SPORT : EPL, Saha names five teams that can win title

 

Former Manchester United striker, Louis Saha, has said at least five teams can win the Premier League title this season.

Champions Liverpool are currently top, but have already drawn five matches and lost once.

A number of teams are within touching distance of the Reds and Saha believes Man City, Tottenham, Man United and Chelsea will rival Klopp’s charge for the title.

Saha told Ladbrokes: “I’d probably say there are four or five teams in with a genuine chance of winning the title.

“I’d definitely put Man United in there, Tottenham in there for sure as well. Chelsea have a good chance too, as well as the obvious two.

“I’m actually loving the competitiveness of the Premier League this season. Football needs it.

“When you look at leagues like Spain and France where it is always the same one or two teams – it’s great to see such a wide-open league in England.”

SPORT : EPL, Iheanacho misses penalty as Leicester City fail to beat Crystal Palace

 

Leicester City striker, Kelechi Iheanacho, on Monday missed a penalty in his side’s Premier League 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace.

Iheanacho missed a glorious opportunity to add to his tally this season at Selhurst Park as second-half goals from Wilfried Zaha, and Harvey Barnes ensured both Leicester and Palace got a point each.

The Nigerian international was handed his second league start of the campaign against Roy Hodgson’s side but missed an opportunity to give the Foxes the lead.

Leicester were awarded a penalty in the 19th minute during the match after James Tomkins brought down Luke Thomas in the box.

Iheanacho was given the opportunity to take the spot-kick, but the former Manchester City star missed the glorious chance, failing to fire his effort past goalkeeper, Vicente Guaita.

The 24-year-old played for 72 minutes before he was replaced by Demarai Gray.

Iheanacho’s compatriot, Wilfred Ndidi, was did not play the match.

The result means Leicester still maintain the second position on the Premier League table with 29 points from 16 matches.

SPORT : Mesut Ozil in shock move to join Ronaldo at Juventus

 Arsenal are set to offload playmaker, Mesut Ozil, out in a shock move to Juventus on a six-month loan, according to Italian newspaper, Tuttosport.

The Premier League club are willing to subsidise Ozil’s mammoth £350,000-a-week salary to help seal the deal with Juventus in the January transfer window.

Ozil’s agent has also been in contact with the Serie A champions over a potential free transfer in 2021.

The move would reunite Ozil with his former Real Madrid team-mate, Cristiano Ronaldo, at Allianz.

Ozil has not played for Arsenal under manager, Mikel Arteta, since football resumed after the COVID-19 lockdown.

The 32-year-old was also dropped from Arsenal’s 25-man Europa League squad.

The ex-Germany international joined Arsenal from Real Madrid in the summer of 2013 under the regime of former Gunners manager, Arsene Wenger.

SPORT : Everton vs Man City game called off

 

Monday night football between Manchester City and Everton has been postponed, because of a COVID-19 outbreak among the City squad.

It is the second Premier League fixture to be called off this season due to Coronavirus outbreak, after Aston Villa vs Newcastle earlier this month.

On Christmas Day, Manchester City announced Gabriel Jesus and Kyle Walker had tested positive for coronavirus, along with two members of club staff.

The club has now closed their first-team training ground.

A Manchester City statement read: “After the latest round of Covid-19 testing, the club returned a number of positive cases, in addition to the four already reported on Christmas Day.

“With the security of the bubble compromised, there posed a risk that the virus could spread further amongst the squad, the staff and potentially beyond.

“Based on strong medical advice the Premier League, in consultation with both clubs, have decided to postpone the fixture.”

SPORT : Everton’s, predicted line up against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City Side

 

Everton have been relatively impressed under Carlo Ancelotti and they are placed second in the table after beating Sheffield United last time out.

They are just three points adrift of Merseyside rivals Liverpool and their run of wins in a row has defined their surge up to the EPL log.

The Italian boss Carlo Ancelotti has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the Manchester City duel. Though he will make do without six of his key players.

The major players to be missing out here include Allan, James Rodriguez, Lucas Digne and Richarlison while Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Fabian Delph are relatively sidelined for this match.

The unavailability of the four important players could see the Toffees approach the game with a defensive platform.

With Lucas Digne not available, Ben Godfrey should take up the left-back role, though Seamus Coleman could return to the starting eleven to feature at the right back.

Yerry Mina and Michael Keane should continue as Everton defensive pair in the central defence while goalkeeper Jordan Pickford should keep his place in goal.

