Jordan Henderson was forced off with a hamstring injury against Atletico Madrid to compound what was a miserable night for Liverpool at the Wanda Metropolitano.
The Reds were defeated 1-0 by Los Rojiblancos in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie, which leaves them in a precarious position going in to the return match.
Whilst they may be playing that clash in front of their own fans, a goal from Atletico will leave Liverpool needing to score three times, which is easier said than done against Diego Simeone’s men.
Call yourself a Liverpool expert? How much did each of these big-money January signings cost?
Losing Henderson, though, is perhaps an even bigger blow. The 29-year-old is the club captain and has been in terrific form so far this term – there have even been suggestions that he could win Player of the Year.
Neil Jones claims that, while he isn’t sure how bad the issue is, recovering from such a problem can take anywhere between three weeks and three months. Even in the best case scenario, he is likely to miss the clash against Atletico.
That means that someone will need to step into the void and replace both his contribution on the pitch from an ability appoint of view and, perhaps more importantly, his vocal leadership. On paper, that man should be James Milner.
The 34-year-old – who earns £140k-per-week according to Spotrac – is one of the elder statesmen in the Liverpool squad, and has a trophy cabinet brimming with medals – he won the Premier League title twice with Manchester City, for example. As a central midfielder, he is best placed to take Henderson’s spot.
Given his age, he is a player who is more likely to take on a reserved role rather than a box-to-box approach, but he has plenty of defensive qualities – he has regularly averaged over two tackles and one interception per match in recent years, which is similar to Henderson this term.
Watch Liverpool Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
With two goals and two assists in six Premier League starts this season, he can still provide going forward, meaning that Liverpool may not miss the former Sunderland man’s three and five respectively in the top tier.
Milner is now in the twilight of his career – he surely doesn’t have too long left at the top. This Henderson injury, though, may just give him the chance to prove there is life in him yet.
Meanwhile, this youngster compared to Mesut Ozil is one for the future for Liverpool.
Everton welcome Manchester United to Goodison Park this Sunday, in what will be a repeat of one of last season’s most eye-catching results.
The Toffees recorded a stunning 4-0 win over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men on Merseyside last term, a match which included an overhead kick from Richarlison and a long-range stunner from Gylfi Sigurdsson.
A similar result would surely be welcomed by Carlo Ancelotti, and it could be argued that the Italian’s side already have a slight advantage having had a whole week to prepare for the match, whereas United played against Club Brugge on Thursday evening.
However, the Red Devils did record a comprehensive 5-0 win, so they should not be taken lightly.
Here’s the XI that we think Ancelotti must opt to deploy this Sunday…
As you can see, we think the former AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid boss should make three changes to the side who suffered defeat at Arsenal.
Leighton Baines can be replaced by Lucas Digne, who missed the trip to the Emirates through injury – Ancelotti recently said that he has been managing the Frenchman so that he is ready for the United game.
Ahead of the backline, the midfield is where things must be changed.
Sigurdsson was awful in a left-midfield position last time out, receiving criticism from a journalist and also the Everton fans on Twitter – however, instead of dropping him, we think he should simply be moved into the middle where his lack of pace won’t be as noticeable.
In his place on the left, Bernard should start to provide some creativity – he had a goal and an assist in his last two Premier League outings before being dropped against Arsenal.
Moise Kean should also be handed an opportunity to impress on the opposite flank instead of Alex Iwobi, who once again failed to justify his price tag against his former club last time out.
Premier League Inflation: You won’t believe how much these famous transfers would cost today…
In attack, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison – who have a combined 26 goals this season – must start again.
In other news, this European giant’s interest in an Everton player shows just how far he has come under Ancelotti…
Tottenham Hotspur crashed out of the Champions League earlier this week, and supporters have been left fuming by comments made from their manager, Jose Mourinho.
As relayed by Alasdair Gold of Football.London on Twitter, the Spurs boss said:
The north Londoners were well-beaten by RB Leipzig across two legs, culminating in Tuesday night’s 3-0 thumping over in Germany.
Mourinho’s side haven’t won in six successive matches now and will need to find some form fast if they are to be back on the European elite stage anytime soon as they currently sit seven points behind the top four.
His comments haven’t gone down well with most of the fanbase either.
Here’s what has been said…
So many fans went straight for the Portuguese boss’ negative mentality, blasting him for being a “relic” who is “pathetic”.
Others sarcastically joked that he was actually “inspirational” and “motivational” but these were no doubt merely tongue in cheek comments.
