Claudio Bravo could write his name into Man City folklore at Anfield

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Claudio Bravo could write his name into Manchester City folklore in the upcoming fixture against Liverpool. Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Ederson will miss the vital clash at Anfield after he was withdrawn against Atalanta through injury.

The Brazilian has failed to recover in time, and as much as he could be a huge miss, it gives Bravo a unique opportunity to rewrite the script and transform his dubious reputation in Manchester.

The 36-year-old has bags of experience in these massive fixtures, helping Chile win two Copa America’s and playing 37 times for Barcelona in their 2014-15 La Liga win.

Despite the fact his frailties have come to dominate his reputation, the Chilean is also no stranger to shot-stopping at crucial times for the Citizens since he joined the club for £15.4m.

Bravo played six times as City won the EFL Cup back in 2017-18, where he also kept two clean sheets and was the hero in two penalty shootouts.

Against the Reds, it has now become a must-win game for the champions with the current standings. A win for Liverpool and the Merseysiders will go nine clear at the top of the table after just 12 games.

However, similar to Willy Caballero, Bravo has the chance to steal City hearts.

Once upon a time, Caballero was not an appreciated figure by City fans, but his heroics in a penalty shootout victory against Liverpool in 2016 saw him become something of a cult hero. Chants of “walking in a Willy wonderland” and “he used to be s****, but now he’s alright” became popular terrace anthems in light of his performance against the Reds, proving that players are capable of shaping their reputation during these gargantuan fixtures.

Now, the Chilean has the chance to do the same against an almighty side.

The front three for Liverpool have once again been in excellent form and any keeper would need to be in supreme form to keep them at bay. Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane have 19 goals between them thus far, and the famous trio are likely to be relishing the prospect of getting at City and testing the number two between the sticks.

Bravo has the chance to stop the goal machines of Liverpool, and should he do that, there could be a place waiting for him in club folklore.

Well, at least if the hosts are awarded penalty, Bravo will have a psychological advantage.

التسوية والتحكيم يلزم عبد الله السعيد بدفع 2 مليون دولار لـ الأهلي

ألزمت الهيئة التحكيمية بمركز التسوية والتحكيم، عبد الله السعيد لاعب بيراميدز الحالي، بدفع 2 مليون دولار أمريكي إلى النادي الأهلي قيمة الشرط الجزائي المتفق عليه والمنصوص بعقد بيع اللاعب من القلعة الحمراء إلى نادي أهلي جدة السعودي نظرًا لمخالفة اللاعب شروط التعاقد.

عقد احتراف عبد الله السعيد من الأهلي المصري إلى أهلي جدة، قد تضمن بند يمنع السعيد من الانتقال لأي ناد مصري إلا بعد دفع الشرط الجزائي المقدر بمليوني دولار، وبعد عودة اللاعب للبطولة المحلية عبر بوابة بيراميدز، تقدم الأهلي بشكوى للاتحاد الدولي “فيفا”.

طالع أيضا.. إسماعيل يوسف يروي كواليس توقيع عبد الله سعيد لـ الزمالك ويصرح: رفضت ضم لاعب الأهلي!

كان النادي الأهلي قد كلف المستشار حلمي عبد الرازق “رحمة الله عليه” المستشار القانوني للنادي وبالتعاون مع اللجنة القضائية بإتخاذ الإجراءات القانونية أمام مركز التسوية والتحكيم لحفظ حقوق النادي في العقد المشار إليه، وقدم إلى هيئة التحكيم كافة المستندات التي تؤكد على أحقية الأهلي في الحصول على قيمة الشرط الجزائي المنصوص عليه في العقد.

يذكر، أن إدارة الأهلي تلقت ردًا من الاتحاد الدولي “فيفا” بأنه لم يعد منوطًا بحل النزاع الخاص بمستحقات النادي، لأن اللاعب حاليًا ضمن صفوف نادي مصري (بيراميدز)، وبالتالي بات الأمر شأنا داخليا والمسئول عنه هو اتحاد الكرة، ليتحول الأمر إلى لجنة التسوية والتحكيم والتي أعلنت قرارها اليوم.

Jordan Hugill is thriving on loan at Queens Park Rangers

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Loan Watch series, which takes a closer look at those players who are aiming to galvanise their careers away from the spotlight of their parent club.

When Jordan Hugill left West Ham United to join Queens Park Rangers on loan during the summer, he did so as a man with a point to prove

He had pretty much been discarded by the Hammers after playing just 22 minutes of football for them across three substitute appearances in 2018.

