║➽║ EXCLUSIVE Football News║

[miri-01]

Can Nottingham Forest finish strong as they enter the defining point of their season?
By Alex Keble
Football
Sun April 20, 2025 · 18h ago
The last thing Nottingham Forest need is for people to overreact to a single bad performance and a result entirely at odds with the pattern of their season.

But it’s hard not to see the 1-0 defeat to Everton as an omen.

A complete absence of attacking invention, an uncharacteristic mistake from Murillo that cost them the game, and a tired-looking performance that contained “no positives” according to Nuno Espirito Santo adds up to the kind of 90 minutes we worried we might see as the finish line approaches.

It’s true that Forest hadn’t lost at the City Ground since November and that Everton are tactically the most difficult team they could face, considering David Moyes' sides rarely give up counter-attacks.


But it’s also true that Forest have won just ten points from their last eight Premier League matches. The league table since Valentine’s Day has them in 14th. The gap to Aston Villa in seventh is now a nerve-jangling three points.

Supporters always feared this moment; feared that Forest’s reliance on a small group and a simplified tactical strategy would eventually see opponents work them out as fatigue took hold and pressure mounted. The Everton defeat, and a few others before it, suggests their fears are coming true.

The statistics certainly back that up. Comparing their last eight games to the first 24 of the Premier League season – when they’ve dropped from 1.96 points-per-game to 1.25 points-per-game - Forest’s attacks have slowed significantly, with everything from ‘fast breaks’ to ‘touches in the opposition box’ going down.

Forest
Defensively, too, Forest are conceding more chances and making fewer defensive actions.

Forest
What stands out most from the above is that Forest are making twice as many errors leading to a shot (11 in the first 24 games, 8 in the last 8), have seen their number of ‘fast breaks’ drop by a third, and have created more than 50% fewer ‘Big Chances’ per game.

A mixture of exhaustion and opponents cottoning on is most likely behind those numbers, although we should caveat a small sample size by acknowledging Forest have played Arsenal, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Newcastle United in that run. Half of those games, then, have been against the current top seven.

Here is where we find encouragement. Forest have come through a tough spell of games and now, prior to their final-day match against Chelsea, exclusively play clubs in the bottom half of the table.

But that only returns us to the Everton game and a brand new problem.

Moyes’s side were the first bottom-half club to beat Forest in the Premier League this season but their pragmatic, fast-break-sapping football is likely to be emulated by upcoming opponents Brentford, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Leicester City.

Before then, a trip to Tottenham Hotspur presents a chance to sit back and play on the counter-attack against a wide-open Ange Postecoglou team recovering from Thursday night football.

Forest simply have to take it, not just for the points but to reassert their authority and recover some belief in their methods. Anything less and the bottom really could fall out.

Forest
Nuno, somewhat ominously, has already hinted as much.

“We cannot get away from the fact it is a decisive moment of the season,” he said after the Everton defeat.

“We were not comfortable and the fans also saw the boys were struggling. We are in this position and we want to try to give it a go. But nobody is going to give us anything.”

Well, Dr. Tottenham might, but there’s no getting away from it: Forest are entering the defining period of the campaign in poor form, slipping up just as Man City, Villa, and Newcastle begin to surge.

[miri-01]

Manchester City 2-1 Aston Villa: Matheus Nunes scores late as City win
By Jake Osgathorpe
Football
Tue April 22, 2025 · 12h ago
Matheus Nunes was the hero for Manchester City as they won 2-1 against Aston Villa, moving them third in the table.

The Portuguese midfielder turned full-back scored in the 94th minute to grab three points in a tense and important encounter to greatly improve City's chances of finishing in the top five.

Villa fought valiantly and cause City plenty of problems, but their achilles heel of conceding late goals came back to bite them again.

Only Southampton have conceded more goals after the 85th minute in matches than Villa (8), and they were undone again late on, much to the disappointment of Unai Emery.

emery
Emery's side started the game impressively, and on-loan Manchester United man Marcus Rashford hit the post in the first minute.

City then got a hold of the game and went in front through Bernardo Silva in the seventh minute, but again, Villa posed serious problems for their hosts on the counter and were awarded on a penalty after a long VAR check that was dispatched by Rashford in the 18th minute.

There were only half-chances for either side before the break, and it was more of the same until just after the hour mark when Rashford burst through and rounded Stefan Ortega only to hit the side netting.

Both goalkeepers were forced into saves in the ensuing half an hour but neither side looked like finding a winner. That was until substitute Jeremy Doku dribbled past Axel Disasi and put in a delightful low cross across the six-yard box that was fired home beyond the back-post by Nunes.


The win sees City move four points clear of seventh-placed Villa and sixth-placed Chelsea in their hunt for Champions League qualification, while Villa are two points adrift of fifth.