Watch Tottenham Hotspur Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
Mourinho has publicly slammed the club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele recently as well as claiming that the entire Leipzig bench would get into his side.
So it’s fair to suggest that the narrative of him being a massive pessimist is somewhat true based on recent events.
It has resulted in some calling for his head already…
One supporter was sick of him while another asked to “get rid now” so that they could get someone fresh in before the start of next season.
Although, not all the blame can fall at Mourinho’s feet considering he’s had to suffer the loss of captain Harry Kane to injury alongside another goalscoring threat in Heung-min Son and Moussa Sissoko.
It keeps piling up too as Steven Bergwijn has joined them on the treatment table.
A further member of the Spurs faithful claimed the squad was “probably the weakest in the division” – which is why the 57-year-old has had it tough since his appointment.
A true test for any Spurs fan: Can you match these iconic images with the right results?
And in other news, Spurs image perfectly epitomises Mourinho’s biggest flaw
Jose Mourinho and Daniel Levy are likely gearing themselves up for a big summer.
The next transfer window will present the Portuguese boss with his first real chance to put his own stamp on this Tottenham squad – he was able to sign Steven Bergwijn and bring in Gedson Fernandes on loan in January, but that is unlikely to be enough to satisfy the former Chelsea boss.
Given the number of players Mourinho has lost to injury in attacking positions, that area of the pitch may very well be one he is aiming to improve when he gets the chance.
According to The Sun, Eberechi Eze has been targeted, with the north London outfit even said to be the favourites to purchase him – his current club QPR are looking for around £20m.
Watch Tottenham Hotspur Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
The 21-year-old has been in stunning form so far this campaign – he has been one of the best players in the Championship, scoring 12 goals and providing eight assists. An attacking midfielder, he could provide a huge boost for Spurs.
It seems he is better than Dele Alli, certainly statistically. Alli is currently the most-likely first-choice option at number 10 – or at least he has been in a number of different departments this term.
He leads the way in both goals and assists, and it is the same story with other key factors such as key passes and dribbles – he has 1.9 of the former and three of the latter per match compared to the former MK Dons man’s one and 1.3 respectively.
Of course, there is a gulf of class between the two sides and the divisions they play in, but the contrast in the two’s performances this term certainly makes for interesting reading and, don’t forget, Alli was signed for Spurs following his displays in League One – the Championship is a step up from there.
For £20m, Mourinho could do a lot worse than persuading Eze to make the move across the capital, and his signing may well be the perfect start to his potential summer overhaul.
Meanwhile, Tottenham have registered their interest in this one-time Champions League semi-finalist.
There are several popular Leeds players in the current squad but the versatile Stuart Dallas is arguably one of the most respected senior players, and his words likely carry greater weight as a result.
Dallas took to Twitter on Sunday to play his part in warning the public against social interaction, telling fans to show discipline and stop attending social gatherings and house parties.
The need to self-isolate has been emphasised by a number of players but it is possible that Leeds fans are more likely to listen to the Northern Ireland international, and his words have certainly been appreciated by some.
The supporter base have responded to his message by praising his words of warning, and it is another example of Dallas showing strong leadership, albeit away from the pitch on this occasion.
Getting his teammates on board would only strengthen that message further, and that means Dallas is setting a good example to follow in a variety of ways.
The 28-year-old is probably itching to get back into action as much as anyone, but he is aware that the good times could be just around the corner if everybody plays their part. After all, promotion is still on the line.
Watch Leeds United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
Thankfully there have been a lot of like-minded responses to the Whites player, with some supporters sending well wishes back to Dallas and wishing him good health as well as good fitness, in the hope he comes back fit and firing.
>A true test for any Leeds fan: Can you match these iconic images with the right results?
Elsewhere, Phil Hay believes a former player could be a perfect fit in the current Leeds side…
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has declared that Manchester United will pursue the services of Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane.
The England captain recently suggested he could leave north London in pursuit of silverware, and Ferdinand believes those comments were a signal to potential suitors that Kane wants to move on from Tottenham.
The Greatest Bargains in Premier League history – How much did they cost?
As quoted by The Sun, the former defender also added that United “will be in for him”, because he’s the perfect type of player for the Old Trafford outfit.
An incredible record of 136 Premier League goals at the age of 26 certainly suggests he’s the calibre of player United need to return to the glory days of continuously winning silverware, however it seems not all Red Devils supporters want to see their club swoop for arguably the best striker in the world.
Indeed, some have compared him to Romelu Lukaku or branded him a future flop, although others are very much for the idea of Kane – who Transfermarkt value at £135m – arriving at Old Trafford.
