Champions League 2019/20 | Borussia Dortmund vs Barcelona: Preview, Team News, Predicted XI and more |

Image Courtesy - Sky Sports

Barcelona will travel to the Westfalenstadion on Tuesday to face Borussia Dortmund in a group F clash in the UEFA Champions League. The Bundesliga side is currently 2^nd in the table and has won 3 of their 4 games in the league. Barcelona, on the other hand, sit at 5^th in the La Liga table, with a 50% win record from their 4 league games so far. However, the Blaugrana come into the game on the back of a fantastic 5-2 win over Valencia at home, which will boost their confidence.

Last season, Barcelona were well on course for a Champions League triumph, before they gave away a 3-0 lead from the first leg against Liverpool. It turned out to be the turning point of their season, which ended in a whimper, as the La Liga Champions also lost in the final of the Copa Del Rey. Ernesto Valverde, as such, would be desperate to avoid a repeat of last season.

The UEFA Champions League represents the Holy Grail for Barcelona right now. The Spanish giants are desperate to improve their performance in Europe. After faltering so close to the finish line the last term, the game against Dortmund is a chance for the Catalans to start the tournament on a high this year.

The two teams have never faced each other in the UEFA Champions League before. However, they have met twice before in the UEFA Super Cup in 1998, when it was a two-legged tie. The Catalans won the first leg 2-0 at the Camp Nou, while the second leg ended 1-1. Even though the stakes are not so high this time, it still is one of the big games of this week.

La Liga 2019/20 | Barcelona 5-2 Valencia: Player ratings for Barcelona |

Image Courtesy - The Evening Standard

When Barcelona hosted Valencia at Camp Nou on Saturday evening, the Catalans had revenge on their minds. Valencia had, after all, denied them the Copa Del Rey title last season, defeating them in the finals to lift the trophy. However, Ernesto Valverde knew that it was not going to be an easy game, especially with the players he was missing.

The Catalans were without their Skipper Lionel Messi, who was a still few days away from regaining full match fitness. Ousmane Dembele was another long term absentee, while Luis Suarez was racing to be fit ahead of the game. Valverde, as such, had a selection headache ahead of the game. When the Spanish manager did name his team, his Uruguayan striker could only make it to the bench.

Barcelona Starting XI: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; de Jong, Busquets, Arthur; Ansu Fati, Griezmann, Perez.

The home side got off to a flyer when teenager Ansu Fati scored in the second minute of the game. De Jong doubled the score 5 minutes later and Barcelona had full control of the game. However, Gameiro reduced the deficit for the visitors in the 27^th minute and the game went into the break with the score 2-1. 

In the second half, Pique scored Barcelona’s third of the game, before Suarez came off the bench to score a brace. Maxi Gomez got one back for Valencia, but it turned out to be a mere consolation. Here are the player ratings from the game.

Manchester United 1-0 Leicester City: Player Ratings | Premier League 2019/20 |

Image Courtesy - Sky Sports

With Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial missing due to injury, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had a huge selection problem ahead of Leicester City's visit to Old Trafford on Saturday. The Norwegian was also missing Luke Shaw, who was out with an hamstring injury. To make matters worse, Aaron Wan-Bissaka was also in a race against time to be fit for the tie. The real problem was the absence of able replacements in the squad.

United were already short of strikers after the departure of both Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez in the summer. Fred had yet to kick a ball in the new season, so the Norwegian struggled to put together a first eleven competitive enough to secure all three points against Leicester City. Thankfully, Wan-Bissaka recovered in time to be available for selection.

Manchester United Starting XI: David De Gea; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Ashley Young (c); Nemanja Matic, Scott McTominay, Juan Mata; Daniel James, Marcus Rashford, Andreas Pereira.

United continued their habit of starting the game well and even went ahead when Marcus Rashford scored from the spot in the 8th minute. From there on, it was a cagey affair, as neither side could convert their chances, with Leicester City looking threatening with every passing minute. The game went into half time with the score 1-0 in United's favour.

After the break Leicester City piled on the pressure, but United stayed compact at the back and sealed a hard fought win. Here are the player ratings from the game.

