Although Liverpool are at fifth, tied on points with fourth placed West Ham, the Reds have been nowhere near last season’s scintillating displays and were extremely lucky to get all three points against Queens Park Rangers last weekend due to a last minute Steven Caulker own goal. Brendan Rodgers’ side were also at the end of a 3-0 humbling by Real Madrid in their midweek Champions League fixture, but the manager will be confident they can get all three points against the Tigers on Saturday. Under-performing star Mario Balotelli is set to continue leading the line as first-choice striker Daniel Sturridge remains injured with a calf problem.
Hull City (3-5-1-1): Jakupovic, Chester, Davies, Bruce, Elmohamady, Livermore, Huddlestone, Diame, Robertson, Ben Arfa, Hernandez
Steve Bruce’s men traveled to the Emirates to face Arsenal last weekend and will be glad to come away with a point, although they could have grabbed all three if it wasn’t for a late Danny Welbeck equalizer. Hull City will need to be at the top of their game as well for their trip to Anfield, with the manager expected to deploy his usual trusted 3-5-2 system. However, due to Nikica Jelavic’s injury, Bruce will deploy Hatem Ben Arfa right behind summer signing Abel Hernandez, with the Uruguayan adapting well to the Premier League already having scored three goals in five appearances. The Tigers may need third choice goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic between the posts, with Allan McGregor and Steve Harper both struggling with injuries.
What the fans are saying…
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//www.youtube.com/embed/rRbVHopyOog
If this weekend’s clash is anything like the one back in 2008/2009 then we’re in for an absolute treat!
Patrice Evra has said he is happy with life at Manchester United, after reports suggested he would leave Old Trafford for Paris St Germain.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Qatari-backed side have long been linked with a move for the French full-back who grew up in Paris after moving from Senegal.
But the United captain insists a move away from Manchester is unlikely in the near future.
Evra, 31, told The Sun, “You would have to kill Alex Ferguson before bringing me to Paris.
“For now, there is nothing to do. I have a year left on my contract and I am at Manchester United. I am captain and I am happy.”
Nevertheless the Frenchman’s contract at Old Trafford expires in 2014 and he will be aware of the Red Devils’ recent policy of offering only one-year extensions to players over the age of 30.
With the prospect of earning a higher salary and greater job security at PSG, Evra could yet be tempted into a deal with France’s capital club.
“It’s always a pleasure to be wanted by a club such as Paris St Germain, especially as I am Parisian”, said the former PSG youth-team player.
“I have never hidden my love of Paris, even though Monaco is still ’my’ team.
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“It has always pained me to see the club not win the title or qualify for the Champions League.”
Evra joined United in January 2006 from Monaco and has since been a regular fixture in Ferguson’s side, even assuming the captaincy after Nemanja Vidic was ruled out by injury for much of last year.
Arsenal will look to bounce back from successive defeats against Manchester City when they face Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Sunday, and Gunners fans have begged manager Arsene Wenger not to start Granit Xhaka, rated at £31.5m by Transfermarkt.
The Switzerland international has started every one of the north London outfit’s 28 Premier League matches so far this season, but he has really struggled for form in recent weeks, and was particularly poor in both clashes against City as Wenger’s men were outclassed.
The 25-year-old has been playing alongside Aaron Ramsey in the middle of the park, but with Jack Wilshere and Mohamed Elneny among those also available to play in that position, his spot could be under threat for the first time during the current campaign ahead of the trip to the south coast.
Arsenal supporters have been quick to have their say on Xhaka via social media, and while one said “if Xhaka starts there’s a high chance we’ll lose”, another said “I would honestly drop Xhaka until further notice”.
We’re in for another fantastic feast of Premier League football at the weekend; Southampton visit Tottenham in a bid to haunt former boss Mauricio Pochettino on Saturday, whilst Leicester host Burnley to decide things at the less flattering end of the league table.
That’s followed by a heavyweight Sunday afternoon. It’s maxim – Chelsea vs Arsenal, but the lunchtime kick-off witnesses Manchester United taking on Everton at Old Trafford.
The Toffees did the double over the Red Devils last season – in fact, their victory at Old Trafford in April proved to be David Moyes’ last game in charge of the former Premier League champions – so United fans will be demanding an improved performance.
But with the quality and depth of the English top flight so immense, the majority of fixtures now come down individual battles.
With that in mind, here’s FIVE key individual contests that could decide the heavyweight tie on Sunday afternoon.
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PHIL JONES VS ROMELU LUKAKU
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Manchester United find themselves amid a harrowing injury crisis, but Phil Jones is tipped to return from the sidelines to face Everton, having suffered a thigh strain during England’s 2-0 victory over Switzerland earlier this month.
