Liverpool fans will have been waiting for tonight’s clash with Bayern Munich for a very long time. The Reds have got a huge clash at Anfield ahead of them as two of the world’s best goalkeepers will be going head to head in Alisson Becker and Manuel Neuer, and the fans cannot wait to see their Brazilian in action.
One of the key battles will be between the two shot-stoppers, Manuel Neuer has been passed fit late as he was initially believed to be missing the Anfield leg of the tie, however, he’s now deemed ready to face the Reds, and he could be in for a long evening. At the other end, though, Alisson is looking as solid as ever and it was the Brazilian’s incredible save against Napoli that ensured they made it to this stage.
In the eds last game against Napoli at Anfield in the Champions League group stages the Reds needed to either win 1-0 or win by two or more goals to progress seeing as they lost 1-0 away in Italy. With the score at 1-0, the ball fell to Akadiusz Milik in the box who got a good shot away with hs right foot just for it to be smothered by the onrushing Alisson. It was a save that kept the Kopites in the Champions League, and now they want to see more of that against Bayern tonight.
You can read the Reds’ thoughts on Alisson here:
The Reds cannot get enough of Alisson and will hope he can be their saviour again tomorrow evening.
Leeds United defender Pontus Jansson led the pre-match chants with Malmo supporters ahead of Thursday’s Europa League clash with Chelsea.
Malmo lost 3-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, meaning that they exited the competition courtesy of a 5-1 aggregate defeat to Maurizio Sarri’s side.
The Leeds fans were not too bothered about the result, but they were certainly interested in what happened ahead of the match in London.
Indeed, the 28-year-old travelled to down London to watch the second leg and was seen leading the pre-match chants alongside fellow Malmo supporters.
The defender began his professional career with Malmo, making more than 120 appearances during his time with the Swedish outfit.
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It was certainly a sight to behold and many of the Leeds fans revealed their love for the 28-year-old, whilst others joked that he now might receive a ban for his conduct.
A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Leeds supporters can be seen below:
A Tottenham academy product on the fringes of the first-team this season, Oliver Skipp was handed a rare opportunity to impress by Jose Mourinho on Wednesday night.
The 19-year-old started alongside fellow home-grown midfielder Harry Winks in the engine room for Spurs, as they took on Norwich in the FA Cup fifth round.
And Skipp certainly didn’t disappoint. As per Sofascore, he had a 100% dribble success rate, made three tackles and two interceptions, had an impressive 82 touches, and won five of his duels.
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After seeing his performance, Spurs fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the teenager.
A couple of fans appeared to suggest that Skipp is ready for the first-team on a more permanent basis.
A few Spurs supporters compared Skipp directly to Winks, with one fan in particular even claiming that he “looks a million miles better than him”.
Skipp had only made six appearances across all competitions before the clash against Norwich, and even that only totalled 117 minutes.
But he surpassed his entire season total in one single night by remaining on the field for the entire 120 minutes and penalties on Wednesday, and Mourinho will surely have been impressed.
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Winks has proven that there is a pathway for a young, up-and-coming Spurs midfielder to make the grade at the club, and Skipp will be hoping he is the next man to follow through.
Meanwhile, Tottenham were denied the chance to sign this Champions League playing centre-back in January.
As per The Daily Mail, iconic former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher criticised manager Jurgen Klopp and his former club in his role as a Sky Sports pundit following the Reds’ 1-1 draw with West Ham United on Monday night.
What he said
In the aftermath of Liverpool’s draw at the London Stadium, Carragher lambasted Klopp’s side for their “really poor performance”.
It wasn’t a full strength Liverpool team, and featured Adam Lallana making only his third Premier League start of the campaign so far.
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What’s more, a defensive injury crisis saw 33-year-old midfielder James Milner fill in at right-back, alongside stand-in centre-back Joel Matip.
Carragher felt that Liverpool’s squad should never have been allowed to become so thin though.
He wrote: “The right back situation; Klopp’s made a big mistake in letting Nathaniel Clyne go. I don’t understand why he did that. I know there were a couple of injuries after (he left) but you don’t need to let him go.”
Carragher is right
Carragher is right, there’s no great reason why Klopp couldn’t have been assertive and retained the services of Clyne until the end of the season, rather than letting the 27-year-old full-back join Bournemouth on loan during the January transfer window.
Had the former Southampton man been kept at Anfield he’d be enjoying regular game time now, due to the absences of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez.
At this stage in the season, with the Reds chasing their first league title in the Premier League era, the priority should be making Klopp’s squad as strong as possible. Instead, it was weakened in the winter window, which could have disastrous consequences before the end of the campaign.
