Verdict: Both teams to score
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Inter Milan and Barcelona face off on Tuesday night knowing they are both overwhelming favourites to qualify from Group B. With group rivals Tottenham picking up just one point so far, Inter (six points) and Barça (nine) are odds-on to reach the Champions League knockout stages at Spurs expense.
Inter Milan
Starting with the hosts, while Inter may have only been able to leave the New Camp on the wrong end of a 2-0 defeat last month, it has been a very bright start for Luciano Spalletti s side. Coming off the back of a very impressive showing in their 5-0 home win over Genoa last weekend, aside from their defeat in Catalunya, Milan have won their other nine outings across all competitions. Along wit…
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is delighted to see Matt O’Riley hit the goal trail early on this season after telling the midfielder to find the net more often.
O’Riley netted late in Celtic’s 3-1 win at Aberdeen on Sunday to make it two goals in his opening two cinch Premiership matches.
Rodgers had noted that O’Riley’s tally of four goals in 52 appearances last season was not befitting of his talent.
The Celtic boss said: “I like him a lot. I think he is a really intelligent footballer.
“He is a top professional. He prepares his body well and he prepares his life well. He wants to do well. He sets his standards high every day to be better.
“When I looked at his numbers and everything else I think I said to him you need to score m…
Manchester City s comprehensive 9-0 EFL Cup semi-final first-leg victory over Burton Albion saw Pep Guardiola equal the biggest winning margin of his managerial career.
City dominated their League One opponents from start to finish on Wednesday and their place in next month s final appears a mere formality ahead of the second leg.
Brazil international Gabriel Jesus grabbed four goals for a rampant City, while Kevin De Bruyne, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Kyle Walker also got on the scoresheet.
Double figures looked a possibility in a second half that saw City have 80 per cent of possession and eight shots on target, but they had to settle for nine.
The win is Guardiola s second 9-0 as a manager, his first having been as Barcelona boss…
Domenico Tedesco has been charged with returning Schalke to Europe after being presented as the club s new coach on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old swapped second-tier side Erzgebirge Aue for the Veltins Arena helm this month, succeeding Markus Weinzierl after a disappointing mid-table finish for Schalke last season.
It was the first time the club had missed out on European qualification since the end of the 2008-2009 season and sporting director Christian Heidel is eager to see that put right at the first opportunity.
It s obvious that the direction we want to be heading in is towards Europe, said Heidel.
And Tedesco evidently agrees that Schalke should be aiming high.
Schalke is no ordinary club. I wouldn t have given up my job at Aue for any old…
The Premier League is back, and it was complete with plenty of thrills and spills on the opening weekend.
Champions Manchester City began their title defence with a relatively routine 2-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, while Liverpool kick-started the Arne Slot era by beating promoted Ipswich Town by the same scoreline.
Manchester United left it late against Fulham, new Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler enjoyed a fantastic start to his tenure, though that was not the case for Julen Lopetegui at West Ham, and Arsenal were comfortable victors over Wolves.
However, who were the lucky winners and unlucky losers based on the underlying metrics from this weekend s matches?
With the use of Opta data, let s find out.
Man City pick up from where they le…
Manuel Neuer proved the difference in the Champions League final, according to Thomas Tuchel, with the Paris Saint-Germain head coach claiming the Bayern Munich great took goalkeeping to a new level .
Germany international Neuer produced inspired form during the final stages of the tournament in Lisbon, appearing back at the very top of his game after a couple of years struggling for form and fitness.
Parisian winger Kingsley Coman proved Bayern s matchwinner but Tuchel had no doubt over how decisive his compatriot Neuer proved at the other end of the field.
That is, of course, a bit of a distortion of competition, he told Sky.
We also have [Keylor] Navas, but Neuer is in top form at the wrong moment.
He took the goalkeeping game to a new lev…
Lionel Messi netted a brilliant brace as Barcelona helped themselves to a dose of Champions League revenge with a dominant 3-0 Group D win over Juventus.
The Serie A champions beat Barca by the same scoreline in the quarter-finals last season before holding out for a second-leg stalemate at Camp Nou.
Barca have since lost Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain, but it was Juve s most notable pre-season departure – Leonardo Bonucci s surprise switch to AC Milan – that loomed largest over this match as a once formidable defence was cut to ribbons in Giorgio Chiellini s injury absence.
Record signing Ousmane Dembele was busy on his full Barca debut, but it was a more familiar face that thrilled the home crowd.
Messi s magnificent opener in the final minute of th…
Whisper it, if you have to. Better yet, mouth it, but don t say it out loud.
It s the dirtiest word you can use to describe a group of talented players blossoming simultaneously.
Golden generation .
The mere mention of it invokes a shudder in England and in Portugal, where the loaded term came to prominence in describing the teams that won the FIFA Youth Championships in 1989 and 1991.
The Selecao s glittering crop, headlined by Luis Figo and Rui Costa, could not win the senior international tournament that such talent suggested was theirs by right.
Instead, it took an altogether less glamorous side, missing talisman Cristiano Ronaldo for much of the final due to injury, to end Portugal s wait by huffing and puffing their way to Euro 2016 glory.<…
According to a recent report from Daily Record, Scottish giants Rangers are planning a clearout during the January transfer window that will see up to five of their first team stars leaving the club. Rangers manager Steven Gerrard will, of course, be at the forefront of the operations regarding what comes next for all of the players in question, with this move likely being done in order to try and freshen things up ahead of the second half of the season.
Rangers are making a push for the Scottish Premier League title for the first time in years, with Gerrard believing that they’re capable of pipping bitter rivals Celtic to the post.
Regardless of what Celtic are doing, though, they need to be focusing on their own game in order to ensure that they’re keeping u…
“We are having a meeting [on Thursday] with Edu and Raul to go through all the loans and situations. I know he’s coming in so I will speak to him and we will try to make the best decision for him.”
Those are the words of Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta who has left the door open for Eddie Nketiah to potentially remain at the Emirates as opposed to moving elsewhere.
Nketiah was recently recalled from his loan spell with Championship leaders Leeds United who didn’t really give the youngster much of a chance to thrive in the first team. Now that he’s back at Arsenal there’s still some uncertainty over what his future is going to hold, especially seeing as now would be the perfect opportunity for him to head back out on loan for the next few months before …