Month: April 2023

Ryan Mason is looking for Tottenham to pick up where they left off in Thursday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United when they visit Liverpool on Sunday.

Mason took over Cristian Stellini’s responsibilities as acting head coach this week, with the Italian dismissed following a dismal 6-1 defeat to Newcastle United.

While Mason’s second stint as interim boss started poorly as United raced into a 2-0 lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a rousing second-half fightback saw Spurs clinch an unlikely draw.

Tottenham’s failure to beat United may have killed their slim hopes of Champions League qualification, but Mason wants to see a similar performance at Anfield.

“In football, negativity can spread very quickly, but so can positivity,” he said.

“If you create a good feeling and energy, it can accelerate a process. Hopefully we’ll continue with what we saw in the second half.

“We were together, we had belief in what we were doing and it’s important we continue in this way.

“When you have a result like we did last Sunday, there should be anger. I wanted to see an angry team.”

Seventh-placed Liverpool are one point behind Spurs with a game in hand, and the two Premier League giants now appear to be fighting for Europa League football after enduring poor campaigns.

However, the Reds have posted three successive wins ahead of Sunday’s game, though boss Jurgen Klopp believes they still have other gears to find.

“I liked big parts of the games, not all of it of course,” Klopp said.

“There’s always something to improve, and that’s fine and that’s what we’ll try to do now.

“I’m absolutely okay in this moment but it’s not like I already trust us so much that I’ll say, ‘that’s it now, we’re out of the woods.’

“This season gave us a few lessons I didn’t want to learn, but I learned. We have to stay super focused.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Liverpool – Mohamed Salah

Salah has been involved in 11 goals in his last eight home games in all competitions (eight goals, three assists), scoring at least once on each of his last six appearances at Anfield.

The last Liverpool player to score in more consecutive games at Anfield was Luis Suarez, who found the net in eight successive matches there between April 2013 and January 2014.

Tottenham – Son Heung-min

Six of Tottenham’s last seven Premier League goals against Liverpool have been scored by either Harry Kane or Son, with the two forwards hitting three goals apiece during that span.

Son’s tally of nine Premier League goals this term is a disappointing one given he shared the Golden Boot with Salah last season, but he will hope Thursday’s equaliser against United can act as a turning point.

MATCH PREDICTION – LIVERPOOL WIN

Liverpool have lost just one of their last 20 Premier League games against Spurs (W13 D6), with the Reds unbeaten in their last 10 since a 4-1 loss at Wembley Stadium in October 2017.

The omens are not good for Tottenham as they hit the road for the first time since being routed at St James’ Park – they have conceded 31 away goals in the Premier League this season, already their most in a single campaign since 2008-09 (35).

Klopp’s hosts come into this game having won three successive Premier League matches, despite conceding in each of those contests. Their last four-game winning run in the competition came between November and December last year, when they also conceded in each of their victories.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Liverpool – 55.2 per cent

Tottenham – 20.0 per cent

Draw – 24.8 per cent

Marco Silva will not dwell on the twin threats of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne when Fulham take on Manchester City on Sunday – because he believes Pep Guardiola’s team are dangerous all over the pitch.

City’s midweek victory over Arsenal made them clear favourites to retain the Premier League title and they could yet add FA Cup and Champions League crowns as well.

Fulham have seen their hopes of qualifying for Europe almost certainly ended by a poor run but will want to finish the season strongly.

Haaland needs only one more goal to hit a half=-century for the season for City, but Silva told a press conference: “We have to try to stop the Man City team.

“Of course we understand your question, so many goals that (Haaland) already scored. He is their top target man for them to finish all the moments that they create. They have so many ways to create for him and that is difficult to stop.

“And it’s not just Haaland, because if it’s not Haaland there will be another one. Last game that they played, they were winning clearly and Haaland just scored in the last minutes of the game.

“You mention a player who in this position is one of the best, if not the best, in this country – that is De Bruyne. He is one of the most important players for them, but you cannot put your focus on just one player.

“We prefer to look in a different way, to look in a collective way. They are strong, one of the best teams in the world, if not the best and clearly the best team in this competition.”

