Tag Futebol

The first piece of silverware for the 2017/18 season is up for grabs this Sunday as Arsenal and Manchester City prepare for the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.

Pep Guardiola’s side inevitably enter the 4.30pm kickoff as the favourites having obliterated almost everything in their path this season, but the Gunners will take comfort from their impressive recent record at the home of English football, and the fact City’s seeming invulnerability took a significant hit on Monday night as third-tier Wigan eliminated them from the FA Cup.

So, can Arsenal pull off something of an upset, or will the Carabao Cup become the first trophy of Guardiola’s immaculate City project? Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Sunday’s heavyweight clash…

Route to the final

Manchester City managed to avoid the Premier League’s big six before encountering Arsenal on Sunday but their route to the final has been far from straight forward.

Wins over Championship side Wolves and Leicester City both required penalty shootouts, while Bristol City gave City perhaps the biggest test they’ve had at the Etihad Stadium this season and were essentially only spared a shock exit by stoppage time goals in each leg. Curiously, City are yet to win any Carabao Cup match this season by more than one goal.

Arsenal’s semi-final double-legger with Chelsea represents the biggest challenge either finalist have faced in the Carabao Cup this season. Both were edgy encounters and the semi-final was essentially settled by two scrappy Arsenal goals at the Emirates Stadium.

That being said, Arsenal have also faced the most modest challenge of either finalist – a home tie with League One’s Doncaster. Additionally, while City’s route to the final has involved three away games, the first leg of the semi-final at Stamford Bridge was the Gunners’ only Carabao Cup outing on the road.

Form Guide

There’s no doubt Manchester City have produced the more consistent form leading up to Sunday’s final, winning four and drawing one of their last six outings – that draw being at Turf Moor where Burnley always give their opponents a game – while scoring more goals and keeping more clean sheets than the Gunners.

However, Sean Dyche’s side represent the toughest opponents City have faced during that time, whereas Arsenal have encountered Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final and Tottenham in the Premier League.

[ad_pod ]

Likewise, for whatever doubts might linger over City after losing to Wigan, Arsenal enter the Wembley clash on equally suspect terms having narrowly avoided a shock comeback from Ostersund in the Europa League on Thursday night.

What will concern the Gunners most though, is the form of Sergio Aguero, who has netted six times in City’s last six fixtures, especially in light of the fact Arsenal have managed just one clean sheet during their last six.

Team News

With Henrikh Mkhitaryan cup-tied for Sunday’s clash, having represented Manchester United in the Carabao Cup earlier this season, Arsene Wenger will have to re-jig his attacking personnel this weekend, although we’re expecting the structure of the team to stay largely the same from the north London derby, with the Gunners deploying three in midfield and Mesut Ozil on the right-hand side.

It’s essentially a tossup between Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi for the left wing berth, but the latter appears likelier after being taken off early on Thursday night.

All in all, Arsenal look set to make seven changes from the side that lost to Ostersund, with David Ospina, Jack Wilshere, Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny and Iwobi expected to keep their places in the side despite struggling to impress against the Swiss outfit.

While most of Manchester City’s starting XI picks itself at this point in the season, particularly the midfield, there are still a few points of contention.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

For starters, it’s unclear whether Raheem Sterling has recovered from a muscular problem to start on Sunday and with Guardiola privy to a more than capable alternative in Bernado Silva, it’s likely City won’t risk the England international from the start – he may have to settle for a role from the bench.

But the real selection dilemmas for Guardiola come in defence, particularly left-back with Benjamin Mendy still injured and Fabian Delph suspended after being sent off against Wigan.

The likelihood is that he’ll opt with the experience of Danilo over Oleksandr Zinchenko’s youthful creativity, and we believe that will be a common theme throughout the backline – with Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi coming in for John Stones and Aymeric Laporte.

Don Hutchinson has called on his old side Sunderland to pull out of their potential £14m move for Liverpool’s Fabio Borini.

The Italy international has been linked with a big money switch to the Stadium of Light in recent weeks after impressing while on loan there last season.

