Blog (Page 214)

[ad_1] Barcelona have had just a few days to lick their wounds since losing against Real Madrid in Sunday’s Clasico and seeing their rivals go three points clear in La Liga. It was a first loss of the domestic season for Xavi’s team and they will now be determined to secure a positive result against a Villarreal side that have had mixed results so far this season but actually have the meanest defence at this stage of the campaign after conceding only three times in nine games. Barcelona: 28 WinsVillarreal: 8 WinsDraws: 10 Barcelona: WLWDLVillarreal: DWLWW Memphis Depay, Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen miss out for Barcelona in this one,Read More →

[ad_1] Lionel Messi has suggested that reigning champions France and record winners Brazil are the teams with the best chance of World Cup glory in Qatar at the end of this year. But the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who will be playing at his fifth World Cup with Argentina, hasn’t ruled out the likes of Germany, England or Spain either. “There are big teams like Brazil, Germany, France, England, Spain, and I’m sure I’m forgetting some,” Messi told DirecTV. “But if I have to keep one or two, today I think Brazil and France are the two big candidates for this World Cup.” The 35-year-oldRead More →

[ad_1] EA Sports have unveiled the fifth Team of the Week for FIFA 23. The stand-out card is undoubtedly the 90-rated Neymar. Now a CAM, the Brazilian boasts a crazy 94 dribbling, 88 pace, 86 passing and 85 shooting – a fair reward for scoring the winner in Le Classique. Narrowly behind Neymar is Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos. The German midfielder has been handed an 89-overall card with 91 passing, which may just be high enough to make up for his 55 pace. Nicolo Barella has an 87-rated card on which the lowest stat is his 78 shooting. He’s one special card away from anRead More →

[ad_1] Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall is excited to lead the Gunners into the Women’s Champions League group stage as he believes it will provide a good yardstick of their progress. After just finishing as runners-up to Chelsea in last season’s WSL, Arsenal navigated Round 2 of qualifying against Dutch champions Ajax to set up a group with Juventus, Zurich and holders Lyon. Speaking ahead of their trip to Lyon on Wednesday evening, Eidevall said he is excited to learn of whatever outcome as it will give him an idea of where Arsenal are against Europe’s elite teams. “It’s a very good reality check to seeRead More →

[ad_1] Queens Park Rangers manager Michael Beale has agreed terms to take charge at Wolverhampton Wanderers, 90min understands. Wolves have been looking at a whole host of candidates following the departure of Bruno Lage. Former Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui rejected the position, after which Wolves held talks with a number of different options. Among their list of possible targets was Beale and sources have now confirmed to 90min that the 42-year-old, who only joined QPR in the summer, has agreed to make the move to Molineux. Wolves were thoroughly impressed by Beale during recent talks with the boss and there is confidence that a dealRead More →

[ad_1] Manchester United right-back Ona Batlle is making daily progress under concussion protocol following a clash of heads in the closing stages of last weekend’s WSL win over Brighton. Having already used all of their five permitted substitutions, United were able to make use of a legal sixth change in stoppage time under concussion rules to replace Batlle with Maria Thorisdottir. Ahead of Sunday’s away trip to Leicester, Batlle remains under supervision of the club doctor but no risks will be taken by trying to speed up any recovery. The Spaniard, recently dubbed one of the best right-backs in the world by manager Marc SkinnerRead More →

[ad_1] Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira isn’t worried that talisman Wilfried Zaha has yet to renew his contract. The 29-year-old is out of contract at Selhurst Park next summer, and has regularly been linked with moves to clubs playing in European competition. Zaha scored the winner against Wolves in Palace’s 2-1 win over Wolves on Tuesday night – his fifth goal of the Premier League season – and showed all of his qualities in another dazzling display. Chelsea were linked with a move for Zaha in the summer, while he’s previously been linked with the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur. But Vieira isn’tRead More →

[ad_1] Who else is getting incredibly excited? The days are getting colder, which means we must be getting close to a World Cup, right? However strange a winter World Cup is, it doesn’t matter; we don’t have at all long to go until the feverish footballing festivities kick off in Qatar, and we cannot wait. It will be the first time the competition will be hosted in the Middle East, with eight stadiums making their World Cup debuts. We’ll see the first demountable stadium in World Cup history with Doha’s Stadium 974, built out of shipping containers, to be dismantled after the tournament. Among theRead More →

[ad_1] Florentino Perez has confirmed that Real Madrid made a bid for Neymar before he joined Barcelona. Neymar left Santos to sign for Barcelona in 2013 in a deal that has proved to be hugely controversial. The Catalan club insist the move cost just under £50m but Brazilian company DIS, which owned 40% of the player’s sporting rights when he was at Santos, claim the money paid was over £20m more than that. DIS claim that Neymar, Santos and Barcelona all colluded to hide the full cost of the deal. The matter has now gone to court, and Real Madrid president Perez was called toRead More →

[ad_1] PSV Eindhoven winger Cody Gakpo has confirmed that he came “close” to joining Manchester United after talking to Erik ten Hag. The 23-year-old was on the radar of a number of Premier League clubs and looked likely to depart Eindhoven after scoring 21 goals in all competitions last season. United were considered frontrunners to sign Gakpo, who looks likely to represent the Netherlands at this winter’s World Cup, if a deal for Antony failed to materialise, and at one point it seemed as though the Brazilian winger would be staying put at Ajax. However, Antony finally sealed a move to Old Trafford late onRead More →