Fulham’s main goal threat, Aleksandr Mitrovic, remains suspended while Willian is a major doubt after sustaining a hamstring problem in the warm-up ahead of Tuesday’s loss to Aston Villa.

Silva is hopeful, though, that Harry Wilson will be available after he left the pitch early feeling unwell.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou will fall not “fall into the trap” of believing their five-match unbeaten run against Rangers gives them any advantage ahead of Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final.

The Hoops have beaten Rangers three times this season including in the Viaplay Cup final at Hampden in February.

The pressure is on Gers boss Michael Beale to stop Celtic moving within two wins of the treble and maintain his hopes of winning a trophy in his first season in charge at Ibrox.

But Postecoglou is in no danger of appearing over-confident.

“I just treat these things as separate entities,” he said. “If you fall into the trap of thinking there’s some sort of advantage you have because of previous results, that’s where you can maybe lose clarity around what’s important.

“Every game is different and in particular when you’re talking about cup games, semi-finals when you know everything is at stake that day and a spot in the final is the reward.

“I just don’t think previous form, whether that’s last week or in other games, really comes into it.

“You don’t want to be going into these games not having won for a while, for sure whether that’s against a direct opponent or in previous weeks.

“But from our perspective, we’ve been in good form for a long time, performances have been consistent for a long time and we just want to continue that.”

The former Australia head coach added: “We are expecting them to be strong. That’s how we go into every game, we expect the opposition to be at their best. They have some very good individuals who could cause problems and they have been very consistent in terms of results.

“Like every other game we go in there and respect the opposition but ultimately know it’s up to us to play our football. We know when we have done that we are hard to stop.”

Despite Celtic winning the previous derby 3-2 to extend their healthy lead in the cinch Premiership, Postecoglou admitted the quality of the game was not particularly high with errors on all sides with so much at stake.

“It’s very hard to eliminate that because human emotions inevitably will take over in those kind of situations, but what we’ve tried to emphasise is that we need to stay clear-headed and focused on what’s important to us,” he said.

“That’s to make sure that we’re controlling the game the way we want to and play the game on our terms. You can only do that if you make sure you’re not influenced by other factors.

“At the same time there’s going to be passion, there’s going to be anxiety, there’s going to be nervousness in both camps during the game and it’s about trying to minimise the impact that has on performance.”

Rangers’ previous win against Celtic came at the same stage last year when an extra-time own goal from Carl Starfelt ended the Hoops’ treble hopes.

Despite Celtic dominating the domestic scene so far this season, that defeat still hurts Postecoglou.

“You never put those ones to bed, mate, unfortunately,” he said. “It would be nice to think that’s how it works but most people will tell you, certainly players and managers, the ones where you aren’t successful tend to stick in the memory sometimes longer than the ones where you are successful.

“You need to go through these experiences, both good and bad, for growth. I think we used that as a growing experience for ourselves to say we weren’t successful on the day, not for the want of trying.

“We faced a really good opponent at the time, Rangers were on their way to a European final so it was a really strong team, and we lost in extra time.

“You use that as an opportunity to develop and learn but also use it as a source of inspiration moving forward to try and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Harry Kane heard Manchester United fans chanting his name but insists his full attention is on securing a lofty Premier League finish for Tottenham.

Striker Kane was captain in the absence of injured goalkeeper Hugo Lloris as Tottenham fought back from 2-0 down for a 2-2 draw with United on Thursday.

The result came in the wake of senior Spurs players meeting on Monday with chairman Daniel Levy to discuss the team’s faltering campaign, which came to a head with Sunday’s 6-1 pasting at Newcastle United.

Not long after that meeting, interim head coach Cristian Stellini was ousted from his role and the popular Ryan Mason was given a chance to lead the team.

When Spurs put in a rocky first-half display against United, going behind to goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford, the picture for the north London hosts looked increasingly gloomy.

It would have hurt Tottenham supporters to hear United fans chanting “Harry Kane, we’ll see you in June”, amid recent transfer speculation, but the man himself shrugged that off.

“I heard what they were saying, but I’m just focused on this team and trying to finish strongly,” Kane said.