Borini was expected to have a future at Anfield with Champions League now a factor for the Reds, but Brendan Rodgers’ side have shown a willingness to offload him by accepting an offer from the North East outfit.

WANT MORE? >> Sunderland transfer news | Liverpool transfer news

However the player himself is reluctant to leave Merseyside, and Gus Poyet wants a final decision made by quickly as he plans other transfer dealings.

Although he enjoyed Borini’s performances in the red and white shirt, Hutchinson believes that it may be a blessing in disguise for Sunderland if the deal falls through:

“He’s a good player and he made a big difference for Sunderland in some really big matches last season, but I look at the valuation that Liverpool have attached to him and I’m really not sure about it,” he wrote in his column for The Journal.

“Fourteen million pounds is a lot of money to spend, and I think if the move doesn’t go through Sunderland will have dodged a bit of a bullet.

“Borini can play to the left of a striker or to the right, and he will probably go on to get you double figures next season – just. I don’t think he’s a really prolific striker who Gus Poyet can hang his hat on, and for £14M Sunderland might be asking themselves whether they can get a bit better.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

“Is Borini half of a Lukaku? I don’t know about that, but they’re both players coming through. It’s a gamble for Sunderland to go and spend that kind of money on someone like Borini.”

//www.youtube.com/embed/MzDUNrq1DO0

Fill in our survey below and be in with a chance of winning a pair of £145 Puma Tricks boots as worn by Balotelli and Aguero! Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world’s leading questionnaire tool.

A more precise game isn’t more beautiful. Mistakes keep the sport exciting, be they in a pub match or a World Cup final.

Opposing goal-line technology appears, on the face of it, to be a fool’s errand. Who doesn’t want referees to make the right decisions? Which English football supporter, remembering Frank Lampard’s wrongly disallowed goal against Germany in the last World Cup, wouldn’t dream that maybe the national team might have avoided ignominious defeat had that goal been allowed?

Football fans, however, should be careful what they wish for. The drive to GLT is not the result of a desire for fairness and accuracy. Instead the words its proponents routinely invoke when demanding its introduction are: “With so much at stake …” By which they mean, with the rewards for success and the costs of failure at top-level football so immense, human error is unacceptable.

Why so? The beauty of football is that every officially sanctioned game is the same. The pitch must be of a size conforming to the strictures of the laws of the game; the goals are the same size regardless of the teams; the officials apply the same laws, whether it’s a World Cup final or a Sunday league game between two pub teams. GLT will destroy this thread of consistency running through the game: economics dictates that cameras (and officials to study their pictures) will become too expensive only a little way down football’s pyramid. The park players on a weekend morning will be playing a different game to the professionals in the afternoon. Indeed, most of the professionals will be playing a different game to the elite few at the very top level, which is where GLT will likely find its home. And once GLT is in place, the demands will begin for further technological aids – to decide offsides, penalties and so on.

The only logical way for the referee to maintain his authority and work with technology is for technology to be applied to every element of the game. Then he can be tucked up in an office somewhere in the stadium with a load of blinking screens analysing every blade of grass, every tugged shirt and every sleight of hand. With all this information available to him, he’ll be top dog, free to interpret every subtle nuance in line with the Laws of the Game. He’d need an assistant on the pitch to actually enact his decisions, and there’d be lots of pauses to double-check possible offsides, bad tackles, handballs etc.; but so be it.

For me, and for many other fans, one of the beauties of football is its imperfection. Your favourite player might be capable of beating six opponents then calmly sidefooting the ball wide of the target. Your goalkeeper might make a wonder save then inexplicably throw the ball to the other side’s centre-forward. And it is the very same with referees and their assistants: most of the game they get everything right, but then – to the bafflement and anger of 30,000 people – they’ll make a decision so wrong it beggars belief. And you know what? I’m fine with that. It is a reminder that we are all but human, and our lives are littered with errors.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

The imperfect, in fact, is celebrated above all else in football. Players and managers cut deep with flaws are celebrated above the metronomes who do their job without incident. That’s why we still talk about Diego Maradona and Eric Cantona or Pele. It’s why one of the best-known TV clips, from the 1970 World Cup, shows Pelé missing a goal, not scoring. It’s why people watch compilations of terrible mistakes.

