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EPL: Manchester City vs Tottenham Preview

Published

2 years ago

January 19, 2023

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Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur will look to wash off their respective derby woes with a rebound win when they take on each other at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday evening.

The Citizens lost a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 at Old Trafford, while Tottenham could not make their home advantage count against a high-flying Arsenal side and fell to a 2-0 loss.

Rarely will you see Manchester City losing back-to-back matches, but against Spurs, City will look to avoid a third successive defeat. After an EFL quarterfinal loss to Southampton, the Manchester derby loss against Man United has now pushed them eight points away from the top spot.

After a quiet first half, Pep Guardiola seemingly made a match-winning change in the second half.

Jack Grealish came on for Phil Foden and got his name on the scoresheet within minutes. But the hosts bounced back with goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford to seal a memorable win in front of a raging Old Trafford crowd.

Man City could take the pitch sitting third on the table if Manchester United win against Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

Having dropped points against Brentford and Everton in their last two home games, Man City will look to arrest the slump with a convincing win against the Lilywhites.

Team News

Guardiola has confirmed that Rúben Dias is nearing a return, but it’s unlikely that the Portuguese centre-back will be ready for the Tottenham clash.

John Stones is struggling with a fitness issue, so Man City are likely to be without their first-choice centre-back pairing once again. İlkay Gündoğan and Jack Grealish might see their names in the starting lineup, as Guardiola is likely to shuffle the deck to cope with fixture congestion.

A hapless Hugo Lloris will have a hard time forgetting the howler he committed that gave away Arsenal’s first goal in Sunday’s North London derby.

He could not keep out a Bukayo Saka strike that was headed straight towards and fumbled it into the net.

Tottenham could not get back to the game after that point, and a few minutes before the half-time whistle, Martin Ødegaard gave Lloris a flashback of the Euro 2016 final as he beat the French custodian from a distance with a lower left corner strike.

Tottenham’s bid for a Champions Leauge position seems to be languishing at the moment as they find themselves five points adrift of the fourth place, despite playing a match more than fourth-placed Man United.

Antonio Conte’s side can ill afford another defeat on Wednesday evening.

Spurs can draw inspiration from their excellent recent record against Man City.

They won four of their last five meetings with the reigning Premier League champions. But the North London outfit has struggled against teams that sit above them in the standings this season. So, it’s difficult to anticipate a Tottenham win at the Etihad.

Conte might get back Rodrigo Bentancur, who had been nursing a groin issue.

Lucas Moura will be out with a tendon injury once again as the Brazil is set to see out the final months of his Tottenham contract and leave the club as a free agent on summer.

Our Prediction

Teams with superior midfields did not have any issue cutting through the Tottenham midline like a knife through butter. Manchester City are likely to take advantage of Tottenham’s lack of midfield resilience and pick up three vital points.

We envision a 2-0 win for Man City.

Kick-Off: January 20, 1:30 AM IST

Venue: Etihad Stadium

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WATCH: Georgina Rodriguez makes huge claim on Cristiano Ronaldo’s retirement in Football

Published

8 months ago

March 3, 2024

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Georgina Rodriguez made a huge claim on the future of her husband and star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, in Football. In a brief interaction with a host recently, Rodriguez was asked about the time left for Cristiano to make an impact at the highest level. Georgina looked honest in her approach to the question of the host and claimed something the fans would not love to hear.

Georgina claimed that the Portugal star has maybe one year more from him at the highest level. She felt that Ronaldo might play two more years before retiring and not more than that. She was however not sure if he would play for just one or two years and added that the Al Nassr star could also play more than that.

Watch the video of Georgina Rodriguez here –

🚨🎙️| Georgina Rodriguez on Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Paris Fashion Week yesterday:

“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know.”

(via @ArobaseGiovanny)pic.twitter.com/4dxw2j5DuC

— Pubity Sport (@pubitysport) March 3, 2024

“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know,” said Rodriguez in the little chat she had with the host. The video has gone viral on X and the fans have started sharing it on different platforms. Some of the fans feel that Georgina might be right, while others feel that she could be wrong, given the fitness and longevity of the star player.

Legacy of Cristiano Ronaldo

On the 5th of February, Ronaldo celebrated his 39th birthday. He is currently one of the oldest players in the world. In the past, players at this age would have retired way back. But the fitness and consistency of Ronaldo make him play the sport as long as he wishes. In his career so far, Ronaldo has won many major leagues for Portugal and league teams like Real Madrid, Al Nassr, and Manchester United.

