For the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson left Old Trafford, United go into a Manchester derby as genuine favourites. Louis van Gaal has ensured his new side have recovered from their early season slump to such an extent that they now find themselves ahead of their city rivals for the first time in what seems like an age.
On the Blue side of Manchester, there is a full blown crisis; the wheels have fallen off the City title challenge quicker than a Jesus Navas cross being intercepted by the first man. Three defeats in their last five have left them not only out of the title race, but with question marks surrounding their chances of remaining in the top four.
Vincent Kompany has recently suggested that they are playing Man United at the perfect time. “It’s the perfect place for us to go and try rectify what we’ve done.” As the old cliché goes, form goes out of the window on the derby day. So where are the best value bets to ensure you can navigate the madness of the Manchester Derby?
United’s captain, the leading scorer in the fixture, is surely desperate to put smiles back on the faces of those wearing red and ensure bragging rights are with his fans.
The reverse fixture in November saw Manchester City run out 1-0 winners following Chris Smalling’s first half dismissal. City, similarly to now, found themselves in a poor run of form at the time, but managed to win the tie with the solitary goal. That game was a rarity compared to recent fixtures as in the four previous encounters goals had flowed feely, with two fixtures seeing three goals and the remaining seeing a whopping five.
With Manchester City’s recent frailties at the back, twinned with Wayne Rooney’s return to form in his favoured forward role, goals could be on the cards come Sunday afternoon.
Back over 2.5 goals @ 5/6
Without the creaking Van Persie and the stuttering Falcao, Wayne Rooney has finally been given free rein to show his attacking license in his preferred position. Simply put, he seems back to his best for both club and country, with six goals in his last eight games. United’s skipper’s record against their neighbours is one to strike fear into the bluest heart – he has managed to notch 11 times in this fixture. He is so often the man for the big occasion, expect to see him step up once again.
Back Wayne Rooney to score anytime @ 6/4
The final recommendation for this weekend’s big game is on the most basic of markets. Although they have lost the last four against their ‘Noisy Neighbours’; Manchester United are absolutely flying at the moment and for the first time in Van Gaal’s tenure they seem to be playing the kind of football the Old Trafford faithful longs for. City on the other hand are desperate for the solace of Test Cricket and beach holidays. If they can scrape a top four place it will be all they can wish for. Expect Manchester United to increase the pressure on Pellegrini come Sunday evening.
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Norwich manager Chris Hughton has set his sights on Birmingham’s teenage sensation Nathan Redmond, according to reports from The Mirror.
The Canaries boss sent scouts to watch the 19-year-old in action against Wolves, and was impressed by the feedback received.
He is now ready to make a summer offer for the winger, who is widely tipped as one of the Championship’s finest emerging stars.
Hughton is keen to add some creativity and flair to his attacking set-up this summer, and sees Redmond as the ideal man to follow his capture of Ricky van Wolfswinkel from Sporting.
Only Stoke have netted fewer goals than the East Anglians this term, which is a real source of concern for the club.
Hughton, who joined Norwich from Birmingham last year, has made multiple attempts to sign some his former players, with Curtis Davies one of his top targets.
Multiple bids for the defender were knocked back in January, but he is confident of being able to reach an agreement with the Midlanders to take Redmond this summer.
He may also return for Davies, a player he is known to be a fan of.
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Meanwhile, Blackburn’s Martin Olsson is also being lined up for a move, with the Carrow Road outfit keen to bring in a new left-back.
Brazilian winger Kenedy has made quite the impression on the Newcastle United supporters since joining the club on loan from Chelsea during the January transfer window.
The attacker has scored twice and provided two assists in his eight Premier League appearances for the Magpies, but it is his overall contribution and commitment to the cause that has made him so popular with the Newcastle fans.
Rafael Benitez’s side are obviously desperate to sign him on a permanent deal, but it is thought that Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and indeed Arsenal will also be in the running if Chelsea decide to sell at the end of the 2017-18 campaign.
On Wednesday, Kenedy was voted Newcastle’s Player of the Month for March by the club’s official shirt sponsors Fun88.
The Newcastle fans were not surprised to see the 22-year-old pick up the award, and a large number took to social media to lavish praise on the in-form attacker.
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A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
Chelsea star Diego Costa has hit out at English defenders for kicking him during Premier League games, according to reports from the Daily Star.
