Blog (Page 49)

Sheffield United have spent the vast majority of the season in a position to return to the Premier League but the Blades still have to hurdle the final few weeks of the campaign to ensure that is where they finish by May. Paul Heckingbottom’s side have not finished a day outside the play-off positions since August and have been firmly ensconced in one of the two automatic spots at the end of every post-World Cup weekend. However, such a stellar regular season would only heighten the agony if Heckingbottom can’t nudge his side over the line. While an FA Cup semi-final looms after a thrillingRead More →

The draw for the 2022/23 FA Cup semi finals has been made, with Brighton set to host one of Manchester United or Fulham. The Seagulls breezed past Grimsby on Sunday with a 5-0 win and will take on the victors of Sunday’s clash between Man Utd and Fulham at Old Trafford. Sheffield United came from behind to beat Blackburn Rovers in an all-Championship clash on Sunday. Their reward is a tie with Manchester City, who smashed Vincent Kompany’s Burnley 6-0 on Saturday. Sheffield United are four-time FA Cup winners though the last of those came in 1925. They last reached a final in 1936, whenRead More →

Manchester United reached the semi-finals of the Women’s FA Cup for the first time after beating Lewes 3-1 at The Dripping Pan. The WSL title hopefuls weren’t at their best on the south coast but managed to squeeze their way into the next round against the resilient Rooks of the Women’s Championship. Lewes went ever so close to taking a shock lead with just six minutes on the clock. A low cross from Nat Johnson fell to Kirsty Barton in the six yard box, but Maria Thorisdottir managed to make a brilliant recovery challenge to deny what would have been a certain goal. And theRead More →

Chelsea are weighing up their options regarding the redevelopment of their Stamford Bridge stadium. The Blues’ 40,341-capacity home is the smallest among the Premier League’s big six, while it is currently the ninth-biggest stadium in the entire division. The club have long sought to address this problem. Under Roman Abramovich’s stewardship, they considered redeveloping Battersea Power Station into a football stadium, while plans were also afoot to demolish Stamford Bridge and build a state-of-the-art 60,000-capacity arena on the same site. While those plans did not come to fruition under the Russian, current co-owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake are keen to overcome several obstacles in orderRead More →

A stunning run of form in the second half of the season has lifted Middlesbrough firmly into promotion contention with a Championship play-off spot looking more likely each week. Boro’s fortunes have been revived by manager Michael Carrick, who replaced Chris Wilder in October, and while leaders Burnley may be too far ahead to catch, Sheffield United’s recent stumble has opened the door for second place. Here are the biggest games remaining for Middlesbrough as fans hope for automatic promotion. Chuba Akpom missed a penalty at Burnley / Cameron Smith/GettyImages Middlesbrough return to Championship action following the international break with a trip to struggling Huddersfield.Read More →

Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson is adamant their struggles this season are not because of Sadio Mane’s departure last summer. After a six-year stay at Anfield, Mane opted to join Bayern Munich at the end of the 2021/22 season having won every trophy available to him during his time on Merseyside. In his absence, Liverpool have underwhelmed. The Reds went into the 2022/23 campaign as one of the favourites to win the Premier League title, but will now do well to finish in the top four. Jurgen Klopp’s men were dumped out of the UEFA Champions League following a 6-2 aggregate loss to Real Madrid inRead More →

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has opened up on what he told his players following their elimination from the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night. The Gunners returned to the Emirates Stadium for the second leg of their last 16 tie with Sporting CP having drawn 2-2 in Portugal seven days earlier. Granit Xhaka gave Arsenal a first-half lead back in north London, before Pedro Goncalves scored from the halfway line after the break. Sporting goalkeeper Antonio Adan made several saves to ensure that the tie went all the way to a penalty shootout, with Gabriel Martinelli’s miss sending Arsenal out. Arsenal were considered one ofRead More →

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has revealed that he has been impressed by the development of club captain Harry Maguire this season. After a dreadful 2021/22 season, the England defender became a rather unpopular figure at Old Trafford, consistently making errors and sometimes dismissing valid criticisms of his own game. His role has been significantly reduced under Ten Hag, who has favoured Raphael Varane and summer signing Lisandro Martinez at centre-back instead. Though Maguire has been largely limited to a bench role – he has made just five Premier League starts all season long – Ten Hag has admitted that the 30-year-old’s progress hasRead More →

Chelsea head coach Graham Potter insisted that there were plenty of positives to take following their disappointing 2-2 draw at home to Everton on Saturday. The Blues spurned the chance to head into the international break off the back of four straight wins, with Ellis Simms grabbing an equaliser for the visitors in the dying embers of the game. After Aston Villa beat Bournemouth earlier in the day, Chelsea are now only in the top half of the Premier League table by virtue of goal difference. But while Potter recognised that such a disappointing ending to this game leaves a sour taste in the mouth,Read More →

With the final two months of the Premier League season approaching, the margins are razor thin in the title fight, the top-four battle and the relegation scrap. At this stage of the campaign, gathering real momentum and the confidence that goes with it is more important than ever for all of those left with something to play for, which just so happens to be the vast majority of sides in the league. Who is building up that momentum at the moment and who is sorely lacking it? Well, here’s how many points each team has amassed in their last six league games…. Position Team WonRead More →