It’s fantastic news for Louis van Gaal – the Red Devils desperately need a centre-back with the experience and physicality to marshal record Toffees signing Romelu Lukaku on Sunday afternoon.
Likely to return to a central role after struggling out wide against Liverpool last weekend, the 21 year-old will be keen to get back to goal scoring ways – two goals in six Premier League outings is a rather sedated return compared to Lukaku’s high standards over the past two seasons.
He’ll fancy his chances against the Red Devils too; nine of the last ten Premier League fixtures at Old Trafford have witnessed 2.5 goals or more, and the Belgium international netted a hat-trick against United on the last day of the 2012/13 campaign:
//www.youtube.com/embed/1rKOdVAKTv8?rel=0
Jones is set to be partnered with Marcos Rojo, in the absence of Chris Smalling and Johnny Evans (injury) and Tyler Blackett (suspension).
The summer signing was at the heart of United’s 5-3 defeat to Leicester City and is still coming to terms with the pace, power and intensity of the Premier League. As well as stopping a battering ram in Lukaku, the England international needs to keep his Argentine colleague organised.
ANGEL DI MARIA VS JAMES MCCARTHY
How to solve a problem like Angel Di Maria?
The former Real Madrid star has been nothing short of sensational since swapping the Bernabeu for Old Trafford in August, running the show from midfield and demonstrating his world-class end product in emphatic style:
This eloquent chip against Leicester City particularly stood out:
Indeed, the Argentina international is yet to go a game for United without contributing to a goal, so if the Toffees are to get anything from their visit to Old Trafford, they’ll have to stop Di Maria or at least slow him down.
That duty could well be passed to James McCarthy – the Ireland international missed Everton’s Europa League tie with Krasnodar yesterday evening with a strained quad, but will be hoping to return against the Red Devils.
In positional terms, he lines up directly against Di Maria – the South American habitually deployed at left-centre-mid and McCarthy and right-centre-mid – and as Everton’s engine room, possesses the athleticism and energy to go toe-to-toe with the United star for much of the match.
Should the Toffees dynamo be ruled out through injury, summer signing Muhamed Besic or former Red Devils youngster Darron Gibson are likely to take his place.
JUAN MATA VS GARETH BARRY
With Wayne Rooney suspended for this excessive professional foul against West Ham:
…misfit Juan Mata looks set to take over at the tip of Manchester United’s midfield diamond.
The Spain international has struggled to find his place at Old Trafford since leaving Chelsea in January 2014, but let’s not forget what he’s capable of; Mata claimed back-to-back Player of the Year awards for his former employers and despite limited game-time, has already hit the onion-bag twice this season.
Operating as Everton’s deepest lying midfielder, Gareth Barry will have to keep a leash on the 26 year-old playmaker. The former England man struggled against Liverpool last weekend – in fact, he was fortunate not to be sent for an early shower in the opening twenty minutes – so a significantly higher level of performance is required.
Mata’s absolutely lethal from dead ball situations too – take this curler from last season for example:
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Fouls will have to be kept down to a minimum, but Everton currently boast one of the cleanest records in the Premier League:
RADAMEL FALCAO VS PHIL JAGIELKA AND JOHN STONES
Despite providing two assists, marquee signing Radamel Falcao is yet to get off the mark in the Premier League.
He’ll fancy his chances of breaking his duck on Sunday however – Everton currently have the worst defensive record in the Premier League, conceding 14 times in six fixtures and recording a solitary clean sheet against West Brom.
Indeed, Chelsea slammed them for six and Crystal Palace bagged three goals with just three shots on target against the Toffees, but the Merseyside derby produced an improved performance as Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw.
Much of that was centred around John Stones coming back in at centre-half to partner Phil Jagielka, with Sylvain Distin sidelined through injury. The 36 year-old veteran could return to fitness at the weekend but his form has been poor this season and it’s likely Roberto Martinez will stick with the England duo instead.
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In Falcao they’ll be up against one of the most lethal strikers in Europe – the former Atletico Madrid star’s career record stands at an incredible 200 goals in 308 appearances. Here’s ten of the Colombian’s most memorable goals:
//www.youtube.com/embed/YDfjYoW4Bvk?rel=0
LEIGHTON BAINES VS RAFAEL
They say full-backs are now the most important players on the pitch in tactical terms, and Everton’s visit to Manchester United could will epitomise that modern trend.
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With Manchester United unlikely to deploy out-and-out wingers, roaming left-back Leighton Baines looks set to directly come up against Red Devils No.2 Rafael for much of the match.
The quality of the England international’s left boot needs no introduction to United – they’ve tried and failed to bring Baines to Old Trafford on uncountable occasions throughout the years.