The striker spent last season with Middlesbrough, scoring 6 goals in 20 league starts and 17 substitute appearances for the club – a decent total, albeit far from eye-catching.

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He has really kicked on this season at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium though, already exceeding last season’s goal tally with 7 strikes from 11 starts and 4 substitute appearances – that tally includes a brace against Sheffield Wednesday to secure a 2-1 victory for QPR.

Following that game, Mark Warburton summarised how useful he has been for the club, as he was quoted on West London Sport as saying: “A good striker feeds off of good chances and I told him he’d get that by coming to QPR, and he has. He’s responded really well.

“There were good quality finishes today I’m sure he upset a few in the crowd. But you have to do that. You have to come to a tough venue and draw the fouls, and you have to be strong, and you have to look after the football and link play – and he did all of those and more.”

The 27-year-old’s effectiveness hasn’t come solely from goals though, as he has won 3.3 aerial duels per game, helping to bring strike partner Nakhi Wells into the game – his influence is indicated by the fact he has already been awarded Man of the Match twice by WhoScored.

His lack of polish is still evident though, marked by 6 yellow cards, 2.2 fouls committed per game, as well as his average of 2.5 unsuccessful touches.

It is this side of the former Preston North End striker’s game that makes it unlikely Manuel Pellegrini will reinstate him to the West Ham team, but that should not detract from the fact Hugill, who is valued at £5.4m by Transfermarkt, has achieved some form of redemption this season after a tough couple of years since moving to the Hammers.

أبرز المعلومات عن مباراة الزمالك وإنبي اليوم في الدوري.. الأبيض يتفوق في تاريخ المواجهات

يخوض فريق الزمالك مباراة هامة ومرتقبة مساء اليوم الجمعة، عندما يواجه نظيره إنبي، في جولة جديدة من جولات مسابقة الدوري المصري.

يلتقي الزمالك وإنبي، في التاسعة مساء اليوم الجمعة ضمن منافسات الجولة الثانية والعشرون من مسابقة الدوري المصري، على استاد القاهرة.

اقرأ ايضًا.. وزارة الرياضة لـ بطولات: سنتواصل مع فيفا و”الأولمبية” لتمديد عمل لجنتي الزمالك واتحاد الكرة ترتيب الزمالك وإنبي في جدول الدوري المصري

يتصدر الزمالك جدول ترتيب الدوري المصري، برصيد 45 نقطة، بعدما خاض 21 مباراة حقق خلالها الفوز في 13 مباراة وتعادل في 6 لقاءات وهُزم في مباراتين.

فيما يحتل إنبي المركز التاسع بجدول ترتيب الدوري المصري، برصيد 28 نقطة، بعدما خاض 21 مباراة حقق خلالها الفوز في 7 مواجهات وتعادل في مثلها وهُزم في مثلها. تاريخ مواجهات الزمالك وإنبي

32 مباراة جمعت الزمالك وإنبى منذ صعود الفريق البترولي للدوري الممتاز موسم 2002 2003.

حقق الزمالك الفوز في 17 مباراة، فيما حقق إنبي الفوز في 5 مواجهات وتعادلا في 10 لقاءات.

سجل الزمالك 42 هدفًا فيما سجل إنبي 24 هدفًا. نتيجة آخر مباراة جمعت بين الزمالك وإنبي

فاز الزمالك على إنبي في أخر مواجهات الفريقين، بهدفين مقابل هدف، فى الجولة الخامسة من دوري هذا الموسم، والتي أقيمت يوم 2 يناير 2021 على ستاد بتروسبورت، سجل ثنائية الأبيض أشرف بن شرقي من ركلة جزاء ويوسف أوباما وسجل هدف إنبي الوحيد رامي صبري.

Wolves fans hail Matt Doherty for showing against Bournemouth

A number of Wolverhampton Wanderers fans have taken to social media to praise Matt Doherty for his performance in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Bournemouth.

The defender has only missed one Premier League match for Wolves this season and played the full 90 at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Joao Moutinho and Raul Jimenez scored the goals for the visitors, who have now won their last three matches in all competitions.

Watch Wolverhampton Wanderers Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

However, the statistics show that Doherty also played an important role.

Indeed, according to WhoScored, the 27-year-old completed 42 of his 49 passes, whilst he also won three aerial duels and made one tackle against the Cherries.

Doherty took to social media on Sunday morning to comment on the result.