Costa made a £32million move from Atletico Madrid during the summer and has settled in nicely with the Blues, scoring 19 league goals in 23 games for Jose Mourinho’s men.
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However, the Spain international has been involved in several incidents this season, including a three-game suspension for a stamp on Liverpool’s Emre Can and a tunnel bust up with Reds co-captain Jordan Henderson.
Now the Chelsea striker has come out to insist that he is trying to control his temper in the hopes of avoiding any more confrontation with the referees, but that he isn’t helped by his opponents constantly hacking him during the games.
“Some players try to put me out of the game,” he said.
“But I’m getting to control my temper better all the time, and I just set out to play my normal game.
“When I think about English defenders the word nobility doesn’t come to mind. They kick me all the time, just like they did in Spain.
“But I don’t complain. They go in hard on me, but over here the refs don’t give me free kicks whereas they do in Spain.
“The Premier League is not over-rated. It is a tough league, with huge teams, and the small sides can beat you.”
The 27-year-old is now sitting out of Spain duty with a hamstring injury, which has been largely criticised by the Spanish media as the player not showing enough commitment to the national set-up.
But Costa thinks otherwise, and feels he has just been unlucky not to be at full fitness for La Furia Roja.
He added: “I was in good form, I thought everything was finally going to work out. I really wanted to prove my form and my worth…
“My history with the national team is that it still hasn’t really started. I haven’t done anything yet.
“Sometimes it angers me that they put in doubt my commitment.
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“I already proved that I’m enthusiastic and that I want to achieve success with the national team.
“The best way to silence the critics is to play and to do things well. But I haven’t done that yet and hence, I have to listen and swallow it.”
If there was one player within this Tottenham Hotspur side that has perhaps personified the Lilywhites’ rollercoaster season so far, although he might seem the most apparent choice, Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson might prove a somewhat fitting selection.
Indeed, the 23-year-old has – very much in sync with the greater feeling of the team he plays for – struck something of an enigmatic figure at White Hart Lane. Having arrived at the club last summer generally heralded as an attacking component that would fit seamlessly within Andre Villas-Boas’ new-look side, if Sigurdsson was a model puzzle piece, then it’s certainly been hard work making him fit properly.
Like the performances of Villas-Boas’ side for much of the season, we’ve often seen flashes of brilliance from the former-Hoffenheim man, but only when the often-overbearing mist of inconsistency has subsided.
When watching him scurry about the pitch for Spurs this season, it’s not felt particularly difficult to recognize his talent and potential, but figuring out quite how to maximize the most out of it has resembled a much harder task. Again, not exactly something that cannot be applied on a much larger plain in N17.
But as now enter the final straight of the Premier League campaign, far from finding himself on the periphery as he has done at several points this season for Spurs, Sigurdsson is now sitting at the heart of an increasing bitter battle for Champions League qualification. And although some at White Hart Lane remain slightly skeptical about his true worth to this Tottenham side, he looks set to play an important role in determining his team’s fate this season.
Sunday’s ground out 2-2 draw with Everton saw Sigurdsson underline his recent rise to prominence within Villas-Boas’ side by scoring a crucial 87th minute equalizer in a game which saw the Icelandic international turn in another astute performance on the left-hand side.
Sigurdsson is now enjoying what’s comfortably his best spell of form at the club since his £8million summer move, having now started seven of the Lilywhites’ last eight games and scoring four goals in his last nine showings. Not a bad turnaround for a man whose placing at the club was deemed insecure enough to lure Reading in for a deadline day bid at the end of the January transfer window.
The key to his turnaround? Belief, perhaps more than anything else.
After a difficult start to his Tottenham career, in which a crushing sense of expectation paired with a seeming lack of time and patience to adapt to a new role within a new formation, saw Sigurdsson struggle to make an impact at his new club.
With Clint Dempsey managing to find his feet quicker at the club, the former-Reading man had to make do with bit-part cameos coming off the bench in an attempt to force his way back into proceedings; cameos of which came much harder to come by following Gareth Bale’s central deployment and the arrival of Lewis Holtby from Schalke.
Yet despite often struggling to find a solid role within this side, Sigurdsson has kept his head down, worked hard and continued to furrow away whenever he’s been given the chance.