The 29 year-old is enjoying a rich vein of form this season too, as shown below:
Rafael’s in decent nick as well – but he’ll find himself outnumbered at times on Sunday and will have to remain disciplined, whilst balancing his entrenched desire to get forward with defensive obligations.
Unfortunately, disciplined isn’t a word in the feisty Brazilian’s vocabulary – he’s yet to make the referee’s notebook this season but has already picked up two red cards in 102 Premier League appearances.
Likewise to Juan Mata, Leighton Baines’ quality from dead ball situations verges upon world-class, so United’s current average of 12.2 fouls per match will have to come down somewhat. Here’s the Three Lions defender netting a unique free-kick brace against West Ham last season:
Liverpool strike Luis Suarez has dismissed speculation linking him with a January transfer to Manchester City.
Rumours have been circulating that the Reds’ Premier League rivals are preparing a big money swoop for the Uruguayan during the transfer window.
However, the 25-year-old told the club’s official website that he is very happy at Anfield and wouldn’t consider leaving:
“I have a very long contract here and it’s a dream come true to be playing at a club like Liverpool because, as I’ve said, as a boy I dreamt of playing for a team like this.
“Now I’m here, it’s all about enjoying myself and trying to be here for as many years as I can, because I’m at a club where I’m very happy, my family is happy, I’ve got fantastic team-mates and a manager from whom I’m learning so much.
“I’m working well and I’m very happy at a club where I’ve always wanted to be. At a club to whom I’m very grateful for the trust everyone is showing in me – a club with amazing supporters and team-mates who are all great people.
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Suarez is also confident that the team’s results will begin to improve following an underwhelming start to the campaign:
“The other important thing is that the squad is very united. In spite of not getting the results we would have liked, we have a great spirit of togetherness and let’s hope we can continue to pick up points.”
Manchester City have talent all over the field, and one of their star players of the season was goalkeeper Ederson.
The Brazilian joined the North-West outfit from Benfica last year and firmly cemented his place as number one.
It is highly unlikely that manager Pep Guardiola will be looking for a new keeper to take Ederson’s place, but the club could do with a fresh back-up.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255859″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Man City’s opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season”]
Claudio Bravo did not cover himself in glory during his first season at City as he made a handful of costly mistakes.
On Wednesday, The Telegraph reported that City have an interest in West Bromwich Albion keeper Ben Foster.
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The publication also stated that the 35-year-old, along with teammate Craig Dawson, are set to be fined for refusing to attend the Baggies’ pre-season tour to Portugal.
In April, Foster confirmed that he intended to stay at West Brom, but this latest news suggests otherwise.
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Some City fans are keen on the idea of the shot-stopper moving to the Etihad, while others are uncertain.
Chelsea forward Willian produced a man-of-the-match display and was unlucky not to score a hat-trick in his team’s 1-1 draw against Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, and Arsenal fans have urged their club to sign the Brazilia, rated at €32m (£28.3m) according to Transfermarkt.
The 29-year-old winger had already hit the woodwork twice with two fine efforts when he finally found the net in the 62nd minute to give Antonio Conte’s men the lead against the La Liga leaders, although Lionel Messi equalised with his first ever goal against the Premier League holders.
Despite him impressive display against Barca, Willian hasn’t always been a popular figure among the Stamford Bridge faithful or a regular in the starting XI under Conte, but that may change now.
Arsenal supporters were quick to have their say on the Brazil international’s most recent display, and while one said “wish Arsenal had Willian instead of Iwobi”, another said “hate that he doesn’t play for Arsenal”.
Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…
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Manchester United have found it very hard to adjust to life post Alex Ferguson and a lot of issues have been identified; mainly the lack of re-enforcement of a weak and depleted squad left behind by the Scotsman when he retired.
David Moyes was like a fish out of water when he was appointed and struggled greatly to attract any big names to the club in his first summer of spending. He inherited a squad that was down to its bare bones and was severely weakened in defence. It was a big ask for him to come in and continue to bring glory to Old Trafford with such a poor squad of players and a lack of understanding of how things should be done at one of the biggest clubs in the world. There-in lies one of the biggest problems he had. He was trying to run things the way someone else had set them up to be run, rather than bring his own authority and style to the fold.
Louis Van Gaal has been drafted in and has already shown that he is willing to tear up the Fergie textbook and rubber stamp his own philosophy and way of doing things from the word go. Even when he was in charge of Holland at the World up he was dictating from Brazil back to Carrington what he wanted in terms of his training plan and his transfer targets list. His presence could be felt at the club without him having to actually be there. That is the first major differencE between the Dutchman and Moyes, and it is a big step in the right direction for United under their new manager.
