With an action-packed midweek schedule on the cards, we have a stacked night of fixtures from across Europe and England s lower leagues. On that note, for those of you looking to chuck on a Wednesday acca, we have searched far and wide to find you a couple of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Wednesday 2nd December
BST 19:00 Shrewsbury Town vs Accrington Stanley
Starting with Wednesday s guests, while Accrington Stanley might have seen Tranmere end their FA Cup adventure before it could really get started last month, the Reds have shocked many across League One so far this season. Stepping up from England s fourth-tier earlier in the year, John Coleman s men were last seen eight days ago picking up an eye-catching 1-0 victory at home against …
Mauricio Pochettino wants to emulate special Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger by spending 20 years at Tottenham.
Bragging rights will be up for grabs when Tottenham visit north London rivals Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday, but Spurs boss Pochettino preferred to heap praise on counterpart Wenger.
Wenger – the longest-serving manager in England s top flight – has spent 21 years in charge of Arsenal, winning three Premier League titles and seven FA Cup trophies.
Pochettino, 45, is keen to follow in the footsteps of 68-year-old Wenger, albeit at Spurs, where he has occupied the dugout since 2014.
In football history he s one of the great managers, the same level as [Sir Alex] Ferguson, Pochettino said. He will always be a special manager.
Former Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann said it should be his country s aim to merely escape the group stage at Euro 2012.
Lehmann who famously represented European clubs Schalke, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal was capped 61 times for Germany in goal, most notably being in goal for the majority of their run to third place at the 2006 World Cup on home soil.
He was also in goal for much of Germany s run to the final at Euro 2008, when they were pipped 1-0 by Spain in Vienna.
The now 42-year-old has claimed that Germany should not harbour high hopes of progressing as deep into the continental tournament in Poland and Ukraine starting Friday, as they have had a stagnant lead-in.
If Germany survive the group stage it would be a success. After a disrupted prep…
Two-time champions Germany have crashed out of the Women’s World Cup after drawing 1-1 with South Korea in their final Group H match in Brisbane.
Cho So-hyun had put South Korea in front in the sixth minute before Germany captain Alexandra Popp equalised with a 42nd-minute header.
But Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s world number two side were unable to add to that, with Popp going closest with a header against the crossbar on the hour mark.
scores s first goal of 2023!
— FIFA Women s World Cup (@FIFAWWC)
And with Morocco beating Colombia 1-0 in the pool’s other game, leaving them both with six points, the Germans, on four, were condemned to third place and failed to make the knockout rounds of the competition for the first time in their h…
Manchester United fans love Christmas. No, it has nothing to do with the crazy fixture scheduling, the coming transfer window or the promise of the latest Red Devil stocking fillers.
It s because, from November until the new year, Old Trafford regales you with The 12 Days of Eric Cantona : a rendition of the popular Christmas carol, in which the inimitable ex-captain is the only gift.
I m so proud the fans still sing my name, but I fear tomorrow they will stop. I fear it because I love it, Cantona once said, but it s a needless concern. George Best, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Nemanja Vidic and other United greats enjoy special treatment from the Stretford End but none of them inspire the same annual crooning. That is because none of them were Cantona.
When United…
Manchester United star Henrikh Mkhitaryan has revealed he could have been playing for Liverpool had it not been for Jurgen Klopp.
Brendan Rodgers was keen to lure the Armenia international to Anfield back in 2013, but Klopp convinced him to sign for Borussia Dortmund instead.
Mkhitaryan eventually left Dortmund for United during the close-season, but he could have been lining up for Liverpool in Sunday s clash at Old Trafford had Klopp not interfered.
I spoke two or three times on the phone to Rodgers, he was saying he really wanted me and that I would get to play with Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard, Mkhitaryan told Daily Mail.
Half of me thought I had to go there, the other half was not so confident, that the gap to the Premier League might be too big…
Kevin De Bruyne suggested Manchester City s Premier League title hopes would have petered out had they not beaten rivals Liverpool in January.
A 4-1 final-day victory at Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday ensured Pep Guardiola s side retained their crown by a point from Jurgen Klopp s Reds.
The 98 and 97 amassed by City and Liverpool are the second and third-highest points totals achieved in Premier League history, behind the 100 De Bruyne and his team-mates collected in 2017-18.
It underlines a race of fine margins but, when Liverpool arrived at the Etihad Stadium after the turn of the year with a seven-point lead, they were in danger of running away with it.
Sergio Aguero put City in front after John Stones remarkable goal-line clearance and, although R…
Cruzeiro have re-signed midfielder Lucas Silva on loan from Real Madrid.
The 23-year-old Brazilian returns to his homeland on a 17-month deal that runs until June 30, 2018.
Silva spent last season on loan with Marseille in Ligue 1, but a proposed move to Sporting CP broke down and his career appeared in jeopardy when his medical in Portugal detected an irregular heartbeat.
He was cleared to resume training with Madrid s first team in late October and will now return to the club he left to move to the Santiago Bernabeu in January 2015.
Three starts and five substitute appearances followed before the move to Marseille and Silva will now hope to recapture the form that helped to inspire Cruzeiro to back-to-back national championships in 2013 and 2014.
<…
England s tactics are similar to those of Liverpool and European champions Chelsea, so says Gareth Southgate.
The Three Lions reached the final of Euro 2020, only to lose on penalties to Italy after a 1-1 draw at Wembley after extra time.
With a squad packed with attacking talent at his disposal, Southgate often faced clamour to find a way to fit as many of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden into his starting XI as possible.
While all those players played their part, Southgate started every game with a holding pivot of Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips in midfield, with England lining up in a back three in the final itself.
England, who had the tightest defence at Euro 2020, conceding just two goals, were outshot by 19 …
Market: Under 2.5 goals
Odds: 4/7 @
Looking to cause another real upset on Wednesday night, Stoke will make the trip to an empty Vicarage Road in midweek.
Starting with the hosts, slumping to what was a worrying 1-0 defeat away at relegation contenders Barnsley over the weekend, Watford have struggled to get themselves out of the traps this season. Sacrificing their Premier League status over the summer, the Hornets have now failed to win any of their last three Championship matchups on the bounce and some feel that the pressure could already be on new boss Vladimir Ivić. While 18-year-old João Pedro might have impressed many since bursting onto the scene at Vicarage Road, Watford have failed to record more than a single strike on their three-match winless run…