But it was when he really seized his opportunity against West Ham United after coming off the bench to score in the 3-2 win, that he reached something of a crossroad in his Spurs career. There was little more that Sigurdsson could have done to earn to a start, but for as easy as it would have been for Villas-Boas to leave him on the bench against Arsenal, the Portuguese rewarded his effort with a start. A superb assist to Bale in the North London derby followed and since then, he hasn’t looked back.
Playing on the left hand side of whatever variation of a midfield three or four that Villas-Boas has asked of him, Sigurdsson has managed to finally carve a niche out for himself in this Tottenham side. It’s not perfect – Sigurdsson has recently admitted that playing out on the wing isn’t his ‘favourite’ position – but most importantly, it’s a role that he’s making the most out of. And should he move forward with his Spurs career, it’s this period now that could be the making of him.
While Spurs were left far too bereft of pace and penetration during the weekend, Sigurdsson once again demonstrated why his guile and industry has a place within Villas-Boas’ side. Technically astute and consistently inventive, what sets the 23-year-old apart from the seemingly infinite pallet of similarly neat and tidy players at the club, is his goal threat.
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His current return of six goals is hardly setting the world on fire, but with a run of games has come a surge of confidence and Sigurdsson is beginning to show the vision and touch in front of goal that saw Tottenham fight it out with Liverpool to acquire his signature in the first place. Should he wish to eventually play more centrally within this Spurs side, he’ll have to start contributing more during matches and wield a far greater influence in building up play.
But as we enter the final straight of the season, Sigurdsson is finally looking like an effective part of the puzzle at Spurs, as opposed to a faltering and awkward component.
With Champions League qualification now hanging in the balance and a squad looking worryingly destabilized by injury, Tottenham need the likes of Sigurdsson to now step up and shoulder responsibility.
In terms of solidifying his Spurs future, the Icelandic international now has a guilt edged opportunity to finally convince the remaining doubters – as well as his manager – that he deserves a permanent place in this side. Where the club finish will go a long way to determining how well he will have taken that chance.
Everton will look to beat Liverpool for the first time since October 2010 when the Merseyside rivals meet in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.It does seem incredible that Everton have not overcome their bitter rivals for almost eight years, with Liverpool utterly dominating this fixture in recent seasons.Sam Allardyce’s side won back-to-back Premier League matches against Brighton & Hove Albion and Stoke City last month before being brought back to earth with a 3-1 defeat at home to runaway leaders Manchester City last weekend.[ad_pod ]The Everton supporters will be looking for a response at Goodison Park this weekend, but it seems that not many are confident of their team’s chances of picking up a result.Toffees full-back Seamus Coleman, who has been tipped to become the new Everton captain, attempted to rally the troops with some words on the derby. However, it appears that Coleman’s quotes have fallen on deaf ears.A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
Since making just over 10 starts for Manuel Pellegrini’s champions throughout the course of this season, former Arsenal man, Bacary Sagna, is apparently ready to end his spell at the Etihad – according to reports from The Mirror.
As the 32-year-old Frenchman only signed for Manchester City last summer, any potential move linking Sagna away from his current employers would largely indicate that things haven’t gone well for him at his new club.
Within the context of Pablo Zabaleta’s somewhat un-droppable form of late however, it perhaps comes as no surprise that Arsene Wenger’s former favourite – who incidentally spent seven years playing at the Emirates – has been forced to play second fiddle to the Argentinean throughout this season.
Yet Bacary Sagna’s initial arrival in Manchester was in-fact met with some suspicion. Arsenal could have offered him a great deal more first team football, as well as the chance to be part of their grand plans for the 2014/15 campaign – but as working with Manuel Pellegrini’s star-studded squad outlined a more likely chance to win silverware this season, Sagna’s Gunners career had seemingly come to its natural end.
If the French international does to decide to move on from the Etihad come the end of term nonetheless, high flying Serie A outfit AS Roma, are thought to be strong admirers of the former Arsenal man and would be reportedly willing to offer Sagna a new life away from the Premier League.
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Tottenham winger Gareth Bale’s claim that his side are now the superior force on the pitch when it comes to the matter of supremacy in north London wasn’t greeted with widespread dismay earlier in the week, rather a knowing nod of the head by most, which if anything signals a sign of the times, but does the evidence back up his point?