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And that led to a number of the Wolves supporters praising the Republic of Ireland international for another impressive outing in England’s top flight.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Liverpool’s Sadio Mane impresses against Crystal Palace

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

Another week, another narrow win for Liverpool.

Despite winning 12 of their first 13 matches in the Premier League so far this campaign, seven of those victories have been by a single goal. However, it shows that although the Reds are yet to hit top gear during this season, they are still picking up the points they need to give them a commanding eight-point advantage at the top.

On Saturday against Crystal Palace, they were without Mohamed Salah, the division’s Golden Boot winner in each of the last two seasons. Without him, Senegal international Sadio Mane moved over to the right wing to take the 27-year-old’s place, whilst Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain lined up on the opposite flank. In this match, it was the former’s performance that showed Klopp can deal without the presence of the Egyptian King.

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The former Southampton man set the ball rolling for the Merseyside outfit, netting in the 49th minute after an assist from Andrew Robertson. It was a vital moment, and it was just one facet of a great display from Mane.

That was one of three shots he managed during the match, whilst he also completed the only dribble that he attempted. He also turned creator as well, managing two key passes for his teammates. Only Trent Alexander-Arnold managed more than the 27-year-old. He won 50% of his duels, including two in the air, and he also managed to win two fouls, with Fabinho being the only Liverpool player to beat him in that department.

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Since moving to Anfield, Mane has played more than twice as many games on the left of the front three than on the right according to those where his position has been recorded by Transfermarkt. However, he actually has a better record on that side.

In 40 matches, he has 20 goals, as well as nine assists – as per Transfermarkt – whilst in 91 games on the left, he has 44 goals and 17 assists. The numbers are similar, yet there is a slight advantage on the right. He has scored 0.48 goals per match on the left compared to 0.5 on the right, and he has 0.23 assists per game on the right compared to 0.19 on the other side.

The reason he has been used on the left for the most part is down to Salah’s proficiency. According to Transfermarkt, the £135m-valued ex-Chelsea player has never played on the left wing for Liverpool, but has 61 goals in 96 games on the other side. Clearly, he is less manoeuvrable than Mane, hence why he been used there predominantly. Whilst the Senegalese man may be performing fantastically, the stats show that the former AS Roma man is perhaps preventing him from reaching his full potential. It is something for Klopp to think about.

In other news, Liverpool fans cannot believe they could make a profit on this dud.

لابورتا بعد تتويج نساء برشلونة بدوري أبطال أوروبا للمرة الأولى: تصنعن التاريخ

وجه خوان لابورتا، رئيس نادي برشلونة الإسباني، رسالة للفريق النسائي بعد التتويج بدوري أبطال أوروبا للمرة الأولى في تاريخه، أمام تشيلسي.

وفاز فريق برشلونة النسائي على تشيلسي بأربعة أهداف نظيفة، ليتوجن بلقب دوري أبطال أوروبا للمرة الأولى في التاريخ.

اقرأ أيضًا | كومان: من المستحيل أن نلعب بدون ميسي.. وسأتحدث عن مستقبلي في نهاية الموسم

وعبر حسابه الرسمي على “تويتر”، غرّد لابورتا: “أنتن تصنعن التاريخ، أنتن قدوة، أحد الأسباب التي تجعل برشلونة أكثر من مجرد نادي”.

وأضاف: “لقد جعلتونا نقفز من الإثارة بفوزكن الرائع، أحسنتم أيها الأبطال، لا يمكن إيقافكن”.

Bayern Munich & 2 other clubs that should have Mauricio Pochettino on their radar

Mauricio Pochettino’s great story at Tottenham Hotspur was sadly abruptly wrapped up as the Argentine coach was sacked just over a week ago. In his place, as we all know by now, came none other than Jose Mourinho, who was a free agent for a while.

But now that Pochettino is finally free from Daniel Levy and is a free agent himself, there are certain clubs that should definitely try and snatch him as soon as possible.

So without further ado, here are three teams that should be looking to instil the Argentine at their helm in the near future:

Bayern Munich

The Bavarian giants are going through a transitional period themselves since they had recently sacked a manager of their own.

Niko Kovac’s stint at Bayern Munchen left them with mixed results and despite the Croat actually winning some silverware, the Germans simply decided he was not the right man for the job.

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Pochettino, however, just might be. We all know that Poch is definitely a good manager – having led Tottenham to the Champions League final and making them competitive in the Premier League – and even though he couldn’t bring any trophies back to London during his five-year stint at Spurs, he is very much a visionary and a man capable of achieving a lot with limited resources.