The 29-year-old England skipper has a year remaining on his Tottenham contract, and the coming close season may be the club’s best chance to earn a handsome transfer fee if their record scorer decides the exit door really does beckon.

Levy will have Kane’s future high on his list of priorities, but for the moment the priority of everyone from the chairman down is on finishing the season strongly.

The Newcastle result pointed to Spurs being in disarray, but Mason’s players showed a greater spark against Erik ten Hag’s United, and Kane felt the discussions with Levy have proven worthwhile.

“I think it was important [for Levy] to understand where the players’ heads were at in that moment,” Kane said. “It was an honest conversation of where everyone is at and what we need to try to do to give us the best possible chance to finish the season with something.

“We’re still fighting for fourth place, but if it’s not fourth, we’ll try to finish fifth or sixth – as high up as we can. In this league, it’s so competitive, you can easily end up eighth or ninth if you’re not careful.”

Kane said he was “glad we reacted like that” against United, ahead of a trip to face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

Spurs sit fifth in the Premier League, but their grip on that position is tenuous. In-form Aston Villa are on the same points mark in sixth place, while Liverpool are a point back with a game in hand and Brighton and Hove Albion sit five points behind but have three games in hand.

– Bournemouth have won five of their last eight Premier League games 
– Leeds have dropped 20 points from winning positions this season 
– Recommended Bet: Back Bournemouth to Win from Behind

Leeds’ trip to the Vitality Stadium to face survival rivals Bournemouth on Sunday is turning into a must-win match for the club.

The wobbling Whites were three points better off than the Cherries after their 4-3 Bonfire Night victory at Elland Road earlier this season.

But Javi Gracia’s men are now six points behind Gary O’Neil’s outfit, who some view as being virtually safe following their midweek win over rock-bottom Southampton.

Leeds fans were furious when their side surrendered the lead against Leicester on Tuesday and have slammed Gracia’s team selections, particularly the exclusion of Wilfried Gnonto, in the wake of that 1-1 home draw.

Team news

O’Neil hopes winger Marcus Tavernier, who felt a hamstring after scoring their winner at St Mary’s on Thursday, has not sustained a serious problem.

But he looks unlikely to be fit enough to start on Sunday given the short turnaround and looks likely to be replaced by Adam Smith.

O’Neil has settled on a 3-4-3 formation in recent games with Matias Vina preferred on the left, but both he and Marcos Senesi struggled with cramp against the Saints.

Jack Stephens could return to the heart of Bournemouth’s defence after being ineligible to face his parent club on Thursday, but Ryan Fredericks (calf), Junior Stanislas (knock) and Hamed Traore (foot) are presumed to be out.

As for Leeds, Gnonto could be in line for a recall after it emerged that Luis Sinisterra will miss the rest of the campaign with an ankle injury.

Crysensio Summerville, however, was Gracia’s preferred option to replace the Colombian when he had to go off against Leicester.

Tyler Adams, Stuart Dallas and Maximilian Wober all missed the Foxes clash through injury with the Austrian defender confirmed by Garcia on Friday as having not yet returned to training.

The stats

Bournemouth’s current tally of 36 points could be enough to keep them up as it would have done in 15 of the last 27 Premier League campaigns.

A tally of 37 points would have been sufficient to secure safety in 20 of the 27 campaigns since the Premier League streamlined to 20 teams in 1995-96.

Sinisterra’s loss robs Leeds of one of their most potent players — the Colombian has scored seven goals in 15 starts for the club in all competitions this term.

Tuesday’s second-half surrender means the Whites have now dropped 20 points from winning positions so far in this Premier League campaign — only Leicester have dropped more (22).

Leeds Goalkeeper Illan Meslier has conceded a league-high 1.9 goals per 90 minutes this season, just ahead of Gavin Bazunu (1.8) and Danny Ward (1.8), who have both been dropped by their respective clubs.

Prediction

Bournemouth sunk their south coast rivals Southampton on Thursday and a similar result could leave Leeds in big trouble too.

O’Neil has been very good tactically since taking over the reins following the 9-0 thumping at Anfield back in August and, bar the odd setback, has steered a calm course to safety.