Sheffield Wednesday had a fairly solid start to the season following a summer where the club was under a transfer embargo for much of the window.
The embargo was lifted in late August which allowed Wednesday to sign Michael Hector and Josh Onomah on loan. Recently it’s looked as though Wednesday have begun to suffer from the lack of new arrivals at the club.
The Owls have lost their last four games in the league and most recently were hammered 4-0 by Norwich City.
Jos Luhukay is now under immense pressure following their run of terrible form, and if the Wednesday boss doesn’t win this weekend in the derby, the board must make a change.
At the weekend, former Ipswich boss, Mick McCarthy was questioned over the speculation linking him to the job and although he remained fairly reserved, if Luhukay loses this weekend, the board must make the switch.
The Breakdown
Wednesday now sit 17th in the table, four points off Hull City in 23rd and look very much like they’ll be dragged into the relegation zone. Since January, it’s been a fairly tough job for Luhukay to undertake, however, with such a small squad it seems unwise to freeze out experienced players such as Keiren Westwood, Sam Hutchinson, George Boyd and Almen Abdi.
In McCarthy, Wednesday would have an experienced manager who knows how to operate in the Championship. The former Wolves boss, left Ipswich in April after almost six years in the job and would present Wednesday with a manager who could stop their slide down the table.
Celtic are at a crossroads when it comes to defenders. The ongoing shambles surrounding Dedryck Boyata has reflected poorly on the player and the club.
But the truth is, Boyata is arguably Celtic’s best defender, and to lose his services would be a massive disappointment to Brendan Rodgers. But fortunately, there is a two-time Premier League defender that is currently unattached that would act as a tourniquet where Celtic could be on the cusp of a defensive crisis.
Robert Huth (valued at £2.25m on Transfermarkt.co.uk) was released by Leicester at the end of last season after not featuring for them, but any football fan must have been living under a rock to be unaware of the impact Huth had on Leicester, helping them win the Premier League.
At the age of 33, it would not be a signing for the future for Celtic, and it is unlikely that he would start consistently. But with the potential exit of Boyata, and the remaining Celtic defenders coming under heavy criticism for their performance against AEK Athens, Huth would be a fantastic figure to provide solidity. His physical, imposing style and stature would fit in nicely to a defence that is perhaps not the most physically assertive.
However, it is not so much the performances that Huth would provide on the pitch that would make him valuable, but the experience he would bring off the pitch; at the training ground and in the dressing room. This is a man who has won the Premier League with both Leicester and Chelsea, a man that has 19 caps for Germany, he will be a great asset to a squad and manager that may come under fire this season.
Celtic ignominiously failed to make the Champions League, and have already tasted defeat in the Scottish Premiership this season, being overcome by Hearts; Huth would be a great addition to Rodgers.
According to the reliable @ExWHUemployee on episode 59 of the West Ham Way radio show, West Ham United are ready to sell young defender Reece Oxford during the January transfer window if they receive a good offer, but Irons fans are divided on the decision.
Despite making a huge impression on his Premier League debut for the club against Arsenal on the opening day of the 2015/16 season – when he was named man of the match in a 2-0 win for the Hammers – the 18-year-old has struggled to kick on since.
The centre-back made 12 appearances in all competitions during that campaign but after failing to feature at all for the east London outfit last term, he was sent out on loan to Championship outfit Reading at the start of 2017.
However, he only played five times for Jaap Stam’s men and he is yet to play a single minute during a similar spell with Borussia Monchengladbach this season.
West Ham supporters were quick to have their say on the rumour via social media, and they were divided with their opinions.
While some said that the club “might regret” selling him seeing as he is still young, others have “heard his attitude is poor”.
Former West Ham United manager Alan Curbishley believes that the club will stand by Slaven Bilic for next season.
Sky Sports reported on Tuesday that the East London outfit will move for Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic if they opt to part company with Bilic in the summer.
The Hammers have endured a disappointing season, which started off with so much promise after the seventh-placed finish in the 2015-16 campaign.
Hopes were high following the club’s move into the London Stadium, but a large number of fans are unimpressed with the new digs.
Results have not been able to cheer up the disgruntled supporters as the team have won just 10 of their 32 Premier League games.
Sixteen matches have ended in defeats, which has left the club eight points above the relegation zone with six games left to play.
Despite the turbulent campaign, which included the controversial sale of Dimitri Payet in January, Curbishley believes that Bilic will keep his job, and that the main problem was the club’s transfer strategy.