At Bayern, there would be no restraints and while he could help bring out the best in them, they could possibly show us the best version of him as well.

Worth a shot.

Real Madrid

Ah, the Pochettino to Real Madrid narrative is one we are all very familiar with and the links between the two have not stopped to this day. In fact, AS reported that Los Blancos have tried snatching him on multiple previous occasions, failing every time.

But still, even with that being said, one way or the other, this is simply one of the transfers or rather, appointments, that is seemingly bound to happen sooner rather than later and it’s easy to see why.

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Real Madrid have finally found their groove under Zinedine Zidane – seeing how they’ve managed to bag a total of 20 goals in the last six games they’ve played – but for all of Frenchman’s pedigree, having Pochettino at the helm could definitely elevate the Whites to a whole new level, which is the reason why Florentino Perez has been so adamant in pursuing him in the first place.

With them, he would have all the resources and the backing in the world and if a limited Pochettino was so impressive at Spurs, how good would he be when completely unleashed?

AC Milan

The last pick on this list is not as grandiose as the previous two probably were.

After all, the Rossoneri are barely keeping things from falling apart over in Serie A and needless to say, at the moment they are as far from that dominant European force they once were.

But that’s exactly what makes this gig so interesting. Pochettino is a young and aspiring coach that can bring out the best out of his players and develop them into contenders rather than necessarily buying them, as we’ve seen him do at Spurs where he achieved a lot without a multitude of real superstars.

He would probably not have the biggest budget in Italy but he would have a talented young squad at his disposal and we’ve seen him do magic with one such team before.

Would he win the Champions League or Serie A with Milan immediately? Probably not. But bringing them back to life would be a real fairytale story in itself.

Why not go for it?

تقارير: يوفنتوس يفقد خدمات بونوتشي في نهائي كأس إيطاليا

أفادت تقارير صحفية إيطالية أن ليوناردو بونوتشي مدافع يوفنتوس، سيغيب عن نهائي كأس إيطاليا أمام أتالانتا غدًا الأربعاء.

يوفنتوس يواجه أتالانتا غدًا على ملعب تريكولوري الخاص بفريق ساسولو، في تمام الساعة التاسعة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة. 

طالع أيضًا.. بيرلو يعلن قائمة يوفنتوس لمواجهة أتالانتا 

روميو أجريستي الصحفي الإيطالي والمقرب من نادي يوفنتوس، أكد غياب بونوتشي عن مباراة نهائي كأس إيطاليا غدًا بسبب الإصابة.

وأشار أجريستي إلى أن إصابة بونوتشي في الركبة، وسيخضع لفحوصات طبية غدًا لمعرفة مدة غيابه، وموقفه من المشاركة في يورو 2020 مع منتخب إيطاليا.

يوفنتوس يسعى للفوز على أتالانتا غدًا لتحقيق ثاني بطولات المدرب أندريا بيرلو، بعد الحصول على كأس السوبر في يناير الماضي ضد نابولي.

Everton: Patrick Boyland claims Calvert-Lewin should start the Merseyside derby

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Everton are just hours away from taking on Liverpool at Anfield tonight in a Merseyside derby that could well determine Marco Silva’s future.

Discussion regarding his starting XI has been rife ahead of the game, and The Athletic journalist Patrick Boyland has weighed in with his opinion on who should start up front.

What’s the word?

It doesn’t get much bigger than this for Silva.

The Portuguese manager’s job is seemingly hanging by a thread which looks likely to be snipped unless he clinches a stunning victory over Everton’s city rivals this evening.

But which 11 players will he trust to go onto the pitch and save his job? There are a handful of players who appear to pick themselves, but that is not the case at centre-forward.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin was trusted to lead the line against Leicester on Sunday and, despite calls for Moise Kean to start tonight, Boyland believes that the 22-year-old should keep his place.

Stick or twist?

If ever there was a time to gamble, it may well be tonight.

Silva’s faith in Calvert-Lewin has been a divisive sub-plot during his reign, and the scrutiny over his credentials to lead the line have intensified following a relatively anonymous display at the King Power Stadium.

Kean’s impact and fiery presence from the substitutes bench last Sunday provided a timely reminder of his ability to Silva, but it would certainly be a surprise if the 19-year-old prodigy was handed his first Premier League start since September off the back of one impressive cameo.

And as Boyland suggests, the extent of his impact from the bench suggests he may be a more effective weapon during the latter stages of the game rather than from the outset.

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