They are not that solid at the back, however, and are often forced to battle back from behind due to a habit of conceding the opening goal at home.

Leeds’ problem has been closing out matches once they have taken the lead and this crunch clash could provide another test of their game-management abilities.

The Whites have had 48 hours extra rest to prepare for this massive matchup, but could get very nervous if the Cherries sense a comeback is on.

Back Bournemouth to Win from Behind at 17/2 with LiveScore Bet.

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Barcelona will be looking to get back to winning ways against Real Betis as they edge closer to a 27th LaLiga title.

Real Betis could delay that prospect, though, as Manuel Pellegrini’s men continue their quest for Champions League qualification.

Elsewhere, Real Madrid can bounce back from Tuesday’s shock defeat to Girona by beating Almeria, while city rivals Atletico Madrid travel to Real Valladolid.

And there are two huge clashes at the bottom with Cadiz hosting Valencia and Espanyol taking on Getafe.

Game of the week: Barcelona vs Real Betis (Saturday, 8pm)

Barcelona missed the chance to extend their lead over Real by losing to Rayo Vallecano in midweek — but they still boast an 11-point gap over their arch rivals.

The Blaugrana’s defeat saw them concede their 10th and 11th goals of the campaign, which is still less than half as many as the division’s next-best record (Atletico Madrid’s 23 goals conceded).

Robert Lewandowski did at least end a run of three league games without a goal, taking him to 18 LaLiga strikes for the campaign.

Betis front man Borja Iglesias sits six goals behind the Pole on 12 but is enduring a five-match barren spell of his own. 

Real Madrid vs Almeria (Saturday, 5.30pm)

Real will still be reeling from their shock 4-2 defeat to Girona last time out, in which Valentin Castellanos scored four.

It is the second time in the last four games that Los Blancos have failed to take advantage of a Barcelona slip-up. Had Saturday’s hosts won against Girona and Villarreal, they would be just six points behind the Blaugrana.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men had recorded four consecutive 2-0 victories across all competitions before slipping to defeat — and have now scored exactly twice in each of their last six.

Almeria are just two points clear of the relegation zone ahead of their visit to the capital, so may not be overly hopeful of a result against the division’s top scorers (65 goals scored).

Real Valladolid vs Atletico Madrid (Sunday, 8pm)

Atleti go into Matchday 32 just two points behind second-placed Real — and will be keen to keep the pressure on by beating Valladolid.

Los Rojiblancos have lost just one of their last 15 LaLiga outings (11 wins, three draws) in a narrow 1-0 defeat against Barcelona, before bouncing back by beating Mallorca 3-1.

Antoine Griezmann rose to the top of the division’s assist chart with two in that victory and is now the only player who can boast double figures for both goals and assists (11 goals, 10 assists).

That does not bode well for Valladolid, who were beaten 3-0 in the reverse fixture. 

Cadiz vs Valencia (Sunday, 1pm)

Valencia claimed a second seismic victory in as many matches on Thursday, beating Valladolid 2-1 after claiming a 2-0 win over Elche.

But Los Che are still far from safe and remain just two points above the relegation zone. They now face another potentially season-defining clash against Cadiz, who sit one point and one place below them.

Cadiz have netted a paltry 23 times in 31 games, with only Elche registering fewer goals (20) ahead of Matchday 32.

However, Valencia must be wary of their upcoming opponents’ stubborn nature — no LaLiga side has recorded more draws than their 11.

Espanyol vs Getafe (Sunday, 5.30pm)

Espanyol and Getafe will both be desperate to claim three points on Sunday, as the relegation-threatened pair battle it out in Catalonia.

Getafe are winless in five LaLiga outings (two draws, three defeats), failing to score in three of those encounters.

However, Espanyol are on an even worse run — they are without a victory in eight league matches, losing seven.

But the Barcelona-based side did triumph in the reverse fixture, winning 2-1 thanks to strikes from Joselu and Javi Puado.