Here’s a look at what fans have been saying on Twitter after @Utdreport republished Ferdinand’s big transfer claim…
Meanwhile, one Man United fan would rather have Kleberson than a current Red Devils midfielder…
There have been some brilliant transfers in Premier League history.
Think Chelsea’s signing of Didier Drogba, Manchester City’s signing of Sergio Aguero, Manchester United buying Eric Cantona, Tottenham Hotspur signing Rafael van der Vaart or Liverpool snaffling away Virgil van Dijk from Southampton.
There have been some bad ones too. Fernando Torres to Chelsea didn’t work out, nor did Manchester City signing Wilfried Bony, or Manchester United buying Angel Di Maria.
But the transfers that hold a special place in everyone’s hearts are the really bizarre ones, the deals that make you scratch your head and think, “wait, what?”
Football FanCast takes a look at some of the weirdest transfers in, or out, of the Premier League.
Kim Kallstrom – Arsenal 2011 (Loan)
A Football Manager legend, a 131-cap Sweden international and a talented midfielder during his days in Ligue 1.
The only problem with Arsenal signing Kim Kallstrom on a short-term loan in January 2014, despite it being the direct antithesis of the exciting mid-season addition Arsene Wenger had alluded to as the Gunners entered the January transfer window in first place, is that he had a broken back.
Nonetheless, Wenger persevered with the deal and the Swedish playmaker, allowing him to finish his recovery in north London (seemingly at Arsenal’s rather than parent club Spartak Moscow’s expense) just in time for him to make four appearances as the campaign drew to a close. Unsurprisingly, Arsenal elected not to sign Kallstrom permanently and his arrival did not sustain their title charge, eventually ending the season in their habitual fourth place.
Roger Johnson – West Ham 2014 (Loan)
Once upon a time, Roger Johnson was gaining a reputation for himself as one of the better centre-halves outside the Premier League’s top clubs, as one of the key components of a Birmingham outfit that finished in the top half during the 2009/10 season and won the League Cup the year later.
But by the time West Ham moved for him in January 2014, Johnson’s career had plummeted, falling all the way down to League One with Wolves. The first half of the season was spent on loan at Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship, after which Sam Allardyce unexpectedly swooped as he looked to jostle a relegation battle, the FA Cup and a run in the League Cup.
The criteria for signing Johnson appeared to be that firstly, he was very tall and secondly, that he wasn’t cup-tied. Come the close of January, after Johnson had started both legs of a League Cup semi-final that West Ham lost 9-0 to Manchester City, his use had already expired. The Englishman made one more start for the Hammers before returning to Molineux.
Bongani Khumalo – Tottenham Hotspur 2011
Football – Kaizer Chiefs v Tottenham Hotspur 2011 Vodacom Challenge – Pre Season Friendly – Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane, South Africa – 11/12 – 16/7/11 Bongani Khumalo – Tottenham Hotspur in action Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Felix Dlangamandla
Signing an unknown, beastly defender from South Africa is the kind of move that likely would have paid off during the exceptionally attritional early years of the Premier League. In fact, Leeds cult hero Lucas Radabe provides the perfect example of such a cavalier recruitment strategy.
But in 2011, the Premier League had become a little more sophisticated – it was now arguably the hardest league in the world to walk into. Regardless, Tottenham Hotspur still saw fit to take a £1.5m punt on Bongani Khumalo from SuperSport United.
Four and a half years after his arrival, Khumalo returned to SuperSport United without a single competitive appearance to his name. The entirety of his White Hart Lane career consisted of loan spells, four in the Football League and one 22-game stint with PAOK. £1.5m well spent.
Dong Fangzhou – Manchester United 2004
Before signing for United in 2004, Dong Fangzhou had scored just two goals in 26 league appearances, both of which came in the Chinese second division.
Nonetheless, Sir Alex Ferguson felt compelled to give the forward a chance, making him the first East Asian footballer to sign for United in a £500k deal. However, due to work permit problems, the Chinese international spent his first two years with United out on loan at Royal Antwerp.
A total of 34 league goals in 71 appearances and finally a British work permit earned Dong a new contract and even a shirt number ahead of the 2008/09 season. A few weeks after being named the new No.21, however, United and Dong parted ways by mutual consent. He bizarrely ended up playing two games for Legia Warsaw a few years later, but has spent the majority of his career back in the Far East.
Steven Caulker – Liverpool 2016 (Loan)
The most recent deal to make this list, Steven Caulker is a decent centre-back who’s sadly lost his way in football after not reaching the potential shown in his youth; although that may have something to do with the fact the two sides he started regularly for, Cardiff City and QPR, spectacularly plummeted out of the top flight with the one-time England international arguably their best performer in both instances.