He told talkSPORT:
“I think perhaps this season, because of the move, the injuries etc , I think they will probably be saying ‘let’s see how he starts off next year’. I think that’s where they are at at the moment. I think they will look back at the recruitment in the summer. It was poor.”
The European Championship in France may have taken centre stage, but it has not stopped clubs across the continent from planning ahead of the 2016/2017 through significant moves in the transfer market.
Bringing in the right quality of players in areas that need addressing can be the difference between success and failure, with managers becoming shrewd negotiators in the hope of improving results on the pitch.
The rumour mill has already kicked into overdrive, and although fans are often left to decipher whether the speculation is true or false, there is no smoke without fire.
Many of Europe’s top players have been linked with big-money moves, and it may take just one deal to trigger a domino effect that sets the transfer market alight.
Here are two transfers which after Euro 2016 could kick start the transfer window…
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Robert Lewandowsi (Bayern Munich to Real Madrid)
There is no question that Robert Lewandowski has become one of the best strikers in world football, with the 27-year-old enjoying yet another superb season in front of goal.
Lewandowski not only finished as the Bundesliga’s top goalscorer with thirty goals in just thirty-three appearances, but also fired Poland into Euro 2016 with thirteen goals to his name during their successful qualifying campaign.
Bayern Munich are lucky to have one of the most clinical strikers at their disposal, but with reports that recent contract talks have stalled, there is the possibility that new manager Carlo Ancelotti could immediately lose one of his star players.
Lewandowski is believed to favour a move to the Premier League at some point in his career, but his next step could be Real Madrid who see the Poland international as the next “Galactico.”
The La Liga giants may have to make a monumental bid in order to convince Bayern Munich to sell, but with the prospect of Lewandowski becoming unsettled if they are unable to agree on new terms, they may be forced to cut their losses.
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Paul Pogba (Juventus to Barcelona)
Football – Singapore Selection v Juventus – National Stadium, Singapore Sports Hub, Singapore – 14/15 – 16/8/14Paul Pogba – JuventusMandatory Credit: Action Images / Jeremy LeeEDITORIAL USE ONLY.
Any club in Europe would be blessed to have a player of Paul Pogba’s immense talent at their disposal, with the France star set to show just how good he is for the Euro 2016 hosts.
It is incredible to think that, like Lewandowski, Pogba moved clubs as a free agent, with many believing Sir Alex Ferguson made one of the biggest mistakes of a hugely successful managerial career when he let the midfielder leave Old Trafford back in 2012.
The Juventus star has since blossomed into a fantastic player; his strength, pace, skill, vision and a wonderful array of passing allows Pogba to dictate the play and be an integral player for club and country.
Pogba certainly has ambition that matches his ferocious talent, but it remains to be seen how long he remains in Serie A before he sets his sights on a money-spinning move elsewhere.
Although he hasn’t had the most impressive Euro 2016 his future at club level has once again been the subject of speculation, with Barcelona reportedly sizing up a mega-money move to bring Pogba to the Nou Camp this summer.
The La Liga champions have made no secret of their admiration for the multi-talented Frenchman, but they may be dragged into a bidding war if Real Madrid and Manchester United also show their hand.
Pogba would unquestionably fit into Barcelona’s style of play, and with the club’s profile and rich success on the pitch suiting his ambitions, then it could be a match made in heaven.
United States national team boss Gregg Berhlater has provided a bleak update on the fitness of midfielder Tyler Adams ahead of the Copa America.
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Adams suffers injury and undergoes surgery
Absent for almost a year
Berhalter issues update on his fitness
Getty
WHAT HAPPENED?
Berhalter, 50, has revealed he is unsure whether or not Adams will be able to take part in this summer's Copa America tournament due to injury. The tournament will be hosted in the United States and is set to start on June 20 and run until July 14.
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WHAT BERHALTER SAID
“I don’t know,” Berhalter said on Tuesday. “We’re taking it the same way he’s taking it, and that’s day by day. And as we get information, we’ll be able to make decisions but for us, it’s just supporting him, continuing to communicate with his club, and really not getting ahead of ourselves.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Adams suffered an initial hamstring setback in March 2023 while at Leeds United and underwent surgery to solve the issue. Six months later, the USMNT midfielder had moved to Bournemoith but re-aggravated the injury at the Cherries – leading to more surgery in October. Adams has not featured for the national side since captaining them at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
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WHAT NEXT FOR ADAMS?
The 24-year-old will continue to watch both Bournemouth and his national team from the sidelines while he continues his lengthy rehabilitation period. The Cherries face Newcastle United in their next game on Saturday, while the USMNT are set to link-up in March for their games against Jamaica.