After delivering one of the outstanding performances of the season during the club’s 3-2 win against West Ham away at Upton Park on Monday night, Bale confirmed his status as one of the deadliest players in the world at the moment with another match-winning strike late on of stunning proportions to go on top of his earlier goal and assist which helped haul Tottenham back into the game. The debate about whether he is or isn’t world-class is a moot one for the most part, but what is clear is that he is now finally delivering the sort of devastating displays needed to become one of the world’s best players for the first time in his career.
With that in mind, who better to comment ahead of the eagerly anticipated north London derby on Sunday, with Bale telling The Sun: “I think five or 10 years ago Arsenal were always miles ahead of Tottenham. But that has changed in recent years. Over the past few seasons we have closed that gap and I think now we have overtaken them on the pitch. I think we have the stronger squad.
“Hopefully we can continue to do that as a club off the pitch as well, with the new stadium that is being built. But on the pitch and as a team now we are a lot more consistent and as a club we’re moving in the right direction. Arsenal may say they are still ahead of us. But whatever people’s opinions I don’t think anyone can deny we are up there fighting with them on merit now.”
Arsenal haven’t finished below Tottenham in the league table since the 1994/5 season when the Gunners finished 12th to the rivals 7th in the league. For those fans mollycoddled on the recent successes of the Arsene Wenger era, the early 90s were a dark period for the club in terms of competitiveness to an extent that they were considered little more than a cup side, and the Frenchman turned the rivalry on its head.
Under Harry Redknapp, the 5-2 defeat last season threatened to be little more than a blip on their way to finally finishing above them, but he somehow contrived to oversee a side that threw away a 12-point advantage to finish third, eventually missing out of Champions League football in the process which ultimately cost him his job. Of course, Redknapp’s version of events, as it always is, is spun a little differently to that, but in all honesty, nobody is really buying it, just as QPR are further adrift from 17th spot now than they were when he took over from the sacked Mark Hughes back in November and he’s a master at altering perception to forgive his flaws in the face of statistical information to the contrary.
Nevertheless, he had helped assemble a decent and at times thrilling Tottenham side to watch and while they may have at times been absolutely rotten during that run that saw them throw away third place, they were brilliant for a two-three-month period that saw them briefly talked about as outside title challengers. The pace of change that has taken place at the club since then, though – new manager, coaching staff, training ground, the loss of both Modric and Vand der Vaart, new playing style – makes their achievements this term seem all the more impressive.
They are far from the finished article now under Andre Villas-Boas, perhaps even lacking more in several key areas now than they did under Redknapp and many of last season’s best performers – Assou-Ekotto, Kaboul, Parker, Friedel, Walker, Adebayor – have barely contributed at all this term, yet the side are unbeaten in the league since December 9th and their last-minute capitulation against Everton, a run that stretches over 11 games and they still retain an outside chance of finishing second ahead of Manchester City.
What has become clear is that while they may have been a touch more enjoyable to watch under Redknapp at their best and less reliant on Bale to, for want of a better word, continue to bail them out every other game, they are a much more difficult side to beat this season under the Portuguese boss and that they’ve won nine league outings by a solitary goal speaks volumes for their mental strength and the sort of spirit that has become ingrained throughout the squad.
When looking at the raw data, the issue of belief becomes even more important considering that Tottenham have kept just seven clean sheets to Arsenal’s nine, they’ve conceded 32 goals to their 30 and scored 47 goals to their rivals tally of 52, while both teams have lost six teams in the league this campaign. However, it is Tottenham that find themselves with a crucial four-point lead ahead of Sunday’s big game at White Hart Lane having lost their last two derby games 5-2. It simply doesn’t add up.
Cast your eye around their squads and the depths of both are relatively comparable, with perhaps an edge to Arsenal’s, but it’s the quality of the starting elevens and the partnerships within the teams that matter most, while the approaches of the two managers could not be more opposed, with confidence fragile in one camp and high in the other. Wenger not only completely lacks a plan B, he plays it in games willingly knowing it won’t work, just as they did in the 3-1 loss to Bayern Munich at home in the Champions League, while Villas-Boas takes on an altogether more pragmatic style, picking his teams dependent on the opposition, not regardless of them.