Clearly a widely held belief, two Premier League clubs elected to sign him on loan from the Championship during the 2015/16 season. Whilst he simply couldn’t force his way in at Southampton during the first half of the campaign, however, largely due to the presence of Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool’s swoop for Caulker in January soon proved to have ulterior motives.
Indeed, as Liverpool faced a 3-2 home defeat to Arsenal at Anfield, eyebrows were raised when Klopp asked Caulker to warm up and get himself ready to come on in the 87th minute. But it quickly became apparent why the German international had signed him; Caulker was Liverpool’s new emergency striker. Three substitute appearances totalling just five minutes later, all of which came in January, and Caulker didn’t feature for the Reds in the Premier League again.
Julien Faubert – Real Madrid 2009 (Loan)
Depending on how you look at it, Julien Faubert was either a full-back who couldn’t be trusted in defence or a winger who didn’t produce enough to play in midfield. Either way, his £6.1million move to West Ham didn’t prove to be the greatest bit of business from the east Londoners.
Nonetheless, during his time in the Premier League, the France international had seemingly gained a fan in Juande Ramos, who ended up taking the job at Real Madrid just a matter of months after being sacked by Tottenham Hotspur.
And another two months after that, Ramos actually snapped up Faubert midway through a very unspectacular season at West Ham, signing him on loan for the remainder of the season with a view to a permanent deal.
In six months at the Bernabeu, Faubert made two appearances, was pictured falling asleep on the bench and missed training because he thought he had the day off.
Alexander Sortloth has enjoyed one of the most surprising rises to prominence ever since he left Crystal Palace for Turkish outfit Trabzonspor last summer.
The Norway international scored just one goal during his time at Selhurst Park, but it’s been an altogether different story since he moved on to pastures new.
The Greatest Bargains in Premier League history – How much did they cost?
A return of 25 goals in 39 games this season has prompted speculation linking him with a move to Real Madrid, a turn of events which has naturally come as a shock to the Eagles faithful.
And the 24-year-old striker has been speaking about the links on Norwegian TV in recent days.
As reported by Liga Blatt (via Sport Witness), Sorloth had this to say about comparisons with Robert Lewandowski and the prospect of a move to the Bernabeu.
“To be compared with Lewandowski is an honour.
“I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to play there (Madrid). That’s the dream of every player. But in the end, the decision is up to Trabzonspor.”
Given how much he struggled to make his mark at Palace, these comments almost appear as if they have been taken from a parallel universe.
But football has the tendency to throw up these unlikely success stories just as it does to throw up disappointing and unexpected failures.
In response to the quotes, the Palace fans offered their verdicts on the loanee’s quotes, with some left completely stunned by the transformation in fortune.
Here’s how the Eagles faithful on Twitter have reacted…
The EFL and Leeds United agree that the season should be played to completion when it is possible to do so, but time is running out and doubts are rising.Phil Hay made an interesting claim earlier today when responding to one fan’s question about whether the Championship season would resume.
Are you a Championship expert? How much did each of these big-money signings cost?
The Athletic journalist believes that Leagues One and Two won’t be finished, and the second flight has a better chance of doing so, but he has ‘real doubts’ over that happening.
He said:
It comes after Rick Parry, the chairman of the EFL, said he hopes the campaign can be completed on all 71 grounds. However, he also revealed a deadline of July 31st, so time is rapidly expiring.
The longer this goes on, the less likely that a ball will be kicked again at Elland Road, you’d imagine. Then it would come down to the wider issue on whether or not Leeds have done enough to warrant a promotion to the Premier League.
Which will be murky waters as the big wigs will ultimately have the final say.