Both sides are in FA Cup semi-final action this weekend, with Villa taking on Crystal Palace and City facing Nottingham Forest.

[miri-01]

This Week's Acca wins again to move team to +48.5pts profit for the season
By Sporting Life
Football
Sun April 27, 2025 · 5h ago
It was another weekend to celebrate for followers of This Week's Acca as the Saturday fourfold won at odds of 17/2.

Having landed an 8/1 treble on Easter Monday, the team selected four home sides for success in the penultimate round of EFL fixtures.

Yet it looked like we'd have to settle for a loser when the clock moved just past 4pm.

Stockport, backed to beat Lincoln, remarkably found themselves 2-0 down at the break while Blackburn conceded early into the second-half of their Championship clash with Watford.

Crawley and Chesterfield held single-goal leads but it looked like that didn't matter due to results elsewhere.


But Stockport, who still had a chance of automatic promotion given Wrexham's involvement in the late kick-off, weren't ready to give up just yet.

Jayden Fevrier was a key figure in their comeback. The half-time substitute stuck in the 48th minute to halve the deficit.

Blackburn had managed to turn things around thanks to goals from Todd Cantwell and Tyrhys Dolan, and with the duo of Crawley and Chesterfield extending their respective leads, all eyes turned to Edgeley Park to see if we'd have a change in fortunes there.

And that's exactly what we got. Fevrier turned provider for Will Collar's equaliser in the 78th minute, returning the favour for assisting his earlier strike, with the substitute again getting the helper as Isaac Olaofe struck the winner moments later.

They held on, as did Blackburn, and with Chesterfield eventually winning 4-1 and Crawley also securing a three-goal victory, it marked an eighth winner of the season for This Week's Acca.

That moved the team to +48.5pts profit for the campaign ahead of the final round of EFL fixtures.

[miri-01]

English football promotion and relegation tracker: Who is up and who is down?
By Tom Carnduff
Football
Wed April 30, 2025 · 4 min ago
After a campaign of significant change at crucial points, we're starting to see some clarity across the Sky Bet EFL.

Only one of the seven automatic promotion spots remains available, a jump up from the four we had going into the penultimate weekend, while a number of teams know that they'll be dropping down a division.

It may not be mathematically done for others, but goal difference situations means they'll have realistic expectations going into the final day.

The one race which seems alive across the board is that for the play-offs. Each of the three divisions has at least one spot open for someone to grab.

In the Championship, it's two, in League Two, it's three. Two of the three titles are still to be decided. There may be plenty of gold and red on various league graphics but plenty of drama is yet to come.

So what has happened and what's the current state of play? We outline all ahead of the EFL's final day on Saturday.

Sky Bet Championship
Champions: TBC
Promoted: Leeds, Burnley
Guaranteed play-offs: Sheffield United, Sunderland, TBC, TBC
Relegated: Cardiff, TBC, TBC
There was never a need for a Premier League section in this article as we've known for a very long time the three teams coming down.

Southampton's pitiful top-flight campaign at least provides 'Ivan Juric' as a potential forgotten pub quiz answer that'll annoy you in a few years' time. Saints became the 'earliest' team relegated and now face a battle to better the points tally set by the infamous Derby side of 2007/08.

They've now been joined by Leicester and Ipswich, marking the second season in a row where the three promoted sides have gone straight back down.

Championship top half - April 29

The Whites hammered Stoke 6-0 and knew that anything other than a Sheffield United win in the late kick-off would see them return to the top-flight.

Leeds fans celebrate promotion
Leeds' promotion was confirmed on Easter Monday
That's exactly what happened, and Burnley's victory in that contest also saw them secure a top-two finish.

Leeds have the advantage in the title race and all they need to do is match Burnley's result on final day to lift the trophy.

Championship title hopefuls' final day fixtures
Plymouth vs Leeds
Burnley vs Millwall
Burnley celebrate promotion
Burnley's win also saw them promoted
Sunderland are guaranteed a spot in the top six and they will feature in the play-offs alongside Sheffield United.

Bristol City were heavily beaten by Leeds on Monday night but their play-off spot is still in their own hands. They face Preston on final day.

Two surprise packages in Millwall and Blackburn have thrown themselves into the play-off mix as only goal difference keeps Alex Neil's side out, while Rovers trail by a single point.

It's no surprise Sky Sports have given Main Event treatment to Coventry's clash with Middlesbrough. The Sky Blues are in that sixth and final play-off spot but Boro can leapfrog them with victory - whether or not that's enough for a top-six finish remains to be seen.

Championship play-off hopefuls' final day fixtures
Bristol City vs Preston
Coventry vs Middlesbrough
Sheffield United vs Blackburn
Burnley vs Millwall
Championship bottom half - April 29
Looking further down the table and Plymouth are three points adrift of safety - although goal difference means they are effectively relegated. Cardiff's spot in Sky Bet League One next season has been confirmed though, with Aaron Ramsey unable to guide them to safety in his short time at the helm.