Manchester United vs Leicester City: 5 Men who will be crucial for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | Premier League 2019/20 |

Image Courtesy - The Mirror

Saturday’s home tie against Leicester City is a must-win game for the Red Devils and you can read our preview to the game here. Manchester United’s season is falling apart because they have managed just one win in the first four games in the Premier League so far. Interestingly, United have struggled against teams that sit back and defend deep, highlighting a lack of creativity in United’s attack. However, all that needs to change and it needs to change fast because Leicester City will not give up an inch without a fight on Saturday.

Solskjaer has opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation in recent games. The problem with the set up is the absence of a proper playmaker in the hole behind the striker.  Manchester United have lacked an out and out number 10 in the first three games which has affected their gameplay in the final third. Teams have realized that this is a weakness at United right now and they have resorted to increasing the numbers at the back, denying United a chance to break on the counter. 

Leicester City usually adopt a more proactive stance on the field, which could open up a lot of gaps behind their midfield for United to exploit. As such, Solskjaer will have to get his team selection absolutely right in order to get all three points in this game.

When the whole team has to play well, there are certain players who will be tasked with steering the team back to winning ways. Today, we take a look at 5 such players who will crucial for Manchester United against Leicester City.

Premier League 2019/20 | Manchester United vs Leicester City: Preview, Team News, Predicted XI and more |

Manchester United Predicted XI for the Leicester City game

This will perhaps be one of the most important weekends of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s life. As the International Break comes to an end, Manchester United welcome Leicester City to Old Trafford, for their first home game in the month of September. The stakes are very high for the Norwegian; after winning just 1 of his first 4 games in the new season, it is safe to say Solskjaer will be desperate for a positive result, especially at home. However, the game will be far from easy.

Leicester City are unbeaten in the Premier League this season, winning 2 and drawing 2 of their first 4 games. Interestingly, they have won both of their last 2 games, against Sheffield United and Bournemouth. The Foxes are currently 3^rd in the table, behind Liverpool and Manchester City, while United are 8^th. However, that could all change at the end of the week.

Euro 2020 Qualifiers | Lithuania 1-5 Portugal: 3 Men who were brilliant for Portugal

Image Courtesy - Goal.com

 

After their convincing win against Serbia, Portugal’s Euro 2020 Qualifiers were back on track. Cristiano Ronaldo’s had been among the 5 players who impressed in that game and you can read about it here. As such, the visit to LFF Stadium in Lithuania was a chance for Fernando Santos to build the momentum. The Portuguese coach knew that he had to win the game and named his team accordingly.

Portuguese Starting XI: Patricio; Guerreiro, Dias, Fonte, Cancelo; Neves, Fernandes, Carvalho; Felix, Ronaldo, Silva

The home side had a good chance to take the lead early in the game, but failed to score. As expected, Portugal grew into the game and were awarded a penalty when Joao Felix’s cross was handled in the box by Markus Palionis. Ronaldo scored from the spot to make it 1-0.

FIFA 20 Ratings: Top 10 Footballers ranked

The final ten has an interesting mix of players

EA Sports first started their FIFA Series of video games in late 1993.  While there were already quite a few football video games in the market at that time, what made the FIFA Series special was that it was the first one to have an official license from the Football governing body, FIFA. Since then though, it has grown to become the biggest football video game in the world right now. The game has been translated into 18 languages and is available in around 51 countries in the world.

Football fans and gamers around the world, as such, are eagerly awaiting the release of the FIFA 20, EA Sport’s most recent version of the game. Recently EA Sports announced the FIFA 20 Ratings of the top 100 players in the latest edition. Today, we bring you the top 10 rated players from this year’s edition of the popular video game.

Read on to find out the best ten players in FIFA 20 and let us know in the comments if the ratings are justified.

The Best FIFA Men's Player for 2019 | 4 Reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo will not win the Award

Image Courtesy - The Statesman

FIFA recently revealed the final 3 men shortlist for the Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year. Cristiano Ronaldo made it to the final shortlist once again and he was joined by his rival Lionel Messi and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk. The winner will be announced in 2 week’s time, in the Best FIFA Football Awards in Milan, on the 23^rd of this month. For the Portuguese though, the signs are not ominous and he might miss out on the coveted award once again.

Ronaldo made the move from Spain to Italy last summer, joining Juventus from Real Madrid in order to take up a new challenge. The Portuguese superstar was fairly successful in his first season with the Italian side, winning the Serie A title and also the Supercoppa Italiana. Over the summer, Ronaldo lifted the inaugural UEFA Nations League trophy with Portugal, which summed up a decent year for him.