More to the point, though, disputes make football more exciting. Where commentators view an on-pitch fight and pompously declare “No one wants to see scenes like that”, fans see the same thing and bellow their approval. Equally, everyone who’s ever crowded into a stadium knows the up-swell of anger and adrenalin that follows a horrible call by the referee. They know the way the atmosphere picks up, the way voices rise, the way the fans exhort the team on to greater heights to compensate for the perfidy of officialdom – until 20,000 people are singing “You don’t know what you’re doing” at the referee. Those moments, when passion becomes uncontainable, are exactly what makes football great. Why on earth would anyone want to take them away from the game?

West Bromwich Albion are keeping tabs on Derby County forward Matej Vydra ahead of a possible move, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post.

What’s the word?

Darren Moore is attempting to shape a team that can challenge for promotion following last season’s relegation from the Premier League.

The Baggies are in danger of losing a handful of players asa  result of dropping into the second tier, but there is plenty of Championship talent up for grabs.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”252976″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch 21 things that will definitely happen at the World Cup”]

One man who could be available is Vydra, who has been at Derby since 2016, but there could be a scramble for his signature given the forward’s exploits in front of goal.

The 26-year-old, who has earned 20 international caps for the Czech Republic, scored an impressive 22 goals in all competitions last season.

According to the Yorkshire Evening Post, the Baggies are looking to rival Leeds United for Vydra and they have the upper hand due to the fact that they can offer better wages.

Is this a good idea from West Brom?

There is no doubt that Vydra was a key figure in the Championship during the 2017-16 campaign, but the Baggies do not have the best memories of the forward.

The Czech joined the club for the 2013-14 season, but could only muster three goals in 25 outings for the club.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Having said that, though, Vydra started just seven league matches, and if he was to rejoin he would be used more often.

Given the importance of this season for West Brom, it is imperative that they make the right choices in the transfer market, and the Derby forward falls into the ‘risk’ column.

Javier Hernandez’s arrival at West Ham United last summer was met with overwhelming approval from the club’s fans.

The Mexico international joined the East London outfit with a decent pedigree due to his previous spells at Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen.

When David Moyes replaced Slaven Bilic as manager in November, things started to change.

Hernandez struggled for game time, and in his first nine outings under the Scotsman, the forward did not play a full 90 minutes.

It is only in his last three appearances in all competitions when the ex-United man has competed for the whole game, but that could be down to the fact that Marko Arnautovic has been injured.

There were rumblings throughout the widespread media that Hernandez could leave in January, but a transfer never came to pass.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Now, during an interview with Radio Marca Claro, the 29-year-old has opened up about his relationship with the manager.

“We get along, there has never been anything, no personal problem, we have never had frictions, or those negative moments, we have not had anything. I’ve never had a problem with him or anyone, no personal problem, thank God. There will be people with whom I get along better than others, but that does not mean they are my enemies, the truth is that the situation [with Moyes] is fine, there is nothing wrong that I can say.”

Former Everton forward Graeme Sharp believes that his old side will be unable to keep Romelu Lukaku at the club if they miss out on Champions League qualification.

The powerful Belgian striker has enjoyed an excellent season on loan at Goodison Park from Chelsea, banging in 13 goals to keep the Merseysiders in contention for a top four finish.

But following their shock midweek loss against Crystal Palace, Everton are now a point off of Arsenal in the pursuit of the last spot in Europe’s top competition, and face a more difficult run-in than their London rivals.

Lukaku has hinted in the past that he is ready to play Champions League football, and Sharp believes that Roberto Martinez will need to guarantee him just that to make his stay a permanent one when the transfer window opens:

“The Lukaku situation will take care of itself. He’s said he wants to play in the Champions League. Now if Everton don’t get in that fourth spot, that answers its own question there.” He is quoted by talkSPORT.

“Where does he get Champions League football from though? I don’t think Chelsea will take him back to be honest.”