With United, Portugal won some major leagues like the FA Cup and the Champions League. With Real Madrid, the 39-year-old won the leagues like the UCL, Copa Del Rey and La Liga. He won it three consecutive times for Real Madrid. For Portugal, Cristiano had a huge contribution to Portugal. He has the most number of appearances and goals for an international team and won the Euro 2016 with Portugal.

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Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham slapped with Red Card as he argued with referee

Published

8 months ago

March 3, 2024

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Jude Bellingham shown Red Card (Image Credit: Twitter)

England and Real Madrid player Jude Bellingham was slapped with a Red Card during the La Liga game against Valencia. In the game, the home team, Valencia was leading by 2-0 after 30 minutes before Madrid scored in the injury time of the first half. Vinicius Junior opened the scoring for Madrid while Hugo Duro (27′) and Roman Yaremchuk (30′) scored a goal each.

In the 76th minute, Junior scored an equalizer to keep the team in the game. However, in the injury time of the second half, Bellingham was given a red card as he argued with the referee against calling it a full-time before he could score. In reply, the match official decided to slap the England international with a Red Card. The team coach Carlo Ancelotti wasn’t happy with the verdict as the Three Lions player was making a pass at the time.

Jude Bellingham verbally abusing officials and other footballers at the slightest provocation needs to be talked about more. It’s embarrassing he gets applauded by Real Madrid Fans.

Mason Greenwood should’ve allowed La Liga to deal with this simp. pic.twitter.com/ixYSw6YxaC

— Herman Facundo© (@hermanfacundo_7) March 3, 2024

“I think what’s just happened is unprecedented. It’s never happened to me,” Ancelotti told reporters.

“We had possession of the ball and the match should have been finished when Valencia had the ball.

“What bothers us is the red card for Bellingham because he didn’t say anything insulting. He was frustrated of course,” said Ancelotti, adding that Bellingham had used a common English swearword when telling the referee it was a goal.

We are annoyed with Jude Bellingham’s Red Card: Carlo Ancelotti

“We were annoyed with Bellingham’s red card. He didn’t say any insults. He said in English ‘it’s a f—ing goal,’ but he was just saying what we were all thinking … [The referee] allowed play to continue. I think he made a mistake.”

“[Bellingham] was clear in what he said,” Ancelotti added. “He was quite vehement [in his reaction] but that’s normal, after what happened. It wasn’t an insult, not at all.”

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PL 2023-24: MCFC vs MUFC Dream11 Prediction, Playing XI, Fantasy League Today’s Captain, Vice-Captain, and more for Manchester derby

Published

8 months ago

March 2, 2024

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Super Sunday is set to witness the Manchester Derby in the Premier League 2023-24. The match between Manchester City (MCFC) and Manchester United (MUFC) is set to take place in Etihad Stadium, the home ground of Manchester City. The two teams have had a contrasting journey in the league till now. The fortunes of City changed ever since Pep Guardiola took over the club as the manager.

While the home side are placed in the second position in the points table currently, United are in the sixth place in the points table. In their previous encounter, City hammered Luton Town by 6-2 in the FA Cup. United have shown massive improvements in the last few weeks after not having a good start to their campaign. United were involved in a thrilling game where they beat Nottingham Forrest by 1-0 in their last game.

Both teams feature some of the best players in the world. The likes of Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland, Marcus Rashford, Kevin De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, and others would be taking part in the match. Manchester City will start the match as the favourites, given their record in the ongoing league so far and the match taking place in their home. United with their improved record can challenge the home side.

MCFC vs MUFC – Match Details

Match – Manchester City (MCFC) vs Manchester United (MUFC), Premier League 2023-24

Venue – Etihad Stadium, Manchester

Date and Time – 3^rd March 2024, 21:00 IST

Live Coverage – Star Sports Network and Disney plus Hot Star

MCFC vs MUFC – Head-to-Head

Both the teams from Manchester have a rich history in the sport. they have been up against each other in 191 instances. In as many games, Manchester United have been historically the better side with 78 wins to their name. City have managed to win 60 wins, as 53 games ended in a draw. In the last five games between the two sides in the Premier League, City have won four of the five games.