However, the Portuguese Superstar is not the front runner for the Best FIFA Men’s Player of 2019 and here are 4 reasons why.

Euro 2020 Qualifiers | Portugal 4-2 Serbia: 5 Men who were brilliant for Portugal |

Image Courtesy - AP

When Portugal travelled to the Red Star Stadium in Belgrade to face Serbia in their third match of the UEFA Euro 2020 qualification round, they were under a little bit of pressure. The reigning European Champions had drawn both of their first two qualifying games. Interestingly, their last qualifying game against Serbia at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon had ended in a 1-1 draw. Since then, though, Portugal had won the inaugural UEFA Nations League and as such, Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. were confident of a positive result going into the game.

Premier League Golden Boot: Power Rankings for September 2019

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The Premier League Golden Boot race is beginning to pick up pace

Last season, the race to the Premier League Golden Boot was fascinating and the award was ultimately shared among Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, all of whom scored 22 goals. As of now, 4 games have been played in the Premier League, and the race to be crowned the top scorer has warmed up well. But who makes the cut and who misses out? Read on to find out and be sure to join us as we update the rankings at the start of October.

FIFA FIFPro Men's World11 2019: Predicting the final XI

The Best FIFA Football Awards - Show 2018 was a glorious occasion. Image Coutesy - FIFA.com

The FIFPro World XI has caught the imagination of football fans worldwide since its inception in 2005. Initially known as FIFPro World XI, the award aims to award the team of the year based on votes from professional footballers around the world. Every player is asked to choose a team which consists of one goalkeeper, 4 defenders, 3 midfielders and 3 forwards.
Recently, the 55-men shortlist for the award for 2019 was released by FIFA, which included 5 goalkeepers, 20 defenders, 15 midfielders and 15 forwards. On 23rd September 2019, at the The Best FIFA Football Awards Show in Milan, the world will come to know the FIFA FIFPro Men’s World11 for 2019. Before that, we have attempted to predict the final eleven from the 55 men shortlist. But would this team be enough to win the UEFA Champions League? Read on to find out who makes the cut in our predicted FIFA FIFPro World eleven and who misses out.

UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifiers | England vs Bulgaria: Preview, Team News and Predicted Starting XI

Southgate will be looking to continue his perfect run in Euro Qualifications. Picture - Irish Times

The English Football Team are scheduled to face Bulgaria in their third match of the UEFA Euro 2020 Qualification round. Gareth Southgate’s wards would appear for the first time since the third place game in the UEFA Nations League. England’s performance in the qualifiers has been good so far, as they have won their first two games against Czech Republic and Montenegro, scoring 5 goals in both games. Southgate, as such, will be hoping for a similar result against a Bulgaria side that simply does not have the firepower to stop the Three Lions.

The English manager will be tempted to go all out and attempt to score a flurry of goals once again. However, he will be wary that his young side could be vulnerable on the counter, especially with the number of attack oriented players in the team. Southgate is set to opt for the same 4-3-3 that has been successful so far, but he could install two holding midfielders in his team for added insurance.

Even though this youthful English side does lack experience, they are the still the favourite to win the tie.

Team News:

Southgate will have James Maddison and Mason Mount in his mind as he prepares his team list, as both players have impressed in the new season and could be up for their debut cap. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Dele Alli and Kyle Walker are all missing due to injury, while Jesse Lingard has recently joined that list due to illness. However, Southgate does have Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain back fit again.

Predicted Starting XI:

Jordan Pickford;  Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Harry Maguire, Danny Rose; Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, Mason Mount; Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane, Jadon Sancho.

Prediction:

Southgate will see this as an opportunity to test his squad, and England have enough firepower to continue their form in Euro qualifications. 

Predicted Final Score: England 3-0 Bulgaria

The Best FIFA Men's Player 2019 | Ranking the final 3 contenders for the Award

We are less than a month away from the awards night

​Hello and welcome to our assessment of the final three contenders for the Best FIFA Men's Player Award for 2019. The winner is scheduled to be announced on 23rd September in Milan, at the Best FIFA Football Award Show.
FIFA previously released their final 10 man shortlist for the 2019 Best FIFA Men's Player of the year in July. FIFA has recently unveiled the Best Finalists, in Milan, which means that one of Lionel Messi, Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo will win the award.
This final ranking considers the performance of players from the start of this year to the end of the month of August. But how do the three men rank with regards to their chances of winning the award? Read on to find out.