Premier League

Ange Postecoglou gives a troubling Richarlison injury update
20Sep By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Features, Premier League

Ange Postecoglou gives a troubling Richarlison injury update

Tottenham star forward Richarlison has been out with an injury since late August and hasn't played since Spurs demolished relegation candidates Everton 4-0 on Aug. 24 in the Premier League. But don't ask Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou for anymore injury update, because Richarlison isn't coming back soon and Big Ange really doesn't want to talk about it. Ahead of Tottenham's Saturday fixture against Brentford in the Premier League, the former Celtic coach confirmed that the Brazilian international isn't close to returning to Spurs: “Richarlison is a fair way off. He’s not close to returning yet. You're better off not asking about him until I give an update because he's not with the first team." That, uh, doesn't sound too optimistic, particularly the part about not wanting t...
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Arsenal won’t have Martin Odegaard vs. Man City, but they’re getting the next best thing
20Sep By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Features, Premier League

Arsenal won’t have Martin Odegaard vs. Man City, but they’re getting the next best thing

Arsenal supporters were upset and nervous when captain Martin Odegaard suffered an injury during international duties for Norway against Austria, and, now, it appears his ankle injury is more serious than initially feared with follow-up scans showing ligament damage. Odegaard will miss several matches, if not months, for Arsenal, taking one of the best playmakers and all-around attacking midfielders in world football away from the Gunners. This weekend, Arsenal will face Manchester City in an early-season title-decider for the Premier League crown, and, needless to say, they'll have to get a result on Sunday afternoon at the Etihad without Odegaard available. Arsenal can start Kai Havertz in the attacking midfield with Gabriel Jesus back at striker, but the biggest boost for the G...
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Manchester United still want €40M-rated CM despite rough start to season
19Sep By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Features, Premier League

Manchester United still want €40M-rated CM despite rough start to season

Manchester United signed one of the best midfielders available in the summer 2024 transfer window, bringing in their top target Manuel Ugarte from PSG to replace a rapidly declining Casemiro. Therefore, on paper, Manchester United have one of the best midfields in the Premier League with the young duo of Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo forming the base behind star playmaker Bruno Fernandes, who is a near-guarantee for 10 assists a season. But Manchester United could use more depth behind those two deeper midfielders. Before finally securing Ugarte, Man United were seriously kicking around the idea of signing Atalanta's rising star Ederson, especially after he shut down a previously undefeated Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League Final. According to a report from TNT Sports in Brazil, Ma...
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Chelsea inquire about signing €60M Barcelona star
19Sep By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Features, LaLiga, Premier League

Chelsea inquire about signing €60M Barcelona star

Chelsea have shown signs of improvement under Enzo Maresca through four Premier League fixtures in the 2024/25 season, making a huge statement with a six-goal showing against Wolves a couple of weeks ago. Although Chelsea are getting better, results like the draw against Crystal Palace show that there is still more work to be done at Stamford Bridge before the Blues can confidently secure Champions League football again. Much of the discussion around Chelsea focuses on the attack, which was strengthened with the addition of Jadon Sancho at the deadline, but the defense also needs to step up and perform to the level that its young starters are capable of. Chelsea are considering adding one more center back to the mix to compete with Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill, as Fofana, in par...
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Ranking the best Premier League defenses: Liverpool dominate again, Man Utd rebounding
19Sep By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Features, Premier League

Ranking the best Premier League defenses: Liverpool dominate again, Man Utd rebounding

It's very early in the 2024/25 Premier League season, but let's try a fun exercise and rank the best defenses in the league, solely based on current statistical performance this season. I will award five points awarded to the team ranked first in the category and one point given to a team ranked in fifth. Expected goals allowed, shots on target allowed, and combined tackles and interceptions are the three metrics used to rank the sides. The points were doubled for expected goals allowed to weigh its greater importance. 5. Manchester United Manchester United added two new starters to their back line this summer in former Bayern Munich and Ajax players Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui at center and right back, respectively. Both players have paid huge dividends to Manchester...
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Pep Guardiola publicly called out Kevin De Bruyne after Inter performance
19Sep By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Champions League, Features, Premier League

