West Ham United have struggled defensively in recent weeks, as they have conceded three or more goals in each of their last three home games at Olympic Stadium. Their recent results have not been very good, either. Manuel Pellegrini’s men have lost three of their last four contests, and they dropped their Boxing Day fixture 2-1 at Crystal Palace. Those results have dropped West Ham United to 17th place in the standings (19 points) and while they remain clear of relegation so far, they only sit two points above the red zone. That’s not what Pellegrini had envisioned when assembling a competitive roster ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, and there’s no question West Ham must improve as soon as possible. But considering they have a W5, D4, L9 mark this season – and a W2, D1, L5 record …
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta lauded Thomas Partey and his impact as the star midfielder prepares to return for the Gunners.
Partey has been restricted to just six matches for Arsenal since arriving from LaLiga side Atletico Madrid in a £45million deal three months ago.
Only one of those appearances has come in the last two months, having aggravated a thigh injury in Arsenal s 2-0 loss to London rivals Tottenham in December.
However, Partey is back in contention for Thursday s Premier League clash with Crystal Palace and Arteta is excited to be able to call upon one of his key men once again.
I think he s got a different presence he brings something different to the team, Arteta said. It s not just about his talent, it s not just about his physicality, i…
Germany captain Michael Ballack has said he wants to finish his career at Premier League giants Chelsea as he prepares to make his return for them on Saturday following last month s foot operation.
Ballack, 32, had surgery on both feet after last month s World Cup qualifier wins over Russia and Wales and is expected to make his return at West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League.
I am really enjoying my time in London, I am 32 now and I can really imagine finishing my career with Chelsea, Ballack told German sports agency SID.
The Germany skipper is under contract in London until June 2009 and is in discussion for a two-year extension which would keep him at Chelsea until beyond the next World Cup, having joined from Bayern Munich in 2006.
The recen…
Inter Milan s Javier Zanetti says Gareth Bale is a huge part of Tottenham Hotspur as the teams prepare to meet in the Europa League.
Wales international Bale has been in outstanding form in recent weeks, scoring twice against Lyon in the last round of the Europa League, as well as netting regularly in domestic action.
And Argentine veteran Zanetti is understandably wary of the threat posed by the flying winger ahead of the round-of-16 first leg at White Hart Lane on Thursday.
We hope to be able to play a good game in London even though we re aware of the difficulty. And we know that Bale plays a huge part in that, Zanetti told Tuttosport.
The stalwart defender scored for Inter in their 4-3 victory at White Hart Lane in the group stages of the Champions L…
Hulu announced in January that it would be adding a bunch of popular channels to its live TV subscription courtesy ViacomCBS. Nearly four months later, the channels are now available, The Verge reports.
The deal between Hulu and ViacomCBS includes Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., BET, VH1, MTV, CMT, TV Land, and Paramount Network. These channels are part of Hulu’s $64.99 live TV package, which also comes with access to a bunch of shows from ViacomCBS’ back catalog. A bunch of other channels like BET Her, Discovery Life, MTV2, and TeenNick are also available via a separate “Entertainment Add-On” package, which is an additional $7.99.
The good news here is that these additional channels arrive without a commensurate price hike–at least for now. The Verge notes that Hulu…
Jurgen Klopp acted like a piece of s*** towards Mario Balotelli at Liverpool, the striker s agent Mino Raiola has claimed.
Balotelli signed a one-year contract to move to Nice from Liverpool on transfer deadline day and Raiola fired a parting shot at his client s former club.
Raiola insisted Liverpool accepted Balotelli had been treated poorly after the forward was forced to train away from the first team and the agent said Klopp is not a good coach .
In the end, the higher-ups at Liverpool admitted that Klopp was wrong, Raiola told Gazzetta dello Sport.
I m not trying to judge him as a coach although, for me, he s not a good coach but he didn t understand that Balotelli is, whatever else, a person.
Mario has been exemplary. He never complained…
Stoke City have completed the loan signing of Philipp Wollscheid from Bayer Leverkusen with a view to a permanent move.
The 25-year-old centre-back moved to the Bay Arena ahead of the 2012-13 season and made 31 Bundesliga appearances in his debut campaign.
However, he fell down the pecking order at Leverkusen and spent the first half of the present campaign on loan at Mainz.
Manager Mark Hughes has now swooped to bring the Germany international to the Britannia Stadium, initially on a temporary basis.
Philipp is a player we ve been aware of and have been tracking for some time and he will add to the competition for places in the centre of our defence, Hughes told Stoke s official website.
He s got presence, technically he is good, he has pla…
Vinicius Junior spared Real Madrid s blushes on Sunday as his sublime 85th-minute strike secured a pulsating 3-3 draw against Levante.
Los Blancos kicked off their LaLiga campaign with a 4-1 victory over Alaves last weekend and they looked like they would cruise to back-to-back wins when Gareth Bale gave them an early lead at Estadi Ciutat de Valencia.
The hosts had other ideas, though, and went ahead thanks to goals from Roger Marti and Jose Campana inside the opening 12 minutes of the second half.
Substitute Vinicius drew the visitors level in the 73rd minute, yet it appeared Levante would claim a memorable three points when Rober Pier slotted home from close range six minutes later.
However, Brazil international Vinicius ensured a share of the spoil…
Starting with Sunday s hosts, while Manchester United may have endured a worrying end to the season that saw them once again fail to secure Champions League football for Old Trafford, the Red Devils have enjoyed a morale-boosting run during pre-season. Landing a penalties victory over Inter Milan in Wales and making it three wins out of three in the International Champions Cup, Ole Gunnar Solskaer s side won all six of their pre-season appearances and the record-breaking acquisition of Harry Maguire will have United dreaming of landing a top-four return this campaign. Although first choice striking option Marcus Rashford has enjoyed a bright run over the summer and will leading the line on Sunday, fans around Old Trafford will be more than aware of their sides continued defensive issues…
English Football League matches will resume on Tuesday and the FA has announced fixtures will go ahead this weekend – though fans are still awaiting an outcome on the Premier League.
Football across the United Kingdom was postponed at the weekend as a mark of respect following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday at the age of 96.
The situation is still impacting the football schedule, with Rangers Champions League clash against Napoli moved from Tuesday to Wednesday and Arsenal s Europa League clash against PSV postponed.
EFL matches will go ahead throughout the week and over the course of next weekend, including fixtures being played at clubs in and around London in the days before the state funeral on Monday September 19.
Queens Park Rang…