That means we have one spot left open. That is currently occupied by Hull, with Luton (21st) and Preston (20th), Derby (19th) and Stoke (18th) all vulnerable to varying degrees.

[miri-01]

Adam Wharton would be a smart summer signing for Liverpool
By Sam McGuire
Football
Mon May 05, 2025 · 2h ago
Liverpool secured the Premier League title with a 5-1 dismantling of Tottenham last weekend.

Focus for the Reds now turns to how they intend to retain the title next term.

Richard Hughes’ to-do list is a lot smaller now that Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah have signed on for a further two years, but there’s still a lot to do at Anfield this summer.

Though nothing is yet official, the likelihood is that Trent Alexander-Arnold will depart on a free transfer to join Real Madrid.


Saudi clubs are showing an interest in Darwin Núñez, Luis Díaz and Diogo Jota while Federico Chiesa is wanted by a host of Serie A sides as well as Fenerbahce.

The expectation is that one of Kostas Tsimikas or Andrew Robertson will depart while there are still question marks over the long-term futures of Harvey Elliott, Wataru Endo, Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah.

Ibrahima Konaté and Curtis Jones are yet to put pen to paper on new contracts too.

David Ornstein recently claimed that a right-back and a midfielder aren’t viewed as priority positions for the Premier League champions but this has to be a case of misdirection.

The Reds tried and failed to land Martin Zubimendi last summer with Arne Slot seemingly feeling that his side needed to bolster their middle third options.

Zubimendi would’ve likely sat at the base of the midfield and helped Liverpool progress the ball.

Ryan Gravenberch has done an admirable job as the deepest midfielder this term but his strength lies in carrying the ball rather than passing.

Trent Alexander-Arnold scored in a straightforward Liverpool win
Trent Alexander-Arnold helps Liverpool progress in attack
With Alexander-Arnold set to leave, Liverpool desperately need someone who can help the Reds build centrally through the thirds. They need someone who can move the ball from the defensive third of the pitch to the attacking third.

It is easier said than done.

However, a recent link makes a lot of sense. According to multiple reports, the Reds are showing an interest in Adam Wharton. The 21-year-old has been a revelation for Crystal Palace following his £18million move to Selhurst Park from Blackburn in February 2024.

His form for the Eagles earned him a place in the England squad for Euro 2024, with then manager Gareth Southgate being a fan of his technical ability and composure, saying: [His] technical quality and his composure beyond his years. [He is a] good technician – he can handle the ball really well. He’s got a calmness about him that I really like.”

Wharton’s 2024/25 campaign has been disrupted by a groin injury and this has hurt his stock a little.

Recent stories seemed to suggest he might be available for £50million, though a report in early April claimed Spurs, a potential destination for the left-footed maestro, would have to pay £100million to secure his services.

Adam Wharton stats
Palace know exactly the sort of talent they have at their disposal. There’s a reason Blackburn felt as though they’d sold Wharton for a bargain price at the time of his reluctant sale.

Wharton is a special midfielder. He has a rare profile for a homegrown star in the sense he’s always looking to progress play. He’s not risk averse. The No20 isn’t banking on his pass success rate being 90% or above. His main aim is to move the ball.

Speaking to Scouted Football in 2024, he said: "I love wrapping passes through to the number ten so they can turn and drive at the defence - maybe more than a goal or an assist. (I love watching) De Jong, I like how he plays. Busquets manages to make everything look simple with one or two touches - I think Rodri at Man City would be a more current comparison.

“You need to be brave on the ball, you have to demand it from your centre-backs, but means you are pressed more intensely. You have to be more progressive in your passing, you can see the pitch from another viewpoint and naturally, that affects the way you play.”

He practices what he preaches.

This term, he’s averaged 7.5 progressive passes per 90 in the Premier League. For context, that is more than Gravenberch (5.1) and Alexis Mac Allister (5.9) have averaged for Liverpool. In fact, of those who have played 10 or more 90s for the Reds in the English top-flight this term, only Alexander-Arnold (8.4) has a higher average.

Adam Wharton - passes made network
If Liverpool really are losing their No66 and want to add a risk-taker to their ranks, why not Wharton? You could even make an argument that the Reds need that sort of midfielder even if Alexander-Arnold, as unlikely as it is, remains at Anfield.

Things look a little static and predictable when he’s not on his game and Slot’s side haven’t figured out exactly how to get Salah as involved when the supply line from the right-back is cut.

Adding Wharton changes everything. There’s a different way to funnel the ball to the forwards. There’s a different way to progress the ball. There’s a different way to mount attacks.

Where else could Wharton go?
His return to fitness has coincided with an upturn in form for Palace.

