Verdict: Man City Over 4.5 Goals
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Premier League table-toppers Manchester City continue their title chase with a home game against a high-flying Bournemouth side on Saturday afternoon. Visitors travel to Etihad desperate to end their three-match losing run but it will be easier said than done against the rampant Citizens.
Manchester City
Manchester City showed plenty of character during the week by coming from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw at Lyon and secure their place in the elimination stage of the Champions League. Pep Guardiola’s men shift their focus to domestic run which has been going in the formidable pace of late.
Five wins in a row and only two goals conceded speak volumes of Manchester City’s current form.…
Alexis Sanchez could help Manchester United win trophies if he decides to snub Manchester City for Jose Mourinho s men as former Red Devil Phil Neville tipped the Arsenal star to make a similar impact to Eric Cantona and Robin van Persie at Old Trafford.
Sanchez has been expected to join former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola at runaway Premier League leaders City in January after his protracted move to the Etihad Stadium fell through during the previous transfer window.
However, United have reportedly joined the race to sign the soon-to-be free agent from rivals Arsenal as Mourinho looks to hijack Guardiola s pursuit of the Chile forward – with out-of-favour playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan mentioned as a possible makeweight in a swap deal.
United beat City to the ca…
A late Mauricio Pinilla penalty gave Atalanta a dramatic 2-1 victory over Inter to increase pressure on beleagured Nerazzurri boss Frank De Boer.
Eder s second-half piledriver looked to have salvaged a point for Inter, before Pinilla stepped up to stroke in an 88th penalty and condemn the visitors to a third consecutive Serie A defeat.
Atalanta defender Andrea Masiello s close-range header in the early stages was just reward for a first half the hosts dominated as De Boer s men struggled for any sort of fluency, before a marked improvement in the second period.
But Pinilla s late spot-kick takes Atalanta above Inter in the Serie A standings and leaves De Boer s men winless in four straight league games, turning up the heat on the Dutchman.
I…
ROUND-UP
According to Calciomercato, Napoli have agreed a deal for former Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso to replace head coach Carlo Ancelotti. It comes with Ancelotti on the brink amid a nine-match winless streak ahead of Tuesday s crucial Champions League clash against Genk.
Manchester City are set to rival Chelsea for Bournemouth s Nathan Ake, says Sky Sports. Chelsea want to bring Ake back to Stamford Bridge following his exit in 2017. However, Premier League champions City are reportedly interested amid their defensive woes.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been offered an 18-month contract by Napoli, reports Gazzetta dello Sport. The 38-year-old is a free agent after leaving MLS outfit LA Galaxy and he has been linked to Milan and Inter.
Sport claim…
Championship leaders West Brom have boosted their promotion push with the signing of free agent Bakary Sako.
The Mali international, who was available after ending an injury ravaged spell at Crystal Palace, has signed a season-long contract.
Sako scored 15 goals for Wolves in his last Championship season in 2014-15 and said he wanted to link up with Baggies boss Darren Moore.
He played a big part, Sako told the club s website. A lot of Premier League clubs wanted me but as soon as I knew Darren wanted to see me I went to see him straight away and we clicked.
The way he manages players, the way he talks, he s passionate and I love that, that s why I came here.
Posting on Twitter, Sako added: I also would like to thank the people at Crystal Pal…
Alan Pardew left West Brom by mutual consent on Monday after what was statistically the seventh-worst tenure of a permanent manager in Premier League history.
The 56-year-old was appointed as the replacement for Tony Pulis in November but won just one of his 18 league matches in charge to leave the Baggies 10 points adrift of safety with just six games remaining.
Defeat in his final eight games matched the club s worst top-flight run since September 1985 and he leaves with the worst win percentage of any permanent West Brom boss in Premier League history.
As torrid as Pardew s Hawthorns reign was, there are six managers who have worse Premier League records.
Here, we take a closer look through that hall of shame.
1 Alan Pardew is the first manage…
Cristiano Ronaldo apologised after he appeared to smash a fan s phone following Manchester United s 1-0 loss at Everton on Saturday.
Anthony Gordon s deflected first-half strike consigned United to a second straight Premier League away defeat for the first time since January 2020.
It was a significant blow to the Red Devils hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, with Tottenham s victory over Aston Villa later in the day leaving Ralf Rangnick s side six points adrift of the top four.
Following the final whistle, a video emerged on social media which claimed to show Ronaldo breaking an Everton supporter s phone by throwing it into the floor.
The five-time Ballon d Or winner subsequently took to Instagram to explain his actions and offer to…
Manchester United have history in their sights as they head to Molineux on Sunday for a clash with Wolves.
Should Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s team avoid defeat, they would establish a new 28-game record for the longest unbeaten away run by an English top-flight team.
Saturday s fixture programme is bookended by two humdingers as Manchester City face Arsenal and Liverpool tackle Chelsea at Anfield, while Tottenham host Watford on Sunday.
Try our Opta-powered quiz for size before the action gets under way.
-0.7 Since Mikel Arteta s first game in charge on Boxing Day in 2019, Arsenal s Premier League opponents now have a higher expected goals return (78.9) than Arsenal do themselves (78.2). Negative.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
1. Solskjaer takes cha…
Real Madrid and Sergio Ramos are currently negotiating a new deal for the 32-year-old defender, according to .
The current contract binding the Spain captain to Los Blancos expires in 2021, and he is keen on extending it for two years. His wish is to feel secure enough to be able to focus on maintaining his form at the highest level. On the other hand, Real have a strict policy when it comes to the contracts of players who hit a certain age they don t hand out extensions for more than 12 months.
The difference in their goals here may yet prove a problem, with Pepe, who left Santiago Bernabeu in 2017 at the age of 34 for that very reason, a good example. What s more, Ramos has flirted with other clubs in the past, but it is believed he actually used that approach simply …
Market: Zhejiang Professional win
Odds: 1/1 @
Hoping to make up some ground in the AFC Champions League chase, Zhejiang Professional will travel to Shenzhen Peng City on Tuesday lunchtime.
Starting with the hosts, although Shenzhen Peng City might have claimed a much-welcomed boost over the past fortnight, Jesus Tato’s men have drastically struggled to find any kind of stability since making their top-flight debut this season. Despite extending on their FA Cup adventure last weekend as they secured a 2-0 victory away at Qingdao Red Lions, the one-time Girona striker has seen his squad muster just a single victory from any of their previous 10 straight Super League appearances. With that run stemming all the way back to April 9th, the Guangdong-based outfit app…