AND in other news,ÂLeeds fans want one man as their new number one…
New Zealand and South Africa have both been knocked out of the race for the semi-finals•Getty Images
Group 2
India Like Pakistan, India too need to win to have any realistic chance of qualification. If India concede 160 and lose by more than three runs, their NRR will slip below that of South Africa. If India and Pakistan both win their matches, the margins of those results will decide which team goes through.: India need to beat South Africa by at least 32 runs if they score 160 (and by at least 31 if they score 140) to finish with an NRR higher than Pakistan’s. If India end up chasing, they need to win with at least 24 balls to spare. If they achieve that, they’ll knock Pakistan out, and the actual margin of victory will determine which of India or Australia finish on top. If they don’t achieve those margins, Pakistan will qualify.Pakistan Pakistan’s defeat to India – and the margin of that loss – has put their semi-final hopes in danger. Their NRR has dropped to -0.426, which is only marginally better than those of India and South Africa. If Pakistan lose to Australia, an Indian win will knock them out without NRR playing any part. Even if South Africa beat India in this scenario, Pakistan’s chances remain bleak: if they lose their match by five runs (chasing 161), and if South Africa score 160 and beat India by the same margin, then Pakistan’s NRR will be poorer than South Africa’s.Pakistan’s passage is not straightforward even if they beat Australia. Even after winning, they’ll have to hope that India don’t beat South Africa by a bigger margin and sneak past them. If, for example, both Pakistan and India score 160 and win their last matches by ten runs, then Pakistan’s NRR will be marginally lower than India’s.: Pakistan finish with an NRR of 0.273. If India lose to South Africa, or if they beat them by relatively small margins (explained above), then Pakistan will go through as the second team in the group.Australia With two huge wins in as many matches, Australia are the best-placed team in the tournament. For them to go out, both Pakistan and India will have to win their matches by around 40 runs (if they bat first and score 160).: Though Australia lost to Pakistan, their NRR of 0.464 is higher than that of Pakistan, which means at worst they will finish second in the group. They are thus definitely through to the semi-finals.South Africa South Africa are the only team that can be knocked out even before their match starts. For the second time in a row, they will be hoping Pakistan lose because if Pakistan win the first match on Tuesday, it will mean curtains for South Africa.However, if Australia do beat Pakistan, South Africa have a fair chance of making it to the next round, thanks to poor NRRs of India and Pakistan. As mentioned above, if South Africa score 160 and win by more than three runs, their NRR will go above India’s, enough to qualify provided Australia have won all their matches. The advantage for South Africa and India is that they play the last game of the group, and will thus have an exact knowledge of what they need to do to qualify.: South Africa are out of contention for a semi-final slot.
Group 1
Sri Lanka With two wins in two matches, Sri Lanka are sitting pretty: not only do they have four points, their net run rate is also a comfortable 1.029. The only way for them to be eliminated is if they lose to England, and if West Indies beat New Zealand, with both matches being decided by big margins. For example, if England score 160 and beat Sri Lanka by 30 runs, and if West Indies score 160 and beat New Zealand by the same margin, then England and West Indies will qualify with better NRRs than Sri Lanka. However, the likelihood of both margins being such large ones is extremely small.: Sri Lanka are through unless they lose very badly. If England score 170 and bowl Sri Lanka out for 110, then Sri Lanka’s NRR will drop below both England and West Indies. Most likely, though, they’ve booked a place in the last four.England England’s defeat against West Indies pegged them back, but they recovered well to beat New Zealand, and their NRR is the best among all teams after Sri Lanka. A victory against Sri Lanka, and a win for New Zealand against West Indies, will definitely see England through. However, if West Indies win, England will have to make sure they beat Sri Lanka by a sufficient margin to ensure their NRR is above that of West Indies.On the other hand, if England lose and if New Zealand beat West Indies, then three teams will be level on two points. In that scenario, New Zealand will almost certainly sneak ahead of England on NRR: for example, even if New Zealand score 160 and win by five runs, and England, chasing 160, lose by five, New Zealand’s NRR will be higher.England’s advantage is that they’ll be playing the last match of the group, which will give them an exact knowledge of what they need to do to qualify.: England need to win to qualify, as their NRR is already better than that of West Indies. If they lose, they’re out.West Indies The ideal result for West Indies will be for them to beat New Zealand, and for Sri Lanka to beat England, which will ensure West Indies qualify without run rates coming into play. A defeat will definitely knock West Indies out because of their poor NRR, but even a win may not be enough if England beat Sri Lanka. For instance, if West Indies score 160 and win by 25 runs, England will need to win their match by only eight runs to keep their NRR above West Indies’.: West Indies need England to lose, or to beat Sri Lanka by around 60 runs. If England win by a smaller margin, then West Indies will be knocked out.New Zealand New Zealand are currently at the bottom of the group, but their NRR is a decent -0.268, thanks to their Super Over defeat against Sri Lanka. As mentioned earlier, if they beat West Indies by as little as five runs, and if Sri Lanka beat England by the same margin (with the winning teams in each game scoring 160), then New Zealand’s NRR will be better than those of England and West Indies. Thus, even though New Zealand haven’t won a match yet in the Super Eights, they have plenty to play for in their last game.: With three losses in the Super Eights, New Zealand have been knocked out.