In the 15 matches he missed, they won just four games. In the 11 games he’s appeared in since, in the Premier League, the Eagles have racked up five wins, losing just twice.

He played a significant role in the FA Cup quarter-final win over Fulham and the semi-final win over Aston Villa.

When he’s in the team, Oliver Glasner’s side are just better.

Adam Wharton and Gareth Southgate
Adam Wharton was involved for England at Euro 2024
And his form isn’t going unnoticed. Just last month, Pep Guardiola called him “an excellent holding midfielder” with “a brilliant left-foot, a really good player”. Manchester City have previously been linked but with Rodri returning and the January arrival of Nico González, a move for Wharton now looks unlikely, unless something drastic occurs.

Manchester United are keen, but they’re keen on a lot of players and Old Trafford isn’t necessarily the best environment for a youngster to flourish these days.

Real Madrid have also checked out the Palace midfielder while Spurs, Chelsea and even Arsenal have been mooted as potential destinations for the England international.

Anfield seems like the best place for him though.

There’s a natural role for him. There’s a need for his talents. The Reds have shown that if they rate the player high enough, huge fees won’t deter them.

They bid £111million for Moisés Caicedo and haven’t been put off by Newcastle's reported £130million valuation of Alexander Isak.

If Liverpool want to replace Alexander-Arnold’s on-ball ability, Wharton would be a good way to go about replacing him in the aggregate.

[miri-01]

Catastrophe beckons for the big-hitter who misses out on the Champions League
By Alex Keble
Football
Tue May 13, 2025 · 35 min ago
Six teams in rotation for four places in the Champions League, two wins combined for the top seven over the weekend, and ten Premier League matches spread across the final ten days of the season to decide who gets into Europe and what competition they play in.

In the heat of battle there is scarcely time to take a breath and ask what it all means.

We just about find the headspace to dissect the Premier League table and think about permutations, the conclusion of which today is that Newcastle might pip Arsenal for second and Aston Villa are likeliest to squeeze into the final spot at the expense of Chelsea and Nottingham Forest.

But what’s getting lost in the analysis of the top-five race is the monumental importance of qualification for three of these sides - and the potential disaster careering into view.

https://m.skybet.com/lp/acq-bet-x-ge...p=SL_ED_RACING
Normally by the final couple of rounds the teams who demand and depend upon Champions League qualification are already safe. We aren’t used to pouring over the intricacies of a tight contest while at the same time considering the weight of the final outcome.

Yet one of Arsenal, Man City or Chelsea will likely to miss out. For all three, that doesn’t bare thinking about.

Arsenal have won just one of their last six Premier League games and could easily lose to a resurgent Newcastle on Sunday, piling pressure onto a game at St. Mary’s that no longer looks so easy after Manchester City’s 0-0 draw on Saturday.

If Arsenal finished sixth it could trigger a full meltdown at the Emirates.

Mikel Arteta is already under growing pressure after five years without a trophy and the counter-factual – progress in the Champions League – would be radically undermined by such a domestic failure.

His long-term future at the club would be in doubt; Arsenal’s transfer plans in ruins.

Mikel Arteta
The pressure is on Mikel Arteta
It’s the least likely scenario of the three we paint here, but worth keeping in mind if Newcastle race out of the blocks and bite chunks out of them at the Emirates.

Man City might need another two points yet they play Bournemouth (who beat Arsenal away from home recently) just four days after their FA Cup final.

A trip to Craven Cottage on the final day isn’t easy either, especially with Erling Haaland back to disrupt the rhythm that Pep Guardiola had been carefully rebuilding.

After such a catastrophic autumn and winter things have quietened down for Man City, their off-season almost completely forgotten. But finishing sixth would see all the old wounds reopened, creating fresh doubt about Pep Guardiola’s ability to start a new chapter.

But of the three, City could best survive a year out of the Champions League.

They wouldn’t lose any power in the transfer market, and if Guardiola decided to rest his first team in the Europa League their title challenge could even be strengthened by freed-up midweeks.

Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City have had a tough season by their usual standards
The same cannot be said of Chelsea, who need six points from two tough games.

Manchester United are newly-motivated after Ruben Amorim’s furious post-match comments and will sit back and counter-attack at Stamford Bridge, a job they tend to do well, while Nottingham Forest at the City Ground will be very difficult to win without the suspended Nicolas Jackson.

They are the most likely team to miss out, and the most damaged by doing so.

For starters, Enzo Maresca would almost certainly be sacked, possibly even before the Europa Conference League final, and with that Chelsea’s wild transfer business would reset again.

There is very little chance the next manager would continue with Maresca’s slow and uninspiring possession football, meaning a move back to square one.

enzo maresca
Enzo Maresca could be sacked if they don't qualify for the Champions League
At that juncture, the entire BlueCo model will be called into question, and rightly so.

