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For the second time in under a week, Manchester City and Liverpool are set to face each other directly on Saturday, this time on neutral ground. They will be battling it out for a place in the FA Cup final, which means the venue of action is Wembley.
Last week they met at the Etihad in the Premier League, in a match that could have swung the title race either way but eventually left it where it was, with City leading the way ahead of Liverpool by a single point. Kevin De Bruyne s deflected shot broke the deadlock after less than five minutes, and Diogo Jota finished off a great team move for the visitors to level things up in the 13th. Gabriel Jesus took advantage of a poorly set Liverpool defence to ensure his team went to the break …
Romelu Lukaku is set to hold talks with the relevant people at Inter Milan in order to discuss the possibility of returning to the Serie A side, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Lukaku joined Inter from Manchester United in 2019 for a reported fee of €74 million. In the two years that followed, he made a total of 95 appearances in all competitions for the Nerazzurri, scoring 64 goals and helping them win the 2020-21 Scudetto under the command of Antonio Conte. Last year, he went back to Chelsea as a star signing for €115m.
However, things haven t worked out too well at Stamford Bridge for him, with manager Thomas Tuchel apparently preferring more mobile, interchangeable attackers in his team to a classing centre-forwad. Nonetheless, he s still managed 15 goals in 44 ma…
Former England Women s manager Mark Sampson s Football Association (FA) charge for allegedly using racist language has been found not proven.
Sampson was caretaker boss at League Two side Stevenage at the time he was alleged to have breached FA Rule E3, relating to a comment that was improper and/or abusive and/or insulting .
It was claimed to be an aggravated breach , meaning it referenced ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race and/or nationality .
However, Sampson denied the charge and requested a hearing, which took place at Wembley on January 9 and 10.
An independent regulatory commission found the charge not proven and it was dismissed.
The decision, published on the FA website, outlined a direct conflict of evidence within the hearing.
Manchester United and Liverpool have traditionally battled for supremacy in English football.
Liverpool s golden period, starting in the mid-1970s and spanning the 1980s, gave way to Alex Ferguson s dominant reign at Old Trafford, when United usurped their rivals tally of 18 top-flight titles.
As such, the Merseyside club have generally played second fiddle during the Premier League era – but that might all be about to change with Jurgen Klopp at the helm.
United have never been further behind Liverpool in the Premier League before Christmas than the yawning 16-point deficit they will aim to make a dent in at Anfield on Sunday.
Here, we look back at some other moments when this battle has been fought on uneven terms.
United on the ev…
Romelu Lukaku admitted during the unveiling of Inter s new playing strip that it was a mistake to leave the club and head back to Chelsea.
Lukaku, 29, had a superb run with Inter after arriving at the club from Manchester United ahead of the 2019-20 season, scoring a combined 64 goals from 95 club appearances across two seasons.
His stellar play in Italy caught the attention of his former club from Stamford Bridge, who opted to bring him back for a club-record fee of £97.5million.
The Belgian s return to the Premier League was disappointing, regularly finding himself out of Chelsea s best XI even when healthy, finishing with just eight goals in 26 league games, prompting a £7m loan move back to the Serie A to try and recoup some of Chelsea s sunk cost.
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Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling is about to sign a record-breaking sportswear deal with Adidas, who are currently the kit manufacturers for Real Madrid. It could, as reported by , pave the way for the La Liga giants to revive their interest in the England international.
It s been no big secret that Los Blancos have been tracking Sterling for years now. Head coach Zinedine Zidane admitted as much during his first stint in the Santiago Bernabeu dugout, but the trail has gone cold in the meantime.
However, Adidas have a history of helping Real make galactico signings, and they are now keen to see their soon-to-be client join the Spanish giants.
Sterling joined City from Liverpool in 2015 after a long process of angling for a move and refusing to sign a new c…
According to a recent report from Gazzetta dello Sport, Fabio Borini could be interested in a return to the Premier League. The AC Milan star is set to leave during the upcoming January transfer window, with one of the primary clubs in the race to sign him being none other than Crystal Palace. The former Liverpool and Sunderland man always seemed to be a fan favourite during his time in England’s top flight, and he likely would be again the second time around.
Palace are clearly struggling to really ignite any sort of attacking spark this season, with even Wilfried Zaha struggling to get into the usual rhythm that we’ve all seen from him over the years. Whether or not Borini is the right man to come in remains to be seen, as many will point towards the fact that he…
Diego Simeone praised his team s desire to take risks after Atletico Madrid beat Celta Vigo 4-1 at the Civitas Metropolitano.
Goals from Angel Correa, Rodrigo de Paul and Yannick Carrasco were added to by an Unai Nunez own goal after Gabriel Veiga scored a consolation for the visitors.
De Paul scored and recorded an assist in the same LaLiga game for the first time in his career, after 75 league games with Valencia (34) and Atletico (41).
It was the third time Atletico have scored at least four goals at home in LaLiga in 2022, just one fewer than in the previous four years combined in the competition (once in 2018, twice in 2020 and once in 2021).
Their only other home league game in 2022-23 saw them lose to Villarreal, but they fared better on Sat…
With an international break on the horizon, this is the last opportunity for a couple of weeks for fantasy football manager to get some significant points on the board.
It s been a tricky season for predictions so far as well, making it a bit hazardous for picking fantasy teams, with home advantage seemingly going out of the window.
While there were five home wins on matchday two, matchday three produced just two of them.
Even just a single player change can have a massive points swing in fantasy football, so ahead of the weekend action, take a look at our Opta-powered picks – they might just give you the advantage in your league.
The player I predicted to start the season with lots of points who hasn t is
— Fantasy Premier League (@Official…
According to a recent report from Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona youngster Carles Alena is still set to leave the club next month during the January transfer window. The belief is that Real Betis are the frontrunners in the race to acquire his signature, although many are expecting there to be a few twists and turns along the way.
Betis have been notably interested in signing Alena for quite some time now, but some felt as if Barca were going to make a last minute pitch to try and keep him at the club. That no longer appears to be the case, with the Spanish giants quite clearly making a statement that the depth of their squad has left no room for Carles right now.
At the age of just 21 you’d have to imagine he will be back at a top club within a matter of years,…