Sharp also doesn’t know if Everton can afford to fund a move for Lukaku, who is valued at over £20m:

“I honestly don’t believe Jose Mourinho fancies Lukaku, I think if he can sell him and bring somebody else in, he will do.

“But he wants the best price for Lukaku and in the last couple years he’s got a great goalscoring record with West Brom and Everton as well, so the price goes up.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

“I don’t know what the transfer budget at Everton is and what Roberto Martinez has got to spend in the summer but if he loses [Gareth] Barry and [Gerard] Deulofeu, I don’t know whether he can afford to spend it all on a centre-forward.”

[ffccomp link=”https://www.footballfancast.com/competitions/win-nikes-brand-new-england-football-kit” oneliner=”For your chance to WIN the new England kit made by Nike, simply comment below with your size…” step=”TELL US YOUR SIZE BELOW” terms=”http://england-kit-giveaway.pen.io/” topics=”england, nike, brazil, kit, football, soccer”]

Manchester United winger Nani is reportedly the subject of much interest at the moment with as many as six clubs thought to be chasing his signature after it became clear that the club would be willing to listen to offers for him for the first time after a series of disappointing displays this term, but should they really be looking to move him on?

The 25-year-old has been at Old Trafford for six years now and has always provided a steady and consistent stream of end product. Having scored 38 goals in 201 games so far for the club and he finished last season with 11 assists in the league, with only Antonio Valencia providing more as they were pipped to the league title by local rivals Manchester City by the narrowest of margins on the final day of last season. This is a player who had the joint-highest combined goals and assists record in the Premier League two seasons ago, with nine and a remarkable 18 respectively, as well as scoring eight and assisting 10 in 2011-12.

Nevertheless, there’s been a growing frustration at his performances over the past year or so and as he approaches his 26th birthday, it becomes harder and harder to explain away his poor decision-making. Cristiano Ronaldo suffered from a similar weakness in his initial years at Old Trafford and simply due to the nature that the two are from the same country, his apologists have often pleaded patience with Nani arguing that he will come good just in the same way that the Real Madrid man did, but it looks unlikely at the moment.

When you compare Nani to Valencia, his rival for a right wing berth, then it’s clear why Sir Alex Ferguson has largely favoured the Ecuadorian given that his delivery from wide areas is dependable and even if he may be something of a one trick pony, it’s a trick that works most of the time. Whereas with Nani, you simply don’t know what you’re going to get, which in itself can have an impact on the rest of the side with other players less willing to make a run off the ball for the fear that he’ll simply have a crack from distance or pelt one into the nearest man from out wide.

There’s also the fact that Ferguson has brought in two simply superb attacking options this summer in Shinji Kagawa and Robin van Persie. The Dutch striker is likely to be the focal point of the club’s attack while Wayne Rooney drops off behind him, with both Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez displaying good form at home and abroad of late.

This saw Ferguson go with three up front in their last home game against Stoke and start with a midfield diamond against Braga, with neither system lending itself to what United have become traditionally known for, which is playing two recognised wingers every game, which also decreases Nani’s chances of regular football.

His ego has also been a problem and had an impact on performances, and for every wonder goal he strikes from range, he balloons ten into the stands and why he insists on taking free-kicks from ‘Ronaldo range’ is beyond me. He’s a strange player to characterise fully, though, given that during some games he can be unplayable, with the 4-4 draw against Everton last term an example, and others absolutely appalling, which points to a player with a confidence level that’s more fragile than we are often led to believe.

The financial aspect is also worth considering and the club have spent a sizeable amount this summer and with over £50m spent on potentially crippling interest repayments in the year ending June 2011, with the promise of more to come, if the club could seal a deal for a fee in the region of £25m, particularly with his contract entering its final 18 months, would be far too tempting to turn down.

Much in the same way that Anderson frustrates but always offers a ray of hope every now and again with a superb showing, Nani does the same and they are probably the two most divisive players at the club right now. He is inconsistent yet creative, egotistical yet fragile and he flits between terrible and unplayable with the sort of consummate ease not normally associated with a Manchester United player.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

There’s no denying his talent, but with the numerous attacking options available at the moment, he’s far from a guaranteed starter, yet at the same time, while the money on offer may be extremely appealing, would the squad be in better shape if they did let him go? When discussing the rumoured departure of any player, that above all else is the question that needs to be asked and in his case, I’m not so sure it would be. He may have his flaws, plenty of them even, but he’s a player capable of unlocking doors and every side needs someone of that caliber from time to time.