Three years under these owners would have produced zero major trophies and zero top four/five finishes; an extraordinary decline from being Champions League winners 12 months previously under Thomas Tuchel.

Chelsea’s owners are running out of levers to pull – of hotels or women’s teams to sell to themselves – to offset the billion pounds spent on transfers, which has so far brought no progress whatsoever.

Fail to qualify for the Champions League this year and the entire project will start to come apart at the seams.

That’s how much is riding on the next two weekends.

For Villa, Newcastle, and Forest, it is effectively a bit of fun; a low-stakes adventure they will relish. For the rest, catastrophe beckons, and it’s Chelsea – the likeliest to miss out - who stand to lose the most.

[miri-01]

Crystal Palace FA Cup win shows Pep Guardiola Manchester City era is over
By Joe Townsend
Football
Sun May 18, 2025 · 8h ago
On a near weekly basis it's hard not to get sucked into conversations about how football used to be.

When there was no VAR. When not everyone passed out from the back. When loads more screamers were scored.

A lot of it's nostalgic rubbish, harking back to when men were men, but in general I'd be inclined to agree with the overriding sentiment that football just feels a little bit less fun nowadays; Pep Guardiola has a hell of a lot to answer for.

If this season has been his long overdue reckoning, the FA Cup final was his Judgement Day.

Losing to a team with 22% possession, who peppered his side with long throws and scored from a punt up to the big man. Thanks Oliver Glasner, we've got our country back.

To cap it all off, Palace benefited from a shocking VAR decision, so when Eberechi Eze sank to the Wembley turf at the final whistle and exclaimed "thank you God," for at least a brief moment even a convinced atheist such as myself was willing to consider the possibility of divine intervention.

And then as Palace celebrated ending their existence-long 120-year wait for a major trophy with the club's iconic Glad All Over anthem ringing around Wembley there could hardly have been a more befitting set of lyrics - who wasn't rooting for the upset?

Aside from the current pack of Premier League eighth-placed chasers, who as a result of Palace's victory now can't qualify for Europe, and City themselves, this final was everything the FA Cup should be: a proper underdog story.

No wonder a Total Football acolyte such as Pep threw a tantrum at full-time when faced with the offer of a handshake from footballing heretic Dean Henderson.

Put simply, Guardiola isn't used to not having things all his own way. Especially not for this long.

While his petty refusal to shake hands with Palace's goalkeeping hero, whose penalty save and superb handball have guaranteed him a lifetime of pension-delivering after-dinner speeches, will be quickly forgotten, another wonderful display by Eze will not.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility he is wearing sky blue next season, so strong was the speculation of him moving to the Etihad 12 months ago, but how sad a sight it would be were such a free-spirited footballer to go the same way as another English number 10 who never left the bench on Saturday.

From the council estate cages of south London to an FA Cup-winning goal at Wembley, Eze has never wavered from the fundamental intention to entertain.

He plays how we'd all love to do it. How it should be. How it used to be.

But he is no Pep player. Such creative license must be left at the door if a player chooses to worship at the church of Guardiola.

His display, and this match as a whole, exposed the loosening grip of an undeniably great manager once considered almost beyond scrutiny. The best there's ever been. Defined by being the innovator among a generation of innovators.

Did City just miss lots of chances, or was this another example of how out of step Guardiola has become? Of how slow and laboured City were for large parts of the game in both build-up and defence? Of how a more adaptable, less precious coach can take advantage of such stubbornness?

Of how philosophy has given way to adaptability.

There is no escaping the fact this victory, at least in its immediacy, will be laced with the controversy of Henderson somehow avoiding a red card. While the sheer magnitude of Palace's achievement will wash that away in time, it may also mean Guardiola's increasing desperation for control goes unnoticed.

Why was Omar Marmoush taking a penalty rather than Erling Haaland? Why was a teenage Argentine never previously named in a squad thrown on in the dying minutes? Why was their so little individuality from his team?

Guardiola would no doubt have felt vindicated by his micro-management had Marmoush scored from the spot, or Claudio Echeverri not scuffed straight at Henderson, but it would still have laid bare that this is not the Pep Guardiola we once knew. This is no blip.

This season has seen his wider influence recede as a new breed of coaches have a growing impact on the game, moving us towards athletic, transitional, adaptable football, allowing teams to disrupt in a way scarcely seen in the Premier League era.

Guardiola's omnipotence at City makes adapting to those changes almost impossible. He must be the one to accept it.

Quite rightly this is a day to be celebrated as a special one in the history of Crystal Palace, a triumph for the underdog, a day to marvel at the joy with which Eberechi Eze plays the game.

Many may claim this was no enormous shock given the context of the current season, but the Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool had won all but four of 33 FA Cups since 1991, so it is objectively seismic.

