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- 👹 Northwest Derby Preview 🦩
👹 Northwest Derby Preview 🦩
United look vulnerable and Liverpool look dangerous but Sunday’s game is a hard one to call...
👹 Northwest Derby Preview 🦩
United look vulnerable and Liverpool look dangerous but Sunday’s game is still a difficult one to call…
Man United showed those familiar defensive nerves over the weekend and some unwanted stats and records have emerged. Erik Ten Hag’s team have conceded more 90th minute winners in 2 seasons than Manchester United did in the previous 29 seasons of Premier league football! Plus, Andre Onana became the first goalkeeper to concede 60 goals in under 40 Premier League games.
Meanwhile, all the other ‘big‘ teams in the Premier League won with Arsenal coming away from Villa Park with an impressive 2-nil victory, whilst Chelsea hit some form against Wolves, and Haaland bagged a hat-trick against Ipswich. In Spain, Real Madrid youngster Endrick got his first La Liga goal and Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 featuring a classic Yamal finish.
This week the transfer market is heating up as Liverpool begin to get their business done and our shocker features goalkeeper who is the no.1 for his national team.
Today's game plan:
Man United vs Liverpool | Sunday | 16:00 BST
The first big derby of the 2024/25 Premier League season takes place at Old Trafford on Sunday. Last season saw United and Liverpool play out two draws in the league, with the standout game being the FA Cup semi final that United won in the dying moments thanks to that goal from Amad Diallo. But, looking back to the league games, Liverpool deserved to win both of them, having more of the ball and creating the better chances.
Although pre-season shouldn’t be pointed to as a evidence, the first encounter between Slot and Ten Hag ended in a comfortable 3-nil win for Liverpool. And, if we go off the starts that both teams have made this season, Liverpool are looking like the better team.
Form & Team News
United have made an unconvincing start to the 2024/25 season. Erik ten Hag's side won their opening game against Fulham but the performance was far from convincing and the defence gave Fulham plenty of chances to score. The game on Saturday against Brighton was a reminder of last season, with United conceding chance after chance before going 1-nil down. Amad Diallo was energetic and pulled back a deflected equaliser for United on the hour mark.
The game could have gone in a different direction, if new man Joshua Zirkzee hadn’t slid into the path of Garnacho’s goal-bound shot from an offside position. As the game went on, United’s defence fell deeper and deeper, invited pressure that eventually led to Brighton’s 95th minute winner. Incredibly there were 9 United players in their own box but none of them picked up Brighton’s Joao Pedro who headed in the winner at the back post. United have now conceded more goals on or after 90 minutes in two seasons, than they did in the previous 29 seasons.
Although United were able to give their new signings Mazraoui and De Ligt minutes, there was an injury blow as Mason Mount was subbed off midway through the Brighton game with an undisclosed injury. Rasmus Hojlund and Luke Shaw are also unlikely to be fit for Sunday’s game, whilst Marcus Rashford has been ineffective in the games he’s featured in this season. It will be a difficult team selection for Ten Hag but Alejandro Garnacho has to start and there’s a possibility of new signing Ugarte coming into the squad.
GR Man United predicted lineup | Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martínez, Diogo Dalot, Casemiro, Mainoo, Diallo, Fernandes, Garnacho, Zirkzee
Klopp has left and we’re missing his honest post-match interviews, but on the pitch at least, Liverpool seem unaffected by the loss of their charismatic manager. It’s been business as usual in the opening games of the season the Arne Slot era has kicked off with consecutive 2-nil victories over Ipswich and Brentford. Liverpool have looked solid in all areas of the pitch but special mention to Ryan Gravenberch who has done a fantastic job in balancing the team and linking defence and attack. Liverpool’s forward players Salah, Diaz and Jota are all clearly buying into Slot’s playing style of high-energy pressing and quick transitions.
