Wembley Stadium on June 1.
It will be a fitting end for Chiellini after he lifted the Euro 2020 title at Wembley following a penalty shoot-out victory over England last July alongside long-time team-mate Bonucci.
Reports in Italy suggest Chiellini may opt to play in MLS before taking his va…
Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl allayed fears Marco Reus could miss the World Cup after the forward sustained an ankle injury against Schalke.
Reus struggles with injuries are well-documented, and it appeared he had suffered another devastating blow when he came off the field on a stretcher in the first half of Saturday s Revierderby.
The initial outlook for Reus, who was in tears as he left the pitch, was not positive, with Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic telling Sky Sport after the game: It looks as if the ligaments were injured. Of course, he was very disappointed and was in a lot of pain.
Reus was absent from Germany s victorious 2014 World Cup campaign with another ankle injury, but Kehl is confident he will be fit for the upcoming edit…
Tottenham Hotspur want to sign Lloyd Kelly from Premier League rivals Bournemouth in the January transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Spurs want to bring in a new centre-back in the middle of the season, and that Kelly is still high on their shortlist.
Spurs wanted to sign Kelly from Bournemouth in the summer transfer window and made a bid of £20 million for the 25-year-old, who can also operate as a left-back. However, the Cherries turned down that offer.
Kelly has been on the books of Bournemouth since 2019 and is under contract at the Cherries until the summer of 2024. The 25-year-old has made six starts and one substitute appearance in the Premier League so far this season. Bournemouth are 17th in the Premier League table at the moment with s…
Best Odds: 8/11
Bookmaker:
Hoping to find some La Liga stability on their return from November’s international break, Barcelona will make the trip to Rayo Vallecano on Saturday afternoon.
Rayo Vallecano
Starting with the hosts, while Rayo Vallecano might still have their sights set on mounting a top-half finish this season, the Little Thunderbolts have struggled to find much La Liga stability. Last seen heading into November’s international break with another downbeat performance as they were hit with a 2-1 loss at home against Girona, Francisco’s squad have recorded just a single win from any of their previous eight top-flight appearances a run that stems all the way back to September 15th. Marking their return to La Liga action on Saturday afternoon hol…