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In the end, the real difference between the two, rather fittingly, is that Tottenham have a game-changer such as Bale in the final third and Arsenal don’t possess someone with quite the same ability. Sure, Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere are the envy of most clubs, but Bale could walk into any side in Europe on current form and he may just about be enough to drag the club back into Europe’s elite competition for next season while the Gunners continue to find it more and more of a struggle to continue their outstanding run of 17 consecutive years of participation.
It’s long been suggested that balance of power has shifted in north London, often rather prematurely, and while we may gauge more clearly by Sunday the real difference in quality, which looks paper thin at the moment, the momentum looks to be with Tottenham for the future not only because of their talismanic Welshman, but because of the respective visions put forward by the men in each dugout.
After Jose Mourinho’s latest public display of displeasure against him, Luke Shaw is reportedly set to leave Manchester United in the summer and there will be no shortage of suitors.
Spanish giants Barcelona are the biggest club who have been linked with the England international but, closer to home, two of the clubs who look set to battle it out for his signature are Everton and Southampton.
That’s why Football FanCast asked; which club would be a better destination for Shaw, who is currently valued at £13.5m by Transfermarkt?
Everton have struggled at left-back this season, in the absence of Leighton Baines. The former Wigan man is back from injury now but surely the Toffees have one eye on a long-term successor for the Liverpudlian. Shaw could be that man.
Southampton have Ryan Bertrand, who has continued to impress this year and is currently ahead of Shaw in the England pecking order as well, so his path to the first-team at St Mary’s could well be blocked.
In any case, 61 per cent of those we asked said that Goodison Park would be the better destination for Shaw at this stage. Check out the full results of the poll below…
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Although Wilfried Bony is signing for a team with a host of talent up front, Manchester City’s new signing will provide the goals to push Chelsea all the way in the title race this season.
His £28 million fee may seem like a lot of money but there is no doubt that Bony will find the back of net, especially when star forward Sergio Aguero is out injured. Although the Argentinian has returned to first team action, Bony is an excellent second option for City if Aguero picks up further injuries between now until the end of the campaign.
One of the top scorers in 2014, Bony (20 goals) joins Aguero (17), Yaya Toure (18) and Edin Dzeko (14), meaning City now have four of the top five goalscorers in 2014. This clearly shows that Manchester City will have a wealth of attacking options, with Bony providing something slightly different to the array of talent at the Etihad. Bony is incredibly dangerous in the air and is one of the best finishers in the league. He is also very strong, meaning he can often play the role of the target man, bringing midfielders into the game, similar to the Sigurdsson partnership that was very dangerous at Swansea City.
It’s fair to suggest that Wilfried Bony was hot property in January and his presence in the City squad will only strengthen their team. The Champions League will be a great opportunity for Bony to showcase his talent on Europe’s biggest stage. However, Manchester City’s Champions League squad is full so it will be interesting to see whether a player makes way for Bony or whether the Ivorian will be saved for the Premier League. If he is played solely in the Premier League, there is no doubt that he will thrive off the service that he will be given at Manchester City.
Chelsea also boast a wealth of talent up front but if Diego Costa picks up an injury, there is not a striker of Bony’s class waiting in reserve. It almost seems wrong to determine the winners of the Premier League through the quality of reserve striker but the importance of squad depth cannot be underestimated. Chelsea have an excellent squad of players but if weaknesses are possible to find, it could be in the striking position. Manchester City now have some of the best strikers in the league at their disposal, all battling for a starting berth. Competition for places will always bring the best out of top players which is only good news for the Citizens.
The potential for a new striking partnership is also something that Manchester City should be excited about. In fairness, City have struggled to find a regular attacking duo as a result of Aguero’s brilliant form in a lone role up front. But the prospect of Aguero and Bony forming a partnership is sure to get City fans excited. This will mean that a player in City’s excellent midfield has to be sacrificed but it does mean that Pellegrini has given himself a plan B, another advantage resulting from Bony’s signing.
Although Chelsea have more than enough quality to win the league, they should be weary of the Champions and their strengthened strike force. Bony has arrived at the perfect time to provide a timely boost to City’s attack, who had actually coped rather well in the absence of a recognised striker. Bony will be hungry to play games and prove himself and he should not be overlooked as a squad signing.
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If Bony gets a run in the Manchester City team, it could be difficult for other players, including Aguero, to get into the side. Either way, it is a welcoming problem for Manuel Pellegrini, who has added further quality to a squad that was already capable of challenging Chelsea all the way for the Premier League title.