Already in just two Premier League games, Slot has demonstrated that he is tactically astute and able to adapt his team to suit the changing dynamics of each match. The midfield battle will be an interesting watch on Sunday as Mainoo and Casemiro come up against Gravenberch, Szoboszlai and MacAllister. There’s talk that United’s new midfielder Manuel Ugarte might be thrown into the mix too, but the 23-year old has to pass his medical first.
Liverpool are looking good in terms of injuries and as long as there are no incidents in training, Slot will have a full squad to pick from. Other than switching Quansah and Konate, it’s likely that Slot will stick with the same starting XI that has looked solid in the first two games.
GR Liverpool predicted lineup | Alisson, van Dijk, Robertson, Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Szoboszlai, MacAllister, Gravenberch, Salah, Jota, Díaz
This Week’s Shocker…
There were a few contenders for this week’s shocker, including Ollie Watkins’s misses against Arsenal, but we’re going with the shocker from England’s no.1 goalkeeper.
Relentless pressure ✊
Sonny steals in for his first of the season! 💫
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)
9:15 PM • Aug 24, 2024
Son is rapid here but experienced keepers like Pickford shouldn’t be taking chances like this. Everton are under enough pressure as it is these days and the fans are starting to turn on the team. This season could get ugly for the Toffees.
Around the world…
Colombia legend and scorer of stunning World Cup goals James Rodriguez has joined Rayo Vallecano. The La Liga side have secured the 33-year olds services for free after his contract with São Paulo expired.
The Uruguayan defensive midfielder is set to complete his medical today. The deal the clubs have reached is an initial fee of £42.2 million plus add-ons of around £9 million, which brings the total fee to just over £50 million.
Joao Cancelo has got his move to the Saudi Pro League bringing an end to his time with Manchester City, after he spent a season on loan at Bayern Munich and then last season at Barcelona. Al-Hilal will pay £21.2 million for the Portuguese left wing back.
Liverpool have confirmed they’ve signed goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia in a deal worth £30 million. Plus, Fabrizio Romano is reporting that Juventus are looking to sell Federico Chiesa to Liverpool for under £20 million.
Games to keep an eye on…
Inter vs Atalanta | Friday | 19:45 BST
The current Serie A Champions host Atalanta in a rare Friday night game in Italy. Inter have 1 win and a draw this season whilst Atalanta have a win and a loss.
Arsenal vs Brighton | Saturday | 12:30 BST
After an impressive away win over Aston Villa in a game where they weathered early pressure from Villa, Arsenal host Brighton at the Emirates on Saturday. Brighton got a big win over Manchester United but they’ll come up against a much better defence in Arsenal.
Bayer Leverkusen vs RB Leipzig | Saturday | 17:30 BST
Last season’s Bundesliga Champions take on the team that finished 4th in the league. Both teams won their opening games and will now be looking to lay down a marker.
Newcastle vs Tottenham | Sunday | 13:30 BST
Two teams with fans that consider their clubs as worthy of the top 4, this game should be a decent watch and, as it’s happening early on in the season, we’re expecting both teams to go for it. Hopefully there’ll be plenty of goals.
Juventus vs Roma | Sunday | 19:45 BST
Juve versus Roma will always be a big one in world football. Juve have mad a perfect start to the 2024/25 season whilst Roma drew their first game and recently lost 2-1 at home to Empoli. De Rossi needs a big performance from his team to take the pressure off.
GOAT Trivia…
Say congrats to…
Lucas Paqueta [@lucaspaqueta] the Brazil and West Ham playmaker turns 27 today, 27th August.
On this day in football…
On August 27th 1997, Dennis Bergkamp scored one of the best premier league hat-tricks ever seen.
The touch for the 3rd goal is incredible.
⏪ On this day in 1997...
Dennis Bergkamp scored one of the Premier League's most iconic goals to complete his hat-trick 🤩
— Arsenal (@Arsenal)
8:22 AM • Aug 27, 2024
Goal of the week…
Our goal of the week is this smash from Yves Bissouma. Just back after his ban for posting a video of himself doing nos, this was a good time to score his first goal for Spurs.
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