Verdict: Both teams to score No
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French giants Marseille and Spanish side Athletic Bilbao have enjoyed plenty of success in European competitions in the past and they are both keen on mounting a serious title challenge in this year’s Europa League. Even though neither side are in good form at the moment, we definitely expect an exciting encounter at the iconic Stade Velodrome.
Marseille
The ambitious new project has started to produce results at Marseille as Rudi Garcia and his side have done really well this term. For the first time after quite a while, l’OM are in a position to secure Champions League qualification through league finish, sitting five points clear of fourth-placed Lyon with ten games to go. Marseille did fail…
Manchester City have outshone Manchester United in recent years but manager Pep Guardiola believes his team are still a decade away from closing the gap on their bitter rivals.
There has been a momentum shift in Manchester since City were purchased by the Abu Dhabi United Group, with the club claiming six major honours since 2011, including Premier League titles in 2012 and 2014.
City s fortunes have been in contrast to United, who have not won the Premier League since Alex Ferguson s departure in 2013 failing to qualify for the Champions League on two occasions.
However, Guardiola whose City are third in the table and seven points adrift of leaders Chelsea with United sixth feels the blue of Manchester must consistently compete in the Champions League if they ar…
The 2021/22 Premier League campaign has officially come to an end following the final set of 10 fixtures on Sunday, and what a wild ride it was. We had action at both the top and the bottom of the table and in London, we saw Leeds United defeat Brentford 2-1 to retain their place in English football s top flight.
Today, we re going to take a look at a few things we learned coming away from this dramatic encounter.
The Marsch effect
Jesse Marsch was facing an uphill challenge when he came into the fold as Leeds new manager, especially when you consider just how beloved Marcelo Bielsa was throughout the core of his tenure with the Yorkshire-based side. Still, he clearly has an inspirational message that he s able to get across to his squad, and he s managed to get them p…
Lionel Messi has wished Ernesto Valverde luck for the future after the coach left Barcelona, calling his former boss a top professional and top person.
Barca, following a defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana, decided to part ways with Valverde on Monday, with Quique Setien swiftly named as his replacement.
Former Athletic Bilbao boss Valverde took over Barca in 2017 and guided the club to successive LaLiga titles plus a Copa del Rey success.
However, a dramatic capitulation to Liverpool in last season s Champions League semi-finals, followed by a defeat to Valencia in the Copa del Rey final, put Valverde under scrutiny and, despite being top of LaLiga, Barca fired the coach after missing out on another title in the form of the Supercopa.
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Pep Guardiola insists he has complete faith in Riyad Mahrez despite offering sparing first-team opportunities to the Algeria winger of late.
Last January, City launched a deadline-day bid to bring in Mahrez from Leicester City – falling short but eventually getting their man in a club-record £60million deal during the close season.
The 27-year-old has nine goals in 34 appearances across all competitions for the reigning Premier League champions but has not started a top-flight game since the 3-1 win at Southampton on December 30.
Two appearances from the bench, four games as an unused substitute and a missed squad altogether at Huddersfield Town have followed, although he has been an ever-present for Guardiola during domestic cup games in 2019.
On the…
Aston Villa are interested in signing Matteo Guendouzi from Marseille in the January transfer window, according to . Guendouzi played under now Villa manager Unai Emery at Arsenal, and the former Paris Saint-Germain boss reportedly wants to bring the France international midfielder to Villa Park.
Guendouzi is happy at Marseille and is not itching to leave the Ligue 1 club. Marseille themselves want as much as €50 million in transfer fees for the 23-year-old and are not actively looking to sell him in the middle of the season.
Villa appointed Emery as their manager in October 2022. The Villans have done better under the former Arsenal boss and could end up in the top 10 of the Premier League table this season. Meanwhile, Marseille are aiming to end up in the top three …
Pau Torres has confirmed he had a chance to leave Villarreal and join Tottenham Hotspur but turned it down.
As quoted by Sky Sports, the 24-year-old defender said he was informed of the interest from the Premier League side, but he decided to stay put and he believes it was the right choice for him to remain with his boyhood club, looking forward to another season in the Spanish top flight.
Torres rose through the ranks of the academy at Villarreal, and apart from the 2018-19 season he spent on loan with Malaga, he s been at the club his entire career so far. In all competitions, he has made 88 appearances for the Yellow Submarine, scoring five goals and assisting four. He also has 14 caps with Spain to his name.
Spurs signed Cristian Romero on loan from Atalant…
In England they write that Koulibaly can leave because of the problem of racism, he said. I do not think so, Koulibaly is happy in Naples, he s upset like others, but it will not be a trigger for a goodbye.
He never showed it, he wants to stay in Naples and in Italy, a country he likes very much.
Those are the words of Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti, who has reiterated that he believes Kalidou Koulibaly wants to remain at the club. While some may feel as if he’s just saying what the fans want to hear, it certainly seems like the boss is going to do everything within his power to keep the 27 year old defender on the books.
Koulibaly has been a Senegal international since 2015, and he’s been with Napoli since back in 2014. He made the jump over from Genk an…
Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira took inspiration from Jose Mourinho s early-career Champions League success as he masterminded an away-goals win against Atletico Mineiro in the Copa Libertadores semi-finals.
The reigning South American champions returned to the Libertadores final with a 1-1 draw at Atletico on Tuesday, having played out a goalless first leg at home.
Eduardo Vargas header had put the home side in front, but Dudu equalised 22 minutes from time to crucially extend Palmeiras record-breaking unbeaten away run in the competition to 15 matches.
Abel never doubted that leveller was coming, revealing Palmeiras had planned simply to score once in order to advance.
The coach referred to Mourinho s 1-1 draw at Manchester United with Porto in 2004, in w…
Chelsea must pull off one of the greatest second-leg comebacks if their Champions League hopes are not to be killed off by Bayern Munich on Saturday.
There has been a spate of stunning salvage jobs in recent seasons that may give hope to Frank Lampard s side, who trail 3-0 from the first leg in London.
Nevertheless, Bayern start as firm favourites to clinch a place in the quarter-finals heading into the clash at the Allianz Arena.
Here is a look at games that may give Blues fans some hope as their team head to Germany.
Bayern OR Chelsea?
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague)
2019: Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona (4-3 on aggregate)
Jurgen Klopp s Liverpool had been well beaten at Camp Nou, with the 3-0 scoreline flattering Barce…