In the midfield, Tom Davies should partner Abduolaye Duocoure in, pivot with the two sitting behind to stifle what Kevin De Bruyne may be trying to make out for his side in transition.

Gylfi Sigurdsson will continue on the number 10 role looking to pull the string for his side in the attacking third.

With the match coming too early for James Rodriguez (Colombia) and Richarlison (Brazil), Alex Iwobi and Bernard are expected to feature in their stead on both flanks.

In the attack, the in-form top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin should spearhead the charge for goals for his Everton side.

Everton probable eleven against Manchester City in a 4-2-3-1 Formation Scheme.

Jordan Pickford; Seamus Coleman, Michael Keane, Yerry Mina, Ben Godfrey; Abdoulaye Duocoure; Ben Davies; Alex Iwobi, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Bernard; Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

SPORT : Everton vs Manchester City, Key battles in Goodison Park showdown

 Carlo Ancelotti’s men would do battle against Manchester City as the game looms at Goodison Park.

It will be a scintillating round of football in the 90 minutes contest as the likes of Pep Guardiola and Italian Ancelotti’s test might be in the Coaching dugout.

While the two managers duel on the sidelines, players would also compete against each other on the pitch.

 takes a look at the key battles ahead of the showdown at Goodison on Park.

Michael Keane vs. Sergio Aguero

The match would present a high profile contest between these two individuals personnel as the game draws closer by the minutes.

Manchester City star Sergio Aguero will test his might with the English defender Michael Keane though the striker is just returning to match fitness.

But Keane’s technical awareness in the heart of Everton’s defence should provide the right measure for him to compete against Sergio Aguero as the match looms in earnest.

Gylfi Sigurdsson vs. Fernandinho

The Brazilian will stage a comeback for this match as Sigurdsson’s creativity would be on the line when Fernandinho competes with him on the field of play.

Both managers would rely on the quality both players could present in the game as we envisage an intriguing duel between the two football brains.

Sigurdsson is in-form after scoring the winner against the Blades but it’s no guarantee he would come out on top in this one against the former Shakhtar Donetsk defensive midfielder.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin vs. John Stones

Everton’s top marksman Calvert-Lewin will be on the ascendancy as he faces his opposite number in the Everton/City clash on Monday.

He is one of the leading goal scorers in the EPL and his case may be too much for John Stones to handle, though the City defender has been in good stead in recent times.

It promises to be an interesting battle between these English players on the pitch much as their contributions could determine the pendulum of this match in earnest.

Let’s hope that both English stars will produce the required measure we anticipate in this tie as Calvert-Lewin looks to add to his tally at the expense of John Stones defensive strength on the occasion.

SPORT : EPL, Mark Lawrenson predicts score lines of Everton vs Man City, Chelsea vs Aston Villa

 

Former Liverpool player, Mark Lawrenson, has predicted Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City to secure a 2-0 win against Everton when both teams clash in the Premier League at Goodison Park on Monday night.

Lawrenson also backed Frank Lampard’s Chelsea to beat Aston Villa 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in today’s Premier League fixture.

“Everton had to scrap for their win over Sheffield United, but they’re quite happy to do that side of things – and they got the job done too,” Lawrenson told BBC Sport.

“From what I saw of Manchester City’s win over Newcastle, it was quite typical of their season so far. They were always the better team, but there were some big chances missed by Pep Guardiola’s side and they never fully got into their stride.

“It was another win for City though, and another clean sheet. I think they will be able to cope with what Everton throw at them, and find a way of getting the three points this time too. Everton 0, Man City 2.”

Commenting on the Chelsea vs Aston Villa match, Lawrenson said, “I’m not surprised Chelsea boss Frank Lampard criticised his side’s performance in their defeat by Arsenal, because they were well short.

“The Blues have now lost 3 of their last 4 league games, and this next test is also far from easy, against an Aston Villa side that is playing well and is full of confidence.

“Villa had to play with ten men for the whole second half of their win over Crystal Palace but still looked the more dangerous side going forward.

“I am still going with Chelsea here though because I think we’ll see a reaction from their players. They cannot be as bad as that again, surely?

“Whatever happens to Villa at Stamford Bridge, they’ve still given themselves an excellent platform for the rest of the season. It took them 24 games to reach 25 points last season, so they’ve done it in nine games fewer this time.

“Being realistic, I do not see them challenging for the top four, but they have already proved a lot of people wrong with their results so far. Chelsea 2, Aston Villa 0.”

The kick-off time for Everton vs Man City is 9 pm, while that of Chelsea vs Aston Villa is 6:30 pm.