But I can't shake the feeling that it was also the day that spelled the end of the Guardiola era.

Whether that's with or without him.

[miri-01]

Why have Manchester United been so much better in Europe this season?
By Dharnish Iqbal
Football
Tue May 20, 2025 · 20h ago
The stakes for Ruben Amorim and Manchester United couldn't be higher in the Europa League final.

Win and you miraculously salvage Champions League qualification and a trophy from this disgrace of a Premier League season.

Lose and the scrutiny will intensify on Amorim's job.

They have normalised losing, becoming historically bad and in Amorim's own words "maybe the worst United team in the club's history."

And is what is arguably the club's biggest game in the post-Ferguson era, losing is not viewed as an option.

Friday's defeat to Chelsea inflicted their 18th league loss of the season, yet the story is different when it comes to the Europa League.

But what's been different in Europe's second club competition?

Physical battles
Amorim has stubbornly stuck to his 3-5-2 formation since arriving in an attempt to dominate possession and find gaps in the half-spaces with the left and right forward dropping, hoping to combine with a wide full-back.

We’ve only seen a few games where you could say this style of play has been successfully implemented. This has largely been because teams in the Premier League are fast, physical and strong in the tackle.

Ruben Amorim
Ruben Amorim's time at the club has been mixed so far
Think back to when Amorim was introduced to England's top-flight. The Christmas schedule saw United bullied in duels by Wolves, Bournemouth and Newcastle in three losses in a row - teams who weren’t afraid to press.

In the Europa League though, United have faced only Spanish teams in the knockouts.

La Liga has players that are technical but the tempo of games pales in comparison to the fast and furious pace of the Premier League.

The result? United lose fewer duels and have more time on the ball.

Progression helping progression
United have been in positions in the Europa League where they’ve needed to overturn a deficit against Real Sociedad and infamously with a historic comeback vs Lyon.

Of course, it's not been a straightforward campaign. They needed to overturn a deficit against Real Sociedad alongside that historic comeback to beat Lyon.

Buoyed by an Old Trafford crowd, they don't tamely pass the ball around the back as they do in the Premier League. They've attacked teams more, aided by the fact that ball progression in Amorim's system works miles better in Europe.

1a Dharnish
1b Dharnish
The above images are against the worst team in the Premier League and yet, even Southampton figured out that when the ball was passed to the wide full-back (Amad Diallo) pushing the full-back up to press trapped United in a corner.

As a midfielder marked Manuel Ugarte in the middle, the other forwards would cover United’s centre-backs.

What ends up happening in a lot of games is the plan B of going long to Rasmus Hojlund is used but there is often a turnover - the Danish striker is the focal point for attacks but often the reason they break down as he simply can't hold the ball up.

In the Europa League? A different story entirely.

1c Dharnish
This example shows the space Harry Maguire has to pick a pass out as he isn’t pressed. He's afforded more space and United's defence has time to pick a pass to find players in the half space playing through the opposition centrally the way Amorim wants.

1d Dharnish
This isn’t to say getting to a Europa League final is easy, it’s more so that when United aren’t under the cosh of an intense press they are able to find gaps that don’t appear domestically.

Scoring in moments of flurry coupled with the comebacks, the confidence flows and as moves are pieced together more space is found.

What must Amorim do to win the final?
With it being an all-English final, we can use games from the season to decipher what United should and shouldn’t do in their approach.

When the sides met in mid-February, United’s press was a point of contention.

In the first half, Amorim instructed Bruno Fernandes playing in the pivot next to Casemiro to specifically press the full-back (Djed Spence) wide. It left Casemiro with far too much ground and players to cover as Spence would carry the ball past the Portuguese midfielder.

1e Dharnish
1f Dharnish
In the second half, Amorim tweaked this effectively making United more dangerous. If you press Spurs high up the pitch, it can result in turnovers as they commit too many men forward.

1g Dharnish
Instead of pressing in a mid-block, the Red Devils thwarted Tottenham's build-up with the full-backs pushed up in the press leading to United creating chances but, ultimately, not taking them.

Similarly to teams in the Europa League, a reason why Spurs have been so vulnerable this season is their press.

In the same game in February, United found joy unleashing their full-backs high and wide as Tottenham gave them a similar amount of space they've found in the Europa League, allowing a midfielder to turn unmarked and pick out a full-back pushed up.

1h Dharnish
1i Dharnish
It’s likely that Ange Postecoglou won’t change his approach, so if United can learn from the match three months ago, tighten up their press, be aggressive and make use of the space Tottenham’s block gives them, they can hurt the North London side.

Of course, this is easier said than done.

The pressure in the final is enormous. The stakes for both teams are huge but United have proved under Amorim that, when needed, they can rise to the big occasion.

They will need to do so one more time to salvage their season.