Pep Guardiola publicly called out Kevin De Bruyne after Inter performance

Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne is one of the best players in the world and has continued to show his excellence as a playmaker by averaging a mind-boggling four key passes in the Premier League to this early point in the season. De Bruyne, however, had a game to forget against Inter Milan in Wednesday night's rematch of the 2023 Final, even before coming off at the mid-way point with a potential injury. Although De Bruyne created two more chances to add to his stats, he failed to make a positive impact on the ball, losing possession frequently while chasing shadows defensively against a dynamic Inter Milan team. Pep Guardiola noticed this and wasn't afraid to criticize De Bruyne for his display as the starting left attacking midfielder, "When you are alone and lose easy...
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Crystal Palace have two of the Premier League’s best progressive passers
19Sep By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Features, Premier League

Crystal Palace have two of the Premier League’s best progressive passers

After four Premier League matches, Crystal Palace sit just 16th in the league, which is a far cry from where they are hoping to be, even in the aftermath of losing their best player, Michael Olise, to Bayern Munich. Next up for Crystal Palace is a tough fixture against Manchester United, a Europa League side by virtue of winning the FA Cup last season. Right now, Man United are in 10th, and this is a winnable game for Palace despite the vast difference in wage bills. Crystal Palace may not be having the best start to the season, but they still have two of the best midfielders in the Premier League - top-class stars leading the way after Olise's departure. Both attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze and center/defensive midfielder Adam Wharton rank among the top five players in the Prem...
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Josko Gvardiol the shining light in Manchester City’s draw with Inter Milan
18Sep By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Features, Premier League

Josko Gvardiol the shining light in Manchester City’s draw with Inter Milan

In a rematch of the 2023 Champions League Final that they won, Manchester City could only muster a tepid 0-0 draw against Inter Milan in their 2024/25 Champions League season opener. It was a battle between the best team in England and the best team in Italy, and arguably the world's two best defenses put on clinics and neutralized each other's talented strikers in a match only a defender could love. And the best defender on the pitch for either Manchester City or Inter Milan just might have been Josko Gvardiol, who had an exceptional first season at the Etihad and only continues to grow as arguably the world's most gifted center back. Gvardiol saved a goal with a goal-line clearance, blocked two shots, won two interceptions, and added a tackle in another solid defensive display t...
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Mikel Arteta gives devastating Martin Odegaard injury update
18Sep By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Features, Premier League

Mikel Arteta gives devastating Martin Odegaard injury update

Arsenal star attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard went down over the September international "break" - by the way, the break stands for the risk of injuries, not any sort of relaxation - during a match between Norway and Austria. The club were initially fearing the worst, and it looks like Arsenal will indeed be without their captain and best midfielder (sorry, Declan Rice) for quite a while, including this weekend's decisive Premier League battle against reigning champions Manchester City. Mikel Arteta informed supporters that recent tests indicated Martin Odegaard suffered ligament damage as a result of the injury, “Recent scans showed that he’s got some damage on one of the ligaments in the ankle especially. It’s something quite significant, so we’re going to lose him for a while....
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Amad Diallo leads Manchester United in three important stats
17Sep By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Features, Premier League

Amad Diallo leads Manchester United in three important stats

The solution on the right wing for Manchester United in the Premier League hasn't been 100 million euro flop Antony bouncing back or even Jadon Sancho, who joined Chelsea on a loan deal that will almost certainly become permanent at the end of the 2024/25 season. No, young forward Amad Diallo has burst out as the key man in the Manchester United attack, and the stats show that he is the main attacking threat right now, above Marcus Rashford or even new signing Joshua Zirkzee. Diallo, just 22, looks like a future star at Old Trafford. No player on Manchester United has created more chances than Diallo's highly impressive 10, even though he's only made three starts. Furthermore, Diallo is first in progressive carries with 23, which is almost double that of Man United's best current ...
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