The weekend’s other games

Osasuna vs Real Sociedad (Friday, 8pm) 

Elche vs Rayo Vallecano (Saturday, 3.15pm) 

Villarreal vs Celta Vigo (Sunday, 3.15pm) 

Mallorca vs Athletic Bilbao (Monday, 6pm) 

Sevilla vs Girona (Monday, 8pm)

Follow each game with our unbeatable live scores service. Simply tap the Scores tab on the web or download the LiveScore app from the App Store for iOS devices or Google Play for Android.

Emi Martinez wants to make European qualification for Aston Villa his next big achievement in football, according to former Villans goalkeeping coach Neil Cutler.

A World Cup and Copa America winner with Argentina, Martinez is looking to help guide Villa back into Europe for the first time since 2010.

They have enjoyed a rapid transformation since Unai Emery took charge last November, with a 10-game unbeaten run in the Premier League lifting them to sixth ahead of facing Manchester United on Sunday.

Cutler, 46, was hailed the “best English goalkeeper coach by miles” by Martinez after his four-year spell with the West Midlands side ended when Emery was appointed.

And the highly-rated coach insists his ex-protege is focused on making continental football and silverware regular features at Villa Park.

He told LiveScore: “Martinez is one of the best goalkeepers, if not the best, in the world.

“He wants to be winning tournaments, he wants to be getting trophies, he wants to be picking up medals. 

“He’s won all you can with Argentina. Now he wants to win domestically and in Europe.

“He’s the type of character to be pushing others around him to do that. He sets standards every day and it looks like it’s spreading within the group.”

Making up for lost time

Martinez, 31, was something of a late arrival to the top level having spent eight years struggling to make the grade at Arsenal before his switch to Villa in 2020.

His career has been on an upward trajectory since and Cutler believes making up for lost time is spurring him on. 

The ex-West Brom and Walsall coach added: “He’s described the remaining games as cup finals and that’s everything he is.

“His desire and drive to win games and keep clean sheets is the best I’ve ever known.

“He wants to make sure he’s winning things now because he’s 31.”

Licence to thrill

Cutler was one of the first people Martinez contacted after Argentina’s dramatic World Cup penalty shootout win over France in Qatar and he regularly watches Villa games with the Argentine’s family.

While the Villans No1 has not shared details of Emery’s methods, he has had nothing but good things to say about how the team is progressing under the ex-Villarreal and Arsenal boss.

Cutler added: “Unai’s extremely detailed tactically. He [Martinez] will enjoy that because he likes getting on the ball. He likes possession-based football.

“They suit each other. He’s really enjoying it.

“The thing with Emi now is he’s in a team that wants to get on the ball.

“The players are comfortable having the ball now because they’ve had success with it. They believe in it and that’s massively important.”

Exciting times

Having led Villa’s much-improved backline to 11 clean sheets this season, Martinez is not expected to be short of admirers this summer.

But with Villa beginning to match the grand ambitions of owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, Cutler believes there is no reason Martinez cannot enjoy the success he craves by staying put.

He said: “Villa have got really ambitious owners who have have put a lot of money into the football club already. Their aim is to win things.

“So I think there’ll some big names coming in to have a real go next season, especially if they’re in Europe.

“Let’s be honest, if you put another 20,000 seats in Villa Park it will be full. There’s a great atmosphere around the place.

“There’s no better place to be when the place is rocking. There’s no reason they can’t get into Europe and have a right go.”

West Ham boss David Moyes has held talks with referees’ chief Howard Webb about the VAR controversy in their midweek 2-1 Premier League defeat by Liverpool.

Moyes accused the VAR of “disrespect” after West Ham were denied a late penalty when Thiago’s arm hit the ball as he challenged Danny Ings in the box.

The Hammers boss was convinced VAR Neil Swarbrick should have at least told on-field referee Chris Kavanagh to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.

But, speaking on Friday, Moyes refused to divulge whether he had received an apology from the PGMOL.

“I’ve spoken to Howard Webb and his team, but the conversation was private and it will remain that way,” he said.

Moyes believes there is more to come from West Ham’s record signing Lucas Paqueta.

Brazil midfielder Paqueta has scored in his last three matches, including a spectacular strike against Liverpool.

The 25-year-old had initially struggled to adapt to the Premier League following his £50million switch from Lyon.