You can follow me on Twitter @JamesMcManus1

[post_link url=” https://www.footballfancast.com/premiership/the-15-great-polar-opposites-within-football, https://www.footballfancast.com/premiership/football-fancast-paints-a-picture-of-the-modern-footballer, https://www.footballfancast.com/football-blogs/top-players-in-europe-who-would-be-the-perfect-fit-in-the-premier-league,https://www.footballfancast.com/premiership/the-football-quarterbacks-and-their-role-within-the-game,https://www.footballfancast.com/premiership/arsenal/the-ideal-role-for-theo-walcott” target=”_blank” type=”grid”]

According to the Daily Mail, Tottenham Hotspur have been told that they will have to come up with £60m in order to sign Bayer Leverkusen attacker Leon Bailey this summer.

Bailey, 20, joined Leverkusen from Genk in January 2017, and the attacker has gone from strength to strength during his time in the Bundesliga.

Indeed, the Jamaican ended the 2017-18 campaign with 12 goals and six assists in 34 appearances in all competitions.

Manchester United have been credited with an interest in Bailey, whilst the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Real Madrid are also believed to be admirers.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”253261″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Who could sign Gareth Bale this summer”]

Tottenham were said to be keen to secure a deal this summer, but it appears that they will have to bid £60m in order to convince Leverkusen to part with the wonderfully-gifted forward.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

The Tottenham fans have been reacting to the transfer speculation, and it would be fair to say that a number are desperate for their club to complete the deal this summer.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Manchester United starlet Tahith Chong scored once and generally impressed on his debut for the U23 side as they were beaten 3-1 by Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Wednesday night in front of a watching Jose Mourinho, and Red Devils fans have been quick to have their say on his display.

The central midfielder, who only celebrated his 18th birthday last month, scored his team’s goal as his energy and pressing forced the Spurs defence into a mistake, while his skill and all-round play will have certainly caught the attention of Mourinho in the stands.

With Michael Carrick retiring at the end of the season and Marouane Fellaini potentially leaving in the summer if he doesn’t agree a new deal, the Portuguese boss will be looking for more options in the middle of the park, and Chong could be one of those to get a call-up to the first team.

Man United supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the teenager’s performance, and while one descirbed him as “Fellaini but with feet”, another said “Chong is so similar to Sane”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

[ad_pod ]

David Moyes is ready to bring back forgotten man Rio Ferdinand, with Manchester United facing a defensive crisis following injuries to Jonny Evans and Phil Jones last week, reports the Daily Star.

England defender Jones suffered concussion during the defeat at Stoke, and is set to be sidelined for two weeks.

Meanwhile Evans has damaged his calf and is also expected to be out for a fortnight.

The injuries means Moyes finds his defensive options stretched ahead of this weekend’s clash with bottom club Fulham.

Nemanja Vidic is set to return to the first team following suspension, but Ferdinand will have to be called in from the cold.

The former England captain has been frozen out by Moyes in recent weeks, despite having returned to full training last month following a knee injury.

Ferdinand is out of contract at the end of the season, and is yet to be offered a new deal.

He is widely expected to leave Old Trafford in the summer, especially considering he has played just once since December.

“Rio is back and we will continue to use him at the right times and the right moments,” Moyes said.

“Rio has made a great contribution especially in the first half of the season. I played him in nearly all the opening eight to ten games.”

Reports had suggested the pair had fallen out after Ferdinand criticized Moyes’s decision to name his team as late as possible before games.

But Moyes has rubbished those reports, claiming Ferdinand remains a valuable member of his squad.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

“He was a big part in helping me to settle in. He helped me get my feet under the table a little bit,” he added.

“He has competition for centre half, but he is very much valued and looked at as one of the senior players here.”

Click below for great Mercedes offers!