[miri-01]

UWCL final tips and predictions: Arsenal vs Barcelona best bets and preview
By Sophie Lawson
Football
Fri May 23, 2025 · 1d ago
Football betting tips: Women's Champions League
2pts Both Teams To Score at 5/6 (bet365)




The major European leagues have wrapped up for another year and all that’s left is the annual show-piece to crown Europe’s best domestic women’s football team, one final match of the season for all the marbles.

It’s Arsenal vs Barcelona and there is one overriding favourite coming into the final.

In fact, before a ball had even been kicked in the qualifying rounds of the competition this season, there was one overriding favourite: Barcelona.

And even suffering a loss on the first group match day – their only Champions League loss so far this season – the Blaugranes have remained the steadfast favourites.

Pere Romeu
Pere Romeu has guided Barcelona to more trophies
This has been a poor season by Barcelona’s very lofty standards - yet they still won the league and Supercup - and there is still so very much quality in squad and such a pedigree of success.

The final will mark Barcelona’s 100th game in the competition as well as their sixth final to date, and is their chance for their fourth European crown.

Conversely, the Gunners will be stepping out into just their second final, and first appearance in the last two since 2007 when the competition was still known as the UEFA Women’s Cup and the final was a two-legged affair.

What are the best bets?
Barcelona come into the tie off the back of better form, in fact, they’ll step out in Lisbon having won their last ten matches.

Arsenal, however, have been a little more up and down than they would have liked, losing two of their last three league games and conceding 12 times across the trio of matches.

And to answer that first burning question, yes, the Gunners have certainly been leaky of late, with back-up goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger visibly struggling to deal with the shots she’s faced.

If Arsenal are to have any hope of glory on Saturday, they’ll need Daphne van Domselaar fit to start between the sticks.

It is well worth mentioning, however, that if Barcelona have an Achilles heel, in can be found lurking around their own defensive third with Cata Coll managing just six clean sheets from ten UWCL outings this season.

Barcelona beat Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate
Barcelona beat Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate
Even as Barcelona were putting the shoes to Chelsea and Wolfsburg, winning 8-2 and 10-2 respectively on aggregate, their beleaguered opposition managed to find the back of the net in each leg.

So yes, a bet on BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE would be a sensible one.



But more than that, this is a game that both teams are going to want to dominate, we know all about Barcelona’s love of possession and those hypnotising passes that bully their opposition into submission.

Whereas Arsenal have leant into being more of an aggressive team under Renée Slegers - a style she evolved from predecessor, Jonas Eidevall - Arsenal are a team that will run hard, but will do so with purpose.

Arsenal boss Renée Slegers
Arsenal boss Renée Slegers
Barcelona’s Plan A is always to work the ball into advantageous positions and take shots with a nice juicy expected goals (or xG) and they have plenty of attacking assets in both midfield and attack, boasting the last two Ballon d’Or winners in Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas and you can well expect them to both be involved in the build-up in not goalscoring themselves.

Of course, there’s Polish international Ewa Pajor who scored the opening goal of the 2023 final, albeit for runners-up Wolfsburg.

But a player who has excelled this Champions League season and is, in fact the leading goalscorer in the competition is Clàudia Pina and with four braces in Europe this season already, if you’re going to look at any player to find the back of the net more than once, look no further.

That’s Barcelona but what of Arsenal, who’s the player who could help deliver an unexpected piece of silverware this season?

It has to be Mariona [Caldentey] who the Gunners signed from Barcelona ahead of this season.

Mariona Caldentey
Mariona Caldentey signed for Arsenal from Barcelona
A difference maker, Mariona has seven UWCL goals to her name this season but much more than that, she’s been a constant driver for Arsenal, getting the ball into better areas whilst keeping her passing crisp and even boasting strong defensive stats.

And of course it will be the first time that Mariona will be coming up against her former team, and we’re all familiar with that cliché.

What else do you need to know? The last seven UWCL finals have yielded 29 goals, and the last women’s final held in Lisbon [in 2014] finished 4-3, so it’s well worth erring on the side of a few goals, not least as both teams are weakest at the back.

And as said, it wouldn’t be the most surprising thing to see both teams score but, still, Barcelona, the current holders, remain the firm favourites.

[miri-01]

Florian Wirtz: Why do Liverpool, Bayern Munich and others want Bayer Leverkusen star?
By Ryan Baldi
Football
Mon May 26, 2025 · 1d ago
Florian Wirtz occupies a rare position within the landscape of European football.

The 21-year-old is a clear future star, the subject of interest from Liverpool, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid and valued at in excess of €100 million.

Yet despite his tender years and sky-high potential, he is an established star in his homeland and, thanks to his lead role in Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten Bundesliga triumph in the 2023-24 season, he has already etched his name in history.