But his recent performances have played a major part in West Ham climbing away from the relegation zone.

“I think he’s beginning to get used to the Premier League, because it takes time to settle,” said Moyes.

“I think he still has a bit to go, but I have to say, it is great he is getting some goals for us recently. It has helped us a lot.”

The Hammers head to Crystal Palace on Saturday to face another side who have enjoyed an upturn in results since 75-year-old Roy Hodgson returned as manager.

“I thought Roy was mad when he came back,” said Moyes, who turned 60 this week.

“But he has an incredible passion for the game. I can understand why people want to work with him because he is such a talented coach.

“I hope we can win the game – but I have to say, Roy has done a fantastic job.”

Gianluca Scamacca remains West Ham’s only injury absentee. The Italian striker recently underwent knee surgery which has probably ended his season.

“In the main we are OK,” said Moyes. “Scamacca is the one player who is not available. People have picked up some knocks in midweek but, hopefully, it will be a similar squad.”

Unai Emery has termed Aston Villa’s hopes of Champions League football as “maybe impossible” ahead of their crunch visit to Premier League top-four rivals Manchester United.

Sixth-placed Villa are six points adrift of United, who occupy the final Champions League spot and have played two fewer games, going into Sunday’s showdown at Old Trafford.

“The last step is to keep in the European places,” said Villa manager Emery, whose side are unbeaten in 10 games having won eight of those.

“We escaped the bottom, we got top 10 and now the European places is the last step but it is more difficult.

“There’s still five matches to play for us, but not for Liverpool, Brighton, Manchester United.

“We have to face the match on Sunday enjoying this opportunity we have in front of us.

“Of course, Europe could be Champions League, Europa League or Europa Conference League.

“Champions League is very, very difficult, maybe impossible.

“Europa League and Conference League could be, but as well it’s going to be very difficult.”

Emery began his Villa reign in November with a super-charged 3-1 home victory over United.

At the time Villa – who lost 4-2 at United in the Carabao Cup a few days later – were just one point above the relegation zone and playing in Europe for the first time since 2010-11 seemed highly improbable.

But having beaten Fulham in midweek for a sixth win in seven games, Emery said: “We are now fighting teams like Tottenham and Liverpool, three or four years ago they were both playing in the Champions League final.

“We are now fighting with those teams, with the same players, and then Brighton, who are having an exceptional season, playing brilliant and big performances as a team, deserving to be there as well.

“And we are with them. Three months ago, we were a big (points) difference off them.

“We deserve to have this opportunity and to have the last new target in front – enjoy it with our supporters and, of course, trying to be very demanding trying to get it.”

Villa will again be without Matty Cash, Philippe Coutinho, Leon Bailey and Boubacar Kamara at Old Trafford.

Emery says the four players are “close” to returning and hopes they can all train next week.

Michael Beale believes recent radical change at executive level at Rangers will stabilise the club.

Rangers announced earlier in the week that managing director Stewart Robertson wil leave in the summer, with the board appointing commercial and marketing director James Bisgrove as the club’s new chief executive officer.

Douglas Park stood down as chairman earlier in the month to be replaced by John Bennett and there was also the recent departure of sporting director Ross Wilson, who joined Nottingham Forest as chief football officer.

Ahead of the Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic at Hampden Park on Sunday, the Rangers boss, who was previously first-team coach under Steven Gerrard at Ibrox, considered the revamp and said: “Boardroom stability will take place now, won’t it? Because John’s obviously taking over the chairmanship from Douglas.

“That’s someone who did an excellent job handing over to his vice-chairman who’s going to come in with his energy and ideas and there’s been a couple of changes in terms of Ross going out and then Stewart leaving in the summer and James stepping up so there will be stability.

“In terms of the manager position, that will come down to how well I do with this squad and through recruitment and the start of next season and how we finish the end of this season.

“I think we’re here for our fans. It’s important our fans feel that the team’s moving in the right direction and that will determine whether a coach stays but in terms of the infrastructure in the club, I think the club’s infrastructure is really strong.

“If I consider the time when I came into the club first time round to now, the club’s in a completely different place.”