Recruitment of players has also seen a significant improvement on last season’s dismal efforts which saw the very unusual transfer of Marouane Fellaini from Everton as a last ditch attempt from Moyes to show his new employers that he wouldn’t start the season empty handed. Fast forward a year and we have seen a host of ‘Galacticos’ grace us with their presence in the shape of Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao, Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo (not forgetting the promising prospects of Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera of course.)
Such a vast improvement in player recruitment and a change in tactics that the new manager has brought with him will be a breath of fresh air at Old Trafford, despite suffering a winless first three games of the new season and a humiliating cup defeat to lower League opposition.
Man United look like a decent team(at least on paper) and a team that certainly has the potential to win football matches, cups and Premier League titles again.
It won’t be an over night transformation from zero to hero for the Manchester outfit, and the task ahead is certainly not an easy one by any stretch of the imagination, but In Van Gaal United have a very experienced manager who knows how to motivate his players, how to utilise his players in the way they should be used, how to win matches and how to achieve success.
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He just needs to be given the time to make everything come together properly in his own way. We see all to often these days in modern football that club owners want an instant return of success and lose patience way too easily. But if the United hierarchy can give their Dutch manger the time he needs, he will work his magic and we will soon see them winning titles again.
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Tom Huddlestone has admitted he and his team mates were angry with their performance in their 1-0 loss at home to Wigan on Saturday.
Andre Villas-Boas’ side went down to a 56th minute Ben Watson goal at White Hart Lane and rarely threatened the Wigan goal.
And Huddlestone has admitted that Spurs must do better at home if they are going to mount a real challenge for a top-four finish in the Premier League this season.
He told Tottenham’s official website: “We just didn’t turn up. They defended well, but equally we have got to work harder to create options.
“Normally at home we will create three or four chances and stick one or two away, but I don’t think we created a half-decent effort on goal.
“The lads were angry in there. We have seen teams drop points and we could have cemented fourth. At home we fancy ourselves against anybody, we have for a while, but to create so few chances was very disappointing.”
However, the 25-year-old midfielder paid tribute to the way Wigan approached the game and thwarted Spurs’ attacking threat.
“Wigan made it difficult for us,” he admitted.
“They are one of few teams that play three at the back at they utilised it well.”
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Tottenham are approaching a testing run of fixtures in the Premier League with games against Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool this month and they host Maribor in in an important Europa League Group J match this Thursday evening.
No. 7 continues lower-order fightback before India lose Vaibhav Suryavanshi cheaply at start of reply
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay21-Jul-2025India Under-19 51 for 1 trail England Under-19 309 (Ekansh 117, Pushpak 4-76) by 258 runsEkansh Singh completed a superb hundred on a second day of England’s Youth Test against India that was severely truncated by rain.Only 28-and-a-half overs were possible between the cloudbursts but that was long enough for Kent right-hander Singh to compile 117 sprinkled with three sixes and 14 fours. Singh was last out, as England’s youngsters totalled 309, having shared an eighth-wicket stand of exactly 100 with James Minto who made 46.Naman Pushpak finished with 4 for 76 for India who lost teenage starlet Vaibhav Suryavanshi for 20 in reaching 51 for 1 before a thunderstorm ended play shortly after 5pmOvernight and morning rain delayed the start until 12.30pm and the showers returned 22 minutes later to drive the players off again. The intervening period was long enough for Ekansh to treat the smattering of spectators to four boundaries, including two sumptuous cover drives.It was 2.15pm before the game resumed but Ekansh had lost none of his rhythm, twice driving the ball back past the stumps for four as he continued to deal exclusively in boundaries on the day until he moved into the 90s. His battle with strike bowler Aditya Rawat was an engaging one, the seamer producing two excellent yorkers both superbly dug out by the batter. There would be no nervous 90s, Ekansh raising his 100 in the grand manner with a huge six over long-on.Minto provided great support, an uppercut over the slips for six resulting in a lost ball, necessitating the third change of the cherry in the short afternoon session.The 100-stand was raised before Minto chipped one straight back to Pushpak after which the end came swiftly. Alex Green became Pushpak’s fourth victim, before Singh holed out on the long-on boundary.India’s reply began in explosive fashion with Suryavanshi and his skipper Ayush Mhatre playing almost a shot a ball. The latter top-edged one over the slips before being given a life by Ralphie Albert when he spilt him at cover, Alex French the unlucky bowler.Suryavanshi meanwhile took a heavy toll of Green, nonchalantly driving him over mid-off for six before slashing one backward of square for another maximum. However, youthful impetuosity got the better of him when he pulled Green’s next delivery down the throat of fine leg – something of a waste, especially given three balls later the rain returned, forcing an early tea.Only 15 minutes more play was possible – just long enough for India to raise their 50.