Elegant and ruthless, creative and clinical, Wirtz is the prototype for the modern attacking midfielder – equal parts craftsmen and artist, with the adaptability to shine in a variety of roles and environments.

It’s little wonder his signature is so coveted.
Born in Pulheim, just outside Cologne, Wirtz joined Bayer Leverkusen’s youth set-up in 2020 after a controversial switch from Cologne, where he had earned a reputation as a prodigy of serious note.

At 17, he began to deliver on his vast potential, becoming the youngest Bundesliga starter in Leverkusen’s history.

Remarking on his early displays with the senior side, then-Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz called Wirtz “one of the most naturally gifted players I’ve ever seen at this age.”

Four years on, those natural gifts are about to make Wirtz the most expensive player in German football history.

Whoever wins the race to land Wirtz this summer – with his departure from the BayerArena appearing a near certainty at this point – will be acquiring not just potential but also vast productivity.

If reports on Friday are to be believed, that winning club appears to be Liverpool.


In 32 league appearances for Xabi Alonso’s side last season, he tallied 11 goals, 11 assists and the Bundesliga Player of the Year award.

It was the fact that they not only toppled Bayern from the Bundesliga throne but did so without tasting defeat that marked out a campaign of unique historical accomplishment for Alonso’s Leverkusen outfit.

But just as impressive was the style in which they did it. And no player better embodied that style – the flair, the graft – than Wirtz.

Whether drifting between the lines or breaking on the counter, he was the attacking architect of a team who plundered 89 goals in 34 games that season.

"His control, his dribbling. It's not easy to do that in a tight space,” Alonso raved of the young forward after a stunning solo goal against St Pauli in December.

"He is a special player for us. We're happy that he's here and gives us that extra quality.

“He has a top mentality and I had nothing to do with the goal. That's his genius, his moment.”

Florian Wirtz stats
The defining moment of Wirtz’s 2023/24 season came in the title-clinching 5–0 demolition of Werder Bremen.

With the world watching, the 29-cap Germany international scored a hat-trick, including a dazzling individual effort that saw him glide past two defenders in what has become his customary fashion before chipping the on-rushing keeper with unnerving cool.

At his core, Wirtz is a playmaker, but pigeonholing him into a single position does a disservice to his range. He can play as a No. 10 or an inverted winger; wide in a 4-3-3 or – as has been the case at Leverkusen under Alonso – tucked inside in a 3-4-3.

His low centre of gravity and rapid acceleration make him slippery in tight spaces, while his spatial awareness allows him to drift into pockets of danger undetected.

He ranks in the 96th percentile for expected assists (xA) across Europe’s top five leagues and is among the leaders in shot-creating actions per 90.

His skill and close control is often breath-taking, but he doesn’t deploy flair for the sake of aesthetics – every feint, every flick has a purpose: to open space or pierce a defence.

"He's simply an outstanding technician, loves to play, is very creative, has a good shot, runs hard and is quick,” said former Germany coach and current Barcelona boss Hansi Flick. “He's the full package."

Arne Slot's Liverpool are Premier League champions
Arne Slot's Liverpool are looking to land Wirtz
With the summer transfer window looming, Europe’s super-clubs are circling like hawks. Liverpool, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have all registered interest – although previous reports claim City are backing out of the Wirtz stakes due to the estimated cost of his capture – each envisioning a different but tantalising role for the young German.

At Liverpool, Wirtz’s most natural role would be on the left side of Arne Slot’s 4-3-3, where he’d represent a qualitative upgrade over the likes of Luis Diaz and act as the perfect counter-balance to Mohamed Salah – the creator in service of the deadly scorer.

At City, Pep Guardiola reportedly sees Wirtz as a long-term successor to Kevin De Bruyne. His ability to operate in congested areas and connect midfield and attack could see him solve the riddle of the Belgian’s impending absence.

Kevin De Bruyne and Florian Wirtz
Florian Wirtz could have been Kevin De Bruyne's replacement
Real Madrid are supposedly preparing for a swoop for an as yet unnamed Galactico target this summer. Pulling off a big-money move for the most wanted player in Europe would be exactly the kind of splash Los Blancos enjoy making in the transfer market.

With Vinicius Junior linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League, there’d be no better replacement than Wirtz, who could thrive alongside the pace and directness of Kylian Mbappe.

Bayern Munich, meanwhile, rarely let a domestic jewel escape. Weakening a Bundesliga rival while boosting their own already-talent-rich squad has been their modus operandi for decades now.

History alone suggests they remain his most likely destination.

The coming weeks will see the tug-of-war for one of Europe’s top talents continue, with the eventual victors likely to pay an astronomical cost.

But unlike so many young superstars in the making who emerge rapidly to command eye-watering fees, Wirtz has long since proved his credentials as an elite player of the present, not just the future.